OneWomanStudio

new work

noreply@blogger.com (OneWomanStudio) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:49:00 +0000

bucket bags made from repurposed burlap coffee sacks

bottoms are made from fabric samples destined for the dumpster

nice, long adjustable and removable shoulder strap

get 'em here

the milk truck cometh

noreply@blogger.com (OneWomanStudio) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 14:07:00 +0000

I rarely purchase anything that doesn't have a 'purpose' - i.e. something to wear, eat, sit on, listen to, read - you get the picture. But I was totally smitten with this tiny toy the moment I saw it listed in the Etsy shop, 30one. Who cares if its only purpose is to sit on my desk and look *utterly* adorable? I had to have it! Frivolous purchase completed, I sat back and awaited its arrival...

Much to my surprise and delight, the packaging was just as charming as the item that accompanied it! Check out that sweet little 'thank you' note (above)...

and the personalized ('J' for Julia!) tag secured to the bag with a twist of candy-striped string! Nicely done...

new work

noreply@blogger.com (OneWomanStudio) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:09:00 +0000

backpacks and purses made from recycled grain/feed bags

and repurposed coffee bean bags

available online in my Etsy shop!

flashback

noreply@blogger.com (OneWomanStudio) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:40:00 +0000

Although I was only 9 years old when Polaroid stopped making these ingenious cameras... I sure do remember my parents taking lots of pictures with ours! I used to like to peel the photos apart to see if I could figure out just how it all worked (I was a little geeky dork back then too).

I wish I had kept our old camera if only for the sculptural beauty of it!

P.S. These photos are courtesy of photojojo.com - A very cool (and geeky) website...

gifted hand 2011

noreply@blogger.com (OneWomanStudio) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 23:09:00 +0000

One of my most favorite shows both as a vendor and as a shopper is coming up this weekend - The Gifted Hand Fine Art and Craft Show!
This show takes place Friday November 11th, 11am-7pm & Saturday November 12th 9am-4pm at the Ramada Inn (tennis court area), 215 High St. Ellsworth, Me.

This show has been listed as one of the top ten winter craft shows to attend in New England in the Boston Globe.com Travel blog - and for good reason!

Be there or be sqaure!

no tricks, just treats!

noreply@blogger.com (OneWomanStudio) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:35:00 +0000

This savvy shopper (and one of my biggest fans!) snapped up this most unusual OneWomanStudio tote bag at the recent Hall-Dale Art and Craft Show in Farmingdale, ME. The tote is fashioned from a SolidGold dog food bag which appears to be made of a reflective type of material. I think it would make a great trick-or-treat bag!

Joyce is also sporting a gorgeous strand of chunky amber from local jeweler Laurie LaBar of Spirit House Jewelry - my very entertaining and delightfully irreverent neighbor at the show!

But wait! That's not all!

Later that afternoon Joyce was lucky enough to be holding the winning raffle ticket and scored one of my Alpaca totes as well! Woo-hoo!

But was it luck or was it karma? You see, Joyce co-owns McKenney Tree and Landscaping in Richmond, ME, which earlier in the week had donated their services to hang a banner over Main St. advertising this very craft show!

Yup. See how that works ;)

'tis (almost) the season

noreply@blogger.com (OneWomanStudio) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 01:46:00 +0000

It's that time of the year! Time to browse for that perfect little something for that someone special. While this would be a nice thing to do ANY time of year, the 'holiday season' is the most traditional - and let's face it, the most commercialized - gift-giving season.

But to help you cut down on (and hopefully eliminate) those invariably stress inducing and wallet emptying last minute shopping trips (to stores I would rather not mention...), I have compiled a list of high quality, fun, and most importantly - LOCAL - sources of high quality, fun, and yes - LOCAL - gifts! Collectively, these sources are know as: CRAFT SHOWS!

Check out my 2011 Holiday Show Schedule for a list of shows which feature the best of the best in locally made art and fine craft.

