Try Handmade

Shopping blog featuring products made by people not factories.

Handmade Menorahs

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This year Hanukkah starts at sundown Sunday, December 21, so it is time to start thinking about getting ready. Whether you’ve moved out on your own, started a new family, or are just looking for something new, a handmade menorah is a wonderful addition to your household. I’ve selected some of my favorites to get you started.


“Haifa, The Eagle Has Landed” Menorah, $110 by A. Drauglis.


$75 by AgruArts.


Dichroic Fused Glass Menorah, $165 by Sarabi Glass Studio.


Puzzle Menorah, $125 by Delia Furniture.


Remaining Wall Menorah by Louis Farkovitz Studio. Out of most people’s price range, but still lovely to look at.

Interview with Jennifer Sadler of jaykayknits

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First seen on the blog, let’s hear from Jennifer about what it’s like being behind jaykayknits.

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What is your craft / art / creative endeavor?

I’m a self-taught knitter. I love how knitting has made such a comback in the recent years and how it is being adapted to fit in with new styles.

How did you get started? Have you worked in other creative areas before the kind of work you’re doing now?

I started knitting through a job I was working at a local Boys and Girls Club. Another girl and I started a yarn club for the kids, which gave me an excuse to finally give it a try. I bought a pair of needles, a cheap-o skein of yarn and hit up youtube with a fiery determination to learn. I learned the basics, but it kinda went to the back burner after a few months. About 8 months later, my husband and I had just moved to a new state, and since I was doing the whole job search thing, I decided to dive back in headfirst since I had so much free time. For some reason, everything was very easy for me to learn, and I just took off from there. The whole process started about 2 years ago.

Before I started knitting, my main hobby was making jewelry. My best friend in college taught me how, and we spent lots of time doing that together. However, knitting is the first craft that I’ve done for “work” (I feel weird calling it work since I love it so much!).

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Is there a story behind the name of your shop?

My maiden name is Kelley, and throughout high school and college all my friends called me JK – so I expanded that to “jaykay”. It’s funny because most people who read my shop name think that my name is either Jay or Kay, so I get messages all the time addressed to either of those names.

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 totally by myself. I’ve tried to get my husband to join in on all the fun, but he opts to stick with his own hobbies :) He is, however, my main support source, and I always run my new ideas by him – his opinion is very important to me!

My knitting is a part time job – I work full time in Special Education, so I really get to make my own schedule. If all my orders are complete and I don’t feel like knitting – I don’t have to! Also, knitting is definitely one of those crafts that is portable, so I take it everywhere I go! It’s a guarantee that if you open up my Timbuktu bag, there will be at least 2 different knitting projects in there at any given time!

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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 mainly online (jaykayknits.etsy.com), and at craft fairs. I do a few consignment stores now and then, and do a lot of local work through word of mouth.

I enjoy meeting the people I sell to, so I enjoy that aspect of in-person selling. I also like that people who are buying in person are completely aware of the product they’re buying – they can touch it, try it on – which is not something online buyers can do. Online selling also has its advantages, so it’s hard for me to pick one over the other.

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Do you have a favorite handmade shop or seller?

Absolutely! SpringTreeRoad. Maya creates the most incredible yarns! And she’s a very talented photographer as well!

What inspires and motivates you?

The things that inspire me the most are the simple things I find around me – I’m an outdoors kinda girl, so I am very inspired by mother nature. She offers us all types of beauty – the kind that can never be re-created through manmade objects.

Thank you Jennifer! And if you want to be interviewed on Try Handmade, just check out DIY Interview.

Mineral Concealer

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mineral makeup concealer midas

Concealer is not one of those glittery makeup products that draw me in, like colored lip balms. Instead it is necessarily near to flesh color, but not really, and is best when invisible on the skin. It’s that item that you really need when you need it. And the rest of the time don’t give it very much thought.

I haven’t had much luck with concealers in the past. I have found the creams and sticks to be heavy and appear bright against the skin, the liquids to be ineffective, and the powders to cake. And the last thing I want when I haven’t slept is to call attention to the circles under my eyes. It’s hardly a lifter of the spirit.

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Interview with Rachel Winard of Soapwalla Kitchen

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rachel

What is your craft / art / creative endeavor?

I create luxurious organic face and body products – in my Brooklyn apartment kitchen – that pamper even the most sensitive skin. Soapwalla organic face and body products are specifically designed to cleanse with natural ingredients without stripping the oils that our skin naturally produces. This is important because these oils form part of our bodies’ natural immune defense system, and are essential for optimum skin health.

