Claire Chambers

Name: Claire Chambers

Age:  26

Location: Cool, California (yes, really. It’s a tiny town in the mountains.)

Profession: Crafter, artist, entrepreneur

Craft(s) of Choice: Plush!

Blog: http://absolutelysmall.blogspot.com

Crafting has been a dear companion to me my whole life. Some of my earliest memories are creating environments for my dolls and making beads with my mom. I switched to “fine arts” for awhile; it seemed like the natural progression of things. In my early twenties though, something kept pulling me back to crafts- fun. Which was something I often found missing from the art scene. When I started Absolutely Small, I wasn’t sure which way to go with it- art? Craft? What tipped the scale was the incredible sense of community from the craft scene. Suddenly I had all this lovely feedback and support! Now, making stuff is fun again. 

Jenn Erickson

Name: Jenn Erickson

Age: 38

Location: Pacific Grove, CA

Profession: Cake Sculptor, Educator

Craft(s) of Choice: Cake Sculpting, Crafting with Vintage Ephemera, Pastry & Kitchen Arts, Home Decor

Blog: rookno17.blogspot.com

Life has been full of ups and downs, challenges and hurdles, and times of “going without”. It was these times of having little that inspired and pushed my creativity the most ~ having to “make something out of nothing” (as my favorite children’s book moralizes). Having the ability to imagine something new out of something old and “disposable” has further value in a world of diminishing resources and learning to live lightly upon the earth. It’s a blessing to have the ability to make lemons from lemonade, and an even greater gift to be able to make use of the rinds as well!

John C. StewartName: John C. Stewart

Name: John C. Stewart 

I quickly fell in love with throwing pottery after taking my first class in high school. My older brother Josh and I both excelled in pottery during out high school years. Unfortunately we both decided against a career in art due to advice and pressure from our parents.   Three years later as a junior at Temple University (who offers no art classes on main campus),  I realized something was missing from my life.  I made the decision to reunite with clay by enrolling in a wheel thrown class at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia.  It made such a difference in my life to be back working with clay again.  I still can’t believe I went that long without throwing and I hope it never happens again.  It has been an incredible experience to learn with some of the best potters in the country.  I have grown in many ways as both an artist and a person due to my experiences at the Clay Studio in the last year.

Age: 49 1/2

Location: Wilmington, NC

Profession: Educational Coordinator

Craft(s) of Choice: Anything that sparks my interest

Blog: mycraftingroom.blogspot.com

I can’t remember ever not crafting. I remember when I was a kid, my mom (who is not a crafter) would take me to craft shows so I could see all that glorious crafts people made. And then she would buy me stuff to create my own stuff. She still has projects I made when I was a pre-teen and that was a long time ago. Thanks Mom for helping my artistic bend.

Stacy

Name: Stacy

Age: 32

Location: Seattle Area

Profession: Crafter

Craft(s) of Choice: Everything!

Blog: http://littlebirdiesecrets.com

Crafting has brought three girls together and made them fast friends. Bonding over crafting we forged amazing friendships. We took our craftiness to the web and started a craft blog and are amazed at how many other people we inspire and how many people inspire us. Crafting has been a great social activity to get three stay at home moms together and made us friends for life!