Feautured artists: Svetlana Mititelu, FromBabushkaShop. Upcycled crochet bags made from plarn

We love our planet and the concept of repurpose, reuse, resycle and upsycle is always on our mind. Today we'd like to introduce our team member Svetlana from Moldova who is following this concept very much with her idea of recycling the plastic bags from the grocery stores. She uses the yarn made of these bags to crochet baskets, bins and totes, They are sturdy, pretty and look stylish, too!

You can find many of Svetlana's items in her Etsy shop (FromBabushkaShop) She is always on a watch for a new ideas, new methods and stylish looks so visit her often!

Here is her story about her inspirations.

Q: Tell us about yourself?
A: I am a mom to two wonderful grownup daughters and a grandmother  I am 52yo and only now I began to do what I really like, crocheting, and to be exact crocheting bags.

Q: What are your bags made from?
A: The bags are from the basic plastic shopping bags. This method (upcycling) is very popular just now and gaining more publicity because the pollution of the environment is very important. I take the single use plastic bags and make from them a reusable bag for life.

Q: How your bags are different to other upcycled plarn bags?
A: First of all, I tend to make them not only practical but also beautiful, designer! Secondly, almost every bag has a fishing line added to the base for strength, so the bag can withstand up to 10k. Maybe more but I didn’t manage to carry more from the shop. So instead of using a new plastic bag every time you shop, you use one plarn bag from babushka.
And my plarn bags are very light, fold if necessary and don’t take much space.

Q: What do your clients like about the plarn bags?
A: Every bag is one of a kind. You can choose a bag based on your mood and character and be sure that nobody else will have the same. My clients like the versatility of its usage. You can use the bag for shopping, or to go to the beach, or use it as storage unit. Also they like that the majority of bags have handles that easily transform and you can carry it as a shoulder bag, in hands or cross body that is quite practical as hands are free!

Q: What care do they require?
A: The plarn bags are easy to take care of! If there is a small spot then wipe it with a damp clean cloth. Also you can put them through a gentle wash cycle, 30* degrees no more. Every bag has a small tag attached, it’s a sample that you can wash first to make sure the bag is not going to be ruined.

Q: What would you like to wish our readers?
A: I would like to say that you don’t need to spend much energy to be green. Start from yourself and your habits. Pay a bit more attention to the environment. Hopefully together we can help our planet!

Featured artists: Olga Gogole, graphic designer and illustrator

Russian Artists Team on Etsy has so many talented artists. We love to introduce them to our readers and share their stories. So today, please welcome Olga Gogole, graphic designer and illustrator from OlgaGogole shop. Visit her shop, you will love her art as much as we do.

Here is her story:

 I am Olga Gogole from Latvia. I am 36 years old, and I have been drawing all my life. Putting together the years in art school, art classes and art academy, I spent at least 16 years perfecting the skills. I adored drawing even back in kindergarten, using every piece of paper I could find. I remember my teacher told my mom that it might be worth considering showing me to a psychologist J

I certainly had my moments of creative stagnation when I wanted to abandon it all and start something totally new. Sometimes it was unclear where to head and what I want to do next. I aspired to get higher education in arts, but it seemed like an impossible dream at times. Eventually, with a bit of luck and a lot of hard work, I made the dream come true, and finished Latvian Art academy, majoring in graphic design. Higher education in Latvia is of very good quality, but it is full-time attendance only, so there was no chance to have a regular-hours job during the studies. As they say, there are only 24 hours in a day, but there is also the night J During my first year at the academy, I founded the graphic design company. I studied during the day and drew posters, logos, leaflets, designed corporate style for the clients at nights. My company will celebrate 10 years anniversary next year.

I certainly did a lot more graphic design in the early years of my professional development, as well as worked as full-time packaging designer for a large cosmetics producer “Dzintars”. Later on in my career, I increasingly turned to illustration. Sometimes I draw for my own pleasure, and I love when the works end up light and positive, in one go. I like when people buy my ready-made works, not the pre-ordered ones – this means that they like them as they were intended, the way I see them and that buyers relate to my perception and the mood I was in when creating the piece.

