Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your business.

I went back to school for a second bachelor’s degree after the pain of working 6 years, Monday through Friday 8-5 in jobs that lacked creativity and were emotionally draining. In 2004, I got my BFA in Ceramics and started the “having five jobs and attempting to sculpt in the studio in my free time deal”. In 2006, I had slowly been shedding my jobs and learning more about functional ceramics (as opposed to sculpture) since it is an easier way to make a living. When my second to the last job laid me off in 2007, I figured it was a sign to dive into actually running my business. My first “real” show was May, 2007 at the Maker’s Faire Bazaar Bizarre! Thanks Bazaar Bizarre!!!

What are your favorite crafts and how did you first get involved with crafting?

Well since I am a ceramicist, I should say that is my favorite! I started arts and crafts as soon as I could crawl since my Mom is a trained painter. I took art classes in high school and in college, I studied Photography until I recognized that I was horribly allergic to photo chemicals. After college, during my stint as an 8-5 zombie, I always took adult school classes in metal working, woodworking, jewelry making, mosaicking, drawing, etc. When I started taking pottery classes I was hooked and took classes for several years before returning to school — the California College of Arts (and Crafts). At CCA(c), I was originally a Sculpture major but clay kept calling me back so I switched my major to Ceramics. During my last semester, I took a textiles class and if I had taken that class at the beginning of my return to college, I probably would have been a Textiles major. I adore textile work and wish I had time to do any of it! I do feel like my ceramic work is very much inspired by textiles though…

What do you like best, coming up with ideas or executing them?

Hands down — coming up with ideas… I wish I had a little factory of people making my stuff but would want to do it completely fair trade! I would love to make housewares in many more mediums and if I had other people making my work I could go crazy! :)

Are you super organized or messy?What does your workspace look like?

I like to be organized but it all ends up messy. It is impossible to be too clean with clay mud all over your hands and clothes! Safety is a big concern for me since clay dust is so toxic (contains silica which can cause lots of lung problems) so I do try to clean with a wet sponge. I do my glazing at home and my clay work at my studio so I have two spaces to keep clean and spend a lot of time boxing up stuff and moving it back and forth. My home studio is part of our office and is more sunny so I like to glaze there. My clay studio is in a live work space where my studio mate and her three other roomies live. We have a business called Campfire Gals Kiln Co. (http://www.campfiregals.com) where we fire other people’s work who don’t have their own kilns. We have FOUR kilns and lots of equipment so we are really lucky. My only complaint is there are no windows so it is like working in a dusty cave.

Any exciting future plans or developments in the works for your business?

Keep on keeping on. In fact, I am only thinking about December 15th when all my holiday shows are finished and I can sleep for a week or two!!!

http://www.ezmedesigns.com

> Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your business.

We design and sell a whole new idea of paper craft robots called PIPEROIDs. Each of the robots (or set of 2 for PIPEROID characters) are made just from six paper pipes. The pipes are pre-drilled with holes, and all you need is a pair of scissors to cut the pipes according to the instructions. No need for a glue nor tape! It’s exciting and cute little robot gaining popularity amongst not only kids but also adults as an interior decoration item. People like to put them on kitchen counters, desk at home or office, and mantels for display.

> What are your favorite crafts and how did you first get involved with crafting?

Coming from Japan, I’ve been introduced to origami from when I was 3 years old and have loved paper crafts ever since.

> Are you super organized or messy?What does your workspace look like?

I try to be super organized but generally they end up being messy…

> Any exciting future plans or developments in the works for your business?

Piperoid, our paper pipe robot, is gaining popularity and spreading fast. Look out for new models coming in the next few months!

http://www.magnote.com

Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your business.

I’m a graphic designer by trade and I started CUT+PASTE back in 2002 when the online craft community was just beginning. I started the website and a consignment program when I noticed a lack of outlets for crafters to sell their goods on the internet. Through our popular consignment program, Partner in Craft, we are able to feature and promote new artists and makers who might not otherwise have a retail voice online. We’ve hosted over 300 artists and designers and promote their work in press and new business opportunities.

What are your favorite crafts and how did you first get involved with crafting?

I love all crafts, but have a particular soft spot for unique handmade clothing and jewelry. I first got involved with crafting by sewing and reconstructing clothing and selling it on ebay (before I started my site). I started my site originally to sell some of my own goods, but started to meet lots of other crafters online who aside from ebay, didn’t have a “home” for the crafts. So I started to sell goods made by other lovely creative people and the site just grew from there!

What do you like best, coming up with ideas or executing them?

I love coming up with ideas. I don’t always have the best patience or skills to execute them all, but I’m a problem-solver by nature and I love finding ways to make things happen…either by myself or with the help and collaboration of others.

Are you super organized or messy?What does your workspace look like?

I’m super organized…you kind of have to be when you run a store, especially when you are dealing with lots of different vendors and their goods. My workspace has a spot for the creative brainstorming, but for the most part, I tend to file, organize and try to keep everything orderly. Even when things get messy, there is nothing like a good deep cleaning for me to get my ideas and thoughts in order.

Any exciting future plans or developments in the works for your business?

Lots I hope! We’d love to update the site with lots of new functionalities and actually have been looking for a new way for people to be able to shop online. Now with the increase in popularity in crafts and the handmade we still strive to carry and offer truly unique and well-made items by crafters everywhere in the world. We’ve done a bit of traveling in the past few years and are keenly interested in bringing an international flavor to the site…especially the relation of handmade culture being tied to a specific culture and livelihood.

Link to our website: www.cutxpaste.com

Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your business.

We are a letterpress printing and design studio– fine press publishers and stationers. Lettre Sauvage consists of 3 conspirators out to undermine the texturally flattening influences of the digital age. We like to print real, print loud, and print hard.

What are your favorite crafts and how did you first get involved with crafting?

Lucky for us the craft of letterpress is introduced at Scripps College! We took our formal training and ran with it, breaking all the rules and establishing our own studio ethic of collaboration that’s almost like psychotherapy.

What do you like best, coming up with ideas or executing them?

When you’re a tiny press like we are you have to get a lot of satisfaction out of finishing a task because there’s not much financial motivation or outside approval. We have a small community of others who value the entire creative process. Sometimes we work hard on developing new concepts and sometimes we find them smiling up from the stacks of out-takes, emanating opportunity from limitation, straining out swan like from a rat’s nest. Accidents happen, and then you try to make the more pleasant ones repeat. That is the beauty of all real craft.

Are you super organized or messy? What does your workspace look like?

If someone’s coming over for a workshop, we’re immaculate! What day is it? We clean up after every job. We use two garages, Model A and modern 2-car, for our studio. So, the weed-wacker, extra house paint and crates of records create a nice border of reality around the mystic machines. The environment is a product of the work at hand. We tend to need a lot of paper, tape, and rulers so we try to make sure they’re nearby.

Any exciting future plans or developments in the works for your business?

Submissions to our first poetry contest are being prepared to be judged by poet, Mark Irwin. The winners will have a chapbook and broadside published next year. We’ll be printing two limited edition journals, the Forest Drive, a review of image and word, and Apis an “erotic annual.” We’re accepting submissions to Apis of erotic art and literature. We’ve been very excited about working on custom printing projects lately and are hoping to attract more designers and artists to fine edition printing.

http://www.lettresauvage.com