Category: Makers Alongside

We couldn’t be happier to introduce you to Kay Wang, the creator of the jewelry line, The Things We Keep, and also the artist behind our new Linus Cuff.

You would’ve never guessed by looking at her impressive work, but Kay only started making jewelry as a career four years ago after attending an extension course on silversmithing at a nearby community college. It was that class that encouraged her to follow a career path in that field. “I was starting to become incredibly disillusioned with the career path I’d been on up until that point, and whether I knew it at the time or not, I’d already started looking for something different that would mean more to me intrinsically as a profession than what I’d been doing. On the very first day of the course, things just clicked for me, and I haven’t since looked back." 

Although Kay began planning The Things We Keep in 2011, it didn’t become a legal entity until 2012. However, within the past two years, it has evolved, and continues to evolve, at a steady rate. 

All of Kay’s jewelry has a consistent and distinct feel, all of which may come from her greatest inspirations. "As of lately, I’ve fallen down a Bauhaus rabbit hole! Textile patterns from Dagobert Peche and Gertrud Preiswerk, Max Bill’s sculptures, and Alexander Calder’s kinetic sculptures…and because a balanced meal is a healthy meal, a good dose of folk art is in the mix too.”

Similarly, we are drawn to clean lines and silhouettes. When asked what her favorite HDH pieces are, Kay responded, “All of it! But if I had to pick favorites, I really love the Alabaster jumpsuit and the Hollyhock kimono. So bummed I didn’t snag either of those before they all went to their new homes!”

We absolutely love the result of our collaboration with The Thinks We Keep, and hope you do too! You can find their pieces online and at select stores across the United States and Canada. You can also follow them on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. Want even more updates? Check out their blog here! 

Photos by Paul Vincent.

Meet Joy Sunyoung Fitzgerald, the creative artist behind our newest Makers Alongside project, the inspirational “Remember Your True North” prints. Joy has been drawing since she was only one and a half years old and recalls becoming especially fascinated with lettering in second grade. She soon became obsessed with penmanship and fonts. “I would actually stress out quite a bit when starting a notebook–what pen would I use? Would I write in all caps or cursive? What font would be best for this subject?” Such questions might not be normal for a typical young student, however her curious perfectionist tendencies paid off. 

Joy admits that she never considered doing anything creative as a profession, especially without any formal training. However, in late 2010, she began to post random sketches on a hand-written, hand-drawn blog. Although it started off with a low follower rate, the blog acted as a carefree outlet where she could express her creativity. Eventually, people began inquiring Joy for paid gigs, which was totally new for Joy, who illustrated for pure personal joy. “Over the next year, I slowly began building confidence that I could actually have a business fulfilling people’s needs through my illustration and calligraphy." 

Her business, Made by Sohn, that offers custom-made prints, invitations, and more, officially launched in Fall, 2012. Her pieces have a consistent calm and clean vibe, which reflect what she finds most inspiring: peaceful surroundings, intention, overlooked details, quality, simplicity, scripture and hope. 

You can find Joy’s work on her website, but as of now, she only does custom jobs. However, keep your eyes peeled within the next year for an online store that sells her prints and other goods. She will also be creating designs for a children’s clothing company based in San Francisco that will be available for purchase once it launches later this year. Her favorite HDH designs are the Beurre Tunic and the Elsie Kimono. 

Don’t forget to follow Joy on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and her journal!

Photo Credits: James Fitzgerald Photography

It’s already time to announce our next Makers Alongside, a great graphic print created by Made by Sohn! The print’s neutral color palette coordinates well with any wall space, and the embossed pattern and text adds a faint, but beautiful texture.  This “Remember Your True North” print comes out July 16th, and we hope it inspires you as much as it inspires us! 

We will be releasing 25 prints priced at $70.00 each. And don’t forget to check back next week to learn all about the creative designer of these prints, Joy Sunyoung Fitzgerald. 

We’re thrilled to introduce you to Joanna Buyert, the maker and dear friend behind our new ceramic nesting spoons! Joanna is the sole creator and owner of Fringe & Fettle Ceramics, a business devoted to handmade pottery that she created in 2011 after quitting her full-time job. Following six months of living at her family’s cabin in the north woods of Wisconsin and doing nothing but making pots, she moved to St. Paul, where she is currently living (with her black lap pup, Liza) and working out of her apartment, a converted old brewery with a community of fellow artists.

The risks Joanna has taken to devote her life to pottery have been well worth it. She admits, “Everyday I get to do what I love more than anything else, create. I make things that I love. That’s the secret. It sounds kind of dumb and simple, but it’s true. I think for a while I was really caught up in trying to make what other people wanted, what would sell well. But it wasn’t until I threw that out the window and started making things that I wanted, that I loved, that I really found my style.” Joanna describes her style as “soft and playful, telling you where to touch, where to look” and finds most of her inspiration from “the romanticized atmosphere the kitchen creates; of family meals and childhood memories, of beauty in the everyday encounters.”

