Little Birdie Soap is making an appearance at The Handmade Market for the very first time on Saturday! Based out of Mooresville, NC, Little Birdie believes in junk-free skin care and we dig that. Plus their ingredient list is down right scrumptious.

How did you pick your shop/business name? I have a glassed in aviary near my office area filled with Lady Gouldian Finches…I have had them for years and years and just love them. When I was thinking about the name for this company, it so happened that a clutch of new babies (pretty rare in captivity) hatched and..voila..Little Birdie was born too.

Did you have another career or vocation before art+design? Ha! Several! I once owned a cooking school/gourmet shop with my best friend. Then, I went back to art school and got my BFA in Painting and Drawing. While there, I took some metalsmithing classes and, along with painting, started doing gold and silver jewelry and enameling. I did that for years and was juried into Piedmont Craftsmen, Inc. A couple of years ago I just made some soap to see if I could stop my skin from itching and became so fascinated that a whole new career was born. My love is research and design and I try to make each soap or product unique.

What’s the best unedited advice you could give to an artist just getting started? Trust your instincts…believe in what you do.

If you were going to start all over, what would you do differently? Take some business courses.

Tell us about your favorite hometown place(s). I’m from Charlotte…There are so many great favorite places but one of my favorites is Wing Haven. Now we live on Lake Norman and love how relaxed it is living here.

What three words best describe your style? Eclectic, Fun, Contemporary.

What are your three most prized possessions? Family, Pets, Studio.

If you could have dinner with anyone, past or present, who would it be and what would you serve? Julia Child (actually had dinner with her once) and Picasso…I think they would be a riot together!

Give a warm Raleigh welcome to Mary Ann and Little Birdie Soap! Be at Cobblestone Hall on Saturday, May 4th or be square. Totally undeniably square.

Metamorphosis Metals is the work of local favorite, Sonya Coulson Rook. She’s done the Handmade Market a few times and each time she brings something new and exciting for all of us to coo over. She’s doing a lot of shows on the east coast this year and we’re glad she’s stopping by ours!

How did you pick your shop/business name? It sounds odd, but, in school I made quite a few pieces of jewelry using insects (yes, the 6 legged crawling things) that I either cast in silver and bronze or set in resin. I used the name Metamorphosis for a few earlier ventures and decided to stick with it when I started to focus on my jewelry line. Since my work has an organic feel and I often use found or non-traditional materials it just seemed to fit. The Metals was added latter when I went to register the name and realized Metamorphosis was already taken.

What’s the best unedited advice you could give to an artist just getting started? Its easy to feel overwhelmed when just starting out, so never be afraid to ask questions. The crafty people that you admire started out just like you, and they are still learning something new every day. They received lots of helpful advice along the way and are happy to pass that information on to you.

What are your three most prized possessions? This is a hard one, I have an attachment to objects, its difficult to narrow it down to just three but I’ll try.
1. A tiny house built from toothpicks that my Grandfather made.
2. A mug that was a gift from my childhood best friend that passed away.
3. Letters my parents and sister wrote to me when I went away to college that were delivered 4 years later, just after graduation.

If you could have dinner with anyone, past or present, who would it be and what would you serve? Leonardo da Vinci, something quick and simple, I would have way too many questions to worry about dinner.

Come say hi to Sonya this Saturday, May 4th and check out her latest work. We are in love with her bee and honeycomb necklace!

Paige Puckett Pottery is back again for another Handmade Market! Yay! She makes functional wheel thrown ceramics. All pieces are food and oven safe and most of all, gorgeous!

How did you pick your shop/business name? I never did pick a business name. It felt binding and defining. Early on, I didn’t feel legit enough to even have a business name. I considered about a play on my location (oak, Raleigh, street name), but what if we moved? When I did my first show at The Handmade Market, I just went by my name, Paige Puckett, plus pottery, which had triple threat alliteration, and it’s stuck. The bad thing is my business card has my name on it about five times, and when my name gets spoken, I immediately tack on pottery in my head.

Did you have another career or vocation before art+design? I graduated with PhD in Biological and Agricultural Engineering in 2007, was shot down for the two faculty positions I applied for, and while on the celebratory beach trip I learned I was pregnant with my first son. My department at NCSU had already hired me part time to teach graduate level distance courses, so I was able to work from home. Around the same time, we bought a wheel and kiln for my pottery hobby, which was touch and go the first few years of baby making. I’m still teaching distance classes, and the latest course I developed, water and nutrient management for sustainable home-scale agriculture, was created out of an extension of my love for gardening. Already I was spending hours teaching myself how to interplant, rotate crops and manage nutrients and water, so why not share what I was learning? I take a lot of pictures of bugs and plants while I garden, which makes up the “& Prints” portion of my business. Observing the intricate details and design of even the smallest creatures turns my heart to my maker. Some days all these passions, hobbies and work feel like a jumbled mess, but I’m never bored.

What’s the best unedited advice you could give to an artist just getting started? Don’t I have to be an artist to give advice on that? Well I guess that’s just it. Do what you love and don’t worry about titles. Let your work speak for itself.

If you were going to start all over, what would you do differently? It’s risky business saying I wish I’d do things differently. While at times I wish I’d studied art or horticulture rather than engineering, I love the journey I’ve taken and am thankful for the various opportunities that have come along. I think the 8 years of engineering schooling led to the creative explosion that happened when I was introduced to clay. Being both brained, I probably was suffering from artistic repression.

Tell us about your favorite hometown place(s). I’m originally from Chattanooga, TN. I don’t like to brag – I just smear FB and Instagram with pictures of my kids, pottery, and gardening. Wait, is that considered bragging?

What are your three most prized possessions? As in what three things would I grab if the house were burning down? Joe, Daniel and Matthew. I’m pretty proud of the garden as well.

If you could have dinner with anyone, past or present, who would it be and what would you serve? I’d like to have another meal with my grandparents, Momsy and Popsy. I’d serve green beans, mashed potatoes and fried chicken. I have a picture of them in my dining room from grandparents day at my high school. When I start to fuss at the kids too much, I look up at their picture and apologize.

Welcome Paige back to The Handmade Market on Saturday, May 4th and pick up some of her latest and greatest greations! We’re pretty fond of Paige and think you will be, too.

Pascale Toussaint is going to be at The Handmade Market for the first time this Saturday! We are excited to see her prints from her beautiful linocuts and screenprints!

Did you have another career or vocation before art+design? Although I always wanted to be an artist as long as I can remember, life had other plans so I studied Physical Therapy in the Congo and in the US went back to school and studied Psychology. I have worked in the medical field and for the past 14 years I have worked in Higher Education first in New York and now in a University in Raleigh. I work in administration with lots of paperwork but I do enjoy my work. This pays the bills but if I could I would be an artist full time. I am an avid reader of the “Quit your day Job” feature in Etsy and dream of the day I would also quit or retire from my day job.

If you were going to start all over, what would you do differently? I would start my art career early, and instead of Psychology, go to Art school. I have always been afraid of not making it and look for the sure thing but creating art is in me. But overall I am happy to have finally gotten back to creating; it has taken a long time but as they say better late than never.

What three words best describe your style? Natural, honest, brave.

Please give a warm Handmade Market welcome to Pascale on Saturday, May 4th and pick up some of her goods!