Amber Jensen
www.sketchbookcrafts.com
Who are you and how did you get started in your craft?
"I was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I studied drawing at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design where I spent much of my time visiting sheep farms and making large layered drawings of sheep at pasture. During this time I was encouraged and inspired to experiment and make large pieces that were very much about the moment, not archival at all. Some time after graduating in 2004, I kept feeling an increasing need to make work that could stand the test of time and be used and cherished by its owner. After a trip to New Zealand to work on a sheep farm and some intensive studying with my mother in the art of tailoring I felt inspired to create a line of wool, waxed canvas and leather bespoke bags. In 2006 I launched my line under the moniker 'Sketchbook.' I had kept sketchbooks my whole life and these books have acted as visual markers in my life. A sketchbook, to me, conjures up the idea of constant experimentation, commitment to the process, and the evolution of ideas. All things that I would like my customer to appreciate."
What is your favorite material to work with? Why?
"Much of my work is heavily inspired by my materials. The waxed canvas,wool and leather are raw materials that are beautiful on their own. My work is designed and tested in order to find ways to simplify and edit, allowing the materials to shine."
"In the 5th grade I created a koala bear out of paper maché. I remember that being a pivotal moment for me in understanding sculpture. I still think about it on a regular basis while sewing."
Anna Weber
weberdesignworks.tumblr.com
"I am a jewelry maker, sign painter and costume maker living in Portland, Oregon. I started making jewelry when my mom signed me up for a beading workshop when I was 11 years old. My dad is a sign painter and taught me everything I know about sign painting. I started making costumes ten years ago when my brother and I decided it was a good idea to make four identical squirrel costumes."
What is your favorite material to work with? Why?
"Paper maché, because it is non-toxic, versatile, and available in most kitchens."
"Probably my delicious falafel sandwich."
Annabella Sardelis
annabellasardelis.blogspot.com
"My name is Annabella Sardelis. I am a printmaker who specializes in textile and lighting design. I create one-of-a-kind, limited edition screen printed and block printed textiles, specializing in home decor and toggery. I began printmaking 13 years ago. For years I chose to specialize in woodcuts and relief printing. Nearly five years ago I began to integrate my love of textiles and printmaking."
What other current artist/individual inspires you?
"There are many. To name just one - as far as textiles - Vera Neumann. Or known simply to many as Vera. She is no longer with us but her work remains very current. Nikki McClure. Zap Mama. Lauren Hill. I can't pick just one. Lotta Jansdotter. Alice Waters."
"Either an old world artisan outdoor pizza oven for my backyard, with the intent that it would be a community oven; or an urban gardening/farming educational center where low income individuals and families could learn free of charge how to practice effective organic urban gardening and be given start-up resources, i.e. compost, tools, seeds to grow food to feed their communities."
Annie Larson
www.allforeveryone.com
"I am Annie Larson, the designer behind ALL Knitwear, currently living and working in Brooklyn, NY. I learned to machine knit in late 2009 while designing costumes for a collaborative, psychedelic performance."
Can you remember the first piece of art you created?
"I was in 4th grade the first time I remember consciously trying to create a piece that would become art. My idea was to make a sculpture of a dog, but instead of standing upright, he would be sprawled out on his belly, like he was sliding across a frozen pond. When I started fashioning the clay in this way, the art teacher came by and corrected the legs so the dog was standing up. I was confused and too shy to ask any questions so I went with it, and now my mother has a standing dog sculpture."
"Usually my earrings or my glasses. I have a lot of earrings, most of which are beautifully hand-crafted or lovingly sourced by good friends. But, I've also tried a lot of frame styles over the years, and many of them have prompted some form of question."
Annika Kaplan
www.annikakaplanjewelry.com
"I am a jeweler from Minneapolis. I have been making jewelry for as long as I can remember... I was trained for two years at the Savannah College of Art and Design, and two years at the Minneapolis Community and Technical College. I work out of a studio adjacent to an awesome cafe called Modern Times. It's a non-traditional studio setup, and sometimes my studio mates and I joke that its like the Peach Pit - there are always lots of friends and curious visitors around. It is a stimulating, exciting environment to work in, and I feel lucky to be surrounded by my talented friends."
