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Green-Minded Goods: Get to Know These One of a Kind Makers
10 . 16 . 2022
Shopping with sustainability in mind this holiday season? At the One of a Kind Holiday Show, there's no shortage of sustainably created goods. We spoke with four artists and makers who create with an eco-friendly approach.
Paul Angiolillo runs a small blacksmith shop in Jackson, Wyoming that specializes in heritage carbon steel cookware. These pieces are made by hand using traditional blacksmithing techniques. Paul’s goal is to create beautiful, functional cookware that will last a lifetime, if not generations!
What led you to pursue blacksmithing?
Paul: I love and have always admired the creative practice of using your hands and mind in order to be a craftsman. My early career as a farrier taught me the fundamental skills of blacksmithing. It has been a long journey becoming a maker. The skills that it took to master blacksmithing has taken nearly a decade. Each part of my path has led me to combine these passions to become the maker I am today.
What motivates you to create?
Paul: It is my goal is to create each piece of cookware to be beautiful aesthetically and equally functional. I’m inspired to get these out there and into people’s hands and keep trash out of the landfills! I am really excited to showcase my heritage made carbon steel cookware; more people need to know about cooking with carbon steel!
What handmade possession do you most cherish?
Paul: I absolutely cherish my Igneous skis handmade here in Jackson Hole. I have two pairs; they are the best skis I have ever owned, and they are beautiful works of art and precision.
Based in Kauai, Hawaii, Meli Wraps is a woman owned business that creates high quality and long-lasting beeswax wraps for food storage that help to reduce waste. We spoke with owner, Melia Foster, to learn more about her process and mission.
Tell us about Meli Wraps.
Melia: We are known for our innovative, fun, and colorful beeswax wrap rolls. We use only the best materials such as certified organic cotton, Hawaiian Beeswax, and organic plant oils. This combo creates a wrap to use in place of plastic wrap or sandwich bags. It can be washed and reused up to 150 times! At the end of its life, it can be composted. A portion of each sale goes towards supporting ocean conservation.
What led you to your craft?
Melia: I grew up in Hawaii and my mother was a lei maker and a basket weaver. I believe I was inspired by this place to create beautiful things with my hands! I’ve always felt drawn to inspire others to care for our planet. Growing up in Hawaii where everything is beautiful; it only makes sense to preserve that beauty!
Are you bringing anything special to the Show this year?
Melia: We are very excited to launch our re-wax bar! This will allow you to revive for wraps so they last even longer! We only have a limited supply so definitely come to our booth early if you want to get one!
Melissa Knieriem, a mom of four girls with a passion for vintage style and an interior design background, is the founder of Frankfort Candle Company, a venture that celebrates the significance of family heirlooms and cherished memories. Her signature sustainable clean-burning candles are curated with luxe fragrances and wooden wicks, and hand-poured into One of a Kind ceramic vessels, all of which can be continually refilled or repurposed.
What led you to start Frankfort Candle Co.?
Melissa: Creativity runs thick and deep in my family. My grandmother was a watercolorist, my grandfather made furniture, windmills, and designed houses. Both sides of my family are very musical, my dad was a music teacher and a creator of live edge furniture and speakers himself in retirement. One of my brothers was a poet and the other was a chef. Having four daughters is a full-time gig and while I adore being a mom, having a creative outlet and a space to express is non-negotiable for me.
What inspires your work?
Melissa: I have a real passion for design and pretty things. Walking into an antique store and seeing all the beauty and potential to repurpose beautiful vessels really gets me fired up and excited. When you love what you do, motivation is a natural by-product. I enjoy getting up every morning and seeing what the day brings in terms of the creative process that day. Candles are a full sensory experience, so I tend to be inspired by smells, memories, the crackle of the wick, the feel of the wax, and of course the overall look of the finished piece.
What are you most excited to bring to the Show?
Melissa: There will be some super fun candles inside of vintage holiday vessels in the mix!
Living and working out of her home, an 1880's wool mill in Philadelphia, Maryanne Petrus-Gilbert transforms used clothing into new, playful pieces.
Tell us about your work.
Maryanne: I recycle preloved clothing into new whimsical clothing and accessories. I sift though thrift store racks looking for lovely colors, juicy patterns and soft yummy textures to purchase, wash dry and cut up and remake into new pieces with a new life.
What led you to your craft?
For as long as I can remember, I made things. Nothing was off limits in my mind growing up. I often ruined scissors by cutting wire for a project. Spray paint, glue, paper, found objects and tools were my best friends. I taught myself to sew by using my Mom's Singer sewing machine. Every day, I wake up with a need to have finished things at the end of the day. It doesn't really matter the medium, I just love to create.
What inspires you to create your art?
I love nature and recreating how I see it. Most of my sewn drawings are my interpretation of life around me. I am often asked if I still love what I do now 13 years into this and the answer is always YES! Using recycled materials offers a randomness that I need to stay interested. It also creates the uniqueness I don't think I could get if I used traditional new materials.
What handmade possession do you most cherish?
I love waking every morning and reading a statement on a print I bought years ago when I found my footing after the loss of my husband. It reads: 'Now looking back, she couldn't figure out the actual moment when she did start over. This much she knows: it did not happen in the air, but here on the ground where she landed.' It reminds me that life moves forward and people heal, even if they don't realize it is happening.
Say hello to these eco-conscious makers and more when you visit the show!