Tag: indie

Meet New ASCB Vendor Aaron Powers of New Antlers Illustration

Thanks to both of my parents, I was born as someone with a compulsion in his blood to visually describe the world to others. There was always a story to tell in a meticulously rendered portrait or a quick accidental brush stroke resembling something familiar.

Playing to my strengths, I was focused by my teachers and honed by my years at the Rochester Institute of Technology’s illustration department. After college and the requisite years that a twenty-something guy spends in a van playing music with his friends, a series of events pointed me towards a job in New York City that evolved over years into a position at a better known apparel catalog as a head fashion photo retoucher/compositor. Though grateful for the experience over those years, there came a point where I realized I needed to spend the majority of my time creating rather than concealing. Although it was mildly rewarding to have a god-like command over reality through Photoshop, it felt unnatural to be largely defined by covering the tracks of others so that it seemed as if no work needed to be done in the first place.

Every night I would come home and scrub dried up pixels from my hands and try to squeeze a few minutes of drawing in before sleep takes over and the alarm resets the day. So when the corporate belts started tightening and heads needed to roll, I opted for the fresh air of Central Massachusetts so someone else could have my desk instead of an unemployment check.

It’s been an exciting year since then, from teaching myself the craft of screen printing to publicly displaying my work for the first time. The din of a midtown office has been replaced by the sounds of migrating birds and the echoes of my past professors/peers while considering my compositions.

In addition to my personal work, there have been the opportunities to produce hand-printed gig posters, music packaging, greeting cards, and entire suites of custom wedding invitations as well as the chance to teach youth printing workshops.

I find inspiration in old friends and new strangers, and in the varying levels of connections we all have with nature, technology and each other. These prints are a blend of vectors and gestures, flora and fauna, and the coping with (and preparing for) equal parts of both happiness and loss. Even though my back is sore and the hours are long, it’s now ink I’m washing off my hands every night and it still feels like I’m getting away with something. Thank you for taking a moment to visit the Art Star blog and I look forward to meeting passers-by at the New Antlers booth #54 at this weekend’s Art Star Craft Bazaar.

May 8, 2015
Meet New ASCB Vendor sPACYcLOUD!

sPACYcLOUd was born in DC, from the mind of designer Tatiana Kolina (AKA Tati) with a focus towards the sui generis spirit that lives in all of us. The ethical core of sPACYcLOUd is built on self expression, love, and positivity. Its visual aesthetic breathes from the world of break dancers, hip hop artists, street artists, skaters, and motorcycle riders. Those whose wardrobe exists in a state of counter-culture, carving through life to the rhythm of their own choosing. sPACYcLOUd reflects political and social currents though clothing, artwork, and attitude.

sPACYcLOUd ‘s jackets are made of custom printed fabric using Tati’s and other artists’ art work. From the choice of commonly overlooked fabrics to the colorfully designed prints displayed on each garment, sPACYcLOUd is a social rebellion of creativity. sPACYcLOUd life and street styles are imbued with movement: biking, skating, evolving, but also creative, rebellious, musical and artistic lifestyles.

Leftover jacket fabrics are used for patches on T-Shirts, string bags, hoodies patches, skirts, and other apparel. No fabric is being wasted. Tati is also using a screen printing technique to design her own collection of skateboards and mini cruisers.

Tati’s journey is a testament to her spirit. Born in the Soviet Union, she was without a mother and father after age 7, she grew up with her grandmother, often times taking care of herself. While a teenager, she joined a number of tusovkas (street groups) to survive. The group which affected her life the most was “farsovshiki.” It was a group of kids, the first wave of black marketers in Soviet Union, who ran around big cities (Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kiev, Tallinn, etc.) and traded Levi’s jeans, t-shirts, gum, etc. for matreshkas, black caviar, and KGB paraphernalia with American tourists. Doing her best to avoid the attention of undercover militia and the street mafia, Tati spent time in Russian jail several times for possession of foreign currency and talking to foreigners.

