We Met! We Made! When Can We Do It Again?

This past weekend, we had our first South Bay Meet & Make, and eight of us had a nice afternoon of crafting, chatting, and enjoying A Work of Heart Studio. A big thank you to Andrea, the owner of the studio, for letting us meet in her lovely, creative space!

From left to right: Pamela of Something Kicky, Eko of Eko Jewelry Design, Liz of ther.a.py, Sarit of Shakuf Design, Lori of Salt & Light, Rachel of Mixsome, Cyndee of Earthborn Gourds, and Jen of Mama's Magic Studio.

Most of us were jewelry makers of one kind or another, and it was fun to talk about suppliers, techniques, and other tips. One of the best things about getting together with other handcraft artists is sharing ways to make work easier -- I loved Liz's portable workspace! Her mom had made it for her, including a measuring scale right on the work cloth. Brilliant!

Rachel's shop features her polymer clay creations, but on Sunday she brought her knitting. I'd almost brought mine, too! For me, there's something about having knitting needles in play that makes it easy for conversation to flow.

I was working on some yarn ball pendants, twisting them out of colored wire. Hopefully for a new consignment account -- I meet with the owner tomorrow! Wish me luck!

Cyndee brought a bunch of her gourds to work on some birdhouses. I'd be jealous of any bird who had such great digs! Here Pamela watches while Cyndee does her thing.

For more pics of the afternoon, check out our Facebook page!

Our hands were busy for most of the afternoon, and at the end of our session we were scheming ways to make another South Bay Meet & Make happen soon. Look for details at the Google group in the coming weeks!

And of course we'd love to continue the Meet & Make tradition with gatherings in San Francisco, Berkeley, or anywhere in the Bay Area. If you have an idea for a Meet & Make, let me know about it in the comments or shoot me a convo at my Etsy shop!

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining FEtsy!

Feature Friday - Salt & Light by Lori Delisle

It's Friday! Prepared to fall in love in the next three minutes?

You should probably sit down for this.

Every item I clicked on in Lori Delise's shop was very shortly followed up with an "awww!" ,a "soo gorgeous!", or an "oh! adorable!". You can tell this gal puts her heart and soul into her work.

My favorite item also happens to be what you should get your mom for mother's day! But, if pink's not her thing, I'm sure you can easily find something else in the shop that will do the trick!

Enjoy!

1. What is your shop name and URL?

http://loridelisle.etsy.com

2. To which Etsy Teams do you belong?

SFetsy, CCCOE & CASTteam

3. Please tell us about the items in your Etsy shop. What do you make? How did you learn your craft? What is involved in your creative process?

I make jewelry inspired by scripture. I like to work with gemstones and sterling & fine silver. My favorite pieces are chunky, textural and layered and I love bold color, but I also design for the soft, feminine, sparkly romantic in us all.

I have not taken jewelry making classes until recently as I sort of reached a point that reading books and watching tutorials was not quite enough to give me the confidence to take the next step with my craft, but I can give a lot of credit to my many years of sewing & crafting in 4-H to give me a good background.

4. Tell us two (or more) other interesting things about you. (Hobbies, achievements, favorite something-or-other, family situation, jobs, etc…)

So, I am the mother of 3 boys (not something a girly-girl was expecting!) and my husband and I decided early on that we wanted to creatively direct their education, and so I home school them. Crazy as it sounds (and is!) I felt led to start my business right when I started to home school seriously. I do the Mom & teacher thing during the day and work on my business and designs at night from 8pm to ???

5. What inspires your creations?

I love to wear jewelry so I make jewelry. I have always found jewelry and accessories to be a great outward expression of someone's inner personality, their tastes and likes, their artistic eye... And I have also always found jewelry to be personal and emotional at times. When vacationing, as others were buying t-shirts and refrigerator magnets to remember their trip by, I purchased jewelry. When each of my children were born, "they" bought me jewelry to remember them by.

So I began to design my own jewelry to make moments and thoughts more tangible. I design as an expression of my faith, looking to make the words of the Bible come to life in your hands and in your heart as you wear the piece and meditate on the inspirations behind them.

6. What is your biggest challenge related to your Etsy shop?

My biggest challenge is time. I am in a constant inner battle between the goals and aspirations I have for my business and the time limitations I have chosen being a home school Mom. It is a good challenge to have and I have to frequently remind myself that I only have my children for a few years and the rest of my life to expand and grow my line.

7. Where else can we find out more about you and/or your creations? (blog, website, flickr, facebook, twitter, etc…. please provide relevant links)

http://www.facebook.com/SaltandLightbyLoriDelisle

http://delisledesigns.com/blog

http://delisledesigns.com

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!