Search results (tags) for: "tara young"

(Music by Espers)

All Etsy videos are Creative Commons, so please embed them on your blog! Share the love!

I met up with Emily Zych, a.k.a. whichgoos e, deep in the magical forests of Maryland, where she finds twigs and vines for the fanciful crowns she makes. This wood nymph's delightful creations are inspired by Greek mythology, pagan folklore and expressive Romanticism.

Clockwise from top left: Fields of Gold Crown, I'll Fly Away Tiara, Starry Night Crown, Genevieve Comb, Midsummer Night's Dream, Chapel Crown, Ginny Crown.

This natural vine wreath has a lovely Victorian feel to it. It would be an elegant garland for brides and guests alike.

Twiggy Crown by whichgoose, $35

whichgoose captures the essence of woodland fashion with this earthy yet delicate crown.

Lilith by whichgoose, $50.

Are you getting married — and have butterflies in your stomach, never mind your hair? Describe your bridal style in the comments below!

Trends | Bridal Fashion Style Guide | Shopping Posts | Videos

Etsy Dress Up With I Heart Norwegian Wood

2009-09-09T11:45:00-05:00

(Music by Chinatown, animation by JuliaPott)

All Etsy videos are Creative Commons, so please embed them on your blog! Help spread the word!

Montreal-based fashion designer Angie Johnson of iheartnorwegianwood is best known for her structuralist leather cage skirts, vintage trim elastic harnesses and colorful fringe necklaces. It's a modern look that dabbles in the silhouettes of bondage, while maintaining its femininity with vintage textiles. When Angie is designing her Norwegian Wood line, she's inspired by the trim and embellishments she finds in local fabric shops. "Montreal used to be one of the main manufacturing capitals of Canada, so there are a lot of great little hidden treasures that I seek out in order to make my designs." Angie is interested in creating accessories and clothing that transform the wardrobe you already have.

[Clockwise from top left: Feathers & Fringe, Elastic Harness - Denim Blue, Chain and Elastic Harness, Floral Collection Leggings - Wild Roses, Luxe Collection - Bike Short Leggings, Punk Ballerina, Maximum Fringe Necklace - Black, Champagne, Denim]

Susie from Style Bubble models her I Heart Norwegian Wood Cage Skirt:

"Thank you Angie for blessing my life with cages. No, that isn't an ironic feminist poetic statement. I thought I'd never mean that sincerely but I do. Why? From the frothy cage dress came a sturdier cage skirt which in reality is a whole lot easier to wear. Depending on how high I pull it up on my waist, there's also different ways of working the structure of the cage."

Cage skirt by iheartnorwegianwood, $110

Queen Michelle from Kingdom of Style models her tweed cage skirt:

"The omni-talented Angie from Norwegian Wood sent me one of her most marvelous cage skirts. I got mine made in brown tweed. I liked the idea of the contemporary shape of the cage combined with the old lady fabric. I never realized just how useful this skirt actually is until I wore it. The day after I received it, I amped up the old lady look and wore it to work with my vintage mustard sweater, some teal tights, Givenchy wedges, librarian glasses and a black bow at my neck."

Cage skirt by iheartnorwegianwood, $110

Angie loved the idea of having a fringe necklace accessory to wear with many dresses rather than owning just one fringe dress. Check out more of her designs self-modeled in her Flickr stream.

Maximum fringe necklace by iheartnorwegianwood, $59

Thanks to Lara Kaluza, a.k.a. lalouka, for her help with the fashion shoot!

More Trends | Fall Fashion Style Guide | More Shopping Posts | More Videos

Handmade Portraits: Mimi Kirchner

2009-09-08T10:20:00-05:00

Browse Items by the Boston Handmade Team | Watch More Handmade Video Portraits

(Music by Jonathan Cazenave, Lineland, animation by JuliaPott)

All Etsy videos are Creative Commons, so please embed them on your blog! Help spread the word!

UPDATE: Mimi announced the winner of her free pincushion giveaway today. Congratulations to Angela Recada who embedded the video on her blog. Mimi wrote, "Thanks so much to everyone that posted and entered. There were 82 entries all together. The random number generator picked #49 and that was Angela! [The following was originally posted on August 26, 2009.]

Mimi Kirchner, a.k.a. mck254, spent twenty years "being distracted" by ceramics before she discovered her true calling, making dolls. Mimi's childhood was spent surrounded by crafting materials. Her mother was an avid seamstress interested in high fashion, and she collected an endless array of gorgeous fabrics over the course of her life. After her mother stopped sewing, Mimi decided she wanted to make something out of her mother's legacy. Thus was the beginning of Mimi's doll making career.

Mimi and her sister with their fashionable mother.

Mimi's cozy attic studio is jam-packed with a lifetime's worth of inherited fabric, buttons and secondhand clothing awaiting reinvention. From bolts of her mother's tactile cashmere and tweeds to piles of vintage buttons and other thrift store odds-and-ends, Mimi has a veritable stockroom of supplies at the ready to produce her line of unique, handcrafted cloth dolls.

Little guy 6 by mck254, $140.

This injured fellow was inspired by Mimi's experience being hit in the face by a baseball as a kid. This little boy reminds me of my sweet nerdy brother getting into tussles at the playground.

Boy with black eye by mck254, $125.

Mimi's mother left her a huge supply of vintage girdle pieces, snaps, bra and garter hooks, zippers and other sewing hardware. The tiny mechanical parts inspired Mimi to create a line of robot dolls. This nerdy dude is adorable in his plaid pants.

Robot man in plaid by mck254 $250.

Mimi sticks to simple patterns for each of her dolls; by reducing the variables, it becomes all about the extras. Her female dolls are characterized by elaborate clothing and accessories, while her baby dolls are decorated with beautiful applique.

Sleeping swaddled baby by mck254, $125.

For more information about Mimi's work, check out her terrific blog, Doll: The Art and Work of Mimi Kircher.

"Tiny World" Pincushion Giveaway | $60 value

Mimi is doing a free giveaway of one of her adorable "Tiny World" pincushions! Embed the Handmade Portrait video on your blog and email the link to your post to mimi.kirchner.giveaway@gmail.com by 5 p.m. ET, Friday, September 4, 2009. Mimi will pick one lucky person using a random number generator. We'll announce the winner on Tuesday, September 8. This is the most ornate and fabulous pincushion we've ever seen! Don't you covet it?