In the Summer of 1990, her life changed dramatically. Meeting an American family in St. Petersburg, she sold them two lacquer boxes with Russian fairy tales depicted on them. Touched, they took her contact information, later sending her an invitation to come to the US. It took some time and convincing before she made one of the biggest decisions of her life.

In January of 1991, she landed in San Francisco with no money, a tiny backpack, and a present for her new family, a cuckoo clock. More important than the room and board she received was the love and support, that echoes in her spirit to this day. One day Tati was moved to ask her host father, “How can I ever pay back for all you have done for me?” His answer was simple, “You pay back by helping others when you have an opportunity.”

The sPACYcLOUd family has been proud to have organized and participated in a number of events and groups that share a spirit of creativity and alacrity. Always with an eye to the future, sPACYcLOUd moves to involve and inspire the younger generation through surf and snowboarding camps, longboarding rides, internships, and skate events. From celebrating local heroes like Maryland Stunt Rider Alonzo and local DC Skater Angelina to BBoy Atomic Goofball, sPACYcLOUd moves to reflect what’s happening now.

Tati launched Skate Girls Tribe after being inspired by Skatistan, realizing that skateboarding, and action sports overall, can be used to build communities and help building confidence in girls, free from the limitations society tries to hinder them with.

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Thank you Tati for sharing your incredible story with us! Shop her collection online here and visit her in booth #50 at this weekend’s Art Star Craft Bazaar at Penn’s Landing Great Plaza!

May 6, 2015
Meet New ASCB Vendor Samantha Skelton!

Samantha Skelton Jewelry Design is a one-woman jewelry machine located in Fairview Pennsylvania. I design, create, market and sell all of the work featured in my jewelry collection; however I wasn’t always interested in jewelry. My collection has grown from my love of metal, the form of each element in this collection has been directly influenced by industrial sculptures which I both studied and created.

I studied both graphic design and metalsmithing in undergrad at Edinboro University, choosing to follow metalsmithing into graduate school at Miami University, I focused on large scale copper sculptures. The sculptures I created had an industrial aesthetic and a sense of balance and symmetry, all hand forged and kinetic. Along side my sculptures I found myself making smaller sculptural jewelry, almost as a sketch for larger pieces. It allowed me to play with form in a much faster and more direct way.

Choosing to pursue jewelry full time following graduate school has allowed me to continue connecting form with function. My sculpture and jewelry continue to reflect each other;
I want the wearer to feel the visual impact of the jewelry without being overwhelmed by the physical and visual weight of the metal.

Along with making jewelry and traveling for shows and exhibitions I also teach jewelry workshops at craft schools and universities both locally and internationally.

Visit Samantha Skelton Jewelry in Booth #62 at our Art Star Craft Bazaar on May 9th + 10th and visit her online at http://www.samanthaskelton.com/

May 2, 2015
Meet New ASCB Vendor, Emiko Shinozaki!

After a lifetime of playing and teaching, I put down my violin for the last time in 2006. I felt I was finished with the musical chapter of my life, but I had always made a living working with my hands. I felt a need to explore what I could do with them next.

An immediate change in life ensued—A program to Italy to study fashion design through Fashion Institute of Technology, Accessories and Jewelry classes upon my return…

It wasn’t until I started working with brass, silver, fire, hammer, file and wax that the instruments of my future began coming to life before my eyes. I had transitioned from the ephemera of musical performance to the permanence of metals, and it was intoxicating. I could hold my creations in my hands. I could wear what I imagined. I was in love again.

Architecture, music as math, chemistry, and symmetry–all my old flames– inexorably find their way into my work. I spend hours soldering and chasing flux through the narrow channels between my hexagons. Days fly by as I work out the kinks of an intricate piece of casting. Every method has its advantages and demands. To cast or not to cast? Precision soldering and cleanup versus casting and yet more cleanup?

