buy handmade :: Nora Aoyagi

Nora Aoyagi is a California (Berkeley to be exact!) based artist and illustrator. She draws inspiration from common folklore and fairy tales, Japanese wood block prints and children's book illustrations to draw, print and paint her work. I spent much of our trip to Renegade last December oohing and ahhing over her work. If it wasn't for the fact that we are paring down for our big move to the UK next year, our walls would be plastered with many of her prints such as this and this.


I must not forget this one to. You know how much I love my silhouettes!

Thanks to poppytalk and guest contributor Eva Jorgensen of Sycamore Street Press for reminding me about her wonderful work on your Renegade Spring 2011 post.

buy handmade :: Blue Diamond Stamp Company

The Blue Diamond Stamp Company was one of the vendors at Urban Craft Uprising in Seattle. Even though, I hadn't done any stamp projects since I was a teenager, their booth set up caught my eye as I have never seen anybody hand make stamps before. Liz Rosino, owner of the Blue Diamond Stamp company, creates clear art stamps from photo-polymer using a mixture of her own drawings and unique, found imagery. There are over 120 designs to choose from including Victorian ladies, tattoo themes, nature themes and robots!

For you stamp lovers out there, Liz explains the benefits of clear polymer stamps versus red rubber mounted stamps on her website as well as tips for stamp placement, storage and cleaning. Visit her Etsy shop here to purchase one of her stunning designs. Happy stamping!

image from Blue Diamond Stamp Company

buy handmade :: focal length designs

photo credit: focal length designs

As part of the Summit of Awesome, the gals of Crafty Wonderland held a Show of Awesome featuring 40 handmade vendors.


I met Isaac during the session 'Craft Fair Applications' and somehow started yakking on about Vancouver, handmade titles, craft fairs, etc. I didn't realize that I had actually seen his work at past Crafty Wonderland shows and had pinned his name on my blog board for later posts. Isaac runs Focal Length Designs which uses old, broken camera lenses and makes one-of-a-kind bracelets out of them. Being in the wedding industry, we know tons of photographers and we knew one especially that always goes above and beyond for us. I had thought of getting one for her at the Christmas show when I first saw Isaac's work, but never ended up making it back through the crowds to his booth. After meeting him in person, I realized that it was the world telling me that I need to buy a bracelet which I indeed did!

things to do :: BLIM Sale

photo credit: Blim

Blim is moving to a new home at 115 East Pender starting May 1st, so to get ready for their big move, they are holding a GIANT sale!

Here are the details:

Saturday, April 24th, 2010 from Noon to 6:00 pm
Sunday, April 25th, 2010 from Noon to 4:00 pm
197 East 17th Avenue (old location)

You'll be able to score art supplies, equipment, books, clothes... it's Blim, so you KNOW it will be a good one!

summit of awesome (pdx)

Founded in 2008 by four crafters / craft fair organizers, Hello Craft is a non-profit trade association dedicated to the advancement of independent crafters and the handmade movement, as well as empowering small business owners and educating the public to the benefits of buying handmade. They actively pursue their mission through various events such as the annual 3-day conference, the Summit of Awesome.

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, June 16th, 2010 to Friday, June 18th, 2010 and join Hello Craft at the 2010 Summit of Awesome in Portland, Oregon. This year's Summit will take place at the McMenamins’ Kennedy School in the Alberta Arts District of Portland.

I am a big fan of Portland and can't wait for three days of seminars, speakers, workshops and overall awesomeness!

Hello Craft is a membership-based trade organization that offers yearly memberships to crafters and makers of all levels. To sign up and for more information, click here.

Check out photos, press and a podcast from last year's Summit of Awesome, click here.

Official registration will be available soon. Today is the last day for early bird tickets, so check out their website for more information! Visit Hello Craft and sign up for their email list to be first in line and to receive all the latest news.

things to do :: nifty for fifty

Save BIG at the 3rd Annual Nifty for Fifty event coming up on April 17 & 18. What makes this event so special!? Designer goods and rare vintage finds all for $50.00 or less! That's a savings of $50 to 90! What? Nifty for Fifty When? Saturday, April 17th, 2010 - 11:00am to 6:00pm and Sunday, April 18th, 2010 from Noon to 5:00pm Where? 560 Seymour Street, Vancouver Featuring over a dozen local designers including ... Adhesif Clothing Dotted Loop Catalyst Reaction Kulus Designs Dahlia Drive Carny Love cream puff by gg Flaming Angels Clutch Designs Planet Claire see you there!