If you don't know how to embed a video on your blog, no worries, it's simple. Here's how:

Click the symbol that looks like this on the video player at the top of this post.
Copy the embed code from the "embed" tab.
Paste the embed code into the html of your own blog post.
Send the link to your blog post to Mimi!

Camera Obscura: Found Footage Mashups with Lineland

2009-08-07T17:12:00-05:00

Malcolm Felder, the talent behind the one man band Lineland, just completed a month long tour with partner in crime Animal Hospital. I was lucky enough to see Lineland live at Monkeytown in Brooklyn, NY. For the shows, Malcolm created six unique experimental music videos, which he projected and played along to. Monkeytown's venue is basically a large square room with four white walls, which Malcom used for four simultaneous projections. Seated in the center of this room, Malcolm played drums, Kevin Micka played guitar, and they had a digital track playing from a laptop. The lights dimmed and melodious rhythms filled the room. On all four walls, hypnotic visions of vintage cartoons, snippets of Bollywood films and 1950s appliance commercials danced in time with the music. The whole event was completely mesmerizing.

You might recognize some of Lineland's tunes from Etsy's Handmade Portraits video series, such as the Woodmouse, Bruce Metcalf and Built By Wendy videos. I also used Lineland's music in the There's No Place Like Here webisode featuring Made with Love by Hannah. All the music I used was from Malcolm's excellent albums Logos For Love and Pavillion. For me, his music is directly connected to the Etsy videos. (Anyone who has edited video knows how the soundtrack seeps in and stays locked to footage forever!) But when I saw his found footage animations with the live music, I was utterly captivated by the atmosphere he created. The night I saw these videos live at Monkeytown was a truly inspiring experience. The above video player from the Internet Archive includes six music videos all well worth watching.

Here's a bit more from Malcolm about the process behind Lineland:

"I approached each video differently so it would be hard to summarize the inspiration. I guess it was handled a lot like I handle my music... bringing attention to the bizarreness of certain moments and exploiting them till they become hypnotic in some way. I used a lot of old stock footage because it seems more eerie and timeless."

(Lineland at Monekytown, photo by Saverio Truglia.)

Malcolm's experimental videos are formed from bits and pieces of found footage. These montages at times have a visual narrative thread and at others times feel like random free association. The Etsy items that I've chosen for this post were inspired by impressions and visions that I took away from his work. I hope you find his music and films as inspiring as I have!

I've been a fan of these felt synthesizers for some time now. Malcolm's enthralling music utilizes lots of samples and loops. He's a master at the synthesizer and various analog musical equipment.

Roland synthesizers by pulsewidth, $75.

In the video for Planet Igreja, Malcolm used footage from Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves, which is one of my favorite Popeye cartoons. Popeye saves Olive from doing endless laundry for Abu Hassan's forty thieves.

These cute masks from 1962 would make a nice addition to any collage or could be hung on the wall as decorative art.

Popeye and Gang Paper Masks from soule, $42.

In the Lineland video for "Amtrak-Emerald Board," Malcolm used beautiful found footage of time lapsed clouds, vintage suitcases and images of analog audio equipment to evoke a weird retro travel atmosphere for the catchy tune.

At home, I use vintage suitcases to hold all of my old photos and important papers.

Vintage suitcase from cutfromthesamecloth, $58.

In the videos "Amtrak-Emerald Board" and "Victoria New Worst," Malcolm used old Bollywood footage of women dancing. The loops of footage are a perfect match for Lineland's sampling and repetitive beats.

This purse made from sari material reminds me of the beautiful costumes in Bollywood films. It would make a lovely accessory for your next formal event or a night out to see Lineland live.

Blue Indian Sari Handbag by tweedylane, $89.

This moody canvas digital print looks like a still from a WWII movie. It fits right into Lineland's aesthetic of using found footage to impart an ageless yet unsettling feel.

The Planes One by JeanMichelB, $220.

What Etsy items remind you of Lineland's videos? Leave a link in the comments!

Vintage Suitcases | More Camera Obscura Posts | Music Category

Do you make videos or animations? Enter Etsy's Handmade Moment contest!

There's No Place Like Here: Retro Renovation at Luxton Lake with Tina Spangler

2009-07-29T18:30:00-05:00

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All Etsy videos are creative commons free so please embed them on your blog! Help spread the word!

(music by Melodium, animation by JuliaPott)

Tina Spangler, a.k.a LuxtonLake, uprooted herself from her hectic New York City lifestyle for the woods of Upstate New York five years ago. She found her home in a forgotten community of Narrowsburg, NY, called Luxton Lake. Once a thriving vacation destination for African-American New Yorkers, the area was mostly abandoned in the 1970s when the dam was removed and the lake was drained. Tina found a dilapidated 1950s cabin in foreclosure and with very little funds, decided to take the leap and fix it up.

With an eye for decor from the 1930s and '40s, Tina loves to salvage old objects and give them new life. From her 1920s linoleum rug to her 1940s barkcloth curtains, this stylish abode has an air of practicality. Tina values the history of her possessions. Whether it's the dishes her mother dumpster dived, the old medicine bottles she found in the yard of the schoolhouse in which she grew up, or the remnants from the Luxton Lake Clubhouse, each object has a story to tell.

This vintage linoleum rug from LuxtonLake is a rare find. I love the old-fashioned feel and the fact that older linoleum was made with all-natural materials such as pine sap and lindseed oil (unlike what we know as linoleum today, which is really just vinyl).

Tina is the local Luxton Lake historian of sorts. While researching for her short documentary Lucky Lake, she found many bits and pieces of the community's past. From old signage on the Luxton Lake Clubhouse to forgotten relics from long abandoned houses, Tina has gathered a compelling narrative of New York's yesteryears.

Tina collects Fire King Jadite's beautiful colors and sturdy design, though it was "made probably a little too popular by Martha Stewart," Tina says. The green is most popular, but Tina's great-grandparents collected the blue colored glasses.

This teacup from jaditekate is just one of the many wonderful pieces you can find from a variety of vintage jadite sellers on Etsy.

Tina grew up in an old schoolhouse in rural Wisconsin. As a child she would find evidence of the history of the place by the names carved into the bricks and old bottles she would dig up in the yard. Tina likes the things in her house to have a history that she can tell as well as a practical use. She utilizes her collection of old bottles as vases for the flowers she grows in her Narrowsburg garden.

