Modish

Handmade Spaces: Witty Workshop

Today I'm pleased to share to most lovely space of miss Valerie from Witty Workshop and Rose Flash jewelry.  Valerie is a neighbor to the north, from Canada, with an inspiring work space that I hope you all will like!  Let's take a look:
What do you create in this space?
I create my art, paintings, drawings and "mignonneries" for my Witty Workshop and my jewelry line named Rose Flash. I also do sewn projects and daydreaming :)
Can you describe what we see in the pics a bit?
My studio is a small room in my apartment, painted in blue. On one wall I have my working table with a large cutting mat, tons of jars wich contains my gazillion beads. My chéri (aka husband) made me some amazing shelves and organizations unit so I can have my colorful jars and things displayed (he also made me a giant magnetic calendar.) Above my worktable I have a quote from my all time favorite book, Le Petit Prince, which is literally translated as: "If someone loves a flower which is one of a kind in the thousands and thousands of stars, then it's enough to make him happy when looking at them."
Behind me, I have my sewing table and a peg-board wall, which is so practical to store my jewelry and other tools (I have to see my goodies and tools, or else I forget I have them :). Beside the sewing-table, I have my Easel (found at a flea market) and a chalkboard painted wall for me to write thoughts, world domination plans and doodles.
How do you feel in your "handmade space?"
I feel like myself. It's an extension of my art. A place where you can find such things as a broken clock on the wall, a Spider-plant (I am arachnophobic), a white plastic dummie with no head (it freaks both Chéri and my cat Tokyo), a fur hat made by my grand-mother and two Lomograph cameras. I love my studio, it makes me feel more creative and overall happy!

Thank you for sharing your wonderful space, Valerie!  I'm loving the chalkboard wall and the cool blue color against the light that comes in...so so pretty.

Be sure to sneak a peek at the wonderful and whimsical art and jewelry that Valerie creates here!

Kindred spirit

I love these postcard sets by Cori Kindred, a Portlander who I discovered in the Design for Mankind inspiration e-zine #2 (which if you haven't looked at yet, a leap year Friday morning curled up with some coffee or hot tea is a perfect time to do it! :)

The beautifully styled photographs would be perfect to put up on your own inspiration board, or would make for a wonderful hand-written hello to a loved one.  Choose from a set of 4 lovely postcards, 4 deer postcards, 4 shoe postcards or 4 cupcake postcards.  So pretty!

Greenhouse on the Fly

So, you're ready to get growing? Gather your tools gals (and gents); it's time to get crafty.  Here's what you need (see image 1):

a) Dirt carrying apparatus (if you're not keen on digging in with your hands, I used a wooden kitchen spoon.)

b) Hole poker for putting your seeds in the dirt (I'm using a chopstick, you can use a pencil, stick, knitting needle, etc)

c) Seeds

d) Seed starting pots (see last week's post)

e) Loose soil made especially for seed starting.  These usually contain vermiculite, perlite, peat moss, and perhaps a little bit of regular ol' dirt.  You want a light, airy mix that will allow fragile little roots to grow and expand.

f) Some sort of clear plastic housing for your little seeds.  This will be your own personal greenhouse.

g) Drill

I don't know how many of you are like me, but I get distracted really easily.  Conveniently, this is also how I rationalize little messes all over the house.
And also why I used to see plastic storage bins and envision instantaneous organization, as they jump from the shelf into the cart and I happily go on my way to the more enlightened, well-organized and stackable life of visible storage units.  This was before I met the Mr., who brought to my attention that I actually had to do the organizing, destroying all hopes of magic occurring once the stuff was in the containers.  Perhaps this is too much information . . . but the point is, in my house they've become obsolete before their time.

Until I turned them into mini-greenhouses (hold your applause).

We all have clear plastic things hanging around the house.  Plastic that doesn't really have an obvious second purpose, skipping "reuse" and going straight to "recycle".   

Some ideas to get the ol' brain moving: 2 liter bottles (or, heck!, why not the smaller ones, too?), take out containers, those super nice plastic storage bags with a zipper that bedding comes in, milk jugs, even plastic baggies.

So here we go, are you ready to make an easy peasy handy dandy super thrifty greenhouse (image 2)?

All it takes is a drill with a 1/4" bit and a couple holes in each side for ventilation (3).  If you don't add ventilation you'll end up growing mold, which isn't that exciting.

