Handmade Mode

a special way of living

When you buy a handmade piece you take that energy with you

unique creations exchange of knowledge

The designer's World Moods & artists Inspiration corner 1

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HANDMADE

QUALITY ART ORIGINALITY

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Articles Featured artists 9.

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In every issue June’s pics

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COPYRIGHT

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IDEAS SUBMISSIONS

ADVERTISING 5

By BobbiLewin 6

Candidate

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Handmade bags Can be a temptation fairly needed! ... And these are gorgeous!

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“ For me personally, I always draw the same conclusion: I'm doing what I love; nothing else will do! Realistically speaking, I know that not everyone has the luxury of making a living doing something that they love. I count my blessings, daily!�

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By diohej

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“Also, never underestimate the power of “Word of Mouth” – offering good service and quality product goes a long way; people talk!”

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I will then check my ‘to do’ list, which I faithfully prepare every night before bed for the following day), and complete the list as methodically as possible it can be all too easy to get distracted if this step is skipped. Life is busy!

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By muddymuse

By Muddy Muse 18

By azulado

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June’s pics

by Filipa Carvalho

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Knitted jewelry by Aliquid

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if you believe in your work, work more and more, better days will come.

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Never give up, if you believe in your work, work more and more, better days will come.

Handmade is something we do with love and tenderness, where we put our soul in.

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By Lucie tales

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By missbabacilou

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By rRradionica

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Cosy

and Tender

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Soft

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scented 31

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Uptightso 35

Recycled Paper Jewelry

by Kiahdesign

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Health and beauty Did you know that chamomile and orange blossom are excellent to recover the brightness of your hair?

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Floral art - Floral photography - Tulips - Fine art photography By

JKphotography 38

Because children deserve the

best

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It’s party Time

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What’s your style?

Bohemian

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Casual

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dream

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Almost everything inspires me.

When and how did you start doing your craft?

I’ve always done some kind of craft, ever since I can remember, but polymer clay is a very new medium for me. I only discovered it about 9 months ago when I came across a photo album of some polymer clay jewelry and thought I would try my hand at it just out of curiosity. I never expected to fall so in love with it as I have.

How would you describe the style of your work?

Now that’s a tough one. Unfortunately (or not?) I am very easily distracted and almost everything inspires me. I am interested in so many things and would like to try them all that this of course has to have an effect on my work. So I guess the best term I could use is „eclectic”. However, the main themes may be colors, fun, folk inspired and maybe pieces that resemble organic creatures.

What do you most like to do in your work?

I love getting lost. I love it when I get completely engrossed in what I’m doing and forget about everything else around me. This usually happens when I have a particular idea in mind that I begin to work on, but then the act of creation takes control over the whole process and completely new and unplanned things emerge. At the same time this can be incredibly stressful if I can't let go of the original idea.

Technically speaking what I enjoy the most is when I imagine what and how I’m going to make something. I also like texturing my pieces (when I do), or carving the raw clay. And I absolutely love placing mosaic pieces on the clay, or adding any other small detail when I know what I’m doing (which is not always 46the case).

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What do you like less in your work?

Sanding and buffing the pieces, especially if I have a lot. When I only have one or two pieces to sand, I love doing it, because I can then immediately see the end result, but when a whole pile of beads or pieces await me, I just want to run away, far beyond the clay mountains :D.

How many hours do you work per day?

This is a hobby so I have a „day job”, which means that I hardly ever have time to do anything clay-related during the week. Sometimes I manage to sneak in a half hour or so of sanding or maybe color mixing, but that’s rare.

How do you promote your work?

Online mainly, at least for now. I use Facebook, I launched a blog, I also pin, use Kaboodle, and of course in Etsy teams.

I have a lot to learn in this area still.

Do you invest a lot of time in online social media as a way of exposure?

I would say a little too much, and perhaps not the right way. I’m still learning the ropes. Someone once told me that it was all just a waste of time, but I have to disagree. I think these days it’s online where it’s at. And yet it’s very easy to waste time and energy if you do it wrong.

(Or if you are easily distracted, like me...) You would never guess how much time really goes into all that online presence.

What advice would you give someone?.....

Never give up unless you have a really strong reason. It is natural that there are ups and downs. Ride the waves and you’ll get back on your feet. Also, if you feel very frustrated or are in a creative rut, it’s best to leave things for a while, even if only for a day or so, and then come back with a fresh mind. Maybe you will need to change something (about your design, the design of your shop, the way you promote yourself, customer service etc.), but maybe you just need to be patient for things to pick up again after a lull.

