Storque articles: THIS HANDMADE LIFE

Etsy World Tour: Germany Celebrates National Day of Reunification

2008-10-03T17:30:00Z

National Day of Reunification is a holiday in Germany celebrated on October 3rd which commemorates the anniversary of German reunification in 1990.

For 41 years our country was divided into to Federal Republic of Germany in the West and the German Democratic Republic in the East, separating friends and families for almost half a century. My grandma, having just gotten married, had to part with her parents and sister who had decided to move to the West before border control became tighter.

And it did become tight. My earliest childhood memories include standing in a long line with my grandma, waiting (and hoping) for her to be granted a visa to see her parents again. Sadly, she only ever got permission to leave for special occasions such as weddings and funerals. I was still a child at that time and had never met my great grandparents. All I knew was they sent us care packages for birthdays and Christmas, filled with goodies we could never get in the GDR. And sadly a lot of these goodies were mysteriously gone before they reached us.

While I do not remember the day the Wall came down on November 9th, 1989, I do fondly remember our first train ride into the West of Germany. My whole family, without a visa and without any fear. My first time to meet a part of my family I had never met before.

Shop Local: Sellers Based in Germany | Etsy World Tour Series

Process: Ziptie Rings by Metalnat

2008-10-03T12:00:00Z

The studio of Natalia Gomensoro, aka Metalnat, walks the line of serene organization and cluttered potential. Natalia grew up in Uruguay and comes to jewelry with a background in design and architecture. She got started making jewelry in 1994 and studied with Latin American jewelers before moving to Brooklyn. In this edition of Process, we get a chance to see Natalia resize one of her rings cast from a zip tie.

Natalia's work has an industrial feel to it. She uses materials that you wouldn't expect in jewelry like cement, rubber O-rings, and magnets.

Process is a new Etsy video series that features the intimate relationship formed between Etsy sellers and the handmade items that they create and make available to the world through their online shops. Process is not to be confused with a How-To video, as each video is intended to show each seller's unique artistic voice through the process by which their items come to be.

Did you know you can get videos downloaded automatically by subscribing in iTunes! You can also check us out on Youtube, blip.tv and get the MP4 video too.

In the comments, let us know if there's an artist's process you'd like to see in a video!

Happy Rosh Hashanah

2008-09-30T22:00:00Z

The holiday has some beautiful symbolism and I found some items to illustrate that — honey, pomegranates, ram's horn.

Happy Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year!

Process: Sustainable Wooden Jewelry by PrasseinDesignStudio

2008-09-26T12:31:00Z

Process is a new Etsy video series that features the intimate relationship formed between Etsy sellers and the handmade items that they create and make available to the world through their online shops. Process is not to be confused with a How-To video, as each video is intended to show each seller's unique artistic voice through the process by which their items come to be.

This month, Seattle native Shawn Taylor of prasseindesignstudio is sharing her process of making a wooden wrist cuff with us in conjunction with our themes of woodworking and jewelry making.

As a designer, Shawn works with architects designing spaces, and she applies her knowledge of certified wood and recycled materials in a way that makes her designs both safe for habitation and easy on the environment. Shawn is very passionate about sustainability and has partnered with ecohaus, a sustainable urban building supply company based in the Northwest.

While ecohaus attempts to reuse all of their materials in one way or another, the shipping crates that carry their bulk materials often break in the warehouse and then have to be chipped up to be effectively reused in other building materials. Through her relationship with this building supplier, Shawn has inserted herself into that ecosystem to prevent some of the more exotic woods from being destroyed by upcycling scraps into stunning yet minimal wooden accessories.

