I started my accessory design company, FENNOfashion, in 2007 after graduating with a degree in fashion and accessory design from Savannah College of Art & Design. Since then, I've designed & made everything from wedding gowns to thousands of custom pieces of jewelry! I love what I do, and hope my passion shows through my work. This show will be my first time being apart of the Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show and I'm excited to be a part of it!
I first started designing and creating jewelry in 2000 and shortly after, started teaching classes at Michaels Arts & Crafts store and other local organizations. I fell in love with the process, which made me want to pursue this art as a career. I honestly feel like I was born to create. I'm obsessed with using my creativity and if I'm not working on on designing and creating accessories, then I'm working on some sort of DIY project in my home. I love the challenge of trying new things and learning as I go.
I always more or less tinkered with making jewelry in some capacity since I was 10, but it wasn't until I was the events coordinator at Michaels Arts & Crafts store in high school where they desperately needed someone to teach jewelry making. I love the process and while I no longer teach, I enjoy working with customers and their custom orders where they can be a part of my design process. My creative process varies quite a bit from day to day. Somedays I will dedicate my entire day to creating and producing new designs, while other days I spend following up with customers, restocking boutiques, fulfilling orders, and participating in events. I feel like it's all creative work in some capacity, but the process definitely varies.
Where I see myself in 5 years is a very tough question to answer. While I like the idea of planning out years to come for my business, last year at this time I wouldn't have guessed I'd be a proud new owner of a mobile boutique. That's right, I now own a mobile boutique, which I plan to have rolling by spring of 2019. I discovered the idea while reading a business book where there was an entire chapter dedicated to opening and operating a fashion truck. I fell in love with the idea and knew it'd be perfect for me. So most of this year I've spent searching for trucks, researching all of the business side of things such as permits, insurance, special licenses, etc. I love to create and love that I was also able to create a life I love doing what I love full time. So while my job is to make women feel beautiful or to be the one who creates meaningful pieces of jewelry that can be treasured for years to come!
Meet Brigid Huey from BHuey Designs...
As a lover of the arts, I have long been fascinated by jewelry and its construction. I began taking jewelry apart and turning components into new items when I was a kid. My skills grew little by little, and by young adulthood I was making my own jewelry for fun. While in college studying English Literature, I returned to the art of jewelry making as a creative outlet. A few years later, after my daughter was born, I quit my day job to stay home full time. It was the perfect opportunity to create my own jewelry business. I opened a shop on Etsy, and have been loving it ever since. That was six years ago. This year I decided to branch out and sell my work at local art and craft fairs.
This is my third Avant-Garde Art & Craft show, and I’m so happy to be back! I love the atmosphere of these shows, and it’s so fun to be able to share this experience with fellow artists and patrons. In the future, I would love to continue to sell my work at art fairs and local boutiques. My work is unique in its inspiration. My designs are all inspired by a work of literature. A pair of earrings may be based on Elizabeth Bennet from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, a set of hair pins on Hermione from Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale. I recently created a whole fairy tale line, with items for such characters as Snow White, Rumpelstiltskin, and Cinderella. I use mainly Swarovski crystals and a mixture of plated and precious metals. My goal is to provide beautiful, affordable jewelry with an interesting story. I design and create all of my pieces in my in-home studio, also known as my kitchen table. I want my customers to love their jewelry as much as I loved creating it. Wearing a piece from my shop should make you feel special. If it does, I feel like I've done my job as a jewelry designer!
Meet Mary Burroughs from Mary's Homemade Goodies...
I was raised on a farm outside of Williamsburg, Ohio so canning was a big part of my life growing up. I am retired from Johnson and Johnson, and started canning extra produce from my brother's farm. The items I canned became so popular that people started asking to purchase as presents. I formally started canning approximately two years, but I've been canning my entire life. What inspires me most is partly what I like eat, and partly by request. The newer versions are at the prompting of my niece and her crazy ideas.
So far I have attended two Avant-Garde shows, and I'm ready to be back! Sheer habit got me into company. We would have a lot of produce left in the garden at the end of the season, and it is against my upbringing for there to be waste. I don't know that it is a discovered talent so much as a way of survival when you are one of 8 kids in a farm family. I was raised canning as a way to ensure we ate through the winter. Now that i'm retired I am just returning to my roots.
Part of my inspiration is whatever is in season in the garden, requests from family, friends and customers, and, part of my inspiration is my niece and her crazy concoctions. In five years I will probably be in the same place I am now. I'm not in it for the money, I do it because I enjoy it and as my niece says "to keep me out of trouble now that i'm retired". Proceeds from the items I sell are donated to 'Chrons ans Colitis Foundation'. My message to others is just to enjoy what you do and give back to others!
I have recently turned a hobby of making jams and jellies into a non-profit, Hartke's Heart. Our mission is to provide financial help to those dealing with abuse. I started with just grapes from my grapevine 5 years ago and just started doing other flavors in February of this year. This will be my first time being a vendor at Avant-Garde Art & Craft Shows!
Helping people inspires me. There are so many people that need help and I wish I could help everyone. I love to watch taste my jams and jellies and watch their face light up with deliciousness. I found a new passion 5 years ago and started to expand it this year. I want to help people and thought with the love that people have shown with my jams and jellies, so why not sell them to raise money for those in need?
I discovered my talent by the feedback from others that have enjoyed my jams and jellies. People that ask for specific flavors, and getting into the kitchen gets me to start thinking and developing new exciting flavors. I hope in 5 years to have a jam and jelly shop! The message I would like everyone to know is by enjoying a jar of Jam, you are supporting an important cause!
2018 Columbus Fall Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show
Sunday September 23, 2018 - 10:00am-4:00pm
Oasis Golf Club & Conference Center
902 Loveland-Miamiville Rd.
Loveland, OH 45140
For more information, contact Amanda Look, Event Coordinator at Amanda@ag-shows.com
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