Etsy's Handmade Blog
Etsy Love Stories: HannahMade and Mcaplan
Story by hannahmade, mcaplan
Published on February 12, 2009 in This Handmade Life 		Photo by

HannahMade

We don't want the Season of Love to ever end, and we're searching the community for Etsy love stories. The fourth story we're sharing with you this year (and it's so sweet!) chronicles the friendship of HannahMade and mcaplan.

Mcaplan: I am really excited to get the opportunity to gush about my collaborations with the great Hannahmade! Hannah is one of my dearest friends and we frequently team up to do shows together. We also spend a lot of time working in the same space (we currently share a studio in my house!). Even though our genres are totally different (I am art, she is jewelry) we seem to be able to find inspiration from watching each other work. This can be a very solitary occupation, and having another creative person around to bounce ideas off of has really been invaluable.
 
Last year Hannah made me a very special birthday pendant that showcased one of my favorite collages of Eucalyptus leaves. The moment I got over how incredibly thoughtful and gorgeous it was, and the fact that she had sculpted it with her own hands, I knew that she was onto something.

It didn't take Hannah long to start planning which pieces she wanted to frame next, and I loved seeing which stones she would incorporate into the tassel in the adjustable chain in the back. Whenever I wear any of the pieces I get tons of questions and requests. Several of my clients who have had personal portraits commissioned have ordered pendants with their pieces in the frame. It is really cool to see that others are enjoying the fruits of our collaborations.

It isn't often that one finds their "soul sister," but I have been lucky enough to have been teamed up with one of the most creative and talented women out there! She is SO gifted and her work is absolutely impeccable. Hannah thrives on working with others and finding a muse for her pieces. I am honored that she wanted to team up and make each piece her muse. She really has outdone herself with each one!

HannahMade: It all started with a birthday, Michelle's 31st, to be exact. I had been sculpting frames out of PMC for a few months at this point, and knew Michelle's artwork would be the perfect fit. It was her piece "Eucalyptus" from Collage Lab that inspired the first collaboration AND birthday present! Once she saw it, we both knew there was an undeniable partnership that needed to happen. I basically harassed her to choose piece after piece for me to set in my frames that we would ultimately sell on Etsy and at various shows we did together. It was a serendipitous way for people to wear Michelle's art! Each frame is sculpted in the proportions of the art work and sealed with a UV resin gel. I also accent each necklace with semiprecious stones that compliment the colors featured in the correlating piece.

We've graduated to custom orders — people who commission Michelle with their own photographs are now requesting framed versions of these pieces with their orders. It's a real honor to make Michelle's work into another tangible form — one that can be seen when walking down the street, ultimately creating other ways people's memories can be captured and shared.

Check out more Etsy Love Stories here!

Season of Love Posts | Season of Love Gift Guides

Tags art, birthday, collaboration, collage, coproduction, co-production, Etsy Love Stories, friends, friendship, hannahmade, jewelry, mcaplan, memories, mixed media, necklace, pendants, pet, photos, pmc, portraits, product coupling, Season of Love, silver, Valentine's Day
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52 comments     Login to add your own!

Feb. 12, 2009 at 1:55 p.m. LillyQueen

Great story!!

Feb. 12, 2009 at 2:02 p.m. dogties

Awesome...
Handmade collaborations rock!
Go teamwork

Feb. 12, 2009 at 2:06 p.m. 4TheSparrowsNest

Some of the most amazing creations come to life when artists collaborate...Very sweet friendship story!

Feb. 12, 2009 at 2:13 p.m. ModernMetalJewelry

This is a lovely story. I love the collaborations!

Feb. 12, 2009 at 2:16 p.m. popsiclestick

Love this story - inspiring. Am in mad mad love with the EternallyLinked monogram ring - to die for.

