January is our design time. We spend a few weeks brainstorming, sketching, discussing and believe it or not- getting incredibly frustrated. Good design is hard [an understatement, I know]. Needless to say, I am in awe of Mio (Philadelphia). Have a look at these incredible designs- gorgeous, green and made with locally sourced materials. Awesome.

MIO is a design company dedicated to creating the most sustainable and innovative design experiences in the market.

The Bendant Lamp is a flat-packed chandelier composed of a series of leaf-like shades surrounding a central fixture. Bend the shades up or down and create unique light and shadow arrangements.

Made from recycled, double-wall cardboard, Nomad is a modular architectural system that can be assembled into free-standing, sculptural screens, temporary partitions, rooms or even displays without hardware, tools or damage to existing structures.

I love it. Inspired yet again by the creative talent in the keystone state.

Kate, along with her husband, bring together farm, food and design at The Steel Fork. They also design and create sculptural metalworks using recycled farm machinery – Gatski Metal. Kate is also the mother of two busy little children.

2010 Wall Calendar – BIG, eco-friendly, black and white by daisyjanie - $25

SALE – Starched Linen SKETCH BOOK (LARGE) by lmoss - $28

Green Hat with Pink Rose by jhems1 - $25

Funky Chunky Cowl in Razzledazzle by sadiehart - $24

Christmas Holiday Jingle Bell Door Ornament – FREE SHIPPING by hempbybrenda - $15

Winter Tree – Hand Embroidered Wall Art by modernarteveryday - $32

Jenya is a Philadelphia based artist who focuses on the concept of unique and original designs that are done using free form technique. Her forEvaMore handmade clothing line features one-of-a-kind pieces made with natural materials and her EvaForeva shop is full of hand knitted winter accessories.

by Emily Stimmel

As Pennsylvania’s arts and crafts scene has developed, some common themes have emerged. Artists and consumers of handmade goods often mention social consciousness, environmental responsibility, and the relationships between makers and buyers as key elements of the handmade movement. It seems fitting, then, that artisans and small business owners would collaborate with non-profit organizations as a way to express these values.

The POWER Collection is an innovative cause marketing partnership with artisans and retailers. Through the sale of specially designed items or products selected with POWER in mind, our partners raise awareness of addiction, educate the community about POWER, and share a portion of proceeds with the agency.

Our newest POWER Collection partner is PLATES WITH PURPOSE™, a division of RIVERSIDE DESIGN GROUP. PLATES WITH PURPOSE™, founded in 2004, designs specialty tabletop accessories from recycled glass in Pittsburgh’s uber-hip Lawrenceville neighborhood. Each design in the PLATES WITH PURPOSE™ line was created to represent the cause or organization it benefits. POWER’s plate, designed by Cassandra Ott, features a sunflower motif. Why the sunflower? Legend tells us that as pioneers journeyed westward, the women scattered sunflower seeds which grew against all odds into beautiful flowers, guiding other brave women and men traveling west in search of a better life for their families. Pioneers of a different sort, the women POWER serves are on a journey to a better life for themselves and those they lovethe women POWER serves are on a journey to a better life for themselves and those they love.

The plate design will officially launch on Wednesday, September 16 at Sunflower POWER at Perlora Leather in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. The free event runs from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and includes light fare, DJ entertainment, and raffle prizes. Sixty-five percent of the evening’s plate sales will be donated to POWER. More details, including RSVP information, are available here. Unable to make it to the ‘Burgh for the event? Plates are also available at on the PLATES WITH PURPOSE website.

Full disclosure: outside of running my micro business disCARDS, I work full time at POWER, a non-profit organization based in Pittsburgh, PA that provides gender-specific treatment and support services to women in recovery from the disease of addiction. POWER is among the growing number of non-profit organizations nationwide that is finding creative ways to connect to the community and diversify sources of funding. One way we are doing that is through The POWER Collection.

Emily Stimmel is a full-time communications and fundraising professional and part-time crafter. Emily makes upcycled paper goods and home accessories under the name disCARDS Cut(e) n’ Paste. She recently completed her master’s degree in Leadership & Organizational Transformation at Chatham University, which culminated in her thesis about identity formation in DIY communities, with a focus on the indie craft movement. She is currently a member of the planning committee for Handmade Arcade, Pittsburgh’s first and largest indie craft fair. Emily lives with her husband Nate, and their cats, Bettie and Stu, in the suburbs of Pittsburgh.