This vintage glass bottle from opendoorstudio would make a lovely vase for your fresh-cut flowers.

Right after college, Tina moved into an apartment in Boston fully furnished with 1940s and '50s decor left there by the previous elderly tenant. She has been adding to the collection ever since. One of the original treasures she found was an old figurine lamp that she still uses.

This porcelain figurine lamp from castleofcharm reminds me of the pretty lamp in Tina's little cabin. It doesn't take much to add a lot of color and style to your end table or bureau.

Tina discovered a wonderful collection of 1940s portrait paintings by Joseph Unger while living in New York. From what she could glean, these works were from a painting class that Unger attended and the subjects were various figure models. This lovely portrait by emberatia makes me think of Tina's fantastic collection.

Looking for more styles and interiors? Check out our video series, There's No Place Like Here, where creative types show us their unique spaces — infused with their aesthetic and filled with the treasures they collect. Get involved and show us your amazing space in this Flickr pool.

What Etsy items would you add to your retro cabin? Leave a link in the comments!

Items Tagged "Cabin" on Etsy | Lucky Lake Film

A Cozy Home Gift Guide | Housewares Category | Vintage Housewares

More There's No Place Like Here Posts

Camera Obscura: Lightning Bolt's 13 Monsters

2009-07-24T17:30:00-05:00

"PAPER RAD is a Pittsburgh, PA/Northampton, MA collective that has bubbled under the elastic waistline of the world’s slacks for over a decade, tickling its privates and filling its diapers." — Load Records

The collective behind the music video 13 Monsters, Paper Rad, utilizes a low-fi style that crosses many genres and art movements. Their frenetic collage-like animations match the pace and explosive vibe of the noise band Lightning Bolt. For me it's a perfect match of intensity in sound and vision. Paper Rad's DIY aesthetic uses pure RGB colors, no scanning of images and no use of a wacom tablet for digital imaging. This work takes pop art a step further by collaging images from culture's near past and reclaiming them into a mash-up of pop nostalgia and cartoon chaos.

The band Lightning Bolt came out of the RISD / Fort Thunder art and music scene in the mid-nineties. Fort Thunder was known for the brightly colored posters that covered the walls to promote the underground music concerts they hosted.

I find Paper Rad's use of bright primary colors, frenzied cutting and playful cartoon look exhilarating. In searching for related items for this video I went looking for neon and fluorescent colors, animal masks, gnomes, cartoons, rock posters, graffiti, lightning bolts, monsters, superheroes, unicorns, skulls and analog video goodies.

Set of 5 Colorful Gnomes

By happysilence, $20.

Skull Bandana Digital Print

By TurnerHillikerArt, $12.

LOCA CHICA

By taylorsays, $200.

Mega-Bytes Finger Puppets (set of three)

By TheHookery, $7.

Macrame Owl Necklace - Golden Poppy Yellow

By macraMe, $10.

Super Hero Doll

By MiniMonster, $19.

RED DEVIL Happy Monster Backpack

By ArtsiBitsi, $35.

Panda Mask

By lupin, $19.75.

My Pet Monster Palm Puppet (Super Monster)

By TheHookery, $17.

KolOr BReaKdOwn

By SCHiZO, $130.

Calculator Robot Pouch

By anatomyofaskirt, $40.

Paper Mache bike 012

By mumbreeze, $20.

Olive the Recycled Curtain Unicorn

By handmadepretties, $25.

CUSTOM LEGGINGS TEMPLATE

By ruffeoheartslilsnoty, $78.

Keyboard Zipper Pouch w/Detachable Ring- Red

By TooToo, $14.

AQUA FACE - size medium

By joshreames, $20.

Little T.V. Brooch

By zoxi, $6.

Jokull the Ice Deer

By amccahon, $17.

What Etsy items would you add to this post? Leave a link in the comments!

Items Tagged "Neon" on Etsy | The Paper Rad Collective | More Camera Obscura Posts

There's No Place Like Here: Forestbound & The Snail and The Cyclops

2009-07-02T16:50:00-05:00

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(music by Luc, animation by JuliaPott)

Three years ago, Alice Saunders, a.k.a. Forestbound, and Francesca Zmetra, a.k.a. Thirteen Eighty-Five, (who's also responsible for the delightful blog, The Snail and The Cyclops) became roommates in an old house in Jamaica Plain, MA. They didn't know each other at the time but because of their similar styles, they bonded instantly and became close as friends and creative colleagues. Alice's aesthetic tends toward old military Americana with a collection of canvas bags, found bones, birch bark, vintage lace and postcards. Francesca's taste is more feminine, influenced by wartime beauty parlors and apothecaries. These friends share a studio space and each have their own bedroom along with four other roommates in this old Victorian in an artsy neighborhood of Boston. Both Alice and Francesca keep up with modern technology though their Internet businesses, blog, and Flickr sites, but their work and decor are nostalgic for things past: ephemera, vintage wares and trinkets with character.

Watch other Etsy videos | Decorating Posts | Get the Look Series

Search Etsy for "1940's" | Browse Etsy's Vintage Category

Handmade Portraits: Birdhouseaccents

2009-06-17T16:11:00-05:00

(music by Two Dark Birds, animation by JuliaPott)

It took Fred Jakubiec from Birdhouseaccents 25 years before he made building birdhouses his full-time job. It was well worth the wait. After 13 years as Area Supervisor at various fast food establishments, a stint at a steel mill and years of driving for Fed Ex, Fred decided working for other people just wasn't fun anymore.

He and his partner Lynn Patrick regularly took trips to Amish country to go thrifting and flea market shopping. During one visit, Fred discovered primitive style woodworking, and it was then that knew he found his calling. Building birdhouses and decorating them with special recycled accents was the perfect niche for this one time woodworking tinkerer turned birdhouse entrepreneur.

Watch more of our Handmade Video Portraits. Know a seller with a great story? Tell us about them in the comments!

