Vendor Q&A with 8th Street Soap Kitchen

What is your craft all about?
Honest and good soap, unexpected combinations, fun names, imperfect drawings.



What inspires you to make what you make?
Pretty much anything -- a place, a person, a feeling. I joke sometimes that other people blog; I make soap. You know how they say that smell is the sense tied most closely to human memory? That totally makes sense to me.

More generally speaking, I'm constantly blown away by the number of talented people out there making cool things that are undeniably unique to them. And not just in the crafty-sphere (don't get me started -- where to begin?). People like Maira Kalman, Pez, Ed Emberly, that guy who makes clear-tape sculpture, Arthur Ganson, Sam Bartlett, Stephan Sagmeister, Diane Arbus, Drew, Julia Lohmann, Saul Bass, the folks at Yee-Haw, to name a few. Even the visual merchandising folk at Anthropologie. Totally adore their work.



What techniques do you use? I make soaps using the cold-process technique. In a nutshell, it means I make soap from scratch (as opposed to buying premade soap and melting it down), which takes a few weeks to cure. The "cold" refers to the fact the combination of fatty acids (oils) and alkali kicks off a chemical reaction that generates its own heat. Like up to 200 degrees -- soapmaking is not for the faint of heart.

Where has your craft taken you?
Geographically, I've gone as far as Baltimore. And as far as the wild land known as Northern Virginia.



Where can folks find your craft outside the Handmade Mart? My soaps are not sold at any brick-and-mortar shops -- I only sell at craft fairs and online at Etsy.

Visit me at booth #38!

Vendor Q&A with Woolarina

How did you get started in your craft?
My mom taught me to knit when I was 5 years old - so long ago! I made a few hats and scarves and put it away until grad school when I needed to do something with my hands outside of schoolwork. A friend and I got pulled into dyeing after playing with kool-aid yarn dyeing (it actually works well!) and the spinning our own yarns came along soon after!



What inspires you to make what you make?
Color is my inspiration! Playing with different colors, seeing how they look in the yarn and in the final product - it's always a surprise to see how things turn out!



What is your favorite piece/product you will have with you at the Handmade Mart?
I've been obsessed with knitting mitts this fall! They are fast and fun and great to keep your wrists warm with this in-between weather we've been having! I'll have tons of mitts at the Handmade Mart, and even patterns and kits for those wanting to make their own!



Where can folks find your craft outside the Handmade Mart?
Many of our yarns are available at http://woolarina.com.

Visit me at booth #41!

Vendor Q&A with Printlike

What is your craft all about?
Printlike offers thoughtful and clever screenprinted tees, textiles, and field bags, as well as letterpress cards and ephemera.



Where has your craft taken you?
I put my custom printing business on hiatus in 2007 while I attended school in Austin, Texas. I recently returned home to DC to launch Printlike and continue churning out fun handprinted goods. My area of expertise also includes the design of educational and participatory “printlike” events, such as CMYK Day (Read more: http://laurakinneberg.com/)

What is your favorite piece/product you will have with you at the Handmade Mart?
I have a new series called Specific Souvenir that commemorates the forgotten, extinct, overlooked, or trivial things and places unique to D.C. It’s meant to inspire local pride beyond what the museums and marble monuments are about. My work has always involved off-kilter nostalgia—from retro graphics about hair-dos to archaic printing techniques. Now I’m applying that nostalgia to this place as I get reacquainted with my hometown.



What inspires you to make what you make? I’m inspired whenever the ordinary or mundane can be shown in a new or different light. I like the challenge of turning something generic like a souvenir tee or postcard into a more meaningful and specific thing.



Where can folks find your craft outside the Handmade Mart? Folks can find my readymade products and contact me about custom projects through my Etsy shop: http://www.printlike.etsy.com. My experimental prints and installations are on view here: http://laurakinneberg.com.

Visit me at booth #44!

Vendor Q&A with Pansie Designs

How did you get started in your craft?
Curiosity about plastics which eventually developed from using resin as a coating to making entire forms from it.



What inspires you to make what you make?
I think of the colors and shapes and sparkly things that I'd like to have on my hands to look at all the time.



What techniques do you use?
Making molds from wax originals, casting, carving and polishing epoxy resin.



Where can folks find your craft outside the Handmade Mart?
karamae.etsy.com.

Visit me at booth #45!

Vendor Q&A with Meno Knits

How did you get started in your craft?
I had tried knitting when I was younger and somehow everything I made turned into a big knot. I gave up and didn't start again until I was a sophomore in college. I was staying at a friend's for Christmas and one night, she had a dream that we were knitting together in front of a fireplace. The next morning, she had her mom teach me how to knit. I didn't stop knitting until I had finished the ball, ending up with a holey, uneven dishtowel, that I gifted to my grandfather. I have been knitting ever since.



What inspires you to make what you make?
I am inspired by the yarn. Most time, when I see a skein of yarn I will know what it wants to be almost immediately. When I cannot think of what to make next, I like to flip through a stitchionary, a new lace or color pattern really helps me get re-excited.



What is your favorite piece/product you will have with you at the Handmade Mart?
My favorite current piece is the ghost bag. It was my first freehand embroidery effort and I am really happy with how adorable it turned out.

Visit me at booth #14!

Vendor Q&A with Kutchicoo

What is your craft all about?
I love creating items that are inspired by my travels. I try to interpret them through functional or decorative items that surprise or inspire people.



How did you get started in your craft? I couldn't find an occupation that satisfies my love for travel, having my own time and creating my own designs. I discovered the world of crafts through the Norfolk Craft Mafia now called 7 Cities Crafters. That is when it all started.



