Creating Happiness Is Their Hobby!

Meet Kate Peake from Joie de Kate…

I am a transplant to the Cleveland area but have lived in NE Ohio most of my life. I love to travel and am inspired by different cultures in everything I do. In addition to my jewelry, I write, paint, crochet, and cross-stitch. I have a great day job that allows me to have time for all of my passions and creativity. I am also a wife and mom to 6 furry kids. 

I have been making jewelry for approximately 12 years. This is my first Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show!

I find creativity to be therapeutic to the mind and body. When I am focused on the designing and making of the pieces, there is no stress involved; it's a great outlet and makes me feel like I accomplished something beautiful. 

I've always been into "artsy" things. My mom had me in craft classes at a very young age and I've been dabbling in different areas since. When I started making pieces for myself, others noticed and expressed interest. 

I am definitely someone who researches designs and looks for ideas, however, I am known to simply grab supplies and randomly make a piece of jewelry without any pre-planning. 

In five years, I hope that I am still making jewelry, no matter how successful I am. It is something I love to do and even the pieces I make as gifts make others so happy-it feels great. I would also love to continue to learn new techniques and designs. 

The message behind my work is to always look for the joy in life!

Meet DJ and Erica Linton from The Happy You LLC…

The Happy You, LLC was founded in 2014 (“doors” opened September 1^st) by Erica Linton and DJ Linton. Erica has many years of professional experience as a successful sales representative and as a ‘green’ entrepreneur as well as about 10 years working with essential oils. She is always smiling and loves to make her customers happy. DJ has spent much of her time in the field of finance and assisting with other entrepreneurial ventures that called for great creativity. She loves for things to run smoothly for everyone and enjoys organizing and crunching numbers to make it happen.

This will be our FIRST Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show!

The Happy You began as a way to mix relaxation and fun together within the Athens area. We are long term transplants to Athens – after loving our time at Ohio University – and wanted to find something that Athens would love and we could be happy and secure doing. By creating The Happy You, we are able to combine relaxation and fun through our scented products and our ScentMakery brand (creating a product just for you alongside your friends).

After a long background with essential oils, we turned to creating products! After experiencing the benefits we strive to share the powerful combination of natures best. Handmade in Athens, Ohio.

Our creative process involves the thought of “How many uses can you get from one product?” – Multi-Use! It’s good – use it! We continuously research ‘green’ creations – no additives, non-natural preservatives or chemicals – to deliver products and services that not only make ‘the happy you’ but also make the happy earth.

In the next 5 years we would like our main sources for The Happy You brand to be in select stores throughout Ohio and other parts of the US, along with progressive internet sales. We will continue to add products that our customers are looking for and increase green packaging. We want our products to continue to be handmade and our purpose to be to deliver good for you products that make ‘the happy you’.  

Meet Kay Greenwald Winer from Cake Bites & Other Delights…

I have always had a creative spirit with a love of food. Growing up in a family of 10, my love of cooking and baking was fostered at a young age as I would cook and bake for family meals. In my early professional years when I was working as an advertising and PR executive, I had a catering firm on the side. After having three children with very active schedules, I decided that I needed to have greater flexibility and less stress. Cooking and baking became my creative outlet.

My hobby began in 2009- I made 2,000 cake balls for my daughter's high school graduation party. They were all gone before the end of the party. Everyone was telling me that my cake balls were so delicious that I should sell them. At my first art show in the summer of 2009, I sold out of my inventory before noon (the show ended at 4:00pm). This is my first Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show.

I am inspired not only by making great tasting desserts, but also making them visually appealing and a feast for the eyes as well. 

My niece came home from college one weekend and was describing a new dessert that her and her sorority sisters had tried. She made red velvet cake balls with cream cheese icing that weekend. They were golf ball sized and made from a cake mix. I thought it was a great concept, but thought it could be improved by making scratch cakes as well as making them bite size and decorated to match the flavor of the cake. 