"How in the world did I make a greenhouse," you ask with a hint of amazement in your voice.  I drilled 3 holes per side, leaving the top solid; that way, when I move them outside, I can transfer the seed starts to sit on the lid, then flip the bottom over to become the top and still have a small tray that will hold water. 

On mine, I've taped a diagram (written in permanent marker) of what was planted where. Or you can use store bought seed markers, Popsicle sticks work great, too! Permanent markers are your friends.  Keep that in mind.

No matter your source, the same principals apply: clear plastic for the sun to get through, holes for ventilation (a sharp knife, scissors, or nail holes will also work if the drill is overkill), bottom tray for watering (watering from the bottom encourages little roots to grow down rather than stay on the surface, prepping your little babies for standing strong all on their own.)

GardenGate Magazine has a little tutorial on using 2 liter bottles for cloches (aka greenhouses).  I'd be wary of melting plastic (I'm also wary of nonstick cooking surfaces, though) but that's my 2 cents.
Instructables also has some great resources for DIY mini-greenhouses with on-hand materials (and a geodesic dome full sized one!)

I always take the experimental approach to this gardening thing, and if you're just starting out, I suggest the same approach.  There will be trip-ups along the way, but all in all it's a learning experience. 

For that reason, I'm trying out several types of seed starting pots this year. I had some peat pellets from who knows where still sealed in their baggies, so I started those last week. This week I'm starting seeds in the toilet paper tubes, as well as in peat pots and some plastic trays I had leftover from purchasing small starts. It’s a good idea to start with clean materials, that way you’re not jinxed with fungus from the get go.

Fill the pots with your seed starting mix, and moisten the soil. Not sopping wet, but damp enough to clump up. Pat your dirt down enough to get the air pockets out and your ready to start pokin’ some holes. Your seed packets should say how deep the seeds should be, but if you’ve traded or just can’t read the instructions on the seed packet, the rule to go by is twice as deep as the diameter of the seed; loosely cover the top of your seed, mist it a little more, and put the lid on the box. You’re almost there!

Find a consistently warm spot in your house. You don’t need to worry about light yet, but bottom warmth will aid in the success of your seeds. I have mine on the back of the dryer, which is also conveniently near enough to the stove. It’s not direct heat, but with the everyday activities in our house, they do stay consistently warm. Older refrigerators generally stay warm on top, near a heat vent, the top of old computer monitors. . . do a little treasure hunt for warm spots in your home.

Monitor your moisture levels (don’t let your seeds dry out!), and water from the bottom, allowing the soil mix to wick the water up to your seeds. Sometimes I mist the top, just for good measure.

I bet in seven days, you’ll be seeing green!

-Renee

Renee Garner has a passion to make things grow, although her brownish thumb wants her to believe otherwise.  When mud pies aren't on the menu, you can find her doodling the days away at Wolfie and the Sneak.

Try this at home with Maddy: BUILDING A BUSINESS- Taking Better Pictures

{Family Reunion photo by Artsy}

If you ask a lot of indie business owners, one of the most daunting tasks in getting set up is taking the ever-important product photograph. Especially on sites such as Etsy, where your product really is in a sea of competing items, you need to take great photos to capture the attention of the browser. They better they look and the more they pop, the more likely you'll get the click - and of course, the more clicks, the better the chance at the sale!

While getting a professional to take photos for you can be a great option, most businesses realistically don't have the budget for it - at the same time, nobody wants their sales to suffer because the images on their store front don't accurately reflect the commitment and pride they have for their product. So what's a small business owner to do? Start by making small changes to how you take your photos! You'd be surprised by how the tiniest detail can really make or break your photos. Here are some tips:

