Can you briefly describe yourself and maybe a little bit about your business? Sure. I am in my mid-fifties, lost a lot of my hair, and somewhere along with way I fell in with craft fairs. I just like the excitement and energy. It is my idea of fun.

What I create are journals. A simple place to keep thoughts and memories. Two things make my journals special. First, they are made from discarded books, so each one has a different theme, a different flavor. Sometimes you can find a title that just starts your creativity and you’ll write for hours. Sometimes you’ll find one that reminds you of a friend and you just have to give it to them as a gift. Finding just the right journal is inspiring. Secondly, almost every part of the journals I make are from discarded materials. The book covers come from the library’s thinning out process, and the paper is outcast and remains of the printing industry. I am pleased that I have developed a useable “green” product.

Tell us about the process: It starts with finding discarded books. Libraries are the best source, but there are estate sales, schools, and believe me, once people find out you’re looking for old books, they give them to you. Man do they give them to you. This creates a problem, because only one in ten is usable. Getting rid of other peoples unwanted books is “trying.”

Finding the right covers is the fun of the process. It is like a treasure hunt. I love imagining which of my customers will fall in love with each cover.

Separating book covers from the text is simple, but creates a new problem. Getting rid of huge mounds of text blocks. I have tried recycling, but they want me to cut the spines off. So sometimes when I feel brave I cut off the spines and take the text to the recyclers, sometimes I put the whole thing in the recycling bin and hope I don’t get a nasty reminder letter from waste management.

Cutting paper, punching holes and putting in the binding is so ordinary I often do it without having to think about it.

Now it is time for the fun. Getting the chance to join the other craft vendors at getting involved with the excitement of interested customers at the fairs is awesome. The time goes by so fast, and every minute of it is fun.

Do you still have a real job? Not by choice. There just aren’t too many employers looking for old, bald, overweight bookbinders. For now I am happy doing “the craft” full time. I keep thinking that the craft thing will take off and support me, but that is a dream. I have a good product, but production cost and the bad economy is making it difficult. And now a large number of people have “pirated” my idea. I am sure I have to get a real job someday.

My name is Kevin and I run Bug Under Glass. I create conventional and unconventional natural history displays using ecologically friendly insects. My business is a San Francisco Green Certified Business, which has a foundation on conservation, education and art.

What inspired you to go into the craft business, do you still have a day job? My craft was inspired by my work at the California Academy of Sciences and graduate degree is in conservation biology. While pinning bugs for the Academy, I thought it would be cool to make some of my own and give them as gifts. Then, while in school, I learned about butterfly farming, which is a conservation tool that provides impoverished populations with an income and incentive to preserve rainforest.

I am inspired by the miniature world and when I see a dollhouse miniature that would look nice paired with a real beetle — my creative juices get flowing. I love placing insects in human-like situations, which gives them personality and lets people see them in a different perspective.

What’s the best thing about what you do? And the worst? I love seeing people’s positive reactions to an animal that they previously despised. The worst thing is the long hours — it is a lot of work making the displays and keeping up with demand.
You can see my work at:

Website: http://bugunderglass.com/
Shop Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/BugUnderGlass
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bugunderglass

I had been collecting vintage fabric for ages when I finally decided to start making scarves a few years ago. Sewing is in my blood. My grandmother was a seamstress and her father was a tailor.

I’m an artist but I’m not very disciplined when it comes to making art. Making scarves started out as a practice to develop a work discipline. It worked. Now I make scarves in the fall and art in the spring. The vintage fabrics I use have printed or woven patterns. I back those fabrics with solid color fabrics, so the creativity is in the selection of backing fabrics. I have a good eye for color.

The best thing is going out searching for fabric at estate sales and yard sales. The worst thing is sewing velvet. It’s so difficult to sew.

www.thescarfmoment.blogspot.com

My name is Eunjung June Kim (usually people call me June) and I an animator and illustrator who lives in San Francisco. I graduated from the Academy of Art University in Animation. After graduating, I did gallery exhibition, attended many local art fairs and published my art books.

What inspired you to go into the craft business, do you still have a day job? Every artiest I met at the fair inspired me to do this. They all love what they are doing and i think that was a huge motivation for me. And Yes… I still have a day job. I am an animator at a game company in the bay area. I think my day job and my personal work inspire each other to create more artwork that I need it.