Doing things the hard way has its rewards. I handcraft each and every piece of jewelry myself for Emiko Shinozaki Jewelry and I don’t do e-commerce. Why? Because I want each piece to be unique, and I enjoy meeting the people who will ultimately wear my pieces. What that means is that I don’t really have a complete ’system ’ in place for manufacture or distribution. The exciting part is that I’m still learning with each piece I make and every client I come in contact with. I continue my tradition of teaching and learning, this time with family and colleagues, as it’s the best way I know how to enjoy life.

I have an unending attraction to the physical changes that brass undergoes when thousands of degrees hit it. My necklace creations have intrinsic “torch marks” that deepen with age, lending depth and 3-dimensionality to an otherwise humble material. One of my necklaces can have upwards of 100 solder connections, sometimes less, sometimes more. As I’ve expanded my offerings, I’ve found the best 18K gold-platers in NYC and learned to make molds & cast silver with the lost-wax method. Each silver or brass Alt-triangle bracelet is hand formed, filed and finished, taking many careful hours from start to finish.

There are no easy answers but, so far, keeping things fresh makes me very happy. Every method has its advantages and difficulties, but the end result is always gratifying. Mistakes are humbling, yet I’ve also come to appreciate these impromptu lessons. I think I was a pretty good violin teacher… I sometimes see an old student interviewed on TV, image impossibly large on the Times Square Jumbotron…

These days I look at my hands and wonder at what jewelry-making has yet to teach me.

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Visit Emiko Shinozaki and her incredible line of jewelry at the Spring Art Star Craft Bazaar (booth # ) on May 9th and 10th at Penn’s Landing Great Plaza. http://emikoshinozaki.com/

April 29, 2015
Meet New ASCB Vendor, Julia Walther!

Well hello there! I’m Julia Walther and I make pottery in Washington, DC.

My journey with pottery began nearly six years ago during my senior year of college when my ceramics professor told us that clay can do anything, you just have to ask it at the right time. That mix of constraints and possibilities is a large part of why I’m so in love with ceramics.

I throw almost all of my work on the wheel using a porcelaneous stoneware that’s a beautiful creamy color when fired. I then spend most of my time decorating those pieces with slips and colored underglazes and carving back through the layers to reveal the bare clay underneath. In the midst of those decorative choices, I’m constantly surprised by threads of ideas that can lead my work down completely new paths.

The cacti decorations have come out of my appreciation of papercutting, and other folk crafts that use abstracted shapes to convey stories and show evidence of the human hand. I also really enjoy carving out the spikes!

After the glaze firing, I’ll choose a few pieces to which I’ll apply metallic luster accents and do another firing specifically for that. So your pot may have had a trial by fire three times before it ends up in your hands.

I work alongside about twenty artists working at Red Dirt Studio, a repurposed firehouse just outside Washington, DC. I love the community we’ve established through weekly seminar meetings and by sharing the building. It’s easy to accidentally isolate yourself as an artist, so I’m glad to have this flow of interesting people around my studio space.

At the same time, this is also the first instance in my career where I’ve had freedom to call nearly all the shots. I want to spend the precious time I have in the studio actually making work and taking care of my body to prevent injuries from overwork. In the last year, that has meant switching to a commercially produced pre-mixed clay, and changing the firing temperature of my work so I can use electric kilns, which tend to be more compatible with an urban environment. Additionally, for the past three years I’ve been throwing standing up, which will hopefully prevent future back issues related to sitting and leaning forward (the worst possible position for your back!).

Pots are special because they can be both a sculpture and a canvas. I’ve found a lot of joy in scribbling on the surfaces of my pots, freezing the movement of a hand in time. I’m excited about creating those juicy points of interest that ask you to turn the pot in your hands to soak up the details while you eat your meal or admire your flowers or engage with the piece in any other way. The last step of making pottery is getting it into the hands of the user, and that’s where a new adventure begins.

