soft and warm and one of a kind
I met Jan Cohen a couple of years ago. We both learned thrift shopping from our mothers, and have been sewing since we were little girls. She started sewing at age 11 making clothes for her troll dolls and look at her now. Her business, Janibar has bloomed in just a couple of years. Jan started by [...]
Bill Evans, Santa Carver
Bill Evans, of Brownsville, turns old Christmas tree trunks into Santa carvings. Reclaiming and reusing a piece of wood that would otherwise be discarded, Evans then cuts off the limbs and whittles down the trunk. That’s when he begins creating his popular Santa carvings. For some back story, check out this video from WQED (Pittsburgh) discussing [...]
Vintage toy tin jewelry by Jackie ter Kuile
Jackie ter Kuile, of Harleysville, is reclaiming vintage toy tins and creating jewelry under the business name JtK14 Artisan Jewelry. Here’s the before pictures: And the after pictures: You can find JtK14 Artisan Jewelry on etsy.
Church Brew Works: Beer Craft in Pittsburgh and Adaptive Reuse of Buildings
I’m writing this on Small Business Saturday, and thinking about how appreciating and collecting Pennsylvania craft is also about preserving spaces, and becoming part of a community. The Church Brew Works in the neighborhood of Lawrenceville, in Pittsburgh, PA, is in the former St. John The Baptist Catholic church, which was taken out of commission [...]
Interview: Tanna Paradis
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful break. For my first HiP post of 2011, I talked to Tanna Paradis of LoveHonorUpcycle, a wonderful Etsy shop selling upcycled vintage jewelry for weddings and special occasions. Tanna and her husband T.J. are both from Colorado and now reside in Center City, PA with [...]
Chicken Coop by Horizon Structures
We are lucky here in Pennsylvania to have so many farmers. Especially this time of year. Yowsa! Farmstands that dot the countryside are overflowing with delicious fruits and vegetables. It’s a great time of year for eating. Aside from what these farmers put on our table- their operations support a tremendous network of services and [...]
