Columbus Avant-Garde Art & Craft Shows: September 2018

Friday, September 7, 2018

Coming To You Soon Columbus!

Meet Chelsea Nutto from CaffeinatedTails...
Hi everyone! My name is Chelsea and I am the owner of CaffeinatedTails! I currently live in Columbus. This is my first Avant-Garde show and will be my 2nd event I’ll have sold at so far! Born and raised in southwest Michigan, I have grown up with a crafty mother who encouraged me to explore many creative fields such as sewing, baking, scrap booking, jewelry, and much more. So naturally, I was crafty. My creativity also spans as a musician (alumna of Capital University, BM degree in Flute Performance) and as a cos-player of five years.

I am inspired to create from different sources; I like making fandom related tails (as a nod to the cos-player side of things) as well as making semi-realistic (and non realistic) animal type/colored tails. Sometimes, color combos and even foods can be inspirations for me! As for how I came across making tails...I actually have to thank Instagram and Google for inspiring and giving me tutorials as I had originally learned to make tails for my own costumes but then decided to create commissions for others before just making it a hobby sort of shop on Etsy. This has been a major hobby for about 1 year now. My message behind my work...is that life is too short not to explore and express yourself!

Meet Sandy Stamey from The Vintage...

Hi, I'm Sandy Stamey! I come from a large family, born in Iowa, raised in Illinois, and moved to Ohio 46 years ago. I currently live in Newark, Ohio and own a Vintage Shoppe. "The Vintage" is an Eclectic mix of Antiques and Unique items, as well as shabby-chic, rustic, and one of a kind finds. I've been crafting for over 30 years, and I'm excited to participate in my first Avant-Garde Art and craft Show!

I enjoy bringing new life to old furniture by refurbishing and painting. Vintage Fabrics inspire me to create vintage-style crafts, and there are always new ideas waiting to be created. I enjoy creating items that bring joy to others, and excepting the challenges along the way. Thank you to Becki for the opportunity to Participate in the Avant-Garde Show!

Meet Julia Swartzel from LuAu Design...

I am a middle school teacher by day and have been teaching for 10 years. I have been married to my best friend for 11 years and we have two sweet and funny girls, ages 7 & 5. My business name comes from my girl's names put together, Lu[cy] and Au[drey]. I love spending time with my family, traveling the world, and watching sports, especially Buckeyes football!

LuAu Design Co is now10 months old! I have not been a previous Avant-Garde show, but I am looking forward to participating in my very first one on September 9th! I have always loved making things for people and giving others gifts. I feel honored at the opportunity to create a product that starts as an idea in a client's mind and then be able to bring it to life.

I started creating and designing items for my daughter's birthday parties. I always looked forward to creating party decorations and favor bags around a theme for each one of their birthdays. My family and friends started asking me to create and make things for them, so I soon realized that I had the ability to start a business. My mind is constantly thinking about different product ideas. I use things around me to help inspire and launch a product idea. I am a perfectionist, so some ideas take longer than others. Continuing to bring custom and personalized products across the country. Each piece is one-of-a-kind and made with great care. My hope is that it will bring you joy and I am honored to be able to create each and every product!

Meet Joyce Dorn from Jewelry Designs by JoyD...

My name is Joyce Dorn and my business name is Jewelry Designs by JoyD. I have been creating jewelry for more than 10 years. I have also taken other classes at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center and from local Bead stores and workshops in and out of Ohio to learn more and get better at my craft of metalsmithing and enameling.

I have participated in several shows with Avant-Garde, and I like that I see the returning customers at the shows, as well as greeting new people and helping them make their jewelry choices! It helps me improve my design choices and see what customers are looking for. I have 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 check out 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 like the rustic in my designs, and 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!

2018 Columbus Fall Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show

Sunday September 9, 2018 - 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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Thursday, September 6, 2018

Here We Come Columbus!

Meet Jennifer Torquato from Jenny's Tasty Treats...
In December of 2013 I was laid off from a job I held for 18 years. In the first half of 2014, I searched for a comparable job, with no luck. As the year progressed, I decided to get a part time position to get me out of the house! Somewhere around late September, I was in the shower thinking about my "encore career", and had the idea of baking cookies and selling them during the Christmas Holiday! I had always loved to bake and thought it would be a fun way to make some cash!

When I was young, roughly 10 or 11, I saw an add in the TV guide, saying, if you can draw this, you have a future in art. It was a very easy single lined outline of a bear. So I proceeded to draw it, showed it to my dad and he took complete interest in my skills. He encouraged me to pursue art and even sent me to the Art Center for classes during the summer. That was the beginning!

I have always been creative. I took art class over choir all through school! I have indulged in watercolors, ceramics, stained glass, drawing with various medium, jewelry making, scrap booking, stamping, pointillism, origami, Ukraine egg painting, and the list goes on!!! I am very right brained and see so much color and excitement in creating new things!!!

