Interview with Joanna of Earthware

Today we bring you an interview from Joanna of Earthware, a handmade jewelry business in Hoover, AL.  Hillary met Joanna several months ago at a craft fair in Helena and the two have kept up with each other since.

Your story is a little different from most of the other people I have interviewed. Tell everyone how you got started into making and selling jewelry.

Ok, so I got started making jewelry around November of 2010. A friend of mine has a small jewelry business and I invited her to do a jewelry show at my home for me and all my friends. I was super excited about it because I got free jewelry for hosting. I was so impressed with her collection that a few weeks later I asked if I could come to her house and pick through her bead studio to see if there were things that I could throw together. I was hooked as soon as I walked in the door. It was bead heaven. Wall to wall, beads, components, string, chain, etc. You name it, she had it. I picked out a few things and left. I couldn't get her studio out of my head, I had to go play in bead land. I called her and basically forced her to say yes that I could come help her make jewelry part time. She paid me a few bucks a set. I was obsessed with beading after my first day. We would sit there for hours, listening to music, create and chat. She was pretty impressed with how well I did for never having beaded before. I too was pretty impressed with myself. She mentioned that I should start my own business. My mind started spinning. After a few weeks, we had pumped out so much jewelry that she had to place new orders. There was too much down time for me. I decided at that moment that I would do what she had recommended and open my own jewelry business. A sweet friend let me borrow some money to get started and that was the beginning of Earthwear. 

Making the jewelry was easy, selling it, not so much. I got my first order of beads on April 28, 2010. It was the day after the horrific tornado that ripped through Tuscaloosa, Cullman and Birmingham. I was in the middle of trying to organize donations for a friend of my son's teacher who had a 2 week old baby and had lost their home. In between emails, I started searching the internet for local art shows and was amazed that there was a whole little world out there for artists. That made me very happy! I then realized that it was mostly too late to get into most of them due to the late time of the year and deadlines. Some of them were nice and let me in late, others basically told me tough luck and call back next year. So that is exactly what I am doing!!  

In the time that I have known you, your skill and style have improved rapidly. What do you you attribute this to?

My style of jewelry making started out very basic. All I did was bead. I am good with color and shapes, and just put pieces together that I thought would look good. I like a lot of different shapes, colors and textures in a piece, and multiple patterns. You know when you see Earthwear, it just has that look. I will never forget my first time working with copper wire. I was so afraid to fail at it that I avoided it for a long time. I just didn't think I could do it. A friend of mine that was selling my jewelry for me started wrapping pendants. I had already bought all the stuff to do it, but like I said, I was scared. She did such a good job that I became obsessed again. She came over and showed me how to get started and I need to thank her for that. So my style has grown and evolved in a short time due to my determination to prove to my self that I can do anything that I set my mind to. I adore pretty, handmade jewelry and strive with every piece to make it the best one I have ever made. 


Where do you get your inspiration for the art you create?

Inspiration for each piece comes from a single stone usually. I have always been good with color. I mean, putting together outfits, planting a garden, decorating my home...etc. When I see a stone that I cant quit thinking about, I know that is my inspiration piece and I build the piece around that stone. I do get "writers block" occasionally and get sick of the same ole stuff that I have been making and I'll jump on Pintrest or Etsy and grab and idea or two. If I do that, I always make sure that it is made differently than the original piece I saw. I would not want to copy anyone's work. 

What have you found is the most successful way to market yourself?

The most successful way I market Earthwear is by getting out there and showing people who you are and what you have to offer. The other most successful thing about Earthwear is my logo. I put my logo on all my earring cards, so when someone buys them, they have my logo as well. That is the first thing people recognize when they see me at a show. They point to my logo on my tent sign and say, "oh yeah, I've seen this jewelry somewhere". When you make quality products, they basically sell themselves, you just gotta get it out there in everyone's face. People are more willing to buy something if they are familiar with it. Smiling helps a lot too!

What details do you think artists should pay attention to when trying to market their art that they might sometimes miss?

I think an artist should stay true to who they are and the art that they create. Don't go out there and try to create something that isn't you and try to create something just because you think it will sell. Creativity is such a powerful and personal journey. When an artist sits down to create something, they are not thinking about how much money they are gonna make from it, they are thinking about what inspired them to do it in the first place. They are thinking about the miners who dug into the earth to find the vein of turquoise, or the logger to cut down the tree, or the welder who cut the sheet of metal, or what ever person worked to make sure you have your medium of choice. Or at least that is what I think about. I also think about the person who will wear that piece of jewelry and if I will ever see them out and about enjoying it. A big realization for me this past holiday season was the fact that women all over would be opening gifts and seeing my logo and that gorgeous piece of Earth that Mother Nature was so gracious to offer us. All artist need to remember that, yeah, the money is good, but none of us would be doing this if we didn't love it. So don't look at your art as a job, but be thankful that we are able to do what we love, what is in our hearts and that other people love it as much as we do and want to give us money for the things that we create. The old saying is true, Its a labor of love.