I use organic and food-grade ingredients, never questionable additives such as sodium lauryl sulfate, parabens or harsh and synthetic ingredients. Soapwalla products are never tested on animals. Feed your skin with products good enough to eat.

How did you get started? Have you worked in other creative areas before the kind of work you’re doing now?

I got started making these items out of sheer necessity. I have lupus, an autoimmune illness that can manifest itself in a number of ways. Like others who suffer from lupus, I get terrible skin rashes, hives, and terribly irritated skin patches. When it was at its worst, I could barely use water on my skin without irritation.

Soapwalla was born one late night, after months of unsuccessfully hunting for face and body products that wouldn’t aggravate my skin issues. I tried everything on the market I could find, and finally decided to start making my own products that were as healthy and wholesome as possible. The product line grew from there.

I’ve always been artistic; I am a classically trained violinist and composer, and I train in the circus arts. I also am an avid ashtanga yoga practitioner.

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Is there a story behind the name of your shop?

A friend who spent time in India dubbed me a master soap walla (walla means ‘creator’ or ‘maker’ in Hindi) and it stuck!

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, although my partner helps me tremendously, especially with day-to-day operational tasks. I also use my friends and family as product guinea pigs and as sounding boards, when I’m thinking about introducing a new product. And I am always looking for suggestions and ideas from my clients!

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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 my work online via etsy.
The majority of my clients are referred to me via word of mouth, which is how I love to work. I love selling in person, because I can see a client’s skin and spend time speaking directly with that person about his/her needs, principles, scent preferences, etc.

I hope to sell at some Brooklyn based flea markets in the upcoming months, including the Brooklyn Flea and Artists and Fleas in Williamsburg.

Do you have any favorite handmade shops or sellers?

Yes!

I can’t recommend Alice Cho, graphic designer extraordinaire, highly enough.

Also, my friend Erin Wigger is a phenomenal photographer.

Finally, I love Lofted Designs‘ jewelry designs, specifically her rings.

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What inspires and motivates you?

I constantly push myself to create the highest quality products I can, while leaving the smallest ecological footprint possible. This includes finding alternatives to the most popular skincare ingredients, like petroleum-based and synthetic ingredients.

I want Soapwalla’s products to be enjoyed by everyone – including those with even the most sensitive skin.

What do you wish I had asked you?

“What’s the hardest thing about being an artisan?”

For me it’s a combination of two things: (1) since I absolutely adore what I do, it can be hard to stick to a strict work schedule…I tend to work much longer hours as an artisan than I did as an officeworker; and (2) trying not to get discouraged when sales slow or people have a difficult time understanding what exactly you do for a living.

Thanks Rachel! And if you’d like to be featured here next, just head over to DIY Interview.

What’s In Season Now: August Edition

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August, the eighth month; a time when there is no longer any denying that what stands just on the other side of these long, hot days is autumn. The year is two-thirds over. And, I loathe to admit, in many locales so is the growing season. Last week the ripening of my tomatoes came on in earnest. Just in time, as a sick and demented cosmic plot twist would have it, for me to leave town for 5 days. While it’s a time, as I mentioned in both On Inheritance and Cooking Up History recently, I look forward to with great gusto every year it’s also a time when I’m forced to face the truth. Unlike July when what awaited me on the other side of long, hot days was more long, hot days all that awaits me now is autumn. And, as much as I love falling leaves, back-to-school, pumpkin pie and knobby sweaters I hate — yes, I said hate — the dwindling period of yet another growing season. Even if it will be filled with some of the year’s most satisfying meal prospects.

Unfortunately for some areas — especially those in the deep south and the southwest — where the weather is too hot even for heat loving varieties this is already largely a reality. But before we go feeling too sorry for them, or them for themselves, remember those locales will have a second growing season just as the rest of the country is laboring the get the most out of the end of their first and only. So if you’re in a location where much of the summer’s bounty is taking a back seat to killer temperatures, hang in there and check back in next month when the availability of local produce will pick back up by leaps and bounds in your area. Just don’t stop visiting your farmer’s markets in the meantime, there is still plenty to find there.

And for the rest of us; what can we expect to find gracing farmer’s stands this month? Look for heat loving produce and those items that require a long growing season to be ripening by the bushels in August. Peaches, those tasty tomatoes we’ve been discussing and peppers of all varieties — the hotter the better if you ask me — as pictured will all be available in many places, but alongside them you’ll probably also find sweet corn, okra, plums, melons, cucumbers, figs, nectarines, eggplant and apricots.

Until next month, Happy Farmer’s Market Shopping!