Embrace Your Nosiness!

I've been spending a large abundance of time looking up and reading about Soooooo many amazing artists that i think i am truely a detective in disguise. :)

Embrace the detective in you! Every good sleuth knows the essentials needed to be a good detective. Just incase, you haven't gotten your sleuthing merit badge yet, this charm bracelet will remind you of all the tools needed.

An assortment of Pewter, Copper and Brass charms, hang off of a copper chain as a reminder of how clever you are Sherlock! My signature cherry hangs on the lobster closure for this keen bracelet!

Muy Bella

A couple weeks ago i posted about Linda, from Bella and just recently she posted one of her pieces on her blog. I really think it's too adorable NOT to share! :)

Ode To Food Photographers

When i was younger and people asked me what i wanted to be i had two answers. The most often answer of the two was a food photographer. I LOVE food photography, it just speaks to me! And boy oh boy, don't leave me along at the produce department or farmers market or i'll be there for ages.

I randomly found Janick on Flickr and was captured by her simple yet artistic expressions of her breakfast table. She photographs foods quite well and i love how she shows some of her jewelry in her shots. She makes wonderful jewelry as well, so you WILL want to check that out as well.



How long have you been crafting?

I remember doing macramé bracelets in early high school, so I guess my crafting days really "seriously" started around 12yo.





Did you always craft in this genre?

I've always had a thing for jewelry, I guess it's a woman thing! I've done mostly drawing, multi-media, painting, photography, jewelry and graphic design for a while now. Recently, I started knit and cross-stitch and I'm planing on roving and sewing very soon! I can never get enough of making things, learning new techniques and exploring a new craft!



Who or what inspires you?

Textures and materials inspire me mostly for my jewelry! I like trying out new ways to view a medium! Photography also inspires me a great deal. In that matter, thanks to the wonderful Flickr community, inspiration is only a few clicks away!





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

Since I started selling a year and half ago, I have found it more and more challenging to get noticed! The handmade community is growing soooo quickly, it's hard to keep up! I always try to find new ways to get noticed, but frankly, without my advertising and graphic design skills I learned in school, I would be really lost! Trying hard - and often failing! - motivates me to try different marketing ideas that are growing in my head!

Head over to her Flickr, say hello, look at her amazing photography and stop and see her beautiful jewelry. You won't be disappointed!

Antiqued Love

I am completely having jewelry withdrawals, i haven't been able to make any new items in forever and a day. This is one of the charm bracelets i recently received back from a store i was in, so it's not new. It's just "new" to my Flickr. :) Antique inspired charms dangle off of a neat [and also antique inspired] chain,

Crochet = Amor

I first came around this necklace months ago and have saved Maria's shoppe, Kjoo, in my favorites for some time now. When i 1st started to write about artists, she one of the few i already knew i would have to interview. Her style is amazing, and i love the colors and textures of her work. She does beautiful crochet pieces that is absolutely practical artwork to wear!



My name is Maria João Ribeiro I am Portuguese and I live in Palmela, a small beautiful mountain next to the capital, Lisbon.

How long have you been crafting?

I have been crafting all my life. Specially on my adolescence when I was always making modifications on my clothes and crafting some jewelry's and accessories for personal use. Crafting with the intention of making business of it, I started at about one year. More or less December 2006, after a few months thinking on what should I do for life.I was not happy at all with the professional offers regarding my formation area Graphic Design.





Did you always craft in this genre?

I am still exploring the materials I am crafting with. Since started this projected not so long ago, I am still learning new ways to use crochet and felt. And I am also introducing some new materials such as silver, plastic, glass and other fibers. My work is also very experimental so I am always seeking new ways to use shape and color.



Who or what inspires you?

I can get inspiration from everywhere. Can be a movie a book a website and illustration... What really inspires me is finding some unusual color combination. I am always seeking color combination and I have not many rules regarding color I just like to explore.



