Savvy Seconds- Giving New Life to Unloved Furniture!

Tell us a bit about yourself..

My name is Terri Heuser Wolters and I am a 25 year experienced graphic designer. I am married and have 2 teenagers and 2 lab dogs.

Apart from creating things, what do you do?

Right now I am self-emplyed and own my graphic design studio called "Open Road Graphic Design". My husband and I are kayakers and love to get out as much as we can on the rivers and lakes of Ohio.

Where do you get your creativity from?

I think I get my creativity "genes" from my Mother. But I have always loved art since the day I can remember. 

What got you into the craft hobby?

I began my career of graphic design in the magazine publishing industry back in 1987, but putting my design skills just on paper was not enough for me. I expanded my design skills onto all sorts of items; walls, picture frames, canvas, fabric, even rocks, and now I am designing on old furniture that I find at garage sales and flea markets.

How would you describe your creative process?

When I spot a piece of furniture or a home furnishing and it has seen its days, I am able to envision the piece new again. I can see in my mind how I want it to look and go from there.

What is your most favorite item that you have ever produced? 

I think right now my favorite is the mosaic table and four chairs.I am especially proud of it because of the time it took to take it from pretty much nothing and creating a piece I hope someone would love to have in their home.

How did you get your business off the ground?

I am very new to the exhibiting and selling process of my pieces. This will be my first show.

What are your goals with your business?

I hope to some day have my own store where I can sell repurposed furniture and household items.

What do you do in your free time?

My free time, or "down time", is spent with my husband and 2 children. My daughter is in college and my son just started high school. Or my 2 wonderfully spoiled dogs, Chelsea and Khloe, need my attention. They love water and we love to take them out to the beaches to play.

What's the message behind your work?

I want people to know it doesn't take a lot of money to take a piece of old furniture or household furnishing and turn it into "new" again. Sometimes all it takes is just a little bit of paint. But if you use your imagination, there are ways to repurpose items in the most creative ways. 

Check out Savvy Seconds  this fall at the Avant-Garde Fall Art & Craft Show. This eclectic show will feature 67 of the areas most talented artisans and crafters. A portion of the show's proceeds will be donated to the North East Ohio Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Avant-Garde Fall Art & Craft Show

Sunday, October 23, 2011, 10:00am-5:00pm

Holy Spirit Byzantine Catholic Church 

5500 West 54th St. 

Parma, OH 44129. 

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

Linda's Vintage Findings- Taking the Past and Rewriting It's Story

Tell us about yourself..
My name is Linda Fugate and I have lived in Northeast Ohio all my life.  I have a wonderful husband named Bill, who has his own photography business; “Fugate Photography”.  I am the mother of three adult children, the last one left the nest last year to marry his high school and college sweetheart.  I have “Buddy” a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and “Eko” an American Shorthair that complete my family. I received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Hiram College. 


Apart from creating things, what do you do?
Apart from repurposing vintage items, I am a Staff Accountant at Hitachi Medical System America.  I also assist my husband with the photography business.

Where do you get your creativity from?
My creativity has always been a part of my life.  Sometimes out of necessity and sometimes out of imagination.  My mother and father were both musically creative, but the gene skipped me.  My creativity chose other avenues such as sewing, decorating and any new craft that came along. I have dabbled in many arts and crafts and find myself now repurposing vintage jewelry.


What got you into the craft/hobby?
I have crafted since I was a teenager, making clothes at first.  I quilted for a while, and have tried various other crafts.  Since my son married last year I have searched for a new creative outlet and discovered that my love of antique anything could be put to use.  I love antiques, jewelry and bracelets.  What better way to combine those three loves than to create new jewelry pieces with the antique earrings into bracelets.  I chose bracelets because I can admire them without a mirror, and I can put them on without help.

How would you describe your creative process?
My creative process is “hit and miss”.  Sometimes I am spot on and the next “no that doesn’t work”.  Just looking at various vintage earrings and combining them is inspiration.  Sometimes at my day job I envision what a certain project would look like and I rush to get home and start on it.  Observing what my colleagues wear helps me determine new projects also. Magazines are also an inspiration to my creative process.


What is your favorite item that you have ever produced?
My favorite item is a baby blue bracelet centered with a 1940’s Bakelite earring.  I was attending an Art Show at West Woods Park in Geauga County, when I met a wonderful woman in her 80’s and she told me the story of the beautiful earrings she had for sale. “When I was in high school, I purchased these beautiful floral Bakelite earrings to wear to my first prom,” she said, “I have kept and cherished them all these years.”  I promised her I would put them to good use and someone else would cherish them for years to come.  I love this bracelet, I will have a hard time parting with it!