1. Find and get to know your camera. Most people are using digital cameras these days. If you're doing product photography, you'll probably want a Digital SLR rather than your standard point and shoot digital. A digital SLR (single lens reflex) functions like a standard film camera. You can adjust the aperture and focus point, unlike its point and shoot counterpart, which tends to have a flat focus. Always try it out before you buy it, because like any other tool an artist uses, you'll find cameras you're more comfortable with. If a DSLR is out of your price range, don't worry about using a point and click for now - you can always upgrade later, or you can simply use a film camera and ask for a CD back rather than prints (though that might be a hassle). I personally use a DSLR and would never use a point and shoot again; my weapon of choice is a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT - you can find refurbished models on EBay for very reasonable prices. I bought mine online from Cameta Camera's EBay Store - I knew the brick and mortar shop since I had lived in the area at the time and knew its reputation; I highly recommend them. When you've purchased your camera, you should make it a point to set time aside to read the manual and experiment - take a couple of shots on different settings and see what you like. I highly recommend using the Macro mode on your camera for anything small, such as jewelry - you'll get very tight, graphic close-ups on details that translate very well into feature photos (remember you should also pull back to see the whole piece in alternate shots so the customer can also have a sense of scale).
2. Use natural light, or white light. I find the best shots for most objects is natural light. Don't use direct light; aim to shoot in partial shade, during a partly cloudy day, or in the morning or late afternoon. If you can't time it perfectly or weather conditions aren't ideal for shooting, turn off the lights in your room and shoot near a window that does not have direct light coming into it. If, for whatever reason, you don't have enough light or are shooting at night, you have to be very careful about shooting with household light. NEVER USE YOUR CAMERA'S FLASH - it will wash out and flatten your product, which is not very flattering. I highly recommend investing in some GE Reveal bulbs - they shine bright white so there is less of a color cast to your product. Another incredibly useful purchase (in my opinion) is either one or a couple Medusa-head lamps like this one from Target - you can adjust your light sources as well as how much is coming into the shot quite easily, rather than using a bunch of various lamps. If you do purchase a Medusa, however, make sure the plastic lamp shades around the bulb are either WHITE or BLACK, which will filter light cleanly - otherwise you will get color casting.
3. Simplify your backgrounds. A lot of times I see people shooting stuff on very busy backgrounds or environments, but I think the most successful feature shots are more graphic and are really about the product. For smaller items, solid color paper, flat table cloths or pillow cases, or wood surfaces (minor distressing is okay) are often best. Try to avoid busy patterns (if you prefer patterns, think small polka dots or simple stripes); you can make solid colors more interesting by having an interesting texture to the fabric or a pretty tooth to the paper. If you need a shot illustrating the product in your environment, simplify the space as much as possible, and use the environment photo as an alternate rather than the main picture. Most importantly, choose colors that make your product pop the most - if you're mostly metal or neutral colors, head towards bright, poppy colors. Really nice mushroom grays or warm neutrals work beautifully and look sophisticated against brighter colors or jewelry with colorful accent stones.
4. Prop simply and smartly. In the industry, professional photographers have specialized assistants known as stylists that add non-product objects to the shot to help illustrate product use, ingredients or fragrance, or help define the brand and quality level. If you choose to style your product, you need to remember to not go overboard! Keep props small and subtle in relation to the product - after all, you're not selling the props! Also consider what tone it gives the overall photograph. For example, if you have a sophisticated line of bath and body products and are shooting a lavender scented bar of soap, consider propping it with some dried lavender plants on a clean white soap dish? On the other hand, if your bath and body line was more quirky and fun, perhaps a small bath toy, like a mini rubber duck, might be right for your brand.

If you're an Etsy user, keep in mind the site will end up cropping your photos into a square when it's the feature photo - you will want to compose your photos with that in mind. If you've used natural light, I'd generally discourage bringing your photos into Photoshop unless there is color correcting that needs to be done - for example, if you have a color cast. Slight adjusting may be needed in Levels if you've used indoor lighting, which may have flattened out your product.

Good luck, and happy photo taking!

- Maddy

Maddy Susser is a graphic designer and artist that has a soft spot for all things paper and English period pieces (in other words, men in tights and funny vests). Armed with a number of years in marketing for retail on a small business and corporate scope she collects tidbits of information learned along the way and puts it into easy terms to share, formerly on her blog Try This at Home, and now on Modish. She's currently working on a line of paper goods.

Feeling homey

Perhaps it's because I just moved into a new home myself, but I'm feeling very drawn to these tiny little house pendants by deciduous soul. 

Created with collaged papers on the back of a scrabble piece, they're simple and cute and would make a great housewarming gift for someone moving this spring- plus they're only $13.99!

Handmade Faces: Marie from Witch Fire

Please welcome miss Marie as today's handmade face!  Marie is the brains behind the Marimello blog and also started a benefit shop and blog called Witch Fire to help raise money to fight the devastating forest fires that raged on in southern California late last year.  Let's meet her and her cool skeleton bike! :)


What does handmade mean to you, Marie?

