Lucie Wicker -  one of our Boston Handmade crafters on the blog today!  I can’t wait to see what she brings to the BBB!

Hi there! First things first: What’s your name, what’s your business name, where are you from, and where are you currently located/crafting?
My name is Lucie Wicker, my business is Lucie Wicker Photography (super original, no??). I grew up in Jamaica Plain and I now live/work in the North End.

How did you get your start? Please tell us a little bit about how your business went from an idea to what is is today.
I had always done photography as a hobby, ever since taking a black & white darkroom class in high school. I minored in Photojournalism in college and then sold my prints in local art fairs in Boston. Last year I quit my full-time job to go back to school for commercial photography. Since graduating in Sept 2011, I’ve been shooting full-time. I specialize in fitness and product photography and I love working with small business owners like my fellow BazBiz participants!

What inspires you the most to create?
Surrounding myself with creative people! All of my friends working on photo shoots, members of creative groups I belong to (like Boston Handmade and Design Salon), going to presentations given by creative entrepreneurs, collaboration of any kind- I always wind up feeling inspired and recharged.

What are your favorite materials to work with?
Paper! Handmade and recycled especially.

Do you have a favorite color palette?
I am pretty fond of blues- the cooler the better. I love deep, dark tones.

Who are some of your favorite indie artist/crafters and why do you love them?
Too many to list here! One of my favs is Laura Collins of Pansy Maiden. Not only is her work fantastic but she has found a way to translate her personal beliefs into her business model which I find inspiring.

Any exciting future plans or developments in the works for your business? (Nothing TOP-SECRET, of course!)
I’ve been doing a lot more night photography involving long exposures. They take patience but they look so different and interesting each time.

What are some other things you like to do when you are not busy making awesome stuff?
I enjoy trying out new restaurants, watching documentaries about sharks, going to Red Sox games, and watching my beagle do funny things.

What are the top 3 reasons someone shopping at the BBB 2012 should be sure to stop by your table?
1. Love Boston or shopping for someone who does? Most of my items are directly influenced by our fair city.
2. My items are generally pretty small- perfect for little gifties.
3. I will have new things that are not yet available in my online shop.

What is your favorite background noise to listen to while working?
Radio BDC and a variety of podcasts- the Moth, Story Collider, and This American Life are a few favs.

Where do you (craft) work?
In my home office in the North End and in my studio in the South End.

What is your favorite mythical beast and what do you think their favorite crafty past time is?
I’ll go with Pegasus, the winged horse. I think they’d enjoy making flowered garlands.

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BBB is just 6 short days away, but take a peak at Lucie’s work on her official site, blog, facebook, and twitter!

Thanks to Lucie we all get to see the outrageously awesome and perfect photo of Lady Dye seen here. So thanks for that, and for being a BBB vendor this year!

Today I have the pleasure of sharing with you one of our fantastic jewelry vendors – k.o’brien jewelry. Kim makes some of the most beautiful jewelry, perfectly hand crafted into simple shapes and in an astonishing range of colors — this is one vendor that you definitely can find something for every lady on your list. Let’s hear from Kim.

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First things first: What’s your name, what’s your business name, where are you from, and where are you currently located/crafting?
I am Kim O’Brien of k.o’brien jewelry. My shiny objects are fabricated in my brand new studio in Pawtucket, RI

How did you get your start? Please tell us a little bit about how your business went from an idea to what is is today.
My business came to fruition years after I graduated from the University at Dartmouth with a Bachelors Degree in jewelry/metals. I fumbled around my studio for years as I learned to step away from larger scale art jewelry to make functional pieces for folks to buy and enjoy wearing everyday. After designing a small line I signed up for some craft fairs and got myself into a few shops. I am still stumbling, finding the right shows/shops for my work and fine tuning my designs. My business will continue to grow off of new ideas.

