Changing it up!!

Switching it over to WordPress! It has been way to long since my wedding and I am feeling like change to utilize the blog as a centralized space for my work in addition to my Etsy Shop. Check it out here!

All posts from this blog have been imported, and this will be up for a little while, so stop by my new digital home!

BerkshireMade in the local paper!

-Here's a recent article about BerkshireMade I was lucky enough to be interviewed for...

Artists band together How local crafters connected to become BerkshireMade

By Jenn Smith

Thursday, September 17, 2009

PITTSFIELD — From the hands of local tradesfolk comes BerkshireMade.

Not everyone in this artisan collaborative has an art degree or runs a gallery by trade. One member is a minister, another is a real estate agent. Several are parents. Another is a bride-to-be.

But all, according to BerkshireMade’s mission statement, seek to “promote their high quality, locally made creative work.”

Last weekend, the group participated in its first show at SoWa, Boston’s South End Open Market. Between now and October, BerkshireMade will host its signature open markets in Pittsfield and North Adams.

After a year of growing membership and participating in various events, the group is looking to expand both its sales and its knowledge to the community.

“A lot of times we talk about our work. But our story is really about our people. We’re a group of interesting people who felt that local people needed to preserve and provide local goods,” said BerkshireMade Vice President Donna Rivers of Pittsfield.

A former attorney, Rivers is now known as the proprietor of Bisque, Beads & Beyond, a studio arts center in Pittsfield.

“We all met haphazardly. But what we all wanted to do soon grew to be its own entity,” said jewelry maker and Pittsfield resident April Jenks, a former retail associate.

Several members of the group met last October when Berkshire Creative, a local clearinghouse for professional creative work and resources, held a workshop on promoting art sales through Etsy.com, an online marketplace for handmade goods.BerkshireMade members credited Berkshire Creative director Helena Fruscio for steering them toward working together and selling their goods as a group. “She really believed in us,” Rivers said.

Today, BerkshireMade has 14 solid members, its own seven-member executive board and bylaws and annual dues. It functions as a juried group of artisans participating in events across the state. New members are always welcome to apply to the group.

Current works range from jewelry to textiles, ceramics and pottery, from prints to wooden puzzles. The members’ ages range from 18 to mid-60s.

BerkshireMade members are based throughout Berkshire County, from Williamstown to Otis to Sheffield and Hinsdale.

“From Route 7 north through 7 south, we’ve got it covered,” said Jenks.

“And there are so many artisans here that can be tapped,” said Stephanie Gravalese of Dalton.

A legislative aide to state Rep. Denis Guyer, Gravalese is known as “The Button Girl” on the artisan circuit, fabricating everything from necklaces to napkin rings out of clusters of shiny buttons.

As with several of BerkshireMade’s members, creative work is not her full-time trade, but it is a lifelong passion to be shared.

“It started as a side thing, but now it’s a big part of what I do and who I am,” Gravalese said.

Members say that sharing their work and experience, and reaching out into the community, are the driving values of BerkshireMade.

Back in July, the group held its first open house and one of several scheduled open market events.

The group hopes to emphasize the value and quality of a local artisan piece. “We want people to feel that there is something inherent about it, something Berkshire. We want people to think wherever they have it, ‘This product is going to be me back to the Berkshires,’” said Rivers.

To further promote this notion, the artisans are currently planning to hold educational workshops and events, from teaching arts to helping people to learn how to market and sell creative work online.

“This is a group of people that really wants each other to succeed,” said member Donna Rivers. She said the artists are non-competitive, and will even sell a member’s work if that member can’t make it to an event.

“We want to be a leading organization that supports, encourages and develops its artists,” said Rivers. “We also know that there are a lot of people out there who do good work but don’t know how to promote it. We want to be the go-to organization for them.”

atomsatwork & BerkshireMade at the SoWA Open Market!

On Sunday September 13th, BerkshireMade will be trekking across the Mass Pike to join Boston Artisan at the South End Open Market!

About SoWA (From SoWA Open Market Website):

"The SoWa Open Market offers a shopping experience like no other in Boston. With an ever-changing group of artisans, a hip location and the chance to feel the sun on your face while you browse, it's a trip worth making. The market offers the opportunity to meet the artists, vendors and farmers behind the work, and is fast becoming part of the South End's well-known artist's community. Every week offers shoppers something different and unique - you won't want to miss it!

The market hosts a wide variety of vendors, whether you're looking for hand-crafted accessories, original art, indie designer clothing or just a fresh loaf of bread, you'll find painters, sculptors, photographers, clothing and jewelry designers, milliners, handbag designers, house wares, florists, bakers, local farmer's produce and much more every week! "

So come join us on Sunday September 13th from 10-4 at 540 Harrison Avenue in Boston! We will post BerkshireMade attendees once it gets closer and please contact marcia@berkshiremade.org for any questions!

