work Archives - Try Handmade

Interview with Leanne, StudioLeanne

August 9, 2020 by Leah Peterson 2 Comments

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Leanne lives in beautiful Melbourne Australia, overlooking the beach, where she has lived all her life and loves it. She has a daughter at university, a husband who dotes on her and a cat whom she trips over constantly. Leanne describes herself as a ‘do it right now’ person who is busy creating. You can see all her creations at her shop, StudioLeanne. Her secret is that she has been 38 years old for some years now.

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How long have you been creating? Why did you start?

My more meaningful creative life began during school years where I discovered a passion for pottery. In keeping with my secret age, I have been potting for some 20 years now, creating ceramic pieces in stoneware and porcelain. During this time I discovered the magic of glass and have incorporated this medium into much of my work.

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Where do you get your materials?

Living on the beach allows me to find the most fascinating driftwood pieces which I often incorporate into my ceramic wall art. Recycled paper and card go into my decoupage.

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Can you tell us a little of your process?

I mix many of my own glazes and still enjoy throwing a pot on the wheel. Each ceramic piece is allowed to dry then it is high temperature kiln fired. The next process is glazing. The pieces are then fired again, and sometimes a third firing depending on the effect I want to achieve.

How long does it take?

The complete process can take up to two weeks.

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Do you have a dedicated work area/room?

With 2 kilns in my studio, one for ceramics and the other for glass, I am kept constantly warm in winter and perfectly poached all summer long.

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Is this your full-time job? Hobby? Fun?

I’m passionate about my work, it is fun and a wonderful outlet for my creativity. Some years ago my daughter wanted a specific piece of ceramic jewelry which I made for her. From that, a range of unique, oversize and outrageous jewelry pieces developed.

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Where do you get your ideas?

Inspiration comes with the seasons. The beautiful sunsets, the stormy skies, the surf and the evening calm provide the individual colors and designs of each piece.

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Do you have a best seller?

“I HEART U” – an oversize, outrageous 2.5 inch red ceramic cocktail ring, is by far my most requested item.

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What is your favorite?

My daughter’s favorite is “RockStar” a 6 centimeter ceramic cocktail ring in black and my favorite is “Caribbean Fling” a beautiful blue glass ring which covers three fingers of my hand.

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What do you see yourself doing in 5 years?

In five years time I hope to be a little more outrageous in design and still only 38 years old.

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Have any advice for people trying to start their own handcrafted business?

Believe in yourself. If you love your product then why wouldn’t everyone else love it too? Never give up, just persevere.

“In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different” – Coco Chanel.

These are Hot. That is all.

August 7, 2020 by Erika Jurney Leave a Comment

iLE AiYE: I Produce ladies knitted fashion, felted purses and felt art, as well as ladies jewellery.

I try to create a unique style, which flatters a womans figure to it’s best.

My designs are sold to young girls right up to older ladies, and I’ve found they are the perfect gift for friends, or the ideal garment for your wardrobe.

Everything is hand knitted, and produced by me, I have taught myself to knit, and therefore I make up my own patterns and designs, I am as yet still unable to read and execute a knitting pattern.

I try to use 80% recycled / discontinued yarns, in my products, which often means my work is part of a limited edition or a complete original.

Interview with Heather Fantello of crazyjaneknits

July 25, 2020 by Erika Jurney Leave a Comment

I featured Heather last month in my fingerless glove roundup, and here she is telling us what it takes to run crazyjaneknits.

What is your craft / art / creative endeavor?

I make just about everything handmade. I have a knit & crochet shop where I sell handmade hats, cowl, scarves, handwarmers, etc. I have a jewelry shop as well that I am currently updating http://wildfeatherbeads.etsy.com and just recently opened a photography shop http://heatherfantello.etsy.com.

I love ETSY!

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

I have always been an artist. When I was little, I wanted to be an author and a illustrator. Drawing and painting was my main talent. When I was 10 I dabbled in beadwork and various crafts.

In highschool I did a lot of pottery, drawing, painting, the school newspaper photographer, and performing arts.

It wasn’t until my daughter was born that I started crocheting and then knitting. Since then, I have been addicted. I can’t imagine not doing something with my hands. If you run into me, I will most likely have a skein of yarn in my purse. :)

Is there a story behind the name of your shop?

