I have been creating Jewelry for about 7 years, I knew I was
meant to do this when I visited the Cultural Arts Center in Downtown Columbus.
As soon as I stepped into the Jewelry area – every sensor in me was pinging
inside me and I knew I found a place I could express myself. With this I have
also taken other classes from local Bead stores and Workshops in and out of
Ohio to learn more and get better at my craft of metal smithing.
After this upcoming fall art and craft show I will have participated
in four shows with Avant Garde. I am thrilled to be part of this event and have
learned quite a bit about selling my pieces and interacting and helping
customers. I like that I see the same customers at the shows, as well as
greeting new people and helping them make their jewelry choices. It helps me
design new pieces that customers are looking for. I have and will altered
pieces to so they have the best fit for them. So I guess you could say my
customers inspire me to create and continue to learn!
My creative process is based on what I have learned and I
pour over magazines and pictures even the coloring books looking at drawings or
that “spark”. I don’t copy I create my version. I have jewelry mentors – people
that inspire me with their styles – I don’t copy them but they create my desire
to do better!
In five years – I hope I can say I have a customer base that
I can cater to and hope that I can attend more workshops to continue learning.
I feel I am very rustic in my designs – I like working with the copper and
silver metal and wire components. If there is a message to be learned – I would
say it would be to continue to learn and find new methods of creating. Be true
to yourself – and your craft.
Meet Joe Buzolith from Kelnjo Jewelry..
My name is Joe Buzolith and I am the owner of Kelnjo Jewelry. The name comes from my younger daughter Kelly and me (Jo)
and we are registered as a business with the state!
We just completed our first year in business in July. We offer genuine gemstones and handmade sterling silver and gold jewelry at reasonable prices.
How I got into my craft.. When I bought some jewelry tools and gemstones back in late
May 2015 and decided to try a new hobby I had no idea it would lead to the
amount of fun and enjoyment I have had over the last year form this hobby
business!
I hand make all the jewelry pieces we offer, no bought
settings! I try to make a unique and
interesting piece of jewelry most nights after I get home from work. Most weekends I make between three to six pieces. Some of the cabochons I cut and polish myself
and I try to keep a broad variety of different gemstones in my offerings.
When it comes to my craft, I really enjoy the
process of forming the piece with silver or gold, setting the gemstone, and
bringing it all together into a finished product that someone will enjoy.
My daughter Kelly helps with the marketing and we have
traveled over most of the state doing a lot of craft shows and festivals in the
last year and enjoy meeting potential customers. My favorite part is I enjoy talking about the gemstones and my
jewelry and meeting people at the booths! A lot of the rewards from this hobby business are from the feedback I
get from my customers!
Hope to see you at the show!
Meet Pat McCabe from EnWraptured by Nature...
Hi, I’m new to the craft show scene, with Avante Garde being my second show thus far. My name is Pat McCabe, and I just started my Etsy shop, “EnWraptured by Nature,” this past month. I make wire-wrapped jewelry using polished gemstones, seashells, coral, sea glass, and anything else that looks wrappable.
How I got into my craft.. Now that my three daughters are all grown and have left the nest, I decided I needed to get back to doing the hobbies I enjoyed years ago. A high school classmate recently started her sea glass jewelry business, which looked like so much fun that started thinking seriously about designing my own with wire wrapping. I spent several months watching YouTube “how to” videos and practicing making pendants for my family and friends before making my decision. One of my daughters felt I was ready to take the next step and encouraged me to go ahead. After another several months of doing the “unfun” business start-up things, I’m up and running full speed ahead!
Art in nature has always been fascinating to me, whether it’s an intricate, perfectly-woven spiderweb or what an ocean surf smoothes, shapes, and gifts to us on shore. Even nature’s imperfections are artfully perfect. So it’s fitting that I want to use materials from nature in my jewelry and use nature as my inspiration!
My goal with my business.. I’m hoping I find a niche in handcrafted jewelry and that it leads me whatever direction is best and the most fun while making other people happy in the process.
Meet Lisa Rickards from Purple Stitcher...
I am a 50 year old mom and wife who has always been artsy. I am constantly trying to improve my skills and find new outlets for my creativity. I work with adults with disabilities which is very rewarding but can be stressful as the field is constantly changing. I have a Masters degree in Education and am a Licensed Professional Counselor. Crafting helps me relieve stress. My daughter is a senior in high school and will be moving on to college next year so I am also preparing myself for this transition.
I have been doing various forms of arts and crafts since I was young - cross stitch, pen and ink, pencil drawings, painting; I taught myself to knit and crochet in my 40's. Sewing is very new to me. I am self-taught. It may not be perfect and I may have developed some bad habits but I am happy with the end results and proud that I taught myself.
For my inspiration, I really have to be in the mood. But really it does not take much because it is such a healthy outlet for me. I love to have a big part of the day carved out to be able to create. There are so many parts of the process in this craft that there is not an opportunity to get bored with one part - if I need a break I just go shopping!!
