Happy Friday, everyone! This week I'd like to introduce you to Rosa Czarnomski, one of our very talented jewelry designers and the force behind Serasi Jewelry. Read on to learn how an engineer transitioned to jewelry designer, and about an interesting addition to a martini. Have a great weekend, everyone!  

Please introduce yourself and tell us about your handmade business.
My name is Rosa Czarnomski. I’m the owner and designer behind Serasi Jewelry.  My jewelry is mostly made of 14k gold-filled and silver-filled wire with colorful semi-precious stones, pearls and crystals. Most of my time I spend weaving and coiling wire by hand into earrings and necklaces.  I was born and raised in Indonesia. I came to the US to pursue a degree and worked as an engineer for 10 years before I decided to make jewelry full time. I found out that I truly enjoy colors and working with my hands. Currently I live in Rhode Island with my husband in our happy home, where I introduced him to a rice cooker and he introduced me to a toaster. 

Describe your studio for us.
My studio is the top floor of our house. The room has a slanted ceiling (where I hit my head a lot) and a spiral staircase (where I have to balance myself when carrying stuff), but it’s peaceful and bright. It has a nice view where I can watch wildlife in-action while working, usually foxes and hawks hunting their prey. 

Can you tell us about the name for your business, Serasi Jewelry?
Serasi (se-ra’-see) is an Indonesian word meaning something like “blend” or “well-suited”. I picked that name in hopes of evoking Indonesia’s rich, laid back and diverse culture. Indonesians embrace this philosophy, ensuring life flows in harmony and balance. 

Does your background in engineering influence your jewelry collection?
Yes, it does. It gave symmetry and geometric influences to my earlier work. Someone asked me how I make my pieces consistently uniform and whether I measure it one by one.  I said, no, it comes naturally and maybe it’s because of my well-oiled left brain. My engineering friend nodded with a smile.  I felt validated and not so weird about making things symmetrical. Later, when I started making jewelry full-time I had to challenge myself to adapt to more organic forms. Now I have different lenses and filters to play with in my creative process. 

What do you do when you need a shot of inspiration?
I keep photography books of underwater life from when I used to dive off Bali and Java. My inspiration comes from those colorful tropical fish and corals. I also get inspiration from everyday life, like vegetables, flowers and fruit. My sister sometimes gives me ideas and she’s a loyal and honest critique.
I heard that a cure to writer’s block is to just start writing any words by hand. When I’m really stuck I just start sketching. Usually it will jump start my brain right away. 

What does handmade mean to you?
Handmade means made by hand and not by machine.  To me, it’s very personal.  For each individual item there was a person behind it, a person who is just like one of us, someone we can relate to.  Each handmade item may carry an imperfection which becomes part of its beauty and unique signature. 

How did you become involved with Craftland?
As soon as I moved to the Providence area my friends brought me to Craftland and, of course, it immediately became a favorite destination.  A couple of years later, Devienna saw my work at a craft show in Providence and later I got her email expressing Craftland’s interest in carrying my stuff.  That was one of the happiest days of my life! 

Little know fun fact about you?
I like noodle soup, karaoke and sun-dried tomato.  I even put sun-dried tomato in my noodle soup and martini.  I also love to dance - my record is 5 hours non-stop!

Happy Friday, everyone! This week I'd like to introduce you to Meg Turner, the creative force behind Messmate Prints. Meg lives in New Orleans, although spent lots of time in Providence before moving there. A lot of shoppers have been interested in how she makes the prints that we have hanging on our print wall, so here's everything you'll want to know! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Please introduce yourself and tell us about your handmade business.
Hello! My name is Meg Turner, I am make photographs that are hand-printed on an etching press (more on this process below) using negatives I shoot with a large, old-fashioned press camera. Many of the photographs I have for sale at Craftland feature particular old power stations and a steel furnace in Pittsburgh. My drive to document how the  infrastructure of the steel industry and the coal-powered energy industry intersected with the economic policies of the 1970’s, is paired with my love of exploring our physical landscape. These buildings that have now sat empty for a quarter of a century have taken on new roles: that of a refuge for rule-breakers (criminal, artistic, social); they are awe-inspiring open spaces and machinery at what feels like a mythical scale. I make these prints to share my love for these spaces: their history, their physical presence and their beauty.