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How is a normal day for you when you’re working?

Messy. :D I do a bit of this and a bit of that. And when I’m lucky, I have a few hours of uninterrupted bliss with one piece I can work on completely focused. I tend to do things in batches rather then complete and entire process. One reason for this is the baking part. I don't generally like to bake only a few things so I tend to wait until my baking trays fill up. Not always a good idea though :)

Which of your pieces do you like best?

I couldn’t choose just one category. I have particular pieces that are especially dear to me, for instance most of my mosaic jewelry (there’s a category for you! ), or my large African necklace, or some of the Cheshire Cat grin necklaces, but actually the one I like most is a chunky tribal-African-inspired necklace I made for a friend of mine. That was actually my first piece, and I just love it. It looks so stone-age, like some finding from an archeological site :D.

What is your most popular piece?

I don’t know if I am in a position to answer that, but I think my most popular pieces are the small bib necklaces (Cheshire Cat Grin).

What was the feedback that touched you most?

Actually, it came from my brother. He’s not exactly the type who easily hands our praise („not bad” means really good in his language :D), and I wouldn’t think he’s particularly interested in jewelry, especially women’s jewelry. But when he first saw some of the things I’d made he was positively enraptured :D and very enthusiastic about them. He was the one who actually urged me to sell them. If it hadn’t been for him, I may never have thought of that myself.

What are your plans for the future of your business?

At the moment I am very happy with things as they stand. I have just enough sales to keep me going and make my work feel appreciated, but not so many that I can't keep up. However, I’m full of ideas, and that will lead to many more pieces which will slowly fill up my living room. :D I'm not dreaming about doing this full time, because I love teaching too much, but if I could do both 49 full time (in a paralel universe maybe) I would definitely do it.

What does handmade mean to you?

To me it means that the person who creates something has a piece of themselves in the item, be it one of many, something created following a pattern, or something that is absolutely unique. To me it means that there is a personal touch, both literally and metaphorically. These pieces have individuality, they have a history and carry within them the unique characteristics of their maker. I think a handmade item is filled with the emotions that contributed to its creation, care, tenderness, attention, pride, happiness over being able to create something, frustration, suffering, or even boredom.

Can you give us an example of two handmade shops that you love…?

How could I choose just two? There are so many I like and for different reasons.

But if I must choose, okay, I really like BooandBoo Factory http://www.etsy.com/ shop/BooandBooFactory (Christina Anton - http://www.etsy.com/people/ BooandBooFactory). I just love her items, her colors, and the entire shop is so cohesive (which mine will never be :D). Another one is Puikeprent (http:// www.etsy.com/shop/puikeprent?ref=seller_info) (Esther van den Berg - http:// www.etsy.com/people/puikeprent) — I love her prints, they’re so funny, and I absolutely adore the short stories in her listings :). But to be honest, there are a LOT of shops I just love, because they sell pretty, beautiful or interesting items, because of the way the entire shop looks, the photography and all the hard work that’s been put in.

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Blue bowl glass mosaic By SirliMosaic 51

By BooandBooFactory 52

By puikeprent

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http://www.etsy.com/shop/anonimaMenteSHOP

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Seeing the birth of something from our hands, trying to make it always better, continually and directly learning from what you do.

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By Ciaffi

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By JessalinBeutler

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in than a

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billion p from

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http://www.etsy.com/shop/lefthandedcraftclub? ref=ss_profile

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By lefthandedcraftclub

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The most important thing is to believe in yourelf, in your project, in your intuition. Things happen and doors open when you have faith. Keep producing and creating. Reduce your spendings and try to think always positive. Do not listen to people that try to discourage you. Do not complain but keep your projects for yourself and let them flourish. Never compare yourself with others, nor compete with them. And try to be patient, there is a startup period of at least two years.

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Handmade to us is an artisanal process that can be repeated creating an object with a personal touch; the feelings and emotions of the creator-designer are projected into the handmade item and we try to give the best of our selves in our creations.

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By Paulina722

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By siiso 72

By yystudio 73

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By fancifuldevices

By Temi

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iyiamihandbags

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talented

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By FractalWings 86

By Korinajewelrry

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WEARABLE

ART

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Orange blossom

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In Blue

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Red flavours

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White and

pearly

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By sisicata

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Inspiration corner Blogs we love to visit!

light joy glimpse “essence of life” happy journeys creative worlds

in http://domesticstorieswithivy.blogspot.pt/

WE GET INSPIRED!

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Contact us to: handmademode@gmail.com Follow us on www.facebook.com/HandmadeMode

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