Thursday, December 13, 2018

Just a Few Mor Days!

Meet Jessica McKinney from The Winking Rose...
I live in Marysville, OH with my husband, our 1.5 year old daughter Stella and our 2 Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs! I work for the US Equestrian Federation and in my spare time, I focus on designing/creating new items for our shop. My other hobbies include reading, playing tennis and horseback riding. We started our shop about a year ago, so this is fairly new for us, and this will be our first Avant-Garde show!
My daughter and Pinterest inspire me the most- so many inspirations there. I have always loved 'crafting', but when I got pregnant with my daughter and began shopping on Etsy for outfits for her, my mind went crazy with ideas and I decided to try creating my own designs and open a shop of my own. I experimented a lot with different designs and processes when I got started. My 'talent' wasn't immediate. It took me a while to get the hang of things and to perfect my designs, but I can now say I am extremely satisfied with where I am!
My creative process starts with Etsy or Pinterest usually- browsing designs, ideas, etc. This helps to get me inspired. Then a few ideas will usually pop up in my head and that's when I pull out my computer and start designing. Some designs I love immediately, while others I have to tweak in order for me to be happy with them. In 5 years I would like to expand- we currently sell full infant outfits and have started offering a few nursery signs, but I would like to expand further into nursery signs and possibly explore other baby-related items!

Meet Amanda Winniestaffer from...
Cars are in my blood and I love metal working! Eventually the two just came together to form Randy's Car Part Art, and so far I've been doing this for 4 years. This will be our third show with Avant-Garde! I like being able to provide items for those who are hard to shop for and being able to push my talents at the same time.
I got into this hobby kind of by accident. I was bored at my shop one night and made a couple of candle holders for my girlfriend. I realized that this could really turn into something as I continued to have ideas popping in my head for more items. I just start moving pieces around and mixing and matching parts and the pieces eventually become my art in the form of a lamp or table or many of the other pieces I create. In 5 years I see us having our own dedicated shop, doing more shows and eventually widening our selection of items to include more furniture pieces. You don't always have to buy brand new, upcycled items can be the perfect piece, especially because they are usually one of a kind!

Meet Andrew Michael from Balm by Buck...
I'm Buck, or Andrew Buck Michael, and I make balm. I have been making the balm for 3-4 years, but only started selling it this year after my coworkers said it was too good  and needed to start selling it. This will be my first show with Avant-Garde and I hope it's a great show!
I like knowing the products I'm using and NOT using chemicals on my hair and skin. I use beeswax from a local beekeeper and all the other ingredients in my hair/skin/lip balms are all natural and plant-based. In the beginning I found a good product, but wanted to make some slight changes and make it at a more affordable price. I discovered this talent by lots of practice and using my brother as a test subject. Sorry Clark. Oddly enough he was one of my first customers when I actually launched Balm By Buck because he knew how good of a product I had been perfecting.
My creative process is fun, creative, all natural, and simplistic! The business is only 5 months old and the response has been amazing. I have no idea where 5 years will take me. The message behind my work is we strive to make the best product to style hair, help with dry skin, and moisturize your lips, all while trying to keep it local & affordable! 



2018 Columbus Winter Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show
Sunday December 16, 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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