Visit the Woodworking Category | Find "Primitives" on Etsy | More Birdhouses on Etsy

There's No Place Like Here: Dustin Yellin

2009-05-15T14:22:00-05:00

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(music by Butthole Surfers, Barry London, Enemy Heroes, The Give, animation by JuliaPott)

Artist, filmmaker, surfer, and world traveler Dustin Yellin is a maker as well as a hunter. Yellin creates intricate volumetric tomographic paintings and hunts for salvaged treasures during his extensive travels. The Red Hook Labs is a collaborative artist space headed by Yellin and photographer Charlotte Kidd. This 15000 square foot warehouse houses studios for sculpture, photography, painting, a video editing facility, a gallery and an artists' residency space. The move to Red Hook happened once Manhattan became too expensive for artists.

Yellin has filled the space with an eclectic collection of street finds and friends' artwork. From paintings and drawing by Gavin Anderson and Gibby Haynes to animal skulls, snake skins and giant wooden sculptures, this artistic hub is filled with natural history wonders and contemporary art.

P.S. We found Dustin through a fantastic photography blog The Selby. Thank you Todd Selby!

Check out Dustin's latest show Dust in the Brain Attic at Robert Miller Gallery.

Open your door to Etsy's There's No Place Like Here series! Add photos of your beautiful space (studio, home, or boutique) or suggest photos to us through our There's No Place Like Here flickr pool. If you would like to share your crafting space, add your photos to the Etsy Open Studio flickr pool. You never know, you might need to bust out the welcome wagon for the Etsy video crew!

Watch other Etsy videos | Decorating Posts | Get the Look series

Search Etsy for "Natural History" | Browse Etsy's Art Category

There's No Place Like Here: Made with Love by Hannah

2009-04-22T15:24:00-05:00

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(music by Lineland, Barry London, animation by JuliaPott)

What's it like to live in a fantastical German chalet in the heart of downtown Los Angeles? Hannah Kopacz of Made With Love By Hannah has customized her colorful abode with twenty years' worth of knick knack and ric rac treasure hunting. Take a tour of her packed home, overflowing with vintage and handmade gnomes, figurines, mushrooms and veggie people.

For more on Hannah's projects, tchotchkes and gettin' shack wacky, check out her blog and Flickr stream. She even made her studio (which is a shed in her backyard) look like a huge cuckoo clock!

Open your door to Etsy's There's No Place Like Here series! If you have a beautiful space (studio, home, or boutique — not craft spaces), let us know. Add photos of your space or suggest photos to us through our new flickr pool. You never know, you might need to bust out the welcome wagon for the Etsy video crew!

Watch other Etsy videos | Decorating Posts | Get the Look series

Handmade Portraits: Stacey Rebecca

2009-04-03T14:26:00-05:00

(music by Two Dark Birds, animation by JuliaPott)

Puppeteer Stacey Gordon, aka Staceyrebecca, started making puppets with her church youth group as a kid. It wasn't until after college that Stacey saw an adult puppet slam performed by Preston Foerder at the Great Arizona Puppet Theater and she decided to pursue puppetry.

Adult puppet shows are meant to bring humor to topics that most would consider taboo. Stacey's quick wit and edgy sense of humor were a perfect match for this unusual performance medium. She makes her own moving mouth puppets, which can take anywhere from twenty to forty hours each. However, Stacey makes finger puppets for instant gratification, mostly anthropomorphizing food that she like to eat. Stacey says shes going to keep making handmade puppets until her hands won't allow her to anymore. Whether she's performing adult slams or doing improvisational pieces at local schools, she will continue to perform with her creations.

Watch our other Handmade Video Portraits and subscribe to our Youtube Channel!

Learn how-to make a shadow puppet!

Search for More Puppets | Children's Category | Toys Category

Watch the hella old school Etsy Newscast wherein Staceyrebecca's "puppet correspondent" grills Etsy founder RevolvingDork.

There's No Place Like Here: Something's Hiding In Here

2009-03-13T17:30:00-05:00

(music by The And Group, animation by JuliaPott)

There's No Place Like Here...Welcome to our new video series, where creative types show us their unique spaces — infused with their aesthetic and filled with the treasures they collect.

Today design duo Something's Hiding In Here give us a tour of their incredible, renovated Philadelphia loft, full of woodland goodies, refinished furniture, faux bois aplenty, a woodshop, and even an indoor porch swing. This veritable wonderland of turquoise and woodgrain is the not only a cozy place to come home to—it also houses the studios where Something's Hiding in Here produce all of their work.

Shauna Alterio and Stephen Loidolt met while attending the Kansas City Art Institute. With Stephen's background in sculpture and Shauna's in printmaking, they decided to share their skills and start collaborating. The resulting built-out loft is a testament to their do-it-yourself spirit and crafty abilities, as well as their meticulous and obsessive natures. (Collections aren't built in a day!)

Shauna and Stephen's home is a modern-meets-rustic mix that melds their many varied talents with vintage and handmade finds, rounded out by the color palette of their globe collection. Though the loft is only a rental, the couple has managed to make their mark and transform the raw space into a cozy home that's reflective of their unique aesthetic.

For more on Shauna and Stephen's projects, artwork and decorating inspirations, check out their blog and Flickr stream.

Open your door to There's No Place Like Here! If you have a beautiful space (studio, home, or boutique — not craft spaces), let us know. Add photos of your space or suggest photos to us through our new flickr pool. You never know, you might need to bust out the welcome wagon for the Etsy video crew!

Watch other Etsy videos | Decorating Posts | Get the Look series

Handmade Portraits: Artstew

2009-03-06T18:28:00-05:00

(music by Michael Chapman, Steve Gunn, The And Group, animation by JuliaPott)

Back in the 1970s, Holly Stewart, aka Artstew, was a single mom trying to raise two daughters. Holly decided to forgo art school to support her family, ultimately paying the bills and gaining respect within her Oklahoma City community by becoming a police officer. Even as she put in her time with the force (15 years!), she was always drawing.

It wasn't until Holly quit the force and moved to Kansas City, Missouri to attend — and subsequently work at — the Kansas City Art Institute that she discovered the world of art beyond drawing. When she found silk screening and dispersion dying on polyester, everything else fell by the wayside. Holly came to a place where her high powered job, with all its perks and money, kept her from expressing herself as an artist. That's when she gave up everything to make her art.

Holly spends her days in her funky, cozy apartment in the Midtown - Westport area of Kansas City, her cat Chicken by her side, as she experiments with dying polyester. She couldn't be happier.

