> Introduce yourself!
My name is Jamie. I started my career as a marine biologist. During
graduate school I got interested in education, art and knitting. So I started my first web business selling handmade yarn and crafts. I currently work at a university, co-own two fiber arts businesses, as
well as co-produce a craft show called Bazaar Bizarre San Francisco and Bazaar Bizarre Maker Faire.

> Tell us a bit about Mary Jane’s Attic and Urban Fauna Studio.
Mary Jane’s Attic is a web store that specializes in fiber and supplies for the spinner, knitter, and felter. In addition I am co-owner of Urban Fauna Studio. Urban Fauna Studio sells indie made and eco-friendly craft supplies and tools. We focus on ecologically and socially considerate manufacturing practices (i.e.
no-petrochemicals used, sustainable raw fibers and woods, biodegradable products, and recycled materials), products made in the US and handmade items. We take pride in supporting our fellow indie crafters and sell yarn and fiber art supplies from over 35+ different
indie artists. We also offer a revolving series of arts and crafts workshops for small groups.

> How long have you been involved with Bazaar Bizarre?
Since 2006

> What is your favorite part of the show?
Well to be honest….the SHOPPING! Where else can I shop with over 90+ indie artists all in one place? Being able to talk to the person behind the product is the best feeling as a consumer. I realize the investment they’ve made in their work and it reminds me that my decision to buy handmade supports American artists and my goal for a
more sustainable, local economy. In general, the Bazaar Bizarre shows create a positive sense of community! The vendors love being there and the customers are equally positive and respectful of the handmade movement. Artists are not lost in mix of commercial and non-craft
vendors like many other shows and street festivals. Our focus is on the DIY movement and the indie spirit that makes it so special.

> What’s new and exciting this year?
We’re really excited to announce that over half of our vendors are new and emerging crafters This means they have never vended at a craft show or never vended in a Bazaar Bizarre. We’re also proud to be
supporting returning vendors who have been with us for years. These are quality artists and craftspeople Maker Faire attendees have come to know and love (Ach Ach Liebling, NifNaks, my windup bird t-shirts, etc…). We’re lucky to have the Buyer and Store Manager at Museum of
Craft and Folk Art Kpoene Kpfi-Bruce, Natalie Zee-Drieu and Becky Stern of Craftzine as our guest judges for this year. This was a great mix of expertise and style that helped determine our current vendors out of the 200+ applicants we received.

Maker Faire continues to get bigger and better with every show, not something easily achievable with our declining economic times. What amazes me is the overwhelming agreement of everyday people, makers and crafters alike, to support what Make and Craftzine are doing this year: to rally for a more sustainable America! Take a day (or two!) to celebrate individual creativity and grassroots innovation in the largest festival devoted to DIY culture and technology in the country.

Laura L., The ScrabbleGal specializes in teaching how to create unique Scrabble accessories and custom photo jewelry through her line of E-books and step-by-step tutorials.

Tell us about your work. What kind of things do you make?

Tiles with style! Anything and everything from jewelry, home accessories, to even Scrabble related projects for your pets! I just recently started a tutorial and E-book series that teaches step-by-step how to make some of my favorite craft projects.

What inspired you to get into crafting with scrabble tiles?

It actually all started back in college. One year, when my roommates and I were shopping for furniture for our apartment, we came across this old beat up Scrabble game at a moving sale for like two bucks. After we got home, we realized that half the letters were missing — but instead of just throwing the whole thing away, I volunteered to “adopt” the remaining orphan tiles. Being the “crafty one” I ended up making them into a set of custom decorated refrigerator magnets — and they were a HUGE hit! It became a game to see who could leave the funniest messages! And friends would try to score the most “points” in our own version of “refrigerator Scrabble”

From there, I started playing around with other ideas, and started making & selling my own custom Scrabble tile jewelry, picture frames, and eventually branched out to bunch of other Scrabble-themed crafts. My husband likes to call me a “word nerd” but I much prefer the nickname my friends came up with: The Scrabble Gal

Why do you think scrabble tiles are such a great medium for creative crafting?

I love the process. And the challenge. Creating a new Scrabble tile project is in many ways like coming up with a new word when you’re actually playing the game of Scrabble. You start with a pile of tiles. You pick a few. Then you get stuck with a bunch of Q’s and Z’s and X’s and you think, “What the heck can I make with THAT?” But then you play around with the letters a bit. You take a look at the board. Eventually it starts to come together… And THEN the wheels start turning and you can’t stop the ideas from flying left and right!

