These Crafters Have Everything You Need for Spring Get Togethers!

Meet Megan Nelson from 10th Floor Treasures...
As a preschool teacher, I am reminded daily by my students just how incredible life is. Children find joy in the smallest things and each accomplishment merits a celebration. This has become my inspiration: create affordable items that bring joy and remind people just how wonderful life can be, whether they are celebrating a milestone event or everyday wonder. 

I have been a crafter since I was my students’ age and my areas of interest have changed and developed so much in the past 20 years. Jewelry has always been my favorite to create and the new mediums and techniques I discover often lead me to implement them in new directions. This is very visible in my current work! I became enamored with simple wire wrapping and created a collection of jewelry featuring sterling silver-filled wire words. From there, I tackled a project that I had seen while wedding-planning and wanted to improve upon: custom wedding dress hangers featuring the bride’s name scripted in wire. So I found a sturdier kind of wire than the flimsy aluminum I saw used most often and I’m thrilled with the result. The hangers gave me the idea for painted wooden frames featuring a wire name or word that would be adorable as a bridal or baby shower gift. What a wonder it is when one craft is the inspiration for another!

Most often I sell to friends and family, on Etsy, and at a few small church shows. I look forward to taking my booth to the next level at my first Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show in March and I hope it sparks a change in my business in such a way that I can connect with other crafters and new customers that appreciate fine, handcrafted art created with passion and great attention to detail. I won’t be working from my tenth floor apartment forever, but – just like the items I create – the name 10^th Floor Treasures tells a story about life and the wonderful changes that take place.

I hope to meet you at a show in the future! In the meantime, check out 10^th Floor Treasures at www.etsy.com/shop/10thFloorTreasures and www.facebook.com/10thFloorTreasures. 

Meet Abigail Pearson from Meh to Marvelous...
My name is Abigail Pearson and I love to create! Everything from personalized acrylic tumblers, to wine glasses, to photo collages....you name it! I have been painting and creating since I could walk! I am very excited for my first experience at the Avant-Garde Arts & Crafts Show!

I am inspired to create by everything I see. I love finding an old chair and bringing new life into it, or getting something blank in a store and turning it into something marvelous!

As a former interior designer, and now a stay at home mom, making these crafts is a terrific creative outlet. So much of my inspiration comes from my customers. They ask me for something special to give as a gift. We talk about their style, hobbies, etc. And voila! A perfectly personalized present! I hope in 5 years I am just as busy as I am now! 

The message behind my work is personalizing your life!

Meet Chris Wagner from Great Lakes Spices...
My name is Chris Wagner and I have been in sales my entire life. I started Great Lakes Spices in May of 2013 and show cased my hand blended gourmet seasonings at weekly Farmers Markets and various Street Festivals. It was a very successful launch which was validated by the number of repeat customers, chef's usage, and retail stores that currently have it on their shelves. Great Lakes Spices offers five different gourmet seasonings: Chicago Steak, Carolina BBQ, Bayou Blend, Southwest Select, and our (sodium free) Tuscany Reserve. They crossover into all major food groups, and will enhance the taste of your favorite dishes. Each gourmet seasoning is custom blended to our proven family recipes and are 100% natural with no preservatives.

I have not participated in any Avant-Garde Art and Craft Shows but I am looking forward to the Spring Shows and expanding into different venues. My wife and I are from big families, have lots of friends, and a house with and open floor plan that extends into the outdoors, therefore, we have found ourselves being quite the entertainers. Throughout all the entertaining we have done over the years, I developed into a recognized chef to my friends and family without the formal culinary education. I really enjoy cooking whether it is for just a small group or for 100 people or more.

Great Lakes Spices is a small producer that takes it's time in preparing top quality gourmet seasonings that have been truly tested over time. We continue to develop and test additional seasonings that we will eventually add to our line of gourmet products. We are focused on providing bold tasting seasonings that are 100% natural, with no preservatives and are hand blended using the finest gourmet spices in a nut free facility.

In the next five years, hopefully my son will be out of college (Go Bucks) and will take over selling at all the mobile venues across the country and then I could stay closer to home and concentrate on corporate and wholesale accounts and develop new products. Only time will tell. Remember, "Adding Spice Makes it Twice as Nice!"

Meet Rihannon Kim of Haute High Tea..
My name is Rhiannon Kim, owner and founder of Haute High Tea, and I have been crafting for over 15 years. I started out experimenting with various mediums as a hobby until I finally found a medium that I truly loved which was vintage china and porcelain. This will be my very first Avant-Garde Craft Show as well as my very first official craft show ever.I am inspired to create by my NEED to create. I have to create. It is as much a part of me as breathing and eating. It makes me happy, and who doesn't want to be happy? 