What is your favorite thing about creating and selling your art?

My favorite thing about creating my art is the satisfaction I get when a piece is completed. I will throw the necklace around my neck and think it is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I love it even more when I see someone else get excited about the things that I make. It is a very good feeling knowing that someone loves something that you made and love more than you do!

Last but not least, where can we find you and your art?

You can find me in the heart of Hoover. I have grown up here and will raise my children here as well. Hoover is home and always will be. I don't have a shop, but you can find my art here on facebook and at most of the big art shows in Hoover and surrounding areas. I am hoping to get into the the 2012 Buck Creek Festival this year and have already been invited back to a number of festivals from last year. One being the Festival in the Pines at Tannehill State Park in Sept. I plan on doing the Moss Rock Festival here in Hoover as well as the Bluff Park art show in Hoover in November. I am booked for a event in Helena called You're So Artsy in March. Also I will be at the Mt. Laurel Spring Festival in April.

We would also like to note that Joanna has a facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/earthwearbyjoanna

Creation Sunday - Fruit Puree Muffins Part 3: Clementine/Orange

Today, for "Creation Sunday", Hillary is continuing her 4 part series on variations on a muffin recipe. It was originally going to be a 3 part series with blueberry being the final recipe, but she says the blueberry recipe is still a work in progress.  In the meantime, she found a way to make yet another variation.

In a Creation Sunday, many moons ago, I started a series on fruit puree muffins which began with my favorite Banana Muffin recipe,  This week, We will take that same base recipe and create a unique muffin with a twist - clementine/orange.  This recipe happened when I went to make my pumpkin muffins for our special Christmas day breakfast and I realized that all the cans of pumpkin I had just bought were bad.

For our clementine muffins, we'll start with the same base recipe, which can be found here on the Post website. Again, my modifications generally follow the rules I set out in my cookie post.

Here are the changes I make:
-Like with my Banana Muffin recipe, I used whole wheat pastry flour instead of regular flour.
-I added a good dash of pumpkin pie spice (or something equivalent) in with the dry ingredients.
-I used turbinado sugar instead of white sugar.
-I substituted a cup of a combination of clementine zest, fresh clementines and orange juice in place of the bananas.
-I added approx 1 tbl of honey in with the wet ingredients.
-I used orange yogurt instead of regular yogurt.
-This time, I used Total Honey Almond Flax for the cereal.
-The batter seemed too wet, so I added about 1/3 C of quick oats.
Once the muffins were baked, I realized they were too dry, so I mixed up a quick batch of glaze based on the Glaze in this Lemon cake recipe, substituting orange juice for the lemon juice.

The verdict on Christmas day was that they were totally awesome and should appear on the table again. I was glad because the day before I was losing my mind over the fact that we might not have good muffins for Christmas day.

We Hope you enjoyed the recipe and hope to see you back soon!

Frustrations and Realizations part 2 - The Beginning of the Journey

Back in December, I posted about the frustration that happens when I go to craft shows and my items don't sell well.  It's not just about money, it's about validation.  In fact, I didn't start making art because I thought "there's money in that!"  I started making art because I love making things.  I started selling it because I had so many things I was making that they couldn't possibly all live in my house or all be given to family.  Sure, making a steady income would be nice, but it's not why I create.  It's just that not selling feels like such a rejection.  I want people out there to connect with my art enough that they want to take it home.  And sitting all day at a show (or many shows), where that doesn't happen is frustrating.  When I talk about wanting to give up because I can't sell anything it's because I would have a house full of items with nowhere to go, even if I just created with no shows/sales in mind.  Like I mentioned before, clearly the answer isn't to give up and stop creating because clearly I love it and it comforts me and it's good for me.  Also clearly, people do connect with my work because for all the shows where I don't make back the fee, I have some where I do.  And even at the shows where I don't make any money, people smile, compliment my work, take my card, etc.
I think I stumbled upon a little bit of what I need to make this all work.  I went to a show with my other business and did quite well.  It was a very "niche" kind of thing.  I need to find whatever the "niche" is for this business.  You would think 10 years in that I would have but A. it's not always easy to find and B. It seemed like I had for a while, but people change, times change, the economy changes, etc.  This business needs to find it's own corner of the earth to blossom in.  Also, maybe it's time for me to grow as an artist and work more on pieces that are out of the ordinary for me.  Maybe this is the universe's way of telling me it's time to slow down and focus on fine tuning everything.

