My name is Michele, and I am the
face behind NaScent LLC. I'm a mother, a wife, a business-owner, an editor, and
a stellar cook. I've been making my own household products and body
products for a long time. I'm ready to branch out to share my products with other
people. I am new to the Avant-Garde crafting scene, and I'm excited be a part
of this.
My personal mission was to rid my house of all
store-bought cleaning/grooming supplies. After reading and researching the ingredients in
common household products, I felt I needed to make a change in the way I
cooked, cleaned, groomed, and spent my money. I don't like that big businesses
were getting my hard earned money while local artisans and crafters are barely
scraping by.
This is when I decided to make my own products using
old recipes and new ideas. While testing, tweaking, and revamping, I've
stumbled across some things that are truly amazing. These are the products that
I want to share with other people! All
of the products are hand crafted in Columbus, Ohio, using ingredients made
naturally—from beeswax to plant oils. I take the time to find the ingredients
that are locally sourced (as to support local small business) and grown with
safe and sustainable practices, so I can be sure that the products you use on
your body will not contain the harsh chemicals that are in most store bought
products.
Message behind my work... This is a woman-owned business, and I make all of my
products in my home paying great attention to the combination of ingredients
making sure you get the most functional benefits out of each ingredient. You
will never see added color, unnatural preservatives, or synthetic ingredients
in any of NaScent's products—only the basics.
Meet Jaeiah Van Dyke from Christy Rose Creations, LLC
I am
actually very new to my craft. I started my company only a year ago.
I had been trying to find a job that did not conflict with my husband's
second shift hours. Because I had not worked in over twenty years it was as
though I had no experience. I started learning to make jewelry for fun
and thought "Why not turn this into a business, then I could work from
home and choose my own hours?" My husband has supported, encouraged, and
even helped me with start-up monies.
As I
stated in the previous paragraph, I only started this about a year ago. I
have always had an artistic bent. I used to draw, paint, scrapbook, and
many other crafts, although I don't have time for that now. I find that I
have to have some kind of creative outlet, it helps me relax.
This fall was my first Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show. This will be my second one.
Inspiration? Many things inspire me. I read a lot of jewelry
books and magazines, although I never follow any of the directions completely,
I always put my own spin on the piece that I am working on. Other times I
wake up in the night with an idea and I draw it before I forget. There
are even times I start a piece with an idea but end up going in an entirely
different direction with it.
As I said, I started making jewelry because I thought it sounded like
fun. I love using wire especially. I love remolding, reshaping, and
giving it new texture. To me the wire is the focal point not the
beads and crystals, they are there to enhance the design of the wire.
Discovery of my talent with jewelry was completely by accident. I
thought it would be fun to try, then found that I had a talent for it that I
never knew was there. I have since taken a couple classes and look forward to
taking more and learning new techniques.
Sometimes I come to my shop with an idea in my head while other times I
come in not having any idea what I am going to make. When that happens, I
start with cleaning up or putting things away and I usually find a bead, or
piece of wire and an idea will come to me and I just start making something. Sometimes my idea works while other times it doesn't. When it
doesn't I will set it aside and go back to it later or tear it apart and try
something new.
Five year plan? My
husband will be retiring in sixteen months. We plan to retire to Oregon
where all three of our sons are and where I grew up. I plan to continue
my business there, since I sell my jewelry on line and at craft shows it should
be easy to relocate. My plan is to make my business be self-supporting.
I love making women happy and feel good about the way they look. A
new piece of jewelry that you love always makes you feel good. I would
not wear every piece that I make, myself. Some of it just isn't my style. However, I love each piece that I make and I try very hard to appeal to
many different tastes. I also want my jewelry to be functional and
comfortable. Sometimes I will make a new design and wear it myself just
to make sure that it is comfortable, if it isn't I re-design it. I also
take great pleasure in designing a custom piece that is unique to the person
that is going to be wearing it.
Meet Heather Elliott from Heather Skye Art...
I'm a nature lover at heart and I
feel like it's very apparent in my work. I've spent several years since
completing my BFA working various jobs and never feeling satisfied until I
started working for myself full-time. Creating, marketing, traveling and
selling at shows is the best job I could have ever imagined. Currently I live
and work out of my home in Mayfield Heights, Ohio.