That very same creative process takes place when you make your own Scrabble tile creations yourself. Once you learn a few simple techniques, the whole thing becomes super addictive. You start carrying around a pen and paper just to jot down all your ideas.

Describe the process that you went through to create your tutorial/publication?

For each of my tutorials, I break everything down into an 8-step process. I go through step-by-step how to create a finished piece for whatever method or theme that specific tutorial teaches. My husband helped out by photographing each step (my hands tend to get a little busy ). I then sent out the tutorials to a bunch of friends and people I know from the crafting community to get their feedback. Anything that was unclear or needed more explanation was incorporated. For my brand new E-book, I have a number of inspiration journals — basically a shelf of sketchbooks where I keep drawings and photos of my past items, and ideas for future projects. In this first volume, I teach you how to create over 70 hand-selected projects and ideas

What advice do you have for others who may want to start a business like yours?

Do what you love and it will show through in your work!

What is your favorite word when playing scrabble?

Ha! I always get asked this question. I don’t think I can narrow it down to one favorite word, but I do dream of being able to play the word MUZJIKS one day (means Russian Peasants). It’s worth 128 points on the first move!

Do you like to play scrabble in your free time?

Yes! I’m definitely a Scrabble nut We play with friends all the time. One thing we like to do to mix things up a bit (and make things a bit more challenging) is play “theme” games. We make it a rule that you can only spell words that fit within a certain theme — like say, things related to food.

Where can we see your products for sale?
Right now all of my tutorials and E-books are for sale in my Etsy shop at:http://www.thescrabblegal.etsy.com . I’ve actually JUST launched my brand new E-Book called SCRABBLE IN STYLE: 77 Fun & Fresh Scrabble Tile Projects! The book is 40+ pages and has over 65 instructionaldiagrams and photographs. In the first section, I teach you my 13 basic techniques. In the second section, I teach you 13 ways to make Scrabble tile jewelry. These are your building blocks. Then, I go through the 70+ projects & ideas you can make using these techniques. For a limited time, when you purchase my new book through my Etsy shop, I’m including my Original Scrabble Tile Jewelry Tutorial AND Custom Photo Jewelry Tutorial ($34 value) Absolutely FREE! You should check it out today

Tell us about your work. What kind of things do you make?

My foldedpigs ware: I make quirky functional ceramic dishes. I use porcelain restaurant ware and make homemade decalsfor the surface decoration. After the decals are applied, the dishes are re-fired to 1990 degrees so that the decals are fused into the dish surface, making them completely food safe. The decal images and sayings are brownish red in color. Forms range from mugs, plates, bowls, to serving dishes and all come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

My studio work: I make quirky functional ceramic dishes. My dishes are wheel thrown or slipcast porcelain and fired in a cone 6 oxidation firing. I use a combination of surface decorating techniques, which include (but are not limited to) slip, underglaze, thermofax and gocco screening, decals, stencils, and glaze. Most pieces are one of a kind. Once again, forms range from tumblers, cups and saucers, bowls, plates, jars, to serving dishes and all come in a variety of shapes sizes, and colors.

I thrive on blood, guts and candy! A lot of my inspirations have attraction and repulsion qualities. I love using bright, flashy candy colors in conjunction with seemingly unsavory or vulgar surface decoration. Grotesque beauty is a quality I strive for! My aim is to reveal a playful sense of humor with a penchant for the bizarre. Inspiration list (not complete): sugar, human and animal anatomy, horror, bright colors, clip art, textile patterns, kitsch, humor, elegant design, polka dots, raw meat…Eva Zeisel is my ceramic/design hero.

My grandmother introduced me to the horror genre at a very early age. My bedtime stories consisted of her recounting the plots of horror movies such as Poltergeist and Psycho. I became hooked. I enjoy all types of horror from the humorous to psychological to the gruesome gorefests. As far as Zombie related movies go, I love Fulci’s Zombi 2 (Zombie) and, of course, the Romero zombies hold a special place in my heart. Bub from Day of the Dead is my all time favorite zombie. My “i love you more than zombies love brains” tagline is referencing the movie Return of the Living Dead, which is the first time we get the zombie loving brains theme. The zombies actually vocalize that they need and want to eat brains. In Return of the Living Dead Part 2, there is a line that has stuck with me ever since I heard it as a kid. A boyfriend who is already zombified is trying convince his still living girlfriend to let him eat her brains. “Ooooh Brenda, your brains smell so good – so rich and spicy.”

