Fall Shows Have Launched.. New Chagrin Falls Vendors!

Meet Shannon Gianoni from Saya Papaya Handmade..

Hi! I'm Shannon. I am the owner, creator, designer, photographer, webmaster, bookkeeper, buyer, curator, maker, packer, shipper, and customer service representative of Saya Papaya Handmade Jewelry. When you order from Saya Papaya, I make your jewelry with my own two hands. When you contact Saya Papaya, you're talking directly to me. When you come to Saya Papaya's craft shows, you'll see me behind the table. I'd love to meet you.

I have been crafting and making jewelry my whole life – my childhood was filled with every craft kit and art class imaginable, and as I got older, I tried more and more crafts. My mom was always incredibly supportive and helped to foster my creativity by providing me every opportunity to create. Ultimately, jewelry is the craft that I returned to again and again until Saya Papaya Handmade Jewelry became a business in Fall 2012 – it was a hobby that turned into a full-time dream job in June 2014! The September show in Chagrin Falls will be my first Avant-Garde Show!

I love the rich and wonderful history of rhinestone jewelry and Swarovski Austrian crystals - rhinestone costume jewelry was originally created as an affordable way for the average woman to feel as glamorous as royalty without breaking the bank. I am excited to be carrying on the tradition by making beautiful Swarovski jewelry that is wearable and affordable. I am inspired by vintage jewelry designs, vintage glass jewelry components, and current color trends.

My creative process is largely unconscious, at least early on. I look everywhere for inspiration in terms of color. I take everything in and let it swirl around in the back of my mind. I think a lot of what I create is based on how it makes me feel. My brain is wired toward being very concrete, factual, and scientific (my background is in psychology), so jewelry gives me a chance to foster a more abstract, creative, and aesthetic side. I usually create a design in my head and then go looking for the components to bring it to life. It would probably be a lot easier to see what I have to work with and then come up with ideas, but I think the way I do it makes my designs more “me.” It also challenges me to find unique, often vintage, materials to work with.

At this point, I don’t know where my business will be in five years, and that’s a good thing! Since I’ve been working for myself full-time, things have changed rapidly and positively. Some great things are happening, and I’m excited to see where they lead. What is most important to me is that my business can continue to bring my customers and myself happiness.

I’ve struggled with understanding why making jewelry makes me happy, since jewelry, on the surface, seems frivolous. I realized that jewelry is a means of expression on many different levels. It allows me to be creative and to feel beautiful and confident, and I hope that it gives my customers a means of expressing their personal style or their love for friends and family members when it is given as gifts. I hope that my jewelry designs convey a sense of uniqueness, beauty, and appreciation of color. My business also gives me an opportunity to connect with many different kinds of women and to talk with people about a cause that is important to me. A portion of every Saya Papaya sale is donated to Animal Friends, the shelter where our namesake and furry mascot was adopted.

Meet Ricky and Deb Baxter...

Ricky has been a cabinet maker for over 30 years mostly working in GA.  He has done work for pro football players, attorney's, physicians and the like.  He has re-established himself here in OH since Nov. and has been busy (outside from the time off from his knee surgery) building custom book cabinets, custom kitchen cabinets, credenza, and band saw boxes, some are one-of-a-kind.
 

I started working with Ricky late last year doing things such as making Ohio clocks or geometrical designed mirrors.  Both of us mostly use hard woods such as wormy maple, oak, or other hard woods.  
 
This will be our first year doing an avant-garde show and we're anxious both as vendors and probably shoppers too.

Inspiration can come from most anywhere.  Living close to Lake Erie, Ricky has made custom canes and I have made home décor.  Many times, Ricky will start working with a piece of wood and isn't sure of the finished product.  It may start out as one thing but wind up to be something totally different.  
 
What got us started was Ricky's prior experience.  After he moved to Ohio, he had to start from scratch.  Seeing his talent, I suggested that he get back into what was his hobby and build on it.  I find working with wood to be relaxing.  Knowing there are different avenues this can go, I started making the clocks and was really proud of what I could accomplish.  Also, the economy isn't so kind so this seems like a good opportunity to work for ourselves and hopefully do well enough to be able to open a shop.  However, timing is everything.

We have also purchased a CNC router machine and hope to be able to incorporate more designs in to the woodworking projects.  As with any software, it's learning the language and having the time to balance it.  We're a work in progress though. 
 
