Vendor Q&A with Craftgasm

What is your craft all about?
My work is all about reusing materials and finding new uses for things. All of craftgasm's paper products are made with maps and other bits that were on their way to (or fished from) the recycling bin, including the cardstock and the envelopes. I love looking at a scrap of reclaimed paper and editing it to decide how it could be best showcased for a notecard, or deciding that it would make a better envelope. Because everything is thus sourced, each of my items, while similar to each other, are one-of-a-kind.



How did you get started in your craft?
I started making stationery because I wasn't finding what I wanted to buy - especially a few years ago, when it was harder to find snark and irreverence in stationery products. Since I mail a letter or note a few times a week, I started making my own sayings with rubber alphabet stamps. That took forever, so now I have an awesome vintage Electra cursive typewriter to write funny things.



What inspires you to make what you make?
I love picturing craftgasm creations being hand-delivered by postal carriers and brightening someone's mood. It's one of the best feelings to find a hand-addressed envelope among your bills, and to be able to recognize the sender from the handwriting is delightful. I firmly believe there'd be less violence in this world if everyone wrote and received a letter a day.



What is your favorite piece/product you will have with you at the Handmade Mart?
I'm really excited about my new stamped map notecard sets. I designed and carved the stamps myself, then stamped them onto reclaimed map cards. I have a globe stamp and a bicycle stamp so far from which to choose!

Where can folks find your craft outside the Handmade Mart?
At Etsy.com, of course, with 175,485,512,936 of my closest friends. http://craftgasm.etsy.com. I also occasionally blog at http://craftgasmdc.blogspot.com.