Tag: textiles

Meet The Maker: Nicole Hemmerly of MossHound Designs

Hey there! My name is Nicole Hemmerly and I am a macramé artist & the owner of a super fun business called MossHound Designs. Aptly named after two of my favorite things, moss (and anything moss colored) and our hound dog Maycie, the peaceful beast.

It all came about after spending most of 2015 craving a craft, craving something purely fun and uplifting to my soul. While doing research on different crafts I came across this weird knotting technique popular in the 70’s and thought “where have you been all my life!” You see, growing up we didn’t have a stitch of macramé in the house. However, my parents and the house I grew up in, is a complete inspiration to me. My mother can decorate with such ease & is crafty as all get out and my desire to be in the great outdoors comes from my father. My husband and I also share the same love for nature. When we go hiking, he helps me pick out the natural stones and driftwood I use.

My pieces are a culmination of earthy but bright color schemes and an equal mix of vintage and natural fibers. The cord I use for the macramé is 100% cotton and produced in the USA. The cream yarn used for weavings comes straight off the sheep on my in laws farm in northern Pennsylvania and the other yarn colors were taken out of an old school house being torn down. I try to repurpose and reuse as much as I possibly can.

What started out as a little craft is now a full-fledged business adventure that has expanded in ways I could have never imagined! Currently, I have been hand painting deer skulls, dip dying fabric, decorating with succulents and houseplants, weaving and even have created macramé pieces for weddings.

Swing by booth #10 and say hi! I love meeting new people and can’t wait to see you all!
Follow us on Instagram @mosshound_designs to stay current on products and giveaways.

July 26, 2016
Meet the Maker: Esther Yaloz of Planetarium

Hi I’m Esther – My business is called PLANETARIUM and I make hand crafted textiles. I screen print my botanical inspired patterns and craft them into different items, reflecting the natural beauty of wildflowers. Everything is made by hand with detail that aspire to capture the essence of the various plants I illustrate.

I’m enchanted by the vitality of wildflowers. They often struggle to survive in inclement weather and neglected spaces, yet return year after year. This resilience, and the fact that they are often ignored, drew me to use them as a central motif in my prints. My flower patterns are sometimes jumbled as in nature, sometimes arranged, and sometimes fashioned into shapes of birds or hearts.

While growing up in a farming village in northern Israel, I loved to walk in the surrounding fields among the wildflowers, collecting samples along the way. Later, as a young design student, majoring in textile design, these wildflowers became the inspiration for many of my textile prints. After graduating I went on to work for a large textile company which sourced out all of its production. Longing to print my own pieces, I took a leap of faith, and with my husband, Ofir, an industrial designer and Sam our dog, we moved to my mother’s childhood home in Elmira, NY. Here, we started Planetarium Design, Ofir building the studio and display furniture and me printing away.

The business is ecologically oriented. The dyes are water based I hand print all of my designs on 100% natural fabrics, either cotton or silk. I really enjoy making functional art. Among my designs you can find dish towels, tank tops, bags of all sorts – from makeup to elegant evening clutches, cotton and silk scarves, pillows, and wall hangings. A great deal of importance is placed on the uniqueness of each and every item (having a different pattern for each piece). I print, dye, and sew everything by hand. Transforming raw materials into a unique final product is a magical process.

We’re excited to be participating at the upcoming Art Star Craft Bazaar – it will be our first time in the show and visiting Philadelphia! Booth # 106 see ya soon 🙂

April 26, 2016
In The Studio with Karin Persan of Better Than Jam

I think it is very important to show our customers what goes into the creation of all the wonderful handmade items that we sell in our shop. I think taking a peak inside an artist’s studio is a great way to learn more about them and their process. I decided to start a series on this blog where our artists can share snap shots of their studio. First up is Karin Persan of Better Than Jam.

Handprinted Oatmeal A-Line Dress

Karin creates women’s dresses, tops and accessories that are each pieces of one-of-a-kind art, yet comfortable and easy to wear. Each piece is made by hand by Karin from start to finish. All of her fabrics are first screen printed with a collage of her unique imagery, which are either created from a photo, drawing or just an item thrown directly on the scanner. She designs all her patterns & sews them up into a truly unique garment. Karin seems to treat each dress or top as a blank canvas for her art. I hope you enjoy this peak into her studio space in Brooklyn as much as I did. If you ever find yourself in Bushwick, feel free to visit b/c her stuido is also home to her own boutique, also called Better Than Jam, which stocks handmade fashion by many other local designers. Shop our collection of her A-Line Dresses here. I have one and I am obsessed with it! Stop in the shop to check them out in person and also some longer ones that aren’t yet on the site.

imagery to be printed on fabrics

printing the fabrics

a burned screen ready for printing

stacks of screens – each burned with an image that Karin will print on the fabric individually, creating her final collage of images

Patterns

sewing all her beautifully printed fabrics into stunning garments

Better Than Jam Handmade Storefront

Thank you Karin for sharing these snap shots of your studio!
http://www.betterthanjamnyc.com
http://betterthanjam.wordpress.com/

June 29, 2013