Spotlight: Brad Sears: From Tree to Table

Brad Sears creates handcrafted lidded boxes, bowls, and platters in his studio in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains. Using rescued local hardwoods, he takes pride in the creation of functional art with a quality that allows his pieces to be enjoyed for generations.

Interested in learning a bit about woodturning, or simply curious about Brad's work?

He has shared a series of articles on his blog titled "From Tree to Table", detailing parts of his process of turning a blank chunk of wood into a functional thing of beauty. In addition to giving us an insight into his process, this series also illuminates the fact that professional artistry is - to put it mildly - really hard work.


There seems to be a general opinion outside of the crafting community that handmade goods by nature should be less expensive than mass-produced. (For an interesting read on this topic, see Megan's recent post at Crafting an MBA: "Etsy and the culture of cheap".) Artists certainly vary widely in the ways they choose to structure their pricing, but many have felt frustrated from time to time when the value of their work is questioned. The people who make these comments are often ignorant about how much time and effort really goes into an artist's creation, not to mention all of the indirect costs associated with selling said creation.

So in the subject of woodcrafting and lathe turning, how much work is involved to produce something that will last a lifetime? I enjoyed reading Brad's step-by-step process that includes details about exactly what's involved in the lengthy process of creating a bowl.

As you read about this process, also keep in mind that turning a bowl on a lathe is much less complicated than, say, one of his lidded boxes (like the one pictured below).

Read the "From Tree to Table" series:

Part 1 - How it Begins

Part 2 - Rough-Turning

Part 3 - Finish Turning

Part 4 - Turning a "Green Wood" Bowl

(...and stay tuned on his blog for Part 5 - History of Bowl Turning)

Check out Brad's website to view his portfolio: TurningArts.com
Interested in purchasing a hand-turned piece of art for your home? Visit Brad Sears on Etsy.

(my current favorite? this awesome little maple natural-edge bowl. really? only $15?? somebody had better go and buy it before i snatch it up... )

all images (C) Brad Sears Woodturning

partially unfinished, partially refinished...

i picked up this 2-drawer file at a garage sale this past summer. the paint was peeling and stained, and it was being given away for free. that price is right!

i started to refinish it, but time stood against me as the weather turned cold and wet. i got as far as sanding off the old paint and starting with 2 thin coats of spray paint when the rain started and i had to bring it inside. there it sat in the garage for months!

the other day i pulled it back out and thought about finishing it up, but i decided i like the imperfect look it adopted in its half-finishedness.

the drawers are unfinished (they're some sort of pressboard or mdf) and the whole thing needs at least 2 more coats of paint to be smooth and uniform, but i'm going to keep it as-is. however, i took out the drawer pulls and i'm not sure if i kept them (or even if i'd still want them), so i'll eventually find a replacement.

unintentionally, i painted it to match the bedsheets. it's now acting as a nightstand.

next, i must rescue from the garage the disassembled coffee table in need of refinishing and reinforcing!

fun with magazine recycling

i found this fun papercrafting tutorial from how about orange, demonstrating how to turn recycled magazine pages into little storage baskets, and thought i'd give it a try.

the technique is fun and simple, and i dig the woven look.


i love visiting the how about orange blog for how-tos and inspiration: paper crafts, graphic design, and more. the site is full of free graphic downloads and DIY tutorials.

pictured below is her gift bow made from recycled paper. click for instructions to make your own!

pattern: a knitted mario vest!

wow! check out this awesome sweater vest knitted by Happy Seamstress.


the scene: the very first level of the classic super mario brothers!



after several requests, she has generously shared the PATTERN on her website. (link sends you to a page where you can download the pattern as a pdf.)

this alone is almost enough to make me learn to knit. the pattern was posted last saturday and already has over 4,000 downloads. i'm eager to see everyone's finished vests! Happy Seamstress is hosting a photo contest in a couple of months.


found via craftzine.

social networking: don't overshare

women's health magazine recently published an article about facebook and twitter updates.

not being a member of either of these sites, my opinion is largely based on hearsay, but i can imagine that most tweeters have come across at least a few TMI posts they wish they hadn't read. when did we all become such exhibitionists?

worth a read:

Social Networking: Don't Overshare
The reasons why we don't worry about Facebook privacy--and spill the nitty-gritty details of our lives

you creative folks out there who facebook and tweet:
i'm wondering, how personal do you get in your updates?

if you use these sites for business or marketing purposes, do you keep it completely professional or try to balance it out with personal chit chat?

