Meet Amanda Markey...
I'm Mandy and I have lived in Central Ohio for most of my life. My family has always been crafty and so that gene has been passed to me. There was a while where I did not create and soon came to figure out that it was my dark time. I rediscovered my love of beads (what I call my first love) and things have progressed from there. Beads may be my first love, but I also greatly enjoy painting canvas and miniature figures as well as wood-burning. The 2019 Columbus Spring Avant-Garde craft show will be my first not only with Avant-Garde, but in general. Through time, I do hope to be a familiar face among the crafting community.
Meet Meet Kim Benz from Onederings Lavender Farm...
Amy and I are both Chemical Engineers who spent 20 and 30 years respectively doing Research and Development for Procter & Gamble. She worked in the skin care area and I worked in the oral care area. We both retired around 2001 and began our lavender farm together in 2008. We first focused on growing and harvesting lavender and then in 2011, we moved in the lavender skin and home care products. Our combined 50 years of experience at P&G drove us to develop the best possible lavender products we could and that has been our focus. We target to bring the lavender field experience in our product and to have the best functionality (moisturization, protection, softening, bug repellency) we can build into them. We also go for products which are very gentle and very relaxing so they are consistent with the lavender heritage.
Our lavender fields inspire us to create through the joy they bring to us and to the people who visit. We are also inspired by our customers and their needs. We began with our other sisters and sister-in-law’s and their skin care needs and expanded it to friends and then beyond that. Every time someone tells us either how our products have helped them or what they still need and how it impacts their lives, drives us to create. We got into this lavender business from three things colliding at the same time. First, my sister and I have always thought we would like to go into business with each other, we just did not know what that might be. Second, we visited the lavender farms around Mt. Hood together and fell in love with them. Third, our mother died in the spring of 2008 and in dealing with the grief we started planting lavender at her house which has now turned into Onederings Lavender Farm.
We have been gardeners all our lives, developed products for decades and have loved doing it. As engineers, we knew we were very good problem solvers. We just never knew how to put them all together into a creative venture. There really is no specific way that all of a sudden we knew we were good at this, it just sort of evolved and the more we did the more we were excited by the challenge. However, I do not think we would have stayed with it if it were not for the lavender fields themselves. It is hard to express in words what it is like to be amongst hundreds of lavender plants in bloom. You never want to leave and you want others to experience it.
Our creative process is a combination of active experimentation and concrete experience with a little bit of reflective observation. We are doers, we are experimenters and we are problems solvers. We would like to continue to build our facilities at our lavender farm for people to enjoy. This includes expanding out inside and outside eating areas. It also includes getting a liquor license and being able to bring music into the lavender fields. The message behind our work is life is joyful, life is good and lavender is one of the special gifts we have been blessed with.
Meet Alex Masica of Boone Street Body Co...
I moved to Columbus about 18 months ago to get my MBA from the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University. I never expected to love Ohio as much as I do, and now plan to stay when I graduate this May. My background is in corporate and digital marketing, but I've always been a maker and creator. Outside of that, I enjoy cycling, cooking, entertaining friends, watching movies, and traveling.
I started my journey in creating all-natural body products after my skin got so dried out from using commercial products about a year ago. I spent months reading books, watching online videos, and talking to experts about the science of soap making. I then began formulating recipes and having friends and family test them out for me, refining each one until I was happy with its performance. As more people heard about the soap, the more they requested other products, like soy candles, liquid soap, and massage bars, which is how I began to diversify my product portfolio.
This is my first Avant-Garde Show and I'm so excited about it. More than anything, I'm excited to connect with customers in person since all of my business is currently online, as well as meeting other makers, of course.
What inspires me is creating products that don't dry out your skin and are made using only natural ingredients. I want people to love the way their skin looks and feels after using my products. When you flip over a bottle of soap, lotion, shampoo, etc., how many ingredients do you recognize? I'm proud that all of my products are formulated from all-natural ingredients and outperform many commercial products when it comes to cleansing the skin and leaving it hydrated and moisturized.
I have always been a maker, even as a kid. My grandma taught me to knit, I learned to sew in school, and I used to make quilts with my mom. I love handcrafted goods and supporting this community of incredible people. I found my passion for soap making mostly out of necessity. I knew the commercially-produced soap I was using was the reason for the dry skin, so I set out to come up with a solution to the problem. Thankfully, many people have recognized the difference as well and have supported the business.
I'm inspired by my travels and by color. Scent profiles, product names, and color combinations are all inspired by past experiences. From there, I set out to test different combinations of oils, butters, exfoliators, scents, etc., depending on what I want the end result to be. Sometimes, I'm looking to make a highly cleansing bar of soap for people who get really dirty throughout the day, which is going to be a different product than if I am looking for something that's highly moisturizing or for people with sensitive skin. The same thing goes for candles—sometimes I'm looking to create a strong scent that will make an impression on the whole room, while sometimes I'm going for something a little subtler that can be used in the bedroom or on the side of the tub. I love finding solutions to those problems.
In five years, I hope Boone Street Body Co. has its storefront presence somewhere in Ohio and a successful wholesale business, without losing sight out of core consumers and they're looking for. I'm not sure if it'll be a full-time job for me at that point, but I'll be happy with whatever it turns into. The message I hope to tell is that my products are all handmade using all-natural ingredients, and leave skin moisturized, hydrated, and feeling silky smooth. But more importantly, I hope my products make you feel refreshed, beautiful, and have more confidence in your appearance.
Meet Marcie Sandera of Head To Toe By Marcie Jo...
My name is Marcie and I am 37 years old and have two sons! For 13 years, I have been a men’s hairstylist. I have always loved making people look and feel good! I got into more natural remedies, essential oils about 4 years ago. When I started learning so much about what they could do for you, I was fascinated. For years, to my friends and family, I was known as the “oil lady.” I ventured into trying other things about a year and a half ago. Rollerballs were what I mostly did, then tried to make body butter. Loved learning all of the different oils and butters and ways they could help your skin.
In 2018, I decided I was going to pursue this more so as a business, so I got my LLC and began. I started making bath bombs and went from there all the way to lip balms, then gloss, creams, even beard products. I started my making handmade soap journey about 5 months ago, which I am totally loving as well. I have a 100% natural line of soap, as well as fun smelling and colors. I got a lot of my inspiration from friends and family giving me suggestions of what they would want to try next.
I am also currently enrolled as a student in a natural skincare formulation course learning how to formulate skincare, which is where I want to go next. I get a lot of my inspiration from friends and family giving me suggestions of what they would want to try next. Then, I just search and trial and test. I try to formulate and make my products less expensive. I have never been wealthy so I know how hard it is to find quality products because they are too expensive. So what I would love to be able to do is find a more affordable price point for everyone.
My five-year goal is to have a small business storefront, whether in a mall or stand-alone or a trailer I can pull around. I'd like to have an awesome skincare line that really works great and in affordable on top of a successful soap business as well as the other products I currently make. I love meeting new people and learning new things. I want my products to actually help people. I am excited to see what my second year brings. I had an awesome first year. I can't wait to grow and share my products with more people. This will be my first Avant-Garde Art & Craft show, and I'm excited to participate. I can't wait to meet all of the new people.
2018 Columbus Spring Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show
Saturday, March 2, 2019 - 10:00am-4:00pm
Makoy Event Center
5461 Center St.
Hilliard, OH
For more information, contact Becki Silverstein, Event Coordinator at Becki@ag-shows.com
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