What would you create with unlimited resources?
"Everything I currently do, but in gold! Yellow gold, rose gold, green gold, grey gold…"
"I walk into the cafe and drink chai, eat a croissant or a wild rice burger. I have also been known to waste a few hours looking at my favorite blogs, and Pinterest."
Baby Skateboards
"Baby Skateboards is Jake Stein, Tim Hudson, and Fletcher Barnhill. We started our craft because we love skateboarding. We love for things to not be normal, and since skateboarding had kind of become so normal, we wanted to do something to try to change it a little bit. We wanted to make skateboard shapes and designs that were conducive to a weird style of skateboarding, a style that was more expressive and loose and had more to do with riding a skateboard than 'tricking' a skateboard. Like with music or with most kinds of arts, skateboarding has a lot to do with experimentation and expression, and we wanted to extend that part of skateboarding to making the skateboards."
What is your favorite material to work with? Why?
"Skate everything!"
"Something louder than the saws and sanding belts, like really loud!"
Ben Fiess
www.bfiess.com
"My name is Ben Fiess. I studied ceramics in college and graduate school."
What other current artist/individual inspires you?
"I greatly admire Hella Jongerius. Her use of materials and colors is brilliant."
"In the summer I will ride my bike a great distance to eat ice cream. This satisfies two of my passions."
Beth Chekola
"I am a visual artist who has worked primarily in sculpture. In October 2011 I took a weaving class on a lark after being inspired by the work of various textile artists, such as Sheila Hicks, and began making scarves as a way to experiment at a medium scale with the process. At first I made work for friends as small treasures, but see my first edition here as a means of continuing the practice and improving upon the patience required for weaving."
Can you remember the first piece of art you created?
"A few years ago my mom gave me a sketchbook I'd had as a young child filled with portraits I had done of fictitious and real individuals. The heads are enormous, with small, off center Picasso-like noses. The clothing is always a wild pattern. I've thought about attempting to weave some of them!"
"These days it is endlessly drinking coffee, reading the New Yorker and thinking about physics."
Brookes Boswell
www.brookesboswell.com
"When I moved to Brooklyn as an Interior Architect in 2008, the economy was crashing all around me and there weren't any promising job leads. The good news was that the shift in traditional economies made way for little pockets of enterprise and Brookes Boswell Millinery was born! I love my work and feel truly lucky that I get to be a practicing designer and craftsperson. I have always had a strong interest in textiles and have done quite a bit of weaving, dyeing, sewing, knitting, even interning with an amazing curtain designer, Petra Blaisse. So when the opportunity to apprentice with a milliner came along, it didn't seem like such a far leap from my previous profession and love of textile crafts. In fact, I jumped at the chance to apprentice with a longtime, very experienced Manhattan milliner."
What other current artist/individual inspires you?
"Uta Barth is a highly analytic and pragmatic photographer whose work is seemingly improvisational and stunningly beautiful. I greatly admire these elusive qualities in creative work. Working in a two dimensional medium she deals with space, the viewer's relationship to the work and how the viewer sees/understands the work. I love her conceptual approach, which is very different from my own pragmatic 'it must be functional!' design work."
"Usually, they're referring to my rather large and furry dog, Maggie! She goes everywhere within walking distance with me and usually elicits some sort of reaction from people. Smiles, pets and questions, including a common one from awestruck children, 'Is that a wolf??'"
Carissa Potter
www.carissapotter.com"Carissa Potter is a person who lives in San Francisco, California. Carissa currently is working on her first solo show at Wire and Nail Gallery, in the past she has shown at SomArts, E6 Gallery, Kitsch Gallery, and Root Division. She has been a featured artist in Asterisk Magazine, Conveyor Arts Magazine, HoneyDove, Mauve Gallery Journal, Site95, and FFFound. Carissa is a founding member of Colpa Press, a concept based print operation. Colpa Press is partnering with the Central Market Street Revitalization Program in San Francisco to create a venue for artist books, prints, and albums, on the corner of Market and 6th Street opening March 2012."
What other current artist/individual inspires you?
