Jenn*

Howdy!  I’m Jenn, I’m 30 years old, and I love to create!  Whether it is painting, drawing, photography, singing or writing music on my piano, I’m in!  I love color and colorful things, which is why I never leave the house without a necklace or earrings.  My hair has probably, at some point, been every color of the rainbow, or some variation of it.  As a young girl, I wanted to “fit in”, but it was hard to find other girls who loved art and the beauty of nature, like I did.  I realized I was unique and that wasn’t something to be ashamed of, it was something to be proud of!  A weight had been lifted and I began to freely and outwardly express myself, and I’ve never stopped.  Along my journey of self-discovery, I met Lola in a high school ceramics class.  And here we are at it again: partners in creativity.  I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us!    

          

One of my three pups, this is Ford.  I love taking his pic cause he's such a ham!

Where did my creative spirit come from?  I grew up watching my grandmother, my mother, and my older sister creating their own unique forms of art.  Creativity was always welcome in my house.  I remember running to show my mom the latest masterpiece I’d just colored –torn out from a Disney Princess coloring book, probably.  I was always waiting to hear those three words, “Oh, how beautiful!”  I learned very early on that it wasn’t just the creating process I enjoyed, but also the sharing of my creations! 

My grandmother was a painter and a seamstress.  She was employed as a commercial artist and she donated her creative talents to her church.  I never knew my great grandmother, but she painted, sewed, and decorated as well.  I grew up surrounded with original paintings by these two women.  My mom had a successful at-home craft business in which she made wreaths, small wooden decoratives, potpourri sachets, and specialized in folk art.  I can’t forget the Christmas and Easter dresses she made for my sisters and me.  They were fine and good –except for the hideous lace that looked like giant doilies hanging from our necks.  I didn’t care too much.  I was busy concerning myself with the parakeet I got for Christmas or my chocolate Easter bunny. 

Elinor, my older sister and biggest influence, was a rebel.  She went to an all-girl catholic high school and never fit in.  Soon after, she went to Louisiana School, far from home, and I believe that’s where she found her inner self.  She came home one summer, and I idolized her as she poured her heart and soul into the making of a string necklace.  She hand-painted each bead to perfection and her creation adorned her all summer long.

Truthfully, all my creativity is thanks to God.  He put me on this earth, with its beauty and design, to inspire and lift me up.  He placed me in an environment and in a family where my creativity could be nurtured and matured.  And one of the best gifts he has graciously given me is my creative spirit.  I do believe He orchestrated events to bring Lola and I together again, so that we may continue using the gifts He has given us.  So, Thank You God!

ElleVee

Hi, I'm Lola, aka ElleVee, and the mad -person of average intelligence behind the Makers Guild.  I told you a little about my dream in the last blog, so I will not spend much time on it now.  I have been crafting for years and, because I could never find classes I could afford, am mostly self-taught.  I work wherever I can find the space usually a corner of my bedroom, once upon a time even my closet.  Yes, I kicked my clothes out of my walk-in closet to fit my craft supplies and a table in there.  I guess that is a good indicator of where my priorities lie.

My great-grandmother and my great-aunt,
 "Sister Rosie", aka the most patient
woman in the world.

My creative life started early.  I fondly recall summers at my great-aunt's and grandmother's playing with the old treadle sewing machine, learning to knit and crochet, and creating a publication with my sister using items we cut out of old magazines.  They were good times, and I have noticed in the past years I have returned to the skills learned then.  I am (with the help of my mother) learning to sew, crochet, and knit again.  The pride I have in knowing that I do not have to rely on a retail store for clothing or home decor is what inspired me to open a shop.  That and the need to fund my crafting obsession.  I loved the unique and creative items found on Etsy and the creative community.  Nothing is mass-produced and everything is unique, reflecting the artist who poured herself or himself into the making of the items.  It was just the kind of place I was looking for.

A Singer treadle sewing machine
similar to the one Sister had.

When, I first toyed with the idea of selling my pieces, I ran into the same roadblock many crafters and artists do: the business side.  I did not want to spend my time worrying about bookkeeping, shipping, marketing, and all the other administrative duties that come with a business.  I wanted to make pretty things that people would love.  When I realized I was not alone in this, I came of with the idea of bringing together group of makers of things to share the shop.  I would not have to worry about producing enough materials to keep the business going, and they would not have to get bogged down with the admin stuff.  Still, I was not brave enough to go it alone- enter Jenn.

Lola and Jenn

Jenn and I met in high school, not surprisingly, in an arts class (ceramics to be specific).  We became friends over mounds of clay we, after much hard labor, turned into misshapen, barely useful, and not very decorative objects (at least that is what my efforts produced).  We ran into each other over and over again in the decade following high school.  Once or twice on campus.  Then, we ended up working at the same bookstore together and attending the same bible study.  Still, it was not until Jenn organized a team for a local Autism walk that I ever thought of her as a potential business partner.  Suddenly, I wondered if God had not been throwing us together all of these years for a reason.  I approached Jenn with the idea at work one day, and to my surprise, she liked it and agreed to be my partner.  We soon found that others thought my idea was good as well, and the rest is history.  I confess I would still only be dreaming about the Guild if it had not been for Jenn's support, and I want to send a big THANK YOU out to her and all the others who have supported us.

Well, that's it for now, except for some goofy pictures of Jenn and me at the Hilltop Arboretum for our first product photo shoot.

Jenn playing guitar with the tree

Love,
Lola

the Makers Guild: A Creative Collective

     Sitting around a table with a group of friends is one of the great joys of life whether that table be covered with lovingly prepared food or an explosion of craft supplies. The laughter, the sense of camaraderie, and the creative release. I love to make things, lots of things, different things. I usually make them alone huddled in a corner of my studio (a.k.a. my bedroom). Many people thrive in solitude and, most of the time, I am one of them. My creative side, however, feeds on company. I love group brainstorming, problem-solving, and someone to assure me that the dark teal floss works better than the emerald green. You never know what will happen when you place a group of women (and/or men) together with a few bits of paper, glue, yarn, and the mystery contents of that bag you bought for a dollar at a church bazaar. I was tired of feeling alone in my little making bubble, especially when I knew I had so many crafty friends.

     It has long been a dream of mine to one day create a place where members of the community could come to create, to find inspiration, to give inspiration. It would have studio spaces, a shop carrying new and previously-loved supplies and ephemera , a "knook" with comfy chairs perfect for needlecraft, and a classroom. It would be a place not only for making but also for giving providing free after-school arts programs and charity sales.

     A brick-and-mortar space may still be far in the future, buy that does not mean that I could not bring a group of creative minds together to see what magic might unfold. That is what happened at the first official meeting of the Makers Guild. We started the meeting with a group craft and veggie pizza (and a little bit of wine). Six women sat down at a table and fantastic, unique, and glittery photo booth props emerged.
     After the glitter had settled, I stood nervously before friends old and newly made and pitched my idea and shared my dream of one day having that brick and mortar. To my surprise, they not only did not laugh, but they thought it was a wonderful idea. We would work together as a creative collective (as Kari Chapin says) to make this dream a reality brick by brick. So, these six women: Anna (SimplyGrace), Toni (Miss Merryheart), Mallory, Hillary, my partner in crime- Jenn, and myself, Lola (ElleVee) became the first members of the Makers Guild.

     The following few posts will introduce the members of the guild in their own unique voices. I hope you enjoy getting to know these amazing ladies as much as I have.

With love,

 

Lola