Tiger's River

Brown and Blue is such a soothing combination.

When i had to choose a color pallet for my kitchen, i wanted something to relax me. These gorgeous earrings match my kitchen quite well now. :)

Smooth Tiger's Eye ovals and Blue Opal Swarovksi crystals hang daintily above a long Sterling Silver chain. Aqua Quartz faceted tear drops finish these earrings off beautifully.

Sadly Inedible Jewelry

It all started when i saw these adorable PBJ sandwich earrings, and had one of my 1st impulse buys in quite some time. I had no idea when they arrived that it would be love at 1st bite (har har) (Okay, i mean sight.) Two sisters, Jessica and Susan, own a shoppe called Inedible Jewelry. All of their pieces are so adorable!!



1. How long have you been crafting?

We've been sculpting miniature foods since we were children seriously over-feeding our dolls. So, about 17 years apiece. At some point, we decided that food on jewelry was cooler than food for Barbies, and we shifted to food jewelry.



2.Did you always craft in this genre?

The moment we first tried polymer clay, we began creating miniature foods. And the foods have always been polymer clay. In terms of crafting as a whole, however, we grew up in a very crafty and artistic household, so we've been making all kinds of things our entire lives. We still both have other types of crafty projects, and we both love tocook real food.



3.Who or what inspires you?

Food! Why food? So many reasons. Food is fun, colorful, brings back memories of specific people and occasions. Food is very personal since most people have favorites. And we come from a very food-oriented family. We both love to cook and bake real foods, so many cookbook authors are sources of inspiration. Nigella Lawson, Nigel Slater, the Food Network as a whole, magazines, restaurants, the grocery store- they're all fair game for material.

While we're crafting, we usually have on music or recorded books (check out LibraVox.org for a huge collection of free recordings of classic books!) When we craft together (which is rare, since we live in different cities), we can usually agree on 80s music- happy, melodramatic, pure synthesizer. Fabulous.




4.What challenges have you found while taking your craft into the business world?

There is a huge difference between crafting for yourself and friends, and creating products for buyers. We've really come to understand that presentation is a huge part of selling a product, whether that's online or at shows. Online, photographs are absolutely crucial, as are great descriptions. Since people can click away in a split second, that photograph has to capture their attention instantly. The description needs to give someone as much information as possible
since people can't hold the product in their hands.

At shows, having work displayed in an eye-catching and fun way has been key. It isn't enough to simply have a fun and well-made product- it needs to sell itself too. So, display and packaging truly are more crucial to the business than we ever imagined at first.

For all the challenges, though, it's been even more rewarding and wonderful than we could ever have predicted. Food truly inspires people to tell us fantastic stories: the couple who had to have the burger and fries cuff links because they got engaged at a burger place, the fig necklace that reminded a woman of how her grandfather brought over a cutting from a fig tree on the boat from Italy, the woman who wears the kiwi earrings every time she needs some extra bravery since kiwi fruit reminds her of being brave, and many others who simply see our work and enjoy a really good laugh. We love it.

Another aspect of our work than many people always assume is a challenge, but really is not is the fact that we're sisters. We both are totally involved in all aspects of the business, from sculpting the individual charms, to creating the finished pieces, to doing all the behind the scenes work. We do each have our specialties in terms of which foods we sculpt, but otherwise you'd be hard-pressed to figure out which of us created which pieces.

And because people always ask: no, we don't use a magnifying glass. Yet.

Thanks again for asking to interview us! It was a pleasure.



Seriously though folks, my new earrings really are even cuter in person. So check out their Etsy site and say hello to them. They'd love to hear it!

Go Fly A Kite

Do you ever just want to take a day off, go buy a kite, make up a picnic basket, grab a really great friend and run to the beach to fly kites? I'm sure you do, in some retrospect! The day you finally go, the kite will fly perfectly in the air, just to tell you "This was a day worth waiting for". Of course, with a busy schedule, you can't quite just take a "kite day" from work, so in the meantime, this necklace will hopefully tide you over.

Don't Just Pencil Me In

Come on! Tell me this isn't the coolest idea? When i saw these steller Pencil earrings i knew Jen Maestre had a brilliant idea! Jen has a shoppe with a name she'll never forget...her own. :) Jen Maestre.