"I am inspired by people who do nothing and people who do something. To name a few: Luca Antonucci, Lila Savage, Casey Carlson, Josh Keller, Jenny Odell, and my folks. They are always doing something, even if it is watching TV or taking a nap."
"I don't remember ever making anything. Recently, I submitted to a book with the theme of telling artist 'coming out' stories. Like when you knew you were an artist type thing. And it was hard, I mean, I never really knew, and I still don't know if that is what I do. I will say, that I was heavily pushed into it by being labeled sensitive. And sensitive people go on to be artists. Fact. Or lawyers (is that right?)."
Casey Deming
www.aptlull.com"I started experimenting with silk-screening when I was living with Dan Black (Landland) and Daniel Luedtke (DNML), both super talented artists and printmakers. I am indebted to their technical support and inspiration through these last few years. My prints mostly reflect a CMYK-process translation of collage works on paper, served primarily in music packaging, book arts and show posters. I also work with Two Bettys Green Cleaning and with the wonderfully talented Dietrich Sieling."
Catherine Polacek
www.printerettepress.com"I am Catherine Polacek and I run Printerette Press in St. Paul, MN. In college I learned how to run different types of presses and since then my love for letterpress printing has grown. I purchased my own hundred-year-old, 1000-pound press a couple of years ago and have been lovingly hand-feeding the paper and hand-mixing the inks to create my line of sweet and colorful paper goods since."
Can you remember the first piece of art you created?
"Oh yes - it's still hanging on the wall at my parents' house. It's an oil painting. A self-portrait (of course) of my head on a background of pink lightning bolts. My nose and lips were formed out of clay and glued on. It's a gem."
"I knit or bake or drink a beer. Today's procrastination was a combination of the latter two."
Celestine Pueringer
leptichameau.blogspot.com
"I am Celestine, I am first and foremost a sculptor. A year and a half ago it became necessary for me to focus on creating small objects. As a huge fan of fashion and eccentricities, it only made sense to create playful treasures as wearable objects. At about the same time I started working as a laser cutting machine technician and it has been wonderful fun."
Someone asks you, 'Where did you get THAT?' What is it that they are talking about?
"I am a huge collector and am fortunate to receive many gifts, if I had to guess, it'd probably be a ridiculous pair of shoes, a rare and delicate bird skeleton or something that I've inherited from my grandmother."
"Cast iron for its relationship to the body, the land, the past and the future."
Chris Chookiatsirichai
"I am an artist/multi-media mixed hobbyist and maker of things in South Minneapolis. I have been focused primarily on jewelry design and adornment for the past 10 or so years. I began making jewelry around age 11 - mostly out of frustration at not finding jewelry that I identified with. What started as a fascination with collecting anything small and lovely (rocks, shells, pods, beads, leaves, etc) became a professional obsession. I've acquired skills and techniques through working at a local bead store, trade shows, jewelry courses through MCTC and dabbling with books and online tutorials."
What is your favorite material to work with? Why?
"Antique trade beads, leather, and oxidized sterling silver. All of these materials hold a story - an energy that is about process, travel, transformation, migration, and metamorphosis. Finding new ways to use these materials is always an interesting challenge. Reinventing something that had an intended purpose - or making something new look antiqued and worn."
"I like meandering into a lotta places - especially anything near water. Lately the Mississippi dog park has been my favorite spot - I love watching dogs run in droves throughout the woods and along into the river... Another place that I love is called The Grotto. This is an amazing art courtyard - one of my friends helped to clean out and create... it's a beautiful and refreshing oasis in the midst of industry."
Crystal Quinn
inagraushoes.tumblr.com
"I am an artist and maker of many things including a recent collaborative project in shoemaking. This is my first attempt at hand dying cotton and I was stoked with the outcome!"
What would you create with unlimited resources?
"100% Quality."
"Luisa Fernanda Garcia-Gomez for her optimistic attitude towards fashion and the ladies of dullDiamond for their solid artistic eye on the everyday."
Dietrich Sieling
Someone asks you, "Where did you get THAT?" What is it that they are talking about?