This will be my first year at the Art Star Craft Bazaar, and I’m so looking forward to the show! I’d love it if you stopped on by Booth #59 and said hello.

April 28, 2015
Meet ASCB Vendor Sammi Nguyen of Group Hug Quilts

I’m Sammi Nguyen, the hands and brains of a little operation called Group Hug Quilts. My working process is not always the most photogenic, what with piles of fabric scraps towering ever higher around me and loose threads always getting caught in my hair and stuck to my socks, but I’ve cleaned up my act for a few photos to show you how I make a baby quilt.

For my baby quilts, I most often take my inspiration from animals. I sketch critters in my sketchbook, until I alight on one in just the right attitude for the quilt of the moment. (The rest of this post shows me making an elephant quilt, but this cat sketch was nicer than the elephant sketch.)

My studio is filled with overflowing shelves of fabric, which I source from all four corners of the earth, but especially from New York’s fabric district, which is a short trip by subway from where I live and work in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Fabrics are an additional source of inspiration, whether they are solid or patterned, new or vintage. I work almost exclusively with natural fibers like linen, silk, denim, and cotton, with the exception of the occasional too-intriguing-to-pass-up piece of vintage polyester.

After I have chosen a charming member of the animal kingdom, I comb through my fabrics until I settle on a basic color scheme and textures. For this elephant quilt, I chose a muted orange linen for the quilt top and an oatmeal linen for the back and border, feeling that they suggested a dusty savannah environment that would be a suitable home for a leathery pachyderm.

The subtlety of an animal’s shape makes a huge difference to the finished piece, and it often takes a while to get the drawing of the quilt’s subject just right, even if it is a fairly simple silhouette. From the finished drawing, I make pattern pieces out of tracing paper and trace and cut each piece individually, which leads to a lot of subtle variation from quilt to quilt.

While I usually start with a picture in my head and a small thumbnail sketch on paper, each piece really takes shape directly in fabric. This allows me to experiment with the composition of the quilt top and see things closer to how they will look in finished form. During this part of the process, there is a lot of cutting, arranging, pinning, adding bits that don’t work to the scrap bin, resizing, shifting, and more cutting, rearranging, and pinning. It always creates a glorious mess on my studio floor.

Once the composition of the quilt top is finalized, it’s time to sew all the pieces together. I still do all of my sewing on the Viking sewing machine my parents so generously gave to their wannabe fashion designer daughter on her twelfth birthday. This machine is a workhorse, and hasn’t let me down yet, despite all the weird, bulky piles of fabric I send under its needle.

For all of my pictorial pieces, I use a satin stitch, a heavy back and forth stitch that traps and sews down the raw edges of each piece of fabric and adds an important design element in the form of colored outlines. When I first started sewing this way, my work was painfully slow and pretty clunky, with lots of missed stitches and bunched fabrics, but after many years of practice, my stitch work has gotten finer and finer. The technique allows me to forego traditional piecing and applique styles for a more spontaneous collage-like approach to image-making.

When a quilt top is finished, I sandwich it with cotton batting and a solid piece of fabric for backing. To join all three layers together, I quilt freehand on my industrial quilting machine, which lets me move fabric freely underneath the needle, kind of like drawing but in reverse. Being a free-spirited lady, I don’t draw my quilting patterns beforehand; I choose a simple motif, like a flower or a star, and just start sewing, creating a satisfying but not too uniform quilted texture. After quilting, I finish the edges, trim off extra threads, and hand-stitch my initials in the corner.

I know you can’t see the finished quilt very well in this picture, but you can see my beautiful baby nephew enjoying it, and I figured including it in this post wouldn’t hurt my chances of luring you to come see me at Booth #17 at the Bazaar.