How I got into my craft... When I turned 50 I did not feel anything. I thought you were supposed to have this major epiphany when this milestone happened but it did not happen for me. No midlife crisis for me. But about a month after I turned 50 it came to me - I wanted to do something epic and for the greater good. I had been making my mittens for several months and started to research other items to upcycle. Once I did this research I realized I could help the greater good - on a very small scale. So to me this has turned into a midlife mission.
How I discovered my talent.. While I was researching I found things I wanted to try and tailored it to my uniqueness. And I had experienced a lot of trial and error. I found a lot of patience within myself because I was determined to make this work and do this well.
My creative process... I absolutely love every part of the creative process from scouring thrift stores with my 16 year old daughter to putting the finishing touches on each piece. I love looking at all the fabrics (sometimes that is hard because there are some trips I hit the jackpot and I look a little weird with all these clothes). I use sweatshirts for the mitten liners, I use t-shirts, dresses and skirts for the scarves and I use wool sweaters for mittens, armwarmers and scarves. My goal is to find 100% natural fibers because I have found through trial and error these materials work best for my products. My head is usually swimming with ideas for each piece during this excursion!! When I get home I hot wash each piece in Oxyclean and thorough dry them. I have a system where I deconstruct each piece depending on what the material is then I sort by color and patterns. I save EVERTHING except for collars and t-shirt arm cuffs. Right now there are piles throughout the house where the best light is. I find I work best by natural light. The deconstruction can occur anywhere and anytime but putting everything together and sewing must happen by natural light! Yes - there is a little OCD working here...
My five year goal... I would love to continue doing this getting better and better. I do not ever want to dread doing this work and I think I will succeed because there is so much variety in the process. I want to expand to making skirts, coats, tunics and shirts. I want to be able to make custom orders. I want to attend more shows. I want to build my Etsy shop and Facebook page as well.
The message behind my work is I want to promote the art of upcycling and show that turning throw away and/or secondhand items into beautiful pieces can be done. And I also want to help out the second hand stores by supporting them and their mission. I want people to like my products and talk about them. I want to be able to contribute to the greater good - my midlife mission.
Meet Carolyn Shisler from Jewelry by Carolyn...
Hi, I'm Carolyn, I started doing my craft in 2009. Last year was the first year I started the show circuit, this will be my second Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show!
My inspiration comes from my fascination of natural gemstones designed in each piece to create exciting and easy to wear jewelry. My work is handmade, constantly evolving and fresh applying a variety of quality materials and techniques -- wire-wrapping, fold forming, stringing, and weaving--creating unique designs. I take pride in the design and quality of each piece using the finest materials--gemstones, crystals and pearls and 9.25 Sterling Silver, 14K Gold-Filled, Copper, Nu Gold, and Vintaj Brass metals.
My creative process comes from thinking about how I can design a piece around the stone and applyining a viariety of techniques with it.
The message behind my work is: Elegance, Simplicity, Timeless.
Meet Cyndi Hart-Rabb from Hart Craft Jewelry...
I was born and raised in Northern California, have two sons, a granddaughter and one on the way (any minute). Besides crafting jewelry, I enjoy yoga, nature, and spending time with my dogs and family.
I started my business approximately six years ago offically. I started when my sons were young but put it on hold when I became involved in their activities. I am so happy to be back working on my passion.
My inspiration comes from so many things - nature especially the glorious colors in flowers, sunsets, clothing, beading magazines, buying more jewelry supplies or even the colorful produce at the market.
I got into my craft.. I have loved jewelry since I was a little girl. Working in the corporate sector for most of my life didn't allow for much creativity and I realized there was a void. Once I began to work with wire and see how forgiving it is and discovering the freedom to create without any rules, I knew I had found what was missing.
How I discovered my talent.. Many years ago my girlfriend and I used to frequent a combination vegetarian restaurant/jewelry supply store that offered classes and sold finished jewelry. We spent a good deal of time admiring all of the gemstones and wonderful findings and I decided I wanted to make these items myself, so I enrolled in classes and it clicked for me.
My creative process.. By always being open to my surroundings wherever I go. It can be a piece of clothing, something in a magazine, the colors on a dog, taking a variety of beads and gemstones and mixing them together to see what colors work well together or watching the multitude of tutorials online, it drives me to create. It can be something planned or can evolve with only a rough idea. Sometimes it just doesn't work out as originally planned, or sometimes something even better comes out of the process.
My five year goal.. I hope to have a large enough buyer base through networking and marketing to sell my jewelry full time.
The message behind my work is to create well made jewelry in a variety of styles and colors that is both comfortable and affordable.
2016 Columbus Fall Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show
Saturday, September 17, 2016 - 10:00am-4:00pm
St. Agatha's Parish Hall
1860 Northam Rd
Columbus, OH 43221
For more information, contact Becki Silverstein, Event Coordinator at Becki@ag-shows.com
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