"Dietrich is a man with orange shades and beard. The people see your purple Oreo shirt, zebra and giraffe guy shirt, Jean on the bed shirt, kudu antelope guy shirt, red Oreo shirt, and I like to wear the brown mocha Oreo shirt. Dietrich made those."
When you procrastinate, what is it that you usually do?
"I like to think about the beehive tetherball game on ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow is a bee sting and it hurts shutting the door quickly going inside the shed."
dullDiamond
thedulldiamond.blogspot.com
"We're Jen and Emily. We became fast friends only 2 1/2 years ago. It became very clear we needed a project to work on together to share with the world. Right now that project is taking shape in the form of beaded and leather jewelry (and the occasional ceramics)."
What is your favorite material to work with? Why?
"Beads, wool, clay... but the process of making jewelry is one of the quickest ways we've found to actively create small collections of form shape, color, and scale. It just works - endlessly. We're also currently working on knit, sewn, baked, and handbuilt clay projects - yeah - we like to make things."
"Animal Collective, Beach House, Beyonce, Dark Dark Dark."
Emily Litjens
"I'm Emily Litjens, I've been excited about colors and forms since as long as I can remember. In kindergarten I received an O for outstanding in art, my mom was so proud but I was confused because I thought it meant I should sit down more. As a child I would scrap together makeshift 'jewelry' with my mom's sewing notions and things around the house. I grew up in a really small town but eventually somebody took me to a craft store and I got heavily into a product called Friendly Plastic, which served as a gateway material to Fimo Clay. I nerded out for years on that stuff. I made really gaudy objects that old ladies at the local craft fairs responded well to. I wish I still had some of them, it's the kind of stuff I'd see at a thrift store now and totally buy for WTF value. I eventually attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design where my interests were pretty all over the map, and remain so to this day."
What would you create with unlimited resources?
"I'm pretty confident that if I spent enough time with my cats they could help me design the ultimate dream house/playland. I would also spend a lot of time meditating. And caring for a succulent garden if I could change the climate with my special new powers."
"I spend quite a lot of time in a state of procrastination, you could say I'm something of a 'pro' (sorry). Themes include but are not limited to: finding the perfect thing to listen to, cooking elaborate feasts, starting a cleaning project I've been putting off (never any shortage there) or getting the cats stoned on nip and having playtime. Sometimes I can observe the world without any action for a very long time."
Emily Snyder
www.queenquills.com
"Emily J. Snyder, jewel obsessed since birth and began making jewelry as soon as little fingers could string beads. Queen Quills Calligraphy started quilling in 2008."
Can you remember the first piece of art you created?
"No I can't remember, but I was obsessed with 'shoes that clicked on the floor' since I was 5 years old."
"Full body white leather jumpsuit with big gold zippers and black stars down the sides of the legs and arms… and (also in my jumpsuit collection) my full body black terry cloth jumpsuit (with butt flap and booties) with a puffy paint palm tree starting at the crotch and growing up towards the neckline."
Emily Temte
"My name is Emily Temte. I began making jewelry 10 years ago when I was working at a bead store in Minneapolis, MN called Bobby Bead."
Do you listen to anything while you work? What?
"I work in a studio that is in a cafe, so I usually listen to what is playing there. But I love most to listen to Emmylou Harris' Red Dirt Girl."
"When I was about 6 years old I used to paint along with the fluffy clouds guy on public TV. I would gather all the art supplies I could find and sit down in front of his televised class and paint. He always went too fast for me to keep up, but I have great fond memories of it."
Erin Smith
www.sisbrodesign.com
"I'm a designer currently living in Minneapolis. I come from a long line of jewelers and metalworkers (hence the name Smith), but my degree in product design introduced me to a multitude of materials. I spent the past five and a half years designing for a nationwide retailer, while juggling interior and product design jobs on the side. This year, I decided to delve into the world of freelance, allowing me to spend 100% of my time doing the things that I love."
What is your favorite material to work with? Why?
"I love to work in all kinds of metal. Wielding a welding torch, and bringing a piece of silver to a glowing red come as second nature to me. The first time I sat down at a jewelers bench, I completely lost track of time, and I knew I was in love."
