Meet Lindsey Ahrens from Lindsey Ahrens Jewelry...
Hello! My name is Lindsey Ahrens and this is my second time participating in the Avant-Garde show. I’ve been making jewelry off and on since I was in high school, selling things to friends. I was reintroduced to beading after spending hours with my daughter at a bead store while on vacation in Florida.
I get my inspiration from seeing other jewelry and the types of things my friends wear. My seven-year-old daughter also helps me, as she has a great eye for designs. I enjoy putting together different beads and materials to create various designs to construct unique pieces. While I’ve made and sold jewelry to family and friends in the past, I only recently started selling in retail stores, craft shows and online.
As a past customer at the Avant-Garde shows, I’m honored to be a part the show this year. You can also view more of my work at my Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/lindseyahrensjewelry.
Meet Barbara Gorman from Driftwood Designs...
I have been retired since 2007, after working as a clinical
dietitian for Cuyahoga County for almost 30 years. Unfortunately, my retirement wasn’t by choice, but the
result of an accident. I had a
fall and suffered a traumatic brain injury. Amongst many losses, I lost my ability to speak coherently
and wasn’t able to return to work.
A portion of my therapy involved stringing beads to encourage my brain
to be more focused.
So, my therapy was actually the beginning of my fascination
with making jewelry. A couple of
classes later in soldering and I was off and running. I started doing shows
rather slowly. I remember that
first church basement show. I only
sold a couple of pieces, but I loved doing the show. Today, shows are my primary venue for selling my jewelry.
I have always been artistic. As a young kid, I remember, on vacation, scrounging through
last night’s bonfire for a few half-burned sticks of charcoal to draw with. Working as a scientist all my adult
life, I always had the feel that there was an inner artist in me, just “trying
to get out”.
I am inspired by numerous things in my environment. I use the natural materials that exist
near where I live: beach glass, beach rocks, driftwood and any other debris
that washes ashore on the beaches of Lake Erie. I see jewelry designs in architecture; in fashion and
certain aspects of nature (I love flowers and leaves). I am also inspired by the “cluttered
workbench” process. I leave most of the random parts & pieces leftover from
a project out. Very often I will
see some new combination that will inspire me.
There is no overall theme to my jewelry, but many customers
describe my work as having “simple lines, with a Zen-like quality”. Sounds good to me.
My husband is my biggest supporter. He’s retired also and lugs the giant
tent and tables to all of my shows.
Meet Ellen and Sandy Dublo from Vintage Lites...
Sandy is semi-retired from Miceli Dairy Products as a production supervisor. Ellen is employed by Cleveland Clinic Home Care as an Admissions Coordinator Nurse. We are married, living in Strongsville. We have been making lamps for about 5 years, but have been selling them only since last fall.This will be our first Avant Garde Craft Show.
Ellen has always has a creative side. I sew, knit, paint, do tile and workworking- always open to new ideas. Sandy is the golfer. Together we enjoy music and sing in our church choir.We enjoy tasting wines and saw many examples of wine bottle made into lamps. However we decided to put our own twist on this process with adding a shade, stacking the glass grapes to create dimension, and adding the cork. We try to stay true to the style of the bottle. The glass grapes should enhance the shape and color of the bottle.
How we got started.. We gave a lamp to friend who owns a wine store for his birthday. Later he told us several people wanted to buy his lamp, but he did not want to part with it. So we stocked a few in his store, and the rest is history.
We enjoy doing this as a couple. Sandy cleans the bottles, drills them, and strings the lights. Ellen takes it from there. We derive satisfaction with recycling materials in a pleasing way. We have also done work for people who have a special bottle that is meaningful to them and want to preserve it into a lamp.
The message behind our work is that we LOVE wine! And we love sharing the gracefulness of the lamps with others who appreciate wine as well. Just FYI, we do NOT empty all those bottle ourselves - we have lots of friends who "help" us!
Meet April Hardin...
I’m happily married
(12 years) and we have a son named Kanyon (he’s 4). Marie, my sister, has
been married for 26 years and she has 3 children (Anna, Sean and Ian) and an
adorable grandson named Mason. :)
I’ve been crocheting
for about 12 years, but only started making and selling hats and accessories
this year. Marie has been crocheting for as long as I can remember! This will be the
first Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show for my sister and I!
The message behind our work is that all of our items are
made with love and care and we want to
extend that to the people who decide to purchase one (or two) of our
items. :)
Check out these featured vendors at the 2012 West Side Fall Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show. This eclectic show will feature up to 200 of the most talented artisans and crafters. A portion of the show's proceeds will be donated to Drink Local. Drink Tap. a local non-profit that works in communities to educate people about our local water sources and also helps orphans in Uganda gain access to clean drinking water.