My MFA thesis show body of work is titled “Residue” and focused on handmade dinnerware based on cleanliness/sanitation and anxiety at the table. Some of my white on white patterned dishes are completely clean while others have “contaminants”. I made my false contaminants (hair, crusty food bits, fingerprints, sponge swipes, lipstick stains, mouse turds, etc.) to suggest the surfaces are infected, but in reality, these dishes are sterile and safe to use. The subtle residue and crusts are made using ceramic processes (glaze, decals, luster, and high-fired terracotta) making them a permanent part of the dinnerware. I created a Hitchcockian-like psychological thriller dinner party scenario. I am the director, setting up a scene, waiting for the discovery to be made. Who will be the first to discover something? How will they react?

My MFA show statement:
A thin dark hair emerges into your sight from underneath the green beans. You notice a spot of residue on the dinner plate and a stain on the rim of a cup. A gut reaction of repulsion sets in. You start looking closer. The white on white dinnerware patterns of stripes and polka dots can subtly shift to barcodes and sink drains. Are you just being paranoid or is that a dirty fingerprint? What is really clean?

I do distinguish between the two. I think they have common themes but present them in different ways. I’m glad I’m able to make a product using my ceramic skills that helps pay the bills and allows me to make my fine art ceramic work. The foldedpigs ware helped subsidize my living expenses and material costs while being in grad school. Now that I’m finished with school, I plan on splitting my time between making the foldedpigs ware and my studio one-of-a-kind work without having to get another job. I think it’s pretty amazing to get to do something I love everyday!

I started taking ceramic classes at age 11 and it turned into the thing I couldn’t live without. It’s a material I’m truly comfortable using…I know the ceramic process really well and the possibilities are endless!

Above: Inside Meredith’s studio

There are some amazing ceramic stores on Etsy! Here are my recommendations in alphabetical order:
binger.etsy.com
lusterbunny.etsy.com
naomiclearyceramics.etsy.com
nonfictiondesign.etsy.com
pauldonnelly.etsy.com

Make a product that ultimately you would like to buy! High quality craftsmanship, and great customer service are key! Save all your receipts and keep decent record of sales. Also carry business cards…you just never know who you’ll run into.

My foldedpigs ware can be found at foldedpigs.etsy.com and currently in a few stores: Wholly Craft in Columbus, OH and Art Star Boutique in Philadelphia. I just started a studio blog for my fine art ceramic work. It’s somewhat of a virtual sketchbook. meredithhost.blogspot.com I am about to start a new Etsy shop of my studio work so be sure to check out meredithhost.etsy.com – it’s coming soon! My work is sold in a few galleries as well. The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, Red Star Studios in Kansas City, Lillstreet Art Center in Chicago, Pewabic Pottery in Detroit, Worcester Center for Crafts in Worcester, MA, and the Wayne Art Center in Wayne, PA.

Tell me about your work. What kind of things do you make?
Gobbledygook Creature Decor specializes in making unique holiday and seasonal décor. Our designs range from playful to spooky to elegant. Products are made utilizing several different techniques – sewing, molding, needle felting, painting, and sculpting.

We started off only designing for Halloween, our favorite holiday, but had so many other ideas that didn’t fit the Halloween theme that we decided to expand our product line to encompass more seasons and holidays.

You said you have day jobs. How has that influenced your handmade crafts?
Tamera: I work at a K – 8 school and it actually influences my design ideas quite a bit. The kids are incredibly creative and will tell me stories or draw me a picture that sparks an idea for a potential product. When I can, I bring a prototype of new products to work and let the kids play with it and tell me what they think. Then I can share that information with Brett and we can address any issues or explore other avenues based on their opinions. When we had the idea for our Candy Keepers (sewn trick or treat bags with puppet tongues), some of the kids helped me figure out strap lengths and how long the tongues should be. They were as excited as we were to see the product develop into the present state.

Brett: My day job involves designing and producing the products.

What inspires you when you are designing and making your creations?
Folklore and fairy tales have influenced our work. We enjoy reading about existing creatures and thinking about what else might co-exist with them. Nature always offers up plenty of new ideas, the way things grow and change along with unusual colors and textures. Both of us are big fans of Jim Henson and Tim Burton and really admire their uniqueness.

Is there a common theme or message in all your work?
Tamera: We do have the “creature” theme for all the holidays and seasons, but I would say our main message is to encourage people to be creative when decorating. Just because the mainstream stores seem to all pick a “hot” trend for the season doesn’t mean that is our only choice when decorating. Brett and I want people to go out and try something new; don’t feel boxed in with the same old seasonal/holiday décor.

