Vendor Profile #15 - Wild Blue Yonder

I began crafting jewelry from wood back in 2014 - simply because I wanted a wood pendant and couldn't find anything I liked. So I began experimenting with found wood, lichens, and epoxy resin. As I wore my handmade pieces, friends and family began asking for similar ones, so I happily obliged. Pushing my craft and expanding my networks has allowed my to begin my own company, Wild Blue Yonder, in the spring of 2016. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, my jewelry is available in several stores, and is displayed regularly at events throughout the region.

WBY jewelry is created using reclaimed materials, unused lumber scraps, or fragments of wood, bark, and lichen found on hikes and travels through the forest. Little details, often unnoticed in nature, are readily on display in my pieces. My jewelry is designed to inspire its wearer with a love for nature, and all the intricacies that lie therein. 

- Amber, founder of Wild Blue Yonder.

Wild Blue Yonder

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Vendor Profile #5: Curious Oddities

Born in a century-old log cabin in the wilds of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, surrounded by a community rich with artifacts of the early pioneers and settlers, I grew up with the heart of a dreamer and the spirit of an explorer. My intensely inquisitive nature led me to explore many different crafts and trades, absorbing new techniques and inspiration every step of the way.

Since 2008, I have spent my time travelling, collecting treasures and making delightful, fantastic jewelry.

 My work is heavily influenced by the designs of the Victorian, Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau Eras, in which romance, whimsy and elegance were paired with fine workmanship, quality materials and exquisite detailing. I also draw inspiration from many literary sources including works by Jules Verne, Neil Gaiman, Edward Gorey and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I have always been deeply aware of the balance and beauty of the world around me. Through my work, I love to marry the natural with the mechanical, drawing unexpected beauty from the mundane.

With a rampant imagination, I seek to find a story in everything and seek to unveil the magic in all I touch. The Curious Oddities collection is an ever changing and eclectic mix of salvaged treasures, vintage finds, gemstones, Czech glass, enamel and new, premium quality, traditionally pressed, antiqued, inked or plated brass.

All of my Curious Oddities are lovingly crafted and curated by me in heart of Hamilton, Ontario Canada where I currently reside with my three rather eccentric calico cats.

Most of the pieces that I create are small run (usually less than 10) or one of a kind; there are a few designs of the pressed brass that are renewable and are a more permanent part of my collection.

http://curiousodditiesshop.com

https://www.facebook.com/CuriousOddities/

https://www.instagram.com/curiousodditiesshop/

Vendor Profile: kisii handmade

kisii handmade
https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/kisii

Tell us about your work and what we can expect to see at this years Handmade Hamilton?

I love what I do. kisii strives to use responsibly-sourced materials to create beautiful handmade gifts. You can find jewellery, handmade ceramics, keychains and journals. I started kisii in 2012 as a means to fundraise for my hospital, Princess Margaret, in Toronto and enjoyed it so much that I decided to register the business. Since then, I've donated over $3000 towards tumour research, and specifically the Desmoid Tumour Foundation of Canada. 

What does your process look like?

I try to consider my eco-footprint in all aspects of my business, and source materials responsibly. I try to use fair-trade as often as possible, and work from my sunny home studio. My process depends on what I am making. Making a mala is a quiet, peaceful process while my ceramic jewellery bowls require messy hands full of clay, paint and glaze. I do everything myself, from creating and testing new pieces to corresponding with clients, doing my own web design, shipping and packaging. I handstamp my own labels and package each item myself. 

What are your inspirations?

Nature, books, music, simplicity, yoga and good people.

Tell us some of your favourite things about Hamilton?

Obviously the natural beauty of it (especially Dundas peak), but also the creative community that is quickly growing.

Vendor Profile #5 - Mimosa

https://www.instagram.com/mimosakoubou/

https://www.facebook.com/mimosakoubou/

Tell us about your work and what we can expect to see at this years Handmade Hamilton?

Mimosa is a handcrafted line of brass and gemstone jewelry inspired by the romantic era of the 16th to 18th centuries in Europe. Using the Japanese TANKIN hammered technique to create each individual piece as truly one of a kind. 

What does your process look like?

 I begin by getting inspired by old portraits.  I never draw out the designs for the rings.  Each ring is created by hammering brass to make the ring parts, they are then put together with silver.  The final thing I do is set a raw gemstone in the rings.  

What are your inspirations?

I am inspired by the 16th to 18th centuries portraits and flowers.

Tell us some of your favourite things about Hamilton?

I love the water falls and the art community.

6.  What are your favourite books? Movies? Music?

My favorite movies are Marie Antoinette, The Other Boleyn Girl , Moulin Rouge and The Affair of the Necklace. 

My favourite music is Arashi( Japanese boy band)

Vendor Profile: Curious Oddities

Born in a century-old log cabin in the wilds of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, surrounded by a community rich with artifacts of the early pioneers and settlers, I grew up with the heart of a dreamer and the spirit of an explorer. My intensely inquisitive nature led me to explore many different crafts and trades, absorbing new techniques and inspiration every step of the way.

Since 2008, I have spent my time travelling, collecting treasures and making delightful, fantastic jewelry.

 My work is heavily influenced by the designs of the Victorian, Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau Eras, in which romance, whimsy and elegance were paired with fine workmanship, quality materials and exquisite detailing. I also draw inspiration from many literary sources including works by Jules Verne, Neil Gaiman, Edward Gorey and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I have always been deeply aware of the balance and beauty of the world around me. Through my work, I love to marry the natural with the mechanical, drawing unexpected beauty from the mundane.

With a rampant imagination, I seek to find a story in everything and seek to unveil the magic in all I touch. The Curious Oddities collection is an ever changing and eclectic mix of salvaged treasures, vintage finds, gemstones, Czech glass, enamel and new, premium quality, traditionally pressed, antiqued, inked or plated brass.

All of my Curious Oddities are lovingly crafted and curated by me in heart of Hamilton, Ontario Canada where I currently reside with my three rather eccentric calico cats.

Most of the pieces that I create are small run (usually less than 10) or one of a kind; there are a few designs of the pressed brass that are renewable and are a more permanent part of my collection.

Enjoy!

xo Kat

http://curiousodditiesshop.com