There was no "aha" moment. When I realized that I could bake and cook without being dependent on a cookbook and that I had the ability to improvise recipes or create new recipes successfully, I knew that I had developed my culinary abilities. I guess you could call it talent...

My creative process requires research into food trends and flavors that are popular in major metropolitan markets. When I discover what those trends are, I go into my kitchen, and through trial and error, I create desserts that reflect my findings. 

In 5 years, I would like to have developed a storefront bakery with my baked goods as well as a retail outlet for chocolatiers. Cake Bites and Other Delights exists to make the world a little bit sweeter. We provide beautiful, decorative, hand-crafted confections with a delight in every bite.

2014 Heights Winter Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show

Saturday December 14, 2014, 10:00am-4:00pm

Park Synagogue Main (Kangesser Ballroom)

3300 Mayfield Rd.

Cleveland Heights, OH 44118

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

Visit us on:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

LINKEDIN

Art With Inspiration. Making and Impact.

Meet Lindsay Roth from Designs by Lindsay Marie...
My name is Lindsay Roth and I have lived in Ohio my entire life. I am married to a very supportive and patient (!) husband and we have three children.  I cannot remember a time when I wasn’t doing some kind of art or writing.  At the age of 10 I started private lessons with the incomparable and forever missed Judi Hertzi.  I had the pleasure and opportunity to study with her until I was 18. Since then, I have explored so many mediums, just recently I was obsessively using markers to create patterns, and suddenly I’m making paper jewelry!   I’ve been at this craft for less than a year, and the passion I have for it is stunning.  I cannot get enough information about techniques and I love when I learn something new. This will be my first Avant-Garde show and I so excited and humbled to be among such amazing artisans. 

I think the list of what doesn’t inspire me to create would be shorter than the list of what does!  The seasons, my children, my emotions, memories, smells, the texture of something all inspire me.  Everything is a catalyst for me to open myself up and let the ideas flow. 


What got me into paper jewelry making was vacation!  We were in North Carolina at a small market and a woman had a booth with a few pieces of paper jewelry.  I was transfixed. 

How I discovered my talent.. I don’t know if it was a discovery, it was more of a journey.  First the thought, then the YouTube videos, then the stabbing myself with toothpicks when I tried to roll my first few beads…and then suddenly I had a perfectly rolled bead. 

My creative process... I want to make this sound very professional and mysterious but mostly it’s me sitting at my work table surrounded by paper, beads, baubles, markers, glue, coffee, my cat, paper, paper, paper that needs rolled, paper that needs glazed, ideas that I’m writing down, wire, paper, me staring into space, and then suddenly there is a necklace.  I adore every minute of it. 


In five years my plan is for my business, my techniques, and my ideas to be thriving and successful.  I also hope I have built solid relationships with business partners, clients, and friends in this enterprise. For more information visit:
www.facebook.com/designsbylindsaymarie or drop me an email at: designs.lmr@gmail.com. 

Meet Cristen Magree from Rusty Bear Studio...

I was born and grew up here in Northeast Ohio while spending summers in Western NY state, immersed in the beautiful country life. After attending Kent State University for Earth Sciences, I settled in Northeast Ohio with my husband, Mark, and started my art business, Rusty Bear Studio. I have been fortunate enough to have both my artwork and jewelry accepted into galleries in Ohio, NYC and Chautauqua, NY as well as producing commissions for people across the country.

I've been an artist since I was able to hold a crayon. My mother has been a prominent local artist since long before I was born so I began to create artwork from a very young age. I continued to challenge myself with new techniques after my academic career and, at the age of 25, began to develop my business. Now, at 30, I continue to push myself with new techniques, mediums and I enjoy every minute of it.

I have been participating in Avant-Garde shows since 2013. Although I have lost count of how many shows I have done with this company, I have enjoyed every single one and plan on continuing to show with Avant-Garde for as long as possible!

