Meet Steve from Jewelry by Stevie Boy…
I am a single 48 year old Male, born and raised in Warren, Ohio. I joined the Navy right out of high school and lived abroad for about 25 years, then moved back home in 2009 and bought a home in Boardman, Ohio. I Retired early at the age of 43 due to a disability.
I have been making jewelry for 7 Years. This will be my first time participating in the Avant-Garde Art & Craft Shows, and I can't tell you how excited I am!.
What's my inspiration to create? I believe when a door closes in your life God always leaves a window open.
I have always been creative and artistic. I have an Associates Degree in design and have worked in the field most of my life. That's how I got into crafting.
When I was a child I wrote a lot of Religious Poetry. I was told it was very good. That's how I discovered my talent.
In 5 years I would like to have a larger online presence.
What's the message behind my work? Every one of my designs is one of a kind. I believe that my creations are as unique as the women who wear them.
Look for me here on my new website:
Meet Robert Senn...
I am 67 years old and a retired Chief Electronic Technician, US Navy. I served predominantly on destroyers for 24 years. I've lived in Italy and have been around the world three times. I retired in 1995.
I grew up in the Akron area and remained here with my wife of 45 years. I've been a technical writer, a used car salesman, an electronics technician and an electrician in a steam plant just to name a few of the jobs I've had since I retired.
Meet Dana and Kelsey of Ellaphant Designs….
Ellaphant Designs is a pair of creative sisters and recycled textile artists from Akron, Ohio. Dana is an elementary art teacher in New Philadelphia and Kelsey is an Interior Designer.
Both sisters received their Bachelor of Art degrees from Kent State University, which is where Dana first fell in love with the weaving process. It wasn’t until a few years after college that Kelsey began knitting and joining Dana’s love of textile art! The brand name was inspired by Kelsey’s daughter (Dana’s goddaughter) Ella, who loves elephants.
Kelsey recycles t-shirts into yarn for knitting braclets and other accessories, which can be themed for holidays, school spirit, a cause or simply your favorite color.
Dana creates beautiful weavings for wall art, table runners, placemats and more.
Both sisters accept clothing from customers for their Keepsake Collection.
They have been doing this for 3 or more years as a hobby, but more seriously within the past year. This will be their first Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show, hopefully of we will participate in many more!
So what inspires them to create?
Dana: Colors in nature are a big inspiration to me, it's always fun to look outside as the seasons change and pick out the colors I see to create a weaving.
Kelsey: I am inspired by colors in fashion and in my daily life, and am always looking for items to repurpose into jewelry and accessories to add to the upcycled nature of my pieces.
We have been crafting since we were toddlers! Our family is very creative and full of architects, jewelry designers, quilters, weavers, advertising professionals, art teachers and the like. As a child, our parents always had fun projects for us to paint, draw or build and the love for designing and creating has stayed with us both. Dana was introduced to weaving during college, and Kelsey to knitting after receiving a gift of lessons for Christmas one year.
How did we discover our talents?
Dana: About 3 years ago I purchased my Schacht floor loom and have been practicing different techniques with many materials.
Kelsey: After taking knitting lessons and falling in love with the craft, I wanted to find smaller scale projects that could be finished in one sitting, and that’s how I arrived at making jewelry and accessories.
Both: We both began making our crafts as gifts for all of our family and friends before deciding to share them with the world!
How would we describe our creative process?
Dana: I like to find colors that go together rather than picking similar materials. I am very interested in textile art because it can be so versatile. One weaving can be hung on a wall as a tapestry, put on a table as a place mat or runner, and even framed as a picture. If I had to say one thing about the thoughts behind my work it would be to think outside the box! So many times I hear "huh?" Or "weaving?" When I tell others what my preferred medium is to create art. Weavings are everywhere! Rugs, blankets, scarfs, and art! This is why I try to display them in many different ways so it gives others that are new to the media an idea of how to display or use their artwork!
Kelsey: I am inspired by the seasons and holidays and try to theme my accessories appropriately. Most of my work is based on custom orders though, so I bring the customers' ideas to life. I am always looking for new ideas and gifts to make from unexpected mediums and experimenting constantly.
Dana: I plan on continuing creating as long as I am able to, I find it relaxing and I love coming up with new compositions.
Kelsey: I just started learning about ecommerce and selling online and I’m hoping to expand the market nationally in that way. I would love to see the Keepsake Collection grow and utilize more of the customers’ own textiles in both the jewelry and weavings to make them even more personal while also finding ways to work together to blend both unique, yet similar, elements of our creations!
Both: I think that recycling and reusing is a big message behind both of our art. Turning something old, worn, or unloved into a new and beautiful creation is very inspiring to us. Be creative and have fun with your art, craft or hobby!
Jewelry and accessories are currently for sale online, weavings are typically made to order and are not yet for sale online – coming soon!
New in 2013, we initiated a few new ideas. The first initiative was to promote the idea of making our work more personal for the customer by launching the ‘Keepsake Collection’. The Keepsake Collection is not really a collection, but more what the customer makes of it. They send in their own shirt, or the shirt of a loved one, and we will memorialize it for them into a collection of accessories and/or artwork. The fabric is turned into yarn, or strips of fabric for weaving and used alone or in conjunction with complimentary fabrics. For example, one large T-Shirt typically yields 2-3 adult bracelets, 2-3 child sized bracelets and either 2 floral hair accessories or brooches, or 1 floral pom pom keychain. As a weaving, it is highly unique and can be woven to any size the customer desires. So you really can get a lot from just one shirt! It’s a unique way to remember a loved one, and is much more affordable than many of the other keepsake gifts out there. Prices range from approximately $10-150 for accessories, and start at $30 for a small weaving.
The second was in an effort to give back in more of a way than just being environmentally friendly. So for every classic style bracelet purchased, a complementary bracelet made from the same material will be donated to Akron Children’s Hospital along with a ‘make your own bracelet’ kit and a small bundle of t-shirt yarn. So each customer is ‘sharing’ a smile with a patient as they wear their new accessory!
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