Feb. 12, 2009 at 2:19 p.m. beautifulbridget

What a great story!! Thanks for sharing this :)

Feb. 12, 2009 at 2:24 p.m. kmhcollections

Very inspirational. I've been making jewelry over 3 yrs. now and just opened my etsy site in January this year. I'm also just starting to work with PMC and feel that having a connection of some kind with other artists, crafters, etc would be helpful.

Feb. 12, 2009 at 2:36 p.m. BabbidgePatch

Nice story ~ sweet team work ~

Feb. 12, 2009 at 2:41 p.m. thegratulatest

I wonder how many other Etsy collaboration stories there are! Great story!

Feb. 12, 2009 at 2:48 p.m. ExQuisiteInVitation

Wonderful.

Feb. 12, 2009 at 2:52 p.m. lalala08

Awesome story, and awesome work! Keep the love coming!

Feb. 12, 2009 at 2:59 p.m. baconsquarefarm

What a sweet story~ incredible work by both of you~ Enjoyed reading your story and could picture in my minds eye all the details.

Feb. 12, 2009 at 3:59 p.m. purplepozies

Great story! Lovely pieces!

Feb. 12, 2009 at 4:39 p.m. voleurdebijoux

Wonderful story! Love all the fabulous creations! :)

Feb. 12, 2009 at 4:41 p.m. KnightTimeDesign

Very sweet! Great work too :)

Feb. 12, 2009 at 4:50 p.m. FrucciDesign

Nice story guys!!!

Feb. 12, 2009 at 5:47 p.m. LaireMarie

Such a lovely story...

Feb. 12, 2009 at 5:47 p.m. elisasherejewelry

What a sweet story of friendship, thanks so much for sharing with us.

Feb. 12, 2009 at 6:15 p.m. michellemoode

very cool, ladies! congrats!

Feb. 12, 2009 at 6:47 p.m. StitchCraftShop

i love both Michelle and Hannah's work and this is one of my favorite stories yet!

Feb. 12, 2009 at 7:25 p.m. franticmeerkat

Both Michelle and Hannah are friends of mine and they are the sweetest, most talented people. Michelle even helped me break down my booth at a craft show while my better half rounded up the car. How awesome is that?!

Feb. 12, 2009 at 8:13 p.m. StelmaDesigns

Very nice collaborative pieces and great story. It's wonderful to have another close friend to share your creative spirit with.

Feb. 12, 2009 at 8:33 p.m. jodieflowers

Awesome!

Feb. 12, 2009 at 8:34 p.m. karuski

It's wonderful that you two get such a big inspiration from each other!

Feb. 12, 2009 at 8:39 p.m. missrubysue

I have a similar friendship with norabond.etsy.com--she and I sell different things, but gather inspiration from each other's work-etsy brought us together within 30 miles of each other,and working and sharing is a joy. Lovely story-

cheers!
mrs

Feb. 12, 2009 at 8:47 p.m. IcingOnTheCupcake

Great story, thank you for sharing it!

Feb. 12, 2009 at 9:51 p.m. PipocaHandmade

Very complementary pieces! Great to see such good energy rubbing off!

Feb. 12, 2009 at 10:50 p.m. CutNGlue

Now I want to find my Etsy "soul sister"! Great Story!!

Feb. 12, 2009 at 10:51 p.m. lincolnchristian

great story!

Feb. 12, 2009 at 11:02 p.m. artsgallery

You guys are just lucky! All the best,
Art
p.s anyone in need of brother?

Feb. 12, 2009 at 11:35 p.m. mcaplan

LOL Art!

Feb. 13, 2009 at 12:02 a.m. YouAreYou

Oh man...these stories are making me jealous...

Feb. 13, 2009 at 1:03 a.m. LONGsART

Sweet story,thanks 4 sharing!

Feb. 13, 2009 at 5:12 a.m. Iammie

Love your stuffs!

Feb. 13, 2009 at 8:44 a.m. lizcoolmompicks

I'm already such a fan of Michelle's and now I'm excited to join the Hannah fan club too. Yay for bffs!