Have fun! And please shop responsibly ;)

common ground fair 2011

noreply@blogger.com (OneWomanStudio) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 09:22:00 +0000

Busy, busy, busy! The turnout at the fair has been great! Lots of happy customers sporting my bags :)

The horse totes are a big hit this weekend!

show time

noreply@blogger.com (OneWomanStudio) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:43:00 +0000

This Saturday, August 27, I'll be hauling my self and a truck load of my work to the Designing Women Art & Craft Show in Manchester, ME. The show takes place at the enchanting Longfellow's Greenhouses from 9:30-4:30 and a luncheon will be available. This is a juried show featuring high quality work from many of Maine's most gifted artisans! Let's hope this Saturday is as sunny and calm as the day this photo was taken!

Can you believe that ALL of that stuff fits into my teeny-tiny Toyota pick-up? My Daddy - who packed his family of 4 and all their accoutrements into a station wagon every summer and headed to an island in Maine - would be very proud :)

bread winner

noreply@blogger.com (OneWomanStudio) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 12:09:00 +0000

It was a proud and happy moment when I delivered close to 100 of these tote bags to Skowhegan, Maine earlier this week. These totes were created especially for the Maine Grain Alliance's annual Kneading Conference which kicks off today in Skowhegan, Maine.

I've been recycling King Arthur Flour bags into totes for a while now (read more here), so when I heard that they were again sponsoring the Kneading Conference and the Maine Artisan Bread Fair - which wraps up this 3-day event on Saturday - I knew I had to come up with something special for the occasion!

The custom graphic (created by yours truly!) was screen printed on the totes by Beth Burke who owns Custom Cottons in Sedgwick, Maine. Beth opened her shop a few months ago and has been going non-stop ever since! And I can see why - she's great to work with, creative, and FAST! Not to mention she does beautiful work!

To get your very own limited edition 2011 Kneading Conference tote bag, stop by the conference headquarters at the Skowhegan Fairgrounds July 28-30. They'll be for sale during the conference and at the Artisan Bread Fair (same location). Hope to see you there!

new work

noreply@blogger.com (OneWomanStudio) — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 12:27:00 +0000

I've been busily working on some fun new designs and finding lots of 'new' recycled materials to feed my passion! Pictured here are burlap coffee bean bags, Maine grain sacks, rescued seat belts, designer fabric samples, and of course... pet food bags!
These styles and many others can be found at The Maine Grind in Ellsworth, Works of Hand in Winter Harbor, and coming soon to the Center for Maine Craft pop-up store in The Maine Mall, South Portland!

first show of the season!

noreply@blogger.com (OneWomanStudio) — Thu, 19 May 2011 11:27:00 +0000

The 2011 Northeast Livestock Expo is happening this weekend, and OneWomanStudio will be there! This will be my first time at this event, and what a perfect venue for my recycled feed bag totes!

The Expo takes place May 20-22 on the grounds of the Windsor Fair in Windsor, Maine. Look for OneWomanStudio in the Fiber Arts tent. Hope to see you there!

Oh, and could you please bring some sunshine with you?

re-box

noreply@blogger.com (OneWomanStudio) — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 21:01:00 +0000

Call me crazy... but I make my own shipping boxes. I just can't see buying a brand new box when there is so much perfectly good cardboard out there being thrown away! And while I do love sewing, my first love was construction. As in building construction. Bird houses, sheds, a house... yes, a house! Granted, I did have help. And if he'd followed my plans, it would still be standing today... but that's a whole 'nother story...

Anyway, I love taking solid, flat material and turning it into a 3 dimensional object; Designing, measuring, figuring, cutting... it's just a fascinating process.