1) How long have you been crafting?

I've always liked making things since I was a kid, but I've only been making the pencil jewelry for about 2 years. My 'normal' job is making sculptures out of pencils, I started with the pencils in 1999.



2) Did you always craft in this genre?

Nope! I was a beader. I taught myself a few beading techniques, in fact, I use some of them to construct my pencil sculptures.



3) Who or what inspires you?

I'm inspired by Ernst Haeckel's drawings, and by natural forms, and also, by the materials themselves.



4) What challenges have you found while taking your craft into the business world?

Well, learning how to run a business has been challenging. It takes a lot of organizational skills, and I am constantly playing catch-up with my paperwork. I'd rather be torturing pencils!



So head on over to her shop, or website and see all of the amazing pencil (and other medium) creations! She's a very clever gal, and would love to hear from you! :)

Tea Party!

Seriously! How much fun did you have playing tea party when you were little. Heck! I still have fun, only now my plastic cups are china. Carry the nostalgia of having your own tea party, but wearing this cute ecclectic necklace!

Would you like your tea with one lump or two?

Made - with love - in Lowell.

Liz has a sweet gift shoppe on Etsy called Made in Lowell. When i started looking more and more at the work, i was quite intrigued. Not only were there unique jewelry pieces, hand painted eggs and barrettes, there were these incredible drawings on greeting cards. Which i later found out, were her mother's drawings. I was immediately drawn to learn more.



How long have you been crafting?

1) I have made things since I could hold a pencil. My mom being an artist influenced me greatly, but I think I was born with the interest in creating and have spent the rest of my life honing my skills. When I was a little kid, my older sister showed me how to make miniatures for my dollhouse. I would make more than I needed and set up a table in the living room and sell the extras to my mom.

Did you always craft in this genre?

2) I’ve always refused to pick a medium, even in college I was considered unfocused because I took painting, drawing, printmaking and sculpture, unheard of! I am always learning new techniques and media. I love applying my fine arts education to the creation of crafts. Currently I am interested in felt that I make myself and polymer clay which I have been working with for 20 years. I have a constant thirst to learn new skills.



Who or what inspires you?

3) Well, my mom of course, in the greater sense. But on a practical daily basis, looking at pictures in craft books and magazines is very inspiring to me. If I feel at all blocked all I have to do is see an image that fires my neurons and I am off and running again. I don’t mean to say that I make copies of what I see in these pictures, it’s just something about the colors, the lighting, the idea that something is being made that gets me going. Going to craft supply shops too, wow! I have to bring a notebook to write down the ideas that flood into my brain.




4) What challenges have you found while taking your craft into the business world?

The biggest challenge has been learning all the paperwork aspects; collecting sales tax, getting an account to accept credit cards, etc. Each of the tasks alone turned out not to be so difficult, but thinking of all the things you don’t know at once is very intimidating! I’m still in the start-up phase and setting up systems to keep track of the paperwork. I look forward to the day when it is all second nature!



Marilyn Smith Rosenfeld’s answers:

I had been painting with oil on canvas for about 20 years, then, in 1984, I took a class with the artist Claire Walker Leslie, "Drawing from Nature." Her approach was, "Keep a nature journal, and just draw!" She inspired me to try pen, ink, watercolor, and colored pencils.

When my daughter began choosing pages from my journals to make into note cards, I was delighted. Liz's interest in my work inspires me greatly, keeps me drawing, gives me fresh ideas.



There is honestly nothing i want more then to work with my mother in the future, so i quite envy Liz and Marilyn's work relationship. So, head over to Made In Lowell and shower them both with you love!

Not Your Mother's Pearls

Like the look of pearls, but want something a little more eclectic? This bracelet is for you!

A beautiful 7.5 inch strand of creamy 7mm Freshwater Pearls. A 10mm glass heart hangs from the textured silver colored heart clasp. This is not your average pearl bracelet.

I love you like i love.....Uccello Curioso

Andrea from Uccello
Curioso and I have just been chatting. I originally messaged her when i found this adorable Avocado card. My co-worker always stated that avocado's were her favorite, and thought it was so neat someone else thought so too. :)



How long have you been crafting?