Feb. 13, 2009 at 10:49 a.m. nfall2rt

That's awesome that you two found each other and that your two minds created such a great idea together!

Feb. 13, 2009 at 11:06 a.m. edieart

Beautiful art and jewelry!!! Love the collaboration spirit :)

Feb. 13, 2009 at 11:37 a.m. funkyfrocksmama

you two are just so cute it kills me!! Ian says to send ya'll big squishes o' love =)

Feb. 13, 2009 at 11:41 a.m. hannahmade

Thanks Funkyfrocks, ;)
LOL
Squish Ian back for me! really SQUISH!

Feb. 13, 2009 at 1:13 p.m. KalliopeJewelry

♥ Such a sweet story, thank you for sharing it! ♥

Feb. 13, 2009 at 3:05 p.m. hiptobeasquare

Lovely story!
I could only hope for the same...
And I wish you all the best!

Feb. 13, 2009 at 11:28 p.m. LuLusWoobies

Seriously, two very talented girls! My 6 yr old still wears her open heart necklace from Hannah :) It's nice to see you're still in l♥ve!

Feb. 14, 2009 at 1:16 a.m. JoyandWhimsy

I and many others contacted NPR so it goes to show you have to tell the reporters what to report on sometimes.
But now Sen DeMint is trying to reform the law and a small committee of senators has to side with him to approve it. I called all of them whether I lived in the state or not and most didn't even ask where I lived.
Please CONTACT THE SENATORS BELOW NO MATTER WHAT STATE YOU LIVE IN:
The United States Capitol switchboard (202) 224-3121
Urge them to make all books for libraries and resellers, exempt and to support Sen DeMint's proposed changes to help small businesses including crafters and thrift shops for the poor.
The commmittee:
Sen. John Rockefeller [D-WV]
Sen. Kay Hutchison [R-TX]
Sen. Mark Begich [D-AK]
Sen. Barbara Boxer [D-CA]
Sen. Samuel Brownback [R-KS]
Sen. Maria Cantwell [D-WA]
Sen. Byron Dorgan [D-ND]
Sen. John Ensign [R-NV]
Sen. Daniel Inouye [D-HI]
Sen. John Isakson [R-GA]
Sen. Mike Johanns [R-NE]
Sen. John Kerry [D-MA]
Sen. Amy Klobuchar [D-MN]
Sen. Frank Lautenberg [D-NJ]
Sen. Mel Martinez [R-FL]
Sen. Claire McCaskill [D-MO]
Sen. Bill Nelson [D-FL]
Sen. Mark Pryor [D-AR].
Sen. Olympia Snowe [R-ME]
Sen. John Thune [R-SD]
Sen. Tom Udall [D-NM]
Sen. Mark Warner [D-VA]

Feb. 14, 2009 at 1:17 a.m. JoyandWhimsy

Oops I just posted on the wrong article but both gals do great work. Very talented!

Feb. 16, 2009 at 4:16 a.m. lavalleygirly

LOL JoyandWhimsy....that is something I totally would do!

What a lovely love story! And what a couple of super-talented girlies!!!

Feb. 18, 2009 at 12:28 p.m. margarette

so sweet!

Feb. 19, 2009 at 1:20 p.m. laurebelle

Thank you for sharing your "girlfriend" story!

Enjoyed...

Blessings!

Feb. 19, 2009 at 4:10 p.m. MyArtShoppe

Wonderful story! Kindred spirits are the best!

Feb. 19, 2009 at 9:39 p.m. mcaplan

Thank you all so much for all of the awesome comments! Cant wait to check out future articles on collaboration!

Feb. 27, 2009 at 11:12 a.m. Geminimoondesigns

how inspiring!

March 5, 2009 at 10:44 a.m. ManoCelebrates

Its a gift to have great friends.

July 23, 2009 at 2:43 a.m. Tina669

Great story! Lovely pieces!

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