Snapshot: inside the studio: Parliament Design

check out the awesome studio space of Parliament Design here in Portland!


creative, clean, and casual: this seems to me what a design studio should be.



working in a place like this, who wouldn't be motivated to skip to work every day and just let the creative juices flow?




these great photos are by Lincoln Barbour, found via Design*Sponge


tour the rest of their headquarters here on their website.

make space for crafting

this month craftzine is running a series, "make space for crafting", about efficient craft rooms and how to organize your own creative space.

in addition to showcasing popular artisans and showing photos of their crafty spaces, the series also offers practical tips for making any space functional and tidy. they've already inspired me to do a whole reorganization of my craft room, but i need more shelf space! check out the whole series HERE.

they've already done interviews with a few crafters i like to follow, such as Paul Overton of DudeCraft, Sister Diane of CraftyPod, and Vickie Howell.

Photo of DudeCraft's space via craftzine

Photo of CraftyPod's space via craftzine

Photo of Vickie Howell's space by Cory Ryan via craftzine

more footbags available..

see this section here for ordering information.

on the selling of crochet patterns..

something i've been pondering for a while is whether to begin selling pdf crochet patterns online.

in the past year i've enjoyed quite a few patterns that aren't my own, found on ravelry.com or in crochet today magazine, and they've taught me new techniques such as cables and tapestry crochet. but ultimately, i prefer to work in my own designs. and usually when i do, i write it down as i go.

the first challenge:
getting all of my thoughts together! i have scribbles on post-it notes and little scraps of notebook paper that could be turned into comprehensive patterns to share if they were just organized and transcribed.


pictured here is the latest pair of mittens i made for myself. it's the first pair that i've made with fingering weight yarn, and i like them so much that i immediately made improvements on the design and started a second pair. next, i'll configure medium and large sizes so that they can fit all adults.

the second challenge:

copyright issues. i have more research to do on this, and i'd appreciate any advice and resources you readers may have regarding how to protect my intellectual property.

in addition to mittens, i'm planning on eventually offering patterns for hats, a beach bag, juggling balls, dishcloths, and maybe some amigurumi...

advice? experiences? please share!

my third handspun

this is a 2-ply wool i spun on my little spindle. it's soft, and squishier than i expected from a fingering weight yarn.

since i'm still pretty new at this, i was happy to be able to get over 400 yards from 4 ounces. it varies from 14-16 wraps per inch. the fiber was dyed and combed by fatcatknits on etsy.

now, what should i make with it?? there's enough for a pair of socks. however, it's not superwash wool, so i'll have to remember to hand-wash whatever i use it for (which is all right for hats and cowls, but doesn't usually happen for socks around here).

Listen to This: Stitch It! Podcast

http://stitchitpodcast.com/

i just have to tell you.

this is, hands-down, my favorite crafty podcast.

meghan talks weekly about knitting, spinning, and other 'fibery goodness', with a touch of humor and entertaining stories. she also discusses homesteading and her family: gardening, making things from scratch, and being a toddler's mom.

she's been podcasting for two years now, and her 100th episode is coming soon. as informative as it is entertaining, Stitch It has been a great resource for me as i learn to spin yarn. she's very practical in her explanations and describes all of the relevant technical terms. she's not afraid to leave her comfort zone, so it's fun to learn new techniques along with her.

listening to meghan's casual tone on this podcast is like having her chat away with you by your living room fireplace, sipping tea and surrounded by pretty, hand-dyed batts of fiber.

the gorgeous yarn pictured below is dyed and spun by meghan, and you have a chance to win it this month (more details on the stitch it website).

check out the stitch it podcast here on her website, or download the most recent episodes from itunes.

are you a ravelry member? join us in the stitch it podcast group. there's daily chatter with fellow listeners, great recipes, crafting and gardening tips, and more. what a friendly bunch!

Do you blog? Share your opinion

(hey there, fellow blogger! this giveaway is closed, but you can still comment on your opinion of blogging platforms below.)

CHECK HERE to view the poll results.




what site do you use to publish your blog? why?

what do you like about it, and what do you wish was different? are there special features that your blog host offers that others don't?

please take my poll in the upper left corner of the page (open till 1 Feb 2010) and leave your comments here!

when you enter a comment, you'll be automatically entered into a drawing to win a 7-inch macrame bracelet like the one pictured here. make sure to leave an email or other way to contact you in the event that you're the winner! one entry per person. i'll use a random number generator to choose a winner on Monday, February 1 and contact you if you've won! (update: giveaway is closed.)

