Try Handmade

Shopping blog featuring products made by people not factories.

Papaver Vert

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Papaver Vert: Patty Benson started Papaver Vert in 2007 making her small apartment shared with her husband, into a small creative studio in Northern California. Based on form, function and bold color, Patty’s work utilizes the time consuming technique of crocheting and wet felting wool to create tactile pieces with a contemporary twist.

Learning how to crochet a few years ago, she immediately found a medium that combined her love of wool with her love of home decor. Feeling that home accessories shouldn’t just be limited to ceramic or glass, and that felted wool doesn’t have to mean something old-school, she loves the idea of taking the ancient technique of felting to design something entirely new.

Patty loves that wool is a renewable resource and she stands behind a non-mass produced sensibility. Each piece is lovingly handmade in her studio and she figures the more attention put into the craft, the better the quality, the longer it will last and the less need to buy more, more, more.

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Jelli Burlesque Miss Coco

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I can’t stop laughing long enough to write a suitable description for this doll. I.Love.It. Do I really need to say that it isn’t for kids? I mean really, what kind of house are you running there? (Unless you’re parenting Bob Fosse, of course, and in that case: more power to you.) By jellibat.

The Outer Banks: Corolla, NC

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In 1892, a Harper’s Weekly article described Corolla: “If there were any spot on earth that one would expect to find untenanted, it surely would be this stretch of sand between ocean and sound. …Yet, there is a hardy race who has lived here from father to son for over a century. They exist entirely by hunting, fishing, rearing cattle and acting as guides.” Each year, I find myself immersed in the history and the spirit of the small town of Corolla, which is where we spend a week each summer. This year I happened upon a little store called A Greener Shade of You, which featured an assortment of local, handmade items, and I walked away with a necklace. Above is the necklace, handmade by Donna Silvestri. I love the technique she uses, it’s so simple and beautiful.

Of course I can’t walk away from something cute for the little ones. I couldn’t believe it when I saw these incredible handmade crayons, I would love to get my hands on the molds Ducks In A Row used to make them. She is a mother (of course!) and makes really good, healthy things for kids to play with.

Perfectly Coastal collects seashells everyday when she walks on the beach, and she creates beautiful home accessories with the shells she finds. I always wonder how people find perfect starfish, conch shells, and silver dollars when all I seem to find is sea glass. I just love this shell “topiary”. You could use it in so many different ways, even as a centerpiece. It would also make an excellent gift, instead of flowers, maybe for someone who has fond memories of fun-filled summers at the beach.

Taylor's Eclectic

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Taylor’s Eclectic: Entirely hand sculpted of paper and wire, this extremely intricate abstract vase truly is the queen of the ocean. The second installment in my ‘Under the Sea’ series, this vase is translucent on a sunny table and equally beautiful on a cloudy day.

A highly tactile piece, the Jewel of the Ocean has individually pieced ‘bubbles’ that rise and fall across it, creating various dips and rises to run your fingers across. These dips and rises are inspired by the constant ebb and flow of the ocean and its’ abstract texturing and shapes.

The rich plum base color has been painstakingly pieced around each and every ‘bubble’ to allow for optimum translucence so that the colors and textures in this vase may be fully realized.

Dave’s Turnings

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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.