After the birth of my son, life certainly changed. Thanks to my child, I started focusing on illustrations for children and collect children books illustrated by famous artists, frequently when visiting bookstores on my trips abroad. 

Olga Gogole,

Graphic designer and illustrator.

Featured artists: Anastasia, Scandiroom. Handmade home decor for children.

I would like to introduce our team member Anastasia who runs the Scandishop on Etsy. It is filled with great children decor items. All of them are made with love and it shown. Here is her story about her inspirations.

Hello everyone,

My name is Anastasia and I am 31 years old. My family and I live in Suktuvkar, a small northern Russian city.

As with many artistic people, my creative roots became stronger when I became a mother. My children are my inspiration. When they were born, I wanted to surround them with natural eco friendly toys so I started to make them with fabric, wood, paper and yarn.

It started with my children's room when we wanted to add some light and style to it. The northern nights are long and the days are short so we wanted to add some sunshine to the room. For a start, we painted the walls with a happy light yellow paint. Then I started to decorate it. 

It is such a great feeling when you cover your baby with a cozy handmade cotton blanket, giving him a little bear pillow to hold through the night and whisper to  him: I love you to the moon and back. Your baby feels that you care and grow stronger.

I am a spontaneous creator. I walk into a store, see a great quality yarn or fabric and it's just screaming to me: make something from me! I am listening and that's how my ideas are becoming live. 

I love what I do and I am happy that people love my designs. I am happy to say that my creations live in many places around the globe now. 

My shop is constantly developing and pretty soon you will find more adorable little things for your children. Soon I am planning to team up with the other artists, Tatiana, who is also all about handmade, natural materials and style. So please visit my shop often to see if there is anything you want for your child!

Interview by Tanya (socksandmittens)

Featured artist: Marina, Miopupazzo. Miniature art doll brooches

Miopupazzo shop is such a great place for collectors of unique miniature art doll brooches, toys and mixed-media collages. All of them are Marina Druker's (the shop owner) original designs and patterns. 

 The best part, she can create your very own special custom piece of art using your photo!

Marina is also an author of "Enchanting Art Dolls & Soft Sculptures" book.

Here is what Marina share about herself:

There are so many interesting things in the world that a lifetime will not be enough to try everything. I have so many creative ideas but I need to restrain my desires.  I chose the miniature art.

I love a small size of my work. Typically, fabric art works are done in a large scale, a large wall panel or a quilt. I create the same layered textured effect but in tiny dolls dresses and soft sculptures.

I was born in the beautiful city of St.Petersburg, Russia. In my childhood, I learned a lot in various craft classes for kids. From the early age I visited the great museums, such as the Hermitage and Peterhof, many exhibitions of decorative and applied arts.

In 2003 I moved to Israel where I met wonderful people,  great weather and my inspiration to create dolls. I started to work with Paperclay and evolved my own signature style of tiny crazy quilting dolls dresses.

In 2012 I published my first book about doll-making and crazy quilting dolls dresses “Enchanting Art Dolls & Soft Sculptures“(C&T Publishing). 

Even thought my biggest interest right now is creating tiny doll-brooches, in the future I would love to illustrate children's book using these techniques.

Collage and handmade dolls, isn't this fun?

Featured artist: Irene, FancyKnittles. Miniature dolls

Are you familiar with that feeling when you see something really cute, all you can say is: aaaaawh! That's how we feel when we visit FancyKnittles shop. 

All miniature people, animals, flowers, vegetables, holidays ornaments and toys are crocheted by Irene, the owner of the shop who really reaches the top of cuteness in her work while keeping quality at a high level also. These little dolls are full of fancy details and, like Irene says, you will never be bored with them!

 

Naturally, we wanted to know more about Irene and her inspiration. Here is what she shared with us:

 Why did I choose to make miniature crochet dolls? I am a practical person. Miniature  requires less time, materials and money. 

... JUST KIDDING! 

 In reality, I love all things mini since my childhood. I knit & crochet all clothes for my dolls since I was 5 years old. Later I started making miniature toys also. 