Shawn was kind enough to take me to the ecohaus branch in south Seattle, where we met Elliott Kopet, her friend and knowledgeable sales associate who led us through the warehouse, sharing various places for Shawn to scavenge for reusable scraps of wood. Shawn's passion for wood was instantly revealed by her ability to accurately identify a variety of different woods all with varying degrees of weather damage. After gleaning what she could from the scrap pile, we continued to Shawn's home wood shop in north Seattle where she transformed a piece of scrap lumber into a magnificent wrist cuff. The piece, Nature's Barcode no. 1, highlights the sustainably farmed certification stamp that was burned into the wood itself, sharing the story of its origins. As stated in her shop announcements, 25% of Shawn's sales from the Natures Barcode series will be donated to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Subscribe in iTunes | Youtube | Blip.tv | MP4

Robin Tucker of Wood Mosaics on the Beauty of Wood

2008-09-24T17:14:00Z

As a follow up to the Handmade Portraits: Wood Mosaics video, I wanted to post some of the footage I shot of Robin Tucker talking about the woods he uses in his woodwork. Robin mentioned in the interview that although some of the more exotic woods can be high priced, they add to the overall beauty of the pieces. It can be hard to keep up a good supply of wood in order to get your varied colors, but you only need a little to make the design striking.

Handmade Portraits: Wood Mosaics | more Handmade Video Portraits | Woodworking Category

Handmade Portraits: Wood Mosaics

2008-09-19T15:54:00Z

MP4 | Youtube | Blip.tv | Subscribe in iTunes

(Music credit: Michael Chapman, Nathan Salsburg, J. Seger )

Robin and Kathy Tucker of woodmosaics stopped working in town back in 1986. After Robin's intricate wood-inlayed work was featured in The Best of Missouri Hands catalog and commissioned by Ralston Purina, they were on their way to full time crafting. Influenced by Amish quilt patterns, Robin's excellent woodworking uses exotic natural woods that range from Satinwood from Sri Lanka to Purpleheart from Central and South America. All of the wood is completely natural, with only a clear finish added to punctuate the beauty of the wood's innate color.

Choosing to live as off the grid as much as possible, Robin built a windmill so the family could hand pump their own water. Kathy made their clothes for years and they slaughter their own meat from the goats and chickens they raise. However, the one amenity they can't live without is the internet. After a dozen years of craft shows across the country, Robin and Kathy prefer to stay at home, tend to the farm and sell their goods via laptop rather than mall shows. While the juxtaposition of an outhouse and high speed internet would seem strange to most folks, the Tuckers have chosen to make certain sacrifices to keep costs down while in pursuit of a self sustained lifestyle. Living in the middle the country in Spickard, Missouri, the Tuckers keep connected through the latest in social networking via their Myspace and flickr sites, with a solar powered back-up generator in case the electricity goes out.

Watch our other Handmade Video Portraits and subscribe to our Youtube Channel!

Check out Robin's homemade videos from the farm on Youtube.

Your Handmade Stories: Chocolate and Steel

2008-09-15T15:15:00Z

The Etsy Video team at the Storque is always excited when sellers create their own videos, whether it be a portrait, promo or studio visit. Bre Pettis recently produced a wonderful series called Getting Started in Video to help newbies take the leap. Last week Christine Street of chocolateandsteel sent me this excellent promotional video she and her husband Dave created for their shop. I asked her a few questions about why she decided to make a video, how she did it, what she learned from the experience, and what tips she has for other people considering making a video. Here are her responses:

I decided to make a video because I'm looking for new and inexpensive ways to market my shop. I'm very fortunate that my husband, Dave, is an aspiring filmmaker and was really excited to work on this project with me. I recently took the leap to full-time self-employment so budgets are a real concern for me: Not just in business, but in my personal life as well. This project seemed like a great thing to do for many reasons. First, it couldn't hurt my business. Second, it could help my business. And third, it gave us a fun project to work on instead of spending lots of money going out to dinner or museums (although we did film a lot of it outside the LACMA).

First I told Dave about the feel I was going for. I wanted it to be casual, whimsical and have a fantasy element. He came up with the original concept and we brainstormed from there. It was a lot of back and forth of me saying "I would never say that" and him saying, "That's cheesy." Finally the concept and dialog were complete and now came all the fun stuff. My mom babysat our 2 year old one weekend and we first had a "craft day" to make all the props. Then the next day we filmed it.

