Category — Vendor Spotlights

This month we’re excited to feature the beautiful work of Alissa Thiele from A Tea Leaf. She’s been selling at our craft fairs for quite some time and is also the newest employee in our retail shop!

Combine one part sweet Midwestern drawl, one part savvy designer, one
part hard-core crafter, with a dash of Portland, Oregon’s hip
independent spirit and you get mixed media artist, Alissa Thiele. This
petite artist charms you with her soft accent, and cuts you with her
sharp artistic sensibilities stemming from her study of nature and
design.

Emerging deep from the husks of the Nebraska plains, this artist is
now seeking inspiration, good teas, and a dose of rain in Portland.
Her subtle artistic observations combine influences of urban and
natural beauty alike. Her artwork series, Standard Movement, displays
her delicate juxtaposition of found and created components such as
coffee rings, stencil graffiti in honeycomb patterns, found vintage
paper, and drawn native Oregon plants. Together, the various elements
create an abstract, yet recognizable organic collage that is as
elegant as the flourished frames that hold them. These same graphics
translate well to Thiele’s greeting card series, custom-made wallets,
and pendants that carry the same name.

To round out her craft offerings, she has a jewelry line, strictly
earthy color. Overall, Thiele’s work is elegant yet quirky, wild yet
calming, altogether creating a harmonious symbiosis of the organic and
other-worldly. She may be short and sweet, but this Cornhusker
transplant’s art and crafts pack a solid punch.

You can also see more of her work online at http://www.etsy.com/shop/atealeaf

Be sure to come by the shop this month to see the beautiful work of April’s Artist of the Month, Old School Stationers! They are a small, family owned letterpress studio that specializes in the production of handmade cards, wall prints and other letterpress goods.

Old School Stationers’ goods are made one at a time using pencil, paper, ink and 900 pounds of cast iron. The beautiful, thick letterpress paper used for their cards and prints is imported from Milan Italy, where they have been pulping this style of sheet for over 350 years.

Old School Stationers was founded by Brian Reed back in 2004. After spending years in the printing industry, computer technology came to replace the need for his skills. It was at this time he decided to forgo computers and step back to embrace the skill set of an earlier era. An era in which hand made and home grown were a part of everyday pride. It was with these values in mind that Old School Stationers was born. Brian began sketching out designs in the kitchen at night. He set up two vintage C&P letterpress printers in the garage and launched his first collection of letterpress botanical cards. The response was very exciting!

After the birth of their daughter in 2006 he and his wife Amy decided to join efforts and became co-owners. Drawing from her knowledge gained through years working in the textile industry Amy began assisting Brian with color and pattern choices. She also took on the proud title of “Girl Friday Extraordinaire.”

We are thrilled to showcase the incredibly talented designer Anna Joyce as our March Artist of the Month! Anna was also featured in our event program from last December’s Super Colossal Holiday Sale, so you might have learned a little more about her from that as well.

Anna Joyce is an appliqué artist, textile designer, and printmaker living and working in Portland, OR. Anna is known for her modern take on machine appliqué and hand printing. Her line of apparel, textiles and housewares are sold in boutiques across the country. She teaches appliqué and surface design at Modern Domestic in Portland and Purl Soho in New York City. Anna’s work has been featured in Lucky and Real Simple magazines, and been spotted on IFC’s Portlandia and the Nate Burkus show. In addition, she’s been covered on a circuit of the best design blogs like Martha Stewart; Design*Sponge; Oh, Joy!; Poppytalk; Creature Comforts; Frolic!; and Kate Spade. Anna also just wrapped up a collaboration with the iconic fabric house Liberty of London and was a finalist in the Martha Stewart American Made Awards.

This month’s featured artist is Molly Muriel, a line of hand crafted natural soaps, lotions, body oils, and soy wax candles…perfect for pampering yourself or your sweetheart!

Molly Muriel began in 2002 when creator Branda Tiffany decided to turn her hobby into a business.  She had been dabbling with product making for 8 years and was ready to expand.  A business was born. The company is named after Branda’s inspiration, Molly Muriel herself, who just happens to be her dog.  Molly Muriel launched with only a small line of soap and over the years has grown to include many more soaps, as well as shampoo bars, lotion, bath & body oils, and candles.  Branda is now perfecting her line of lip balms and bath bombs.  She is also working on facial creams, toning sprays, and hair serum.

Making natural, healthy products is top priority in the world of Molly Muriel.  All products are made with food grade oils and pure essential oils for scent, with no synthetic fragrances or perfumes.  Organic herbs are infused into lotions and oils for their medicinal properties.  Candles are made of pure soy wax, essential oils, and a cotton wick.  By using minimal paper packaging, and glass instead of plastic, Molly Muriel is trying to raise awareness about environmental impact and individual health.

