Showing posts with label winter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label winter. Show all posts

Friday, November 1, 2019

Get Ready for This Weekend, Fairlawn!

Meet Nick Hardin of Hardin's Family Gardens...
Hi, my name is Nick and I founded Hardin’s Family Gardens. I have a beautiful wife and four beautiful children (two girls 8&7, two boys 5&3). We live in a little town called Wadsworth.

I have always had a passion for plants ever since working for Hirt’s Greenhouse in my early 20’s and stuck with it ever since. We specialize mainly in Live air plants and unique plants you cannot find in big box stores selling mainly online.

We combine air plants and crystals to create a unique center piece or gift while purifying the air and mind. We also strive to make people happy and excited with the work we put in and enjoy creating for you! This is our first year as a vendor attending different events and shows to showcase our awesome ideas.


Meet Kimberly Richling of The 3 Divas...
We started The 3 Divas because we are all moms of teenagers that needed a creative outlet. On top of parenthood, we hold down full-time administrative jobs.  Our jobs sadly do not fulfill our creative flair so our business venture helps to feed that need. We are a fledgling company.  We have been in business only 6 months, though spent the early  part of the year working on the concept. This will be our third event with Avant-Garde and have one more booked this year.
The 3 Divas started out at our local camp ground.  We have been camping there for close to twelve years and our children have grown up together.  Over the years we have experimented with fun activities for the children – face painting, rock painting, pallet painting, Halloween costumes etc.  However, as the children got older we changed to more adult pursuits. A gift from my Aunt set in motion a chain reaction that led to us creating tree charms for each other and we expanded out from there. 

Individually we are all talented and hardworking, though sadly in less than artistic jobs.  Kim draws and paints, Cynthia is a food artist, and I am a DIY enthusiast😊.  The attention to detail and the desire to bring beauty in all its forms to others is what drives us.
Light is our biggest inspiration to create! We love to work with reflective pieces, crystals, glass, metal, and mirrors that draw your eyes to our pieces even when you are not looking directly at them.  Our clients come back and tell us the joy the charms bring them on a daily basis and this motivates to find new forms for these light reflectors.

Originally, our creative process would start with a glass of wine and then good company, now we are a little more disciplined – wine comes at the end of the day! It is still a collaborative process.  We each have our own unique style but we have set principles and QC for each piece so we can ensure they are all top quality no matter which of us create them.

We are looking to balance our Show presence in the spring/summer/fall to build our brand awareness and cement our client base with a solid online presence to ensure a steady flow of orders year round.  Early retirement from our Admin jobs would be the ultimate goal!

We hope to share the message behind our work which is that we all need to stop and breathe through the day to calm our nerves! – our charms catch your eye and cause this little “stop” - Take a little moment in every day to appreciate the light and beauty around us – breathe it in, smile and lift your spirits.

Meet Ali Marie of Everyday Limes...
I am an interior design, crafter/maker and blogger. I have had some form of Etsy shop since almost the beginning of Etsy. My previous shop/blog was called ANiemanDesign. I have been crocheting since I was about 10-11 years old approximately, but as a side hustle, I started an Etsy shop in college back in 2006. This will only be my second Avant-Garde show. Life and my full time job have prevented me from doing more. I hope to change that now.
My mom and step-grandmother were the ones who got me into this craft hobby. My mom was always crafting. My step-grandmother was the one who taught me to crochet first on my fingers. Every time I see something in a new design magazine or on a fashion blog, I always wonder... can I make that? Then I try it! Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. I realized I had a talent when I started making things for people as gifts and they loved them.
My creative process does not usually come swiftly. Sometimes I go through Pinterest, magazines, etc to get inspiration and then craft a pattern, usually by trial and error. I find being a creative person takes a lot of trial and error.  In 5 years I would like to actually have my own store. The vision I have for Everyday Limes is to branch out into more than just crocheted items, but into a home design, fashion and gift shop with all sorts of vintage and handmade items.


I would like my customers to know that I am very into a sustainable way of living. I try to use everything that I can with my projects, from the scraps of yarn for yarn wreaths and pillow stuffing, to recycled packaging. Eventually I hope to branch out to more sustainable, recycled products.