Creation Sunday - Oatmeal Roundup

Today Hillary is going to share some oatmeal recipes she has been into lately.

I love oatmeal as an ingredient because it adds some fiber and a unique flavor to anything you cook with it.  I had been ignoring it for a while, but recently I went through most of a canister of quick oats in about 2 weeks because of all the yummy oatmeal treats I made. So today I am going to share with you two indulgent recipes I made recently, and a healthy creation of my own from many years ago.

The first one is a super simple no-bake recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies.  My mom made something very similar for me when I was growing up and I remember it being a staple among treats I made for many years (before weight watcher's).  When I was trying to come up with something indulgent and super easy, the other day, I remembered these and whipped up a batch while fixing lunch.  Without further ado, here is the recipe on food network's website.  I do this recipe completely without modification. They're perfect, even for picky me, exactly the way they are.  Although, on occasion, I have wondered what a variant made with almond butter would be like... hmm...

The second one is a Fabulous Banana Pancake Recipe By Racheal Ray called Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes.  I did make some modifications due to my husband's tastes, my preferences, and according to what I had in the pantry.  I made a 1.5 batch because we had three bananas.  I used a mixture of turbinado sugar and white sugar instead of brown sugar because it's what I had. Because I had some cake flour and I thought it might add a little fluffiness to the pancakes, I replaced about a quarter cup of the all purpose flour with cake flour. Because hubby doesn't like sour cream, I used 3/4 C of buttermilk and 1 cup of whole milk to replace the sour cream and milk in the original recipe.  I intentionally used a little less buttermilk than the amount of sour cream called for because I didn't want the batter to be too thin.  Instead of putting the walnuts in the batter, I set them to the side and added them in to individual pancakes.  In some of the pancakes, I used chocolate chips instead of walnuts.  No one in my house likes raisins at all, so I left them out (we eat oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and are thoroughly offended by the idea that in many people's minds, oatmeal cookies=oatmeal raisin cookies, hehe).  I added a pinch or two of salt, but other than that, I made no modifications to the seasonings.  Hubby said they were excellent, which is a big compliment from him because he tends to like pancakes a specific way (at least from my standpoint).

The pancakes I made turned out thick and flavorful (the way we like them in my house).  If you wanted a thinner pancake, I'm sure adding a little more liquid would be okay and if you wanted to go thinner than that, replacing some of the oats with flour might be the way to go.

The last recipe is one I made for low-calorie multi-grain chocolate chip muffins many moons ago when I was on weight watchers.  When I make chocolate chip muffins, I often go for this recipe rather than a standard one because they are more flavorful and unique than most recipes on top of being more healthy.  They can even be made into pina colada muffins with some minor alterations.


Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Muffins
1 C whole wheat pastry flour
1 C quick cooking oats
1/2 TSP salt
1 TSP double acting baking powder
1 egg
1 TBL white sugar
1 TBL Honey
1/2 C lowfat yogurt
1/4 C apple juice
3/4 C chocolate chips or peanut butter chocolate swirl chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Spray muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray or place muffin cups in tin.
Whisk together first 4 ingredients.
In a separate bowl, lightly beat egg and then add sugar while continuing to beat.
Stir in yogurt, honey and apple juice.
Stir dry ingredients into wet until just moistened evenly. Add additional apple juice or water if needed for consistency.
Stir in chocolate chips until just evenly distributed.
Spoon into prepared muffin cups.
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until fork/knife/toothpick inserted into muffins comes out clean.

Piña Colada Variation:
Substitute 1/2 C shredded coconut and 1/2 C chopped dried pineapple for the chocolate chips 



One more quick note on this recipe: Yes, I know this method is different from the standard, traditional muffin method but I promise it works.

We hope you enjoyed the recipes.  Stay tuned for exciting interviews and updates soon!

Interview with Laurie from Art By L J Grove

Today we bring you a fabulous interview from

from Art By L J Grove  (Laurie J Grove).  Not only is Hillary a huge fan of Laurie's work, but she has purchased several items from Laurie as christmas presents over the last few years.

First, Tell us how you got started with art.

I've been dabbling in arts all my life. I can remember being pretty serious about charcoals and pastels when I was around 9 years old, and I've had a growing selection of art supplies ever since. The art store is one of my favorite places to go and I'd probably camp out there if they'd let me.

Have you ever tried different mediums or art forms and if so, how did you settle on your current art form?

I've tried a lot of different mediums of art, from sculpting, wood carving, and bronze works to pencil drawings, watercolors, and oil paintings. I can't really say that I've settled on one, or even have a favorite. Currently, I'm working mostly in 2D, and I often switch between pencil drawings, ink paintings, watercolors, and oils.

