Tag: handmade

  • Vintage Inspiration for a Southern Artist

    Vintage Inspiration for a Southern Artist

    North Carolina artist and illustrator Jordan Grace Owens has a knack for making things.  Pretty, wonderful, quirky, vintage-inspired things that will make you smile.  From her tiny, moveable paper dolls to her large scale original paintings; Jordan’s style is all her own.

    Jordan often pulls inspiration from the well-worn and well-loved; like early to mid-century movies, records and books, vintage design, and old snapshots.  She explains this fascination with the past by saying “I especially love vintage photographs and I often look to them to inspire new portraits, characters or illustrations. Some of my photos come from flea markets and vintage shops (so the people are anonymous) but I also love to mine my grandmother’s collection of snapshots from the 1930s – 1970s. Her family comes from Virginia and my grandfather’s hails from Alabama, so there’s absolutely a lot of 20th century southern culture influencing my work.”  She has painted several portraits of her grandmother and great-grandmother when they were twenty-somethings.  She also likes to paint the anonymous girls from found photographs, trying to invent their personalities and stories as she works.

    Her desire to create and freedom to be expressive came at an early age.  The daughter of a Winston-Salem, NC-based elementary school art teacher, Jordan says “I had access to messy art supplies and was drawing on my bedroom walls from as young as I can remember.”  She was always encouraged in her artistic pursuits as a kid.  This early work proved beneficial about five years ago when the handmade site, Etsy, was first taking off and Jordan decided she wanted to be a part of the independent craft movement that was emerging.  “I did a stint in graphic design school where I learned about packaging and marketing and then I really found my niche within the crafty/maker community and began to shape a career out of it.”

    Jordan has work in shops and galleries internationally, but still finds a lot of her time and energy is focused right here in the South.  She explains this long-standing work connection by saying, “I do a lot of art and craft shows around the Southeast — in North and South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee, so I’m constantly exposed to and inspired by other Southern artists and makers and the Southern independent craft scene.”  She also works closely with area organizations and events, lending her recognizable style of illustration to things like promotional t-shirts and posters.

    Around our hometown of Greensboro, NC Jordan’s work is instantly recognizable to most artist, designers,and creative types.  As her art and popularity continues to grow around the world, selling work in her Etsy shop and in various galleries and shops, her roots remain grounded in the South.  “Living in the south in the 21st century is great because through the internet, you can make connections anywhere from wherever you call home. I love living in the south amongst the tobacco heritage and good manners and southern drawls, while sending the pretty little things I make with my own two hands to people all around the world.”  Here in the South we are proud to call you one of our own, Jordan!

    Read even more about Jordan Grace Owens on her site jordangrace.com and shop her whimsical designs on her Etsy shop, Hollandsworth.


    [author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://prettysouthern.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/KatHeadShot.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Kat Kraszeski-Jackson is an art teacher, artist, and diy crafter living in Greensboro, NC. She loves sharing her favorite artists, projects, and creative inspiration here on Pretty Southern.[/author_info] [/author]

  • Coastal Inspiration

    Coastal Inspiration

    Drawing from my week spent here on the beautiful North Carolina coast (Duck, NC to be exact- on the Outer Banks) I have been inspired by the sights, sounds, and textures of the beach.  These are some of my favorite beach-inspired finds, all from everyone’s favorite handmade market place, Etsy.  First imagine yourself down on the coast- and the south has plenty of them from North Carolina’s Outer Banks stretching around Florida’s crystal coast, all the way into the Gulf of Mexico.  Take in the sounds of waves crashing, breathe in the salty air, and feel the warm sun and wind on your skin.  Now you’re ready to bring that beach inspiration into your home and wardrobe with these lovely handmade goods.

    First, slip on this gorgeous peacock ore ring from A Lovely Little Shop. It is one of a kind and it’s swirls of blue, teals, and gold will remind you of the ocean and all of its various hues.

    Next throw your essentials into this adorable pastel makeup bag by Scout and Catalogue.  The fabrics for these come from thrift store finds that are then upcycled into these gorgeous pieces that will remind you of sun-kissed beach days.

    Hang the quirky beach umbrella print by Alice B. Gardens photography seen above for a instant summery face lift in any room of your home.  Or if you lean more towards the abstract, display this beautiful beach-hued original abstract painting by Tracy Kafka.

    Lastly, before running out the door, throw on this truly unique triple starfish headband by Dreams By the Sea for a summer look that screams beach babe.  Pair it with a simple sundress or distressed denim shirt for a look that is laid-back cool, just like your last coastal getaway.

    Check out etsy for more unique handmade and vintage finds that will surely make your summer home and wardrobe the most original around.

    [author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://prettysouthern.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/KatHeadShot.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Kat Kraszeski-Jackson is an art teacher, artist, and diy crafter living in Greensboro, NC. She loves sharing her favorite artists, projects, and creative inspiration here on Pretty Southern.[/author_info] [/author]

  • Details of a Southern Wedding

    Details of a Southern Wedding

    Happy Wednesday!  I had so much fun sharing some of the fashion from our April wedding with you yesterday that I wanted to share some more of the details today.  These are some of the things that we made, searched for, or put together to create the vision for our wedding.  First of all, no color was left out.  I decided early on that it would just be foolish to try to limit myself (an art teacher) to a small color palette.  We anchored everything with a cool gray undertone and then just let the rest of the colors shine in all of their glory!

    The first decoration I knew we would have in our wedding were tons of garlands and flags because these are some of the items that I sell in my shop and absolutely love creating.  I sewed tons of paper circle garlands to hang behind dessert table and various other places around the venue.  My next garland venture was hand-cutting, dying, and sewing the square fabric garlands that would hang behind us at the ceremony.  I wanted these to be light and airy and I love how the sunlight made them almost glow that afternoon.

    A dear friend of ours made all of our desserts, cupcakes and various cheesecakes, and I made tons of mini flags for both.  Our guests loved the desserts so much that we didn’t even have time for an official cake cutting!

    We carried the woodland theme through our tables with wooden birdhouses that we painted in various blues and yellows.  These rested on top of tree trunks that my dad and husband cut out on his family’s farm land.  We topped these with white ceramic birds, tiny bud vases, and made confetti to scatter around the tables.

    A lot of work went into all of these details but I hope the overall feeling was simple and playful, like us and the loved ones who helped us pull it all off!

    [author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://prettysouthern.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/KatHeadShot.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Kat Kraszeski-Jackson is an art teacher, artist, and diy crafter living in Greensboro, NC. She loves sharing her favorite artists, projects, and creative inspiration here on Pretty Southern.[/author_info] [/author]