Olive - feature #33

Name: Christina Willows from Olive
Website links: Olive

What do you make?
Olive Bath and body care! My primary focus is on cold process soap. We only use plant based ingredients and never anything synthetic. All natural, made with my own hands.

What or who inspires you?
I’m definitely inspired by my parents. They are both entrepreneurs and they have always loved and encouraged creative pursuits. My father loves to build so I learned a little carpentry here and there. He also has a workshop where he creates stained glass and, in general, he has always helped me to find ways to get to the result I’m looking for.

Growing up, my mother did a lot of sewing and was part of a weaver’s guild. My appreciation for textiles came from her. Now my husband plays a big role as an artist himself and we feed off one another which is really helpful -- especially when you need encouragement!



How did you get started?
November of 2006 I was in University and, as all students can probably relate, I felt broke and short on time with all my projects being due. I ended up going to a craft fair where I saw some beautiful soaps and was inspired to try to make some myself. Thankfully at a young age I learned about soap making from my mother who tried it a few times with one of our neighbors so I was well equipped with some knowledge about safety and what kind of moulds I could use.

With a fair amount of research and a few different concoctions, I came out with some good results. To my surprise everyone loved it. Friends were asking me to make their Christmas gifts too so I opened up my Etsy shop to share the wealth! Turns out it’s a great escape from school stresses too!



What are your favourite materials to work with?
When I comes to Olive I definitely like to work with Essential oils. They are fabulous – they smell great too. To think they come from plants amazes me every time!

Essential oils have been used in medicine for thousands of years. While the soap does smell great, our Lavender Lane soap is also calming. You don't get those benefits from synthetic scents.

Clay has also been a recent favourite of mine especially Moroccan Lava clay which pulls impurities out of your skin and replaces them with minerals! I'm hooked!



What is the hardest and most favourite part of crafting?
Being your own boss! I love that I make my own hours, my own product for something I believe. It’s easy to be really tough on yourself and feel that you have to know everything about business and what the next steps are. Occasionally I just need to stop, breathe and let myself learn rather than be scared of it all. I find that it’s a love hate relationship…

List 5 of your favourite links and why you like them
Thekitchn.com: inspiring colours, textures and presentations of food. You can’t work without food!

Designspongeoneline.com: it satisfies my love of flowers, home décor and design, a little DIY and beautiful products. I always leave this site wanting to make, make, make!

Theweddingchicks.com: I love weddings, from the colors of the flowers to the table settings and all the details in between

Flickr.com: I love doing random word searches, you never know what kind of inspiration you’ll find

wemakeone.com: My husband's graphic design business. Get something designed so we can eat!



Do you have any advice for those in the biz?
Pick a niche and stick with it. I find wherever I go people want to tell me the latest thing to jump on board. I like to hear what people are excited about, but it’s easy to lose your vision and get off course and in the end – more stuff is just more stuff… if it doesn’t fit your niche, get rid of it!

Do you consider yourself an artist or a crafter?
Well I went to school for Fine Arts so this is a hot debate that I usually try and keep out of and I think it gets overly complicated very quickly. I like to think of myself somewhere in between. When it comes down to it I feel like its not very important. What’s important is that I’m enjoying the ride and learning a lot about myself and about life along the way!

(photo images courtesy of Christina Willows)

If you are interested in being featured, please send us an email at info(at)gotcraft(dot)com.

Check out our past features...

Uncle Phil / Flipside - feature #32
Kim Werker - feature #31
Haiiku - feature #30
Smidgebox Designs - feature #29
heyday design - feature #28
Smeeta - feature #27
ACageyBee - feature #26
Maked - feature #25
Firefly Notes - feature #24
Florence Ann - feature #23
Him Creations - feature #22
Jenny Hart - feature #21
district thirty - feature #20
tinywarbler designs - feature #19
telly designs - feature #18
Cabin + Cub - feature #17
Rachel Hobson - feature #16
Green Couch Designs - feature #15
Tanis Alexis - feature #14
Sweetie Pie Press - feature #13
Fibre Manipulator - feature #12
Sam Made - feature #11
All Things Paper - feature #10
Owl + Pussycat - feature #9
Bliss in a teacup - feature #8
It's Your Life - feature #7
Faythe Levine - feature #6
Coco Cake Cupcakes - feature #5
pomomama design - feature #4
GroovyGlassGirl - feature #3
Bueno Style - feature #2
The Beautiful Project - feature #1

heyday design - feature #28

Name: Clare Madill
Website links: heyday design

What do you make?
I work in ceramics – I make molds of found, mostly vintage, forms and translate them into fine porcelain objects. These are currently taking the form of vintage canning jars. Also, I make countless variations of earrings and brooches from the positive and negative patterns on the bottom of vintage glass pickle dishes. I am also currently working on a series of porcelain lights...

