happy holidays!

Have a great holiday everyone!  I'll be back at it in January.

Part of the Handmade Holiday Collection.  Contact me for further info.

Copyright Khristian A. Howell

guest posting on Meylah...

Happy Friday everyone!  Today I have a guest post up over on Meylah!  I met Courtney of Meylah when she left a lovely comment on my guest post on Crafting an MBA.  She really responded to the post, and suggested I do a part 2 - so I did!  :)  Head over to her blog to check it out!  Thanks for posting Courtney!

new hot spot - the creative connection event!...

This past May at Surtex, I was lucky enough to meet the lovely Nancy Soriano in my booth.  She has quite the accomplished past, which includes reigning over Country Living magazine as editor in chief.  As we were chatting away about what I do etc., she told me about this great event she has created with Jo Packham of Where Women Create.  Yeah, ok, right away I knew this was going to be good!

The Creative Connection Event is going to be three fantastic days full of workshops, panels, innovative ways to learn how to grow your creative business, and even a full on open to the public handmade market! Excited yet?  It gets even better.  Classes range from folk art portrait painting to turning your old books into scrapbooking marvels.  Once you've learned a fun new way to create, you can check out one of the great panels on ways to grow and market your business.  Oh, and did I mention, AMY BUTLER is going to be the keynote speaker!!!

The event is taking place in Minneapolis, MN, September 16th-18th.  Check out all the details on the website.  With a major sponsor like ETSY already signed on, I think this will for sure become the go to annual creativity/handmade/ event!

indie revolution - fey handmade...

Ok. Am I the last one to the party??  I have just discovered fey handmade, and I am totally in love!  This carefully curated site offers wonderful handmade finds from art, home accessories, stationary and everything in between.  They offer gift certificates and their site is just gorgeous to top it all off!  I have a new bookmark under my shopping column for sure!



dimmalimm | marymary handmade | pretty much art | branch handmade | heidi devlin | leah duncan

artist interview - kristina sostarko of inaluxe...

I stumbled upon this fabulous work by Kristina Sostarko of Inaluxe and just had to know more!  She's been kind enough to chat for a bit!  Be sure to stop by her blog and fab etsy shop too!



My name's Kristina Sostarko, and I'm the artist behind inaluxe. I have a blog www.inaluxe.blogspot.com and an online store www.inaluxe.etsy.com where you can come and visit me. I live in Melbourne, Australia with my partner Jase, and our little fox-dog Kibi.

what three to five words would you use to describe your work?

Tough one to answer. I think I better draw from what others have said as well as how I see it - although I don't really think about the work in these terms, so it's a fascinating question. I guess bold, graphic, flow, whimsical, and pop are all relevant.

what inspires you?

The maddening need to change, fix, make better, improve, and explore. It's what drives me, and gets me out of bed in the morning. Primarily, this is what inspires me. On a more tangible level, architecture, music, people, textures, colour, pattern, the everyday. Everything from animals, and their behaviour, to a large old broken down shed in the country, or perhaps it's a wild 1970's velvet sofa in orange and turquoise stripes, etc.

what was your first job?  when/how did you know you wanted a career in art?

My first job was working in a young women's refuge. It was such an amazing experience, and while it did not fulfil my creative vision at the time, it did help me to learn alot about my self, and others. It gave me certain skills, and awareness about the world around me. I loved it. I knew I wanted to be an artist when I was 8 years old. I would sit and draw all day, everyday. Birds, horses, and I recall I had a huge thing for the tv show "I Dream Of Jeanie" and I would just draw her constantly.

finish this sentence.  I could eat ______ all day.

peaches.

design books/blogs you can't live without

This is a can of worms. A nice can, but nevertheless, a hard one to control, and answer without giving you a giant essay on the topic. ha!  It changes for me all the time. I don't really have one favourite blog, or book. At the moment I am working through some of my bird reference books, and learning more about particular birds, and not just painting them. It adds something to the work for me: their habitats, personalities, quirks, etc are all omnipresent and part of what inspires the pieces.

what do you do when you are not doing art?

Is there such a thing? I'm usually thinking about it, or not thinking about  it. At the moment, I am doing the art full time.

name one thing about you that would shock the outside world.

I like death metal? I don't know, but that's one thing people tend to get surprised about. I don't really know if there is something that really would shock others, and well, there probably is, but some things are better left not shared! :)

finish this sentence.  If I could time travel, I would arrive...

right here. No time like the present - as they say.

what's next?

