Thursday, March 29, 2018

Strongsville Crafters Coming to Town!


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
Strongsville Ehrnfelt Recreation Center
18100 Royalton Rd.
Strongsville, OH 44136
For more information, contact Becki Silverstein, Event Coordinator at Becki@ag-shows.com
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