Describe your studio for us.
As a printmaker who relies on large expensive equipment, I have never had a traditional ‘artist’s studio’. My process involves the use of the communal darkroom we built at the community printshop here in new Orleans, the scanner at University of New Orleans, my computer, various printers, and then the etching press of the photographer I print for, Josephine Sacabo. Her studio is gorgeous, practically an antique shop, so I feel very lucky to have such a refreshing and calm place to make my work.

Tell us a little bit about the New Orleans Community Printshop that you're involved with?
Want to learn how to screen print? With glitter? Right now? The New Orleans Community Printshop is run by a group of printers and educators that I feel incredibly honored to know and work with. Inspired by the AS220 community printshop, we offer resources and training to local artists, designers, and interested beginners. We are entirely volunteer run, and because New Orleans is much more averse to scheduling than New England, instead of classes and shop reservations we just open our doors to the public 3 days a week and teach anyone who comes in. We are about to move locations again, and are raising funds for the move, so if you want to support us please visit the website! www.nolacommunityprintshop.wordpress.com 

What are the tools of your trade?
Tools – I shoot with a large format camera – that means that the negatives are 4” x 5” – either a field or rail camera. I shoot old industrial buildings because I love them, inside and out, and also because they are patient. The camera takes between 2-15 minutes to set up. The negatives are developed by hand in trays of chemicals, dried and scanned. Films are then printed on an Epson printer and plates are exposed to UV light. The plates are processed in water and then printed on a French tool etching press.

Can you tell us a bit about the process of making the gorgeous prints we have here?
The technical name for these prints are ‘photopolymer gravure’ or ‘polymer photogravure’ it is a process that has its roots in traditional copper photogravure, but instead of gelatin tissue, copper, rosin, alcohol, methanol, and ferric chloride, the process uses pre-sensitized steel-backed polymer plates, and processes in water. Both processes require a large film positive (made in the darkroom or digitally) and exposure to ultra-violet light. The plate is exposed and processed and then is ready to ink up and print on an etching press. the extra-ordinary amount of process involved leads to quite a lengthy investment of time in each photograph.

What does handmade mean to you?
The questions of hand-made in photography and printmaking is tricky –  by nature we employ tools: computers, printers, lenses, chemistry. But I personally balk at giclee or digital printing, needing my hands involved in the final production of each print. It is the physical process that ties me to this medium – my love of mixing ink, of wiping plates, of dampening paper, of actually printing; and then endlessly trouble-shooting every variable.

How did you first become involved with Craftland?
Craftland! I first sold screenprints at craftland in 2006 and have been a happy participant and supporter ever since. I remember walking into the first opening and wanting to actually eat everything i saw, it looked so delicious.

Little known, fun fact about you?
I was born 10 weeks premature, and spent my first weeks in an an incubator with tubes keeping me breathing. By the time I was released home my father (an engineer) calculated that at my tiny weight of  3 pounds enough medical services had been used that I was actually worth more than my weight in gold!

Happy Friday, everyone! This week I'd like to introduce you to Stephanie Weber, an artist from Portland, Oregon who makes our cute collection of felt food. Read on to learn a little bit more about Stephanie and what makes this artist inspired to turn her breakfast into great food to play with. Stephanie's work inspired one of my cutest Craftland moments, a wee little shopper asking me very politely if we had play chopsticks to go with her new felt sushi. Have a great weekend, everyone!  

Please introduce yourself and tell us about your handmade business.
My name is Stephanie Weber and I own a business called Pickle Things. The main thing that I make is play food out of felt. I am big on reuse and trying to be as thoughtful as possible about things that I create which means that I use almost all reclaimed materials. The example that I usually give is that the tomatoes on my sandwiches were made out of someone's old Christmas stocking.  Even the bags that I use to package my food were rejects from some other business. I just really like to make things that are fun and colorful but also enviromentally friendly. I also like creating things that are practical so it is nice to make little mini sculptures that get to be played with and enjoyed.

Describe your studio for us.
I do not know that you could even call my work space a studio since it is spread all over my apartment.  I have my sewing machine in my bedroom, my work desk is in my living room and I even have some supplies stored in my kitchen like a rack of ribbon on the side of my refrigerator. If you have not guessed, I have a small apartment.