How did you get your business off the ground?
My business is not yet “off the ground”.  Hopefully this craft show season will get me started on the right road.  I also have pieces on consignment in gift shops in the area.  By helping my husband establish his photography business and my education I knew you had to have the right set of marketing skills.  A product, my repurposed jewelry, a person interested in purchasing that product, customer base, the right price point, $15 -$70, and a place to distribute your product, craft shows.   Now that I have all of these things I am ready to get my business off the proverbial ground!

What are your goals with your business?
My goals are to incorporate vintage findings of various sorts to repurposed items of use.  I just repurposed a vintage octagon end table into a dog bed for “Buddy”.  I am constantly on the lookout for these wonderful vintage items.  I want to grow my business and attend Art Fairs and Craft Shows around Ohio and beyond.  I want to be able to pick-up and take my business, plus my husband’s photography business to any location in the nation to retire.


What do you do in your free time?
In my free time, I follow my granddaughters’ athletic and scholarly activities.  I have attended USA Basketball in Colorado Springs for the last two years. I am an avid reader and love my “kindle”, a present from my son Will. In addition, I help my husband with sport team and high school seniors’ photography.  I constantly redecorate my home, and have one project after another in the works.  Landscaping our lawn for photography is another thing I do in my spare time.


What's the message behind your work?
My message is that vintage is beautiful and cannot be reproduced.  We must save it by repurposing vintage to become a part of our new life.  Insert a little flair and it is modern.  Because my jewelry is repurposed it may have minor flaws or be delicate, but that is what makes it one of a kind!

Check out Linda's Vintage Findings  this fall at the Avant-Garde Fall Art & Craft Show. This eclectic show will feature 67 of the areas most talented artisans and crafters. A portion of the show's proceeds will be donated to the North East Ohio Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Avant-Garde Fall Art & Craft Show

Sunday, October 23, 2011, 10:00am-5:00pm

Holy Spirit Byzantine Catholic Church 

5500 West 54th St. 

Parma, OH 44129. 

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

Kat Jewelry Design- Wax Casting and Viking Wire Weave Jewelry

Tell us a bit about yourself..

My name is Kat, I am 24 and a recent-graduated art student with a fondness for the jewelry and culture of the vikings and Anglo-Saxons, and super-modern streamlined design. I have a myriad of hobbies and a few very close friends, and one cat who *obviously* rules the house. I'm still trying to find my permanent place in the world. Chicago is starting to look pretty good.

Apart from creating things, what do you do?

For the moment, I work a slave-wage job, absorb internet culture, and bake quite a bit at home.

Where do you get your creativity from?

I had artistic role models growing up. my Mom had art all over the house, and one of my Aunts liked to engage me in kid's crafts when I came to visit. I believe in the Output Requires Input Theory; I need creative input in the form of music, books, new sights and tastes, in order to stimulate creative output.

What got you into the craft hobby?

My crafting grew up along with me. Possibly every little girl has pony beads and yarn, but I graduated from those on to iron-beads, then seed beads and friendship bracelets, then on to semi-precious stones and wire. I chose to go to college for Jewelry Design because I enjoyed it, and I didn't really expect to land a career job in my major. If I do someday, bonus! If not, I've got the best hobby ever.

How would you describe your creative process?

I'm a big fan of variation. I like to start out with a process, then change the color, or one material, or a part of the method. One reason Viking Wire Weave appeals to me so much is that there are so many different results you can achieve with one basic technique. In studio jewelry, I was very fond of the Lost-Wax casting process, and wax-molding, because the wax doesn't always mold right and the casting doesn't always flow right, and then you get these results that are half what you expected and half something totally new.

What is your most favorite item that you have ever produced?

Its hard to pick one. There was a project in one of my jewelry classes, where we had to make a 3-dimensional brooch or pin out of wire, soldered together. I was very fond of my results and wore it as a hair pin for a longtime, until it was damaged. Its the only piece that I really want to re-create, partially because I know there are still things I can improve on, if given the chance.

How did you get your business off the ground?

MY 'business' is an Etsy page, I finally started in April of 2011. I started it once I settled in to a new home with roommates to make sure I mailed packages on time. Over the course of several years in college I'd developed a substantial back-stock of hand-crafted jewelry. I really enjoy making the stuff, but selling it all is more difficult sometimes.

