Backyard Living was born from Jeff Johnson’s lifelong love of building. As a boy, Jeff learned his trade alongside his grandfathers. Inspired by his Grandpa Johnson’s love of birdhouses, Jeff began building his own unique birdhouses and other housewares.
Jeff started Backyard Living in 2012 and has participated in 2 Avant-Garde Art & Craft shows. For more information on Jeff and Backyard living, check out any of the following links:
http://www.myfox28columbus.com/news/features/featured/stories/Made-Local-Stay-Local-Backyard-Living-125408.shtml#.VW80I8aX1em
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2015/04/12/01-taking-wing.html
https://www.facebook.com/johnsonsbackyardliving
Meet Dayana Frich from Malu Designs...
My name is Dayana Frich, born and raised in Colombia, moved to the U.S. when I was 19 years old. I originally came to learn English, but at the end of my second year I met the love of my life. I am now happily married and am the mother of two beautiful kids that keep me on my toes.
I work along my mother creating unique, durable and beautiful aprons for the family as well as treasures for girls of all ages. We strive for quality, durability and of course appearance!
I
recently moved to Columbus, Ohio along my husband and kids and this
will be my first Avant- Garde Art & Craft show and we are super
excited that we get to be part of it!
The
biggest inspiration that we have at Malu Designs is FAMILY and creating
precious memories through spending time together, having keepsakes that
can be passed generation through generation and the long-lasting
happiness that a single afternoon baking, gardening or painting with
your grandmother, mother and/or daughter might bring. Creating a product
that can reduce the stress of keeping the kids clothes clean and giving
more time to enjoy that special time with a loved one.
We
have it in our genes. Since I was a little girl I have always been
surrounded by pretty things, and all what goes in the process of
creating them. I was there when my parents spent entire nights finishing
a production, I constantly saw or heard of happy clients purchasing art
from my aunt. I was the happiest, mom-to-be, when I was pregnant for
the first time. I really enjoyed my nesting time designing and making
beautiful things for my daughter’s nursery.
I am still in the process of learning myself, learning how much I am capable of and I think this process will never end. I will be forever be rediscovering my talents, improving the challenges and sharpening my skills.
In
5 years we hopefully want to be selling our products in a consistent
basis. We hope we can become a very good product supplier for new and
returning clients that love and value our products. The message behind my work is: Be creative, treasure family, build memories and have fun in the process!
Jewelry, as an art form, has the power to create moods,
provoke opinions and produce reactions. At her studio. this is the
design philosophy that New York based jewelry designer Catherina Bishopp
follows in creating and developing her own unique collection of
jewelry. Although she uses precious stones and metals in her work, the
design is of much greater importance to Catherina than the intrinsic
value of the materials she works with. Her ultimate goal is evoking
humor, whimsy and rare imagination through the use of striking color and
inventive design in each of her pieces, which is what gives Catherina
her signature look.
I am a family person. I am lucky Mom of two early twenty kids. I am happily married for 25 years. I am a happy homemaker, except for the cleaning part. I make jam, garden, cook for the family, grow veggies, avid conservationist, and active in the lives of our families and friends. I try to focus on doing things that make me smile.
I have been sewing for over 35 years. The first thing I ever made was a
pair of jeans. They were quite a challenge. I continued sewing,
however. I mostly made clothing items. I really hit my stride when I
went to high school. They offered good tailoring classes so I really
just focused on clothing. There were kits available at that time for
making down vests and jackets. I made quite a few of them. When I
graduated from high school my parents gave me a sewing machine as a
gift. I sewed sporadically until I became engaged and decided to make
my wedding gown. It took several months to hand bead the lace.
Once I
began having children I began focusing on making baby items. I picked a
theme for their nurseries and then made several quilts and blankets for
each child, to match their theme. Children and work became quite
consuming. It wasn't until recently when I had a career change that I
began to seriously consider turning my hobby into a career. I have
always loved to sew but it never was a primary focus. I opened my Etsy
shop and began adding a variety of items.
It wasn't until I made
several quilts that it became clear that I was truly drawn to
quilting. I had made many quilts for newborns over the years but it
wasn't until I began experimenting with different types of fabrics and
patterns that I realized it was more than just a hobby. Now I often
have an idea for another quilt while I am still working on the last
quilt.
I think I always have had a talent to create. Now that I am my children
are more self sufficient I can focus on other ways to use my skills. I sewed many types of garments and blankets before quilting stuck. Once
I saw how beautiful the quilts were turning out it compelled me to
create more original patterns. The whole process began to snowball.
I think my message is that simple handmade items can be unique and beautiful, and that 'unique' is beautiful. So many people go to baby store and pick out the same old theme for a babies room and then furnish the room with the same old off the rack things. I would like people to realize that they can have amazing one of a kind items that will make the nursery their own work of art. Hand crafted items are so much more interesting.
Meet Elizabeth Weiss from Three Mommies Made It...
Our company consists of three working mamas who stitch for fun. We are each responsible for a different part of the process. Our children are very involved in our creative and production processes, and enjoy helping!
Our
inspiration comes from many sources. We get ideas from our kids, our
customers, and even from the materials we use to create. Sometimes we
see a sweater and the texture or color seems to speak to us about what
it wants to be.
I hope that we are still doing shows and having a good time with our families in the next five years. We’d like to be able to do some larger shows and have a wider variety of animals in our menagerie.
We believe
that everyone needs something warm and snuggly in their lives, and that
you're never too old to have a stuffed animal!
2015 Columbus Summer Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show
