Tag: jersey shore

  • Meet the Maker “Claudia Chloe”

    I didn’t know I wanted to take pictures until I was accidentally placed in the photography program at Monmouth University after receiving my associates in fine art at community college. I had no idea what I was going to do for a living at that point, so I took it as a sign to put down the paintbrush and pick up the camera. And I am so beyond thankful that I did.

    image 1Living a two minute bike ride from the Asbury Park Boardwalk my whole life, I have always been heavily influenced by the playfulness of the beach-goer lifestyle. The bright colors of umbrellas and swooping lines of the Atlantic Ocean’s tides are a huge part of my aesthetic.

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    I’ve been attracted to aerial images since I began studying photography. I love the way they can simplify and organize such a chaotic world. So, when I had my first opportunity to hang out the side of a doors-off helicopter to shoot the beaches of Miami last spring, I was thrilled and I am so grateful that I was able to have that first experience.

    In the last year I’ve also shot over Manhattan, Sedona, and most recently, the coast of the Jersey Shore from Seaside Heights to Asbury Park.

    image 3I hung a few of my shots in a local shop on the boardwalk, The Market, that summer, and the response was so overwhelming that soon after, I registered Claudia Chloe as a business and set up my own Etsy shop. I am now in several other shops both online and up and down the Jersey Shore.

    image 4I print the majority of my images myself. Watching my digital files turn into tangible objects that people want in their homes is definitely the most rewarding aspect of owning my company.

    image 5No matter where I am, I like all of my images to make the viewer feel the way I do when I’m up in the helicopter – completely elated with the overwhelming beauty of the landscape and the way the human figure interacts with it. I never feel more connected to this world than when I am dangling 1,000 feet above it.

    image 6When I’m not shooting, printing, editing, or answering emails, you can find me on the Boardwalk with my puppy, Lula Mae. In the past several years, Asbury Park has completely flourished with small businesses and artists and it is just so exciting to be a tiny part of this expanding creative community.

    image 8I’ll be flying over Asbury Park again on the morning of Saturday, August 6th. So, if you are in the area, look up and wave!

    image 9Claudia Chloe will be selling prints of her photos at our Art Star Craft Bazaar in Asbury Park on July 30th + 31st! Find her work online HERE.

  • Meet The Maker “Julia Passafiume”

    Well, hello everyone! I’m Julia, and I design and sew a line of quirky and sustainably sourced kids and baby clothes.

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    Five years ago I was knee deep in mannequins and silk crepe de chine at a very fancy fashion school in NYC, and I loved it. I savored every moment I could arguing about the intention behind a style line or the consideration in debating to use one button over another. Most makers know this feeling of getting blissfully lost in the details, right? I graduated after being nominated for designer of the year in my class and I leapt into the arms of my first job offer as an Associate Designer for a kids clothing company.

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    But when I left the safe sewing rooms of Parsons is when I began to realize the overall motive of the fashion industry: to make money. The entire industry had devolved from creating products that had value and quality to just making as much money for the cheapest cost possible. This shift is at great cost to the lives of millions of people- just Google the Rana Plaza Factory Collapse or “what color are the rivers in China” for just a taste of the toll our fast fashion choices are having on the world around us. Obviously, my naïve little heart couldn’t handle it anymore, so I left my job in New York City and came home to Point Pleasant, New Jersey.

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    For me, sewing is about creating something from scratch and being mindful of the time and energy it takes to do so. I’ve been sewing for years, but not until I left my job in New York City did I realize this was where I find my happiness. I’m now also a full time seamstress for a local shop, so creating kids clothes is something that happens in the time before and after my 9-5 hustle. And whenever there’s interest, I love giving sewing lessons to people of all ages!

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    All of the products I make are from sustainably sourced materials such as organic cotton, fast-growing hemp, recycled vintage fabrics or traditional weaving methods. I also make a push to buy American made materials whenever possible. A company called Spoonflower that uses eco-conscious dyes and digital printing methods, which have a much lighter footprint than other printing methods, does most of my printed knits right in North Carolina. Just like other makers of handmade clothing, I know that small-scale fashion is part of the solution to a very large and complicated problem.
    5 (3) copyI’m so looking forward to the Art Star Craft Bazaar in Asbury Park because the maker community here at the beach is so inviting and we’re sure to have a good time! Come by and say hello to my sister Leah (who is a printmaker and bookbinder) and me while we’re smushed in a booth together and chat with us about happy handmade things!

    In the meantime, feel free to check out my Instagram and my Etsy Shop!

  • Meet The Maker: Kimberly Frey of Happy Land Handmade

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    I started Happy Land Handmade in 2010 to put a name to what I do, which is crafting art objects, wearables, home goods and pottery out of ceramics. My husband and I derived the name from the title of a 19th century Scottish hymn as a ode to our faith. It seemed fitting to touch that vein as an identity piece because I find that the identity of an artist illuminates the work that we make. The pretzel happens to be a symbol I use which touches this vein too. The history of this beloved food is that it was conceived by Italian nuns and labeled as the “trinity loaf.” Besides my faith identity, it represents my heritage as the great great grand daughter of an Italian immigrant who ventured to establish himself as an American citizen and pretzel shop owner on 2nd street in Philadelphia.

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    I studied fashion design at Moore College of Art in Philadelphia before transferring to Tyler School of Art for crafts and ceramics. I still pull influence from my time in fashion school into my ceramic work. I am inspired to create wearable porcelain jewelry as well as styling and photographing my own photoshoots of people I meet in my own life. I absolutely love the process of creating my own photos of my work. It enables me to have full control over the marketing aspect. I also take it as an opportunity to make art in another medium; photography. So I’m not just interested in photographing a ceramic pot on a gradient background, but more about creating an interactive environment for my work and then photographing that. Though I’m mostly self taught, I truly am a novice of many art forms and am nearly always, unapologetically seeking out another opportunity to try my hand in something new.

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    I work at my home studio in Happy Valley Pennsylvania which is completely perfect for me. I am an artist mother and being in the home while I practice my craft is essential for this season of life. I am able to seamlessly float between domestic and motherly duties back to the ebb and flow of the ceramic process; one that is both meditative and ever undulating. I work with various ceramic processes such as hand building, throwing, mold making and slip casting. My recent work is inspired by various fashion trends, food, color and material. Honestly, I am an alchemist at heart so this medium a lot of times, informs itself. I will both interpret color and texture from real life into my work or uncover color and texture in my work and expound on it. I see mastering ceramics as a life time of testing and follow through. Each body of work that I make uncovers new insights on the endless possibilities of material, color and form. It’s really fun; at least when things don’t go disastrously wrong, which, any ceramist knows to always account for waste.

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    I am learning to be business minded as Happy Land debuts this July for its first real deal craft event. I am excited to bring well made and designed, affordable ceramics to the market place and to meet you and the other makers. And of course, to enjoy the sun and surf, which is where I would live permanently if I could! Till then, take care and see you soon.

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    Find Happy Land Handmade Online and at our Upcoming Art Star Craft Bazaar in Asbury Park, NJ on July 30th and 31st.

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