Meet My Peeps: HumbleB

Hi all!
Well it's Monday, and time to meet another wonderful Indie Biz peep of mine! I'm happy to introduce the super adorable and talented Brooke of HumbleB!



1) How & when did you get started? What made you choose your particular craft?

I come from a very artistic background. My mom sewed most of our clothes when we were little and my dad was a writer and artist. Two of my sisters majored in graphic design and now work for Colorbok designing scrapbooking products. When I was younger, I dreamed up being a real artist, but I just wasn't good at it. I felt like a misfit in my own family, the only one without a talent.
I only learned to sew about a year ago. My mom had recently gotten a new sewing machine and one day I decided a wanted to sew a stuffed platypus. I sat myself down with a few fat quarters and the sewing machine manual and figured it out best I could.

I finished the platypus, and then I sewed a bunny.
And then, my mom bought me my own sewing machine for me to take with me to college. Since then I have been teaching myself everything I can about sewing, often spending hours on the phone with my mom having her work me through particularly confusing bits.

After getting the hang of basic sewing, I branched out and became a huge fan of embroidery. It seems to antiquated to some, but I love they way it looks, and using the old art form to create beautiful modern (or even silly) designs is so rewarding!
Now, I focus on making unique products that often combine more than one skill. I hope to open my etsy shop in the next month. It will feature lots of embroidered goodies, like hand embroidered notebooks, homemade baby quilts, softies, headbands and other handsewn goodness.



2) Where do you find your inspiration? What's your creative process?

I find inspiration everywhere. I live in near the ocean and love the white, light, linen, nautical touches that are in my community. I also find inspiration from my family: my two graphic designer sisters also love to craft and we frequently exchange ideas and inspiration.

My creative process varies. For small projects, I like to try and tackle a prototype as soon as I get the idea. I love thinking of something and then just because able to sit down and make it. This works excellently for small projects.
For larger projects, I like to take my time planning and finding the perfect materials. Often, when I know I am going to be tackling a the start of a large project that I won't finish in one day, I will begin with a small, easy project so I can have the satisfaction of already having made something that day. It keeps me from getting frustrated if I run into problems with the larger project, I think.



3) What are your top 5 fave blogs/sites?

There are so many great blogs and websites out there, and often if I am dry on inspiration, I will check these out to get my mind spinning. These are just a few of my favorites:

Bliss is a great blog for pretty pictures and inspiration. http://blissfulb.blogspot.com/
Dottie Angel has awesome pictures and makes adorable products! http://dottieangel.blogspot.com/
Bloesem is all about the eye candy: http://www.bloesem.blogs.com/
Post Grad Hair Cut is so modern and fun, and has excellent links: http://postgradhaircut.blogspot.com/
going home to roost has great ideas:) http://www.goinghometoroost.com/

4) Where can we find more of you?(website,blogs,shop etc)

I love all social networking, and you can find me here:
www.twitter.com/brookebischoff
www.humbleB-blog.blogspot.com
www.flikr.com/photos/humble_b
www.humbleB.tumblr.com

And my shop is not existent yet.. But look for coming up information on my blog!



5) Tell us something exciting that is coming up in your shop or blog...

Coming up in the blog, are a couple really fun how-to's, a giveaway when I reach fifty followers, and more sneak peeks of the products that will be in my shop.

Also, keep your eye out for my SHOP ANNOUNCEMENT coming in the next month.

6) Fill in your favorite...

Drink: Unsweetend Iced Passion Tea from Starbucks! (So delicious, and such a nice color)
Food: Can't live without vegetarian burritos from Chipotle. Sooo yum!
Color: Oh, that's hard to choose. I think it might be grey because it's chic and so versatile.
Accessory: A purpley knit cowl my sister knitted for me!
Current Trend/Obsession: Nautical knots!! So pretty!

7) And lastly, what's in your bag right now?

My bag is a grey one from H&M that holds a TON! I love it! Unfortunately I forgot to get a picture of it...
In my bag right now is: My Indie Biz binder, my philosophy notebook (I am a student after all), my journal, The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls (It was just okay), and my planner.

I also have four different pens I really don't use pencil), my ipod and skullcandy headphones (they work so well!), my MyTouch phone, Benefit BadGal mascara in plum, mini tweezers, a hair tie and some pins, stamps, a parking ticket (whoops) and my $12 sunglasses from target.

Also, I guess my wallet didn't make it into this picture. I have a yellow faux-leather wallet that I got from the Nordstrom's Outlet for like $13, a steal!



I had so much fun sharing this with you! Thank you to Meaghan for asking me to be featured! I am so honored, and I hope to see some of you over at my blog!

