Artist Profile — Nancy Monsebroten

Award-winning ceramicist Nancy Monsebroten examines things others walk right past. “As a child I was very lucky to grow up on an isolated farm in North Dakota,” said Nancy.

“I was outside all the time, walking through nature and looking at nature. I knew where every flower was and when it bloomed. We didn’t get a TV until I was ten.”

Nancy’s [...] Read more »

Artist Profile — Carole Spandau

Sparks fly from the keyboard when two of my interests intersect. It’s happening today as I write about art and ice hockey. Yup — this lover of art and design teared up Friday when Bobby Orr carried the Olympic flag, and has been known to wake her babies when Joe Thornton scores a goal.

With the Olympics in Canada, I thought [...] Read more »

There’s a trend afoot: Rugs that celebrate the handmade are making a comeback. Like lovingly pieced patchwork quilts, traditionally crafted carpets bring nostalgia and comfort to uncertain times. Hand-hooked wool, raggy braids, and woven recycled textiles—rugs your grandma would love—add a party of saturated color, and the warmth of nubby texture to

your space.

It’s an Etsy shopping day today—enjoy our handcrafted rug finds from some [...] Read more »

Artist Profile — Roz

Two people can look at the same work of art and see something quite different. This I know; but it really hit home when I discovered the work of a woman named Roz.

Her kids inspired Roz (a.k.a. Rosilyn Young) to paint the first of her “Leap” series of oils-on-canvas. “I think it was watching my own children jumping around, so full of [...] Read more »

It’s too late for these elves to help you with Christmas. But did you know that Etsy has a service called Alchemy that can expand your creative output?

With Alchemy, you dream up an item you want made. You enter a description, your ideal price, and your deadline.

Then wizards from Etsy’s artistic community bid on creating your project. You award the project to the bidder [...] Read more »

Sometimes it takes a fresh view of something to appreciate it. Consider Grandma’s crocheted and tatted laces for example. Ceramic A\artist Dana Morton of Earthborne Art in Sonora California uses them in a unique way.

“It all started when I needed favors for our wedding,” said Morton. “I went through a box of old linens that my grandmothers had made, and created little dishes by [...] Read more »

Over the weekend an astonishing thing happened. Matt Groener of Oregon entered our Let’s Make Cents Challenge. His entry was a little late. About two and a half months late if we’re counting. But he could care less about the prize and I am thrilled by his entry.

You’ll recall that for the Challenge inspired by the Standard Grill’s penny-mosaic floor, I made a nice (but [...] Read more »

You know when your computer hard drive melts down and steam comes out your ears and you want to smash the whole thing up with a hammer? When it happened to Allan Young of Charlottesville, Virginia, he was mad, but then he did something different.

“One day at work I had a hard drive crash and lost a lot of work. Very devastating,”

said Allan.

“I have been [...] Read more »

IKAT. You’d have to be folded up in your pull-out sofa to miss the popularity of this textile.

Ikat inspiration board from the studio of textile designer Laura Singh of Color Loom.

Ikat (pronounced “ee-kat”) is a loom-woven textile created by a remarkable process.

A master weaver first ties bundles of warp threads in precise patterns to prepare for colored dyes. A more intricate resist-dyeing technique like [...] Read more »

Artist Profile — Kevin Neelley

It’s clear Kevin Neelley paid attention in Geometry class. That’s a given for the Lexana, Kansas mechanical engineer. But glance at his elegant turned wood vessels and you’ll agree that he must have aced an art class or two.

Sculptural. Graphic.

I stared at each image and kept having the same thought. ‘How did he make that?’

Kevin is a master of [...] Read more »

British designer Zoe Murphy is putting a new face on furniture recycling. Treehugger turned me on to Murphy’s innovative approach to reuse and surface design for mid-century furniture. Her work was shown recently at the London Design Festival; she came into the spotlight when the BBC included her in its 2008 New Designer of the Year Awards.

Feast your eyes on the extraordinary results when [...] Read more »

Artist Profile — Joan Rosen

Sometimes a change for the worse ends up for the better. Northern Californian Joan Rosen was a dedicated white-collar worker for years. “I worked in the corporate world all of my life and when I started having health issues I couldn’t do the 9-5 thing any longer,”

said Joan.

Joan said it was a blessing in disguise. “I went to a craft fair [...] Read more »

Artist Profile: Sarka-Trager

A door, archway or window can signify so much. Where does it lead? What can you glimpse through it?

What if you dare to open the door and stride through it with confidence?

Sarka Holeckova and Richard Trager used to work in corporate America in the Bay Area. She specialized in marketing, he in sales for a graphic software company. Creatives at heart, they [...] Read more »

Keep your eyes on Nichole Loiacono-Young, her recently-launched Etsy shop, Sparrow’s Nest, and her blog by the same name. Nichole’s an aspiring designer with a great eye for giving new life to forlorn furniture and accessories.

Case in point? This cane-back Louis armchair that Nichole made fresh with gloss-white paint and Tiffany-blue flannel. A bit of a change from what she started with, yes? (And makes [...] Read more »

A Conversation with Liz Scott

Our posts about fabric design are in demand with the Design Junkies. And we received great feedback about Liz Scott’s designs in the piece showcasing her chair makeover.

You’ll recall that Liz prints her original designs through Spoonflower, and sells her fabric at her Etsy shop, Wonderfluff.

I got with Liz recently to learn more about her, and the inspiration and process [...] Read more »