Tell us a bit about yourself.

Hi there! My name is Anneke van Bommel and you can find my recent designs, musings and objects in my shop, touchthedutch. I am a Canadian artist, living in Toronto, Ontario, which is a large bustling city where I’ve carved out my own private clubhouse in a studio in the downtown area.

Most of the time you can find me in my studio, creating work that explores themes of identity, home, memory and Canadiana.

I studied at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University, from 96-01, where I completed my Bachelor of Fine Arts, with a major in Jewellery Design and Metalsmithing. NSCADU is located in the beautiful,seaside city of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

During my undergraduate studies, I also apprenticed with studio jeweller, Sabine Mittermayer in a small, storybook village in the Alps of Oberaudorf, Germany (which is located 40 min. outside of the city of Munich). This experience gave me the opportunity to work with a practicising studio artist and witness first hand, the realities of these pursuits.

Since then, 10 years have passed, and I’ve been developing my own studio practise, participating in many exhibitions, teaching and supplying galleries across North America with my work.

All of the wooden jewellery featured on my site is made exclusively from off cut pieces, from a local wood studio. These materials would otherwise be disposed of due to their small size, but I enjoy using this material and am happy to rescue it.

Apart from creating things, what do you do?

Unintentionally, I stare at/research things that inspire my work in no particular order:

Canadiana, cabin interiors, vintage history text books, coronation images of the Queen, the Atlantic ocean, road trips, haunted things, milk glass, porcelain, cutlery, mounties, textile patterns, discarded photographs, Anne of Green Gables, and plaid blankets…

And strangely enough many of these things are encountered on a daily basis when one is in hot pursuit.

I enjoy long coffee strolls throughout the city, peeking in vintage clothing stores, antique stores and curiousity shops on the weekends, when time permits.

As often as I can, I escape to the east coast where I grew up, to relax and swim by the ocean, take in lots of road trips to nowhere particular, exploring and generally recharging for the year ahead.

My current personal project is settling into a new home, an old victorian, and trying to design the space the way I like it. I’m looking forward to planting in the garden in the spring and going to the farmers market just steps away!!

What first made you want to become an artist?

I’ve been tinkering away at things since I was a child, but I’m sure that my parents provided much of my inspiration to create. They both had projects on the go as I was growing up: knitting, making curious wooden puzzles, and other objects. I am sure that their support made my decision to pursue the arts professionally, an easier one.

Please describe your creative process.

I have been exploring themes of Canadiana, identity, home and memory in my work for the past several years.

I am curious about why we collectively identify with specific images/icons and am interested in manipulating these symbols.

While many of these symbols are often nostalgic and romantic, they are symbols that I reluctantly embrace and identify as being Canadian. Within this body of work are several series that represent both obscure and iconic provincial destinations, people and symbols. These works explore an “idea” of Canada, and allude to the souvenir. The desire to take a “piece” of a place home with us and to somehow authenticate a journey is a shared one. This common need allows us, to relate to one another across vast distances and to share our stories.

Often, the symbols and icons that I exploit are nostalgic, chiche and absurd, but somehow persist as a part of our collective identity. It is this concept that provokes much of my current explorations.

I generally cosy up to my work bench in the studio, with a giant cup of coffee and loud music to get me through the day…I tend to work alone most of the time, so music is a must!

What handmade possession do you most cherish?

My favorite handmade objects would need a short list… they are:

A. My jeweller’s bench, made by my father
B. A hand woven market basket, made by my mother
C. A small ceramic wall hanging that has a drawing of Tony Danza on it, and under his head, a banner that says, “haunted.” Made by Pattie Chalmers.
D. A book sized, walnut box with a secret compartment for a unicorn horn made by my boyfriend.

Name your top five books, movies, musicians, and websites besides Etsy.

Current favorites…a changing list for certain!

Books:
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, Wayne Johnston
The Custodian of Paradise, Wayne Johnston
The Secret History, Donna Tartt
Fall On Your Knees, Ann-Marie Macdonald
The World According to Garp, John Irving

Movies:
C’est pas moi je le jure! 
Once
Margaret’s Museum
Magnolia
The Sweet Hereafter

Music
Elliot Brood
Joel Plaskett
The Born Ruffians
Timber Timbre
Band of Horses

Websites:
The Canadian Design Resource
Design Sponge
CBC Radio 3
Moco Loco
Poppytalk

What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?

My advice to new etsians would be to stay the course! Don’t be discouraged if sales are not immediate….I would encourage people to make what they love, use your unique perspective and create well made, thoughtful objects.

What are your favorite features on Etsy? What new features would you like to see?

My favorite features are the rearranging the shop option, it’s great to have some control over the visuals. I also really enjoy the featured sellers section, it’s interesting for me to see how other people manage to juggle their lives and artistic pursuits. The best part about Etsy is the immediate feedback I get about my work. Because I only sold my work through galleries in the past, I never had a chance to get direct feedback from my customers… now I do, and everyone has been so amazing! I have met a lot of kind people on Etsy (buyers and sellers)… it’s a great community.

How do you promote your work?

I send invitations about all of my exhibitions to my network of pals and clients, chat about what I do with people and send out press releases when i create new bodies of work. This helps to keep people informed about what the new work is like, and gives you the chance to share it with others.

In ten years, where would you like to be?

I would like to be making collaborative pieces with my boyfriend who just opened his own Etsy shop, offcutstudio. We have plans to make furniture and objects together in the future… somehow it would be very nice if this could also involve rummaging around for antiques!

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