Meet Maxine Brand from
EmBee Colorations...
I
moved to Cleveland 3 years ago. I have lived in 17 communities, moved 24 times
and held 27 jobs. I am originally from Kansas City, Missouri and
graduated from the University of Texas. I got involved in politics which
led me to Washington where I was a director on a presidential campaign and
where I met my husband who was an advance man for the President of the United
States. We were married for 32 years before he passed away in 2011.
Now that I am retired, I spend a great deal of time playing pickleball,
volunteering, crocheting blankets for the NICU ward at Rainbow Babies Hospital
and now, making jewelry from my obsession with adult coloring.
I
started last summer trying to find an outlet for my coloring and this will be
my very first Avant-Garde show. I
have 2 sisters who are professional artists and I am always trying to find something
to compete with them, so I guess you could say that is what inspires me to
create!
One
of my sisters came to visit and saw my coloring and suggested I could make
jewelry from it. That sparked an idea and the rest isn't history yet, but
I am hoping it will be soon! I made a few necklaces and wore them around and
people asked where I bought them. So, I decided to see if this could be a
real business endeavor. My
creative process is actually a very labor intensive one.
The
message behind my work would be that you can make something out of anything!
Meet Lauren Falcione
from The Blonde Italian...
My food
is my art, mainly right now. I also paint with acrylics, animals, human faces
and flowers, am a self taught seamstress and enjoy woodworking. Creating
recipes, designing labels, website and all print work is another creative
outlet for me. I started my business 5 1/2 years ago. 'Food', 'Creativity'
& 'Lifestyle' were my 3 categories including handcrafted products to go
with each category, that I planned on selling on my website. I began with the
food category of my business. I studied food safety / science and earned my own
license from Dept Of Agriculture.
As an
Italian mom of two precious daughters, I love using fresh herbs, fresh garlic,
freshly ground spices & fresh vegetables in my cooking. It felt like all I
did was run to the market sourcing these fresh ingredients, then spent the rest
of my time prepping & chopping! I thought it would be nice to have these
ingredients ready to use and on hand at all times. So,I created my Garden
Garlic Seasoning from that concept. Fresh garlic, fresh herbs, freshly ground
spices in a blend of oils in a shelf stable form. I was told it couldn't be
done, but I knew I could -and did!- I continued creating more specialty sauces
from scratch all made with quality natural ingredients and designed each of
them to help you make a fabulous meal quickly, without all the work. I put
recipes/ instructions on every label. Getting a recipe from stove top to
the commercial level while tasting as fabulous as it should was very difficult.
I cooked, marketed, distributed & sold many thousands of jars by
myself.
Getting
into stores was another hurdle. I started with 2 sauces in one store in the
fall of 2012 and have since grown it into 12 sauces in 100 stores by May
1st 2018.
In 2015 I
was invited to cook live in studio on Fox8 New Day Cleveland TV show and have made
regular appearances ever since. That is turning into a fun extension of my
business.
I
performed a live audition for abc's Shark Tank for help with HSN whom has
interest in me and wants more flavors. That is like starting my business all
over again, so I asked for help. A very large group of Shark Tank applicants
was narrowed down to a very small group for TV potential and I was chosen as a
'Finalist'. No matter the outcome, I can say that forever. I earned it and
proud of it.
In the
meantime a very large retailer gave me the nicest compliment ever and asked me
to make my recipes for them and supply 5,000 stores on a weekly basis. That is
in addition to my current 100 stores. The logistics alone were mind boggling
and it was a huge learning curve. I am able to continue growing my business
without outside investment help which in a couple of years I will see just how
wonderful that is.
'In five
years'... I hope to have the other dozen of my specialty sauce recipes brought
to market and continue managing it all as well as I'm doing now. I would also
like to have the products shown in 'Creativity' and 'Lifestyle' categories on
my website made and available for all to enjoy!
You do a
nice job with your shows and I thank you for having me. I love the interaction
and smiling faces! Making people happy is really what it's all about!
Meet Kristi Ansley
from Art Flow...
Hi my name is Kristi Ansley! I am an office manager for a plumbing company, a mother to a 6
year old & the owner of Art flow.
I have been crafting & painting for many many years but once I
discovered this form of art from a good friend, I was hooked! I've been to
other painting instructional places & yes they are super fun but I found
most people I was with felt unhappy with their skills. When I was introduced to
this form of creating, I knew it would be fun for everyone! One pour &
you'll be hooked too!
This will be my second time doing the Avant-Garde Art & Craft
Show & I’m very excited to be apart of it again!
What inspires me? The freeing feeling & stress relief
associated with art, especially this form of art. I’m looking forward to
bringing a unique form of art that anyone can do to people that may have felt
frustrated in the past by their own skills.
I enjoy seeing what color combinations work well together &
trying all the different techniques that go along with acrylic pour painting.
My hope for the future is to have my own store front for pour
painting parties and galleries. For now I’m enjoying creating & hosting
events at local places to share my love of Art Flow!
The message behind my work is ~ to spread peace, love, light &
hope. Let Go & Lose Control with Art Flow!
Check out our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/artflowexperience)
for all upcoming events & give it a try! Come get messy, let go & lose
control with us! It's very freeing & you will create one of a kind
uniquely amazing artwork too!
2018 Strongsville Spring Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show
Saturday April 14th, 2018 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
Sunday April 15th, 2018 - 11:00am - 5:00pm
Sunday April 15th, 2018 - 11:00am - 5:00pm
Strongsville Ehrnfelt Recreation Center
18100 Royalton Rd.
Strongsville, OH 44136
For more information, contact Becki Silverstein, Event Coordinator at Becki@ag-shows.com
Visit us on:
LINKEDIN