I learned that lighting is super important. Either morning around 10 or afternoons around 4 have the best, most flattering light. Natural light is the best, as I'm sure everyone knows. Also, I think the music is really important because it helps set the mood for the video, but it shouldn't be too loud and the center of focus.

I think a great way to do this is to get your friends involved. If you are a creative person, most likely so are your friends. One of my friends helped edit the video with Dave, and another friend who is a musician created the music for us. The great thing about getting other people involved is that they too help spread the word because they are proud of their work.

We really wanted to do something that was unique and had a storytelling feel. Many of my jewelry pieces were created from a story that I came up with first and then drew the illustrations for. I wanted to extend that concept of story to this video as well. We are going to do some more videos about some individual pieces also. So look soon for Lady Bird Incognito to be transformed from Jackie O to a bird lady — this one should be really cool!

Oh, I forgot to mention that our total expenditures on this was $12.50. That covered the tulips ($7.50) and the Styrofoam ($5) for the trees. The cottage was made from a cardboard box, the curtains were catalog pages folded, the window pane was chopsticks and I had the wooden rose bead for the door knob. Just thought it would be of interest for people who are not looking to spend a lot of money!

Don't forget to subscribe to their Youtube channel (and the Etsy Youtube channel too!). Post in the comments if you have a video you'd like to share. You can always convo one of the Storque team too! (Tara aka weirdwolf, BrePettis, and Eric B aka objecked will help you out.)

From Brooklyn to Burning Man: An Artistic Experiment

2008-09-09T14:21:00Z

At the end of this past month, I left the humidity and concrete of Brooklyn to camp in the desert of Nevada for the sake of art and the American Dream. I had just finished my Summer Internship at the Storque, and with some handmade buttons in tow, I embarked on my first Burning Man journey.

["Altered State" by Kate Raudenbush: The structure looks like the Capitol, but is composed of white steel carved in the style of Pacific Northwest Native-American imagery.]

The Burning Man festival is a week long affair, where fifty thousand participants make the pilgrimage to the center of an otherwise uninhabited desert. Large-scale art installations that spit fire or provide a climbing challenge sit out in “deep playa” while the theme camps that compose the “city” hold bluegrass jams, tuna melt-offs, and post-modern breakdancing.

[Michelle in a mustache, watching a fireworks show at the Flaming Lotus Girls' piece.]

This year’s Burning Man theme was the American Dream, which translated to covered wagon art cars, political tepees, and Alexis de Toqueville quotes. I camped with friends of friends, drinking pickle juice with whiskey, eating dolmas, and building shade structures in colorful tutus.

["Dr. Rainbow" and Michelle contributing to a mural on our ride back from breakfast at The Shady Waffle camp.]

There are a few central tenets to the Burning Man community, such as a “gifting” economy in which I was gifted from strangers an orange peeler, a necklace, a bloody mary. Litter on the ground is called MOOP (Matter Out of Place) and is swiftly picked up by any passerby. No one is allowed to be a spectator, only a participant. At Burning Man, I was encouraged to hug strangers, contribute to sculptures, and make the place more beautiful.

[Giant night wire man sculpture!]

Everywhere I looked, I was inspired. These artists construct giant glowing ketchup bottles from which to serve the masses fresh (and remember, free!) French fries, giant pirate ship vehicles that glow on the horizon and blast James Brown, or bicycles pimped out in fake fur and EL wire. These projects were clearly labors of love. The only motivation here is bliss, and consequently the results were high quality, innovative, and affecting. I couldn’t help but be reminded of Etsy, in this collective joy of making things out of passion, contributing to a community, and believing that we can help each other do more.

[Michelle amidst Gary Miller's "Papover Rubrum Gigaxiticum"]

For more stories of the artistic and handmade experience, check out This Handmade Life.

Crossing Borders: Short Stories of Expats in Europe, Part 2

2008-09-08T11:24:00Z

After I finished my last collection of stories, Crossing Borders: Short Stories of Expats in Europe, I still felt there was so much more to tell. The move I made from Australia to Greece has made me curious about others who have done the same thing: How did they make the big decision? How did moving to a faraway land, living amidst another culture and learning another language affect their craft?

