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HiP and the PA Guild of Craftsmen have a great relationship! I’m so excited to bring you this announcement of their spring workshops and seminars. You can learn from master craftsmen (and women), improve your business, and meet other artisans.

Have you ever looked into Guild membership? Why not now? The Guild is looking for the next generation of fine craftspeople and have a wide variety of resources to help you achieve the career in arts & crafts that you’ve dreamed of.

I’m also thrilled to note that one of the spring workshops is being taught by…me! Learn the basics of social media marketing from yours truly at the Goggleworks in Reading.

Spring Workshops with the Pennsylvania Guild – by Nick Mohler
Lancaster, Reading, Pottstown

The Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen’s slate of workshops in May and June are geared towards craft enthusiasts, emerging artists and established craftsmen. Registration is open to everyone through the Guild’s website at or via phone at 717-431-8706. [Read more →]

Moisturizing Body Balm

Today’s featured artisan is Nicole from Nicki Leigh Bath & Body. Nicole began crafting handmade bath & body products last April. She began selling on Etsy in August and has already seen much success!

Nicole is inspired by her families needs when creating new products. Whether dry, sensitive, oily, or break-out prone, she takes the various conditions of her family members and strives to create products that meet their unique needs. Lucky for us, these needs mirror our own and we can reap the rewards of Nicole’s hard work!

She says, “I am currently working on a way to make a gentle body wash that will not cause my sensitive skin to break out.  I thought it was normal for my skin to itch and burn all the time after a shower or a bath.  It’s all I have ever known and never questioned it.  However, now after being in this business for 8 months, I can see that it is a skin condition in reaction to something I am using on a regular basis.  So far, I have not gotten my formula to work the way I would like.  However, I am going to keep working at it until I get it just right.”

Gingersnap Lip Balm

Missing the holidays? Carry them with you everyday with this scrumptious Gingersnap Lip Balm. Speaking of lip balm, are you an addict? I know I’ve gone through periods of being utterly addicted to lip balm. Here’s an article Nicole wrote explaining why this happens and why her balms are different – and did I mention, vegan-friendly!

Gentleman's Bay Rum Soap

But of all the products in her shop, Nicole couldn’t live without her body balms. When asked what item she would purchase in her shop she answered,

I’m proud to announce our first featured artisan: Natasha from luxefibre.com.

Natasha is a fiber artists who knits & crochets, as well as spins & dyes her own yarn. She & her family came to the US from South Africa while she was in preschool. Without many toys, reading books & playing with art supplies filled her days. She can’t remember a time when she wasn’t creating! Later, she chose fine arts for her education but says, “I always had a problem with only using traditional materials. I like to think that my work sort of blurs the line between art and craft.”

Natasha started knitting about 5 years ago when her friend taught her the skill. She quickly became obsessed (sound familiar, anyone?). She is hesitant to follow complicated patterns and would rather experiment as she goes. Her advice to me as a new fiber fanatic was, “I do like to learn a technique to where I feel confident with it, and then do my own thing, and I personally think it is a great way to carve out your own style.”

I asked Natasha about getting published, as her amigurumi was featured in this book. Although she’s hesitant to “toot [her] own horn,” she related her story of being featured in several books:

Jenny Dowde is a free-form crochet guru and has written a couple of books. I loved her books and thought it was really great to see such amazingly creative work that is more art than anything. I sent jenny an email saying how much I loved her work and asking if she would like some of my artyarn to play with. She was incredibly nice, I didn’t hear anything for a while and then I got her book “freeformations” in the mail and she had used the yarn in a pattern and named it after luxe! How cool is that? Then, I went to a fiber and knitting show that stunk. i popped by shannon okey’s booth, the famous knitgrrl.com author and dropped off some little baby skeins of this green and pink supercoily artyarn that had sequins individually threaded and spun in all over the place. I bought some fiber too. She was teaching a class and we needed to leave the show, so she only got my postcard and note and the wee yarn. We ended up contacting each other via email and are great friends and she asked me to give her a sock pattern for her lion brand sock book, so I got in there. [...] I also make amigurumi (crocheted softies) which I do without a pattern. [...] I entered a softie art show at crammedorganisms.com and they published an amazing book that 4 of my pieces were featured in a spread.

There is so much more I’d like to tell you about Natasha and her work! But I’ll let you find out for yourself. Check out her website & blog at luxefibre.com. You can find her work for sale online on Etsy.

Natasha’s goals for 2009 include having her work included in more venues: fine art & giclee prints in galleries, knit wear in boutiques, etc…