I hope you all have a great week! I'm off to the coast for Spring Camp that I mentioned in my Blog It Forward post last month! The girls came over for a fun night of preparation and we're ready for some epic girl-camping! I'll be back Wednesday and will post lots of Spring Camp pics! See you tomorrow for a "previously recorded" Turquoise Tuesday! ;)

xo,
Meaghan @ Urban Farm Designs

Meet My Peeps: Dainty

Hey all!
Happy Monday! Once again I have a lovely guest blogger! Today I'm excited to introduce Dain!

hi. my name is dain and this is my little story.

i've been making art/crafting my whole life. which is weird because my family isn't very crafty, but somehow i just got the gene. maybe from my grandmas ... they both were really interested in art and design. i always loved rearranging my room, painting, making jewelry, scrap-booking, collaging, etc. i went to college for art therapy but changed halfway thru and ended up minoring in art. i still never thought i'd have an "art career", it was always just a side project that i did for my sanity. for a while i started getting in to event planning .... which i still somewhat do. i also started working in the music industry for some independent musicians so i was always working on projects and events for that, all the while creating art on my own, just for myself and friends (cards, etc). well, at some point i happened upon the blog world, and from there i just got sucked in (even tho i HATE computers with a passion).

last winter (dec 2008), i got really sick. i was misdiagnosed by my doctor until the spring (april 2009), had broken up with my bf of 7 years, and quit my job. without any income (let alone, 2 incomes), i had to move out of my condo, since i couldn't pay the mortgage. i was pretty much in a huge slump, just feeling terrible about everything.

one afternoon i went to hang out with the ladies at my favorite local scrap book store (paper tales) and i was playing around with this vintage velvet ribbon flower brooch that one of the ladies who works there showed me, and i was like, umm, this would be SO CUTE on a headband. the ladies all laughed at me because i ALWAY wear headbands and think that anything would look cuter attached to a band. but when i got home that night, i was really stuck on the idea of making something similar. i had some black and cream maya road ribbon laying around from a scrapbook kit (might have even been the last red velvet art kit that rachel used to do?) and i just sewed it up, attached it to a headband that i had laying around, and was in love. i brought it back down to paper tales the next week and the ladies loved it and totally encouraged me to start making them to sell. what did i have to lose? i was unemployed, living back home with my mom, and getting over a 6 month plus illness. next thing i know, it's 3 weeks later, i have a seller's permit, an etsy shop, a business name, logo, business cards, have scheduled a photoshoot and booked models, and i'm wearing my own designs everyday.





making the headbands gave me a sense of purpose, and really gave my something to focus on and have fun with. during this time, my friends and family were so encouraging (even if they don't QUITE understand it, haha) and now, almost a year later, here i am, still trucking. i have SO SO SO much to learn, but i feel pretty proud that i've stuck with it so far, even when i've been discouraged and sad. i've had two professional photo shoots, am in the process of my website being designed (should be launching around the year mark of starting! yey!), am reaching out to more brick and mortar stores, and am expanding my goals and dreams.

i still think EVERYTHING (ok, well, not EVERYTHING) looks cuter on a headband, and i'm always playing with new color schemes and textures. i feel honored to get to share my story with you - at the end of the day i would love to be able to help inspire other people to do something they love, to create, to experiment and follow their dreams.

you can find out more about me and see what i'm up to at www.daintydainjb.blogspot.com or on facebook at www.facebook.com/daintyhandcrafted



***all photos by kate daigneault
xo,
Dain

I hope you guys have a really wonderful week and I'll see you tomorrow!

Muah!
Meaghan @ Urban Farm Designs

Meet My Peeps: Grrfeisty

Hey everyone!

It's MONDAY! You know what that means... time to meet a new peep! :) Today I'm happy to have Roxy from Grrfeisty on the blog today. I'll let her take it away...



1) How & when did you get started? What made you choose your particular craft?

I officially started crafting on Etsy in March of 2009. But as a child I really enjoyed making greeting cards out of cut paper and comics. In high school I started expanding into painting, sculpting with polymer clay, decorating/creating trinket boxes, and “scrapbooking.” I always joke about how I have “undiagnosed A.D.D.!” :)

In late high school/early college I began sewing. I really liked making pillows with letters on them [usually the person’s name]. In writing this out for you I’ve discovered that my most favorite crafts involve cutting – which reminds me of a time in middle school when myself and a few other students were helping a teacher cut letters out. One of my classmates told me I was especially talented with the scissors. I guess it stuck!

