 This feature highlights all the crafties in Maine who don’t necessarily have a physical shop or an online presence other than Etsy (etsy.com), which is like an online open craft fair that allows users to sell vintage items, handmade items that are modified, as well as unique (sometimes downright wacky) handcrafted art. Meet Anna Low, owner of Purplebean Bindery in Portland. While in college, Anna took a binding class and became fascinated with book forms. Many years later, she had shelves filled with hand-bound books. She is always experimenting with new bindings and matching form and function. Irish Spring recycled notepads "Most of the books I bind are blank, one-of-a-kind hand bound journals that use decorative paper or fabric for the covers. I often have scrap paper left over from binding these books and hate to waste it, so I started binding up these little pieces of paper for grocery lists, phone messages, or random notes. My studio paper 'recycling' got me thinking about all the other paper and cardboard I recycle in our home and how I could use it to make books. The Irish Spring notepads were one of my first experiments with what I've come to call 'foraged' materials. They also opened my eyes to a wealth of book making supplies that would otherwise end up in our blue bin. I have a special place in my heart for the Irish Spring notepads because they are super pungent—somehow that soap smell clings to the cardboard box for months. I often catch people smelling them at art fairs—and it makes me smile.  Frozen Pizza Box booklets I love frozen pizza boxes because they are coated and make very sturdy covers. I've used playing cards as covers (because someone let the 8 of hearts fall in between the deck last summer). In October, I discovered Halloween candy containers. Those are especially fun because they are so small. Last spring I taught a workshop with a Girl Scout troop using cookie boxes for covers and recycled envelopes for pages. Each recycled material that I incorporate into a book also comes with its own binding challenges including size limitations and the best binding style to use to make the book functional—and I really love a good binding challenge. As a bonus, I love how the package design, now re-purposed into a book cover or pages, changes the original intent. For example, with the pizza boxes, words often get clipped to give them new meaning. The bright colors once used to promote or identify the product become patterns or colorful decorations. For more of Purplebean Bindery's work visit http://PurplebeanBindery.etsy.com
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This feature highlights all the crafties in Maine who don’t necessarily have a physical shop or an online presence other than Etsy (etsy.com), which is like an online open craft fair that allows users to sell vintage items, handmade items that are modified, as well as unique (sometimes downright wacky) handcrafted art. Maggi Blue is a Warren, ME graphic designer, glass artisan, metalsmith and an all-around crafty girl who isn’t happy unless she’s blowing something up in her kiln. She’s been on Etsy since May of 2008 and thinks it is a great way to show off one's wears complete with a built-in fan base and and easy-to-use seller tools. Most known for her kicky, fused glass pendants, her latest line focuses on bold, hand-hammered metal jewelry. I especially dig her rings. She’s got a “Dude Line” and a “Lady Line.”  Dude Line The copy reads: “Made with a manly finish... scuffed up and brassy like your man.” On Facebook, someone commented: “What the hell is a manly finish?” Consulting Maggi and her husband Dwight, on this very question, they answer: “It’s like you just finished field dressing a bear in Afghanistan.” Is that manly enough for you, Dude?  Lady Line
Says Maggi, “The women's rings are perfect for fidgety people. I made them because in meetings, I’m the pen clicker lady. I'm the one everyone shoots dirty looks. So, I had to come up with something less annoying to play with. Fun fact: My silver stacking rings with recycled silver balls got changed to ‘baubles’ because it was the Lady Line and there was only so many times I could type in the word ‘balls’ and not giggle.” To find more of Maggi’s jewelry and metalworks, go to etsy.com/shop/MaggiBlue This feature highlights all the crafties in Maine who don’t necessarily have a physical shop or an online presence other than Etsy (etsy.com), which is like an online open craft fair that allows users to sell vintage items, handmade items that are modified, as well as unique (sometimes downright wacky) handcrafted art.
Meet Bar Harbor artist Jennifer Steen Booher, of the Etsy Shop Quercus Design. A self-described hoarder of quirky objects, Jennifer says, "I'm part magpie, part squirrel, part scientist, and part historian. I find things, hoard them, take them apart, and research them. Sometimes I reassemble them, and sometimes I make new things from the bits." Jennifer's original fine art photograph might strike a chord. If you were a child in the 1970s, you will instantly remember these vintage Fisher Price Little People. Says Jennifer: "These are my very own Fisher Price people, with the marks of my milk teeth where I gnawed the mom's ponytail. I've been an artist as long as I can remember, although I've danced between media over the years. For a long time I made assemblages, and hoarded all sorts of odd bits and pieces to use in them. I've also been beach-combing since I moved to Mount Desert Island in 1997, and, being a curious sort, have gradually been learning more about the marine life and the flotsam that I find. Back in early 2010, I had to photograph my overflowing collection of sea glass in order to sell off some of it. I quickly became fascinated with arranging the pieces, then obsessed with improving my photography skills to capture all the detail and texture that I find so intriguing. I was trying to achieve a scientific level of clarity and documentation. By the end of the year I had begun to develop a very modern style of still life around my beach-combing finds. I've begun to apply the techniques to my other collections to document things that intrigue me: It is a very personal obsession, and there may not be any overarching meaning to it. On the other hand, these photographs appeal to a lot of other people, and I suspect that my formal, organized and clinically-lit objects are triggering memories for all of us. There's often a physical start of recognition when people see them. Almost everyone who has been to a beach has gathered a handful of odds and ends that gave them pleasure. Most people have a small stash of their childhood toys for the same reason. Oddly enough, in spite of my attempts to develop a quasi-scientific documentation, I think these photos end up being as much about nostalgia for the viewer as they are about my own curiosity." To learn where to get this photograph, visit Jennifer's Etsy shop at quercusdesign.etsy.com or visit her blog, quercusdesign.blogspot.com 
This feature highlights all the crafties in Maine who don’t necessarily have a physical shop or an online presence other than Etsy (etsy.com), which is like an online open craft fair that allows users to sell vintage items, handmade items that are modified, as well as unique (sometimes downright wacky) handcrafted art.