Although as I was doing this photo shoot, I noticed that this box looked remarkably similar in size to a 18" pizza box... If only I'd thought of that before! I could have saved myself a lot of designing, measuring, figuring, cutting... ;)

The graphics on the appliance boxes I re-use are just fabulous! I love the 'universal language' of instructive images!

sunday project

noreply@blogger.com (OneWomanStudio) — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 23:27:00 +0000

Making interior pockets for some of the messenger bags,

evolved into a new idea using the scraps... Love that pieced/patchwork look!

think. then shop.

noreply@blogger.com (OneWomanStudio) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 11:36:00 +0000

Check out this brand-new, on-line marketplace I'm joining! They sell only fair trade, upcycled, organic, handmade products, and their name says it all: Ethikl.

They answer the question of "What is ethical shopping?" like this:

The idea of “ethical consumerism” or “conscious consuming” is a social movement based around the idea that people should be mindful of the impact their purchases have on the environment and the health and well being of the people involved in making those products.

I urge you to read more here

The founder of Ethikl, Peita Gardiman, also authors a pretty cool blog. You can check that out here

a bit cozy

noreply@blogger.com (OneWomanStudio) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 23:10:00 +0000

For those of you who are unaware of it - I wear glasses. All the time. Without them I'm practically blind, so except when I'm sleeping, those babies are always perched on my nose.

And since I have to wear the darn things constantly, I like to make sure I'm sporting the most fashionable pair I can afford, which is very easy since I discovered the world of online prescription eye-glasses. Got a spare 15 bucks? Well then, you can get yourself some brand new specs!

But alas, along with each and every fabulous pair I've ordered (I think I'm up to 6 now), comes a cheesy, plastic glasses case... Yeah, I guess if I wanted to carry ALL of my glasses around with me at once, I could use the spare cases. But that would be weird.

So, as I set about this morning to do a little woodworking, a light bulb went on over my head . As I removed my newest purchase - great big owl-like 'work' glasses - from their cheesy little case and turned to rummage through a drawer full of loose and mistreated drill bits, a thought occurred to me:

Cheesy Glasses Case meet Mistreated Drill Bits...

DIY labels

noreply@blogger.com (OneWomanStudio) — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 21:57:00 +0000

Just had to share the end-product of what has been a 3-day project (including a trip to Bangor for materials I ended up not using. Sigh...)

It all began when I went into production on my newest item (details of which will be unveiled soon!), and found that I didn't have any labels swanky enough to adorn the latest addition to my creative offerings. I've always made my own labels and hang-tags - mostly from paper sandwiched between transparent contact paper or some variation of that - but these needed to be something a little classier, professional.

So first I went online to see what I could find, and "you want HOW MUCH for 100 labels, and it's going to take HOW LONG to get them??" - was my reaction. Then I noodled around looking for some DIY-fabric-label advice. They all pointed to printable iron-on sheet that you can use in your home printer, which I was lucky enough to find locally.

I had originally wanted to use twill tape for the actual label material, but found that to be too 'bumpy' and ended up using plain ol' muslin which worked out perfectly! The graphics came out nice and crisp and the adhesive from the label paper sealed the fabric and will prevent any fraying of the edges. Perfecto!

flour power

noreply@blogger.com (OneWomanStudio) — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 22:10:00 +0000

Not unlike the Medieval British warrior from whence its name is derived, King Arthur Flour is the stuff of legends. This 100% USA grown wheat flour is - as each bag proclaims - "never bleached, never bromated", and is the purest, most consistently high quality flour you will ever use. Just ask any baker worth his or her weight in - well, bread - and they are sure to agree.

OK, but what does this have to do with recycling?

Well, all those bakers use a whole lotta bags of flour, and all those bags mean a lot of raw material for me to make my recycled tote bags out of! And that is just what I brought to the King Arthur Flour-sponsored Kneading Conference and Artisan Bread Fair up in Skowhegan, ME this past July. Was I hoping my King Arthur emblazoned tote bags would catch the eye of one of their reps? Of Course! And did that happen? Heck, yeah! And in a big way...

