Try Handmade

Shopping blog featuring products made by people not factories.

Another Jamie Davis

by 1 Comment

Do you have travels planned this summer? Then take along one of these adorable pieces of luggage from Another Jamie Davis. These upcycled suitcases, bags and purses are plucked from relative obscurity from flea markets, thrift stores and yard sales and renewed by artist Jamie Davis. Each piece is lovingly repaired, often re-lined and then hand embroidered with a tree theme.

I’ve made things all my life, bunk beds for my dolls when i was 8, dresses for my little sister when I was old enough to use the sewing machine. I dabbled in selling my jewelry and hand made purses at holiday bazaars in college but it wasn’t until after graduate school that I found etsy and fell in love with idea of selling my things online.

Jamie’s shop has been open since October of 2008, but she found her focus on upcycled embroidered handbags in April of 2009.

I’m really enamored with the luggage in my etsy shop right right now (could it be that I’m longing for a vacation?). I absolutely love this little yellow tree suitcase because it’s bright and fun. And I love the Black Wood Grain Hip Bag overnight bag because it’s perfectly practical, and big enough to carry everything you could need for a weekend away.

Jamie was born and raised in the Akron Ohio area — made things — went to art school at the University of Akron, studied Metalsmithing and sculpture — made things, moved to Massachusetts to go to graduate school — made things — got an M.F.A. in sculpture — made things. Are you catching a trend here?

You can find out more about the other stuff Jamie makes on her webiste: www.anotherjamiedavis.com

Usagi Rabbit

by 1 Comment

When I first came across this shop, I immediately was reminded of the Japanese animated film My Neighbor Totoro. So it should come as no surprise that Jacqueline, the artist behind UsagiRabbit is infatuated with Japanese culture. A student slowly working her way toward a college degree in linguistics, one of her goals is to learn to read Japanese. These whimsical bunny creatures are part Totoro and part Care Bear and so cute! Some are just for loving and cuddling, while others are put to work protecting your small electronic devices.

Jacqueline got her start in handmade when she couldn’t find the things she wanted in the stores. Though her shop has only been open since May she’s been creating art since she was old enough to pick up a coloring book – from making clothes for her dolls to patching up her jeans.

I used to knit scarves and a friend suggested I try selling some of them at a small local craft fair. I took the plunge and it was a blast! I loved meeting all those other crafters and artisans. Artists are some of the nicest people you can be around. Finding Etsy really got me thinking that I could make a go of this. It’s full of so many inspiring stories and helpful fellow sellers. I really want to try my best!

Her skills have been honed over the years with help from her mother (a lifelong seamstress) and various friends and teachers along the way. Isn’t it wonderful how the creative community came together to help this artist learn the skills to realize her vision?

There’s something about the feeling of the wool in my hands and the slight hum the thread makes that fills me with satisfaction.

Jacqueline first starts planning her creatures with a drawing and some key concepts.When she’s inspired a piece can come together very quickly; sometimes the process can take days or weeks. Once a design is decided on, she chooses colors and felts and cut out the pieces. The most time consuming part of the process is sewing the pieces because it takes a long time and the stitches have to be just right! Lastly, her creation is stuffed with pure cotton and sewn shut. Thus is born the latest addition to the UsagiRabbit family!

Well, I love all my finished creations (even though some of them can be quite beastly during the making) but if I had to choose just one I guess my favorite would be the orange rabbit with a yellow flower on its belly. It makes me smile when I see it.

Born and raised in New Jersey this Texas transplant is inspired by her travel and experiences of other cultures. She has no sales so far, so let’s get her started – shall we?

Time and Tide Photo

by Leave a Comment

Good photography is about timing and patience waiting for the perfect lighting or the clouds to be just so, something that Time and Tide Photo does well. Time and Tide Photo was created by a husband and wife team of Emily and Jayson. Emily has always had a love of doing crafts and has dabbled in painting, and ceramics, besides photography. She has been doing photography on and off for about 12 years and first got introduced to film photography in high school. She started doing digital photography after taking a class in college. Jayson has just recently, in the last year gotten into doing photography. Friends, family and coworkers have asked to buy photos and suggested that they sell them. So they decided to give it a try.

Influenced by Ansel Adams’ photography, their subjects are often landscapes. They also like to keep up with current photographers on Digital Photography School.

Our photos are created because we love to take photos. In every photo we take, we enjoy the subject or place, the composition and the lighting. We do not take photos because we think that they will sell or make money, we do it out of passion and instinct. We think that the positive energy, creativeness and passion shows through in the final products. People should buy from us because they are supporting local artists, and because they are getting a unique piece of art. Larger retailers create mass produced products purely for profit.

When not working on their photos, Jayson works full time in banking and Emily is a full time Mommy and also works part time in retail. You can get more information from their blog and you can view Emily’s Flickr stream and Jayson’s Flickr stream for more great photos.

Dave’s Turnings

by Leave a Comment

Since it’s getting to be close to Fathers Day, I’ve been thinking about my Dad. Growing up, I spent a lot of time in my dad’s wood shop (with my shoes on – the cardinal rule of observing in the shop, you can’t come in barefoot). So appreciating the natural beauty of wood was ingrained (pun intended) in my head at an early age. Even now I have a difficult time painting anything wood. So when I came across the new shop Dave’s Turnings I was drawn to the beautiful wood. Seems Dave agrees with me that the natural essence of the wood contains its beauty.

I’m influenced mostly by nature. I’m always awed by the beauty in natural wood; its grain, color, the natural defects. It’s always different from one piece to the next and I try to bring out that beauty and preserve it.

Based in New Mexico, Dave uses mostly local New Mexico Aspen in his lovely bowls. He started turning on a wood lathe at about the same time his wife opened a small and successful home decor store in St. Charles, MO 7 years ago. The shop has since closed, but you can still find a few of his pieces in a couple of shops in northern Wisconsin.

My pieces are all one of a kind and I take special care in making each one. If someone is looking for something unique and special that will last a lifetime I hope that they buy something from me. Also I think it’s important to promote American small business.

Dave is currently an air-ambulance pilot living with his wife in Gallup, NM. He spends much of his time while on-call and during his time off working at the lathe.

Kristin Parsons Illustrations

by Leave a Comment

Creatures and beasties from another world is how you might describe Kristin Parsons‘ whimsical creations. Whether the creatures are fish-like, frog-like or totally unlike anything you’ve seen, kids seem to love these illustrations. Kristin worked as an inker at an animated cartoon studio in Barcelona in the mid 60’s and has continued to create work inspired by the little ones in her life over the last 60 years.

Over the years she’s had gallery shows, both group and solo, in the United States and Europe and has illustrated a couple of books. You could certainly imagine a picture book full of these critters. Each creature starts as hand drawings and then are scanned in and digitally manipulated to achieve the colorful finished product.

My favorite item from my Etsy shop is “Flower Inspection,” because it reminds me of my grandson, who’s four and always busy figuring out how things are put together.

An artist at heart, Kristin has been creating since she was 2 years old. While she has been selling her work offline for some time now, she’s just recently started selling online after discovering it as a way to share her work with potentially thousands of people every day.

A recent Florida transplant, she is currently only selling online. Kristin comes from a long line of artists – both her grandfathers and an aunt were artists, and, like them, she started drawing from a very early age. Growing up, she lived in three countries in Europe and stayed for art school.

She has one daughter with her husband, and a grandson who is a constant source of inspiration (and I gather from her conversation with me, pride). Her shop is truly Freshly Made, she’s only been listing for a few days and is working on adding more creative creatures. If you know of a kiddo who would love these funny fellows, make sure to check out her shop.