Friday, September 16, 2016

It's Show Time Columbus!

Meet Joyce Dorn from Jewelry Designs by JoyD...
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
Visit us on:
LINKEDIN



Thursday, September 8, 2016

It's Almost Showtime, Columbus!

Meet Lydia Heimbrock from Needle Eye Creations...
Hi! I'm a Columbus native but I recently moved to Loveland. I've been a crafter my entire life and currently work as a part time manager at JoAnn's Fabrics. I've been sewing off and on for as long as I can remember, but it didn't become a hobby until three years ago. I've been married for almost two years now, and it was my husband who pushed me to start a business from my hobby. This will be my third Avant-Garde Show this year!
I'm inspired to create by all of the different fabric and project possibilities. I see something and my mind instantly goes to figuring out how I can make it, or how I can make it even better. I love figuring out the problem of how to make something and then being able to say that my items are handmade. 
I started crafting at a young age and it has always been a part of me. People always seem to like and appreciate what I make. I create things for the enjoyment of others and for my enjoyment as well!

Meet David Monteith from Dejected Steel...
I'm David and I used to work in the roofing industry installing standing seam metal roofs. After working with the sheet metal for a few years, I started using the unused scrap metal from work for some of my first pieces. Not only is this my first Avant-Garde Show, but this is my first art show ever!
 I've always been creative, and while I was working in roofing, I discovered that I enjoy using sheet metal as an artistic medium. After I decide what the subject matter of my piece is, I cut out different shapes of steel and layer them to create the finished product.
I hope to eventually dedicate myself to my artwork full time. The message of my work is open to interpretation by the viewer. 

Meet Kathleen Modory from A Moment for Mom...
Hi! I'm Kathleen and I'm married with a two-year-old son. I live in Medina, Ohio, and work as a medical coder during the week. I have only been making bath products for a few months, and this will be my first Avant-Garde Show!
 As a working mom of a two-year-old, the bathtub was the only place to be alone with just me! I was buying a ton of bath bombs then thought that I should make them myself so I get exactly the scents and colors I want. I love to try new things with my bath products. I see things in every day life and think of ways to make bath bombs that look like ordinary things. 
In five years I hope to still be doing craft fairs every weekend. It's a nice thing to do with my husband! We get to spend time together as a family and get to know the people in our community. The message behind my work is take the time to slow down and put you first! Everyone needs a moment for themselves!

Meet Nettie Pyne from Pyne Pysanky...
Hi! I'm Nettie and my full time job is at Nationwide Children's Hospital in the Research Institute. I am also a black belt in taekwondo, and spend a good deal of time training and teaching children's classes! With the little free time I have left, I make Pysanka, an ancient Ukrainian art form that uses wax-resistant methods to create intricate designs on eggshells. This will be my first Avant-Garde Show!
 I first learned about Pysanka in a high school Fiber Arts class. We did a two-week unit on Pysanka, and I completely fell in love with it. I begged my parents for a beginner's kit, and they obliged by getting me one for Christmas! I've never looked back! As soon as I started, I discovered I had some natural skill for the art form. My attention to detail and patience with repetitive tasks really lend themselves well to the art.
I think the overall message behind my work is that you can find great beauty in places you wouldn't normally expect. Each egg also contains significant symbolism. Every color, pattern, curl, or animal design can mean something, so whenever I make one as a gift or am designing a custom order, I try to make an egg that symbolizes how I see that person or what wishes and blessings I want to offer them.

Meet Susan Stein from Jewelry by Susan...
I'm Susan and I'm a 64-year-old wife, grandmother, and retired teacher from the Columbus City Schools. My first priority in life is to my husband and our 10 grandchildren! My best times are being with my family and friends. All of these things make me one lucky lady! Recently, I have added jewelry making to my perfect life!
 As a teacher for 30 years, I had to be creative in my teaching style to accommodate the students in my class. This was more controlled creativity, but when I retired, I didn't have anything holding me back! I was introduced to jewelry making from a friend and knew it was perfect for me!
As the same with most creative endeavors, you start with what you are comfortable with and then improvise from there. I found out that my signature style is using large, bold stones or beads. My process is just trial and error. My jewelry is reasonably priced so my customers can own several pieces and choose one to wear that fits their mood and makes what they are wearing pop!

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
Visit us on:
LINKEDIN


Friday, September 2, 2016

Meet the Columbus Crafters!

Meet Connie Adams from Watercolors by Constance...
Hi everyone! My name is Connie Adams and I have four acres of land in Perry, where I have a number of furry friends, including a poodle! I went to Mentor High School, where I spent most of my time in the art room. I raised a wonderful son and then started painting again! For the past seven years I have been teaching watercolor and next month I will start teaching acrylic also.
 This will be my first Avant-Garde show! I am inspired hugely by the great outdoors. All I have to do is walk outside and I see all of these wonders around me, from my furry friends, to the trees and old barns, to the clouds in the sky. 
To me, painting is an adventure, you know the direction you're going, but things usually change blog the way, so you never know where the journey will take you. I would like to think that my work would help bring the beauty of the outdoors into people's homes. 

Meet Vicki Wike from Vicki's Creative Cones...
Hi! I'm Vicki and I have been married for 39 years and have three children and two grandchildren. I also have three dogs and six cats! Some of the cats found us and some are from rescues! 
 I have been making dips for the last six years, but this will be my first Avant-Garde show! I always liked to do different things, and I started by making my own baskets. I discovered my talent when I made hot chocolate cones and everyone at work loved them!
The message behind my work is that you can make a great product, without charging a lot. Plus, all of my products are all natural and additive free. In five years I hope that I'll continue working craft shows and having fun with my business!

Meet Barbara Hubert from Eagle Wings Art...
Hi everyone! I'm Barbara and I got into watercolor after I retired from being a CatScan Tech! I was lost once I retired, I was looking for a purpose and hobby, so I decided to try watercolor! Three years later, I now have over 200 original watercolor paintings, plus prints of my paintings! This will be my third Avant-Garde show!
 I love painting, using different mediums, such as leaves, salt, saran wrap, and anything else to make my paintings different and unique! I am inspired by nature all around me! I can see a scene as I drive along somewhere and I want to paint it! 

I'm putting a lot of work and effort into building my business, as I feel this is one of my purposes and gifts God has given me. 40% of my profits go to help The Cleveland Pregnancy Center or the Bible League International. I very much enjoy being able to give back!

Meet Maggie Dean from Dean's Cabin Crafters...
Hi! I'm Maggie and am originally from West Virginia, but relocated in my youth to Northeast Ohio. My great grandfather owned a saw mill and was a well-known carpenter. He built a wood barn in the early 1800s that has been passed down through the men in the family. My grandfather supported his family during the depression with rugs made on the loom. My father created many a rug, and now, I am carrying on the tradition. 
I have helped my father and grandfather with the loom over my lifetime. However, I only picked up the hobby seriously since my father passed away and I near retirement. This will be my first Avant-Garde show.
I started weaving rugs for the family tradition, but now, I like seeing how different materials will turn out together. Each one is unique and has its own personality. The message behind my work involves family values, ecology, and beauty. 

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
Visit us on:
LINKEDIN