What was the inspiration behind your collection of felt food? 
The first time that I made food, I made a few pieces as a gift from my friend's daughter. They were fun to make and I like the challenge of trying to figure out how I am going to recreate each type of food. Food is everywhere so it is not hard to come up with new possibilities. Sometimes I get distracted at restaurants trying to figure out how I would recreate my meal in felt. I do like to try to make each piece look pretty realistic. I am not a fan of food with cute little faces. Somehow, pretending to cook/eat something that is smiling at you just seems wrong.

What are the tools of your trade?
I do not have any tricks up my sleeve on this one. I use what every person who does basic sewing uses; needles, thread, pins, scissors and a sewing machine. 

What's the handmade scene like in Portland, Oregon?
Portland has a great handmade scene. There are so many creative people making so many cool interesting things. It is really inspirational. One of things that I love about handmade items is that you can see the personality of the crafter in their creations. Since this town has a lot of people with a lot of personality, it makes for good crafts.  Even the people who do not create things themselves are really good about supporting local artists. There are a number of businesses in town that carry nothing but locally handmade goods, which is amazing. 

What does handmade mean to you?
For me, handmade is getting an idea, working out the details of that idea, then sitting down and creating it. Plus, like I said before, I think it is also about putting your personality into what you are creating. 

How did you become involved with Craftland?
I applied to Craftland's holiday show a couple of years ago and was.....rejected! It is was so sad. Luckily, I was contacted later by the store because they were interested in carrying my food. Hooray!! Unfortunately, there were some lost emails and it took forever to get connected. Life can be tricky that way but eventually it worked out and felt food was shipped off to Providence.  Ever since, it has been nothing but happy times. I love having my stuff at Craftland.

Little known, fun fact about you.
I am a big walker. It is hands down my favorite way to get from one place to another. The funny thing is that I really hate stepping on the metal grates or  metal doors in the sidewalk. I always try to walk around them. If I can't for some reason, I basically slowly tip toe over it trying to make as little noise as possible. You would think I was walking on hot coals but not smart enough to move quickly. It must look really funny to the casual observer. 

Happy Friday, everyone! This week I'd like to prove that despite all the pink and glitter, we do have boys here at Craftland. I interviewed Tom Toupin, local artist and also owner of one of our favorite coffee shops in town. Read on to get some great business advice, and find out why Tom should be on his way to Olympics!

Please introduce yourself and tell us about your handmade business.
My name is Tom Toupin and I’m a coffee shop owner with a love for busted up, vintage neon signs. I wanted to buy some for my coffee shop (White Electric) and when I couldn't find any good options online I decided to make them myself. The original size that I made for my coffee shop and a few other local businesses was 4' X 4'. They were met with such a great response I decided to make a smaller, more home-friendly size available for anyone. Then I started experimenting with other marquee icons such as arrows and cafe signs.

Describe your studio for us.
My studio isn’t much of a studio, it’s our garage. I have it loaded with everything from wood clamps to motorcycles, anything I can use to cut, nail or beat the hell out of wood. My paint booth is also our lumber room which we use in the winter to store all the cords of wood we use to heat our home. So basically I use every outdoor area that has a roof. In the summer I like to drag my bench outside and build away in the driveway.

Do you feel a connection between your creative work and your work owning and operating White Electric?
There is a connection between my signs and running White Electric. I’m always trying to keep the coffee shop new and exciting. I feel like the rotation of local artists and my own work really adds to the White Electric experience.

What advice would you have for someone wanting to strike out on their own and run a business?
If I had to give any advice about starting a business it would be to make sure you have some kind of previous experience first. Previous to owning White Electric I had held every job in a restaurant from bus boy to restaurant manager. I also had some past experience with making signs; when I was in college I worked for a contractor and we rebuilt everything from 40 foot vintage sail boats to electronic computer rooms for Raytheon. Understanding your business from other angles is what will keep you ahead and always ready to adapt.

What does handmade mean to you?
I consider a handmade product something that didn’t previously exist, almost like an invention. I wanted to purchase some marquee letters for the coffee shop so bad. After searching all over I decided to make my own, and with no access to a welder, I figured I’d make wood look like metal.