If buying means trading money for something that the buyer values more than the money, then handmade describes something that is inherently more valuable to me. To me, handmade isn't just an adjective, it's a noun and something that tips the scale for me when I buy an item. Handmade goods are more inspiring because they are part of a huge community of supportive people who put more than raw materials into what they sell. Making things for myself and buying things that are handmade by independent designers and crafters puts me in touch with more than just the check out clerk. I meet more creative and inspiring people than I normally would, because people who make things are more revealing about themselves and often put more of their belief systems into what they do. They're doing something special that no one else can do, and I like that.

Thanks for sharing Marie!  Check out Marie's Witch Fire shop to see what she's selling and maybe even donate some items for the shop yourself!

Gogo, go now!

Gone are my associations with high heeled boot wearing bar dancers, now when I hear the word "go go" I'm going to think immediately of Gogo Borgerding, creator of some heart thumpingly wonderful jewelry that's organic, industrial and lusciously colorful all at once.  I'm especially in love with these wrist cuffs, made from sterling silver and aluminum:

My wrist is coveting right now, wishing to feel the weight of one of these attention getting bracelets on its thin little bones.  Oh, quit thee coveting, wrist!  Quit it!  For I just moved and have not the money to spend on such a thing...but for those of you who do, find the whole line of cuffs plus gorgeous necklaces and brooches on Gogo's site.  You can also purchase some cuffs directly through ShopSCAD and Be Native- your wrists will thank you!

Try this at home with Maddy: BUILDING A BUSINESS- So You Want to Make Bath and Body Products

For most folks, there's nothing better than a wonderful warm, relaxing bath. For the creative, there's always an added bonus knowing you made the soap. Or the bubbles and bath salts. Heck, you even made the lotion you're going to use after you come out! Does that sound like it should be you? Here's the goods to get you into crafting Bath and Body product.

{photo by mi*2}

Suppliers - Multiple Bath & Body Areas
Bramble Berry: supplies for making soap, lip balm, lotions, bath salts, and more. Includes molds, colorant, exfoliants, fragrances, and more. Just starting out and don't know what to do? They also offer kits.

Wellington Fragrance Company: despite their name, Wellington stocks various bases (including body gel, liquid hand soap, bubble bath, lotion, shampoo and conditioner bases), molds, flavor oils, and salts. Not surprisingly, they also stock fragrances (what a shock!).

Save on Scents: I love these guys. While they carry primarily fragrance oils (their selection is great, they've started to expand their collection to packaging (vials, bottles, roll-ons, and more), melt and pour soap bases, colorants, and a variety of other bases including shower gel, lip balm, scrub, lotion, and other various bases.

Sweet Cakes: if you're looking into bath and body as a business opportunity, Sweet Cakes offers bulk supplies for melt and pour soap, shampoo, conditioner, and lotion bases. They also supply packaging, lip balm bases and flavor oils, and a wide variety of fragrance and essential oils. Want to test out the scents? They also offer themed 1 ounce fragrance sampler packs.

Wholesale Supplies Plus: offering molds, fragrances, various bases, and packaging, WSP has a good selection that covers all of bath and body crafting. There's a particularly good selection of melt and pour bases to suit anyone's personal preference.

Suppliers - Soapmaking Exclusive
Creation Herbal: offering essential oils and soapmaking ingredients, Creation Herbal also offers organic alternatives for those crafting for that market. If you're interested in doing a more advanced soapmaking process than simple melt and pour, they have beginner recipe kits complete with all necessary ingredients and a step-by-step book to help you through it.

Suppliers - Fragrance Exclusive
Scent It: various fragrance oils available in various sizes, including sample sizes if you'd like to experiment before you buy a bulk size.

Suppliers - Packaging Exclusive
SKS Bottle: a really, really great variety of packaging options for bath and body products. I've used them before while I was in school developing a fictitious bath and body line for a packaging class - and I'd use them again.

Books - Soapmaking
The Soapmaker's Companion by Susan Miller Cavitch: featuring recipes and techniques, this book helps inspire new ways of making your soaps unique. Probably the best feature of all, Cavitch also offers insight on soapmaking for profit, including the hardest part for all of us - understanding the government's rules and requirements!

