Not Your Mother's Craft Fair- Part 3

Meet Belta...

                                               
                                                and Rondo...

                                                    and Effel...

                                                                    

These little cutie pies and are born from the wacky and wonderful brain of Joelle Medici.  Joelle's line of creatures is called Mr. Sogs, named after her very plump cat, Soggy.  Joelle is the youngest Renegade artist I met, she is merely 25 years old and makes a living off of her art.  This was her 3rd time doing the fair, and she also sells her creatures in boutiques across the country and in her Etsy store.

Mama and babies.

 

The creatures are all made of fleece and come in pairs, so they are all twins.  They are all sewn by Joelle and some months she can barely keep up with the demand she has for new creatures.  Joelle runs her business, and is currently in school getting her masters degree in Fine Art.  I asked her if she had any advice for aspiring Renegade Crafters, "Be willing to travel, but make sure to factor in your expenses to make sure it's worth your time."  Joelle says she loves her lifestyle and running her business, and she hopes to have her own store front within a few years.  I suspect with the energy and focus Joelle has, that that store front will be sooner than later.

To see more of Joelle's creatures, check out her facebook page: www.facebook.com/MrSogs

And to adopt one of your own creatures, visit her Etsy store: mrsogs.etsy.com

Another young textile artist whose work I adore is Eling Chang.  She is in her 4th year as a Renegade artist and her felt hair accessories and jewelry had a crowd of ladies hogging the mirror and in a frenzy at her booth!  

Ha ha, that's me in the mirror...

Eling lives outside of Boston and works in a old renovated mill that has been converted into artist studio spaces.  Her company is called Migration Goods, named after her love of travel and for the semi annual destinations she visits, which become temporary homes away from home for her.   Eling has been making art for as long as she can remember and began selling her work back in 2005.  She too makes a living off of her art!

Toast with butter and jam.  Some happy toast, some kinda sad, all delicious...

It's Eling's multi layered felt hair accessories that I think are the show stoppers.  She cuts all her felt by hand with a mere scissors, creating all different flower, petal and leaf shapes.

Petal shapes, pre sewing...

an array of brooches and hair clips...

scalloped head bands...

and the motherlode...a hydrangea head band...

Eling runs her business, making all of her own pieces, keeping the books, traveling around the country doing fairs and maintains her Etsy store.
"I would love to keep doing what I'm doing, with steady growth to my business.  I don't want to expand too much, as I still take care of every aspect of my business myself.  While I'm not so attached to micromanaging, accounting & paperwork, I love that I make every single piece myself, and I want to keep doing that."

To purchase one of Elings hair accessories, check out her Etsy store,  http://migrationjewelry.etsy.com and to keep up with her and her process,  her blog is,  http://elingeling.typepad.com

Thanks Joelle and Eling for talking to me, and for creating such wonderful art!!