Indie Junction Featured Artisans for the Week of August 1st!!

What an exciting way to start out August with these three talented Indie Junction Artisans: Kreations by Kelli, Janine Basil, and Sylas Studios!!
Let's begin with Kreations by Kelli a shop where you will find whimsical necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and pouches! In the artist's own words: "I've been creating jewelry for a few years now and I love it. It's fun and innovative and it's one of my biggest passions. I'm a little obsessed, but that's okay. :)  When I'm not wire wrapping my heart out you can find me doing a variety of things: reading, writing, playing piano, drumming, working out, knitting, taking photographs, and enjoying an assortment of other hobbies.  I'm best known for my very colorful and quirky pieces. I have no age range, in fact. I sell the same items to seven-year-olds as I do to seventy-year-olds. (Kind of cool, I know!) Everything I make is fun and cheerful... always something different!"
Kelli has a second shop on Etsy called Geekel where you will find photographs, prints, shirts, totes, pouches, pillows, jewelry, and other various items.
Kelli is presently a college student at the ohio state university majoring in photography and creative writing.
Places to find Kelli:

• Blog
• Facebook
• Twitter

Now let's take a look at some of the wonderful things that you will find in Kelli's two shops!
Kreations by Kelli...
And Geekel:
Our second featured artisan is Janine Basil who is a designer of retro style hats, fascinators, headpieces and accessories. In the artist's own words: "ve been involved in fashion/fabrics/making in various ways for most of my life. Millinery has always bubbled under the surface, but now I'm making it the focus of my passion!   I'm inspired in all sorts of ways. I love vintage hats, which probably shows. I work in a gorgeous fabric shop so I'm always picking up lovely bits and pieces. Things I see day to day sometimes spark thoughts. Everything is an inspiration!"
Janine was recently featured in an article by Amity UK for the UK edition of Storque!  You can follow Janine on Twitterand be sure to visit her website!  Oh and Janine is now selling her glitter fabric in her supply store!!
And now what you've all been waiting for...Janine's wonderful hats and accessories!!

Our third Indie Junction featured artisan is Sylas Studios featuring metal creations to wear and hold.  Her new collections feature antique and vintage buttons set in silver as well as some enameled copper and some higher end stone and gold pieces.  In the artist's own words: "I've been making things all my life, and a few years ago was able to go to art school to learn more. I have a background in metalsmithing, both sculpture and jewelry, but I do love beading too. I spend a lot of time drawing and designing jewelry and art-to-wear items, so most of what I offer will be in those categories, however I do all kinds of metal work and art and will once in a while post goblets or inkwells and the like.
Locally my business consists of custom work and teaching. Etsy is one of my forums for selling "ready-mades" or what I would describe as pieces I make for fun.  I should mention that worked for both a bead store and gemstone wholesaler. I have learned how to professionaly string pearls and do beading repairs, as well as picked up a great deal about gemstones. You may find that I go into particulars about gemstones in my listings and this is why.
I also do my best to keep my studio as "Green" as possible. That is a little challenging on my budget, but it's something that I full-heartedly believe in."

Places to find Sylas Studios:

• Website
• Blog
• Facebook
• Flickr

Now let's take a look at the gorgeous designs by Sylas Studio!

We hope you have enjoyed this week's featured Indie Junction Artisans!  Indie Junction is a wonderful community that brings together artisans from across all mediums in the spirit of collaboration, support and growth.  Indie Junction's new home is a little over a month old!  Due to changes within Ning and incredible growth of our community, we have moved to a brand new home!  Many thanks to the design team of Nicky (co-owner) and her husband Steph for creating a wonderful site for all of our members!  With this new site we can not only continue to add value for our members but also keep the site free!  For more information about Indie Junction, please go here!

Handmade Rocks!!

I come from a long line of people who loved to do business with shop owners they knew and trusted and who made their living serving the needs of a community...in other words...Mom and Pops; where customer service came from the owners of the shop and you established unique personal relationships with the people you did business with.  There was Tony the Laundry Man, Frank who ran the local clothing store, and Ray the Butcher who ran the local market...to name a few.


I can remember my Dad bringing the entire family into a shoe store, that's six kids mind you, and waving a mighty hand toward the owner and saying "shoes for all of them!" or "skates for all of them" in the sporting goods store. To my dad, this was a point of pride.  Both he and my mom worked hard and the reward was to be able to provide all of us with everything we needed.  It also gave him great pride to give the shop owner a large amount of business because they had a personal relationship and were both invested in the success of the business.


Those were my early lessons in how business was done...and they never left me.  When I chose business as a career, I had corporate offers but stuck to small business and either ran them or accounted for them for a large part of my career.  I simply loved how small businesses operated and became part of a community of like-minded individuals who believed in quality, a high level of customer service, treating their employees fairly, and relationship building and considered those the building blocks for success.


But then, small businesses and small business opportunities began to disappear because of the K-Marts and Wal-Marts of the world.  The Mom and Pops, in my corner of the world anyway, are nearly extinct now...and the few that do exist have developed a niche market that keeps them going, but often they do not flourish.


That trend made me turn my attention to nonprofits because for awhile I could find the same elements of community collaborations and quality service that I would never find in a large private sector corporation setting.  But soon, due to increased competition for funding, nonprofits too were forced to adopt a more corporate model and somewhere along the line, the soul of these institutions began to disappear and with that, their capacity to serve the community was often compromised...that really broke my heart.  There are, of course, exceptions but yet another end of an era had come.


Fortunately, I have discovered the handmade industry which has many of the same qualities as the old time Mom and Pops and the old-school nonprofits... coalition building, quality over quantity, and superior customer relations.  And most importantly, a shared fundamental belief in the benefits of choosing handmade...that there is no other sensible choice.


I have experienced with my customers, what those shopkeepers experienced long ago and I can go back to those basic principles of quality products, a high level of customer service, and a feeling that I am part of something larger than one small etsy shop...I am part of a community...with a very strong voice!  I am proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with each and every one of them and say, "Handmade Rocks!!"