I started in December of 2013, selling Christmas cookies. I ended up selling 209 dozen!!! Needless to say, I was exhausted! I was encouraged by many to open my own bakery...hence the start of Jenny's Tasty Treats in January of 2014. This will be my first Avant-Garde show and I am very excited! I have participated in several other craft shows too.

In anything I create it starts with a thought, an image in my head, or an idea of something I want to try. Then I just do it! I pick up the pencil, the brush, the needle, the bead or the spatula and away I go! I anticipate that I will continue to bake for others as it brings both the recipient and myself so much joy! Through my baking I send out love....I take the time to make things taste delicious and look amazing so I can make others happy.

Meet Kristin Warwick from Knotty Plant Lady...
My name is Kristin Warwick and I just moved to Columbus from outside of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. I am a full-time UX Designer, part-time crafter (although the latter was never for the money, haha). I have a very nice husband, a very smart dog, and a very weird cat. We're all already in love with Clintonville, where we now live. I've been making macrame off-and-on for about 3 years, and currently my macrame is for sale at a lovely garden shop in Dallas, but this is actually my very first craft show, period.

I've always loved to create; I've been drawing, painting, & crafting since I was little, and more recently have picked up crocheting, knitting, and embroidery. But honestly, I'm really terrible at relaxing and sitting still. I'm always fidgeting with something, so I might as well MAKE something in the meantime (plus, it makes me feel accomplished). I was gifted some very special houseplants by a friend who was moving to Hawaii, but they were poisonous to cats and mine kept chewing on the leaves (sigh). I needed a way to get them off the ground and into the sunny windows in my house. I saw some macrame and other types of hanging planters I could purchase online, but I wasn't in love with any of them. So, I bought the materials and macrame'd them myself! Haven't looked back.

Since I've always been crafty, I wasn't nervous about picking up something new. I found some instructions online, and voila! Now, I create my own designs. Sometimes, I just have to make something only to discover it's NOT what I wanted to do. And that's OK! It's the only way I get better. The designs I like, I keep. (I'm lucky that macrame is very forgiving, and I can just undo the knots!) I'm not sure if I imagine myself doing this full time, but I would love to see my product in little mom & pop nurseries/plant shops, gift shops, other craft shows... I think that would be fun.

I just think it's so beautiful how plants "breathe in" the exact things we breathe out, and vice versa. They clean our air! They make us happy! That's amazing. I think everyone should have plants inside their home, and I love that I can help with that because even if you have kids or pets in your home, you no longer have to worry about them getting their hands (or paws) on them. Plus, the macrame looks fantastic in your home. :)

Meet Vivien Ives from DREAMS...

Vivien Ives is an up-and-coming artist based out of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Originally from Rochester, New York, since her youth she has experienced emotionally powerful dreams laden with symbolic messages and fantastical scenarios. The dreams which she still experiences today have become the inspiration for her work.

A single night’s dream can be the sole muse for a piece, or at times she will use aspects of various dreams to transform her canvas. Just as her dreams carry a hidden message, each piece has a story to tell. Certain dreams can leave her to wonder as to their meaning, and as a result the message within a piece can be as elusive to the viewer as her dream was to her.

Watercolor is her medium of choice because its fluidity and vulnerability express the true depth of emotion translated within her dreams. Her self-taught technique is brilliantly unique as she somehow manages to capture morsels of reality within the illusion of a dreams-cape. Combining her natural artistic ability with her nightly visions, Vivien’s work has a way of mesmerizing the viewer, leaving them to wonder, wish, feel and dream.

Vivien Ives birth name is Ashley Fraser and has also used the name Morgana Le Faye. Recently

she changed her name to Vivien Ives to accurately depict her personality as well as art work. This will be the first Avant-Garde Art & Craft show that she has participated in. Vivien aspires to have her paintings and dream work to reach across the globe benefiting others in a spiritual and holistic way.

Meet Kim Sproat from Savon House LLC...

My name is Kim and I currently reside in Grove City with my husband and 2 boys. Before having children I worked in healthcare and now I'm a stay at home mom. I enjoy outdoor activities, travelling, crochet, and making soap. I started making soap almost a year ago as a way to be creative and productive while at home. I like to design soap and be able to make something that is beautiful and that people will enjoy! There's so many different combinations and design elements that can be incorporated to make a great bar of soap.

When I decided to stay at home with my children I found I needed something to do for myself. This craft was interesting and a fairly inexpensive way for someone to feel pampered on a daily basis. I think about what scent I want to use and then think about how I want the soap to look, simple, swirled, sparkly. I write these ideas down beforehand and draw a small picture of the soap and design that. Kinda like a soap blueprint so when I start making the soap I have a plan. I hope to have 20 or so scents that my customers love, build my reputation, and enhance my online presence and photography skills. I create a quality and beautiful bar of soap with great ingredients to suit everyone and every skin!