New products : Buttons Buttons for your Hair! Hair Combs

So I've just listed a new product category that I am very excited about: Hair Combs! In addition to the wonderful button goodness, I was able to score some goods from the lovely SnapCrafty shop on Etsy and put together a bright fun collection that speak to fall, but also has pieces for those are are looking for a POP of color! Feel free to click on the pictures to bring you to the listing, enjoy!Orange Crush..this one is SO fall, crisp oranges and browns...

Sugar Wishes & Soda Pop Dreams, SO Sweet & Pink! This one would look great against dark hair..

Multi-Hue Typhoon, great combos of Blues...

Color A Go-Go, holiday-ish with a year round appeal!

Last buy not least: Circa 1969 in the Fall...Love the yellow/brown combo...

The rest of the combs I have listed in my Etsy shop are located here or at www.atomsatwork.com. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

New pieces in atomsatwork shop!

I'm loving that larger pieces are in for fall, and buttons are always a statement! Here are some new pieces that I posted on Etsy: Grounded in Gold

Walking Through the Purple Haze

On Golden Lands

Falls of Blue

Button Memories from Liz Smith of Made in Lowell!

Happy Thursday! After a long break of wedding madness and just plain forgetfulness, I am bringing you another installment of my button memories series! Liz Smith from Made in Lowell (a fellow Twitter friend) & it's her birthday! Happy Birthday Liz!

Tell us a bit about yourself (name, location, affiliations, personal stuff).My name is Liz Smith, I run a business called Made in Lowell. I have a studio in an old textile mill in Lowell, Mass. I have an online shop at Etsy http://madeinlowell.etsy.com/ where I sell my whimsical handfelted goodies, polymer clay creations and paper goods.

Apart from creating things, what do you do?Mostly I create things!

Why buttons?Vintage buttons are not only intrinsically fascinating and satisfying objects, they have inherent history. They are from eras when it seems like more time and thought was given to creating even the most mundane items. I love the shapes, designs, colors and materials of old buttons. But mostly, when I am sorting them or looking through them to pick out the perfect one for a project, I feel their history; I imagine the garment they were on, the person who carved the mother of pearl, the time in which they existed when new.

Do you collect them?Oh yes :) I buy them at thrift shops, yard sales and antique shops. I have them arranged by color in glass jars in my studio. If so, What was your first memory of buttons?Actually probably from a picture! I think it must have been the House of Cards by Charles and Ray Eames. http://www.eamesgallery.com/cart/detail_prod.php?id=254 My parents gave them to me to play with when I was very small and the carefully composed photographs of ordinary objects repeated across the surface really informed my aesthetic as well my interest in collections of varied but similar objects ie: a jar of shells, marbles and of course, buttons :)http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2483/3641754491_17ee51515c.jpg

Did you grow up with: Button Box, Button Jar, Button Tin?Yes, but I don't remember it being of great fascination when I was small. I'll have to ask my mom. She had a fond memory of her grandmother's button tin and going through it when she was little. I now have my grandmother's tin and I can't bring myself to use any of the buttons in it. I want to preserve it as a whole

Where is it now?My mom still has her button basket, she still uses the buttons to repair garments!

What/who inspires you?My mother inspires me. She had a humble upbringing with many family difficulties in a rural part of the midwest in the 1940's. Yet she became an artist, a kind and thoughtful person with a sophisticated aesthetic and a non-judgemental but discerning eye. And also my craft supplies inspire me. I try to arrange them attractively in my studio because just looking at those jars of buttons makes me excited about creating.

What handmade possession do you most cherish?I am a bit of a hoarder, so there are many possessions that hold special meaning. One in particular is a pair of knitted baby booties made by an elderly acquaintance many years ago. Sophie was a spinner and a knitter already in her 80's when I met her. I asked her to make some baby booties with fleecy lining for a friend who was expecting. When I got the precious booties wrapped in tissue paper and tied with a piece of handspun yarn, I was unable to pass them on to my friend and kept them. I don't have children and wont, but I am so glad to have something Sophie made especially now that she is gone.

Thanks so much Liz for sharing your button story! I love the story about the baby booties and the story about the House of cards! Check out Liz's work at her website: http://madeinlowell.com/ & her blog: http://madeinlowell.blogspot.com/

atomsatwork in a treasury!

I'm a blogger slacker, chalk it up to WEDDING MADDNESS! But, here I am in a treasury! Thanks Oliveyarn for including me!