1) I have been making things with my hands for ages, but the earliest memory I have of making greeting cards is in high school. Each one of my close friends and I were heading off to a different college, so at graduation I made a custom collage greeting card for each girl. I must have gotten hooked, because I have been making greeting cards ever since then.



Did you always craft in this genre?

2) Well, cardmaking has been the only craft genre where I have actually gone into selling what I create. Most of my cards are made on my trusty gocco, some even with some watercolor detailing.
I love exploring other forms of artwork and crafts, though, and have dabbled in ceramics(so therapeutic, but I find that 3D is much more challenging for me!). I also absolutely love printmaking--especially etching. Although that's stepping more into the realm of fine art, I just love the whole process of getting your hands dirty, and all the specific steps that go in to creating a finished print.



Who or what inspires you?

3) Oftentimes, I am very inspired by the everyday, sometimes even by things that others would call the mundane: restaurant tabletops, little creatures, edible things. I also pay a great deal of attention to food, as well as the change of the seasons, and the urban environment around me.


What challenges have you found while taking your craft into the business world?

4) I think my biggest personal challenge is balancing my 'real-life' job and my crafting. It is really easy for me to just get sucked in to the daily grind, and continuously push off the crafting for when I'll have 'more' time! Also, because I am not currently able to commit as much time and energy as I'd like to the card-making, it has been difficult to regularly add products to my etsy shop and properly build my brand. Oh, but when I am able to sit down and just put my ideas down and create, I completely lose myself in it!



Andrea also makes custom greeting cards, like these wonderful bridal shower cards (see above). She's also very nice, and would love to hear from you! :)

p+j = <3

I just bought these awesome earrings from Inedible Jewelry. Two sisters that make all of their own clay charms.





I can't wait to recieve them!

Art For Dreamers

Cari owns a great shoppe called Sea Dream Art. When i saw these amazing tree painting, i saved it as a favorite for quite a while. It's just amazing! When i finally wrote a messege Cari, she was so sweet!! She not only wrote me a reply, she went out of her way and sent me the art card!! I was floored. Thank you so much Cari! I hung it on my way.:)



How long have I been painting?

f.o.r.e.v.e.r



Did you always craft in this genre?

I pretty much will paint anything that doesn't move. Sometimes even things that do move...my cat Jules is a good example...he likes to "help" me paint. :)

Who or what inspires me?

Poets. Especially Rumi, Hafiz, Victor Hugo, Poe, etc. Musicians.Especially Led Zeppelin, Peter Gabriel, Don Henley, Stevie Winwood.





What challenges have you found while taking your craft into the business world?

Hmmm, probably just the very act of marketing it. I would be happy if I could just stay in my studio and paint all day and have someone else do that part, but I know it's a necessary evil so I do it.



Check out Cari's other prints and paintings at her Etsy shop!! She would love to hear from you!

Eeee, so cute! :)

Personalized Charm Jewelry! So cute! So You!!

Not An Odd Forest Afterall !

Lynda has a shoppe called Little Odd Forest. I've been getting her e-mails and looking at your website for AGES now, and i finally got the courage to messege her. Everything from her products, to the pictures to the website itself is AMAZING!! I know you'll agree!

littleoddforest.etsy.com is her link. Sadly the computer i am at right now won't let me link properly, but i shall fix it later tonight.



1) How long have you been crafting?

On and off all my life i think! I used to make gifts for my friends, sew them pouches, sew and draw on paper to make cards, even made fancy book covers for all my "ugly" school books and files. One time, my mum refused to give me more pocket money to change my ugly wastepaper basket, so I totally transformed its look by covering it with all sorts of colored magazine ripouts. If you were referring to crafting as a business/livelihood, it was in 2004.



2) Did you always craft in this genre?