Watch our other Handmade Video Portraits and subscribe to our Youtube Channel!

Artistic Endeavors series | Mixed Media Art Category | Fiber Art Category | FAST Team

Handmade Portraits: Black-eyed Suzie

2009-02-19T17:00:00-05:00

(music by Espers, animation by JuliaPott)

Canadian artist and writer Sarah Faber aka Blackeyedsuzie started making art dolls while she was living in the woods of Maine, unable to legally work in the States. Sarah tired of constantly being in her own head as she worked endlessly on her first novel, so she decided she needed to do something with her hands. She chose doll-making because she could build on her experiences as a young girl, helping her crafty mother make beautiful dolls. After buying some books Sarah started experimenting with polymer clay, and eventually paper clay.

Blackeyedsuzie's style was influenced by her love for Gothic novels, Victorian and Elizabethan costumes and Dame Darcy's comic Meat Cake. Her dolls are infused with the same elongated, wide-eyed traits as the characters of Edward Gorey and Tim Burton. However, Sarah's dolls have their own style: Victorian beauties with a dark side — card sharks, bourbon drinkers, albinos and vampires...

Sarah doesn't necessarily consider her dolls to be Gothic, although some are dark and contain elements of the supernatural or uncanny. She considers them to be "Victorian, with a certain edge." The dolls' descriptions tell tales of dire lives of Victorian England, but not without a certain playful wink.

Watch our other Handmade Video Portraits and subscribe to our Youtube Channel!

Steampunk and Noir Gift Guide | Art Doll Posts | Art Doll Category | Gothic Posts

Handmade Portraits: Sunny Rising Leather

2008-12-12T22:00:00-05:00

(music by Allison Sattinger)

Allison Sattinger, aka Sunny Rising Leather, has had the nickname "Sunny" ever since she was a kid. When you watch this video, you'll quickly know why: Allison just glows with warmth and goodness. She learned to tool leather in 2004, and her first pair of cuffs read "Let me be (L) that light (R)"..."Let me be that light".

Allison still strives to be that light with everything she does, from crafting her beautiful leather goods, to singing with her angelic voice, to silversmithing jewelry, to being an inspiration for artisans wishing to quit their day jobs. Allison takes the old tradition of leather tooling and makes it her own with her signature koi fish necklaces and her custom made leather bags.

Watch our other Handmade Video Portraits and subscribe to our Youtube Channel!

Handmade Portraits: Woodmouse

2008-12-05T13:18:00-05:00

(music by Lineland, Jukeboxer)

Toymaker Amber Dusick aka woodmouse has her wood shop in her garage in downtown Los Angeles. After the birth of her son, this one time farm girl from Wisconsin became nostalgic for the toys from her past: simple, natural toys that would inspire creativity and imaginative play, made from materials that wouldn't stick around in a landfill for thousands of years.

After years of silversmithing, throwing pottery and drawing with pen and ink, Amber finally found her medium in wood. Using sustainably harvested woods, non toxic paints and beeswax along with her wood burning tool, Amber was able to transfer the look and feel of her previous pen and ink drawings to wooden toys.

See more posts about the CPSIA issue!

Woodmouse, founder of the Natural Kids Team, is an ardent advocate of sustainable toys. The materials used are all natural and her toys are 100% compostable. Her imagery is reminiscent of of a child's crayon drawing come to life in wood.

Amber, like other Etsy toy makers and sellers of children's items, is fearful that as a sole proprietor she will not be able to afford the stricter regulations of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA); the cost of testing and certification is likely beyond her means. She told Etsy, “I'd be more than happy to have each of my toys tested, if it wasn't so cost prohibitive. It is the COST involved in testing that will shut us down, it isn't that anyone refuses to have their work tested." The CPSC recently proposed a 1 year delay of required testing and certification, in part because of artisans were able to get their voices heard. But this means we need to use the coming year to write to our Congresspeople. Click here to see the latest on the CPSIA & find out what you can do to prevent artisans from being put out of business.

Handmade Video Portraits | More on the Natural Kids Team

Handmade Kids Series | Baby Gift Guide | Children's Gift Guide

Handmade Portraits: Leslie Stein

2008-11-14T11:30:00-05:00

(music by Prince Ruperts Drops)

Leslie Stein, aka larrybear, spends most of her time drawing comics, listening to old time radio shows and playing records. Leslie started her first comic series, called simply Leslie, back in high school. It revolved around her wacky adventures with her magical bunny and bird that helped her out in gym class and other misadventures.

After discovering underground comic book artists like Dan Clowes and P eter Bagge when she was an angsty teenager, Leslie decided comic books would be the perfect medium for her to tell her stories. Both of her comics — Eye of the Majestic Creature and her more experimental construction paper comics — are hand drawn and printed at a small printing press. Unlike mainstream super hero comics, her stories are autobiographical and don't have a typical plot. As Leslie says, "If you're looking for thrills and drama, this might not be for you, but if you're interested in seeing the world the way I see it, pick one up."

Leslie decided long ago that rather than work professionally as an illustrator, that she would hold a regular job and save her creative energy for her own work. She dedicates all of her free time to her creative pursuits and she finds inspiration everywhere. From walking down the street in Brooklyn to looking at an empty field, humanity and curiosity light the way to new adventures and new tales to tell.

Leslie won a Xeric Grant to print her work "Yeah, It Is!" and was nominated for Best New Talent in 2004 by the Harvey Awards. Keep you eye on this one!

Watch more Handmade Video Portraits on Etsy's blog!

Books and Zines Category | Book Worms and Writers Gift Guide

Zines Posts | Comics Posts | larrybear's Shop

Handmade Portraits: Bruce Metcalf with Bonus Audio Podcast

2008-10-10T12:43:00-05:00

(music by Lineland, photos by John White Wilson)

Bruce Metcalf has dedicated almost forty years of his life to the creation and historiography of American Studio Craft. He makes his exquisite jewelry with the utmost care and precision. On average most of the pieces take two months to create, whereas some take years before he perfects the final nuances.

After stints as sociology and architecture majors, Metcalf found himself transferring to the jewelry department during college in 1970. It was a bold move because the crafts weren't highly regarded within the fine art establishment at that time. However, the move felt right, and studio craft is where Metcalf has stayed ever since.

