Everyone please welcome Kim O’Brien to Try Handmade! Kim is a metalsmith from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, US, and she’s here to share with all of us the handmade goodness to be found in her home state. Please leave a comment for her if you know of a fantastic maker in Rhode Island, or just to say hi!
:: Erika
Hello, Readers! Welcome to my new column In My State. In case you hadn’t guessed we are talking about the tiniest of states. Here in RI we are big on handmade. How can’t we be? We are home to Rhode Island School of Design so we are invaded by thousands or artists each year who are looking to further their artistic explorations. The city is flooded with RISD umbrellas and students carrying portfolios to and fro. Even before RISD came to be we were known as the jewelry capital. Needless to say, art runs in our blood. We need to create.
To get you situated, I will start with a little map project which artist, Kristin Crane takes on passionately.
Kristin doesn’t let the map control her books, instead it is a compromise. Balancing color and composition, she works with the map and makes it her own design.
Her coptic bindings are a lovely detail, it shows her skill as a fiber artist. However, it serves a practical purpose, allowing the journals to lie flat.
Kristin’s own words best describe her passions. “I’m a textile designer living in Providence, Rhode Island and am a self proclaimed book addict. I love to shop for them, read them, make them, write in them. (I tell myself there are worse addictions to have.) I also love to travel and get as excited about what journal to bring on a trip as I do planning every other part. I love when books I’ve made get to travel around the world, even if I can’t go with them.” It is these passions which make her work so successful.
Kristin doesn’t stop at journals. Here are some of her quirky book marks.
And some cards to send notes home to loved ones while you are off traveling.
Fitting isn’t it?
Now that you are hooked and ready to start making your next travel plans, head on over to Kristin’s shop. If you don’t see your destination there check out her flickr site to see other custom orders she has done.
Happy travels!