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Handcrafted for the Home: Get to Know These One of a Kind Makers
11 . 05 . 2021
Home sweet home! We asked these makers who create beautiful and functional pieces for the home a few questions to learn a little more about them before we meet them in-person at the One of a Kind Holiday Show.
This Quiet Dust is a ceramic studio established by Dubhe Carreño in the suburbs of Chicago. Dubhe creates simple yet elegant handmade porcelain tableware bringing beauty to the everyday.
How and why did you decide to become an artist?
Dubhe: My first experience in art was as a ballet dancer. Expression through body movement is still part of what drives my work. The outline or profile of a piece offers a very specific expression. So within a dinnerware collection, I create a dance of different profiles, each form independent but harmonious within the group. I was introduced to clay by accident, while visiting a friend's house. It was love at first sight...me and clay forever.
Where does your inspiration come from?
Dubhe: I am inspired by nature's essence. Always effortlessly offering beauty in every single moment. That is my intention as an artist, to do just that with every object I make. Offer a moment of beauty where your senses are engaged as you hold a warm cup of tea, set your dinner table or put green and red and yellow vegetables in a bowl.
What does handmade mean to you?
Dubhe: Handmade is at the core of my work. It means having a thought and an intention and seeing it materialize in front of your eyes. So each piece is unique and it has a meaningful presence. Two are never perfectly alike, and that is what makes them special. Also, handmade proposes to move away from single use plastic that pollutes and harms our planet. Choosing objects that are meaningful aligns with quality that lasts.
Inspired by global patterns and textures, Tea + Linen's Julia Salameh creates one of a kind and handmade items to make any home feel cozy and well-traveled.
How and why did you decide to become an artist?
Julia: I've always created art in different forms. I got into the homewares space because I do believe that designing your everyday life and surroundings is important.
What influences your work?
Julia: History, architecture, and folklore.
What does handmade mean to you?
Julia: It can mean creating something from scratch, upscaling something, recycling it or even just adding to it.
Apart from your art and business, what do you do?
Julia: I have 3 kids!
Based in Akron, Ohio, Whiskertin Lighting creates handcrafted light fixtures and lamps out of found objects and industrial materials. Founders Glenn and Aaron utilize metal, wood, glass, and other items to construct unique, one of a kind pieces.
Describe your work.
Glenn: We handcraft lamps and light fixtures out of found objects and industrial material like metal, wood, and glass. Our pieces are unique and attention to detail is important. When we travel through everyday life we come in contact with so many different ideas for lighting. We are always like, 'how could we make that a light' or 'how could we make that light better'! We love to get people lit in creative ways. We put the FUN in functional.
What does handmade mean to you?
Glenn: To us, it means using your hands and your brain to construct the perfect piece from the vision created.
Apart from creating things, what do you do?
Glenn: I am also the Vice President for an acoustic treatment company called ClearSonic and Aaron also owns his own HVAC company.
What handmade possession do you most cherish?
Glenn: Aaron and I both cherish our health above possessions. Aaron has had to give up pretty much everything he has because of his health issues. I have watched him fight through this for the last 6 years and have had some issues of my own. It really makes you look at life differently. Stuff is really just stuff.
Be sure to visit these makers and more whose work can help make a home One of a Kind!