Because “fine artists” wrote about craft only as functional and not for display, Metcalf decided to set the story straight and represent himself. He began writing about craft history and theory. Currently, Metcalf is in the process of finishing up a text book on the history of American Studio Craft, the first of its kind.

Over the course of the last decade, the number of craft departments across the country has continued to dwindle. Although newer generations of artists embrace studio craft, academia still does not embrace its importance within the fine art establishment. Metcalf spends much of his time — when not producing work — talking to heads of art schools, academics and art critics about the importance of studio craft as part of formal fine art training. Although Metcalf acknowledges that many talented and successful artists are self taught (he himself is self trained in woodworking), he maintains that the best training still lies within a formal setting with a teacher as a mentor.

Metcalf has become an outspoken figure at the intersection of craft and fine art worlds, but recently at the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) conference, his comments led to another controversial role in the eyes of a new crowd. He sparked a dialogue between generations of crafters — his peers in the older, more established Studio Crafts/Craft as Fine Art generation, and the younger, technology-infused, DIYers of "Alt craft."

After the conference, crafter imogeneANDannie posted "Confessions" on her blog that, in a very personal way, focused in on Metcalf's remarks, and in doing so, unveiled the perceptions of the two disparate sides. Folks chimed in with their opinions, and in some cases the conversations were heated: the generations clashed over technology and the role of formal education, as well as the differences between spontaneous, punk rock craft for the masses vs. the carefully crafted, luxury pieces sold through dealers or galleries.

At the Connect/(Dis)connect talk at the American Craft Council, Metcalf discussed these matters with Chanel Kennebrew (you can get to the podcast through our Storque post). During the talk, Metcalf was in part amused, recalling his rebellious student days — and another part of him was willfully steadfast in his views on the social and economic differences in practices. History seemed to be repeating itself, as a younger generation with new tools and a shifted horizon line bucked "the way things are done."

In addition to this Handmade Video Portrait, we've produced an audio podcast with out-takes from the interview with Bruce Metcalf. His theories on the relevance and importance of craft have helped bring clarity to the discussion of studio craft's place within the art world. And because we just couldn't get enough of discussing the Alt vs. Studio craft debate, we invite you to listen in.

Watch our other Handmade Video Portraits and subscribe to our Youtube Channel!

See Bruce's website for more of his work: www.brucemetcalf.com

Please share your thoughts in the comments!

Robin Tucker of Wood Mosaics on the Beauty of Wood

2008-09-24T17:14:00-05:00

As a follow up to the Handmade Portraits: Wood Mosaics video, I wanted to post some of the footage I shot of Robin Tucker talking about the woods he uses in his woodwork. Robin mentioned in the interview that although some of the more exotic woods can be high priced, they add to the overall beauty of the pieces. It can be hard to keep up a good supply of wood in order to get your varied colors, but you only need a little to make the design striking.

Handmade Portraits: Wood Mosaics | more Handmade Video Portraits | Woodworking Category

Handmade Portraits: Wood Mosaics

2008-09-19T15:54:00-05:00

(music by Michael Chapman, Nathan Salsburg, J. Seger)

Robin and Kathy Tucker of woodmosaics stopped working in town back in 1986. After Robin's intricate wood-inlayed work was featured in The Best of Missouri Hands catalog and commissioned by Ralston Purina, they were on their way to full time crafting. Influenced by Amish quilt patterns, Robin's excellent woodworking uses exotic natural woods that range from Satinwood from Sri Lanka to Purpleheart from Central and South America. All of the wood is completely natural, with only a clear finish added to punctuate the beauty of the wood's innate color.

Choosing to live as off the grid as much as possible, Robin built a windmill so the family could hand pump their own water. Kathy made their clothes for years and they slaughter their own meat from the goats and chickens they raise. However, the one amenity they can't live without is the internet. After a dozen years of craft shows across the country, Robin and Kathy prefer to stay at home, tend to the farm and sell their goods via laptop rather than mall shows. While the juxtaposition of an outhouse and high speed internet would seem strange to most folks, the Tuckers have chosen to make certain sacrifices to keep costs down while in pursuit of a self sustained lifestyle. Living in the middle the country in Spickard, Missouri, the Tuckers keep connected through the latest in social networking via their Myspace and flickr sites, with a solar powered back-up generator in case the electricity goes out.

Watch our other Handmade Video Portraits and subscribe to our Youtube Channel!

Check out Robin's homemade videos from the farm on Youtube.

Fresh Shops: Ruth Marks

2008-09-11T13:20:00-05:00

My pal Michael Troutman from the band Awesome Color has heard a lot about Etsy (mostly because I've been touting its praises to everyone I know). Michael in turn mentioned all the wonderful things he heard to his friend — artist and sculptor Ruth Marks — and encouraged her to open a shop. Ruth knew about Etsy, but wasn't aware that it was a marketplace for fine art as well as crafts. Voila! A little over a month ago, Ruth opened her shop and I was mesmerized by what I saw. Her paper clay sculptures of women and children are beautifully rendered and have an eerie dreamlike quality. As a filmmaker interested in the work of Jan Svankmajer, The Brothers Quay and Bread & Puppet, this work resonates with me not only as visually pleasing objects, but as physical manifestations of some netherworld that I long to explore and dream about...

Here's a little interview we did with this Fresh Shop.

Can you tell us a little about the person behind ruthmarks?
I live in Michigan with my husband and two children. My husband James is an entrepreneur as well. (He runs a screen printing shop called VGKids.) It's perfect, because we work as a team to make our family life work and to make our businesses thrive. My studio is an converted kitchen in our old Victorian house. I like integrating home life and art making, it works well for me. Currently I sell most of my work through galleries and the occasional art fair. Making this Etsy shop has been a fun way to make my work even more widely available. The feedback has been wonderful.

What inspires you as a creative person?
Most of my imagery comes from childhood dreams and memories. I love to read and see films, and I think those narratives leak in to my work as well.

The doll artists of NIADA have an incredibly high quality craftsmanship and skill. I love going to their conferences to see the work in person and meet the artists. They are very generous group that I learn a lot from.

Of course the Pop-surreal or New Brow genre of work that is happening on the West Coast is so exciting. I love to keep track of the artists you can see in Juxtapoz magazine or in galleries like White Walls in San Francisco, Thinkspace in Los Angeles, Roq La Rue in Seattle.