What inspires you the most to create?
I love to play with color and texture. Coming up with a new enamel palette and playing with old hammers I’ve collected from antique shops always gets me motivated. If that doesn’t work I take some city strolls and capture colors and textures on my camera and use those for inspiration.

What are your favorite materials to work with?
shiny sheets of silver, vitreous enamel in every hue possible and parts I have cast from vintage jewelry findings.

Do you have a favorite color palette?
Right now it is grey and mustard. But I am still in love with my pink combat boots, so if I find something to match those I am in heaven.

Who are some of your favorite indie artist/crafters and why do you love them?
Rar Rar Press is one of my favorite letterpress artists. I love how she uses a classic printing method with the right amount of sass and cussing.
The Candi Factory who is out of Toronto. They make handmade undies which are super cute and really, what is better than handmade undies? I discovered them a few years ago while visiting Montreal.
And finally, Little Houses out of Montreal. I love wearing my handmade winter coat and hooded sweater. Her work is warm and affordable, perfect for an artist who lives in New England!

Any exciting future plans or developments in the works for your business? (Nothing TOP-SECRET, of course!)
I have made a tough decision and decided to take a few months off this winter. I will step away from some of the production pieces I have been making for years and going back to the drawing board. I will emerge in the spring with some new lines of jewelry incorporating more of the vintage findings I had cast years ago. I plan on exploring the use gem stones and gold to add to my color palette. This direction feels like a natural progression considering my love for color.

What are some other things you like to do when you are not busy making awesome stuff?
I cuddle with Callie Rose, my petite 8 year old Bernese Mountain dog. I also take a ton of pictures on my iPhone. My newest adventure is learning how to skateboard.

What are the top 3 reasons someone shopping at the BBB 2012 should be sure to stop by your table?
1. I love curious customers. If you have a question or five, ask away.
2. It is one of the rare occasions in which I will emerge from my studio, I’d like some company!
3. I will have my clearance items available during the Night Owl Hour.

What is your favorite background noise to listen to while working?
The Sex Pistols and the Violent Femmes are high on my playlist lately.

[FOR VETERAN BBB VENDORS] What advice would you give to a new vendor selling at the BBB for the first time?
Breathe, drink coffee, smile and know that no one else will realize what you consider to be imperfections. Maybe your table isn’t level, you forgot a sign or two and left behind a product. From where they are standing your work is awesome and they are right.

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Thanks Kim! Can’t wait to see all the amazing pieces you’ll bring to the BBB next Sunday!

To do a little pre-shopping, check out www.kobrienjewelry.com

Hi there! First things first: What’s your name, what’s your business name, where are you from, and where are you currently located/crafting?

Hi! My name is Eliza Jane Curtis and my business is called Morris & Essex. I’m from Maine, and after many years away (mostly in New York and Buenos Aires), I recently returned to rural Maine, where I live and work in an old farmhouse.

How did you get your start? Please tell us a little bit about how your business went from an idea to what is is today.

My first handmade t-shirt designs were experiments in the printmaking studio at Parsons School of Design, at least ten years ago. I built myself a silkscreen studio in the basement of my old Brooklyn apartment, and started selling t-shirts at a handful of boutiques around New York, set up an Etsy shop, and gradually spent more and more happy hours printing and playing with paper, fabric and ink.

In 2006 I moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina. I found working in a new environment both an inspiration and a challenge. The city is intense with creative energy, colors, history, art and design. I had to learn where to find printmaking supplies (and how to ask for everything in a new language), and some of my favorite supplies just weren’t available in Argentina. Instead of cotton t-shirts, I began printing on beautiful art papers. I took a break from textiles and focused on greeting cards for a few years, mainly using a Japanese Gocco printer.

In 2010, my partner Mike and I moved back to Maine, into a huge old farmhouse and we built a new silkscreen studio in a big sunny space above the kitchen. I started working with a local letterpress printer for my greeting cards and stationery, and returned to screenprinting on fabric and t-shirts again. Rural Maine is where I grew up, so it’s a return to the familiar setting where I first began exploring nature and drawing and playing with ink and paint and cloth and paper.