[photos by annarubyking]

Moving to Greece directly changed my arts practice. I thought that once I arrived in Greece my small jewelery business could be running again after three to six months, only missing one season at most. Two years later, I am finally getting things going again. I had started drawing and making cards during this period, to keep myself occupied, so today I have two artistic outlets.

[photos by StaroftheEast]

Esther and Estella, the mother and daughter team behind StaroftheEast, now live in the small city of Marmaris, Turkey. Esther left Spain for Holland at 17 to study. She became a civil engineer, but after 20 years of work she suffered a serious accident at a building site and was unable to work or even walk. She made the decision to move to Turkey with her daughter Estella, where the warm climate helped her to heal, and she and her daughter began a new career together: creating. Turkey not only influences their work, but provides some of the raw materials, like the amazing sea urchins they use in their jewelery.

[photos by DeepIndigo]

Claudia, aka DeepIndigo, is an architect and fashion designer raised in Mexico. She came to live in the Netherlands after following her Dutch husband to Europe. Life threw them some unexpected surprises, and she became the step-mom to her husband's three children after their mother suddenly passed away, and later her own son was born with Hemophilia type A and club feet.

She says, "I have to admit that my first years in Europe were not as I expected them to be, but new things were offered to me, and I grabbed them. I tried my best and grew roots in this cold, wet piece of land."

It was while her son was going through a series of operations that she began knitting, crocheting and making other little things; it started as a type of therapy, and like her son, grows little by little.

[photos by MistyAurora]

Dina, aka MistyAurora, knew since she was young that she was meant to travel. After finishing school she left Greece for England, where she met her boyfriend who brought her to Sweden. Her crafts have always traveled with her in her suitcase, through the markets of Athens to the vintage treasures of London and now the beautiful design world of Sweden.

Dina does find the language barrier tricky, but she is thankful that Swedish people all understand English. She also wishes that the Swedes could understand that tzatziki does not belong on pizza, but you can't have everything, right?

[photos by BenConservato]

Emma, aka BenConservato, is another Aussie who came to Europe with her husband, and they settled in the North of France. There have been the normal barriers — the French residency card, the language — but she has found the people of the North to be very open and friendly.

She says, "I like the people I have met and the way my work has progressed since having the time and more interaction with other artists than I did in the past. I think France has been good for my self-confidence."

IraGrant left her family, friends and a fantastic job in Indonesia to move with her New Zealander husband to London. After living there for five years, his work then led them to Nauchatel, Switzerland.

She says "I guess this beautiful place led me back to my creative side. It's hard not to be influenced by the beautiful scenery of Lake Neuchatel, Mont Blanc and The Alps, which I can see from my window everyday!"

[photos by Ingermaaike]

Inger, aka Ingermaaike, is not so much an expat, but a citizen of the world, having relocated 17 times within 4 countries. Her mother is a Norwegian who moved to Holland, her father a Dutchman who was born in Indonesia — wanderlust is certainly in her blood. She says that her latest move from Holland to Norway really feels like coming home.

She loves the great outdoors, which is beginning to vanish in Holland, so she, her husband and their three boys recently packed up their lives and made the move.

"From the moment we decided to leave till now, scarcely a year has passed. Many call us mad for leaving and not having sold our other house yet, nor having found a job. But hey, a bit of madness is sometimes needed to make your dreams come true!"

So once again, I come to the end of my little journey across Europe. Thanks to all these artists for letting me peak into their lives and learn their stories!

Further Resources:
European Street Team's Blog can be found at Europeanst.blogspot.com. Also, make sure to check out Part 1 of this series!

Gotta Travel On | Etsy World Tour

Earth Tones: Giving It Up

2008-09-06T08:45:00Z

This article was originally published on April 18, 2008. We are reviving it as part of the Best of the Storque series. Enjoy!

This installment of our eco-friendly indie series Earth Tones brings us Mandy, aka moxiedoll. An example to all of us, she has undertaken an impressive exercise in restraint! She shows us how to live one's life with intention.