This is my first year doing shows-
I did one holiday show last season and then hit the ground running earlier this
year in the springtime. I
Simply taking a walk in the woods
or along the beach inspires me to create. Nature is my biggest inspiration-
there's just so much beauty in this world that it seems impossible to not be
moved by its awesomeness.
I've always tinkered around with
the creative arts, attending art school and earning my Bachelor of Fine Arts in
2011. After leaving academia, I felt compelled to make art that was functional,
beautiful and affordable. It's much harder to pay bills making gallery-style
artwork. Plus crafting is MUCH more fun!
My mother is incredibly talented in
the arts and my father is very creative; I'm very grateful that they both
nurtured those traits within me as I grew up. Between encouragement and
seemingly endless tubes of paint, mod podge, sketchbooks, etc., I was good to
go at a very young age!
My creative process is very organic. Once I have an idea,
I'll mull it around in my head, talk with friends, family, colleagues and then
give it a go. I like to test products on the market before I start getting
carried away making a whole bunch of them- if they sell well at one or two
shows, I'll make a few more, and then more and before I know it, I have
thirty-something moss terrariums sitting in my kitchen.
I've grown so much just in my first
year of creating and selling- I've met many great people and gained so much
knowledge that it's nearly impossible to predict where I'll be in 5 years. I'm
aiming to grow a little more, maybe become more fluid with production &
marketing, and gain a more solid online presence. Hard work and perseverance
has always proven to be a formula for success, so I'll keep doing that and see
where it takes me.
In making my work I aim to keep
things as close to nature as possible. I hope that inspires my customers to
live a similar lifestyle: enjoy and be inspired by the elegance and splendor of
the natural world while respecting the environment and our fellow human beings.
Some of my work can be purchased
online at www.artbyskye.etsy.com.
Follow me on Facebook to see what I'm currently working on and where I'll
be selling next: https://www.facebook.com/heatherskyeart
My name is Janet Grafton. I've always loved fashion and
design. In fact, I majored In fashion merchandising and design from Ohio
State University! I ended up in the field of auditing and accounting, but
I am known to have a flair for fashion and putting together a stylish home!
I started embellishing lampshades over a year ago when
stores didn't have exactly what I wanted. I wanted bling on my lampshades
to coordinate with the bling on my chandeliers. However, this will be my first Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show.
I get inspiration from everything around me. From
magazines, from fashion, from the new home trends, pretty much everything that
surrounds me. I got into the craft hobby from people telling me that
I should sell them. People who saw my lampshades loved them and said
the design and quality was unique. I discovered my talent by accident. Stores had a limited
amount of fancy shades. Not in the colors or styles I was interested
in so I decided to create my own. My creative process starts by looking at what colors, trends, fabrics, etc. are in style.
My goal is that I'm hoping to make this a long time career, expanding
into other areas of home decor. I even started embellishing vases and candle
holders. I feel I haven't even scratched the surface in
creating beautiful pieces of decor for your home!
My message behind my work is surround yourself with
beautiful things that make your happy!
Meet Craig Logan from Elemental Embers...
Elemental Embers is a Columbus, Ohio based family
owned business specializing in hand poured aromatherapy candles in over 70
aromas with featured limited seasonal aromas.
I have been doing this for almost five years. Most of which was
research and development to produce the best candle! I have participated in three or four of the Avant-Garde Art & Craft
Shows.
Customers inspire me to create! They know what they want or will ask me for something
unique. I once had a vendor who owned a chocolate bar and she offered a
shot to her customers called the "Velvet Elvis" which was flavored
like Elvis Presley's favorite sandwich: Peanut butter, banana and bacon. She asked if I could create a candle with those aromas unique for her store and I
did!
What got me into the craft hobby was the
NEED for a better, longer lasting more potent smelling candle! I discovered my talent from the combination of two things. I have
a degree in science and chemistry. Combine that with a good bit of
creativity and BAM! You have something there!
My five year plan... I look around and get requests or ideas from
customers and I combine that with what I see or feel and do some
"R&D" and then see what we get! In five years I would like to own my very own store!
For those who TRULY want a quality candle without the ridiculous prices, come
see us! We have a website! www.elementalembers.com.
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