How do you like Etsy so far? What are your favorite features of the site?
I love the accessibility of Etsy. I love that is always changing and that the staff seem to have a good eye and pick out fun things to highlight. I love just searching around and finding new artists all over the world. Sometimes being an artist can be isolating; it is good to remember that there are so many of us out there making beautiful things.

Anything else you'd like to add is also welcome!
I have a website at www.ruthmarks.com with links to some of my favorite artists and examples of my past work.

Looking for more Etsy newbies? Check out our previous Fresh Shops coverage!

Handmade Weddings: LoucheLab's Love Story

2008-09-05T14:00:00-05:00

[music by Barry London]

This article was originally published on March 28, 2008. We are reviving it as part of the Best of the Storque series. Enjoy!

If you're following the Handmade Wedding Series, then you probably appreciate a good love story. LoucheLab and her husband Ned have a particularly handmade story of falling in love (well, it's high tech, too). Blogging, artwork, photography, web cams, artist books and international romance all converged to get these two souls together. Below, you'll find LoucheLab's account and photographs, as well as a special video portrait we produced with them (which does have some spicy mature artwork by the artists, so be forewarned if you are watching this with your child — this is an adult love story, after all!).

Ned and I met by accident. (Which is a pretty big accident, considering that we lived about 7,000 miles from one another.) I was living in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Ned was living in the Meat Packing District in New York while packing up his studio to move to Brooklyn. We had both started blogging 9 months before — after painful break-ups. So Ned was surfing random blogs and got into mine, went to my Flickr page and looked at my art and then wrote me an email.

It was basically my art and his words that brought us together.

We spent almost a year apart; then I flew to New York at Christmas to meet him for the first time. Before I came he said, "I want us to make art together while you are here." My art was always very solitary, so I asked, "What do you mean?" and, he said, "I don't know, but we'll figure it out."

And we have: we made graffiti and paintings, and we took a lot of pictures of one another. After I went back to Israel, we kept on talking on webcam all the time; it was on 24 hours a day. He would wait 'til his midnight, which was my 7:00 AM, and we would talk before I would go to work, and I would rush home from the office to see him. It was like living in one apartment with a window into the other room where he was, without being able to touch one another — besides with words and art.

In the course of the months apart, we both created a lot, we expressed our love, the sexual frustration and the emotional roller coaster state with photography and paintings and street art and t-shirt making and computer art and so on. The whole relationship, between his blog and my blog and our Flickr accounts, was very public, and we had people all over the world encouraging us through the difficult times and happy for us, when finally, we made the choice of me moving to New York so we could start a life together offline.

[Me signing our Ktuba (illustrated wedding contract in the Jewish tradition). We wrote the text together and I illustrated it.]

We first decided to get married so I could stay in the United States, but as the preparation started, it became a very small part of it all. Because art was such a big part of our relationship, and because as a part of our relationship we beat all odds and made the rules as we went along, it was really obvious to us that our wedding would also be like that — intimate and important and very art inspired.

[This is me working on the Hupa. It's a big blanket like thing that in Jewish tradition serves as a roof the couple need to get married under. I spray painted about a 100 ravens on it, and my hand was sore for about a week after. The stars in the middle are tattoos we got together when I came to visit New York and met Ned for the first time.]

The theme of the wedding was ravens, because of — well, a lot of things, but also because they mate for life after having a relatively long period of just playing the field. (Below, you'll see me getting my wedding tattoo. I illustrated it.)

It was basically a Rabbi who is a friend and about 20 friends and family members in our studio in Williamsburg. A lot of what we made was a spur of a moment idea that took shape. Ned edited a cool music mix and we thought "this would be a nice give-away," which lead to me spray painting 40 CDs with a cool pattern, and us burning copies 'til 5:00 in the morning.

Our Rabbi told us that although we didn't want rings, we needed to exchange something of value. So we decided to get rings after all, and on the train on the way to the store, we tried to figure out what they would symbolize for us — and what being married means to us. We talked about learning and making mistakes and this being a beginning rather then a happy ending: we got both rings engraved with "Human" on the inside.

The idea of writing and illustrating our own Ktuba actually came from Josh the Rabbi, which I was really grateful about. I wouldn't have thought about it myself. Also, he suggested making some art or writing something to express how we feel about weddings and marriage, which is how the wedding book I made came to be.

We didn't have a DJ or a band or 300 people in fancy dresses or flowers or a white dresses: we had only people that we wanted there (including my sister on webcam from Israel). We had to deal with a lot of feelings and fears beforehand, rather than having too many arrangements to take care of. While the wedding was going I realized I forgot one of the decoration projects I wanted to do, but it didn't matter. After the ceremony, Ned's parents took everyone out to Union Picnic for dinner, which was at the time our favorite restaurant. Even still, we hear from people who were there about how significant and intense the whole event was, and how it's one of the most memorable events they can think of.

[Ned getting his wedding tattoo. He designed it.]

The handmade wedding theme caught on, and we got artwork from three or four artist friends as gifts, and Ned's dad designed and printed a book of the wedding pictures for us which we show off to anyone who wants to know what the wedding was like.

I always hated weddings before. I used to work for a catering service and the way so many wedding are about food or about showing off was really repulsive to me. With the way things went with our wedding, I can say that this was the best wedding ever, which is cool because it was mine!

[Married!]

What an inspiring love story. Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Watch our other Handmade Video Portraits and subscribe to our Youtube Channel!

Wedding Gift Guide | Wedding Category | Wedding Showcase | Handmade Wedding Series

Handmade Portraits: 1AEON

2008-09-04T14:49:00-05:00

[music by The Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound, Jukeboxer, The Fucking Champs, The Mystick Krewe of Clearlight]

This article was originally published on May 13, 2008. We are reviving it as part of the Best of the Storque series. Enjoy!

Gabe Molnar of 1AEON says his designs often come from his dreams. The fantastical imagery includes lions, dragons, skulls and owls ("since before all the owl hype," as Gabe says). Working non-stop in his small kitchen in Brooklyn, this Hungarian-born artist is driven to be the best at whatever he does and to push the boundaries (maybe this comes in part from growing up under Communism?). But his passion and ambition hasn't made Gabe lose sight of his humble beginnings. We were very inspired to meet the maker behind 1AEON and hear his story.