You make hand painted figures when you craft. What about this medium do you enjoy over others?
Tamera: I don’t know if we enjoy this medium over all others, but it fits the product’s purpose best. Plastic can hold up to indoor and outdoor use and even though we use the same mold for all of our plastic figures, once the painting process begins, every creature gets its own personality. The paint really brings the creatures to life and makes them more realistic.

Brett: I like the idea of making something that could be a living, breathing creature. I’ve always loved monsters and aliens in movies and it’s so much fun coming up with my own for other people to enjoy.

Can you tell us about the process of creating one of your handmade veggie folk?
Tamera: One of the hardest parts of doing our Veggie Folk line is choosing a vegetable. For our first set we decided to do root vegetables. These little guys were originally intended to be used to mark where vegetables were planted in people’s gardens.

The next step is making sketches of faces we might want our veggie to have. We think about personality traits it might possess or consider how we can use the shape of the vegetable in the facial construction. Then Brett draws up some faces based on our conversation. After we choose a face, we go out and hunt down the perfect vegetable. Yes, we use real vegetables for our molds! Using clay, Brett sculpts the face onto the vegetable and the tweaking process begins. We might move the nose, adjust eyes, or totally scrap the current face for another design.

The last steps involve making the mold and then hand-pouring the plastic. Each paint job is unique, though we follow a set procedure. All the Veggie Folks are painted to appear as though they were just pulled from the ground.

What are your current favorite books?
Tamera: Most of the books I read are either textbooks or children/young adult literature. I love to read and my favorites change constantly. Right now I’m into Scott Westerfeld. He has a great trilogy for young adults – Uglies, Pretties, and Specials. It focuses on the future where everyone has an operation at the age of 16 to become “pretty”. The government oversees the operations and insists that this will prevent war, eating disorders, and all other sorts of social problems since everyone looks the same. Some people decide the government doesn’t know everything and create a new society of their own.

Brett: It’s not much of a reading book…it is Spectrum. There are multiple series. They are compilations of fantasy art. I’m more of a visual person and seeing all these designs help my creative juices flowing. It really helps me get over any kind of “writer’s block” when coming up with a new design.

What is your favorite thing to do when you guys are not crafting?
Tamera: There is life outside of crafting?!? Getting outside to garden, camp, or walk are a few of my favorite non-craft activities. I also do a lot of volunteer work with Girl Scouts and other organizations.

Brett: I also like camping and taking walks. Going to museums, zoos, movies and little adventures like a drive in the country on a sunny day are fun, too.

Who are some of your favorite Crafters?
Tamera: There are so many fantastic crafters out there, it is hard to pick just a few! Current favs from Etsy.com include SpookyDaddy’s awesome stuffed animals, Staceyrebecca’s quirky puppets, and Spiderbite’s Nightmare Journals.

Brett: We are! If we can’t make it, I don’t want it ☺ Seriously, I have to admit that I am not into crafts nearly as much as Tamera is. She is constantly showing me her crafty finds.

What advice do you have for other crafters who want to start a business like yours?
Tamera: Ask questions! Find someone you admire in the crafting business world and send them an email or letter. Explain you are thinking of starting a business, ask for guidance, and see if they write back. I have found that people involved in the craft world are wonderfully supportive and helpful. The folks over at supermaggie.com and madewithlovebyhannah.com were so kind when I emailed them for advice once we started to really push our online shop and got serious about the business. They checked out our site, offered suggestions, and Hannah even purchased some of our items!

Brett: Don’t give up.

Where can we find your products for sale?
Our products can be found online at www.gobbledygookdecor.com and on www.gobbledygookdecor.etsy.com. If you happen to be in the Midwest, swing by the Blessed Bee Boutique in downtown Kenosha, Wisconsin. Hopefully this list will be a bit longer soon as we are working on getting our goods in a few more shops.

Thanks a ton Brett and Tamera!

PPS As an extra bit of “Indie Craft Gossip” people usually think they are brother/sister or involved. They are actually best friends and business partners!

Tell us about your work. What kind of things do you make? I work mostly as a children’s illustrator. During the last year I’ve been experimenting with fabrics and paint and I have created characters combining both elements which I call softpaintings.