I have a passion for science, geology and the outdoors, which I try to convey through each piece of artwork I create. I am constantly inspired by the colors, movement and history I see in the parks and countryside that we are lucky enough to have right outside our door here in Ohio.

I first got in the art and craft show circuits when I did a show with my mother a few years ago. I instantly fell in love with the atmosphere and the comradery of the vendors. I felt like I had found a niche for my artwork and have been participating in many shows since. Living in the age of information and technology, I have the ability to go online to research and study the many new techniques that artists are coming up with at the touch of a fingertip. Without these sources I would not have learned about fluid pour or alcohol ink painting. I am always pushed by advancements in the art world to try new things and evolve my style.

I found my talent for art as a child, drawing and painting for fun along side my mother. I continued to hone my skills throughout high school and college, focusing on animation and Special FX make up. Throughout college and after, I worked with pop culture subjects and eventually made the leap to abstract paintings with the acrylic pour and alcohol ink pieces I do today. I found my talent in jewelry making through my obsession with geology, especially the native features we have here in Ohio. Finding fossils and minerals along the Lake Erie Shoreline down to the Chagrin Valley fed my desire to show others what I had been finding and to try to teach them about our state's beautiful prehistory.

Once something inspires me to create a painting, I begin the process of finding color and movement that follows that inspiration. I use alcohol inks and 91% Ethyl alcohol to create abstract, vivid images of the natural world around me. However, I do not base any one piece on a specific natural scene as I very much want each viewer to see their own setting and find what THEY love in each piece.

For my jewelry, I look for pieces that explain the geologic history of Ohio in a beautiful way, whether it be rare fossils, uniquely formed minerals or other specimens local to the Ohio region. I take a very simplistic wrapping approach to my necklaces, rings and earrings. I very much want the stone I use to speak for itself and have every beautiful color, fossil or iridescence visible when wearing them.

In five years I see myself as continuing to have a regular presence at both local and regional shows. I hope to have a larger regular customer base and to have educated as many people as I can about the geologic history of Ohio as well as have inspired people to see their own passions and desires in my work. When I first started with Avant-Garde, I had the hope that five years from that point, I would have at least one person who would attend shows just to see my work or become a reoccurring buyer. I have met both of those goals within a little more than a year of starting out, with much thanks to Becki and her team as well as networking with other vendors. I hope that I am able to achieve my new five year goals as quickly as I have my past ones.

The message in my art is two fold. For my paintings the message is that there is no intrinsic message. I want each viewer to see what they want to see in each piece. I want them to have their own experience and make their own world out of what they see. I love when no two people see the same thing in a single piece. And for my jewelry, I hope to promote a message of education and passion about science and nature. If I can get one more person looking for a fossil on the beach as they walk along, I will have gotten my message across.

Be sure to check us out at: rustybearstudio.weebly.com and facebook.com/rustybearstudio.

Meet Ken Tomaro from Good Day Moon Gallery...

I am a self taught artist who works mainly with acrylic paint, although I do occasionally work with watercolor, oils and have recently started playing around with pottery. I don't believe you need an art degree to be a successful artist and I also believe that everyone has some sort of artistic talent ingrained in them.

I originally started out in photography about 6 years ago but through a series of technical failures (camera's and laptops that stopped working) I decided to pick up a paint brush and see what I could do with that. After opening the Good Day Moon Gallery and seeing the amazing pottery from a couple of my artists I decided to see where I could go with pottery as well.

This is my first Avant-Garde show but I'm looking forward to becoming a vendor in future shows as well.

What inspires me to create... It can be any number of things on any given day. Sometimes I find inspiration in other peoples work. Sometimes I want to see what comes out of my head from a good mood or bad mood. Sometimes I like to go into it without a plan and experiment with different techniques and tools just to see where it goes.