I come from a very creative family. My mother sewed, my father was an artist who drew and painted, and my god-parents are both professional artists, so it was only natural for me to find my own creative outlet. I discovered my talent accidentally. I absolutely love vintage items and fell in love with the resurgence of the high tea tradition especially here in the US. Beautiful and colorful vintage china captured my attention immediately and I wanted to take those orphaned pieces that I started collecting and create something beautiful, memorable, and one-of-a-kind. Thus, my Haute High Tea stands were born.

My creative process is simple: I see a piece of china or porcelain that I like and I buy it. Very rarely do I hunt for pieces to match what I already have. I never know when a piece will be used, it could be days or years, but I try to never let a gorgeous plate, saucer, tea cup, or serving bowl pass me by. While I enjoy creating one-of-a-kind high tea stands, I am working on a line of high tea inspired jewelry as well. In 5 years, I see myself as a major player in the crockery rental business with a vast collection of high tea stands, china, and flatware available to purchase and rent, and a full line of women and children's high tea inspired jewelry. I want my work to be taken as light-hearted as possible. My stands and jewelry are whimsical, ethereal, a little indulgent, memorable, and fun. They are a joy to create, and I hope my customers experience the joy in owning them. 

2014 West Side Spring Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show

Saturday & Sunday, March 22nd and 23rd, 2014, 10:00am-5:00pm

Rocky River Memorial Hall

21016 Hilliard Blvd.

Rocky River, OH 44116

For more information, contact Becki Cooper, Event Coordinator at info@avantgardeshows.com

Visit us on:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

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A Knitter, A Baker and Crafters all Walk Into an Art Show...

Meet Gail Crum of Art by Crum...
I am a married (40 years) and a mother of one son (35 years old) who is also an artist in Columbus.  He is a painter and muralist who works at West Elm as a visual merchandiser.  My husband is also an exhibiting artist for over 40 years who taught art and art history at the high school level for 35 years.  He is an etcher. I have been a self taught artist for 20 years.  I retired two years ago after a career of 40 years in banking.  My husband and I exhibit our work in galleries, outdoor festivals and art shows and events throughout the year.

 I was always creative but didn't have exposure to art until I met my husband.  He encouraged me to take an art class with Bay Village artist Gayle Pritchard.  It was a shrine class of 3D work and I was hooked.  I didn't realize that, even though I couldn't draw or paint, I could make art.  Gayle had the class members exhibit our work in her gallery and I had my first art show.  That was 20 years ago and I haven't stopped since.

Now that I'm retired, I have more time to create art and exhibit my work.  Since I work in collage and assemblage (found objects put together in a new way to tell a story), I have a studio of odds and ends, paper, handmade paper, fabric, ribbons and lace, metal, boxes and vessels.  I am inspired by my collection of "stuff" and other artists whose work that I admire.  I come up with an idea or theme and walk around among my stuff gathering colors and textures.

My work has a message of my personal experiences with a female slant.  I hope to continue making art and exhibiting my work for the rest of my life.  This is my first Avant Garde show as an exhibitor, but I have attended many as a patron.

Meet Angel Neal of Fallen Angel Bakeshop...
I discovered a passion for food when I was a toddler.  My grandmother, Sophia, was raised in a Ukrainian family of 14 during the depression.  Since she was the elder, she was in charge of cooking and caring for her siblings.  She learned how to cook in bulk combined with love to make tasty foods and desserts.  I was the first granddaughter and we spent a lot of time together since we lived in the same house.  I have pictures of us baking traditional Nut Horns while I was still on the bottle!  She even bought me a little rolling pin to match hers along with a matching baby coffee mug.  We spent countless hours creating wonderful things as we sipped our "coffee". 

It was during my years in high school that I decided to study at the Pittsburgh Institute of Culinary Arts.  My mother always told me that I could accomplish whatever I put my mind to.  This was against the repeated pleadings with the school guidance counselor, who said, "You are an honor student, why go into cooking?  What will you learn?  How to use a knife?"  After studying culinary, I moved back home to Cleveland and decided to leave the culinary field for a while to work in non-profit.  Years later, I was asked to vend with my cousin at a local church craft fair to keep her company. I sold out everything on my table!  As time went on I keep applying to work more and more shows and gained a repeat clientele.  I decided to make baking a permanent part of my life. It gives me the opportunity to do what I enjoy and become a part of others life celebrations! My team consists of the most charming lead salesman anyone could ever have, my husband Gregg and my right hand sous chef, my teenage son Payton!  What more could anyone want?