In your biography you said you have a degree in law. What changed your mind and helped you pursue illustration and handmade crafts?
Half way through my law studies I realised that I didn’t want to make a living in law, but forced myself to finish my studies before trying something else. I wanted to live doing something that would make me happy. I feel lucky that I enjoy what I do and I can sit for hours and hours working without feeling that time has passed.

What inspires you when you are designing?
I’m not usually aware of my inspiration while I work but many things inspire me; movies, music, adverts, a beautiful book, sitting in a park watching dogs, playing with my friend’s children, artist’s shows, blogs from other artists… well… life!

Is there a common theme or message in all your illustrations?
I don’t think so, friendship, maybe. I love that kids and dogs are friends, girls and bears…Most people comment that because my characters look happy, they feel happy when they look at my work. It’s such a nice feeling to know that people feel happy looking at my illustrations!

You make hand painted plush and fabric collage when you craft. What about this medium do you enjoy over others?
I’ve just started working with fabrics and paint. I love screenprinting, it was a great discovery for me. With fabrics you can create 3D characters and it’s funny to sew pieces of fabric together to “build” something, choosing patterns and colors… But maybe in the future I’ll try other mediums, like ceramics… who knows.

Can you tell us about the process of creating one of your softpaintings?
I start by doing sketches… a looooot of sketches. I then scan the sketch I choose, redraw it on the computer and print it at the size I want. Then I cut it into smaller piece which I use as shape guides for cutting the fabric. I sew them together, paint it, and … Voila!

What is current favorite book?
I’m really enjoying leafing through a book about Olle Eksell’s work at the moment.

What is your favorite thing to do when you are not working?
I love to watch movies and cartoons, and I love trying new recipes… especially cakes!

Who are some of your favorite Crafters? Illustrators?
Illustrators: Ana Juan, Sarajo Frieden, Carson Ellis, Sasek, Maira Kalman, Marc Boutavant, Carll Cneut,….I have a very long list. Crafters: Mimi Kirchner, Sara Neuburger (The Small Object), Loobylu, AngryChicken,…

What are some of your favorite blogs?
http://angrychicken.typepad.com/
http://www.superherodesigns.com/journal/
http://spoilthebroth.blogspot.com/
http://www.kerismith.com/blog/index.html
http://www.deliciousdays.com/
And all the favorites in my blog.

What advice do you have for others who may want to start a business like yours?
Oh! It’s so difficult to give advice! Well… expect to have both good and bad times, but never give up at bad moments, or due to negative comments. Never stop learning. Most importantly, enjoy working and feel happy doing your job.

Where can we find your products for sale?
You can find my stuff in my web shop (http://www.nataschasrosenberg.com) and In Madrid in the gallery Mad is Mad (c/ Pelayo 48, 28004 Madrid)

Thank you so much Natascha for taking some time to tell us about you and your work!

All images in this post are the property of Natascha S. Rosenberg.
http://www.nataschasrosenberg.com mail@nataschasrosenberg.com

What inspired you to start your business?
I had been beading for quite a while and I was looking for other ways to make jewelry. Inspired by mixed media artists and found object jewelry I had seen in magazines and online I started using scrap metal, old jewelry, polymer clay and various other materials. A friend of mine, who made stained glass wind chimes, gave me tons of her scrap glass to play with. I started making glass rune sets and then started using it in my jewelry. People started to ask me if I would sell the processed glass plain (I call them ClinkIts) for their own art and I said, “Sure!”.

Why do you enjoy this craft more than others?
It’s a bit unique. Although people have been using glass in jewelry for a long time, using rubber stamps and embossing on the glass isn’t that common. I also love cutting the glass and seeing what shapes I wind up with. The color variety and quality of glass I use is excellent.

What has been the most fun or rewarding part of having your own business?
A very talented artist, Lea Everse, used ClinkIts for an article for Expression Magazine in 2003. Her work made the cover and I was thrilled to see the beautiful pieces she made!

What inspires you when you are designing your products?
My mood mostly. I just pick through my ClinkIts pile and see what catches my eye. It may be some small pieces for a bracelet or a large piece for a necklace. Although I try to make jewelry in a variety of colors, I tend to gravitate towards blues, aquas and pinks. When I feel uninspired I just browse flickr, magazies, or clothing catalogs to get my creativity going.

What advice do you have for other crafters who may want to start an indie craft business like yours?
It’s OK to start small. I’m still small! But the important thing is that you have to start somewhere. Some simple starting steps would be, start a blog as your website if you don’t know how to do your own web pages, use Etsy (www.etsy.com), Mintd (www.mintd.com), and other sites to get your product out there, and participate in The Sampler (www.homeofthesampler.com).