What are your goals with your business?

I'd like to reach the point where the Etsy page pays for itself, and my materials, so I can keep on making without sipping into my regular job's paychecks. Ideally, I'd like to save up enough money to make another casting based on a design I worked on my senior year of college.

What do you do in your free time?

Crafting IS my free time, but I also practice archery, take online classes through the Gemological Institute of America, hike and bike a little, and read quite a bit.

What's the message behind your work?

My crafting is always a self-exploration of form, material, or color. If it makes someone else happy to wear it, added bonus.

Check out Kat Jewelry Designs this fall at the Avant-Garde Fall Art & Craft Show. This eclectic show will feature 67 of the areas most talented artisans and crafters. A portion of the show's proceeds will be donated to the North East Ohio Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Avant-Garde Fall Art & Craft Show

Sunday, October 23, 2011, 10:00am-5:00pm

Holy Spirit Byzantine Catholic Church 

5500 West 54th St. 

Parma, OH 44129. 

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

Yarn Candy By Cherie- Making Crocheting Modern!

Tell us a bit about yourself..

I am 38 years old. As long as I can remember, I have had my hands on anything arts and craft related! I am a self-taught crochet artist and have been crocheting for about 15 years now. In the last 5 years, knitting was added to my mix and I love to combine the two, whenever possible. I have taught many to crochet, with the requirement that "Each one, teach one". It is important to me to change the thought that crochet is just "that old granny blanket"or that "crochet is for older people". Like many of my students, crochet opened a whole new world of relaxation for me, as I find the craft very calming and therapeutic. Among my favorite things to create, I love anything that has a touch of vintage flair; something that I could see ladies of the Roaring Twenties wearing. My pieces emphasize being confident, unique, with a little nostalgia.

Apart from creating things, what do you do?

I work in the insurance industry. I do a lot of problem solving and education to customers, helping them to protect what is theirs.

Where do you get your creativity from?

My creativity is sparked in many ways. Most often, color and seasons are my muses. I may see an odd combination of colors and think of how the colors will work together, experimenting with several textures. Nature also plays a big part in inspiring my works. Fall is my favorite time of year, so as I am walking under trees that are changing colors, my creative thoughts run completely wild, thinking of ways to translate what I see into yarn!

What got you into the craft hobby?

A break up from my fiance originally got me started. I needed a distraction and when I began helping out a dear neighbor who'd been diagnosed with cancer, I found one of her crochet books and figured I would try it out.

How would you describe your creative process?

Ideas happen at all times, so I may take a picture of a tree or the sky, or I may scribble the incomplete thought on paper to work on it later. Sometimes I keep a little book with me to record the ideas for reference. Then comes the box of crayons and sketching it out.  All that is left is to find just the right shades that look good together and crocheting it. Sometimes the color part comes first and then, finding the right project to embody the mood of the shades is chosen.

What is your most favorite item that you have ever produced?  

Wow. I think that one of my most memorable items was the accent  pieces for a Donald Duck costume for a coworker's son. Store bought  costumes are so expensive. I was able to come up with a real-looking beak, bow tie, beret with a flexible flap, and even the webbed feet pieces to go on top of tennis shoes. I think I had more fun making it than he had trick-or-treating in it!

How did you get your business off the ground?

I have been selling items for the last 10 years. That part started  when a coworker came to me and asked me to reproduce a hat she had  at home. I was able to make the item and improve it by making it flexible. From there, my crocheting really took off!

What are your goals with your business?

My goal is to create items that make the wearer feel empowered,  special and unique. I would like to continue to share this craft with many others, use it to bring together people of all walks of life, sharing a common bond.

What do you do in your free time?

In my free time, I teach crochet, and I enjoy working on projects for charity. I love animals, so this year I will probably work on some blankets for the animal shelters. I enjoy coming up with ways to incorporate crochet all around the house.

What's the message behind your work?

Individuality, enhancing the beauty that is already within.

Check out Yarn Candy by Cherie this fall at the Avant-Garde Fall Art & Craft Show. This eclectic show will feature 67 of the areas most talented artisans and crafters. A portion of the show's proceeds will be donated to the North East Ohio Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Avant-Garde Fall Art & Craft Show

Sunday, October 23, 2011, 10:00am-5:00pm

Holy Spirit Byzantine Catholic Church 

5500 West 54th St. 

Parma, OH 44129. 

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