What inspires you the most to create?

Looking through old design books and magazines. I have a modest collection of old stuff inherited from my grandmother, from the early 1900’s through the 80’s. Arts and crafts textbooks, art, design and textile books, random magazines, lovely old tins and boxes. Whenever I’m looking for inspiration I pull a few old books off the shelf, it always gets me excited to start sketching new ideas.

What are your favorite materials to work with?

Paper, fabric, ink. Magic markers. I absolutely love making hand-carved stamps out of erasers and playing with colored ink pads.

Do you have a favorite color palette?

I am super obsessed with colors, all of them! Violet, teal blue, and gold pop up in a lot of my designs. I think I tend towards a pretty bright palette, but I often like to mix in a bit of grey in the ink, so the colors are a little bit muted. For letterpress printing, I usually keep it simple with bright colors on a white ground. With silkscreen printing I get excited about combining colors that do a bit of a weird pop when they’re combined, like a nutmeg brown with bright blue ink.

Who are some of your favorite indie artist/crafters and why do you love them?

There are so many inspiring and exciting crafters that I’ve run across, it’s basically impossible to choose, so I’ll narrow it down to a few local Maine folks that are doing stuff I really admire: I love Ktaadn for their simple, understated patterns in bright bright colors. Erin Flett does a big range of lovely work, from graphic design to great colorful pillows. Jen from Swallowfield does all kinds of beautiful things with these intricate illustration patterns. Diane from Ferdinand has this great irreverent style and seems to be constantly inventing new and amazing crafty stuff. I want to keep going, there are so many other crafty people doing interesting work in Maine, it’s an amazing environment to be in!

Any exciting future plans or developments in the works for your business? (Nothing TOP-SECRET, of course!)

I’m spending lots of time working on scarves lately, that’s my new obsession that I’ve been playing with over the past year and I still want to keep searching for the perfect combination of fabric and ink to make the best scarves ever.  I did some cotton scarves over the summer and now I’m experimenting with merino wool and pima cotton blends, soft and warm for winter.

What are some other things you like to do when you are not busy making awesome stuff?

I’m working on renovating an 1800’s farmhouse with my partner Mike, so that keeps us pretty busy. I’ve been learning about carpentry, plumbing, electricity, the foibles of old wooden houses. I also love hiking in the White Mountains, baking sweets, food in general, especially with good company, thrift shopping and rummage sales, cocktail hour, visiting cities and wandering til my feet are too tired to go on.

What are the top 3 reasons someone shopping at the BBB 2012 should be sure to stop by your table?

Holiday greeting cards, canvas tote bags, warm scarves, lots of bright patterns and colors.

What is your favorite background noise to listen to while working?

I listen to lots and lots of music. My playlists are kind of all-over-the-place. Lately I’ve been listening to Parov Stelar,  Robyn, Vanessa Da Mata, Saint Etienne, Thomas Fersen, so many other things. I’ve been obsessed with the new Adele song from Skyfall. I also listen to a lot of fiction on audiobooks while I’m working. Today it’s Michael Chabon, The Final Solution.

Where do you (craft) work?

I have a big studio space upstairs in my house. It’s above the kitchen so I get some heat from the woodstove, and sometimes delicious cooking smells.

What is your favorite mythical beast and what do you think their favorite crafty past time is?

Maybe it’s the Gryphon. I don’t think he does much crafting, but it’s funny to imagine him knitting.

We can’t wait to welcome Morris & Essex’s Eliza to her first Bazaar Bizarre as a vendor. See you in 2 weeks! Meanwhile, here are a few links: Morris&Essex online, shop, facebook, and blog.

Invite everyone to the BBB on Boston.com or Facebook! Family, friends, co-workers, strangers, we want you all there enjoying New England’s finest!