I chose to specialize in felt crafts because I saw a really cute hair clip for $10, so I decided to make my own clips in styles I like. :)

2) Where do you find your inspiration? What's your creative process?

I come up with ideas at random. I keep a journal with me at all times and jot down my ideas and make plenty of lists. :) Usually while I’m driving in my car or right before I go to bed they just hit me!

I free hand everything because I don’t like patterns. Free handing my items allows me to get even more creative and makes for “one of a kind” pieces – which I’ve discovered a lot of people like! :)

My process involves shutting myself in my sewing room with Netflix.com open, and just going at it. I check my journal for ideas I can complete and cross off the list :)



3) What are your top 5 fave blogs/sites?

1 – Blogger: I have recently become obsessed with Blogger and blogs in general! I’ve always been an online diary kind of girl [opendiary, livejournal, .mac, and now blogger].

2 – Twitter/Twitpic

3 – Facebook: I like keeping in touch with my friends and family this way.

4 – Etsy

5 – Netflix: anytime I am creating anything I have an instant Movie playing on Netflix.com

4) Where can we find more of you?(website,blogs,shop etc)

I have a web page that contains all of my links: http://web.me.com/roxy.rodriguez

But if you just want my blog: http://grrfeisty.blogspot.com

Or my Etsy shop: http://grrfeisty.etsy.com

5) Tell us something exciting that is coming up in your shop or blog...

I am having my first giveaway this Easter weekend! :D I am also going to try and make more videos…I used to make silly videos at least once a month [see: youtube.com/grrfeisty].

6) Fill in your favorite...

Drink: coffee! Specifically café on leche [Cuban family – yay!] :)

Food: pizza pizza. And morning star breakfast sausage - YUM

Color: olive green

Accessory: owl necklaces :)

Current Trend/Obsession: I’ve been obsessed with photography for years! It seems to have become quite trendy. haha

7) And lastly, what's in your bag right now?

haha I have tons of purses in my purse! Look! [SO MUCH STUFFff]



Thank you Roxy! Make sure you guys check out her blog and head to her shop for some dino-awesomeness! Have a great Monday! See you tomorrow for Turquoise Tuesday!

xo,
Meaghan @ Urban Farm Designs

Meet My Peeps: MeeshOneStudio

Hey all!
It's that time again! It's Meet My Peeps Monday! This week meet Michelle Macdonell, owner of MeeshOneStudio...



I've always been creative, when I was a child most of my time was spent drawing, painting, coloring inside the lines, making my own books, teaching imaginary art classes, and I was truly fascinated with the sewing machine at my babysitter's house. Both of my parents and most of my aunts (all 8 of them!) and one uncle are fantastically creative in their own ways. I guess I've just always been living my life through art!

A few years ago I made a big move from Arizona to Northern California, I came seeking change and a change I got. Ha! It was a little difficult to find work here and so with the encouragement of family and friends and my one amazing boyfriend, I thought, "why not make my own job?". I jumped in feet first! I opened "MeeshOneStudio" and started selling my goods on Etsy and vending local fairs.





I just recently (through the Indie Biz class) decided I need to "play to my strengths", up until now I have been all over the place and I didn't even have a particular craft to name, I was like the " Target" of handmade goods. Drawing and painting are the two things I've kept to myself my whole life, I feel like my art in this form is truly me and I love that no one can take that from me, and that's exactly what I want my business to be...a true reflection of me. So now I would call this my "craft" of choice and everything else is just falling in to place.

I am inspired by the whole world around me! I get a lot of inspiration from nature in urban settings, when moss and vines start to take over old buildings, fences, houses, cracks in the sidewalk...all of it. And I am always awed by grafitti and more "street" art forms. I look up to my fellow female artisans the most, I think, despite strong movements and changes in the concept of equality, we still live in a male dominated world so when a female artist can really rise up and shine through it always inspires me to keep doing what I love to do.

I keep a "creative ideas" journal in my bag at all times because you never know what random moment inspiration will choose to strike! I sketch or jot down my ideas into my journal first because they often come in floods, then when I am finished working on whatever it is I am working on at the time I go back through the pages and see what projects still appeal to me and which ones are even feesable, and from there I get right down to it.

My top 5 favorite blogs/sites? 5 just doesn't seem like enough, haha! I find a lot of inspiration from my fellow bloggers, I think it is amazing how you can find a whole world of people just like you without even leaving your house! These are the ones I check in on for a daily dose of smiles:

A Beautiful Mess
http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com/

Color Me Katie
http://colormekatie.blogspot.com/

Freckled Nest
http://frecklednest.blogspot.com/

Craft Gossip:
http://craftgossip.com/

Instructables:
http://www.instructables.com/

You can find me here:
http://blingandbones.blogspot.com
http://www.MeeshOneStudio.etsy.com
http://www.FunkOffBrand.etsy.com (My boyfriend and I started this Vegan Bath & Body product line together!)