Where can we find your products for sale?
My website www.aliciag.com and my etsy site: craftcart.etsy.com. I also have a blog at aliciag.blogspot.com.

Many thanks Alicia! And we are excited to announce that Alicia has donated one of her ClinkIt necklaces and some sample ClinkIts for the Indie Craft Giveaway! So be on the lookout for the February Giveaway coming soon!

How did you get interested in making bags?
I was searching for the perfect bag — that is unique, cute, holds all the junk I carry around, not too heavy, good for work and shopping, non-leather, and most importanly affordable. After many unhappy purchases I decided to design and create my own!

What inspires you when you are designing your products?
Shopping! And traveling. Our annual shopping trip to the fabric district in Tokyo is my favorite time for being inspired.

How do you balance your day job schedule and your work at chibi.?
I don’t do house chores. lol. My husband (co-founder of chibi.) helps me with chibi. fabric cutting, packing and shipping, and does house chores. I’m really grateful that I have a very loving family that helps chibi. grow. I’m also lucky to have a day job that doesn’t require much overtime. I do chibi. work during nights and weekends. It’s a busy life, but I’m used to it. I’ve been doing this since 2003, I don’t know how I would spend every night and weekend if I didn’t make things. I’d probably be so bored.

Any advice for other crafters who may want to start an indie craft business like yours?
Don’t give up too soon! Keep on going even when you have a bad day, month, or year. And be nice to your fellow crafters. They are not your competitors. They can really be a helpful network as well as great friends.

Where can we find your products for sale?
www.chibiland.com and local San Francisco craft events

Thanks Yuki for telling us about you and your business!

Why do you enjoy this craft more than others?
I’ve always enjoyed arts & crafts- in my spare time, I like to knit & crochet and to paint. I love putting things together, and so I really enjoy designing these lights. We like to think we’re unique in that we offer a completely personalized product. Customers send us a description, or upload an image to our site, and then we send them a quote with the price and a link to their order & payment information. If we get a green light, the next step for me is to spend about an hour or so working in Photoshop to create a template from their request. Sometimes I’ll print it out and sketch it, if the design requires more hands-on work.Then, we carve the design into paper (we offer a range of solid or with different patterns for the background paper, and if someone wants a pattern we don’t have, chances are we can find something close) by hand- I used to use plastic, but carving out plastic with x-acto knives and scissors is pretty painstaking work, so we switched to paper, and now we can create a much more detailed design.The cutting process can take anywhere from 20 minutes to this one lamp that took 5 hours. We try to stick to 2 days for the quote, 2 days for the design completion, then 2-5 days for shipping. Everything is sent priority, and we have a shipping calculator built into our site, so you pay exactly what we pay, rather than a higher flat rate.

What has been the most fun part of having your own business?
There are a lot of fun parts to having our own business! Any business has day-to-day problem solving, and I really enjoy discussing the business details with my husband. I tend to get very focused on whatever I’m doing, and it’s nice to be able to share that with him. I think his favorite part is finding new programs that will make our ordering process more streamlined- he’s very tech-minded, which is so helpful! Then there’s the drawing itself- any crafter can relate to the satisfaction of pouring all your efforts into making something, especially if it’s tailored to someone specific, who will really enjoy it. Getting new orders is also always fun- each order is a surprise, because people are so creative- one of the great things about customizing the designs on the face of the lights is opening up our files and viewing completely different image requests. It’s always a challenge to figure out how to translate a painting or an idea or a photograph to a stencil format, and I never would have come up with so many interesting ideas on my own! It’s a terrific way for people to express their own creativity and personality, and then to receive a finished, polished product that they can put in their homes, or give to friends or family members.

What is the cost of these amazing lamps?
The total cost, which includes the lamp, artwork, bulb, and everything you need to hang it, starts at $45. You will also have to pay for shipping, which usually costs between $5 to $15 depending on your location. You can also order additional designs for your lamp for a reduced price, and we’ll pay the shipping costs. This means you can switch out your designs whenever you’d like, as it’s pretty easy to change them. We try to keep the price low whenever possible, but some designs can be much more time intensive than others. View examples on our store gallery to get an idea of pricing, or you can email us at info@happycatlights.com for a quote request.

And because Happy Cat Lights is so awesome they are giving all Indie Craft Gossip readers 10% off with the coupon code “craftgossip”

Thanks so much Leanne!