Positive pictures, feedback, and smiles from the people who purchase items from me keeps me creative.  I also love challenges when customers give me a concept for their event and let me run with it.Selling out my table at the first craft fair that I vended made me a permanent crafter. I knew I had a special talent when the items that I created made my customers feel happy after eating them.  There is nothing I hate more than dry or drab tasting foods.  Also, I kind of knew I must be doing something right because every holiday the WHOLE family ends up at my house!  Guess I never learned to cook in moderation and always have a memorable spread!

I am a very resourceful person.  I can look at things in the store or online and instantly know how to use them to create a "masterpiece".  Every item must pass my "eye appeal" test and "taste test" before I will release it to the public.  I am a perfectionist and do not give free passes.

In 5 years I hope to have developed a solid client base and continue to provide a wide variety of great tasting baked goods to them.  This year I will begin small lines of gluten free and sugar free items in order to serve a wider range of people. I have also started a line of natural baked dog treats called "In the Ruff" which are all natural treats with no preservatives that you can feel safe feeding to your pets. 

 Look good, taste great, and service with a smile is the simple message behind my work.

Meet Brittany Miller from Ivy Axe...

I have been creating since I was a kid. Drawing, painting and using my imagination to make things in the woods is what I did growing up.  My creation started rolling as a part of normalcy when friends and I started making zines around age 14.  Everything escalated from there and it became a defining part of my life.  Usually I would make personal items, using mixed media or wood and I often made gifts for people in my life.  After traveling for a while and feeling unsteady, I grabbed onto projects for stability and soon Ivy Axe was born. This is my first Avant-Garde Art & Craft show.  I am very excited!

My creative process is determined by my resources. It always has. It's caused an ingenuity to brew inside of me which I use in everyday life. After I analyze what resources I have, I start thinking. Then I create items from ideas in my head. This enters a new process which involves trial and error and evolves my ideas further as well the method used to create these items.  My items are created from repurposed wood, branches, bark, concrete and twigs.

Ultimately I would like to use my talents and visions to benefit people in a bigger way than just  home decor. I would like to learn more about primitive crafts and methods and start creating furniture. In five years I will be happy if Ivy Axe has turned into a supplier of traditional furniture. 

I feel like humanity has been deceived since the Industrial Revolution. Some of its accomplishments have implemented great things but as a whole we have gotten away from what it's all about. It's about people for people, about nature, about reusing, being carefree and doing things for yourself the old way.  It is so much simpler than we perceive it at times.  I embrace this simplicity through my products. Simple is beautiful. 

Meet Cameron St. Clair from Knits About You...

I am currently a senior at Avon High School. In the fall, I am going to Kent State University to pursue a degree in fashion merchandising with a minor in public relations. In my spare time, I like to shop, go to movies, and read.  I started to arm knit just a few months ago as a way of making homemade Christmas gifts for my friends and family. This will be my first Avant-Garde craft show and I could not be more excited!

I am inspired by my friend’s and families’ style. As a fashion major, I am always looking for clothes and accessories that are currently trendy. I feel that infinity scarves are great for keeping warm in the winter and for expressing your individuality! My mom inspired me to start arm knitting. We are both inspired by the DIY ideas on Pinterest. She started to have success with her projects, and when I saw arm knitting on Pinterest, she encouraged me to start making scarves. After I made a few for friends, I received messages asking if I could make some, and just like that Knits About You was born! I watched a few tutorials of girls arm knitting until I found a video that really clicked with me. The initial scarf was a bit of challenge, but after that I picked it up quickly, and now it only takes me about 30 minutes to make a scarf.

My creative process is atypical. First, I think of colors that most people would like. I try to pick either neutrals or a “pop of color” yarn. If I don’t have the color that someone might want, they can special order! From there, I just find spare time to create the scarves!  Five years from now, I hope that Knits About You is continuing to thrive. I see college as an exciting opportunity to expand my brand and make connections, so that one day my scarves are in stores.

The message behind my work is to pursue your passions. I never expected that I would receive orders from people, and it would turn into a business. However, I am so grateful that it did, and it taught me that you are only limited by your thoughts; you can whatever you set your mind to.

   

2014 West Side Spring Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show

Saturday & Sunday, March 22nd and 23rd, 2014, 10:00am-5:00pm

Rocky River Memorial Hall

21016 Hilliard Blvd.

Rocky River, OH 44116

For more information, contact Becki Cooper, Event Coordinator at info@avantgardeshows.com

Visit us on:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

LINKEDIN