Reef Botanicals 11/21/2010
 
First word: YUM. I've written about this fabulous team before, but who can resist an update, especially when it comes to such luscious, soapy goodness?

Eric and Larissa handcraft their soaps as naturally as possible, and make sure to make batches to satisfy their demand. That means your soaps and products are fresh, right out of the soapery (which, in my mind, is what a soap creation area should be called!).

What I really love about Reef Botanicals is that they make an effort to provide quality products for men. Men are a pretty neglected segment in the handmade market, and a man smelling like jasmine and honeysuckle might catch a snicker from his friends. But here, you can find luxurious shaving sets, gift baskets, and even beer soap.

They have a wide array of products, from bath fizzies to face scrubs to soaps to candles, all beautifully photographed and described, so you know exactly what you're getting. Details of their product creation, testing, and brainstorming show up in articles on their blog, where you'll also find snippets of their life, personalities, and articles of other artisans.

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Linda (Raedawn), owner of Dreams and Echoes, has spent many years as a visual artist, living primarily in Maryland with periods in Oregon in New Mexico.  Her daughter, Amy, started beading, and Linda saw another opportunity to explore her creativity through it.  She learned the basics and hasn't let go since.

Each of her pieces is a journey and an invitation to explore different styles, from romantic to primal, contrasts, and different symbols.  The piece below, titled The Goddess Protects, includes a well-known character, very prominent in many peoples' spirituality.
I must add that I really like the way the texture of the background works with the piece!

Another example of the stories woven into her pieces is below.  Titled Ancient Treasure, her description includes 'earthy cave walls' and 'tribal princess'.  I may have an active imagination, but I can definitely create a little film in my head.
Linda has an active, interesting blog, so make sure to check it out.  She regularly features other artisans, and shares details of her learning and creative process -- always very interesting to me!
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Apologies to both lisianblue and trusk4u!  I completely scrambled this post up, initially.

Many people are sucked into the world of artists after finding one medium that captures them.  While they may maintain interest, cultivate, and perfect that medium, very rarely does the journey end there.  Inevitably, it snowballs and other crafts are learned and explored.

This week's artist, trusk4u, began with sewing, a craft she's still passionate about.  From sewing, Teresa has also found jewelry to her taste, and it's been her focus, recently.

Her jewelry style is very clean, feminine, and makes great use of colors.  I found several pieces that really caught my eye, but this stately piece made with a mixture of obsidian, onyx, jade, and blackstone really did it for me.  Not only is it a geology lesson in a necklace, but it's something that stands out.
Though jewelery is the main star of her shops, these days, you can still find pretty, functional sewing.  I love this pink batik purse set.  Not only do you get the purse itself, but it comes with a zippered bag and coin purse, too.  Gorgeous and summery!
Make sure to check out her shops for other amazing work, and also keep a close eye on her upcoming brick-and-mortar shop, Hollyhocks!  Now that's a labor of love.  
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Travel inspires many artists, whether it's other artisans creating beautiful things in a new, exciting way, the vistas, beautiful building, the exotic taste of another language, the novel flavors of a foreign dish, or simply just the time away from daily life.  This week's artist, Holly of Tuscan Road Designs, is no different and found herself in a new, creative world after her visit to the island of Murano.
Her style is very eclectic and feminine, and you'll be able to find rustic, organic designs and frilly, victorian-esque designs snuggled next to clean-lined, modern and bold, colorful designs. It's a candy shop where almost anyone would be able to find something to suit their tastes.
Her outstanding collection and gallery of jewelry is only part of her day-to-day life.  After taking lampwork classes, inspired by the beauty of the glass artists discovered on her journeys, she taught and she shared her knowledge with her son.  Her son, in turn, shares his experiences with wildlife rehabilitation.  You can read all about the baby owls (who are disgustingly cute) on her blog.
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I'm new to the Handmade Artist Forum, but decided to jump in with both feet.  Part of that is joining the HAF blog ring to learn about and feature artists, many who are new to me.  Haffina is this month's pick and I hope you all enjoy reading about her. :)

When I popped all of the links where you can find her, I was hugely impressed and a bit astonished.  I've dabbled a bit in polymer clay, but I'm far from accomplished.  I occasionally see things that astound me and put me in awe of the versatility of this medium, and the piece below (found in her Artfire shop) really caught my eye.  Image transfer onto polymer clay -- who knew?!  Super cool.
And she's not just a polymer clay artist!  Her jewelry shop is filled with creations that I feel span a wide range of tastes.  Jewelry creation is not one of my strengths (I can wad up wire like nobody's business), so I really admire the ability to combine textures and colors so well.
On top of that, Haffina is a mom of five, a blogger, enthusiastic about handmade, and I'm sure a good many other things.  It sounds like she's a bit of a superhero, to me!
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