Spreading the Love

This week the featured artisan on the Handmade Artist's Forum is ME! So I have had a great week reading all these fabulous blog posts about me. But I am not going to do a blog post about myself.. I do enough of that! Instead I am going to blog about the Handmade Artists' Forum.
The Handmade Artists' Forum was begun over a year ago by Andrew and Kimberley Kitchen as a way to support handmade artists and the handmade community. Many forums are begun by folk everyday, but many do not succeed to any great amount. The Handmade Artists' Forum is not like that. It has grown at an astonishing rate! I have been involved with a few forums, and I have never seen one grow as rapidly and consistently as The Handmade Artists' Forum. This is due mainly to the drive of Andrew and Kimberley. Andrew, in particular, set out to Tweet HAF all over the internet. That's actually how I found HAF. He followed me on Twitter, so I followed him and heard about the very new (they had just started) forum. The thing that first grabbed my attention was that it was an SMF forum (forum software), and a couple of forums I was working on were SMF, so I figured I could offer to help them.
So I joined up, mentioned my experience with SMF, and suddenly found myself as a moderator.
Being on staff has given me an opportunity to really see how much stuff Andrew and Kimberly do - and frankly I have to wonder where they get the energy from. They have busy offline lives, yet they spend as much time as possible promoting and supporting handmade artists around the world.
One thing that they noticed was that many handmade artists who were trying to sell on various 'handmade' sites were being made to compete with commercial items, via supplies and vintage sections. This was part of the reasoning behind the Handmade Artists' Shop - a selling venue that is completely handmade, no commercial supplies, no vintage.
All in all, the Handmade Artists' Forum is a home for anyone who loves handmade and wants to support the handmade community. It is an absolute pleasure to be involved with, and I am very glad to have found them.

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Elegance Personified

The Handmade Artists' Forum Blogring is back! The first amazing artisan to be featured is the amazing NaLa. She is an incredibly talented jewellery artist, who creates pieces that are both elegant and delicate, with a certain timelessness which is sure to make them continuing favourite in your jewellery box.

When you stop by Jewelry By NaLa on Etsy you are sure to be struck by the gorgeousness of her creations, and the high quality of both her workmanship and photography.
NaLa also has a fabulous blog, where she keeps her readers updated on new creations, as well as promoting and supporting other handmade artisans and handmade groups.

I absolutely recommend dropping by her Etsy store and her blog, it is well worth the visit.

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Making Memories

It is time for another Handmade Artists' Forum blog ring artisan feature. This week it is time to feature Chris from Memories in Mosaics.
Chris creates gorgeous mosaic pieces, including frames and wall hangings. Her love of colour and texture shows in her creations, as does her sense of romance.

I have some knowledge of the process involved in making mosaics, so I know it takes time and care and quite a bit of skill to create pieces such as the ones made by Chris. Her accomplishments are even greater due to the fact she lives every day with Fibromyalgia, which a very painful and often debilitating condition.

Chris writes a blog about Living with Fibromyalgia, which is very interesting and informative. She also has a blog dedicated to creative pursuits and promoting other artisans, which you can read here.
You can see more of Chris' wonderful mosaics in her Etsy and her ArtFire.

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A Mountain of Talent

It is time for this week's Handmade Artist's Forum Blog Ring Featured Artisan of the Week - which is Mewes Mountain Arts.

Jennifer, the talent behind Mewes Mountain Arts, lives in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains near Denver, Colorado with her husband and fur kids. Living in such a beautiful location it is no wonder she felt inspired to begin Mewes Mountain Arts and Crafts. Jennifer creates beautiful items of jewellery and offers them for sale via Etsy and HAF. She also maintains a fabulous blog where she selflessly promotes the world of handmade and the artisans who create it.

Do your bit to support handmade by checking out Mewes Mountain Arts on Etsy and HAF, check out the Mewes Mountain Arts blog.

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