How I got into my craft... I recognized long ago that there is a value to art as a therapy. I suffer from depression and realized by creating art it takes my mind off of some of the negative things that go along with depression. I decided to open the Good Day Moon Gallery to not only showcase local emerging artists (those artists who haven't had a lot of exposure with shows and galleries) but to also help support people with mental illness in the process. I also wanted to create some events that were affordable to these artists. Many of them, although they are resourceful in their creation process, lack the funds to get themselves off the ground. I wanted to create events that wouldn't "break the bank" so they would have the opportunity for their work to be seen.

How I began.. I started out with a very inexpensive camera that took some really bad pictures. The camera came with a very simple program that would allow me to manipulate some basic things like contrast and shading. What I came up with was some photography with a noticeable dark, grainy feel to it. When you live with depression life sometimes has a dark, grainy feel to it as well.

My creative process is purely experimental. Having no formal art background, most times I have only a vague idea of what I want to put on a canvas. Sometimes it translates and sometimes it doesn't. There is a bit of frustration when something doesn't turn out as you expected but the therapy usually comes in the end after I've worked and reworked something that I can be happy with. Ultimately that is what counts because if I don't sell a piece I'm the one who has to look at it on a regular basis.

Where do I see myself in 5 years? I could never answer that question in a job interview and this case is just as difficult. Because there has been a lack of foot traffic at our physical location I have decided to open an online gallery. It seems more people now want to shop from their couch so that is the option we will give them. Theoretically we should be able to reach a broader audience by doing so. I hope to continue to get into more shows like Avant-Garde as well as creating some more of our own.

The message behind my work... To any artist: Keep doing what you're doing. Although at times we have to create certain pieces we think the public wants, ultimately, we need to create the art we want to. Pay attention to the therapeutic benefits of creating art. From someone like me who suffers from depression and doesn't always see the sunny side of things, there is still beauty in even the darkest artwork. To the public: Artwork with a high price tag doesn't always mean it is the best or worth the high price. Pay attention to the emerging artist. They have the drive and the soul to create incredible work and it should be accessible and affordable to everyone.

2014 Heights Winter Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show

Saturday December 14, 2014, 10:00am-4:00pm

Park Synagogue Main (Kangesser Ballroom)

3300 Mayfield Rd.

Cleveland Heights, OH 44118

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

Visit us on:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

LINKEDIN

Passion for Fashion with These Three Jewelry Vendors!

Meet Beth Apisdorf from Beth Gail Designs...

I am a recent graduate from the Fashion Design School and Kent State University and currently working on my own jewelry and knitwear designs. I have been making my own creations since I was in High School and have been selling my designs since then. This is my first year participating in an Avant-Garde Art & Craft show! 

A lot of my inspiration comes from nature. Native American culture and the beautiful landscapes of the west also inspire me. You will see a lot of greens, blues, reds and purples in my work.

My grandma taught me how to knit and I have been doing it ever since. As for jewelry making, at a young age I couldn’t find specific jewelry pieces that I was looking for, so I decided to create my own. Once I started making jewelry and knitwear my friends and family always wanted to know where they could get one; from there I decided to start selling my work.

Often, colors and materials that I see inspire me.  For example when I see different types of beads, chain, and findings I will know exactly how I want them to look as a finished product.  Lately I have been experimenting with wire wrapping and hammering wire flat, which has a great vintage look to it.  Also, I like to create different textures in my knitwear like cabling and using different types of yarn.

Hopefully in 5 years more people will know about my business and what I create.  I plan on continuing to raise awareness about my Etsy shop.

The message behind my work is being able to bring color and vibrancy to your life and daily wardrobe.  Also to create a show stopping fashion statement!

Also, visit my Etsy page! bethgaildesigns.etsy.com

Meet Rosanne Rosenberger from R Squared Limited Edition...

Banker by day; beader/crafter by night!  Long time Cleveland area resident.  Married with two grown children. Lovin' life!

I've been crafting since I was a small child.  I remember making Christmas ornaments when I was six or seven.  My mom still uses them on her Christmas tree! My dad would buy me different craft kits at the craft store in the mall. With these kits I taught myself how to do many crafts. Many of those skills come in handy with the different jewelry techniques I use. I have been seriously beading for about three years.  I started with wire wrapping (took a class) and have experimented with many other techniques since then. This is my first Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show as a vendor!