Watch our other Handmade Video Portraits and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel and Subscribe in iTunes.

If you're interested in all things Hungarian, check out this post on traditional and contemporary Hungarian crafts.

Handmade Portraits: Maya Hayuk

2008-08-15T11:50:00-05:00

(MATURE content in the video: if you're watching this with your child, be prepared to answer some questions about female body parts.)

(music by Barry London, The And Group, Hold Me)

Muralist, photographer, painter, music video creator... Maya Hayuk prefers to simply call herself an artist, because under that moniker she has the freedom to work in whatever medium she wants at any given time.

Growing up in Baltimore, Maya learned the art of traditional Ukrainian handicrafts from her family. Her parents, both professors—one geography, one psychology—traveled extensively with the family during her childhood and bought Maya a camera at an early age to document their adventures. In high school she started shooting bands and getting attention for her work. After attending Massachusetts College of Art's SIM (Studio for Interrelated Media) program, Maya became interested in environmental art, wherein murals work in collaboration with the surrounding architecture, as well as the community who lives with the art long afterward. Maya also studied comparative religion, which has infused all of her work with a spiritual aspect ever since.

Maya has painted murals around the world, and her work has been featured in magazines, album covers and ads campaigns. Her improvised style and bright colors seem to be part of a new resurgence in psych-folk art that is pinned to a higher consciousness: one that inspires good vibes. Maya says that with her murals, "the narrative can be as simple as 'I like those colors'" and it doesn't have to go deeper than that with her audience. Maya's work has become something more than a precise painting on a wall. It's a part of people's lives, and a living thing that people interact with and tell stories about.

Last spring Maya headed to Braddock, PA to work with Braddock Active Arts organization to help revitalize a once thriving steel mill town, now part of the forgotten post-industrial landscape of America. Sixteen different artists from all over the world gathered to contribute environmental art that ranged from the functional to the inspirational. With the help of the teens from the Braddock Youth Project, these artists added a little life and hope to this depressed town.

Although Maya makes part of her income from licensing her imagery and painting murals, her bread and butter comes from selling rock posters, t-shirts and books of her designs. Maya's work will be featured at the upcoming Democratic National Convention (Bright Future, pictured below) and at the Mahan Gallery in Columbus, Ohio this fall.

Watch our other Handmade Video Portraits and subscribe to our Youtube Channel!

See Maya's website for more of her work: www.mayahayuk.com

Fresh Shops: ilovegreyskies

2008-08-14T12:40:00-05:00

While using Pounce Undiscovered for Fresh Shops to feature, I found the unusual work of ilovegreyskies. Kimberly of ilovegreyskies has been an Etsian since last year, but only became an official shop within the past month. At first glance I thought the figurines were smallish yeti sculptures. Upon further review, I found that these little creatures were called "mooks." I wasn't sure what the term implied, but I knew that the little amorphous blobs looked pretty cute to me—especially when wearing a little bear hood!

Here's a little interview we did with ilovegreyskies.

Can you tell us a little about the people behind ilovegreyskies?
Just me. I've always been a creative person and had leanings towards making little things, so the sculptures in my shop are pretty representative of what I like to make. I was really thoughtful about what I wanted in my Etsy shop—I wanted it to be something I enjoyed making, and hopefully something that people would like to display. I am also a painter. I live in Florida with the love of my life (husband, Tony) and my son, Enzo. I have a little studio in my house, and as soon as I get my son down for a nap, I'm in there working on any number of projects. I really like my life.

What inspires you as a creative person?
What seems like such an easy question is always so hard to me. I am lucky enough to constantly have a vastness of ideas swimming around my head at all times, so I guess I am constantly inspired. I think casual daydreaming is when I think of the ideas, but then it gets more focused and serious while I try to fine tune them to develop a project.

As far as inspiration goes, here are some things that do inspire me specifically: Childrens books (I love Sendak, Scarry and Gorey best), illustrations, other artists, old-fashoned ghost stories, counter-culture, David Lynch, Francis Bacon, fall, my husband, people who follow their own path, anatomy, mid-century design, nature & life, comic books (cCowes, Kochalka, more), domesticity, blogs, READING books, love.

How do you like Etsy so far? What are your favorite features of the site?
Since I am so new as a seller, I sincerely love how user friendly it is and how easily I am able to find answers to my questions. I have yet to even scratch the surface of all the resourses, but from what I've seen it's just amazing. So far, I've just been looking around in a lot in amazement at how many talented people there are out there.

The existence of Etsy is just such a wonderful tool for reaching audiences—I'd never be able to without it. My aesthetic is a strange one, and the fact that I may be able to find others that like it is pretty exciting.

Anything else you'd like to add is also welcome!
I do have a blog at ilovegreyskies.blogspot.com. Thank you so much for featuring me!!

Looking for more Etsy newbies? Check out our previous Fresh Shops coverage!

Handmade Portraits: lepinkchocolat

2008-08-08T14:22:00-05:00

(music by Eric Beug)

Karolina Kubik, aka lepinkchocolat, adores French luxury. Her gorgeous, handcrafted jewelry is an homage to the ultimate cultural pleasure, the French Patisserie. During her studies at the art and fashion school, Duperré, Karolina decided to apply her drawing skills to polymer clay molding. Her miniatures of pastries, cookies and cakes are a wonder to behold. Karolina's technique is so well honed that the mini-cakes and macaroons make the mouth water!

Etsy sent independent filmmaker Gabriella Kessler, aka gkessler, to visit Karolina at her home and studio in Paris. (See Gabriella's film production company's site for more information on her work.)

Watch our other Handmade Video Portraits and subscribe to our Youtube Channel!

Handmade Portraits: MV Knits featured on YouTube!

2008-08-03T20:25:00-05:00

Today, August 3rd, 2008 YouTube has featured one of our Handmade Video Portraits on their front page! Please watch our portrait of shepherd Susan Gibbs and then subscribe to the Etsy channel on YouTube and Itunes to keep up-to-date on the latest Etsy videos.

Check out the Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm's blog and flickr site. You can also check out the Etsy Labs flickr site for Calder Martin's photos from the shoot.

Watch the rest of the Handmade Video Portraits series and leave a comment! Let us know if you find the stories inspiring and enlightening.

Handmade Portraits: Julia Pott

2008-08-01T12:00:00-05:00