Blog

We’ve known Cheryl Netter for many years in the context of her expertise in Roses (she grows about 500 of them in her home garden), and Morris Dancing (Cheryl, husband and kids have all danced with the Maroon Bells Morris Dancers at our May Day Festivals). She is also a multi-talented craftswoman!

We’re carrying Cheryl’s detailed native bird and toadstool needle-felted ornaments, all original designs, meticulously crafted. Because of the nature of the felting process, no two ornaments are ever exactly alike, which makes them all the more precious. They are destined to become treasured family heirlooms!

Jen Grant creates these cheerful and artful flags with her original designs.  Display your affection for wildflowers, bees, birds, bicycles, etc. by garlanding a doorway, deck, porch, window or wall.  Her original block-printed designs are made in Lafayette, CO.

Our friend Clark and his family have turned what used to be a hobby into a full-time business.In their Longmont studio, they make delightful cast beeswax candles that come in a variety of shapes and sizes, including several designs that are based on traditional European holiday season candle molds.

Amber Lights candles are highly decorative, wonderfully detailed, naturally endowed with a heavenly honey scent, and burn clean and smokeless.  

Amy Mundinger of Pine Tree Studios is truly a gifted craftswoman, with a keen eye for color and design, and well-honed skills in fiber arts from crochet to embroidery on upcycled felt, and free-motion quilting with hand-dyed 100% cotton fabrics. And now that her children are grown she is able to share some of her wonderful work with us!

Each of her original fabric applique art cards is an individually handmade small work of art.  Hand-dyed cotton fabrics often mixed with modern prints and batiks, give these cards a vibrant punch. Her lively ornaments, made with upcycled felt over antique spindles, feature charming foxes and owls.  Expect to be enchanted by Amy’s diverse creations! 

Blue Peacock’s vibrant indigo table linens, towels, bags and accessories are entirely handmade by my new friend, Susanne Kianicka, in her small artisan workshop in Boulder, CO, using a centuries-old fabric design technique called INDIGO BLUEPRINT to create timeless one-of-a-kind pieces of cloth. Carefully prepared white linen, cotton or silk fabric is hand-printed with a dye resist, using her own handmade printing blocks or silk screens, then dipped repeatedly in an organic indigo plant dye bath. After washing, the resist printed areas appear as crisp white patterns contrasting perfectly against rich indigo blue background. Finally, the fabric is cut and sewn into the final shapes.

Susanne’s work is influenced by the richness of European folk art and crafts. Growing up in Switzerland, her family’s Slovak heritage stimulated her study of the Central European technique of indigo dyeing and the region’s textile designs. Knowing that Indigo Blueprint has become very rare motivates Susanne to try to keep alive this crafting tradition, drawing on her training as Cultural Anthropologist and her diverse handwork skills.

Susanne uses only high-quality natural fabrics and organic plant dye. Her “Global Boho” style celebrates cultural heritage while blending ethnic patterns with modern trends to create fresh designs. Inspired by principles of the Slow Fiber movement, she makes each piece with great care and consideration.

Blue Peacock’s meticulously crafted fine indigo textiles creations are thus labors of love and exceptional quality!

Inspired by Colorado’s wildlife and the outdoors, Amanda Maldonado makes delightful drawings of local animals in pen and ink. This year, we’re selling postcard prints of these fun, hand-illustrated critters.  Amanda was raised in North Carolina, but has fallen in love with her adopted home here in the hills of Boulder.

She is passionate about the Boulder Public Library, writing snail mail, and her cat, Fiasco. Follow her on Instagram (@Coy.Ink) to keep up to date with her most recent drawings.

Our customer and friend Diane Patterson makes these wonderful ornaments, called Temari, which date back to ancient Japan, where Temari was originally a handcraft of upper class women. Intricate designs were embroidered on handmade balls using silk threads from kimonos. The balls were used as toys.

Temari are unique, beautiful, colorful gifts. Attractive hanging as a single ornament, grouped in a bowl, used in a centerpiece, given as a housewarming gift, or simply to hold and admire, they will be treasured for many years.