This month we’re pleased to feature the work of our long-time vendor Mugwump!

Mugwump is an independent design troupe using reclaimed materials to create fashion accessories for the modern world.  Based in Portland, Oregon Mugwump utilizes all variety of recycled goods, from retro records & cast away vinyl banners to lost maps and your favorite childhood books.   Making use of these re-purposed materials, and an industrial sewing machine, Mugwump creates handbags, clutches, passport covers, wallets and much more.

Since 2001 this female owned and operated, micro-business has sold her products at stores across the country.  Sole designer, Suzanne Keolker, learned from her mother early on that nothing should be wasted, and to this day that remains the inspiration behind Mugwump – ‘a clever endeavor in accessories’. Be sure to visit her website!

We’re all huge fans of Appetite over here! They screenprint a beautiful array of their own designs onto fabric and craft them into a fun mix of housewares and accessories. We have a good selection of their purses, cosmetic bags, clutches and wristlets, potholders, napkins, dishtowels, pillows, and more! Their products make excellent gifts for so many different kinds of people!

Appetite is designed and manufactured by hand in Portland, OR by sister duo, Erin Albin and Megan Oser. Erin, upon graduating from the University of New Mexico with a fine arts degree, founded the business in 2005 printing fabric and making bags at her dining room table.  Soon, Megan was lured to lovely Portland and joined Erin in the business. Appetite has evolved from a couple of simple handbag designs and pillows to an extensive line of homewares and personal goods. Erin & Megan have now opened an Appetite shop in East Portland in Spring 2012 and they continue to sell their handmade goods in shops around the US and Canada and at indie craft markets.

We are excited to feature Suki Allen of Bird’s Eye View Studio as our November Artist of the Month. Her beautiful black and white scratchboard illustrations are uniquely Northwest and reflect her love of nature. She also combines her animal illustrations with vintage ephemera to create colorful collages that are sold as prints, cards and woodblock wall pieces.  You can find a huge selection of her work in the shop and on her website. Suki will also be a participating artist at our upcoming Super Colossal Holiday Sale on December 8th + 9th at the Convention Center!

Suki Allen is a NW Artist who’s work is influenced by nature, farming, and the abundant wildlife and vegetation of the Pacific Northwest. She currently works in scratchboard and collage and shows throughout Oregon. Her work can be found in small independently owned NW shops and in her online store. Visit her website for more information: www.birdseyeviewstudio.com

Be sure to come by the shop this month to check out the fabulous artwork of our October’s Artist of the Month, Red Bat Press!

Red Bat Press celebrates 10 years in Portland, Oregon this year. This art press is the art and design work of artist Carye Bye. Bye adores the postcard format and hand carves and paints the wood block prints in her studio in SE Portland, under the Hawthorne Bridge. Bye prints on a table-top letterpress and has been drawn to art with words and pictures. Bye loves to collect, explore, ride her bike, travel, and make art. She’s also the curator of the Bathtub Art Museum and is Portland’s Museum Lady and archivist at hiddenportland.com.

We are thrilled to announce our September artist of the month, Berkley Illustration! Ryan and Lucy Berkley are a husband and wife (and baby and dog) team from Portland, Oregon. They spend their days at Berkley Illustration headquarters, home base of Ryan’s detailed drawings of sophisticated animals and other critters, creatures, and heroes.  They like to think of Ryan’s drawings as built-in family and friends for your walls. Ryan’s attention to detail and Lucy’s background stories interpret the menagerie more in terms of their personalities rather than just “animals wearing clothes”. We hope you’ll make a friend or two!

You might recognize Ryan’s style – he has been drawing all of our show posters and graphics since the very beginning of Crafty Wonderland! We call him our Staff Artist. We love the Berkleys and their art very very much!

You can see more of their fabulous work in their etsy shop!

We are excited to feature one of the shop’s best sellers as Artist of the Month for August. Bishop Lennon has been selling at both the Crafty Wonderland show and shop since the very beginning. Her adorable NW themed art epitomizes handmade Portland and sells like crazy to tourists and locals alike. It’s perfect for folks who visit the shop and want to take a little piece of Portland home with them. We even sold one of her felt Portland Pennants to Mayor Sam Adams at our shop grand opening! Check out her assortment of goodies in the shop or on her website.

Bishop Lennon likes three-legged dogs and one-eyed cats. She loves mythical animals and really cute but bad-for-you food. She is inspired by bright colors and things that don’t go together, like rain on a sunny day. She has lived many places, including foggy San Francisco, windy Chicago, and sunny Phoenix; but her favorite place of all is her current city, rainy Portland, Oregon. It inspires her every day. She attended California College of Arts and Crafts (currently California College of the Arts) in San Francisco and Oakland, California, and received a BFA in Illustration. Find her online at www.bishop-art.com.