Meet Beth from Lalunablue Creations...
Hello, I’m Beth from Lalunablue Creations and I make jewelry! My wife and I have two kids, our son who 35 and our daughter who is 9. My hobbies include, traveling, hiking as well as my newest hobby, felting. I have a background in Commercial Art and worked as a Retail Area Team Leader for 34 years before retiring in October of 2020.
My love for making jewelry began as a hobby about 30 years ago. My early pieces were given as gifts to family and friends. With their encouragement I continued learning new techniques and honing my skills. Now that I am retired I finally have the time to take what was once a hobby to the next level.
I started making beaded necklaces and earrings out of semiprecious stones and glass beads. Then I discovered pressed glass made in the Czech Republic. These beads came in such an array of colors and textures, it was love at first site!
When I saw all the shapes, colors and finishes I couldn’t help but be inspired to craft my jewelry from these amazing beads.
The really cool thing about these incredible beads is their history!
The story of the Czech glass beads begins in the 3rd century BCE, when Celtic craftsmen began to produce the first glass beads in Bohemia, now the Czech Republic…This glassmaking method was perfected in the early 18th century and within a few decades Czech glassmaking dominated the world markets.
At Lalunablue Creations I use the Czech pressed glass beads in most of my pieces accented with oxidized raw copper. I love the richness of the color and it compliments the Czech beads nicely. The reason for this is the Picasso finish that is applied to the beads, which gives the beads an aged look.
I recently went back to my beginnings and have been making jewelry with semiprecious stones as well as handmade glass beads, but my heart will always be in the colorful Czech beads.
This will be my first Avant-Garde event and I’m looking forward to sharing my art with other gifted artist.
Meet Mel Preston from Diane's Seeds for Hope...
Hello, my name is Mel. I retired as a manufacturing process improvement trainer in 2018. Five months later, my wife was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. She passed away 18 months later. My kids and I wanted to do something to help fight this cancer, and decided to start a non-profit with the purpose to raise awareness and raise money for the prevention and cure of pancreatic cancer. My wife loved to feed birds, and I learned how to make bird seed cylinders and some feeders for our back yard.
We wanted to do something to raise money so we have started making the feeders from Melamine plates and bowls. 100% of the money donated and 100% of the profit from seed and feeder sales goes to either the “Pancreatic Cancer Action Network” or the Lustgarten foundation.
We have our venders license and are now a 501 C 3 nonprofit organization. Donations are tax deductible under IRC section 170. Web site is www.dianesseedsforhope.com
Meet Nick from Comic Addictions Crafts...
I have always been a superhero fan and comic book collector. Now I am a personal trainer and exercise class instructor so stay busy through the week. If I am not at the gym I am hanging out with my girlfriend Alicia and our 4 cats that we rescued. I love spending time outdoors mountain biking, kayaking or trailing hiking.
I started with my comic book inspired creations in 2017 after I saw a comic book decoupage coffee table at a craft fair. I instantly became obsessed and spent countless hours perfecting different techniques I use today. I opened an Etsy shop after a few years of making custom orders for friends and family. I have been to a few Avant-Garde Art & Craft Shows before but I will be doing my first in March.
Ever since I was a kid I loved the artwork in early comic books. I am inspired to preserve that amazing comic book artwork and bring it into a form more people will see. Most comic books are sitting in old boxes either in comic shops, flea markets or people basements. These books need to be saved and brought to the light of day. Making them into beautiful paper flowers or sealing them on a coaster preserves them forever.
When I met my girlfriend she and I started doing crafts together. At first, I would help her with small projects but after being inspired to create comic book decoupage furniture I started doing crafts more frequently. Now we enjoy spending time in our craft room together while we each create amazing products for our shops.
I discovered I was talented at making comic book decoupage, paper flowers and other techniques after much trial an error. With everything new I try, the first few always are learning experiences. That is why I love the art though is because I can always improve my skills and learn new techniques.
My creative process starts with seeing a comic book strip I think is cool. Then I measure and cut it to make sure as much of it can be preserved as possible. Whatever I am attaching it to I make sure is prepared and measured so everything is laid out in an eye pleasing manner.
In 5 years, I hope to be able to share my creations with more people though growing my online shop and frequenting more art and craft shows in Ohio.
