Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Summer Show Season is Here!

Meet Jeff Johnson from Backyard Living...
Backyard Living was born from Jeff Johnson’s lifelong love of building.  As a boy, Jeff learned his trade alongside his grandfathers. Inspired by his Grandpa Johnson’s love of birdhouses, Jeff began building his own unique birdhouses and other housewares.
He uses reclaimed wood, including barnwood from the family farm in southern Ohio, giving his pieces a locally sourced, eco-friendly touch. Jeff adorns many of the items with local antiques and found objects, making your purchase truly one-of-a kind.
The Johnson family is proud of their Ohio heritage and hopes to bring a little piece of Ohio into your heart and home.

Jeff started Backyard Living in 2012 and has participated in 2 Avant-Garde Art & Craft shows. For more information on Jeff and Backyard living, check out any of the following links:

http://www.myfox28columbus.com/news/features/featured/stories/Made-Local-Stay-Local-Backyard-Living-125408.shtml#.VW80I8aX1em

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2015/04/12/01-taking-wing.html

https://www.facebook.com/johnsonsbackyardliving

Meet Dayana Frich from Malu Designs...
My name is Dayana Frich, born and raised in Colombia, moved to the U.S. when I was 19 years old. I originally came to learn English, but at the end of my second year I met the love of my life. I am now happily married and am the mother of two beautiful kids that keep me on my toes.
I have a passion for arts and crafts that I inherited from my family.  My dad is a shoe and handbag designer and my mom also works with leather as well as fabric and she also loves to knit; she also happens to be the most creative lady I know with a very talented mind along with a great set of hands. She is truly my inspiration.

I work along my mother creating unique, durable and beautiful aprons for the family as well as treasures for girls of all ages. We strive for quality, durability and of course appearance! 
We created our shop in 2013. I am constantly looking for new ways to share our products and love for what we do; which is why I have created an Etsy shop as well as accounts on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. 

I recently moved to Columbus, Ohio along my husband and kids and this will be my first Avant- Garde Art & Craft show and we are super excited that we get to be part of it! 
The biggest inspiration that we have at Malu Designs is FAMILY and creating precious memories through spending time together, having keepsakes that can be passed generation through generation and the long-lasting happiness that a single afternoon baking, gardening or painting with your grandmother, mother and/or daughter might bring. Creating a product that can reduce the stress of keeping the kids clothes clean and giving more time to enjoy that special time with a loved one.

We have it in our genes. Since I was a little girl I have always been surrounded by pretty things, and all what goes in the process of creating them. I was there when my parents spent entire nights finishing a production, I constantly saw or heard of happy clients purchasing art from my aunt. I was the happiest, mom-to-be, when I was pregnant for the first time. I really enjoyed my nesting time designing and making beautiful things for my daughter’s nursery. 
I am still in the process of learning myself, learning how much I am capable of and I think this process will never end.  I will be forever be rediscovering my talents, improving the challenges and sharpening my skills. 

We are always trying to adapt and learn from our clients. The most important thing for Malu Designs is the client’s opinion and we make sure we put all of our senses to catch their ideas and suggestions. It is all about trial and error and in the process we make sure we are keeping up with the latest fashion trends out there. Every single product is made with love and care and our wish is that every client loves our products, just as much as we do.

In 5 years we hopefully want to be selling our products in a consistent basis. We hope we can become a very good product supplier for new and returning clients that love and value our products. The message behind my work is: Be creative, treasure family, build memories and have fun in the process!

Meet Catherina Bishopp from Catherina Jewelry...
Jewelry, as an art form, has the power to create moods, provoke opinions and produce reactions. At her studio. this is the design philosophy that New York based jewelry designer Catherina Bishopp follows in creating and developing her own unique collection of jewelry. Although she uses precious stones and metals in her work, the design is of much greater importance to Catherina than the intrinsic value of the materials she works with. Her ultimate goal is evoking humor, whimsy and rare imagination through the use of striking color and inventive design in each of her pieces, which is what gives Catherina her signature look.
Catherina has lived and worked in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, The Netherlands, France, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, and now in Columbus, Ohio. This close view of other cultures and people gives Catherina a diverse perspective on her own designs and a greater appreciation of other artists' abilities. Today, Catherina continues to be inspired by this experience as she brings her special touch to the creation of memorable jewelry which compliments a women's beauty.