Long story short, my recycled flour bag totes are now available at The Baker's Store, King Arthur Flour's flagship retail location in Norwich, VT. And they are a hit! So much so that I've had to seek out additional sources for empty bags to work with, and was lucky enough to get hooked up with Amato's Bakery in Westbrook, ME.

brothers John and Anthony Amato pose in front of pallets of King Arthur flour and a Medieval looking dough thingy

This huge bakery - family owned and run since its 1902 inception - uses tons King Arthur bread flour (by the 100lb bag-full) to create their amazing breads and rolls, and General Manager, John Amato and his merry band of bakers have been kind enough to set aside those empty bags for me! And if I time it right, I usually end up with a fresh-from-the-oven loaf to take home with me (not that it ever lasts that long...). Thanks guys!

what's it all about?

noreply@blogger.com (OneWomanStudio) — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 22:14:00 +0000

Charlie Brown: I guess you were right, Linus. I shouldn't have picked this little tree. Everything I do turns into a disaster. I guess I really don't know what Christmas is all about.
[shouting in desperation]
Charlie Brown: Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?
Linus Van Pelt: Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.
[moves toward the center of the stage]
Linus Van Pelt: Lights, please.
[a spotlight shines on Linus]
Linus Van Pelt: "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'"
[Linus picks up his blanket and walks back towards Charlie Brown]
Linus Van Pelt: That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

Ah, from the mouths of babes... and the genius Charles M. Schulz. Happy Christmas. Peace on Earth.

crafting a picnic

noreply@blogger.com (OneWomanStudio) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 14:36:00 +0000

Just a few days 'til the Picnic Holiday Sale! This juried indie craft fair is THE place to load up on some really cool and creative gifts for you and yours, AND support independent, local artists - like yours truly ;)

Check out the vendor list here

rust never sleeps

noreply@blogger.com (OneWomanStudio) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 14:26:00 +0000

I've walked by this unexpected piece of 'found art' many, many times on my daily hikes with my faithful canine, Piper, and the shear irony of it always make me smile.

the gifted hand

noreply@blogger.com (OneWomanStudio) — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 12:35:00 +0000

Getting ready to head out to the city and ready my booth for The Gifted Hand Show. This is the fifth year for this fine art and craft show - and my first! I'm very excited to be in the company of such fine artisans.

The show is held at the Ramada Inn (formerly the Holiday Inn) in Ellsworth, ME, and runs Friday, November 12th 11:00 am to 7:00 pm Saturday, November 13th 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Hope to see you there!

halloween block party!

noreply@blogger.com (OneWomanStudio) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 13:10:00 +0000

Come on down (or up!) to Bangor, ME on Saturday, Oct 30th for the first annual Downtown Halloween Block Party! This rockin' day long celebration features live music, spooky films, and a giant Outdoor Market featuring Maine-made food, art, crafts and of course, lots of treats!

Fun for the whole family including kid-friendly events at the Maine Discovery Museum , costume contests, a parade, films at The Penobscot Theater, and so much more!

Downtown shops, pubs and restaurants get in on the action with spooky sales, specials and trick-or-treating too!

And yours truly will be at the Outdoor Market map with lots of her recycled creations (some of witch - oops! - which would make great treat bags)!

See you there...

go team!

noreply@blogger.com (OneWomanStudio) — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 13:00:00 +0000

So I had the classic "being chased by a bear" dream last night. Surely there must be some Freudian explanation for this, but I just chock it up to my excitement about my upcoming gig at the University of Maine Homecoming Craft Fair and Marketplace.

Kicking (pun intended) the homecoming weekend off at noon on Saturday, Oct 16th is a football game - UM Black Bears vs. Villanova. Tailgate partying, class reunions, and general mayhem will be taking place all weekend. The gigantic craft fair and marketplace rocks the Field House on Saturday and Sunday. Doors open at 10am both days.

tah-dah!

noreply@blogger.com (OneWomanStudio) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 19:56:00 +0000

Done! (And no, I didn't loose an arm in the process - it just looks that way...)

Now it's time to pack up the truck and crack that beer. Cheers!