April 24, 2015
Meet ASCB Vendor Faryn Davis of Fernworks

Hello my name is Faryn and my little biz is called Fernworks. I grew up on a farm in western North Carolina and I spent many afternoons there collecting little odds and ends that I found on our land like bird nests, feathers, interesting clumps of dirt, moss, leaves, bones, fur, twigs, bugs, and other tiny things. I continue that tradition of collecting and gathering in my paintings and line of resin jewelry today.

My mixed media paintings and jewelry combine hand painted scenes and found natural ephemera into layers of polished resin. Each piece is painted with toothpicks and tiny brushes, embedded in multiple layers of resin, then cut and polished into delicate, dreamlike 3-D landscapes populated by plants, birds, bears, foxes and other woodland creatures.

My studio is a modified 8’x8’ garden hut in our backyard. This is where I paint, pour resin, and store all my many boxes and jars of found objects.

Here are a few pics of me making some new resin rings. I embed little found objects or tiny hand painted scenes into silver settings and then layer resin on top. I then polish and sand each piece by hand on my tabletop sander. (A really dusty, messy process.)

You can find me and my creations at galleries, shops, and craft shows all over the US. I’m always on the go. I recently returned to live in Asheville, NC with my husband and 5 year old son after an 8 year hiatus in the Pacific Northwest.

This is my first time showing at the Art Star Craft Bazaar and I’m so excited! I’ll have tons of new necklaces, earrings, rings, cufflinks, little paintings and more! Please come say hi at booth #30.

April 22, 2015
Meet ASCB Vendors: Tigerlillyshop and Dreadnought Workshop

Hi, we are Allison and Brett, the artists behind Tigerlillyshop and Dreadnought Workshop.

Double Maple Seed Necklace by Tigerlillyshop

We met in college at MICA, he was a painting major and I was a sculpture major. We have always been studio artists. After our early careers in mural painting and upholstery, we decided to narrow our scope and put all of our efforts into a creative business. Most of our jewelry skills are self taught. With our creative talents and drive, we thought we could make a sustainable handmade life as studio artists in Baltimore City.

Dreadnought Workshop Money Clips

So here we are 10 years after starting my Etsy shop! Our lines have evolved and changed with our interests but have always remained true to our hand. I started out with custom plastic rings, developed the kimono button jewelry, then the botanical metalwork and later Brett launched the men’s accessory line, it debuted in 2010. Shoppers can still see us at select regional retail shows, but mostly we make our living wholesaling our men’s and women’s jewelry. You can find us in the studio every day filling orders and shipping all over the country. We are a growing business and hope to be for a long time.

Hydrangea Petal Earrings by Tigerlillyshop

My sister Maria Fomich and I developed the Tigerlillyshop Botanical line together. Since 2009 she has been part of this crazy train ride making her own metalwork and helping spread the word about our family business. Last year she opened a beautiful retail brick & mortar in New Orleans to showcase her own handmade art jewelry. In her Adorn & Conquer Gallery you will find our Tigerlillyshop & Dreadnought lines, and a curated selection of only the best handmade gifts. We are proud to be living the handmade life, advocating for and supporting artists in our larger indie family out there!

About Tigerlillyshop’s Botanical Collection: Allison collects nature specimen to press into metal for one of a kind jewelry. She also creates a cast jewelry collection of her best finds: acorns, twigs, maple seeds, etc.

About Dreadnought Workshop: Brett is inspired by the city, American history, and the things he experiences living in an urban setting. Brett’s new line of belt buckles, tie clips, and cufflinks are made using various metal fabricating and casting techniques which he has learned through studio exploration.
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Thanks to Allison + Brett for sharing their story with us today! Please visit them at the Art Star Craft Bazaar on May 9th + 10th in booth #104 at Penn’s Landing Great Plaza. You can also find them here: Website, Twitter, and Facebook.