2019 Fairlawn Fall Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show
Saturday, November 2, 2019
10:00AM-5:00PM
St. George's Fellowship Centre
3204 Ridgewood Rd.
Fairlawn, OH 44333
For more information, contact Becki Silverstein, at Becki@ag-shows.com
Visit us on:
FACEBOOK
LINKEDIN

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Self Taught Knitters

Meet Amanda Akers from Little Note Crafts...
I'm Amanda and I'm a crafter by nature. I was born and raised in the Cleveland area, and after high school went on to graduate with a bachelors degree in Managerial Marketing. I landed a stable job at a direct marketing company where I worked for the past two and half years. I love cooking, being outside, spending time with my wonderfully supportive family, and going for long walks with my boyfriend and our dog, Lola.

This past summer I quit my full time job to focus on my shop, Little Note Crafts.  I sell mainly hand knit and crocheted accessories, usually in bright fun colors intended to make you smile when you see them. My shop's entire mission is to bring more joy to the hectic busy days we all have, and to appreciate all the little things throughout our day that can lift our spirits.

I officially started Little Note Crafts in 2009, first selling hand knit scarves only. I had taught myself to knit when I was 16 and needed a quick gift for a friend. I had always loved to make things with my hands, from paper crafts to molding clay, so I thought this would be a good new craft to try. Needless to say, learning to knit was anything but quick. It took over two years to finally finish that first scarf, but I stuck with it and found a peace and internal calm when I was knitting that I couldn't find many other places. I kept knitting and soon found my apartment filled with scarves and decided I would try to sell them.  

Soon thereafter I lost my crafting way as I got caught up in the stressful atmosphere of a corporate job. As my life began to come apart at the seams, I knew something needed to change. Through a long personal journey to reconnect with myself, I decided to get back into knitting, and even picked up some new skills in jewelry making along the way. I never imagined that I would be running a company, but one of the greatest lessons I learned was that I have more control over my life than I realized. I am now working on Little Note Crafts with full force and am grateful for every day. 

I am inspired everyday by the world around me, especially nature. Nature endures through time, produces wondrous beauty, and gives the world spectacular colors to work with. I take that idea of perseverance and include it in every piece I make so that it will last for years to come. My creativity is driven by the warm earthy colors of the forest, the bright smiling colors of spring, and the uplifting colors of the sea and the sun.  

The thing I enjoy most about creating unique handmade items is the sense of purpose I feel when I finish each piece, and the swell of overwhelming joy when a customer loves it. My personal journey to find happiness and peace is a message I want to resonate in all my work. Life is so short, and we all should have something in our day that makes it better. We all need a pair of earrings that make you feel fabulous, or a colorful warm scarf that you can't help but smile at and feel cozy in.

This will be my first Avant-Garde show, but I am looking forward to being there and hopefully attending many more in the future.


Meet Elissa Starosoto from E.StarKnits...
My name is Elissa and I graduated from the University of Akron with an Art Studio degree where I focused on painting, photography and ceramics. After graduation I spent a few years working at a personalized handbag company in production as a seamstress and knitter. I started E.StarKnits back in August of 2010. I am currently a stay-at-home mom running E.StarKnits from my home. I love having the freedom to fit my work into everyday life.  

I am inspired by what I want to wear. I love finding a look in a magazine, store or online and adapting it into something that is my own. I am a production person at heart, so design is the most challenging part for me. This challenge is such a good thing because it keeps me learning new stitches and skills along the way that help me grow my line.
I pull my creativity from where I am in life, what I’ve learned about color and texture and what I want to see next.  I go with the flow and a new design rarely takes me where I expected it to go. This keeps me interested and my line fresh.

I am a mostly self-taught knitter. It has been a journey honing my craft and getting it just right. The technique I use is quite out of the ordinary and other knitters tend to get a kick out of watching me. Crochet has been a bit easier to teach myself with the dawn of YouTube videos. Every year I take on a few new stitches and add it to the line. This year I am in love with crochet and will be featuring some new designs at the show.
My favorite aspect of working with yarn is that you take one long strand to create something beautiful and useful. While I love many mediums the ones that create useable objects are my favorite. It is so wonderful to see someone put on or use something I have made.  

You can view more of my line at http://www.etsy.com/shop/EStarKnits and visit me on Facebook.

This is my first Avant-Garde Art Show and I am excited to be a part this year!

Check out these featured vendors at the 2012 Summit County Winter Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show. This show will feature a large selection of talented handmade artisans and crafters. A portion of the show's proceeds will be donated to Jade's No Kill Rescue for animal rescue.


2012 Summit County Winter Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show
Sunday, December 2, 2012 11:00am-6:00pm
The Tangier
532 West Market St.
Akron, OH 44303
For more information, contact Becki Cooper, Event Coordinator at info@avantgardeshows.com
Visit us on: