I was raised by a feral father in the back to the land movement. I have been exposed to and have had a fondness for herbal/alternative therapies but have always loved glamour. Naturally I went into the natural products industry as a career.

What inspired you to go into the craft business, do you still have a day job? I started making products for myself because I wanted something better than what I was finding in the marketplace, it turns out that other people are looking for the same thing. I feel totally lucky that this is my day job now.

Describe your creative process when designing/making your product line. I start thinking about something I want a scrub say and then I start thinking about all the qualities I would want in my perfect world scrub and then I start researching ingredients and then start doing test batches until it’s just right.

What’s the best thing about what you do? And the worst? Feeling good about making something I believe in and getting so many compliments and kind words from customers. One of the worst things is that I feel like I’m always at work, I’m trying to schedule time that is actually off sometimes even a whole day!

There’s detailed info about my products and stuff on the website ByNieves.com, I’d be happy to send a free sample of the Face Fix, just send me your address and I’ll pop it in the mail.

My name is Lauren Venell, and I’m a freelance product designer with a focus on toys. I help other folks launch successful product lines in addition to running a couple of my own. Sweet Meats are super soft plush toys and pillows resembling various cuts of meat. Deep Creeps are bioluminescent (glow-in-the-dark) creatures from the deepest depths of the ocean. I love to create things the world has never seen before, and take pride in running a socially and environmentally responsible business.

I am also committed to helping fellow creative professionals make a sustainable living doing what they love.  I do this in my role as the programming director for the Conference of Creative Entrepreneurs, as a small business teacher at WorkshopSF, and as contributing writer to the Biz Ladies series on design*sponge.

What inspired you to go into the craft business, do you still have a day job? I’ve been in the craft business for as long as I can remember, starting with selling impossibly small clay bunnies to passersby in front of my house. I took a short detour to go to college and teach middle school for six years before the success of my side business and the demise of my teaching job encouraged me to pursue my passion full-time. Lately I’ve taken on some part-time marketing work while I transition my business from product- to service side, but the goal is to eventually go back to working for myself full-time.

Like Edison said, “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration,” so I tend to be very deliberate about the creative process. There is a lot of research and structured brainstorming that goes into client projects, and most of my personal projects are based on ideas, notes and images I’ve catalogued along the way.  At this point I have collected far too many project ideas to make them all in my lifetime, but it gives me the opportunity to choose only the ones that are the most exciting.

What’s the best thing about what you do? And the worst? The best and worst thing about what I do is being 100% responsible for my own success (or failure).  Sometimes it can be very stressful to worry about whether or not I’m doing a job well, but it also means that no one is holding me back from reaching my full potential. The sky is the limit in terms of what I can accomplish.

San Francisco Bazaar Maker Faire will be the last time ever that Sweet Meats are available in person, and the first chance ever to see Leonardo the octopus, the first Deep Creep. I’m very excited to start this new chapter. It’s been a long time coming.

Turk+Taylor was started in 2005 by two guys with no business plans but with wild imaginations and dreams to make it big.  Andrew has a background in painting, and Mark has a passion for photography and is a practicing video and performance artist.  The two channel their creativity, approaching their little homegrown business as an art collaborative. The result is somewhat conceptual, but super fun. A singing collection of tees and tailored goods for both men and women.

What inspired you to go into the craft business, do you still have a day job? We thought that t-shirts would be a perfect medium for our drawings and illustrations, which are for the most part all about a sense of place and telling a story rather than depicting an object.  We both still have day jobs: Andrew works as a manager for an art gallery, and Mark works at fine dining restaurant.

Describe your creative process when designing/making your product line. The process is totally wacko and collaborative.  When we’re on, we’re ON!  And design comes organically, deriving inspiration from photography, architecture, textiles, color, television, music—practically anywhere. Sometimes, though, we get tripped up by mini feuds about color and fit. That’s when give-and-take, rock-paper-scissors and whiskey come into play.

What’s the best thing about what you do? And the worst? Best: improved wardrobes!  And seeing strangers wearing our styles. Worst: production migraines, meeting deadlines, paying taxes :(

Shop for Turk+Taylor at www.tnt.bigcartel.com
Enter promo code TT30FRIEND for 30% off at checkout!

Hi there, we’re p.o.p. candy co., a husband & wife team from Santa Monica, CA.  We named our business p.o.p. candy co. because community is very important to us and we wanted to ground our ourselves in Santa Monica, where we’re been living for over 10 years thanks to rent-control and great neighbors that we hang out with as much as possible (though admittedly less often since we started the business).  “Pacific Ocean Park” (p.o.p.) is a now deceased but warmly remembered amusement park that stood on a pier between Santa Monica and Venice piers back in the day (1958-67).  It burned down in the mid-70s, but it still brings smiles to the faces of people who went there.  A perfect inspiration for our name.

Unlike other products that we look like but taste nothing like, our emphasis is on freshness (kinda like a baked good).  We handmade our butter crunch in small batches using a short list of pure, all-natural ingredients to whip up its buttery toasty goodness that’s got, as our customers say, “the right level of sweetness.”  We’ve got classic flavors covered — almond, pecan, pistachio, and a killer multi-nut blend that we call p.o.p. mix — but we’re also interested in expanding what butter crunch can be, so we add fresh farmers market herbs and sundried fruit, artisan granolas, and all-natural spiced nuts to create savory flavors  all our own like rosemary almond, fire pistachio, and no-nut p.o.p. with fennel seed.  Oh yea, and no corn syrup; most flavors are gluten free.

What inspired you to go into the craft business, do you still have a day job? We decided to give p.o.p. candy a try 3 years ago after hearing one too many times from a successful entrepreneur whom we loved that we should take seriously the idea of selling our fresh butter crunch that we annually gave as holiday gifts.  When she started listing the cool places she thought would embrace our product we thought, why not take the idea for a spin?! (We still dream of p.o.p. on swanky hotel pillows!)  An opportunity opened to try p.o.p. out at the Mar Vista Farmers Market in Dec 2007, and before the market was over, we were nearly sold out and had been offered a gig!

Being a husband and wife team, we divide and conquer day and night. Bill, who has 30+ years in the food and restaurant biz takes care of the day-to-day business o’ p.o.p. and is the primary in the p.o.p. kitchen, while wife Rachel takes care of web stuff, branding, marketing, blah, blah, and dreams of the day she can step away from her UCLA paycheck and pension to launch fully into the world of the craft business she loves!  We collaborate on flavors, and work as a team on growing the business, packaging, and such!
We consider fresh herbs and spices that we love to cook with as well as interesting flavor combos that make sense for our base candy blend.

We had a killer Old Fashioned at Cole’s, the oldest restaurant in D/T Los Angeles, that was trimmed with a perfect Luxardo Italian cherry that continues to inspire a future flavor (we just need more time for R&D!). While our colleagues play with bacon – and who doesn’t love bacon?! — we’ve got our eye on a p.o.p. flavor made with pancetta that was inspired by a not-so-long go trip to Florence.  Maybe with some parm cheese … yum! Because we’re a buttery sweet, we really can go there in a way that makes sense, flavorwise!

What’s the best thing about what you do? And the worst? The best thing?  It’s brought us closer in our relationship. We’re extremely committed to our vision and to p.o.p. …  it’s made us stronger and thicker skinned against the world!  The worst thing?? The typical bad days a couple experiences working together.  It can be downright brutal!

We just came out with NEW CRAFT BOXES with vellum wrap and 1 LB. WINDOWED GIFT TINS that have an indie look we love. We’ll have both available at the show.  Have we mentioned how excited we are to be part of Bizarre Bazaar?!  Can’t wait!

website: www.gopopcandy.com

My name is Jennifer Guthrie. I live with my family in the pine-laden mountains of Northern California within an old logging community. I moved here 15 years ago from Southern California, where I grew up. Adjusting to this slower pace of life took some getting used to, but I wouldn’t have it any other way now! To stay busy and fulfilled, I have always needed a creative outlet. Sometimes it decorating a room, gardening, exploring different art mediums like pastels, and watercolors…and using them to recreate the beauty around me.

Living here limits the amount of places I can shop, but every small town has at least 1 thrift shop. This is where I have found my inspiration for PineBlossoms. I love rifling through my local shops looking for clothing and fabric remnants of wool and fun vintage weaves and prints. I have found that a men’s wool blazer has lots of potential…and I take much enjoyment in cutting, washing and pressing the parts, scheming all the while how I will put it back together and what I can make from it.

What inspired you to go into the craft business, do you still have a day job? I was a busy mom, homeschooling my 2 kids and doing a lot of Art History study with them, when Etsy came into the picture. My sister, Jodie Cruz of PetalsPurses encouraged me to start sewing again. She bought me the cutest pincushion in a teacup from another Etsy artist and stuck a little note on it saying “You should sew more.” So, it started with a pincushion and box of repurposed wool I had been collecting. I do currently have a day job. It has been an adjustment working part time, and reserving energy for my business.  I love PineBlossoms…but a regular income is a necessity!

When thrift shopping, I look for pieces with interesting colors in the weave. I look for items that look well made. And I look for cool old labels. I love labels that show an old department store in a well-known city, or a maker’s name.  This information may make the bag extra special for someone. When I am ready to use these pieces, I cut them apart, wash, and press them. I match them with a cotton print as the lining of the bag, this is where it gets its character. I find fabrics in my immense stash for the applique design and I kind of… make it what it wants to be. I never really go into a project knowing what it will be in the end. I can have an idea, but I never really know, so it is fun to see every time.

What’s the best thing about what you do? And the worst? There are many rewarding things about what I do.  I love that I am using these coats that at one time were really special, and a huge investment for someone, but have outlived their usefulness.

Living where I do, It is easy to have to “make do, or do without”. I feel I have done this in a special way. I think continuing Making things, and being seen will spread inspiration to others, encouraging them think of “useless” items differently.

Need a bag?
www.PineBlossoms.com

I am a freelance artist and designer. I was born in Calcutta and raised in suburban California. I currently draw and dream in San Francisco.

What inspired you to go into the craft business, do you still have a day job? Love, life and the simple things inspire me. I came across an illustrator’s work that I absolutely loved and saw that he was making a living off it and thought to myself: I can do that! I have been working full time as an artist since 2010. I am inspired by my life and the people and creatures around me. I take that inspiration and translate that into art.

What’s the best thing about what you do? The best thing is sharing my life and my work with people. The response I’ve received has been heart warming and inspires me to create more. The worst? I’ll have to think about that… I don’t know if there’s anything I can think of that’s bad about working for myself and sharing my art with people…

Find me:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nidhi-Chanani/114296911945787?v=info
http://www.twitter.com/nidhiart
http://e-nidhi.com/wordpress/blog/
http://ittybittynidhi.deviantart.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73659893@N00/