I was featured today

in this blog yesterday ChrissiB -- My Life On Parade. Please go by and give her a visit!

Elena Mary

"I have been an artist all of my 60-plus years and have never imagined doing anything else," says Elena Mary. "I was encouraged from a very young age to be creative.

"As I get older I find what influences me most are world affairs and politics. I am very fearful for our planet and what sort of polluted mess my granddaughter will eventually be living in. In the last 10 years I have been creating a whole range of unique bookworks and have found success with selling and showing these one of a kind creations. Increasingly these books are becoming more political and the most recent, BLOOD, was inspired by the profoundly disturbing and fascinating recent film, There Will Be Blood, about the beginning of our quest for oil on the West Coast. Other influences are the Surrealist, DADA and symbolist artists and writers..I love the writing of Italo Calvino and Jorge Luis Borges, as well as Arthur Rimbaud and lately the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen...very mysterious and surreal.

"Since I have opened my Etsy shop I have enjoyed creating assemblage jewelry and Day of the Dead shrines, which are also becoming more political. My political collages are in a new book called The Cost Of Freedom which can be found on Etsy in the shop of Whitney Trettien, who is one of the publishers of the book. And my unique books are handled by Vamp and Tramp booksellers in Birmingham, Alabama. I have so enjoyed meeting folks from all over the world through my Etsy shop, and the CCCOE street team is a wonderful supportive group which I am so pleased to be part of."

The Crafty Kitten

I am currently living with my darling husband, three cats, and one very spoiled pound rescue pup named Raisin, says Cassie Ogle. During warm months, she can be found in her studio blasting Ani Difranco on her stereo or on scaffolding working on a mural. During the cold months, she says she drives her husband crazy by taking over the rest of the house with her crafts. She also updates her blog several times her week.

Here's how Cassie describes her craftiness: "I have always been crafty. In December, I posted '30 Days of Kid Made' on my blog, which highlighted my crafty upbringing. I love to try new things and jump at the chance to do so. Quilting is my newest endeavor, and I am currently enrolled in a quilting class at my local college.

Her work can be found both in her Etsy shop and in Southwestern Virginia at the Appalachian Arts Center, near where she lives. "As far as my Etsy shop goes, it is currently full of hand-bound books with a mix of knit items. In 2006, I took part in a pilot program funded by Hand Made In America, where my local college was chosen to do several summer apprenticeships. I was one of the lucky people that participated and I am very proud to say that I have an Artisan Trade Apprenticeship Certificate in Hand Made Books. I had a slight book and paper obsession when I was a kid and the apprenticeship just seemed to fuse everything together, the books, paper, and crafting. I am currently working on developing a few sculptural pieces that I will be making as soon as it is warm enough to work in my studio again."

Cassie is also an avid knitter. "I also crochet, and I am currently learning to spin my own yarn on a drop spindle. I have also developed several knit patterns and one crochet pattern; a few can be found for free on my blog. I have plans to have a few of my knit patterns available for sale in my shop within the next year, after they have been through some rigorous pattern testing."

Flurrsprite's Nook

"I've always loved crafts, but only came upon bookbinding recently while I was doing a theatre internship out in Pennsylvania," says Maiko, a member of BEST and proprietor of flurrsprite's nook.

I stumbled across bookbinding after a friend of mind posted in her livejournal about her new shirt that she had sewn, and a friend of hers commented with links to craftsy livejournal groups, which led to the bookbinding group. Tthe rest is history, she says.

Maiko's interest in jewelry evolved later, when she had "a ton" of vintage and antique things that she was either reselling or recreating into something new in her shop. Recently she has made some linocut cards, returning to a skill she learned in high school.

"I enjoy making everything," she exclaims, noting that each craft brings a different mood. "I get a bright sparkly feeling when I finish say, a pair of earrings, but there's a satisfactory mellow feeling when I finish a new book. Imagination is fun!"

Learn more about Maiko at her blog.

TEMNO

Teresa of TEMNO is an Italian architecture student who has a fondness for high-quality paper and functional yet aesthetically pleasing notebooks and sketchbooks. "That is what I often indulge myself with, and what I am offering in this little corner of Etsy," she says. Each of her journals, sketchbooks or albums is unique and handmade, so it might not be perfect as an industrial product, but that's what she likes most.

She's also a photographer, and often her papercrafts feature some her photographs. Sometimes, you'll also find a small selection of Italian beads and copper in her shop as well. You can see more of her work on Flickr and read more about her on her blog.

Subu

subu was created in loving memory of two amazing women: Sue (aka subu) and Rose, says Emily, the proprietor. She explains that the company was started as a way to indulge her crafting and artistic adventures, as well as to be in wonderful and supportive community of like-minded individuals. Emily's primary modality is paper - using it to create books and notepads. She is fascinated with bookmaking and the variations that it allows. In it she finds the amazing range of materials and the technical detail that combine the gifts of my mother's creativity with my father's scientific inclinations. Her father Rich, who is a potter, has in fact recently joined Emily on Etsy.

The two developed their crafts from very different experiences. Rich began to learn how to be a wheel potter when he was a third year medical student and needed a way to relax and do something non-medical. "I was fortunate that there was a ceramics studio near where I was living and the owners were very kind and patient. Over the next year or so they taught me the basics." Over 30 years later, he still enjoys throwing on the wheel and developing new shapes and decorative approaches for his work. In general, he wants his work to be affordable and for people to use his ceramics on a daily basis. He hopes that people will also appreciate the hand-made nature of a wheel thrown pot and the beauty and variation of the form and glaze that make the piece unique.