"Hmmm... Perhaps the question goes more like 'Jeepers creepers, where'd you get those peepers?' And to that, I'd reply… 'From my parents!'"
Ginny Sims
www.ginnysims.com
"My name is Ginny Sims and I was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas. I began making pots early on in college. After graduating from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a degree in political science, I traveled to London, England where I worked in a small health foods store in Notting Hill, then to work at a family run pottery in Centola, Italy, and then at a pottery gallery on the Isle of Iona in Scotland, and then a stint teaching English in Barcelona, and finally as a pottery apprentice with Mike Dodd in Somerset, England. It was with Mike that my decision to make a life of making pots was cemented. Upon arriving home from my travels, I completed a two-year residency at Red Star Studios in Kansas City, MO, worked as a ceramics technician at Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, CO and at the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, MN. I began the Master of Fine Arts program, with a concentration in ceramics, at the U of M Twin Cities in the fall of 2009. I expect to be finished by spring 2012."
What is your favorite material to work with? Why?
"I guess the obvious answer is clay. I love clay because of all the possibilities it offers. The material itself is extremely stubborn, which requires immense patience, but the process of mixing, molding, throwing, sculpting and firing satisfies the maker, the cook, the baker, the scientist and the child inside of me."
"I hope to eventually open a ceramics studio here. It would function in 3 parts: 1 part factory/studio, 1 part artist project space, and 1 part gallery/café/resource center. I can actually see this place in my mind, I know exactly what it will look like. I'm convinced it will happen. I just need to find the funds and the right people to do it with!"
Isa Gagarin
www.isagagarin.com
"I am a visual artist and musician. After taking a community class on tatting, I have developed a tatting practice for personal heirloom projects."
What is your favorite material to work with? Why?
"I like any work that is repetitive and requires a certain deftness of hand, such as tatting, crochet and knitting. I enjoy the concentration and rhythms of joining fiber into patterns and shapes."
"I grew up with Hearth Song craft kits - tissue paper rose windows, a rainbow netted string bag constructed around a soda-liter bottle, modeling beeswax, treasure candles and dip candles, paper maché piñatas."
Lauren Neal
www.carrierpigeonjewelry.com
"I am Lauren Neal, jewelry designer and owner of Carrier Pigeon. Out of the blue in 2007, I took a metals class and fell in love. I quit my job a few months later and started taking classes full time. I studied jewelry manufacturing and production at Minneapolis Community and Technical College and started my own jewelry line in 2009. I currently work out of my studio in the Thorp building in NE Minneapolis."
What is your favorite material to work with? Why?
"Metals! Silver, copper, brass, bronze and gold. I love that each metal has its own personality and luster. I am also really into carving wax and lost wax casting - the process I use for many of my pieces. Every step requires such focus and attention to detail. I get totally lost in the process."
"Studio favorites include Bob Dylan, Cat Power, Neil Young, Sade and lots of Motown."
Lindsay Noble
"I am a printmaker & window designer living in Minneapolis. I first started screen printing when living in Italy in a very old fashioned, dirty print studio."
What is your favorite material to work with? Why?
"Screen printing small designs on small sheets of pretty paper, because everything looks good when it's teeny tiny!"
"Eat pizza and sing karaoke!"
Maddy Nye
www.maddynye.com
"I am a multidisciplinary designer in Minneapolis. My dad is a painter and printmaker and my mom owns a bookstore, so I was indoctrinated at an early age. I hold a graphic design degree and Certificate in Sustainable Design from MCAD. I have had different roles, including doing illustration, typeface design, branding, web development and product styling, and right now my work varies, from custom stationery to architectural drawings to my favorite project, SHIP & SHAPE!"
Someone asks you, 'Where did you get THAT?' What is it that they are talking about?
"My red hair, a color that skipped a generation, bequeathed to me by my dad's dad."
"Make elaborate smoothies."
Martha McQuade
www.mwmworkbook.com"I guess I call myself a designer/maker. I was trained as an architect and currently teach architecture at the U of M but I also make buildings, clothing, accessories and photographs. My mother taught me to knit and sew when I was young and I never stopped."
What other current artist/individual inspires you?
