Wednesday, November 20, 2019

The Countdown to Crafts Begins, Strongsville!

Meet Brigette Lasko of The Bookish Hooker...
Hi! My name is Bri and I’m the face behind The Bookish Hooker. I live in Avon Lake with my husband. I hold down a full-time day job and also help my husband out with his business, Bottoms Up! Yoga & Brew. My hobbies are baking, reading pretty much anything I can get my hands on, and fiber arts. I’ve been making crafts for as long as I can remember, but I’ve been crocheting regularly since early 2017.
I’m the type of person that has a lot of anxious energy so I need a creative outlet. I have another business, Baked By Brigitte that I started in 2015 to create custom cakes, cupcakes, and desserts. I created The Bookish Hooker as a creative extension of that business to showcase my other hobbies outside of the kitchen. My Nana taught me to crochet when I was about 8 or 9 and I never really got into it until about 2 years ago when I wanted a way to create fun gifts for my niece. I grew up around my mom who is incredibly crafty and she fostered a love for creating things in me.
I filter through Pinterest and Ravelry a lot for inspiration photos. From there I tend to customize patterns into exactly what either myself or a client is looking for. My husband always jokes that I create a “nest” wherever I decide to work on a project out of blankets and craft supplies and I tend to not come out until I’m done.
 I’m lucky right now in that I’m in a position to pick and choose what projects I’d like to work on. In five years I’d still like to be enjoying what I do without being in the “I have to get this work done” mindset. I’d like to work on publishing a few of my custom patterns, but otherwise I’d just like to still be in a place where I can create and enjoy what I do. This will be my first ever show that I’ve participated in and I’m really looking forward to it.
There’s not any particular message behind my work other than just to fill my desire to make pretty things that people can enjoy. I always say that I don’t consider myself a particularly creative person, I just really enjoy making something physical that someone can get a little joy out of.

Meet Anna and Sam Weisend of ReAmused...
Anna and Sam Weisend are the mother/daughter team behind ReAmused. Anna is an accomplished sugar artist and pastry chef and Sam has an art studio degree and is a practicing artist. When Sam discovered her love for hand binding books, she made a blank book for her mother using Anna’s favorite game board, Scrabble, as the cover. It sparked a flame in both of them to rescue and recycle old game boards and make them into something that could continue to amuse even the most serious adult. As they did that, they started finding new uses for the game pieces as well. The journals did not fit in with Sam’s more ‘serious art’ pursuits so, after much discussion, Sam and Anna joined their artistic talents and formed ReAmused. They are hoping that through this joint venture, they can bring smiles to the masses.
Sam has been binding books for over a year and Anna has joined her in the last 6 months. We both have the ability to see and appreciate the beauty and potential in unwanted things and it gives us the desire to find ways to use them so that others can appreciate them as well.
Our creative process can be described as the following: We tinker. We play with things. We think about it. And then we go back to tinkering.  In five years, we can envision new product collections and a larger, supportive fan base. The message behind our work is that, first, just because things are old does not mean they are worthless. Second, day to day adulting does not need to be so serious.
This is our first Avant Garde Show and it is also the first show we are debuting our work to the public!

Meet Nate Schultz of Nate Schultz Photography
I am a full-time math teacher, who is always looking for ways to stay busy and be invested in various projects and conversations with people. My wife and I have a Chocolate Lab that we treat as a child; and we also had our first baby girl in June! We love finding new places to explore, eat, and have a good cup of coffee. I became a part-time barista at a local coffee shop, which allows me to pursue conversations and share my interest in coffee with new people. I also love to spend time in the woods, preferably near a lake or waterfall. These types of hikes are my favorite scenes to capture and I attempt to bring them back with me through photography.
A few years ago, I had a combination of life events and stress that led to a group of friends suggesting that I spend time in nature to provide me a “reset.” My wife and I started hiking at Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the local metro parks. I discovered the value of these great places and one day I happened to take an old camera with me to grab a few photos. It did not take long for this to develop into a passion that I could not resist trying to improve upon daily. I have benefitted from the advice and help of many friends in creative industries! The more and more I shared my love for landscape photography, people started asking for prints. So, I decided to start matting photos and seeking out opportunities to share my work with the public!
One of the things that I love about landscape photography is the interaction with fellow artists. I enjoy talking with local photographers and artists to hear about places they have explored and to share my own suggestions. Also, just seeing the other styles of photography reinvigorates me to try something new.
I love the outdoors. I have heard too many people say that they feel like they need to take big vacations to see exciting and beautiful sights. I believe that Ohio has a unique blend of nature, cities, and culture that provides for great one-day trips in our own state. 
This is my first Avant Garde show! I am looking forward to meeting other creatives and customers!

I’ve just begun exploring the business aspect of photography, and I look forward to seeing where it takes me in the next five years! It could be continuing to sell local landscapes, traveling for photography, finding more opportunities for event photography, furthering my portraiture work, etc. It is a lot of fun for me to learn about different types of skills in this hobby.
As a man of faith, I am fascinated with God’s incredible design of nature. I also love using this outlet as an opportunity to show value in other people and to speak life to them as we interact about hiking or photography.



2019 Strongsville Fall Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show
Saturday & Sunday, November 22 & 23, 2019
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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