Nationally known fiber artist, Annette Kennedy from Longmont, has been creating her award-winning quilt art since 2003, with her award-winning pieces in the National Quilt Museum and in private collections around the country.

These artful magnets and coasters are images of her art quilts that will bring the spark of inspiration wherever they are placed. They are durable and easy to wipe clean when needed.  Nature is Annette’s focus, with flowers, plants and landscapes being the central theme in her work.

Erin Huybrechts Davis says she has been a painter for as long as she can remember. She grew up on the east coast, has her degree in painting and printmaking, and a masters degree in education. She now lives here in Longmont, CO, where she is a freelance illustrator and teaches art to young people.

We were struck by her flowing, stylized and poetic depictions of the natural world. She is inspired by patterns and imagery from Asia, where she has traveled, and this influence is evident in her work as well. We are delighted to offer Erin’s cards, prints, and original paintings again this year!

Years ago, Julie and I were classmates at the Boulder Potters Guild. Her passion for clay subsequently led her to create her own home studio in Longmont, where she applies her hand-building skills and sense of whimsy to making delightful decorative and functional pieces.

Now a Guild member and a teacher there, Julie says “I am drawn to texture and find my roots coming through in my work. I am inspired by nature and by the patterns of repetition: the simplicity of a house, the design formed by bicycle gears, the delicate texture in a leaf, the rolling rocks in a rambling stone wall, and the ridges on a sea turtle’s shell.”

Back by popular demand!  Notecards of vibrant paintings by renowned Boulder watercolor artist and muralist Kathleen Lanzoni feature local landscapes and floral subjects.  This year Kathleen will also offer some of her giclee prints and several original paintings.

Kathleen has been the recipient of numerous awards, especially for her plein air paintings (painted from life on-site, not in the studio). She is also a wonderful painting teacher and mentor.

We love using Khala cloths, the original Beeswax Wraps in the US. They are the creation of Asa and Tamar McKee, who now reside in Boulder, where they produce their environmentally responsible alternatives to plastic wrap and plastic bags. Khala Cloths can be used to cover and seal a bowl of left-overs, and make the best wrapping for keeping cheeses, breads and vegetables fresh longer.  Every Khala Cloth comes in zero waste packaging and the  cloth used is organic cotton and hemp grown in North America – no bleaching, no chemicals!  Khala Cloths will have a long life (several years) when properly cared for.

As a child, Tina Hoffer discovered a passion for woodworking by watching her dad in his own shop. After moving to Colorado in 1990, she started a family and turned her garage into a wood shop where she could escape and could explore the beauty of woodworking.

Using a variety of woods, domestic, exotic, and reclaimed, in her Lafayette workshop, Tina creates a wide range of functional works of art.  She has refined her craft and focuses now on smaller creations.  Natural-edge cutting boards and hand-carved kitchen utensils are among her specialties. They are functional, beautifully designed and crafted and a joy to use, to hold, and to behold.

Shari Moraga is practically our neighbor in Boulder. She calls her work ‘illustrations in thread’ and uses her sewing machine to ‘draw’ and ‘paint’ her light-hearted illustrations of vegetables, honeybees and hives, bicycles and more, on sturdy cotton tea towels, aprons for gardeners and cooks, napkin sets and zipper bags.

Lois Edgar is a longtime member of the Boulder Potters Guild. She has been exploring techniques with clay for many years and has developed a style that is both earthy and charming.

This year we feature her porcelain wares, fabulous planters, and other salt-fired pieces. We will also have her elegant hand-made embossed greeting cards and holiday tree ornaments.  

Our dear friend Lynn Mattingly is a renowned fiber artist, and has been practicing and teaching quilting for decades.  An exceptional sense of color-combining, a fabulous collection of fabrics and a mastery of design and craftsmanship combine to make Lynn’s work really special.  We love seeing her beautiful pot-holders hanging on our stove, and they have held up in our kitchen for a very long time. Sturdy and machine-washable, they are not only gorgeous but also practical.

This year we offer her Baby Quilts, Quilted Pot-holders and Table-Runners, and Peace Garlands. Lynn lives just over the hills in Paonia, CO.