The Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show is Coming to Cincy!

Meet Jamie Wilke from Monster Guard...
I am a married, 42 year old, father of three. I moved to the Cincinnati area 20 years ago for work. I have been making Monster Guards since 2011-ish and started setting up at craft shows in 2017.This will be my very first Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show.

To know that what I craft can help somebody or spark their imagination, the excitement that people show for what I make, my family, and the voices in my head (my active imagination) that need an outlet, all inspire me to create. I got into crafting as a hobby simply because I wanted more people to see my work.

I have always been artistic in many different mediums. However, to create Monster Guards, I had to experiment a lot until I got to the point where I achieved the vision I had for them. I would say my creative process starts with a picture I have in my mind, then I do my best to bring it to life.

In five years...I would like to see my Monster Guards conquer the world!

When asked the message behind my work, I say, "don't judge a book by it's cover." My monsters have good hearts, its the mean monster that give nice ones a bad name!

Meet Jean Richardson from Bojangles Jewelry...

When I'm not creating "stuff" I am a wife, mom, grandma, and massage therapist. I have been creating in some form as long as I can remember. I started with painting and then batik and sewing back in my 20's and in between children and my real job. 

Over the years I have belonged to several area groups and have done many shows. I began doing collage work because it's fun mixing many mediums and textures. Jewelry making evolved from that. I love the idea of art being shown everywhere through jewelry. I use a lot of found objects and recycled materials because I see the beauty in all things. 

As I get older, I hope to put my craft front and center instead of on the back burner. 

Meet Hannah Hughes from Moon Mountain Gems...
My name is Hannah Hughs and I am from Flemingsburg, Kentucky. I am a college student studying geology. I first started my business when i was just sixteen years old; and i am now nineteen. I have not participated in any Avant-Garde Art & Crafts shows before, but I'm looking forward to attending many!

What inspired me to create my pearl engravings was my grandfather, who is a custom knife maker. He introduced me to scrimshaw, which was that art that whalers used to do at sea in which they would engage into ivory. After learning about scrimshaw, I wanted to give the art a twist. Therefore, I started engraving pearl by hand to make beautiful custom designs. 

First, I get the raw oyster and cut, sand, buff, and polish each pearl pendant. Next, I engrave each pearl by hand with a turbo carver (similar to a dentist's tool) to etch lines into the pearl. After that, various colors of ink are pressed into the lines so that the details are brought forward. I also sell crystal and gem jewelry that is also made by hand. My crystal and gem jewelry consists of amethyst, quartz, agate, geodes, and much  more!

Each is drilled, wire wrapped and made into jewelry. One of my favorite hobbies was collecting rocks, so I decided to take that passion and incorporate it into making on of a kind jewelry. 

I travel the United States selling my art; and i'm aspiring to grow my business into something I've always dreamed of. My ultimate goal in the future is to make a career out of something I love doing. 

I love to show people how beautiful our earth is and how it can create the most beautiful things. I incorporate my style and art with what the Earth provides. I want to provide people the chance to have one of a kind jewelry at an affordable price. My hobby has now turned into my passion, and I hope people can truly see that through my pieces. 

Meet Ami Davidson from Craftastic Sports...

I have been doing the Avant-Garde Art & Craft Shows for about two years, for a total of seven shows. I love the challenge of looking at items that have been discarded and thinking, "what can I make with that?" After attending craft shows for years, I could never find the kinds of things I was looking for as a "Sports Mom," so I thought I'd make what I wanted to see!

I've always been creative... whether it was scrapbooking or woodworking with my dad. I would say my creative process starts with an idea and basically say, "let's see how this goes!" While it doesn't always work out the first attempt, I stay at it until it is achieved. 

I would love to put my kids through college with the proceeds earned from my efforts and it'd be great to afford for some part-time help to support my business! I hope to display my love for my kids games with my work. As parents, we spend so much of our children's childhood at practice or sporting events watching our kids play with passion for a sport they love. The items I make help display their love for the game. 

Meet Brittany Finn Cropenbaker from Spotted Pineapple...

We are Spotted Pineapple by Finn - three sisters, Brittany, Tara, and Kelsey. We were all bored and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio and live in Anderson Township. We come from an extremely close-knit family, and love hanging out and spending time with one another. 

We began Spotted Pineapple by Finn in the summer of 2016 after a magical vacation in Maui, Hawaii. There, we were able to see a lifestyle that was much about the joy of life, handmade products, and being truly present with how one was living their life. This intrigued us, as we have been so caught up in the hustle and bustle of a "go go go!" lifestyle. We loved all the local, handmade products we were able to see and purchase on our trip. When we returned home, we began thinking of products we could make ourselves, and then sell. We began with jewelry, but have since expanded to candles, bath bombs, body scrubs, glassware, and curated box sets. 

We are extremely excited to say that this is our first Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show. We are looking forward debuting out new craft show set-up and products! We cannot wait to meet the other vendors and connect with all the attendees!

We blame our love of crafting solely on our mother. She always has some super fun craft or project going. From when we were little, and we would make little reindeer necklaces out of jingle bells to pass out to our family, to creating the gorgeous centerpieces at our weddings, to helping us envision the possibilities a home can have with her knack of home decor and interior design. 

We would not say what we have is talent, but more so passion. We are so passionate about our products and truly strive to provide amazing customer service, and bring forth products that are handmade with love and attention to detail. 

Our creative process is one that involves many steps. we love keeping up with current trends, but always put our own style and unique touch on every single piece with design. We do not create anything we would not be excited to wear, give as a gift, or keep in our own homes. 

We hope that the launch of our own website (spottedpineapple.com, coming soon!), we will be able to increase our line of products, thus increasing our overall number of employees, and hopefully taking us to the next level as a small, successful business. 

The message behind our work is that we love what we do. We love working with one another, and we truly love designing, creating, and seeing out products being loved be our customers.

2018 Cincinnati Spring Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show

Sunday, March 11th 2018

Sunday- 10:00am-5:00pm

Oasis Golf Club and Conference Center
902 Loveland-Miamiville Rd. 
Loveland, Ohio 45140

For more information, contact Amanda Look, Event Coordinator at amanda@ag-shows.com

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