makers to know + love
These are a few of the incredible creative folks I know about and want to share with you. Some are friends or acquaintances, and others are creative professionals I know only as a customer. All are worth your time (and money).
Artist Tricia Stackle is the creator of extraordinary things, and she is also the friend who encouraged me to reconnect to my own artistic practice. My favorite of her works are the CHROMATIC GESTURES: big, bold pieces of unique, curvilinear handmade furniture upholstered in colorful felt. (I’m fortunate to live with two of them, and they’re magical.)
Tucked away up in Canada, BEAM PAINTS is a truly extraordinary Indigenous- and woman-owned artisan paint company. Anong Beam was taught by her parents from a young age how to harvest hematite pigment in the LaCloche mountain range near her home in M'Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island, Ontario, and now creates sublime artist materials with plastic free packaging. Beam Paints has become one my primary paint suppliers, and I am filled with joy each time a package arrives. Note: these pigments are not for beginners. (However, they do have a new child-safe palette for sale, and I’m eyeing it for my small person!)
AIDE MEMOIRE is a local jeweler focused on ethical and eco-friendly pieces: future heirlooms created in a socially and environmentally friendly way. Aran’s new space on NW 3rd Avenue in Phinney Ridge also features work by a wonderful collection of makers (yes, including yours truly!) so you should stop by if you’re in the neighborhood.
Under the studio name roughdrAftbooks, E BOND makes one-of-a-kind artists books, printed pieces and drawings that merge and blur the boundaries of art, craft, design and poetry. I bought two of her stunning handmade books, filled them up way too quickly, and immediately went back for more.
SCARF SHOP is a Minneapolis gem, producing a small, beautifully curated collection of products that are all perfectly executed. I’m a little obsessed with scarves in general, and these huge, gauzy treasures come in a stunning array of hand-dyed colors for incredibly reasonable prices. They’re also committed to low-impact practices, and provide lots of information about their dyeing and manufacturing processes on their site.
San Francisco-based cult favorite CASE FOR MAKING is not a shop for beginning painters or anyone on a tight budget, but they handcraft extraordinary, small-batch watercolor paints that immediately found a place among my core art supplies. (Nearly all the paintings you see on this site involve Case For Making watercolors.) They also sell a lovely array of seductively beautiful art-related products, including ceramic palettes from artist JG Cloutier.
My friend and neighbor Lily West designs and manufactures simple, practical, and brilliantly unique children’s clothing as IDA LOVES DRESSES. Even if your small person doesn’t wear dresses, you need to look at Lily’s shop, because her long-sleeved t-shirts are my favorites — if you’re looking for unique kids clothing, Lily’s eye for unusual and delightful patterns is second to none.
If you love and miss live theater like I do, you definitely need to explore THE ARTISTIC STAMP, a fantastic letter-based theater experience that just launched a second “season.” You choose the storyline that most appeals, and then explore and interact with a character back and forth across six handwritten letters over four months. Each new letter provides more information about the story and incorporates details from the responses that you send back.