Emily started bookmaking about a year and a half ago and fell in love with the craft. "I love the detail and the variability that bookmaking allows. i have always been creative and used many different outlets to channel it." Although she enjoys all of her bookmaking, her favorite work is her recycled notebooks. "They are super fun to make and satisfy my need for instant gratification." By contrast, she finds the handbound books satisfying in a different way. "They take a lot longer to make, but seeing the end product makes the wait worth it in the end," she says. She draws inspiration from numerous sources: paper and fabrics, stamps and inks, buttons, and color; by seeing other people's creativity; by reading Martha Stewart Magazine and real simple; by listening to good music; through hearing other people's ideas for books. "They all make my fingers tingle and get me excited to make things."

Emily is a member of the Pittsburgh Craft Mafia and also the Bookbinding Etsy Street Team (BEST). She invites you to check out her blog.

Sheeps Clothing

It's a common story, she says.

"When my boys were babies I looked and looked for high quality, stylish knitwear for them. Sure there was some nice looking stuff out there, but some nasty acrylic fabrics. No way was I putting man-made fibres on their tiny little heads," Stacey exclaims.

So coming as she does from a long line of knitters, ("I was taught by my Mum at a young age and she in turn was taught by her Mum"), she experimented with a few different styles and types of beanies and scarves. The kind comments she and her sons received convinced her that she was on to something and Sheeps Clothing was born.

That experimenting allows her to make up a pattern as she goes along, inspired by the yarn itself. Growing up in rural Victoria (Australia) we were surrounded by sheep and I have always been interested in the transformation from raw wool to finished, ready to use yarn. Every item in the Sheeps Clothing range of hats, scarves and hair accessories is lovingly hand knitted using 100% Australian pure wool. "As is the beauty of hand crafted creations, each article of Sheeps Clothing is subtly different: a unique designer piece for each owner. However, one attribute they all share is stylish yet functional design and quality to last," promises Stacey.

You can learn more about her work on her blog.

Kiley's Handmade Books

"I have always been a crafty kind of girl," says Kiley. "I grew up in my Dad's studio classes as he worked towards his BFA, and I learned to make all kinds of items." A love of all kinds of arts and crafts was instilled in her from a young age -- she was in a 4-H sewing group, had a beading loom on which she made bracelets, made macramé bracelets, "the list could go on forever," she says.

Bookbinding came later, however, when she worked in a library while working on her undergraduate degree. "I knew I loved working in libraries and started to look for the area of specialization that would fit me. After an extensive amount of research I found a specialization that I thought I would love; I wanted to be a conservationist." She began by taking a series of book binding classes to get her feet wet and see if it was something she could do. She started with a basic class on small books and took another class on larger book making as well as a class on making protective boxes. "As long as I have known about handbound books I have loved them. Books have really become my passion."

From there I took off on my own, bought some books, and joined a local book arts group and have learned a lot of really unique and fun book structures. She began to build a a 3-D portfolio for graduate school admission. "I had a blast in the classes and it was something that came very naturally to me. I fell in love with the craft and have never looked back. I now spend most of my free time folding, sewing, cutting, gluing, and whatever else I can think of to do to paper with the end goal of a book in mind," she says.

Right now her two favorite structures are the Celtic Weave and her Origami books. "I just got a great deal on some larger paper and am going to start offering my origami books in a 6" square size. I love the Celtic Weave because it opens flat like a Coptic stitching but I think it is a much more eye-catching sewing," she says.

Kiley gets most of her inspiration from her paper stash. "When I start a new project I almost never start with a color, pattern, or style of book in mind. I start looking for the paper, or fabric, that stands out that day. From there I pick a structure and a size and start working."

She also get great rushes of inspiration from custom orders, trying to create the perfect book for someone she's only communicated with for short time spans. "It's always a challenge, but it's also very rewarding. I love the feedback I get from the custom books I have made that also drives me to create more wonderful books."

If you see a book in her shop that you like but don't love, she invites you to send her a message so she can do a custom order for you. Similarly if you see something in her sold listings you love, but she doesn't have any currently in stock, she'd love to make one for you. "I love doing custom orders and would love to create a book just for you!" You can keep up with Kiley's Etsy activities on her blog.

Deckled Edge Bindery

Jen of Deckled Edge Bindery can't remember a time when she was not busy creating something. "As a child I always had papers, markers, glitter, etc. -- my love of creating has grown from there, she says.

"My obsession with beautiful papers first lead me to try book binding and I fell in love with it. I have been creating books for about a year now and the ideas keep coming so I keep creating. I am inspired everyday by the things I see and by my children who, without knowing it, bring me wonderful new ideas. My books are made with great care to be beautiful to look at and to touch. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy making them. Their uses are limitless. Enjoy," she encourages her customers.

On the personal side, Jen grew up in Chicago and then lived in Saudi Arabia for two years. When she came back to the States her family moved to St. Louis where she lived before going to college in Columbia, Missouri. There, she majored in art history, which only furthered her love of "all thing art." She worked in an art museum for five years putting together exhibitions ("I actually got to touch the art. It was great," she says.)

Jen is a stay-at-home mom with two daughters -- her partners in crime. "Life is at its best when the three of us are all working together in the art room." She is happy to do custom orders, including guest books for weddings and scrapbooks for special events, and will work with you to develop a book to your liking

Etsy has permitted her to do something more public with her creativity -- "it's a perfect fit," she says."It has been one of the best things I have ever done. It does get a bit overwhelming at times but I enjoy it even at those times. It has been a real challenge and I'm thrilled to be here."

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