Lots and lots of thing I hope! I'm just about to start a new range of giclee prints on canvas, and I'm working on textiles for homewares at the moment. These are the two most significant changes happening right now. See where the journey leads, and keep exploring.

spring fever - fanny shorter's birds...

maybe we can all will spring to get here!!  have you seen fanny shorter's fantastic birds?  these sweet screen prints are available from design supremo.  she also does great allover prints and illustrations.

haiti relief auction update...

A few weeks back I designed the logo and donated a photo for the haiti relief auction sponsored by Indiefixx. The turn out was amazing! I am so proud to have been a part of this effort!  Kudos to Jen at Indiefixx for organizing such a great event.  Remember, the work is truly just beginning for the victims in Haiti, so please continue to keep them in you thoughts and continue to give when you can.  I am reposting Jen's final update here.

It’s official! We made over $2,000 in the Haiti Relief Fundraiser…$2028 to be exact. I just made the donation to the Red Cross International Response Fund after waiting for all the funds to come in & to clear Paypal.  In the interest of transparency, you can see my donation verification below—with sensitive info blanked out, of course.

I want to take this time to thank all those who donated prizes as well as all the wonderful folks who bid on them. I’d also like to thank you bloggers who helped me get the word out about the fundraiser. There are really tooooo many to name individually, but you know who you are! Finally, thanks to Khristian A. Howell, who very generously created the fundraiser logo, and to Amy the intern for helping me to coordinate the silent auctions.

I’m so proud of our little community for getting involved and want to encourage you to not forget about future donations to benefit Haiti. The Haitian people are going to need our help for some time.

artist interview - inkling prints...

SWOON!!  We have all fallen in love with etsy great Inkling Prints.  Designer Kiran was kind enough to give us the scoop on what inspires her, where she's been, and where she going...

Hi, I'm Kiran and I started Inkling Prints in July last year. I used to spend time doodling in my sketch books, not knowing what to do with my doodles. Then one day, I was browsing through Amazon and I came across a book by Lotta Jansdotter. I ordered it immediately! It arrived one beautiful spring morning. I was sat on the sofa, by the window, with the sun streaming in and I was totally inspired to create my own hand printed items. After months of researching and experimenting with different paints and fabrics, I finally opened my Etsy shop in November 2009.

what three to five words would you use to describe your work?
bold, colourful, simple

what inspires you?
I was born and lived in Singapore til 5 years ago when I moved to England. The colours, the vibrancy, the intricacy and detail that you find in almost everything there has inspired me. After moving to England, I realised I was also very much drawn to nature. I love looking at all the different flowers, plants and trees. And then waiting eagerly in winter for spring when everything is fresh, green and colourful again.
what was your first job? when/how did you know you wanted a career in art?
My first job was as a graphic/product designer at a shop designing stationary for children. We had a little office at the back of the shop and I designed all sorts of things from posters to t-shirts to trimmers to hang on walls. It was good fun as I also got to meet my young customers sometimes.
My late dad used to draw with me. He very much encouraged and supported me throughout art school, staying up late with me to finish off projects, encouraging me and believing that I could do it.

finish this sentence. I could eat___ all day.
waffles with ice-cream

design books/blogs you can't live without
Books: Lotta Jansdotter -  How to Print with Anything and Lena Corwin - Printing by Hand
Blogs: http://jezzeblog.blogspot.com/ and http://camillaengman.blogspot.com/

what do you do when you are not doing art?
I'm running around the house chasing my 2 year old daughter Jill, with my one hand pulling my hair out, the other hand trying to grab her and screaming 'Nooooo!!', all at the the same time and finally tripping over the dog and falling.

name one thing about you that would shock the outside world.
When I was young, I found a can in my dad's tools cupboard. It had a cute elephant on it. I went into the cupboard, shut the door, opened the can and found this yellow gooo in it. I sniffed it. Wow! I was caught by my parents and warned, never to sniff glue again. I was only 7. So, I wasn't punished. Maybe that's why my brain is slightly messed up now - I'm so totally disorganised! :P

finish this sentence. If I could time travel, I would arrive...
In the 1940's to meet my husband's grandmother Tirzah Ravilious, who was a brilliant artist. Her husband was a war artist and she had to cope with being a mum to 3 kids. But she also produced such beautiful art in her short lifetime. I'd like to know what inspired her.

what's next?
New designs. Prints on paper. New studio space. Hopefully, somewhere which will give me enough space to print and lots of space to store my products. In the meanwhile, I am trying to
concentrate on photographing all my work and also launching my own website.

artist i love - mamie ruth...