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

I think the most difficult part of this is get your name out there. Be noticed takes time and effort. Anyway I have to say that I have been really lucky. I work many hours a day and I have been really lucky to have receive really pleasant invitations (like this interview) that get the word about my work out there. I have taken the option of making my business almost all an online commerce and I am really happy with the results so far. I just need to organize better my time to be able to answer all the invitations, have new items available in the shop and for other proposes.



Not only is her work wonderful, but many of her images are lovely as well. i LOVE the way she photographed the pins on the plate with the chop stix, so clever! :)

Adorable Art!

How cute are these paintings? When i saw the adorable painting below, i had to contact Marcia. Marcia has a shoppe called Marcia724. She has a great style thats right up my ally. Enjoy them! :)



How long have you been crafting?

I've actually been a crafter my whole life; interested in making things with my hands as long as I can remember. I've only let it consume my life within the last five years. This is not a bad thing :)



Did you always craft in this genre?

I've pretty much been all over the place with my crafting. I like to try everything. I'm not a creature of habit, so eventually I will get bored with one thing and go on to another. Although I must say that painting with acrylics has been about the only thing I've stuck with my entire life.



Who or what inspires you?

Emotions. Situations. Actual, everyday experiences. I could paint a thousand paintings just about childhood situations and memories. The memories have to be something that moves me. It could be in a good way or bad. Either way stirs emotion and leads to a painting.



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

At first it was hard for me to even think about selling my pieces. I was so mentally attached to them. I still have a lot of my first paintings because they came from the deepest part of my heart. Now that I'm selling more and more art, I'm getting used to it. I'm just happy they are going to a home where someone will enjoy it.

So, head over to her Etsy or her website, and check out her adorable paintings.

Crazy Weeks and Photograph Saturdays

I work at a brilliant store called Antropologie in the Visual Sales department. Which, in a sense, is just a fancy title to mean i help create all of the stellar displays at our shoppe. [And boyyyy are there ALOT of displays!].



During my 1st week, i helped make this tent from pipes, flange, fabric, and twine. I wrapped all the polls with twine for at least 5 hours before we decided to cover part of it up with canvas. It was my 1st project i ever had with Visual and the most joyous week at Antro. I'm so blessed to be part of VS. :)



Every morning, I water these (and a couple dozen more) Hydrangas. And boy do they need watering. NOTE: If you have or like Hydrangeas; make sure to drench the roots of the flowers, if your flowers are on a delicate surface, remove them, because you should also use a spray bottle and spray the leaves and flowers as well. This will help keep the blooms intact. When you cut the flowers out of the root, you have about 10 hours before they will die, even if they are in water the whole time.

This week we were preparing for a HUGH move in my particular store and had people come in from other stores to help us. I'm new to this gig, so while everyone else was split up to completely redecorate the rooms i did the tedious little details. Written down, it looks like i did NOTHING, but honestly, it was a still a long day of work. Wednesday was BY FAR my favorite though. [Serious!] :)

Monday: Moved funiture and started to paint shelves and moldings green.

Tuesday: Painted shelves and moldings green [8 hours]

Wednesday: Twisted twine around our hardware fixtures. [Basically, we have there fixtures shaped like cylinders where each level spins around so you can look at all of the hardware. I wrapped about 11 rotations of twine around each shelf] [8 hours]

Thursday: Twisty Fabric. [Okay, this day suckkked...i took fabric and cut it in strips. Tied one size around a door handle and stuck the other strand inside a drill without a bit, then turned the drill on and TA DA! Twisty Fabric. The fabric kept coming undone from the handle or falling out of the drill when i turned it on. The fabric shrinks from being twisted and sometimes breaks. Man it was frustrating.] [8 hours and barely any success]

Friday: Cut Leaves. [We painted thin paper bright blue, folding the paper in 1/2 foot strips so you have about the same on each side. Then cut vines on the folded side, so when you unfolded the paper, you magically have a vine with leaves on each side. We're still not finished with this project yet] [8 hours]

It was a really really great week!! Everyone was so brilliant and i learned so many amazing techniques. I'm very thankful i got to help with the process.



Last week, for two or three days i made 30 camels from scratch. I used a wire to make a armature, filled that with paper and tape and then covered them with clay.

I love my job. :)