I have never been a very self-disciplined person. This personal flaw often leads me to overindulge in habits simply because I can. Last fall, though, I began to feel like some of my favorite things were beginning to consume me. At the same time it seemed like I was hearing more and more stories about people who had chosen to make life-altering changes either to better themselves or to serve some greater cause, or both. And so I began thinking — what if I decided to give up the things that I most enjoyed? What kind of impact would giving stuff up have on my life?

So I began telling people about my plan for 2008: I would give up something different every month to see what it was like to live without the luxuries I have come to take for granted, and in order to hold myself accountable I would blog (giveitup.wordpress.com) about my experience. My friends and family seemed to have mixed feelings towards the whole endeavor, but everyone was ultimately supportive and seemed eager to see if I could pull it off.

It took me a while to come up with twelve things that I felt could benefit me if I gave them up. But eventually I was able to narrow them into three rough categories: Food/Drink (coffee, alcohol, and chocolate); Technology (TV, the internet at home and my car) and Spending Money (I decided to consider buying only goods made in the USA, buying only used goods, not shopping at all, Etsy, no plastic – using only cash and not going out).

On the "Letting Go of my Lattes" phase:

"All of this is compounded by the fact that I am narcoleptic. Many people asked me how I was going to give up coffee, as if its my only means of staying awake. I take medication to keep me awake during the day, so I knew that I could sacrifice coffee and still function. However I have actually had doctors advise me to drink coffee when I need to and now I understand how much it does help me stay awake. It really does carry me through the slumps at work when I am tired and it isn’t time to take my medication."

Since I began in January I haven’t slipped up yet. But I have made some addendums to my original plan. Now at the end of each month, I determine if I think I can go the entire year without whatever I’ve given up that month. I was motivated to do this after I found myself very quickly resorting back to my bad habits of spending hours every day on Etsy.

On Etsy addiction:

"Now I still have 10 days of Etsy abstinence left, but I can pretty confidently say that this day most accurately illustrates the frightening attachment I’ve developed to this web site. There I was in beautiful, sunny Mexico lounging luxuriously next to the pool and all I could think about was how fun it would be to spend some time on the computer perusing my Etsy favorites with Megan? What is wrong with me?"

Like many others I have also been attempting to live a more eco-friendly life this year. And fortunately for me, I’ve found that giving things up has actually helped me do that. Although I’m only a quarter of the way through the year, with every thing I’ve given up I honestly have become more cognizant of what I’m doing on a daily basis and, more specifically, what I’m consuming. Last month I shopped only for items made in the USA, which was incredibly difficult and frustrating.

On Buying American:

"Occasionally I found a 'Made in Uganda' or 'Made in Argentina' tag, but Chinese citizens appear to be making the majority of what I buy. After reading that 'Made in China' stamp for the 100th time, my shopping spirit was sucked dry and I took the only American made item that I found, a pair of blue tights, and sadly went grocery shopping."

But the Buy American month forced me to think before I buy and to begin looking for longer lasting or biodegradable alternatives to things that are predominantly disposable. By doing so I have prepared myself for upcoming months when I might not be able to buy those disposable items that I might actually need, while also doing my part to help the environment.

And so I’ve chosen some great eco-friendly Etsy finds to assist all of you in your personal attempts to help save our planet.

pot scrubbers by starrz85

flatware set by ponyup

Cloth diaper by katnappies

Tee shirt bags by zJayne

Shampoo soap by naiad

Unbleached coffee filters by theScenicRoute

Reusable swiffer cloths by quiltingmama

Reusable snack bags by gnomeclothes

Natural laundry detergent by showertreatsoap

Crayon nubs melted down and reconstituted by ivylanedesigns

When she isn't crafting at moxiedoll, Mandy works as a fiction and audiovisual librarian in Oak Park, Illinois (www.genre-x.com) and consumes mass amounts of media and pop culture. All the clutter left over from her other mass consumptions led her to begin using only recyclable goods whenever possible. Follow her "fasting" at giveitup.wordpress.com.

EGCG | Trashion | EcoEtsy | Environmentally Friendly Gift Guides | Earth Tones Series