The Natural Soap Book by Susan Miller Cavitch: also by Ms. Cavitch, this book features soap recipes in the cold process method using all-natural ingredients. In addition to the recipes, Cavitch also discusses ideas for creative packaging and presentation.

Soapmaking for Fun and Profit by Maria Nerius: geared slightly more towards the business side of soapmaking, including pricing and marketing, it also addresses how to develop recipes and setting up a workspace.

Melt and Pour Soapmaking by Marie Browning: through great imagery and easy to follow directions, this book will help you make your melt and pour soaps even more unique with discussions on fragrance, additives, colorants, embossing, embedding and more. Though the title would suggest it's only a book about melt and pour, there are also recipes included on hand milled soaps, bath salts, bubble baths, massage oils, and bath powders.

Making Natural Liquid Soaps by Catherine Failor: in addition to all-natural recipes for shampoos, bath and shower gels, and bubble baths, this book gives insight into the chemistry behind bath and body product, and how to use different hard fats and soft oils to the best advantage. There's also information included about how to formulate your own blends, and addresses basic techniques that everyone can follow.

Maddy Susser is a graphic designer and artist that has a soft spot for all things paper and English period pieces (in other words, men in tights and funny vests). Armed with a number of years in marketing for retail on a small business and corporate scope she collects tidbits of information learned along the way and puts it into easy terms to share, formerly on her blog Try This at Home, and now on Modish. She's currently working on a line of paper goods.

Handmade Spaces: Hazelnut Cottage

Today's handmade space is that of Jan from Hazelnut Cottage, who creates beautiful and inspirational hand-stamped jewelry all from a little corner of her dining room!  See how she balances work life and home life below! 

What do you create in this space?
…a mess, usually! nah. here is where i create my handstamped jewelry goodies for hazelnut cottage on etsy!  i sketch here too and with my computer smashed up next to my workspace, i also blog here.

Please describe what we see in the pictures a bit...
i work in this tiny leetle space a stone's throw from my dining room table. to my left are large windows and screen doors that overlook a nearby marina, and off in the distance, maunalua bay—a tiny bay in the vast pacific ocean.  one great thing about my workspace is that it gets lots and lots of natural light and the view keeps me feeling refreshed and calm.
i keep most of my little jewelry components in small plastic compartments, which i (mostly!) have labeled. these boxes within boxes are great and terrible at the same time. when i am super duper busy, every single box is out and open, pendants are strewn everywhere, which invites the pee cat extraordinaire to come and have a look, who then topples the open boxes over creating a jewelry component soup on my table top! ack.
the essence of what this handmade life means to me is that i get to stay home and raise my little ones during the day, and work til the wee small hours of the night on my artwork. they are my inspiration! everytime i get chicken-hearted to try the next scary thing, i take one look at my little guys and think to myself, “i can be brave for you...”  my other inspirations are my journey with God, and my books...oh, i could not do it without my books. they are like familiar old friends and they continually fill me with new insights, encouragements and ideas. my most recent reads have been "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom and "The Return of the Prodigal Son" by Henri Nouwen. yum!

How do you feel when you enter your "handmade space"?
i'll be honest, sometimes i am so excited to get to work, other times i dread it because i really am kind of a slob (gosh. there i said it for all the world to hear! yeesh!) and because i keep MEANING to put up my children’s photos, inspiring quotes, snippets of this and that, but alas, i give myself a huge pat on the back if i can just remember to change my calendar at month's end!

Thanks Jan for sharing your workspace and your inspirations with us!  I'm jealous of that incredible Hawaiian view you have! 

Find all of the wonderful designs that Jan creates here in her Hazelnut Cottage shop, and keep up with how she balances her home and creative life on her blog!

Eco-Friendly Find: prix-prix

Style, utility and earth-friendliness all come together so nicely when left to the hands of prix-prix.  The prix-prix label is home to wallets and business card cases made from vintage neckties that have seen better days, giving them new life to enjoy. 

They also create lovely hand block-printed notebooks, using the underside of cereal boxes as the covers, and filling them with 100% post consumer recycled paper.


The results are unique and stylish and a great example of how you can "up-cycle" everyday things that may be in your closet, or in your cupboards, into useful creations.  Find many more designs at prix-prix!