Describe your creative process when designing/making your product line. Most of my products are prints. The inspiration for all the drawing I do for the prints comes from a variety of places. Every day life could be an inspiration and some silly movie clip could lead you to do something crazy. So everyday I always try to capture that moment when I got an idea. After I finish, I made those to prints, postcards, etc.

What’s the best thing about what you do? And the worst? The best part of having a table at the art fair is I get to meet and talk to a lot of people. Also it’s an amazing feeling when you get a chance to see the people who love your artwork. I don’t think I have the worst experience yet?

To see more for my artwork sale please take a look
My etsy shop : http://www.etsy.com/shop/hediun
My facebook page :
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eunjung-June-Kim-Atelier/214059751967871
my personal art blog : http://junesketch.blogspot.com/

chibi. (created by hand indie brand, Int’l.) was formed sometime around 2003 by Yuki Nagai Morris with her friends and loved ones’ support. chibi. is based on Yuki’s love of yarn + textile, mixing old to new, and being unique. So everything is designed that she would carry, wear, or use it. Together with a wonderful group of people, she continues to build a brand with new ideas and old-fashioned handwork.

What inspired you to go into the craft business, do you still have a day job? I can’t stop making things and unfortunately I can’t keep them all. So I decided to share them with everyone. and Yes. I still have a day job. But I am in the creative field all day.

What do you like best, coming up with ideas or executing them? I like the moment I finish a project is the best!

What’s the best thing about what you do? And the worst? best –  meeting cool indie creative open mind people. worst – dealing with crazy weirdos.

What are your creative influences? people i meet, on the streets, books, movies, and music. These are text book answers. I often see my next project in my dreams.

What’s the best advice you have been given about your business or craft practices? Don’t quit when times are down. And be nice to your fellow crafters.

How do you stay inspired? Running into people walking around the city(sometimes out of the city) wearing my bags and accessories.

www.chibiland.com

Some things come very naturally to me and some things…not so much.

Naturally, I sew. To me, sewing is like a puzzle and I’m addicted to the challenge of putting the pieces together in any way I want. Needle to thread, fabric in my hands, the cush of the rotary blade as it pushes into layers of cloth— I’m intoxicated by all of this. Hence why I sew for a living. And sewing makes up about 1/2 of Nothing New. The other 1/2 doesn’t come so naturally….

Thrifting. I was really lucky to have a thrifting friend throughout my childhood. My best friend Shannon and I had limited funds to outfit ourselves, and she was always taking me to new thrift stores. I loved her company, but wasn’t very fond of the stores. They were a bit dirty, smelled funny and you had to dig. I remember saying to Shannon, “I got this great jacket but I can’t put it on. I just can’t shake the fact that someone has worn it before.” Can you believe me?! But Shannon kept dragging me to those thrift stores and little by little I began to relax.

It took scads more friends carting me along to the thrift stores and garage sales before I began to really accept them on my own level. College was an even better teacher, what with the need for $20 couches and the like. I learned about Craigslist and Freecycle. I learned about waste, fossil fuels, exploited labor and my carbon footprint. I learned about mass-produced products and ethically I just wasn’t down. I made myself into a thrifter, and it took a really long time. Now I’d even call myself a Thrifting Queen, but that title has been earned.

Now transforming old discarded items into new treasures only adds to the challenge (and thus my delight) of sewing. I’m picky – everything has to be washed immediately, sometimes even twice. But I can take the old dresses and curtains and rip them apart to use them like fabric from a bolt, or I can use elements from them that I like. I pride myself in finding the ugliest possible dresses – the test is if they make me laugh – and turning them into something beautiful.

My first impulse is still to buy new. Being a child of the 80’s, I can’t help it. But I can deal with that impulse. I have to remind myself that I have come to expect instant gratification, but that is a modern, western phenomenon not available to everyone. I can usually wait. I have to tell myself to step back, take a breather, and think of the environmental impact of something new: shipping, fuel, materials etc. Then I tell myself to consider getting it second hand. And you know what? It usually happens way faster than I expect. And I’m into all that crazy manifestation business, you know- the Secret, you create your own reality, etc- so that usually plays in my favor as well. I don’t always catch myself in time. I’ve had plenty of experiences that set me back, but they have only served as lessons. I still buy way too many new things, but Nothing New allows me to combine both my passion for sewing and my concern about our environmental impact- and make a small solution available to the lovers and dreamers like me.

Love my blog: http://www.nothingnewtreasures.com/blog

Shop etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/nothingnewtreasures