I am in the process of "re-branding" myself so my whole shop is about to get a huge makeover! I am preparing for my new line up to release this April 25th at the Crafty Mavericks HandMade + Vintage Affair in Bayside, CA and my Etsy shop will be fully updated soon after. I am also gathering some really fun things to host my 2nd ever blog giveaway! I am giving my readers a chance to win a little assortment of items from my new line before anyone even has a chance to buy them! The giveaway will begin on April 20th and I will announce a winner on April 27th. What's more exciting than free gifts? ;)

It's so hard for me to pick favorites, I always trip up on those "stranded on a desert island" questions too. I did my best, but don't hold me to it!

Drink: Ooba Hibiscus cooler! Seriously, if you've never had one you're missing out!
http://www.oobabeverage.com/

Food: This is a hard toss up between pizza and sushi

Color: Fuschia!

Accessory: I feel completely off and almost naked without a necklace, but more specifically, my favorite accessory is this simple necklace with a black key on it, I wear it all the time and my boyfriend wears the same key. Love Love Love it!

Current trend: I don't know how "current" I would consider it, but I absolutely adore rompers! I feel like they're plafully adult and they work in so many ways.

I actually just did a " What's in your bag?" post on my blog so you're in luck, it is completely current! I've got my favorite orange and gold Sigg bottle, my iPod (covered in a Gelaskin by my favorite artist Amy Sol!), my pocket knife, a small mason jar filled with raw nuts and dried cranberries (I'm known as the "snack fairy"), my FEED 100 bag that I use to grab groceries, my faux green snake skin wallet, my faux DG sunglasses from my favorite sunglasses shop in Palm Springs, CA(three pair for $21!), my planner, my cute little business card holder, my vinyl zipper pouch of travel sized toiletries, a small arsenal of pens and markers, my "project idea book", my telly, oooh and the tastiest Mango Tango organic lolly!



I had so much fun thinking up answers for all of these great questions! I hope you got a little insight into my world and I look forward to making new friends out there in the blog world!

So Much Love...
Michelle "Meesh"

Everyone make sure to check out her super cute blog and shop! I love love love those hats!! I'll see you guys tomorrow for Turquoise Tuesday!

xo,
Meaghan @ Urban Farm Designs

Meet My Peeps: Little Miss Famous

Happy Monday everyone!

I'm excited to have Bri from Little Miss Famous on the blog today! I'll let her take it away...



1) How & when did you get started? What made you choose your particular craft?

I got started right at about a year ago! I have always had a love for anything vintage. I am an avid collector, and started to run out of room to put everything! But I just couldn't pass up cute things when I saw them! I decided I could sell my vintage finds on Etsy while I was staying at home recovering from surgery! It's just grown from there! After signing up for the Indie Biz class I realized I could expand to other things as well! I.e.-headbands! ;) And will be expanding even more soon!



2) Where do you find your inspiration? What's your creative process?

I'm a huge blog fanatic. I read about 100 daily! I like to keep an eye out for what is up and coming in the trends, and putting a different little twist on it!
My creative process includes grabbing a coke, going in the studio, and playing around until something amazing happens! ;)

4) What are your top 5 fave blogs/sites?

http://honeybeeinthecity.blogspot.com/
http://blog.polkadotrobot.com/polka-dot-robot/
http://frecklednest.blogspot.com/
http://bleubirdvintage.typepad.com/blog/
http://indiejanephotography.blogspot.com/

5) Where can we find more of you?(website,blogs,shop etc)

http://littlemissfamous.com
http://blog.littlemissfamous.com
http://littlemissfamous.etsy.com

6) Tell us something exciting that is coming up in your shop or blog...

I'm currently working day and night on a redesign and relaunch! It will include more beautiful headbands, more vintage, and vintage clothing and accessories!

7) Fill in your favorite...
Drink: Sweet Tea
Color: Black
Accessory: iphone
Current Trend/Obsession: Headbands, of course!

8) And lastly, what's in your bag right now?



xoxo,
Bri!

Thanks so much Bri! Make sure to go check out her shop, she has the cutest headbands! See you guys tomorrow with some turquoise love.