By this genre, i assume you mean sewing? I first learned how to use a sewing machine during my school holidays before i started high school. We had to take Home Economics, and my mum (whose grandma, my great grandma, gave her a wonderful, now retro-looking, Singer sewing machine) taught me how to use a sewing machine before school started. And i got hooked onto it! Praises from my teacher (You can sew such a round circle/straight line!) helped too ;p I could hand-sew, but being naturally impatient and a little perfectionist, half the time i'll just destroy what i've created due to dissatisfaction with the wonky sewing lines or slowness of it all!
Otherwise, I've always just been doodling and drawing, alot. I've so many sketchbooks I've lost count. And ever since I had my first computer, I've been doing illustrations on it as well.


3) Who or what inspires you?

Design wise, everything and anything can inspire me. People watching, just walking down the busy streets, shopping, movies, music, a day lazing at the beach, colors, a good design book etc. Even boredom inspires me, because I like to daydream and imagine the strangest things, I also remember most of my dreams at night (I dream almost everytime i sleep!).
Business wise (i treat crafting as my business because I'm determined to make a decent living out from my passion, I don't believe in the stereotype that we should starve to create), my mum's strength, determination and hard+smart working ethics inspires me. Lee Kuan Yew, my country's (Singapore) first prime minister, also inspires me (in a totally different and non-political way) - to be able to "build" and "grow" my passion, from start to somewhere (I'm not saying finish because I don't think there will be one!), is my lifelong goal.



4) What challenges have you found while taking your craft into the business world?

All kinds of unimaginable ones! Mostly people. Because I'm in Singapore, Asia, in general (excluding Japan) does not believe in paying more than US$30 for a purse that is not a well-known international fashion label, most people here don't give two hoots about handmade/ ethically produced/ sustainable designs etc. and paying decent $ for it. It's mostly due to our culture, and education, but on a positive note, things are changing, although slowly. Thanks goodness for the internet, otherwise, I would not have met "comrades" from all over the world! Especially from the US!, and I might just have given up long ago...



She knows how to win my heart. Look how cute everything is, AND she has a cherry bag! So go to Lynda's etsy or website and stock up for the holidays! :)

Eggcellent!!!

I think these earrings are EGGactly what you're looking for!! A cute enamel miniature egg in a copper frying pan hangs from silver colored jump rings and stis on a Sterling Silver ear wire.

Wear with matching Eggcellent necklace!!

Art by an Inspiration.

Naomi has a shoppe easily remembered as Art By Naomi. When i 1st saw Naomi's posie paper clips i was immediately excited. BUT when i saw all of the other amazing things she created, i knew i had to message her. Naomi is such an inspiration! All of her work has such great flair, and admire how many genres of art she creates in.




1) How long have you been crafting?

I can't really remember a time when I wasn't making or creating. As a child I loved paint, paper, glue and the snip, snip sound of scissors cutting paper. Both my mother and father were creative folks so our home was a very stimulating and nurturing environment to grow up in. I especially loved making my own paper dolls from the sears catalog. My creations were really quite organic, I'd cut out the models glue them to cardboard and create lovely crayon fashons for them.



2) Did you always craft in this genre?

I firmly believe that one genre very often leads to another so no I didn't always incorporate collage elements in my art, I started out as a painter and loved creating greeting cards. Collage and mixed media just naturally evolved from card making. It's only been the last five years that collage has been a major focus and outlet for me. I still love to paint and haven't put my paint brushes away yet.




3) Who or what inspires you?

Well the list could go on and on when it comes to inspiration. When it hits you it's more of a spontneous coming together then a well thought out formula or method, at least that's been my experience. It could be anything from the color and shape of a pear to the bigness of the sky or the smallness of a dew drop. Inspriation for me is usually made up of the things I love, am drawn to and curious about, color and texture play a huge part in that mix.



4) What challenges have you found while taking your craft into the business world?

Of course the biggest challenge at the start is believing in yourself and your product. It's been my experience that we tend to rely heavily on human approval. This is not bad or good, it's just a learning and growing phase of our creative development. Any serious artist tho, has to grow from this place to finding their own voice, trusting it and being satisfied with their own approval which includes giving oneself permission to fail.
The next challenge for me was in the area of pricing, not getting to caught up in the dollar value of my art but also not degrading it by underpricing myself. There's definately a huge learning curve in staying passionate about the art without seeing it merely as a product or a means for profit.



So, go up to the links above and check out her work. She makes even more goodies of all kinds on her etsy. Check um out! :)