"She isn't 'current' but right now I have been looking at the work of the sculptor Ruth Asawa, who is known for her crochet wire sculptures. She makes these ethereal hanging forms from thin wire sculpted into fabric. I recently began machine knitting and the transparency and layering of her work has been very inspirational in my explorations."
"I make stuff. I'm always testing out materials and trying new processes: printing, manipulating fabrics, knitting swatches, cutting wood. I like to test the limits of materials by picking them apart to see how far I can deconstruct them before they fall apart and in the process see what develops. I recently read the book Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon and there is a chapter titled 'Side Projects and Hobbies are Important'. In the chapter he starts out with this quote by Jessica Hische: 'The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life.' This was definitely a light bulb moment for me and made me feel infinitely better about my procrastination."
Matthew Miller
"I'm a builder of things big and small, mostly made of wood. I started taking this more seriously as a career calling after completing the Cabinetmaking program at Minneapolis Community and Technical College in 2008."
What current artist/individual inspires you?
"I'm lucky to be surrounded by many talented craftspersons and artists here in Minneapolis, I'm continuously inspired to improve my own craft by working alongside them on collaborative projects."
Michael Gaughan
www.michael-gaughan.com
:(
Molly Erickson
"My name is Molly Erickson and I started weaving and making jewelry about four years ago. A dear friend of mine who went to school in Baltimore for fiber studies taught me most of what I know about weaving. We've been working collaboratively ever since. With jewelry, most of what I know has been through trial and error. I started making earrings as gifts for close friends. Only recently have I begun to delve more into the process. The last three months I've spent living and working at a Folk School in western North Carolina to further my studies in craft."
What is your favorite material to work with? Why?
"I recently took a class where we were taught the basics of blacksmith techniques through jewelry. I had a blast! I loved working with copper and silver. It was such a nice break from the delicacy of what I normally do. But at the end of the day I still find myself drawn to weaving and using fiber. I enjoy the calming and meditative qualities that using fiber creates."
"Earlier this year I finished reading Patti Smith's book Just Kids. Having little previous knowledge of her music and life, I was enamored. She's an incredible writer with such emotional insight. But, I was struck most by her honesty. She has an amazing ability through her writing to always be herself, I admire that greatly. Oh, and Kate Bush music videos."
Rachel Blomgren
rachelblomgren.blogspot.com
"I am Rachel Blomgren, a fashion designer who incorporates knitting, crocheting and embroidery into my hand sewn designs. I believe that dress should not only protect you from the elements, but make you feel special, as though you have a secret. I started sewing in high school, knitting in college (while studying Russia), and as time went on they became more and more important to me."
What other current artist/individual inspires you?
"Locally, Lela Horst Baumann. She is a jewelry designer who creates beautiful, colorful work. She is also an illustrator and a printmaker. Her work is purposeful and timeless. On a larger scale I am inspired by Rodarte. I love them."
"I pet my three cats. They love attention. They are trying to get pet right now. All of them."
Rae Ritchie
reraeblog.blogspot.com
"My name is Rae Ritchie and I've been active in arts and crafts for most of my life. Like a creative serial-monogamist, I focus all my interest in one medium, then sometimes abruptly find new creative rewards. For years, I was all about painting, then making music, then apparel design and now my latest passion is needle-crafts."
What would you create with unlimited resources?
"A crochet lace indoor tent. By resources, I assume you mean time as one of them?"
"ICANHAZCHEEZBURGER.COM lolz"
Whittney and Lauren Kebschull
www.wittandlore.com"We're sisters Whittney and Lauren Kebschull. Since a young age we've been creating separately in various forms. It wasn't until three years ago that we began collaborating as Witt & Lore on beaded jewelry and sewn apparel, selling it at local shops and craft shows."
What is your favorite material to work with? Why?
"Tiny beads - especially beads pulled from vintage apparel and old purses. There is something so special about using vintage beads. They're often more irregularly cut than beads of today, making for a more textured piece of jewelry. The jewelry we create with vintage, repurposed beads are often our favorite items; they have a story to tell."
"When we're procrastinating together we like to watch True Blood and Mad Men while eating mock duck bahn mi (no mayo) from Quang on Nicollet."