I discovered these on Etsy and went a little coo coo. If you're a Tolkien nerd, you will too. Meet Etsy members and residents of Unity, Rocy & Melissa Pillsbury, creators of Wooden Wonders Hobbit Holes. Wooden Wonders custom designs and builds playhouses, garden sheds, and other outdoor structures. Their signature design is based on the concept of a Hobbit hole. Says the Melissa Pillsbury: "Each Hobbit Hole is custom built from natural materials that primarily come from local sawmills and other locally-owned businesses. The inspiration for the business came from Rocy's desire to exercise his creative muscle in a way that utilized his carpentry skills, while having a schedule that allowed him to be closer to home and their two lovely little Hobbits, Richard and Maxximus." The inspiration for the Hobbit Hole products comes from reading the Tolkien classics, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, as a child and being inspired by the striking imagery from the books in the descriptions of the Hobbits' homes. Inspiring a sense of wonder and creativity is what Wooden Wonders products are all about. Rocy and Melissa would love to some day expand the Wooden Wonders product line to a wide array of fantastical structures, but for now the focus is on "Hobbit Holes for Work or Play." To see more of their Hobbit™ Holes visit their Etsy profile: etsy.com/people/HobbitHoles or their website, wooden-wonders.com.  This feature highlights all the crafties in Maine who don’t necessarily have a physical shop or an online presence other than Etsy (etsy.com), which is like an online open craft fair that allows users to sell vintage items, handmade items that are modified, as well as unique (sometimes downright wacky), handcrafted art. Jennifer Lisa's punk-elegant jewelry caught my attention last December at the Creatorium and her stuff through Quench Metalworks can be found on Etsy. Here's her take on these "candy" rings that look yum enough to eat: People are always giving me their old mother of pearl buttons to incorporate into my work. I had yet ventured into colorful buttons until my grandmother presented me with her friend's cast off sewing notions. In the box was the most fantastic, unused pink buttons. Within a few days, I set the pink button in a lovely sterling ring. I was hooked and scoured flea markets and the Internet for candy colored vintage buttons. The best find was a lot of unused black and white striped buttons. I created what I call my duo button rings... the striped button paired with a solid colored button. The black and white add a bit of extra zest to the ring. Etsy has been the perfect venue for my home-based business. It allows me to stay at home with my pre-school aged daughter, but gives me the tools and opportunity to show and sell my work world-wide. I have customers in many countries including Israel, Japan, New Zealand and France. For more information about Jen's jewelry: quenchmetalworks.com quenchmetalworks.etsy.com  Etsy? You Betsy! This is a new feature to highlight all the crafties in Maine who don’t necessarily have a physical shop or an online presence other than Etsy (www.etsy.com) which is like an online open craft fair that allows users to sell vintage items, handmade items that are modified, as well as unique, (sometimes downright wacky) handcrafted art. Esty? You Betsy! will feature little-known or underground Maine artists who will make you stop just for a moment and think: “What…the?”
Indigotwin Indigotwin hails from small town Maine. We are Kirsten and Cortney, identical twin sisters, who have always enjoyed creating art together. From crayon rubbings as small children to works of art as adults, we have always given each other inspiration. We both graduated from the University of Maine with Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in 1998. Both of us try to get some crafting done when our small children are sleeping. We were inspired to do these folk art sculptures from one of our amazing customers. We started our shop by making about five women with a Valentine theme to them. One was holding a heart, one was holding a string of hearts, etc. A customer saw these and wondered if they could choose the outfit, the hair and the accessories. They wanted to totally customize the piece to make it look just like them, including their green glasses! We start all of our custom pieces with a questionnaire, go on to a sketch, have it approved and then move on to the sculpting process. Since we are folk artists, we like the pieces to "resemble" the person but not be identical. We make them with big heads, big eyes and big accessories. We like to create something fun and whimsical and these have definitely been popular pieces especially for that hard-to-buy for person. |
 The Killer ConvoThis blog is a is a killer roundup of all arts, entertainment, brewery & distillery, food trucks, happy hour happenings in the Midcoast Maine. Feel free to email me anything about Midcoast arts, entertainment & the creative economy. Archives
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