Why did I choose to crochet a miniature? Simply because I love to do it and I do it well. I feel happy while I am having fun. No one said the dollhouse miniature have to be 100% realistic. You are a creator of your own perfect little world. Besides, when else can you feel like a Gulliver in Lilliputian!

It is still winter and the weather outside of my window is dark and gloomy right now. What do you usually do when you are bored? Watch a movie, drink hot chocolate or read a book under the blanket?

I miss the sunshine so I decided to crochet a bunch of miniature colorful hyacinths. Then, I  build a little corner garden with a little bench, a garden tools and a watering can... oh, look! Someone forgot their little hat over there! 

 

I took a photo of my miniature garden and I got a sunny happy picture. It made me feel like spring is around the corner.

I hope my little miniature world will make someone else's world a little brighter also. Maybe, one will smile and think: spring is almost here! 

Visit Irene's shop on Etsy to see more of her creations. You can also find her on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.  

Interview by Tanya (socksandmittens)

Featured artist: Yelena, LenaMer. Boho and steampunk jewelry

Yelena from LenaMer is a great artisan jewelry designer and a silversmith from Israel. Her favorite styles are steampunk and boho.

She loves to play with shapes and textures, colors and materials. Her works are unique and inspirational and if you already own a piece made by her you will want to get another one.

It has been 4 years since we published an interview with her here on this blog  so we were interested in what's been happening since. We contacted Yelena and are happy to see that she is working hard on creating new beautiful designs.

Here is what she told us about herself and where she stands right now:

It's been four years since my last interview. I remember that time as if it was yesterday: after several years of silent watching, I finally found the courage to open my Etsy shop and share my favorite designs with this crowd of amazing and talented people obsessed with the same passion of creation and appreciating the uniqueness of handmade. It was a difficult and scary step to take, as the process of jewelry making was always very personal and intimate for me. 

It begins as an idea, or, more precisely - an echo, a shadow of a thought, that slowly forms into something more tangible and then gets transferred to a paper. Sometimes it took months for this thought to transform into a real thing. And to share something so personal is never easy. But I met a group of amazing people who were incredibly supportive and helpful. They answered my questions and gave me tons of great advice and just hugs when I needed them. I am very grateful to our wonderful Russian Artist Team! :)

Today, I feel much more comfortable with my Etsy shop. Through those years I had some ups and downs, I met a lot of talented people, began to teach once again, tried some different styles and techniques and learned more about myself. As of now, my main feeling is that only the sky is the limit, when I really want to achieve something.

Currently I keep working on my "Copper and Silver" collection. Another piece of news is that I have a brand new site. You are welcome to visit, and this is my new post about my studio: www.lenamer.com/blog/tour-my-workspace

Interview by Tanya socksandmittens

Featured artist: Anna Ryasnova, AnnaRyasnova. Felted miniature

We love our pets so we were happy to see  almost identical figurines of our dog's breeds at AnnaRyasnova shop. There are so many interesting items there. Anna, the owner of the shop, works in a needle felting technique and reached a high level in what she does. 

She loves to make miniature pets figurines, especially dogs and every one of them is unique. A happy customer's reaction is what inspires her to create new figurines. She loves the challenge of working with miniatures and trying to make her work even smaller every time. What a great artistic approach!

 

Anna's works can be seen during Miniaturitalia Exhibition in Milan, Italy, on February 7-8, 2016 or visit her shop to see if there is anything that touches you.

Here is what Anna is telling about herself and her creative vision.

"It fills me with gratitude and pride that by today my creations have reached people from such diverse countries as the United States, Australia, Canada, Argentina, Mexico, Thailand, Singapore, Israel, Bulgaria, Russia, Germany, Ireland, England, France, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Spain. I take inspiration from my three beautiful sons, from nature as a whole and the animal world in particular.
Furthermore I consider it a special honor that so many clients have trusted me with orders to portray their dearest companion animals.

I firmly believe we all can be creators of happiness, for ourselves and for others, if only we allow love and affection to guide us. Everybody can create something, so can make a difference, and help to turn our world in a better place! I hope you will enjoy my works as much as I did making them."

 Interview by Tanya agardencottage