Woodland Weavery- A Fantasy in Fibre

When Germaine of Woodland Weavery joined East Coast Dream Team, I went right to the shop and then browsed and browsed.  One of the fascinating things about craft and design is when people take a traditional art form (in Germaine's case weaving) and within the structure of tradition find their own vision in the way they interpret the form.  I see this in the subtle colours and textures of the items in Woodland Weavery's shop.

Germaine brings 30 years of experience in her craft to the team.  She started weaving after going to a pioneer village and watching the women weave.  Her husband said he's build her a loom if she wove on it, and he did! What a great guy!  (I joke with my own husband that I keep him around for the barn building.)  Well, I'm very happy that he built the loom, because Germaine certainly did weave on it and the results are stunning.

Germaine described what attracts her to her craft so well that I'm going to just quote her directly:
  "I find weaving to be a challenging craft and that it will take many lifetimes to learn everything it has to offer. Weaving can be simple or complicated. It can be all hand-manipulated as tapestry or involve a computer in the designing. Weave structures galore to study, threads to feel and handle. Colours!!!"  She describes so well how the lifetime learning process and the artisan's involvement with the "how" of doing a craft rather than just the "what" is such a part of what makes handmade items special.

Like many of us, Germaine started selling her product after exhausting the gift giving possibilities to family.There are only so many towels and scarves a person can own!  Germaine is enjoying East Coast Dream team as a way to connect to other artisans and hopes in a broader way that it will be a way to advertise the great work of Atlantic Coast Canadians to a broader audience.  (And I, too, Germaine).

It's great to have Germaine's work and vision as part of the team.  You can see her work in her shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/WoodlandWeavery

Germaine also has a Facebook page for her business here: www.facebook.com/WoodlandWeavery

Here's some examples of Germaine's work.  Feast your eyes (wish I could touch these online, too):

Bye for now!  Off to discover more amazing work from our talented East Coast,

Bethany

Meet the Team Captain

Hi folks!

Summer's here and it's a busy season for the East Coast Dream Team.  I'd like to introduce our very busy Team Captain, who has been working very hard both on her own orders and on infusing some new energy into the team.

Like many stay-at home-moms (and dads), Amanda found she needed a hobby for herself while caring for her son.  She turned to crocheting, a craft she ended up picking up along the way when originally wanting to learn to knit.  (By the way, Amanda and readers, this also happened to me in that I crocheted first when intending to learn to knit - now I knit, spin, weave and felt - Amanda had better watch out, the fiber art bug is addictive!) While she hadn't originally thought of selling her delightful crocheted items, she eventually tried some local sites but didn't get the number of orders she wished for, and so turned to Etsy to sell her wares.  Amanda has some of the most delightful photo props for babies I've ever seen, full of bright colors and turning the babies into sweet little bears and creatures in cocoons.

Amanda has a background and lots of experience in sales and promotion, and decided to bring this to the team as a Team Captain to help others be as successful as possible with their own shops.  Her hard work has really infused some new energy and spirit into the team!  She hopes to see the members take a more active role in promoting each other in the future through treasuries and social media.

Keep up the great work, Amanda!

Here's some photo's of Amanda's gorgeous work, available by order through Etsy at her shop.

Meet the Blogger of East Coast Dream Team

Hi everyone!  I'll be checking in every week or so to introduce you to the wonderful artisans and vintage dealers of East Coast Dream Team.  I thought maybe you could do with a little background on myself to start.

I began selling on Etsy at the tail-end of 2010.  It was a wonderful outlet for my creativity and a means to meet other creative people.  I've been creating dolls, baskets and working in fibre arts literally most of my life (I made my first basket at age 9, my first stuffed animal when I was 6).  I've always loved reflecting my impressions of the world of nature around me in a 3-D format, and have shared my work with the public while working in the health and human services field as a day job. 

When I had my own children, I found there was a real lack of environmentally friendly, beautiful and creative toys for them, and my creativity took a new turn as I started to experiment with toy making as an art form.  One day I saw a needle felted figure.  I was taken with the detail and a little sad it was seen as exclusively an art item and not for children.  What if some somewhat simpler items could be made with children expressly in mind?

I went to the local knitting store, picked up some of my favourite roving (I was already a spinner and familiar with that end of things ) and asked if they had some of those "felting needle things".  I went home and rolled and wrapped and pulled at the wool into various shapes and poked at it with a needle (I was felting about 3 years before I ever read a book about it) and this mermaid that still lives in our house with us emerged.  From here, there was no going back!

After this initial indulgence for myself only, I went on to tweak my creations to be more in line with the spirit of a child.  When creating for children, I keep the design more simple to allow for imagination, but with enough detail to be engaging, and of course, I keep things very sturdy.  You can visit my shop to see more!


http://www.etsy.com/shop/FeltingFishDesigns

While you're there, here's a few more shops with equally interesting designers to meet.  More links coming!


http://www.etsy.com/shop/bananabottoms
http://www.etsy.com/shop/MegsCrochetCreations
http://www.etsy.com/shop/engravedmemory

East Coast Dream Team:  Your Place to Shop for Locally Handmade Items from Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island

We are a group of Etsy artisans and vintage dealers banding together to support each other and the shop local movement.  Our talented members make everything from ceramics, to woodworking, to jewelry, children's apparel, fine art and more!   Come to us if you want to support small local business in PEI and Nova Scotia while procuring a beautiful, one of a kind handmade or vintage item for yourself or a special someone.

Below are provided links to our team page on Etsy, and our team Facebook page (still under construction) where you can find all of our members and a link to our shops.  Over time we will be introducing ourselves and our work so you can find out more about the faces behind the art work.

Find us on Etsy Teams

Find us on Facebook