Shopping blog featuring products made by people not factories.
Diana Fayt: Diana is both a traveler and a lover of home. She gleans inspiration from nature, the mundane and life’s stories. Her ceramic pieces are often narrative with marks of time, events and images seen and experienced and then drawn into the surface of her clay platters bowls and vases. By doing this she hopes to leave a permanent mark that expresses her vision of what she experiences in the world around her.
[via Bazaar Bizarre’s Maker Faire vendor list]
Chrys Bonnay-Lewis: Totally cosmopolitan cups, traditional celadon glaze on porcelian and fired in salt kiln (makes the glaze sparkle). Made by me from wheel-thrown prototypes, slip-cast in porcelain and then assembled. Each nubby is individually applied.
Crackly and smooth, brilliant color and blazing neutrals. These bowls are sensational.
Handmade pottery by misslo.
I specialize in handmade wheel thrown and slab built functional and decorative stoneware pottery featuring vibrant colors and eclectic designs.
How did you get started? Have you worked in other creative areas before the kind of work you’re doing now?
I was pursuing a PhD in archaeology and ancient texts and took a pottery course to relieve the course load stress. That was my offical, structured introduction to ceramics but I had always felt a magnetic attraction to clay, even as a child. I am intrigued and hypnotized by clay…by the texture, the smell, the provocative mess, its earthy unpretentiousness.
Is there a story behind the name of your shop?
love the story about how I came to name my shop. A longtime fan of the English language, I was looking for a clever pun for my shop and was having trouble finding one that was still available. Then I had a conversation with my mother who was telling me about how annoyed with my father she was. She was trying to tell him something important but his eyes “glazed over” and he wasn’t listening at all.
“THAT’S IT!!!” I shrieked.
“What’s it?” she asked.
“I’ll call it ‘glazedOver’! Perfect!”
…and the funniest part was that I, too, hadn’t heard a word she had said. I did get a great shop name, though, even mom had to agree!
Do you work alone? With a team? Do you engage your family or friends in the work? What is your process? How do you ensure you get your work done yet still have a life?
I work alone but with the music always playing while I work, I never feel as if I am. Other than when I am doing custom work, I go where the muse takes me, either at the slab table or the pottery wheel. I lean toward eclectic and wabi sabi wares and I love a sleek profile.
Due to the constraints of the pottery process in which clay dryness or moistness dictates most things, I MUST do work when it demands so I try to schedule my life around it. One slab project can take a number of days to complete whereas wheel work can be done more quickly.
Where do you sell your work? Which venues are your favorites? Do you prefer selling online or in person? Do you attend shows or fairs? Is your work in a gallery or brick-and-mortar store?
I sell at galleries and shops and online. I prefer online at the moment because the operation is contained and more easily managed from home.
Do you have any favorite handmade shops or sellers you’d like to recommend?
I love
LaTouchables
veroque
theBeadAerie
What inspires and motivates you?
The muse. She never shares her secrets with me consciously, but she directs my hands and keeps my heart ever craving more.
Thanks Jill. And if you would like to be interviewed next, please head over to DIY Interview.
With my five year wedding anniversary fast approaching I have been thinking about what fun it was to make registries. The excitement of a new life, new belongings and maybe a new place to call home. Even with all of these presents, building your life is always a work in progress. You find new objects you love more than the ones you already own, styles and aesthetics change. But there are some things which are timeless and Gleena is the perfect blend of classical and modern which will never get old.
The medley of white and blue is soothing. I love that the middle plate, being half blue and half white, brings the large plate and bowl together. Each piece has their own personality yet they are still a cohesive set.
It is in this set that you can best see where the artist draws her influence from. She grew up in Russia, summering in a country house surrounded by her grandmother’s gardens. She seems to handle these memories carefully as they are important to her. Asya displays detailed images on hand-shaped forms, showing that memories can change shape over time. I love the cheery yellow she chose. Makes for a great presentation.
These plates don’t need a special occasion. I would love to have these for everyday use. The sea inspired glaze adds a dash of color without overpowering the simple design. The typeset imprints make for a great detail.
This cup is my favorite out of all her work. The blend of color and form are just darling but the quote and stamped letter make this cup perfect. Sharing tea is most certainly a celebration, toast to something grand.
Asya does a great job of mixing her love of form and function with her passion for graphic design. This cup displays her happy union of numbers, letters, color and shape. I love her subtle introduction of color, it is never overpowering and always just right.
These bowls make for the perfect presentation. Asya makes even the simplest of pieces elegant with her attention to detail. She carefully adapts the form to better serve it’s function. In keeping these bowls white, she draws attention to her beloved form which were inspired by gourds found while traveling in French Guiana.
I think celebrating five years should call for an updated registry. My wedding was lots of fun and I would love to do it all again with Gleena’s shop at the top of my registry list. What would be on your list?