What draws you to the particlar type of art you create: your style, the subjects of your drawings/paintings, etc.?

While I've explored various styles of art, I find that it is hard to change what comes natural to me. Most of my art probably falls into the "realism" category, even though I often struggle to break out and loosen up and attempt something more stylized, whimsical, or abstract. Over the years, I've also covered a lot of different subject matter in my works, but animals have been my main focus. The animal kingdom holds such joy and fascination for me. I love everything from inchworms to elephants, so I have a feeling that animals will continue to find their way into most of my creations.

How did your love of art develop into a business and how did you arrive at selling shirts, mouse pads, etc. instead of just selling paintings and sketches?

When I first started setting up an online presence, I was still only producing and selling original paintings and drawings. Many of my customers and collectors would tell me that they were running out of wall space, so I started thinking of other ways to bring my art to the public. My first idea was wearable art, so I printed my artwork onto some t-shirts, and my art merchandising business was born. Things grew from there and now I'm printing my artwork onto other types of clothing and accessories: sweatshirts, tank tops, tote bags, and mousepads. Recently, I purchased a direct to garment printer which has allowed me to expand into dark colored clothing as well. The dark colored clothing poses all new design challenges which has once again pushed me to grow further as an artist.

Do you find that competing with retail establishments is a problem for your business?

Being the artist, designer, and printer of my products, I don't worry much over having to compete with large retail stores because there are so many people out there who prefer wearing something off the beaten path... something more unique and artistic than what you can find on the shelves of Walmart and Target. 

Tell everyone out there why, as consumers, we should buy your (or an artist's) wolf shirt or your dog shirt or your eagle shirt instead of the dog, wolf and eagle shirts we can get from wal-mart for less money.

Whether my customers are looking for something cute and fun, or quirky, geeky, and just plain weird, they know they can find something that strikes their fancy in one of my online shops. They can enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that their t-shirt, sweatshirt or tote bag was totally created by the hand of the artist, and that I truly care about every item I sell.

What would you tell aspiring young artists who are trying to turn their passion into a business?

For anyone with a dream of running their own business, I encourage them to never give up on those dreams. Create small goals and hurdles and measure your success each day. I believe that passion, perseverance, and the willingness to grow or change when needed, will always bring success no matter what type of business you are in. Never forget that success is not a measure of money. Success is a state of mind.

And, last but not least, where can we find you and your art?

Currently, I have 3 online Stores where my fun art merchandise (and occasionally original artworks) can be purchased:

at Etsy

http://www.etsy.com/shop/artbyljgrove

at eBay

http://stores.ebay.com/Art-by-LJGrove

at Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/b/qid=1328918665?ie=UTF8&me=AYEL4H72OLXAU

I also have a website which I use as more of a "home base"

http://artbyljgrove.com/

And a Business Page on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/ArtbyLJGrove

Wordless Wednesday

Creation Sunday 2-18-12 - Valentine's kiss cookies

This week, Hillary is going to share some rich chocolate cookie treats that she made for valentines dinner.

In trying to construct a plan for valentines, I tried to find something unique, chocolatey and easy to make.  With Valentine's being on a Tuesday, I needed food that was rich but took minimal effort/time to prepare.

I ended up with butternut squash soup--a doctored form of a major store brand, citrusy/fruity chicken--a concoction which will probably make it's way to my dinner table many times but will probably never taste the same twice, boil in bag rice, and some awesome kiss cookies-- a variant on the official Hershey's "Magical Kiss Cookies" Recipe.  "Why a variant?" you ask. because I didn't have time to do anything ahead of time so I needed the best combination of fast and decadent I could find.

What I did was super simple, super fast, and one of the richest things I have ever eaten.
I used pre-made mini chocolate chip brownie dough in place of making the cookie dough in the original recipe.  I then followed cooking instructions per the recipe but checked the cookies more frequently to make sure that I did not burn them.  In between checking, I made Chocolate Powdered Sugar (using the most potent option in the linked recipe).

When the bottoms of the cookies were brown, I took them out, let them cool for about 5-10 minutes until they were just firm enough to get pushed around in the powdered sugar, covered the cookies good, put them on a plate and served immediately.  They were a warm, gooey, chocolatey pile of awesomeness. 

This is definitely one of those treats that is much more delectable than it has any right to be given that it uses processed ingredients and takes almost no time.  You should definitely give this one a shot any time you need something amazing and quick.  Also, If you're super pressed for time like I was, you can even just make a few and refrigerate the rest of the brownie dough for later.

I hope you find these cookies to be as yummy as I did!  Look for new updates soon!