Meet Sandy Woodson from the Best Seamstress...
I am a family person. I am lucky Mom of two early twenty kids.  I am happily married for 25 years.  I am a happy homemaker, except for the cleaning part. I make jam, garden, cook for the family, grow veggies, avid conservationist, and active in the lives of our families and friends. I try to focus on doing things that make me smile.
I have been sewing for over 35 years. The first thing I ever made was a pair of jeans.  They were quite a challenge.  I continued sewing, however. I mostly made clothing items.  I really hit my stride when I went to high school. They offered good tailoring classes so I really just focused on clothing. There were kits available at that time for making down vests and jackets.  I made quite a few of them. When I graduated from high school my parents gave me a sewing machine as a gift.  I sewed sporadically until I became engaged and decided to make my wedding gown.  It took several months to hand bead the lace.  

Once I began having children I began focusing on making baby items. I picked a theme for their nurseries and then made several quilts and blankets for each child, to match their theme.  Children and work became quite consuming.  It wasn't until recently when I had a career change that I began to seriously consider turning my hobby into a career.  I have always loved to sew but it never was a primary focus.  I opened my Etsy shop and began adding a variety of items.  
It wasn't until I made several quilts that it became clear that I was truly drawn to quilting.  I had made many quilts for newborns over the years but it wasn't until I began experimenting with different types of fabrics and patterns that I realized it was more than just a hobby.  Now I often have an idea for another quilt while I am still working on the last quilt.

 This will be my first Avant-Garde Art & Craft show and I am so looking forward to it! I am inspired by nature. I daily walk my dog and I try to focus on my surroundings. I look at the clouds and the sunsets. I also enjoy the colors of flowers and trees.  I study their shapes and how they relate to one another, like the size of petals and how they compliment their stems.

I think I always have had a talent to create.  Now that I am my children are more self sufficient I can focus on other ways to use my skills. I sewed many types of garments and blankets before quilting stuck.  Once I saw how beautiful the quilts were turning out it compelled me to create more original patterns.  The whole process began to snowball.
I typically start with a quilt pattern.  I begin sketching on graph paper.  I try mixing ideas and shapes to see what I like the best.  Once I have nailed down the pattern I hit the store and see what fabrics will work best.  Occasionally, I will find a must have piece of fabric.  Then I try to see what shapes will best compliment the colors and print on the fabric.

Where do I see my business in 5 years? I believe I will have an employee by then.  I will have someone to help do the fabric purchasing, social media, shipping and general business tasks.  This will leave me free to focus on creating and fabricating new quilts.

I think my message is that simple handmade items can be unique and beautiful, and that 'unique' is beautiful.  So many people go to baby store and pick out the same old theme for a babies room and then furnish the room with the same old off the rack things.  I would like people to realize that they can have amazing one of a kind items that will make the nursery their own work of art.  Hand crafted items are so much more interesting.

Meet Elizabeth Weiss from Three Mommies Made It...
Our company consists of three working mamas who stitch for fun. We are each responsible for a different part of the process. Our children are very involved in our creative and production processes, and enjoy helping!
This is our second year in business and our first Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show! 


Our inspiration comes from many sources. We get ideas from our kids, our customers, and even from the materials we use to create. Sometimes we see a sweater and the texture or color seems to speak to us about what it wants to be.
Our first cashmere project was a small quilt for the youngest of our children. As we were working, we noticed all our kids, regardless of age, liked to to burrow their hands in the cashmere sweaters. The idea struck us then that cashmere was the perfect material for plush animals. From this, our first critter, Mr. Fox, was born.
Our sewing mama has been sewing since childhood (her mom taught her), and has amassed almost 30 years of sewing experience. Our acquisitions mama loves to thrift shop, and has a knack for finding sweaters with great texture and feel. Our production mama just likes to cut things into pieces ;)
Our first designs started with a basic commercial pattern. Once we got a feel for how the animals went together and how the materials responded to the construction process, we started to branch out into other animals and variations on existing themes. Each animal is one of a kind, and we love seeing their personalities emerge when they come out from under the sewing machine needle.

I hope that we are still doing shows and having a good time with our families in the next five years. We’d like to be able to do some larger shows and have a wider variety of animals in our menagerie.


We believe that everyone needs something warm and snuggly in their lives, and that you're never too old to have a stuffed animal!

2015 Columbus Summer Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show
Saturday, June 27, 2015, 10:00am-4:00pm
St. Agatha's Parish Hall
1860 Northam Rd
Columbus, OH 43221
For more information, contact Becki@ag-shows.com
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