What inspires you to make what you make? Simply the happiness that I experience and the possibilities of that happiness to repeat itself over and over again.

Visit me at booth#!

Vendor Q&A with popidiot

How did you get started in your craft?
Needing an outlet for the work that my day job as an illustrator rarely allowed for.



What inspires you to make what you make?
Sitting on the floor of the corner drug store next to the comic book spinner rack at the age of 5. Sitting on the couch in our den at 2:00 in the morning, watching the late nite B-movie double bill creature feature at the age of 10. Sitting in study hall during high school, instead of doing home work, working in my sketch book on my latest visual diversion at the age of 15.



What techniques do you use? We start out with pen, brush, black ink and a piece of paper. We finish the drawing in the computer. Then screen print the shirts in our subterranean super secret headquarters located somewhere along the Mid-Atlantic Seaboard.

Visit me at booth #36!

Vendor Q&A with FuzzyMug

How did you get started in your craft?
Last Christmas, I was trying to come up with gift ideas for my friends and family that I could make myself. I had taken a really adorable photo of my best friend's dog and I started playing around with it in Photoshop to see if I could make it into something fabulous that I could print on note cards for her. That snapshot became the first FuzzyMug and it snowballed from there. Everyone loved their custom Christmas gifts and showed them off to friends, family and co-workers. Next thing I knew, the orders started coming in.



What inspires you to make what you make?
I grew up in a household filled with pets and have always felt a special connection to animals. My own motley crew of furry ones (3 dogs and 4 cats) are always giving me new ideas for greeting cards and portrait options. Most of all, I love the process of working on a portrait with a client because they get so excited about it and I can really tell how much they adore their furry critters. Knowing that there are so many good people out there who care so much for their pets - that's truly inspiring!



Where can folks find your craft outside the Handmade Mart?
I have an Etsy storefront at www.FuzzyMug.Etsy.com where a lot of my sales come from. Right now, we also have donated items up for auction at http://www.wilmingtonfurball.com/auction.html. Oh, and you can find some FuzzyMug items at Marlow, McCrystle & Jones Florist in Lutherville, MD and For the Love of Pete in Richmond, VA.

Visit me at booth #10!

Vendor Q&A with Bookwyrms Art

What is your craft all about? I make hand-bound journals and sketch/art books from exotic and recycled papers, leather, and wood. Lately, I have also been incorporating gocco and letterpress prints.



What inspires you to make what you make?
I am inspired by robots, etymology, bibliophilia, improbable inventions, unusual interactions, imaginary maps, curiosity cabinets, and deciphering codes.



What techniques do you use? For me, book becomes art when its creation has purpose, and when its design incorporates content in the form of images, text, and architectural components. Each component can be used alone or in concert to convey a message. I also enjoy inventing hybrid books that combine common binding styles into a brand new way to capture your thoughts in a journal.



Where can folks find your craft outside the Handmade Mart?
I have a website (www.bookwyrmsart.com) where you can see examples of my art. On my website, I list art fairs that I will be attending, and will soon be offering up my books and prints on Etsy.

Visit me at booth #14!

Vendor Q&A with little blue studio

What is your craft all about?
It is all about expression, a way to say things without words. I am an initially quiet person until I get to know people, which others can mistake for shyness. It's always amazing to see how people respond to an individual piece. I think that's why I love doing mostly one-of-a-kind work, it enables me to relate on a very specific level and understand who my customers are.



How did you get started in your craft?
I am originally a painter. Raising two boys, I don't often find the time necessary to immerse myself in painting. Crafting has helped channel another creative outlet for me. In my studio now, I can stop and start a lot easier, which enables me to work in 20 minute chunks of time if that's all I can get. It's too difficult to do that when painting.

What inspires you to make what you make?
I think much of my inspiration comes through genetics! My great-uncle was a Philadelphia jeweler, so jewelry was a very expressive thing on my father's side of the family. Pieces of jewelry were my Dad's love letters to my Mom. My mother loved to sew as a hobby. She was also very fashionable and had a great eye for details. She worked on the business end of a clothing design company, so I learned a lot of little tidbits that have really helped me along the way. Every person in my family creates with their hands...I could imagine no other way of life!



What techniques do you use?
I do love the sewing bits! It is very simple and honest as a process. Plus, it allows you to undo or alter a piece, so as time changes so can the function or appearance of your accessory. Maybe that idea comes from reading all of those gothic romances (I am a bookworm!), where the women were always reworking their gowns, lending and borrowing bits from others. Beautiful things don't have to be new all the time and then seemingly die when they are deemed outdated...they can evolve. I think women today are moving back toward that idea.

What is your favorite piece...?
My favorite piece that will be with me at the Handmade Mart is my sea anemone ring. It is made from a golden beaded tassel off of a vintage dress. My neighbor collects vintage pretties and he gave me a box of old dress trimmings and beads. I wrapped the tassel with 14kt gold filled wire and fitted it as a ring. People just love to try it on...it looks like fireworks on your finger! It has a lot of movement, which I absolutely love in a piece of jewelry.



Where has your craft taken you?
It's been an amazing creative journey, this past year or so. A couple years ago, I never would have guessed I'd be doing what I am now. But in looking back at my family history and my own life experiences - it makes complete sense!

Where can folks find your craft outside the Handmade Mart?
You can find me through my website, MariaLouiseHigh.com. If you are in Baltimore, you can also find select pieces at the Woman's Industrial Exchange at 333 N. Charles St.

Visit me at booth #3!