“I truly, truly, truly enjoy what I do,” says Stephanie Longo of Recession Proof (Philadelphia).

I truly enjoy what Stephanie does, too! Her clothes are stylish but extremely comfortable. As a work-at-home mom, I love the idea of being able to throw on comfy pieces in the morning and be able to run all over town looking great – without changing clothes! I had to know more.

HiP: When did you begin sewing? Designing clothes?

I started sewing at a pretty young age. I don’t remember exactly how old, but I was still in middle school. My grandmother very patiently introduced me to her sewing machine. She also showed me how to cut out my first Simplicity sewing pattern (a long linen skirt with a drawstring waistband!). I wanted to learn to sew so that I could make my own clothes. I come from a very crafty and artistic family, and curiosity about how things are made seemed very natural.

My curiosity continued to develop during years of ballet training. I became obsessed with the effortless way that dancers layered and deconstructed their clothing. Whether in or outside the studio, there was a chic to their style that was both subtle and forward. This is also how I became obsessed with movement and comfort. It has never occured to me that to dress stylishly, you should have to be uncomfortable. In fact, I can’t imagine one without the other!

From there I studied Fashion Design in college, where I learned the more technical aspects of my trade. Draping, patternmaking, sketching, and sewing – I was taken by it all!

HiP: Are you a full-time designer?

I am now officially a full-time designer, working 100% for myself! This feels like quite an accomplishment, as all I have wanted is to own my own business. Since college, I have worked in almost every segment of the fashion and apparel industry, from pre-production and production, to visual merchandising and buying.

These experiences have made me a better designer. As a buyer I became a better editor of my own ideas. From visual merchandising I learned to tell a story and think about how a garment relates to the way that you live. My experiences outside of design always manage to shape the kind of designer I continue to become.

HiP: Where you do find inspiration for your pieces?

I find inspiration in dance to this day. I still love going to the ballet, and I’ve been so happy to see dance gain a more mainstream audience through recent television exposure. I’m also a magazine junkie. Lucky, Vogue, W, Nylon, InStyle, Marie Claire – I pour over the pages each month and absorb as much as I can of the silhouettes, color stories, and trends. I can’t say that I follow trends, either in my personal wardrobe or my work, but it’s so important to me to be aware of what’s happening out there. Lastly, living in a big city, I get to people watch all the time! I love seeing how people take a garment and make it their own.

Personal style is a huge part of what inspires me!

HiP: Why the emphasis on knits? What appeals to you about them?

Knits have always been my passion. I’m sure this goes back to my dancer past. I secretly am in love with spandex, but don’t expect to see any in my etsy shop any time soon! I’ll stick to silky, sumptuous jerseys for now. I love the ease and freedom you experience in a knit garment. And it breaks my heart that knits are so often relegated to our workout gear! The contrast of taking a casual fabric and giving it a more tailored shape is wonderful to me. I’m always telling myself to walk away from the knits for awhile and get reacquainted with cotton gauze and silk dupioni and vintage lace, but I get drawn back in to knits time and time again!

Stephanie Miller Corfee is a freelance designer & artist in Malvern. Her art reminded me of an [incredibly more sophisticated] version of the doodles I used to do in high school – the doodles my mom actually let me paint on my bedroom walls!

Much of Stephanie’s work takes the humble doodle to a brand new level of bright color, mixed media, and free expression.

Stephanie says, “I mostly create 2-D art. I do some mixed media, some acrylics and a LOT of line art with plenty of fine detail using micron pens, markers and colored pencil. My style varies by the day,and sometimes I am inspired to create 3-dimensional objects. I try really hard to listen to whatever is inspiring me any given moment. I love color! Bright and cheerful or muted and mysterious. I also love contrast, so a lot of my line art is left in B&W so the shapes can speak.”

When I asked Stephanie when she got started creating, she replied, “Does everybody say say ’since I was a small child’?” Well, yes they do. But I guess that’s the great thing about us creative types, huh?

She explained, “I’d say that I always loved art and sewing, but it wasn’t til college when i had an outlet. From that point on, I have sold my art. I had a custom wedding gown studio for about 5-6 years before my son was born and that was a very fulfilling experience. I do graphic design work to help pay the bills as well. I want everything in my world to be PRETTY!”

Well, judging from Stephanie’s website and her Etsy shop, everything in her world is quite pretty!

With experience on both ends of PA, Allison – of strawberryluna – has “a lot of practice correctly spelling “Pennsylvania”.”