If there is a message behind my work it is spreading joy and love to people who enjoy it. I love it when people buy a dozen of my Comic Book Flowers to give to their loved one for Valentines Day or when some of my products are used in a kid’s dream Superhero room.
Meet Dani from Cedar Creations Leatherworking...
I am a southern Ohio native. Me and my husband have numerous furkids and maintain a small farm in southern Ohio. When I am not working my normal job, you can normally find me playing with the goats or doing leather-working.
I have been doing leather working for about 4 years now, although this is my first Avant-Garde show.
I enjoy creating durable, long lasting, beautiful products. Working with leather allows me to fulfill my creative side and bring purpose and new life to a piece of leather. I did wood burning as a side hobby making gifts for family for many years. A friend of my husband's asked if I could do a camera strap with a burned design and I was hooked! Most of leather-working is about planning, consistency, and repetition. While I do have a good eye for designing a pattern, most of the beauty in leather working comes from patience and time.
When not making a customized piece, I tend to look at the leather and let it shape what I design. The color or grain may invoke a certain idea on its own and then I work to bring that out. I also really enjoy buying odd cuts and scraps of leather and working to turn an often unwanted item into something useable and beautiful.
I would love to be able to do leather working full time, but I do not see that happening within 5 years. I hope to increase my talent and ability within 5 years.
I hope the message is that handmade items are worthwhile and much more unique and durable than factory made, mass produced items. The first purse that I made myself 3 years ago is still as beautiful and durable as it was when I made it. That rarely happens with a store-bought item.
Meet Kim from KMA Designs...
My name is Kim Moriarty, I am the owner of KMA Designs. I am from Columbus, grew up in Westerville. I am a graduate of Columbus College of Art & Design. I have a passion for all kinds of arts and crafts. I love being the person in my family and circle of friends that is the "crafty" one that makes all things.
I have been doing art and crafting my whole life. I guess I got it from my mom- she was an art teacher in Columbus for over 35 years. This will be my first Avant-Garde Craft Show!
Crafting and doing art is my "therapy". It brings me joy and relaxes me. I love being able to make someone happy with my creations. I guess it all started with getting a Cricut, I started out doing paper crafts, then Heat Transfer vinyl.....then eventually gravitated towards door hangers. I love changing my own front door hanger for the different seasons. I also couldn't find ones that represented my dogs. I have 2 large Mastiffs. So that is where it started! I loved my cricut, but I wanted to be able to cut wood. So next came my Glowforge! As I describe to my friends- this laser cutter is "like a Cricut on steroids." I have always been artistic, but it really developed in collage.
I am always seeking out new ideas for inspirations- I scour Pinterest and Etsy to see what is popular and trending. I like to be fresh with my designs and try to keep them simple and timeless, but I do throw some cute trendy designs in there too. I try to add 2-3 new designs per season. I also try to have all kinds of price points to sell. So in the Fall/Holiday season I make ornaments, and in the Spring/Summer seasons I make magnets, key chains, and other small items.
As with any artist/crafter, I hope that in five years I am still creating relevant pieces that people love! I know that door hangers will evolve but I still expect people will want to put something pretty on their front door!
Meet Mackenzie from Knotty Ivy Co....
My name is Mackenzie Baker. I am 25 years old and married to my best friend. We have a 1 year old son together that we love more than life! On top of being a wife and mom, I am also a hair dresser. While I was on maternity leave from the salon, which is my usual creative outlet, I decided to open a tshirt business. I was tired of buying things I could easily make myself. It started out as a hobby to do on the side and turned into a new creative outlet and an avenue for some extra income. Any one that has had children knows that pregnancy and being a new mom takes a toll on not only your body but your mind too. I noticed that there are a lot of people that are extremely hard on moms, especially new ones. I believe you need all the support you can get when you enter motherhood, especially the first year. So I decided to create shirts that run up to size 2X, with gentle reminders to be kind to yourself and others. This is my first Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show, but is my third show since starting the business. My plan for this show is to offer my current designs at discounted rates in order to clear up room for my next collection of designs. I’m excited to make my shirts even more affordable and spread my message!
Meet Haley from Dany Cat Designs LLC...
I started making soap in February 2020. I started my business in June of 2020. This will be my first Avant-Garde Show!
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