The message we would like to convey is don't let the naysayers discourage you.  Have faith in God as He gives us gifts within ourselves.  Have faith in Him, and you'll have faith in what you can do.  A friend gave me a plaque that I read regularly which says: "Don't Measure the Size of the Mountain, Talk to the One Who Can Move It".

Meet Jaclyn Davey and Rachel Trentanelli from String Bean Esthetics...

Our Motto: Repurposed, Reimagined, and Reloved 

We're two secondary school teachers as well as mothers living in Chesterland. Considering we're both 'out of the box' educators inside of the classroom, we gravitated towards each other in the school setting. Our friendship bloomed when we both began to reside in the same town. I've (Jaclyn) always had a love for flea markets; it's something my mother and I enjoyed doing together, going on adventures to hunt for treasures. Last summer (2013) my mother was unable to go to one of our "honey holes" to pick, the Springfield Flea Market. As it turns out, Rachel was interested in seeing the goodies for herself. Needless to say she was 'bit' by the picking bug the second she stepped foot onto the gravel at the open air market...we saw so many pieces of furniture that people just walked passed. We saw the hidden beauty in the lines and the potential for new life. When we arrived home, we started to discuss what could be done to all of those pieces if we got our hands on them and from there, as they say, the rest is history. 

We LOVE to pick yard sales and local flea markets. Furniture is our focus. A discarded side table here, an old dresser there. It's kind of the adage "another man's trash is another one's treasure". We're always asked "now, what do you plan on doing with that?!" ...and frankly, half the time we don't know initially. We take the piece home and ponder. Furniture speaks to you; really, it does. That's what guides us! What the piece tells us it would like to become. It wants new life; it wants to be loved again. We're here to help make that creation happen through meticulous sanding, rebuilding at times, priming and painting, fun fabric and hardware choices. Our goal is to make the pieces pop on their own, to keep the classic integrity of its original design but with a little extra personality to make it special. 

This is our first Avant Garde Show. We've had our feet wet at a couple of local flea markets and have had great success with our pieces finding good homes. And that's our desire, to find our furniture homes where they'll be loved and cared for into the future. Honestly, this has been an amazing hobby that we've started to invest serious time into, but we love the creative process: the hunt, the design process, the transformation, then talking to people at markets and shows to find our pieces great homes. It's almost an obsession at this point! 

Hopefully, in five years you'll be able to see the two "string bean" built ladies out picking in the warm months, haggling with flea market vendors and contemplating design over a piece. I think we'd love to eventually see our pieces in a store location at some point, but who knows what the future will bring to us. We're having fun with our hobby. It's been a great change of pace and stress relief to get with your best girlfriend and transform pieces: away from work, away from the daily grind...it's just the two of you laughing, designing, and transforming till the wee hours into the night. 

Feel free to check us out on Facebook too; we're always posting our recent finds and pictures of our furniture pieces going through the transformation process. Feel free to message us, make comments, and tell us what you think! 

Meet Martha Kreger from Simply Made for Dogs...

Simply Made for Dogs was inspired by our dog, LADY.

My husband and I adopted Lady from Marilyn's Voice Pet Rescue in
September 2013. Marty states. "Ever read the ingredients in your dog's treats? 
I did and decided to make my own dog treats and share them with other concerned dog owners." 

I have been at many Craft and Art Shows and currently at outdoor markets in Willoughby, Mentor and Painesville.  The Chagrin Falls Show in September will be my first Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show.

I am looking forward to providing Chagrin Falls area  dog owners with safe, all natural dog treats for their family pets. They are made with human grade ingredients in my home kitchen. I make crispy treats to help preserve them as no chemical preservatives are used.  The crispy texture  helps clean your dog's teeth.

Store the treats similar to people cookies and are best kept in airtight containers in the freezer.  No need to thaw before using.

All treats are tested and approved by the State of Ohio Department of Agriculture. 

Currently I offer Beefy Cheddar, Peanut Butter, Fresh Breath, Gluten Free Pumpkin Treats and Sweet Potato Chips.

I also handmake Unique Dog Accessories.  Currently I have my Cute As A Button line.  Each one has a decorative button that decorates Collar Scarves, and Poo Bag Dispensers.  More items will be added.

Please like me on FaceBook at Simply Made For Dogs.

2014 Chagrin Falls Fall Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show

Sunday, September 14, 2014, 10:00am-5:00pm

The Federated Life Church- Family Life Center

16349 Chillicothe Rd

Chagrin Falls, OH 44023

For more information, contact Becki Silverstein, Event Coordinator at Becki@ag-shows.com

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