April 21, 2015
ASCB Staff Member Picks: Lisa Castellano

The Art Star Craft Bazaar would not be possible without the AMAZING Lisa Castellano. We met her back in the early days of the ASCB when she asked to volunteer at the show, along with her then boyfriend Rich Molina. The two of them literally saved our butts the first year we had the show along Germantown Avenue, up by our old shop on the Liberties Walk. We didn’t realize how heavy the rented tables were & they saved the day by letting us use their truck. They also helped us break down the show during a massive rain storm. They did such a good job that the following years we asked them back as paid staff. Lisa is friendly, outgoing, & incredibly smart, but best of all, she is assertive & has initiative. We don’t have to tell her what to do – she knows what to do. In fact, many times she tells US what to do. Over the years we have become close friends with Lisa & consider her a part of our Art Star family. Here are her insider tips & picks from this year’s lineup of Art Star Craft Bazaar vendors.
– Megan

Hello Attendees of the 2011 Art Star Craft Bazaar –

My name is Lisa, and I am an employee of the Craft Bazaar annually. You can always see me running around from booth to booth checking in with vendors, taking care of business on my walkie talkie, & taking care of sales behind the Art Star tent. I LOVE this event & I am super excited that I get to come back & help facilitate it from year to year.

There are a few things I recommend about the Bazaar – so here are my insider notes:

Definitely get there early!! Really enjoy the day at the ASCB – take your time visiting all the various vendor booths! Leaving yourself time will definitely make your shopping experience more enjoyable.

Also, get some of the yummy organic & vegan grub by the Soy Cafe & A Full Plate, which are both regulary represented. Whether it is awesome wraps, home brewed green tea, or some awesome vegetarian pulled pork with a whoopie pie – there is plenty to eat for everyone! While you are eating, sit by the stage & listen to the variety of tunes played by some local musicians!

Finally, check out the vendor page and plan to spend some time with a few key vendors. Here are some of my regular favorites:

1. For fun & funky clothes, you definitely cannot beat Holly Hue! These crafty threads will keep you warm and/or fashion forward. They also have an awesome selection of handbags that I cannot resist! They also always have a great one-of-a-kind selection. (It is a helpful bonus that they are some of my favorite people to visit at the ASCB!)

2. Whether it is nostalgia you are looking for, a bit of history, or just something really different, Peg & Awl has it all. Check out the variety of interesting goods they have & pay attention to my personal favorite – the little book necklaces. I absolutely love mine & plan to buy another this year! I also plan on spending money at Fisticuffs. These one of a kind recycled belt wrist cuffs are only sold in person, so bring your $$ b/c you can’t get them online later!! (Ok, so these are some of my favorite people too!)

3. Guess what? BUNNY BUTT has all you could want in soaps, scents, & lips! Their mojito soap smells like a party in the shower, & their mineral tint balms leave your lips soft with the perfect amount of color. Plus, they are some of the most fun people to visit & spend some time chatting with! (noticing a trend?)

A few honorable mentions on my “frequently spending my money @ the ASCB” list include Recycle My Dress (to see those terrible old prom & bridesmaid dresses become rockin’ frocks), John Murphy (for amazingly gorgeous art in beautiful frames), The Broken Plate Pendant Company (for the best jewelry you will ever see made from dinner ware!), Girlscantell (an old high school friend who can tell you the parts of anything screen printed on everything imaginable from towels to coasters), & Yellowcake (for unique fashions from a former Project Runway contestant). The purchase possibilities are almost as endless as all of the hats by the wonderful vendor, Endless Hats!

Faceted Gold Cube Earrings by Knock Knock Studio

Some of the vendors I am excited about seeing for the first time include Peppersprouts*, because my kitchen could certainly use some jazzing up with new, fun accessories (& I could always use some for me too!). Speaking of accessories for me, some delicate little cube earrings would be fun from Knock Knock Studio. Back to my kitchen & throwing in my love of penguins brings me to SKT Ceramics, because relaxing with a warm mug with a fuzzy penguin on it is just the cutest thing ever!

Penguin Cup by SKT Ceramics

*Peppersprouts was at last year’s ASCB – Lisa must have missed them!

May 4, 2011