Stitching the Simpsons

to say i enjoy the simpsons is a pretty extreme understatement. i could go on and on about it, but suffice it to say that i'll be glued to my tv set on sunday night, eager for their 20th anniversary celebration and their 450th episode. woo-hoo!

mr x stitch does a weekly post on craftster.org highlighting nifty embroidery projects posted on the internet, often with fun pop culture references. this has been a lot of fun to explore, because it's given me a new perspective on the craft. i've done a lot of cross stitching as a child, and while i enjoyed it quite a bit i'd often felt that it didn't have much of a place in contemporary, "hip" crafting. thanks for proving me wrong, mr x stitch!

this week, he shares some awesome work inspired by the simpsons.

my favorite: homer enjoying a donut, pictured above, was stitched by LeighAnnD.

below is a project by Mr X Stitch himself, inspired by a season 11 episode where homer becomes a missionary to hide from pbs after promising them 10 grand he didn't have.

read the rest of the post for more awesome!!
(images from craftster)

Adventures in Handspinning 5

plus, my first adventure in dyeing fiber!

i took quite a long break from spinning, but then decided to pick up some fiber that i hadn't touched in over a year. i'd had some fun with Rit dyes and painted this merino/tencel blend with three colors, but i set it aside for a future project because i wasn't yet sure what i wanted to do with it.

knowing that the merino was superwash, i was a bit rougher with the fiber than i should've been when it came to rinsing out the dye. the results: i had little fluffs of wool here and there that had to be removed in order to avoid huge slubs (wha? is that what they're called? lumps? slugs?) in the finished yarn.

the reason i picked it back up is because i wanted a creative gift for the holidays. my mom's a knitter, and she hadn't done any projects in a while, so i tried to encourage her to get back into it. she said she had started again right before christmas, so i thought it would be a great idea to give her something truly unique. she likes really fuzzy and eyelash kinds of yarns (my least favorite to work with), so hopefully this will be a positive different knitting experience for her. of course, i offered to take it back and crochet something out of it for her instead.

it's about 170 yards, and i forgot to weigh it and check the wraps per inch, but i think it's about a dk weight.

spun and plied on my little handmade spindle. i need a bigger spindle, but i think i'm going to take another break from the spinning until i get the building of my spinning wheel underway. i've been doing a bit of research about what i want out of my wheel, and with the help of my creative and mechanically inclined man, i'll be able to build my own wheel from scratch exactly how i want it.

the blend of these two fibers was a little difficult to work with. tencel is a long and strong fiber, more so than wool, and the two fibers kept tugging at each other when i drafted them. an interesting learning experience, and my first plant fiber. i must learn more about tencel! i like the way it adds shimmer to the yarn.

Tetris magnets with plastic canvas

nerdy confession: i love plastic canvas.

it's one of the first crafty things i learned to work with way back in the day; i can't tell you how many christmas ornaments i've made as a child.

plastic canvas doesn't seem to be very popular for modern crafters: many seem to think it's only used to make old-fashioned or kitschy crap. but if you're a yarn crafter of any sort, this material is so simple to use and so versatile that just like knitting and crochet, the possibilities seem endless.
one great source of plastic canvas inspiration: craftypod .
check out the craftypod blog if you haven't yet. it's one i read regularly. diane is such a versatile crafter, and she really knows her stuff about crafts, business, and crafty businesses. (awesome podcast too!)
i do have an old stash of a few sheets of plastic canvas, but i hadn't used it in years. just before christmas, while browsing various blogs, i came across this tutorial on craftster.org for making little magnets that look like tetris game pieces.
this answered the question spinning around in my head: what to make my brother for christmas?
i had one gift ready for him: he likes the big lebowski, so i found a book on amazon ("i'm a lebowski, you're a lebowski") and i crocheted him a pillow. i'm a bit bummed that i didn't take pictures of the pillow before i gave it to him. it's round, with 3 bowling ball finger holes on one side and embroidered words on the other side: "the dude abides". i thought it was a bit cheesy, but i was happy that he liked it.

anyway, back to the plasic canvas... my bro is a gamer, and tetris was one of the first video games to ever grace our home. yes, i'm quite nostalgic for the original nintendo system.



these magnets were pretty easy to make and the whole project only took me a couple hours. i wanted to make sure i got all 7 original shapes in 7 different colors, so i used a combination of caron simply soft and red heart soft yarns from my stash.
these were a lot of fun. now i need a set for myself!

(thanks, jenna, for this great idea!)