My inspiration to create is everything around me. My children. My husband. My puppy. Nature. Flowers. Being at our boat on Lake Erie. Everything I see and read. I'm kind of eclectic in my jewelry making. Today I might be into leather or paracord and tomorrow resin or crocheting.  

I have been creating for as far back as I can remember. When I started making jewelry for myself (or as gifts) people would comment on the woven bracelets or crocheted necklaces that I wore. They liked it, admired it, and asked me to make them one with custom colors or materials.  It's been fun experimenting! 

The ideas are plentiful. I admit I have difficulty with color theory and I learn every time I put something together. Sometimes an idea sits on the table unfinished, looked at every day, tweaked, until I feel it is perfect - makes for a slow production line but in the end I like what I have made.  

Until now I have been beading for family and friends. I'm just starting to sell to a more broad audience. Beading is a stress reliever for me - come home from a hard day at work and there I am, at my beading desk, exercising my creative side!

My message is anything is possible; have fun with it. That's what I love about doing a custom piece for someone - You really get to be creative for that one person, possibly in a way you might not have otherwise without their input.   

I have broad interests and I try all sorts of things regularly. I don't like to stick to one technique so my work varies.  

Meet Susan O'Neill from 11BoldStreet...

I've always lived in NW Ohio, as has my husband of 35 years. We love to travel and eat (he's a certified chef). Besides my polymer art, I attempt to garden, am a "mom" to two parrots and love to spend summer time at our lake place in Indiana. In my former life I was a structural/architectural designer for 28 years.

I discovered polymer almost 20 years ago, but didn't have time to really explore it's possibilities. In 2007, I took a hiatus from formal architectural design and embraced my polymer art full-time. I have participated in about a half dozen or so Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show. 

Inspiration can come from the most unlikely sources. Many times it's objects in other more traditional mediums (metals, fabrics, natural textures) and it hits me that I could do this in polymer, only do it differently. It's not just about "copying" something - it's about transformations. 

I  got into the craft hobby after browsing a book store in the early 80's, I saw a title "The New Clay" by Nan Roche. There was only one brand of polymer clay available in our area, but I had to get some...  

I've always been "artsy", from grade school, through high school and college and on to my formal career in architecture. Validation in polymer art initially came from an unexpected award. In 2009, on a whim, I entered the annual  Interweave Bead Star competition at the last minute with a polymer neckpiece. Imagine my total shock when I placed 1st in one of the categories!

My creative process comes from channeling my structural/architectural background, many pieces take some planning. Once cured, the manipulative options you have with polymer change, so I need to think through as many steps as possible ahead of time. One of the first questions that show visitors ask about my art is if all those colors and patterns are painted. There is NO paint involved, except occasionally as an antiquing medium. So, planning the basic structures is a necessity. Of course, some wonderful unexpected serendipity usually takes place as a piece develops!

In the next 5 years I want to continue experimenting with polymer, stretching it's creative limits. The polymer artistic community is growing by leaps and bounds, becoming more recognizable world-wide.

Mostly, I want shoppers to know that they can own quality, one-of-a-kind wearable art and home decor items, often for the price of typical mass-produced retail. Who wants to wear/display/or give pieces that are exactly like thousands of others??

Even though I have an online Etsy shop, shows are a great way to personally connect with the public, and to explain the creation processes for this rather unknown material. I love it when even knowledgeable people handle one of my pieces and say, "THIS is polymer clay???" (Plus, they save shipping at shows, and I usually pick up the sales tax ;)

2014 Heights Winter Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show

Saturday December 14, 2014, 10:00am-4:00pm

Park Synagogue Main (Kangesser Ballroom)

3300 Mayfield Rd.

Cleveland Heights, OH 44118

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

Visit us on:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

LINKEDIN