What or who inspires you?
I definitely get inspired when I go thrift-store shopping – seeing what I can find and how I can use these found snippets of information and translate it into something else. I am super-inspired by the people I know who are successfully make their living creating things with their hands.



How did you get started?
Before going to Emily Carr, I took some ceramics classes at a community centre in Ottawa. While studying at Emily Carr, I found a fantastic community of people; it was easy to be completely immersed in ceramics. Participating in the annual student show + sale was great experience for making and selling my work.



What are your favourite materials to work with?
I love the translucency of porcelain, of course. But I'd also have to say plaster is a favourite – I can't believe I'm writing that, but it's actually true now. It's the material I need to make my molds so that I'm able to make what I make. It helps that i've gotten waaaaay better at mold-making so it's not the disastrous chore it used to be!

I kind of have a thing for platinum lustre, too – it adds a bit of glamorous detail to the situation.



What is the hardest and most favourite part of crafting?
Hardest: the long hours and how physically hard on my body my work can be. Favourite part: meticulous fine details really satisfy the obsessive/compulsive part of my personality...



List 5 of your favourite links and why you like them
design sponge: great bizladies articles, and always fun to see what creative and talented people make and how they integrate design in their environments

musing about mud: great for links to all kinds of calls for submissions, etc., for people working in clay

I like having a bit of a laugh at the end of the day... regretsy is a new fave.

since i just got home from a 14 hour day in the studio and have emails to send, i don't really leave much time for surfing around... gotta go to bed (1:24am)...

(photo images courtesy of Clare Madill / heyday design)

If you are interested in being featured, please send us an email at info(at)gotcraft(dot)com.

Check out our past features...

Smeeta - feature #27
ACageyBee - feature #26
Maked - feature #25
Firefly Notes - feature #24
Florence Ann - feature #23
Him Creations - feature #22
Jenny Hart - feature #21
district thirty - feature #20
tinywarbler designs - feature #19
telly designs - feature #18
Cabin + Cub - feature #17
Rachel Hobson - feature #16
Green Couch Designs - feature #15
Tanis Alexis - feature #14
Sweetie Pie Press - feature #13
Fibre Manipulator - feature #12
Sam Made - feature #11
All Things Paper - feature #10
Owl + Pussycat - feature #9
Bliss in a teacup - feature #8
It's Your Life - feature #7
Faythe Levine - feature #6
Coco Cake Cupcakes - feature #5
pomomama design - feature #4
GroovyGlassGirl - feature #3
Bueno Style - feature #2
The Beautiful Project - feature #1

local handmade events during the Olympics

Visit Granville Online and read my article on what craft markets are happening in Vancouver during the Olympics!

Craftacular : Tainted Love Edition

Craftacular is ready again for their next show!
Sunday, February 7th, 2010
Little Mountain Gallery - 195 East 26th Avenue
11:00am to 6:00pm

Come check out over a bakers dozen of local artists including the Culinary Temptresses with their gluten free and vegan treats! A love themed photobooth will also be set up, so don your Sunday best!

a cagey bee - feature #26

Name: Kris G. Brownlee from A Cagey Bee
Website links: Etsy, blog

What do you make?
I'm a painter inspired by people, so I like to create character portraits with a storybook feel. I tend to paint girls and cute companion critters, though some of my paintings have a bit of a darker edge to them. I also really enjoy making tiny art pendants. Not everyone can afford an original painting, of course, so this is a fun alternative to a print. Plus I really love the idea of my characters being taken out and about in the real world.



What or who inspires you?
Oh goodness...so many things! I love to people watch. Vancouver is great city for that. I walk my dogs every day and literally *every* day I see someone who would make a great painting.

I'm also really inspired by my fellow artists. It's amazing to see so many people, especially women, representing themselves via the web and doing what they love. Whether it's painting or sewing or making jewelry, it's fantastic to be part of this shift towards more personal, handmade businesses.



How did you get started?
I've always been creative and enjoyed creating images in one way or another - photography, graphic design etc. But it never occurred to me that becoming a full time artist was even an option until a few years ago. I thought you had to live in a loft in NYC and have a trust fund to have any chance of making a living as an artist; it just wasn't on the menu for a girl like me. It wasn't until I started seeing self-represented artists selling their own work via eBay and Etsy that I allowed myself to consider it. I began taking classes at Emily Carr and never looked back. As cheesy as it sounds, it felt like I had finally stepped into who I was supposed to be. Now I can't imagine myself doing anything else.