How did you become involved with Craftland?
I became involved with Craftland mainly because my beautiful and talented wife was already selling her products there and I figured I’d make a nice light up letter C for their window. After about 2 weeks they sold the letter C so I made another and it sold and so on and so on.

Little known, fun fact about you?
The only fun fact I can think of would be my extremely small uvula. It’s so small the dentist sent me to a specialist because he thought something was wrong. The specialist was psyched, it was like he made a National Geographic discovery. He insisted I had the largest airway with the smallest uvula he had ever seen and that I should be a professional runner due to the fact I would never run out of breath. So here I am building light-up letters when I should be lighting up the race track.

To see a Craftland video of Tom in action from last year, go here.

Happy Friday, everyone! This week, I'm happy to introduce you to Soleil Fleming. At Craftland, we carry a beautiful collection of Soleil's jewelry, and were excited to have the chance to get to learn more about her. Read on for some great advice on balancing life as an artist and mom and what the handmade scene is like in her corner of Canada.

Please introduce yourself and tell us about your handmade business.
My name is Soleil Fleming, I live just north of Montreal, in Québec, among many many trees. Yes, Soleil means Sun in french, and yes, my parents were hippies, all the way. A couple of years ago, having completed a Studio Arts degree from Concordia University in Montreal, I thought I’d get myself pregnant and run off to the mountains (or something along those lines). Maboue - Wearable Porcelain was born quite organically, just a few months after my now 2 year old daughter was born... I couldn’t seem to pull off throwing pottery on the wheel while carrying a baby (!) but desperately needed to get my hands back into clay, so I started making small porcelain objects at my kitchen table, opened my Etsy Shop... And it’s been blossoming nicely since... I feel very grateful. 

Describe your studio for us.
My “official” studio is the top floor of our house, a steep-walled mezzanine... I can also be found on my living room couch or at my kitchen table, assembling necklaces or softening the edges of piles of pieces of unfired clay. And then there is the studio I dream of with a deep deep sink, a slab roller, so much natural light I need blinds and sunglasses and a patio connecting it to my house... sigh! 

What are the tools of your trade?
First and foremost, definitely my Kiln, a perfectly perfect old Paragon found on Craigslist when we first moved out of Montreal a couple of years ago. Exactly 5 minutes from our new home, we were meant to be! I have to say the second most important tool of MY trade is my boyfriend, who built me a kiln room from scratch, with the best homemade ventilation and cooling system ever, a light-box for taking pictures of my work, a website... I am definitely one of those “clever girls behind whom there is a guy with a beard and glasses” , thanks for putting that out there Sarah! There are a couple of things I couldn’t live without - that one pin needle tool that has just the right dulness and that one Doily that makes the nicest necklace imprint of all...  But ultimately, as long as the clay is there to wedge and the glazes to glaze... I’m good to go. 

What is the handmade scene like in your part of Quebec?
This is my third attempt at an answer to this simple question and I still can’t seem to find the right words... I will simply say this - there is a crazy amount of truly creative and innovative makers in Québec, and it is getting easier every day to shop for beautiful, contemporary handmade stuff, all over the province.  

Any advice on balancing a small business with the demands of being a mom?
Ô my... Forgive yourself in advance for not being perfect, you won’t be... Don't do guilt. I guess that's just plain advice on being a parent! Push any deadline that seems realistic to you by a few weeks, you will be a much more patient and present parent, and a much more reliable artist! I’m not of those who believe the only way to run a business is to not count the hours and work every night and week-end. I say choose your business hours and stick to them as much as possible (hard, I know). Remember what’s really important. Remind yourself of how you want your children to perceive work. Try to get your kids involved on some level or another with what you do. And then forgive yourself again for not doing all of the above! 

What does handmade mean to you?
Time. Humility. Beauty.
Making the world a prettier place, one object at a time... A happier place, one object at a time.  

How did you first become involved with Craftland?
Devienna contacted me with the sweetest words after seeing my work on Etsy, THANK YOU Devienna! It’s been a wonderful partnership! 

Little known fun fact about you?
I find great satisfaction in pulling out large amounts of hair from the bathtub drain, I know, gross. Oh, Is that not a fun fact? Sorry. Here is a less disturbing one: I could eat breakfast for every meal, every day.