We think that all of Joanna’s pieces are beautiful and can find a spot in anyone’s kitchen and will surely be used all year long. When asked what her favorite HDH piece is, she says, “I’d have to say all the hand-bleached fabrics are amazing and I want all of them. I regret not snatching up the Oshna tank before it sold out!” (Sorry Joanna…we do still have some shibori-dyed pieces left!)

You can find Joanna’s products around the Twin Cities area at Gallery 360, i like you, and the Grand Hand Gallery. You can also find her online at her website and Etsy shop.

Make sure to follow her on Instagram!

Photo Credits: Paul Vincent Photography

Introducing our newest Makers Alongside piece–a beautiful set of white, porcelain nesting spoons made by Joanna Buyert, the talented ceramic artist behind Fringe & Fettle. Including four spoons and a matching ceramic holder, this simple and modern collection is perfect for dips, sauces and appetizers. Not to mention, the set looks pretty on the mantle when not being used.  

These make great gifts for others, but we have a feeling you’ll have a hard time giving them up! 

The full set will be for sale on July 2nd for $48, so it’s time to start planning  that dinner party you’ve been thinking about! 🙂

We are excited to introduce you to Teresa Robinson from Tiro Tiro, the talented artist behind our most recent Makers Alongside project, the Aleta Necklace.  It wasn’t until Teresa was 21 that she found her passion for jewelry making when she studied abroad in Mexico and took a month long jewelry class.  Once Teresa finished college, she bought herself a torch and some tools.  Teresa’s experimentation with jewelry making soon became selling her pieces on consignment at local boutiques and eventually becoming a full time business in 2002.   

Although Teresa’s jewelry does have a distinct vibe, she admits, “I don’t find that I really make a practice of seeking one particular inspiration for a collection.  As an aesthete and super visually sensitive person, I think of my work as just a distillation and physical manifestation of everything that I take in on a day-to-day basis.  I do feel particularly drawn to the early modernist craft movement and love seeing the revival of more traditional craft practice that’s happening these days, but inspiration can come from anywhere: architecture, a certain shape that I’m drawn to, the curve of a line in a beautiful font…I just like to take it all in and then play around with shapes and textures that I find compelling.”  

The time, effort, and inspiration put into Teresa’s work is evident, from the bronze pendants to the custom linen rope she incorporates in many of her pieces, including our collaborative Aleta Necklace, which has got to be one of our favorites!  The fandom is mutual however. When we asked Teresa what her favorite HDH pieces are, she said, “Everything! When I first discovered Lisa’s work, I was like, ‘Oh my god, this woman is making my perfect dream wardrobe!’ Right now I love the Hannah Top, the Wysteria Dress, and the Primrose Jumper. Really, I just want it all…”

We love Teresa’s attitude and work aesthetic and couldn’t be happier that she agreed to be featured in our Makers Alongside series.  

Teresa’s full jewelry line is available on her website: tirotiro.com.  She is also active on social media! You can also follow her on Instagram and Twitter @tirotirostudio.

Lizzie Falkenstein is the founder and designer behind Primecut Bags, and she is one talented, driven lady.  She has been sewing and crafting since she was young.  "Remodeling my Victorian dollhouse and sewing my own sundresses are some of my favorite childhood memories. Those kinds of hands on activities have stuck with me to this day,“ Lizzie says.  This longtime passion became an actual business only 6 months ago.  The idea for the business began two years ago while Lizzie was still running her first bag company and working in architecture.  ” I had just purchased a heavy duty industrial sewing machine in hopes of expanding to heavier materials. I stumbled upon a beautiful scrap of cowhide on my first shopping trip for leather supplies and ended up making a bag for myself. It felt amazing to make something that I was personally in love with. I have used the same bag every day for the last two years and still get compliments and intriguing looks. I realized that if I was going run my own business as a living I wanted to make pieces for myself and like-minded people.“  

You can see the love Lizzie puts into each bag, and each is unique because they’re all cut from genuine leather and cowhide.  We have a hard time picking a favorite from the Primecut collection, although we sure love the envelope clutch she designed specifically for us!  Lizzie feels the same, "I want all the HDH pieces, but if I had to pick, the Birch dress and Bokeh top are two of my all-time favorites.   

We could not be more thrilled she agreed to be part of Makers Alongside, and we are happy to promote someone who believe in making something you love the same way we do.  

You can find Primecut Bags in select stores around the country as well as at primecutbags.com.  You can also follow on Instagram @primecutbags.

Top photo by Portland Supply Co.