What are your favourite materials to work with?
I'm very impatient so I like to use acrylic paint. It dries quickly, so I can add lots of layers & go over a piece again & again. With oils, you have to let it dry in between and I just don't have the patience for that! I've been painting on wood a lot lately too which has been fun. When I make prints, I love seeing the texture of the wood show up in the detail.



What is the hardest and most favourite part of crafting?
The hardest part is probably letting go of my favorite paintings. I do tend to hang onto them for a bit before I'll list the original for sale, but you can never tell if it's going to be available for months or be snapped up right away. It helps when I have time to paint a few new ones in between because the newest one is always my favorite. I'm fickle like that. :)

My favorite part of crafting is the community. I've met so many wonderful people both online and in person at local craft shows and markets. There's just something about the community that appreciates handmade, from my fellow crafters to my customers, that is helpful and welcoming and just plain awesome! Seriously. I had someone buy couple of prints from my website and she liked them so much that she sent me a thank you gift in the mail. I'm unbelievably lucky.



List 5 of your favourite links and why you like them

Etsy: This is an obvious one. Between updating my shop, reading the forums & shopping for supplies, I'm on here daily.

This Life: I'll often spend 7 or 8 hours straight working on a painting, so I need lots of podcasts to keep my ADHD-addled brain occupied. This American Life is one of my favorites.

Bad At Sports: Another podcast focused on the art world, specifically in Chicago, that keeps me entertained. The hosts are so casual that it feels like hanging out with your friends rather than stuffy contemporary art critics.

Twitter: I post on Twitter regularly & check in dozens of times a day. I love it because I can stay in touch with people & share things about my day to day life that I wouldn't necessarily write an entire blog post about. I know a lot of people don't get it, but it's been great for me. I follow lots of other artists and local Vancouver folks, so I've been able to find out about all sorts of things that I would have normally missed.

Vancouver is Awesome: Speaking of local Vancouver folks, I love this site. From the best noodle bowl in the city to my new favorite off leash dog park, I have discovered a wealth of local Vancouver awesomeness via this site.



Do you have any advice for those in the biz?
Make what you love. This is not to be confused with doing what you love because I don't think that's always true. Just because you like to bake pies doesn't mean you want to make 100 pies a day and market a pie business and deal with customers and overhead and taxes. Sometimes turning a passion into a business can drive the passion right out of it. This is why I say make what you love to make.

And, of course, promote yourself! It still feels awkward for me, but one of the best things I've done was to join an artist group. We meet every other week to share resources, do goal-setting and practice talking about our own work. It's been really helpful to get feedback in that kind of friendly environment.



Do you consider yourself an artist or a crafter?
I do think they're different, but the crafters have definitely upped their game in recent years. I think traditionally art would be
something that had a statement or point of view whereas craft was more about function. I think that gap is closing as crafters become more interested in expressing themselves and experimenting rather than doing it "right". I consider myself both an artist and a crafter. I love to paint, but I really want my work to be accessible to everyone; I'm thrilled to see my girls on magnets or pendants, and not just hung on the wall.

(photo images courtesy of A Cagey Bee)

If you are interested in being featured, please send us an email at info(at)gotcraft(dot)com.

Check out our past features...

Maked - feature #25
Firefly Notes - feature #24
Florence Ann - feature #23
Him Creations - feature #22
Jenny Hart - feature #21
district thirty - feature #20
tinywarbler designs - feature #19
telly designs - feature #18
Cabin + Cub - feature #17
Rachel Hobson - feature #16
Green Couch Designs - feature #15
Tanis Alexis - feature #14
Sweetie Pie Press - feature #13
Fibre Manipulator - feature #12
Sam Made - feature #11
All Things Paper - feature #10
Owl + Pussycat - feature #9
Bliss in a teacup - feature #8
It's Your Life - feature #7
Faythe Levine - feature #6
Coco Cake Cupcakes - feature #5
pomomama design - feature #4
GroovyGlassGirl - feature #3
Bueno Style - feature #2
The Beautiful Project - feature #1

Buy handmade in Portland

Hey! You can now find my handmade goods for sale at TinyMeat in Portland at 3808 N. Williams #132 behind Ristretto Roasters. If you live in Portland, stop by and cross some names off your holiday list!

For those in Vancouver, you can find me at Barefoot Contessa on Main Street, Kiddo, Collage Collage and Lucky Rooster on Commercial Drive.


(image courtesy of TinyMeat)