Shopping blog featuring products made by people not factories.
Merritt Hyde has lived in Arab, Alabama for the past six years and likes living in a small town where there are few distractions and it’s quiet. Besides her husband and her son, Gibson, who is five years old, she lives with her duck and goose, aptly named Duck and Goose. Merritt is a mother, wife and artist and loves nature, music and art. Visit her store here.
Normally my shopping instincts are sharply honed onto pretty things to wear: clothes, shoes, jewelry, anything I can sew a flower on to, that sort of thing. But every now and then my eye is caught by beautiful home accessories, and I get the itch to beautify my living space, not just my closet!
Sue Henry is a sculptor and ceramic artist whose work moved over to textiles when her children came along. A dusty studio filled with fragile, breakable things was no longer practical with little ones running about. She decided to take up carving linoleum blocks – the tactile experience reminded her of her first love, working in clay.
Sue has been an artist all her life, and remembers her first creative instinct being about creating comfortable places to live. As a little girl, she wanted to be an architect and an interior designer. It just seemed like a natural next step to print her designs on textiles to create beautiful, functional home goods.
Seeing the lovely things that Sue makes really got me thinking about how I’ve been neglecting my living spaces lately. Her designs are full of movement and energy, and I love the bold colors she uses, which really make the designs stand out.
Every item at Tulusa Home Goods begins with a linoleum block hand carved by Sue. She is inspired by her travels to India and South East Asia, and her love of cooking, architecture, and design. The designs are printed on cotton or linen canvas with solvent-free block printing ink. The pillows are stuffed with organic kapok, a fluffy, soft, and environmentally friendly alternative to polyfill. The textiles are designed to be functional and durable, and are machine washable.
Included in the collection at Tulusa are pillows of all sizes, including large meditation pillows, and table linens of all types. Sue’s favorite part of the creative process is carving the linoleum block, so there’s really no limit to what she can print on, once she completes a design.
Right now, the most popular item at Tulusa Home Goods is the Ganesha pillow. Ganesha is a Hindu deity who is the remover of obstacles, and the bringer of good fortune and new beginnings. A good friend to have around as we approach the busy holiday season and the new year, wouldn’t you say?
You can find Tulusa Home Goods at Sue’s online shop, and you can also contact her for custom orders or to be invited to her December pop-up shop in Alexandria, Virginia.
I build and design rocking chairs, rocking ottomans, kids’ rockers, quilts and crib bedding. Custom orders are my focus, and many people send me their own fabrics and choose their own wood finishes, so the customer is always involved in the design process. This is much more exciting and rewarding than shopping at a big-box store!
How did you get started? Have you worked in other creative areas before the kind of work you’re doing now?
I started woodworking in 2003 and developed an interest in rocking chairs when a friend brought me an antique family heirloom rocker to repair. I was hooked on rocking chairs. Later I learned to sew and found that went hand-in-hand with my upholstery work.
I’ve always been a creative person, writing, drawing and building things since I was a child.
Is there a story behind the name of your shop?
My partner Matt suggested it, because he feels sometimes I am a bit “off my rocker”! I was going to call my business “Franks Fine Furniture” but he said that sounded stuffy, and his idea was much better anyways. Sometimes you have to listen to your better half!
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 mostly work alone on my customer orders, but sometimes I engage my partner Matt to help out with cutting fabrics and painting, and I am always bouncing new design ideas off him. Matt looks after my website and clerical work, freeing me to concentrate on building rockers.
It is important to take breaks from work and so I make time for simple pleasures like bike rides and day trips.
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 have tried numerous venues to sell my work, including local craft shows, word of mouth, blogging, Ebay, Etsy and my website. By far the most successful venue is my stand-alone e-commerce website, where I can showcase my rockers and other items to a very large market.
What inspires and motivates you?
I get excited when I can build a custom chair for a new customer, and esp. when they received their new rocker and tell me how much they love it. Every customer’s order is different and unique, so this keeps my work fresh. It’s a great feeling knowing I’ve built an item that will be someone’s treasured heirloom
What do you wish I had asked you?
“Do you think people still appreciate hand-made quality?”
My answer would be absolutely yes! I’ve had tons of people tell me they were delighted to find my website and were happy to buy something unique and made with care just for them
Thanks Frank. And if you would like to be interviewed next, please head over to DIY Interview.
There’s no denying it – America has a sweet tooth. According to the National Confectioners Association, retail sales of chocolate, candy and gum amount to approximately $28 billion dollars annually. All of that sweetness, however, comes wrapped up in a problem. Because candy-wrappers are usually made up of mixed materials, they are generally not recyclable.
The hybrid of paper, plastic and metal that is responsible for keeping your treats fresh and tasty also prevents them from being conventionally recycled. As a result, millions of candy-wrappers end up in our landfills and eco-systems each and every year. Without avenues to recycle the wrappers, we can either choose to reduce waste by buying bulk candy (or candy with more recycling-friendly packaging such as paper or foil) or we can upcycle the empty wrappers into new, usable goods. Here are some Etsy sellers who are doing just that!
Tracy’s passion for upcycling candy and snack packaging came after a recent vacation to the Croatian Islands. She was so taken by the beautiful and colourful designs on some chip bags, that she packed the empty bags in her luggage and brought them back to her Seattle home. It didn’t take long before Tracy found a creative way to use her “souvenirs”. Clever quilt blocks made from the hoarded chip bags were followed by a mini-wallet, which ultimately became the inspiration for her line of accessories. “After making the Croatian chip wallet, I thought about all the chip bags, soda wrappers, candy bar wrappers & coffee bags that get tossed into the garbage,” says Tracy. And so, Squiggle Chick Designs was born.
[hTara]
Here in eastern Pennsylvania, many of the top indie crafters are busy preparing for the epic Art Star Craft Bazaar on May 30 & 31 in Philadelphia. Art Star is both a juried craft market featuring over 100 amazing vendors and a fab indie boutique in the Northern Liberties neighborhood. Although vendors come in from all across the country, many of my favorite Philly crafters will be there.
Linda Johnson, from Little Flower Designs, holds a BFA in sculpture from Tyler School of Art and a certificate in interior design from Philadelphia University. She has also pursued her ceramics education in various art centers in the Philadelphia area. Linda’s style combines clean lines, bold color, and folk art images to create functional home decor and kitchenware.
Leah Mackin is a book artist, punctuation enthusiast, and serious scrapple lover! The journal above is one of her new designs – writing paper, maps, printed paper, colored copy paper, and lined paper are bound together to inspire the journalist to create in the space between the covers.
I’ve mentioned before that I have a thing for ceramic jewelry – organic, bold, beautiful. Yasha Butler Ceramics takes ceramic jewelry to a new level: fine art. Her pieces are unglazed porcelain, elegant shapes that are delicately etched with simple designs. These earrings are as surprising as they are versatile.
Finally, the ever-fabulous Sara Selepouchin, from girlscantell, is a screen-printer extraordinaire, craft evangelist, and Etsy specialist. Fitting for her background in architecture, Sara designs diagrams of everyday objects – and body parts! – and prints them onto hand towels, placemats, coasters, and notebooks.
I’ll be attending Art Star early on Sunday. If you’ll be around, please let me know! I’d love to meet up with you!