Artist Spotlight: Part One Hundred and Four

We're back to the spotlights!  To start this round, I'm bringing back a few oldies, but definitely goodies.  First, I should mention HandmadeArtists.com, a selling venue that's 100% handmade and always will be.  I love that.  I also love that it'll always be smaller than some of the other selling venues, and pickier.

A stellar example of one of the shops on HandmadeArtists is Chainmaille by MBOI, the shop of Andrew, one of HandmadeArtists' administrators.  I'm completely obsessed with his chainmaille.

Another is the shop of Andrew's wife and the other administrator, Kimberly.  That one is Makin' the Best of It.  Among other talents, like book art and hand painting glass, Kimberly is a beautiful jewelry artist, primarily using sea glass.  I'm kind of obsessed with her work too.

Who wouldn't be?

Artist Spotlight: Part ONE HUNDRED and One Hundred and One

Holy crow, I've made it to 100 spotlights!  That's a lot of amazing other artists I've introduced you to, you lucky dogs.

Well, this time I've got some more you've never met here before.

First, let me introduce you to Anansa, a venue for handmade artists from around the Middle East.  There are so many different things!

If I was a leather worker, I'd jump on these .pdf patterns.

Or look at these amazing acrylic and oil paintings!  These are just a few of the many, but they really caught my eye.  Or check out the hand painted ostrich egg!

How adorable is this custom wedding cake topper?

And how pretty is this Quran cover?

Children's items like this hand-knitted camel and handmade dollhouse.

And last, but not least, clothing and household items!

You get the idea, I think.  Visit the site, seriously.

And for 101, a new artist to this blog, Highland Princess Designs.

The Highland Princess is a fellow Rennie, which you know I love.  She's been crafting chainmaille jewelry for over a decade, which I find amazing.  The first project she ever attempted was a headdress with a 3' chain net to hold her hair, inspired by one she saw at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.  It started when her friends took up maille and she figured if they could, she could.  She was right.

That had her hooked, of course, and branching out into other accessories and materials.

She also crochets and has entered the world of costuming.  Although she does work in fabric and fiber, the funniest costume I've seen from her is this chainmaille armor for a stuffed animal!

Adorable, right?  For more, check out her blog.

Artist Spotlight: Part Seventy-Four

Did I ever mention how completely obsessed I am with chainmaille?  I am, whether it's silver, copper, or pretty much any other metal, with or without stones, in just about any shape.  Well, the artist I've got for you this time is one heck of a designer and creator of chainmaille pieces, Andrew of Chainmaille by MBOI.

Just look at these.  Just look and marvel!

And as one of the driving forces between the Handmade Artists Forum and Handmade Artists Shop, Andrew is a true supporter of handmade.  In fact, he seeks to encourage others, and has for sale in his shop a tutorial for this cool Byzantine weave.

By the way, he and his wife Kimberly are generally just awesome people.  I know, 'cause they traipsed all the way up to north Jersey to see me in a show and I got to hang out with them.  Definitely check him out!

Artist Spotlight: Part Seventy-One

I know I've told you about the Handmade Artists' Shop and Handmade Artists' Forum before, but today I want to talk to you about one of the driving forces behind those related entities.

Kimberly Kitchen, owner and artist at Makin' the Best of It, has worked tirelessly with her husband, Andrew, owner and artist at Chainmaille by MBOI to support and promote the handmade community from their home in NJ.  Despite an insanely busy life and a couple of kids, plus dogs, Kimberly and Andrew have a serious love of all that is handmade.  Kimberly (and I can definitely relate to this) accuses herself of having "a case of crafter's ADD, a chronic condition which requires boxes and bags of pieces and parts that could be 'something' someday and a ridiculous collection of websites and books on crafts [she wants] to try."  Oh yes, I know that affliction well.

One of her loves, and Andrew's forte, is chainmaille, which led them to seek out a team.

To make communication easier than it was back then on Yahoo, Kimberly and Andrew offered to start their own forum.  Rather than limiting the forum solely to chainmaillers, they opened it up to "anyone that created, loved, sold handmade."  Unlike other venues which tend to stick to proprietary notions, Kimberly and Andrew have always encouraged members to post photos of their work and links to their various shops, blogs, and forums, no matter the host.

Since then, they have done their best to promote any handmade item that hits the Handmade Artists' Forum, through blogging, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Featured Member Ads, Facebook, Google+, and innumerable other venues.

With the hospitality exhibited by Kimberly and Andrew, it's no wonder the HAF membership grew to hundreds of members, fairly quickly.  Because Kimberly and Andrew encourage the HAF members to promote each other as well, numerous visits to the shops of the members was inevitable, as were the resulting sales.

Kimberly, creator of so many different kinds of handmade wares, together with Andrew, attempted shops in various available venues.

But they were dissatisfied.  Not the types to just sit back and settle, Kimberly and Andrew created the Handmade Artists' Shop.  I cannot fathom the research and preparation this undertaking required, but it's come to fruition.

Today?  The forum has nearly 2,500 members!  The shop has grown by leaps and bounds!  And Google searches are turning up products in the HAFshop.  How could they not, with the promotion that Kimberly and Andrew do?

Their whole purpose is to drive the handmade movement forward, and that magnanimous attitude spills over to the other members of HAF, who are quick to support, encourage, instruct, suggest, and assist their fellow artists and artisans.

I've been proud to call myself a member of that community since December 16, 2009, not long after the inception of Reef Botanicals.

Artist Spotlight: Part Forty-Six and Forty Seven

Two artists for you again this week!

The first you've met here a couple times before, but she's so multitalented that she's worth discussing again.  Sandi Levy of IKnitQuiltSew does in fact knit, quilt, and sew!

Like these great items:  baby booties, receiving blanket, women's headband, and baby headband.

Or this amazing hand-done car quilt, one of many in her Etsy shop and Handmade Artists Forum shop with which I'm in love.

Or these terrific hand-sewn dolls (I love the glasses and the smirk!), sundress outfit, and bear!

To learn more about Sandi, be sure to check out her blog.

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Our second artist is also multitalented.  Fasten your seatbelts for this one, because you're about to meet Haffina!

I'll start with my favorite part.  I've got dollhouses.  I got my first one for high school graduation, and spent a lot of time and effort painting, wallpapering, carpeting, putting in wood flooring, hanging pictures, running electricity, furnishing, and decorating.  I even have a tiny little Hummel figurine.

What I do not have - and really want now - is one of these cakes, made from polymer clay and available at her Handmade Artists shop!

Looks delicious, right?  But look how tiny!

Crazy?  Not as crazy as this chainmaille necklace or this seed beaded one from her Zibbet shop!

Not nutty enough for you?  At Haffina's Minis, you can find this tiny Barbie jewelry, in seed beads or micromaille.

Or how about her tiny, hand-embroidered doll cushions?

Your Barbie needs more accessories?  She can have this handmade suede purse!

On the other hand, you can find more human-sized pieces at her Artfire shop.

To learn more about this Australian mother of five (!!!), you can check out her Wordpress blog or Blogspot blog.  Of course, if you're having trouble keeping everything she does straight, since I have no idea how even she does it, you can just get all the links at her main site.

Enjoy!