She also has a colorful portfolio of amazing posters, prints, and other design material for musicians, concerts, organizations… Each poster is screen-printed by hand in her studio at Artists Image Resource in Pittsburgh.

I find the whole process of screen-printing both fascinating and frightening. (I also like alliteration.) If you’re interested in seeing Allison at work, step-by-step, check out this Flickr collection of a project from start to finish.

Reading-Berks Guild of Craftsmen Spring Juried Show

at Kutztown University

The spring craft show circuit is already starting to heat up. If you’re looking to see the traditional craft of our Pennsylvania heritage next to up-and-coming fine craft students, Kutztown is the place you’ll want to be this weekend.

On Saturday & Sunday, March 28-29, the Reading-Berks chapter of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen will be hosting their annual spring juried show at Kutztown University. This is an excellent opportunity to see craftspeople manipulating raw material, be inspired by the past, and look to the future of craft in Pennsylvania.

Kutztown University has a thriving fine craft department and, this year, seniors from the department will be showing their work at the spring show as part of their senior project.

You can find out more information, as well as a coupon for admission, at the web home of the chapter. I’ll be attending on Sunday afternoon. Please let me know if you’ll be there, showing or gawking, so that I can say “hi!”

I am so excited to introduce you to Melanie from Love Your Invite & SpreadtheLove! I first met Melanie when I found out about the Z-town Made folks. She is so personable and obviously a very inspired woman!

Melanie is graciously giving away one her ridiculously cute wooden postcards. Keep reading for more about Melanie & how to win!

When did you begin crafting/creating in general? When did you begin your current passion?

I remember painting my driveway in the summer with a bucket of water as a kid – I think that was my first spark of interest in creating personally pleasurable art. It kept me there for hours because I could make huge, trailing “paintings” over and over again. It would all evaporate away and I would start again – it was my favorite thing to do besides collecting rocks. However ridiculous it was, I think it really helped me learn and practice in the future to let go of the individual work and hold on to and love the process. Mess up, try again and never hold on too tightly.

I graduated from Kutztown University with a degree in Communication Design and a concentration in Illustration. I didn’t want to move to any kind of “big city” and my husband (then boyfriend of 4 years) was working in K-town so we stayed here for a while. I started painting freshwater fish on wood planks, worked at a coffee shop, and mentored with a sign maker named Jack Murray until the owners of Sorrelli Jewelry offered me a job as a designer in 2002. It was an awesome experience! I got to go to accessory shows in NY and design pieces that were sold in Nordstrom but, after 2 years, I got married and, upon return from my honeymoon, I had the overwhelming urge to quit and start my own thing. Without much planning I did exactly that and scrambled to create Love Your Invite pretty much in a matter of weeks. It’s all been a roller-coaster of the best/scariest times in my life…

Where do you find inspiration for new items? Tell me about your creative process for designing a new piece.

For Love Your Invite, it’s mostly inspired by the client. Sometimes they let me run wild and then I’ll get my best inspiration from the materials. I play with paper and sparkly things all day until I love what I see… it can be so much fun. I am also inspired by clothing and cool craft concepts from around the introweb. :)

For Spread The Love, it’s like a build up of things I store away in my mind. I watch a lot of documentaries and get inspired by random things. Sometimes one phrase can give me a great “head-movie” which gets shaped, spun and filtered and a week later comes out like laying an egg. Illustration Friday is also a fantastic source inspiration and practice. Mostly I like to play with humor and naivety.

What are you business goals for the coming year?

Love Your Invite will be in it’s 3rd year and I’d like to keep on truckin’. I hope to create a line of wholesale items this year and update my website a bit. My goal is to put 1/2 the money I make back in to the business and after that… pay for my car, vacations, dinners out and all things creative. Not very businessy is it?

Spread the Love will be in it’s first, fledgling year. I plan to wholesale to more stores around the area, and work really hard for the goal of eventually getting representation with someone like Lilla Rodgers. Cross your fingers for me!

So how can you win one of Melanie’s wooden postcards? You need to:

• be a resident of the US.
• visit Love Your Invite and check out Melanie’s custom invitations. Pick a favorite design feature or two. Come back here & leave a comment to let me know what your favorites are and what event (real or not!) you’d like to send out your invites for.
• for a second entry, click the “Share/Save” button below and add this post to your favorite social bookmarking site. HiP’s favorites are Twitter, Facebook, and Stumble Upon.

This giveaway ends March 6 at noon. A winner will be choosen at random.