My daughter’s name is Gracey “Crazy” Jane. My grandpa started calling her that when she was probably 4 months old. I made her a hat that said Crazy Jane on it and the rest is history…

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. I taught my sister to knit and my grandma to hand seam but I’m such a perfectionist that I just do everything myself.

My process starts out with an idea. I get inspiration from everything around me. I mess around perfecting a pattern, wait for a nice day to take pictures, edit, list, and watch to see if it sells.

My top seller (Olive and Taupe Woodland Handwarmers) is an inside joke with my boyfriend. He picked the colors. I didn’t want to make it but I did to make him happy. They are my top seller so everytime I sell a pair, he laughs at him. I scowl at him but on the inside I’m saying, “thank you Matt.”

I don’t really have much of a life haha. I work so hard on making my products that I do it everywhere. I take my yarn to family/friend get togethers, to work, and of course at home. I’m a bit of a homebody. When I’m not knitting, I make candy, can goods from my garden, blog, and spend time with my family.

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 on ETSY.com and a couple shops in the Pacific Northwest, WA.

My stuff will be in a little shop in Greenwater, WA soon. It is a shop called Wapiti Woolies located by Crystal Mountain Resort that has been in business for 25 years. They are a family business that started out by making handmade hats.

I prefer online because the whole world can see my items where they are only seen by people who go to that store.

Do you have a favorite handmade shop or seller?

I have too many favorites! I find myself searching vintage, wood, and wedding. I love whites, golds, and wood tones. I like visiting somethingshidinghere.etsy.com because their color palette is so inviting.

What inspires and motivates you?

I love living the Pacific Northwest. I get inspired by farmlands, forest, oceans, rivers. I love the colors of moss and stones.

I love vintage everything and old traditions. I use vintage inspired styles for my jewelry and try to capture memories that will someday be vintage through my photography.

Coffee coffee coffee motivates me :)

What do you wish I had asked you?

blogs…

I have a website and a twitter.

Thanks Heather! And if you would like to be in this space next, just go to DIY Interview.

Interview with Lorie Beshara of Rock and Roll Coasters

July 16, 2020 by Erika Jurney 3 Comments

You’ve seen their work in Rebecca’s column, and now you get to hear about the couple behind Rock and Roll Coasters.

What is your craft / art / creative endeavor?

My husband and I make drink coasters using 45 rpm records. We use records that aren’t playable because of scratches and skipping.

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

I sold records on line for 8 years. 45’s were my specialty. I was throwing away about 60% of them because they were scratched and sounded bad. I was getting ready to throw away more and it was breaking my heart. I was looking at them and it suddenly occured to me how cute they would look as coasters. Tom (my husband) is very creative and figured out how to make them. It took about a year to make them look really good.

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?

My husband and I work together.

We first cut the record down square from 7 inch to 4×4 inches. Then we go through 3 sealing processes. We also include the little yellow thingy (45 adapter) Tom pours them in Epoxy resin (like used on bartops). He free pours them, we don’t use a mold. They cure for about 3 days. We work about 9 hours a day and do about 27 shows a year starting in March.

That’s become our life and we have a great time doing it.

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?

We sell on Etsy. Hopefully we’ll have a website of our own soon. We love selling in person. The coasters are much more striking in person and it’s fun to talk about the music and what people love. We do Fine Arts and Craft fairs just around Colorado.

We’ve tried selling in stores but in shows we display about 600 coasters so that people can build their own sets. That makes it really hard for a retail store.

The black that you see around the label is the vinyl. These are not just the labels or pictures of the labels. You can’t see the grooves too well because the resin is poured about 1/4 inch thick.

Quite a few original artists own our coasters such as: Denise & the Delicates, Bertie Higgins, Pat Boone, Jay Ferguson, Lou Christie etc….

Thanks Lorie!

And if you would like to be interviewed, just head over to DIY Interviews.

AimeezArtz

June 29, 2020 by Erika Jurney 3 Comments

AimeezArtz: I live in Cloverdale, Canada with my husband and my little Jack Russel, Mini. I have been creating mosaics, big and small for seven years. My work has been in shops as close as Langley, BC and as far as New Mexico.

Every mosaic is different, that’s why I’m drawn to this medium. I never get tired of the beauty and complexity and I’m always trying quirky new things to bring light and movement into an ancient art form.