Muah!
Meaghan @ Urban Farm Designs

Meet My Peeps: Katie Joy Photography

Hey all!
As I may have mentioned, I've been taking an online business class called Indie Biz 2.0. Through this class I've met so many awesome, lovely and talented ladies! I feel like it would be selfish of me to keep them all to myself, hence my new feature: Meet My Peeps Monday! Each Monday, I'm going to feature a new, bright and shiny person for you all to check out. This week's feature is on Katie Joy Photography. Now it's back to my sewing machine to get ready for the update tomorrow! :)

xo,
Meaghan @ Urban Farm Designs


When I was too young to have my own camera, I would sneak away with my parents' camera to snap some pictures in the middle of their roll of birthday celebrations, family gatherings, or school choir performances. I'm sure I asked for my own camera close to 1 X 10^6 times before my parents finally relented. Christmas stockings brought me cameras on more than one occasion. The first time, I was in elementary school (2nd grade is my best guess). As it is with little kids, I laid in bed (or, i would have if i was the obedient type) with eyes wide open, imagining all of the toys and gifts just sitting under the Christmas tree, waiting to be opened! Little did I know there was a Crayola Flash 110 camera waiting for me!

(Crayola Flash 110)

I mostly remember the flash being tricky, if i slapped the camera down on the palm of my hand, the flash would go off. This was often used to momentarily blind friends and family. After a while, I must have damaged some of the connections inside the camera, because the flash stopped working. One of the only photographs that I remember capturing with this camera (post flash damage) was a picture of my then-best-friend Hanna. Unfortunately, at that time, I didn't know that inside a classroom, with Hanna standing in front of a bright window would create an almost unrecognizable picture of my best bud. The next camera that I found in my stocking was the Jazz Jellies 207 camera (I had the blue, Rachel had the purple)!

(Jazz Jellies 207)

This little camera was amazing. It had a (working) flash, a front panel that would slide over the lens for protection, and a...wait for it...panoramic mode! Oh my goodness! This camera went with me nearly everywhere. Going to Nana and Papa's house? Yep, it was in my backpack'o'entertainment. Going to the store? Why not? It was probably in my pocket, or if mom wasn't feeling up to it, we were told to leave the cameras in the car. Pretty much anywhere I went, I carried this little gem around with me. It was also with this camera that I captured the first
picture (girl jumping in front of the sunset) that I still believe is one of my favorite works. Once I got to high school, and began taking photography classes my sophomore year, I used several Pentax and Minolta cameras, though none of them felt right in my hands. My neighbor Sindy had a Canon AE-1 Program, which I quickly became attached to after the first time I borrowed it for a photography assignment, so much so that it spent most of it's time at my house instead of Sindy's. She quickly recognized my attachment, and the camera and a few lenses were presents for my 18th birthday.

(Canon AE-1 Program)

The Canon has been my primary camera for the last 4+ years. I have even had the wonderful fortune of having another photo enthusiast, Dan, as a neighbor. Dan built a darkroom in his basement and allowed me to use it for my final assignment for an Advanced Photography class. Photography continued to be an expressive outlet for me, even once I had passed all available photography classes offered by the high school. My senior year, I took an Art Studio class and and received enormous amounts of encouragement from my teacher Susan Cole to explore Graphic Design as an outlet for my photography and other creative ideas. Since high school, I have spent more and more time taking pictures of my friends and family, my favorite places and anything that has been able to catch my attention.

Lately, I've been finding as much material as I can get my hands on about beginning a photography business. In the last few months, I've made portraits of friends, and I even had an opportunity to photograph a small wedding. I learned about this opportunity one week before the ceremony. No one would rent me a camera because I didn't have $1000+ in my account to use as collateral, and I couldn't find an online rental place that could get me a camera soon enough, so I ended up buying a Nikon D90 and two prime lenses (50mm f/1.4 and 85mm f/1.8, if you speak camera) from Amazon.

(NIKON D90 camera body)

(NIKON 85mm 1.8D AF NIKKOR lens)

(NIKON 50mm 1.4D AF NIKKOR lens)

(My new DSLR has been such a source of inspiration! I've been able to capture such amazing pictures that weren't possible with the limited settings of my point and shoot.)

(NIKON Coolpix S550 point and shoot)

I'm learning all of this business stuff slowly, but surely. I know mistakes and stumbles are inevitable, but I still don't feel like I'm ready to step over the edge and see where it takes me. Most recently, the Indie Business 2.0 class has given me loads of information to work with, and has provided me with a bunch of new, crafty friends! If you're interested in reading more about my photography and my inspiration, check out my blog and portfolio at katiejoyphoto.wordpress.com, or contact me through email at katiejoyphoto@gmail.com!

XO Kate