Emily Bargeron in her new vintage inspired tunic.

Emily Bargeron is the brain behind clothing and jewelry line Mamie Ruth. Inspired by and named after her grandmother, Emily uses vintage pieces and fabrics in her designs. There is just a real charm to her work. You can really feel that each piece is crafted with love - just as a grandma would! Check her out on line here. If you are in the Atlanta area, she will be showing her new line of clothing made from eco-friendly and vintage fabrics at the Whitespace gallery Friday Dec. 4th.

artist interview - ashley a. dailey of pop + shorty...

Ashley A. Dailey is the lead designer behind Pop + Shorty (so named after her grandparents - Pop and Shorty were their nicknames). They create a wonderful range of fun cards, prints, and poster all with a wonderful quirky edge. Visit their shop here, and don't forget to check out their blog for new work and upcoming events. Commissioned work is available on the their site.

what three to five words would you use to describe your work?

Pop + Shorty creates bold, witty, and unexpected design. In other words, design that pops!

what inspires you?

I try to immerse myself in design by visiting art galleries, reading books, blogs. and magazines, and teaching myself new techniques. My husband, Matthew, is also a huge inspiration for me. He pushed me to start Pop + Shorty from the very beginning and is one of the most creative and clever people I know.

what was your first job? when/how did you know you wanted a career in art?

My first job out of college was at an advertising agency in Indianapolis. I started in Account Management, then worked my way over to copy writing. I would watch the graphic designer place my text into a project, I would dream about what typeface, what color, and what placement I would use instead. I knew then I needed to try my hand in graphic design, so I went back to school to study advertising design.

your work is so fun and unexpected - describe your design process?

My ideas usually come at the most unexpected times, so I always carry a small sketchbook to scribble down my ideas and thoughts. Sometimes I will flip through old sketchbooks and find an idea that had some potential and work from there. I have family and friends all over the country, so I fly quite frequently. Being 30,000 feet in air is my favorite time to sketch because I can't get distracted!

design books/blogs you can't live without

This answer could easily be ten paragraphs! I love the blog Grain Edit. I drool every time I receive an email with a new blog post. I am a huge fan of Communication Arts, HOW magazine, and Computer Arts in the UK. As for books, I think anyone wanting to dive into the crafting world should read the book Craft Inc. by Meg Mateo Ilasco. It is not a design book; however, my favorite book of all time is called the Darkside Zodiac by Stella Hyde. It flips astrology on its head by telling you the darkside of your horoscope (and it is scarily accurate). I sometimes call my sassier cards the "Darkside" of Pop + Shorty!

what do you do when you are not doing art?

Ha ha, when I asked my husband "What do I do when I am not working on Pop + Shorty?" he said, "Work on Pop + Shorty more?" He is about right! I also love listening to music and going to shows, hosting parties for friends, and dreaming about adopting a dog. I am hoping this Christmas my husband and I can add a new addition to the family.

name one thing about you that would shock the outside world.

I collect chopsticks. I have over 150 pairs, yet I never use them because I am not a very skilled chopstick user! I also still sleep with a teddy bear that I've had since I was one year old. Her name is Tedra, and she wears a small little jacket my great-grandmother, Shorty, sewed. Yes, the same Shorty from Pop + Shorty!

what city in the world best describes you?

Seville, Spain. I lived there for six months and felt right at home. During the day, the city is so calm. Then at night, the entire city just lights up and goes wild! If you get to know the city well enough, you'll find hidden flamenco bars in the streets that showcase the real Seville.

what's next?

Pop + Shorty just had its six-month anniversary, so we are still newbies. Our next step to to spread our cards and products around the country by selling in retail shops. Also, I am teaching myself how to gocco print, so I would love to incorporate more hand-pressed gocco designs into the mix. Lastly, we are hoping to launch some new geeky tee shirts since our CSS to HTML tee has been a huge success.

holiday - hable construction...

Adorable felt stockings are available over at Hable Construction. They are handmade in Hungary by a woman's cooperative using tradition techniques. I love the twist on traditional motifs!