Dust Bowl Arts Market

Apr 24

Can’t wait for things to get going tomorrow.
Art and handmade goods made by
40 super talented and original folks.
Dustbowl at Norman Music Festival
Sunday, April 25th
11-5:30
The parking lot on the corner of
Gray and Crawford

See you there!

Jul 7

Pamela Michelle

The work of Dallas artist, Pamela Michelle is today’s feature.
She’s one of our neighbors from the great state of Texas that will be making her way up I-35 to show at Dustbowl this year. We are so happy to have her as a participating artist as well as a sponsor!

Dustbowl: Tell us a little about your business.

Pamela Michelle: Located in a small studio in Dallas, TX, Pamela Michelle creates and designs original artwork in wood, on canvas and on paper that you can wear, hang, love and enjoy.

DB: How did you start Pamela Michelle? PM: Pamela Michelle started in the mid ’07s as a way for me to unleash my imagination on the world. With modern influences and a Scandinavian twist, I thought I’d start small by just making prints of my paintings and selling them here and there. After a few months of just that, I got an itch and moved on to include something I just can’t live without….jewelry! That’s when I picked up one of my favorite materials, wood, and started to create something I’d never seen anywhere before, ever. Thus, the birth of my handmade wooden necklaces and rings. This story has just begun. I have many many big plans in the future, and hope I can share all the special moments with all of you.

DB: What is unique about your business?
PM: I grew up spending most summers with my grandparents, who educated me often my rich and glorious Scandinavian heritage. It was very important to them to keep traditions and values strong in the family lines. I fell in love with the hand carved wooden horses, wooden shoes, Nordic ships and every bit of Scandinavian history I could find around their house. I also always admired my grandmother’s love of being an avid bird watcher. I know I will never know as much as she did about birds, but I loved watching them and learning about them through her. With both these influences strong in my heart and mind, I find myself diving in and exploring these two topics in my artwork. This is what makes Pamela Michelle jewelry and artwork unique. I don’t create random illustrations, but parts of my heart that will live on forever in my artwork.

DB: What motivates you in your work?
PM: I’m motivated by the encouraging words of my friends and family and the kind compliments of strangers and customers. It’s always fantastic knowing that you’re not the only one excited about your work.

DB: How long have you been creating original works and crafting?
PM: Ever since i was a wee girl I’ve been getting my hand on anything I could to create something new. My favorite thing to do was to convince my dad to let me run wild and create in his workshop where there was all kinds of hammers, saws, nails and glue. I loved it! I always got frustrated when it came to following directions or a pattern with crafts, so I always ended up doing my own thing. I guess that’s the designer in me trying to change the visual world with each new project.

DB: What do you make?

PM: I make handmade wooden necklaces, wooden rings, original paintings and prints. In my free time, I love re-purposing furniture, building unique displays for my shows, updating my adorable 1960s home, building gardens, up-cycling old clothing, designing handbags and accessories….oh my, I could go on forever.

DB: What inspires you most?
PM: The number one greatest influence on my artwork is my grandmother, who was an award winning florist back in her glory days. I love her love for all things nature and I hope that she gets a chance to live on in each piece of artwork I create.

DB: Your favorite thing in the world?
PM: My favorite thing will always be my honey, Dylan, aka Dowdy Studio. He’s been there to fully support all my crazy ideas and outlandish dreams. In fact, he’s usually right there with me (well, most of the time). He’s currently illustrating, designing and creating his own screen printed tees, and will be right along side me at the Dustbowl Arts Market. Like I said, “I have big plans for the future”…but I also meant “we” have big plans.

DB: Your favorite meal? PM: Seriously feed me some yummy fresh sushi and I will be your friend forever and ever! Any takers?

DB: If you were a color, what color would you be?
PM: This answer can change a lot, as I love lots of colors. At this very moment, I’d say I’d be a dusty aged lime green, not too bright or citrusy, more like a bright 1950’s summer lawn chair that’s been surviving outside for many summers and winters, then was thrown in a garage to wait and wait. It’s now sun bleached, covered in dust and a perfect color.

DB: Your favorite place in the world?
PM: In my studio working with music blasting and a bottomless cup of coffee.

DB: Why did you decide to support Dustbowl?
PM: The Dustbowl Arts Market seems just like my kind of party. You just can’t go wrong with 75 other talented vendors and artists in Norman, Oklahoma. I love supporting indie artists, designers and the whole handmade movement just like Dustbowl. I’m so happy to be a part of it all and can’t wait to see everyone there!

DB: Thank you for sharing with us. We can’t wait to have you at the Dustbowl!

For more of Pamela Michelle’s work you can visit:

Web
Shop
Be sure to check out her blog:
Blog

Jun 26

Here’s Lindsay…

Presenting one of our wonderful sponsors and vendors the super cute Lindsay Zodrow of Collected Thread

Dustbowl: Tell us a little about your business.
Lindsay Zodrow: Collected Thread is a handmade boutique located in the Plaza District in Midtown Oklahoma City. This area was fairly unknown up to about a year ago but is changing like crazy now. My hope for the district is that it will be home to young artists, musicians, designers, and creative people who have not yet made a name for themselves

DB: How did you start Collected Thread?
LZ: My friend, Nora Bonnell, and I started a traveling sale for crafters called Housewares a little over a year and a half ago. Opening a store like this was never really on my radar, but the longer we did Housewares, the more that desire grew. I have not regretted it for a second.

DB: What is unique about your store?

LZ: Everything is handmade and most of it local. At this point we carry 18 local designers work as well as about 8 out of state designers.

DB: What motivates you in your work?
LZ: I love hearing a customer squeal with excitement over something they have found in the store. It is the biggest compliment ever. I feel like I am a part of something bigger than myself. I am able to help other people make a living and promote their talent. And then I get to make my own stuff for the store as well. I love my job.

DB: How long have you been creating original works and crafting?
LZ: For as long as i can remember i have been making things. I use to paint on the walls in my closet. I wasn’t the coolest kid.

DB: What do you make?
LZ: I make hand bound journals from old books, re-purposed clothing, fabric flowers, knitted scarves, jewelry, sewn artwork, custom initial embroidery hoops, headbands, brooches, and whatever else pops into my head. I studied art in college, so when I have some real down time, I love to draw and paint the human form.

DB: What inspires you most?
LZ: Coffee, colors, Anthropologie’s displays, conversations with people I love, the intricate shapes you find in nature, and probably a million other things.

DB: What is your favorite thing to create?
LZ: Anything new! I think I am only ADD when it comes to making things. I can’t make the same thing for every long. I have to go back and forth.

DB: If you were a color, what color would you be?
LZ: Either olive green or mustard yellow.

DB: Your favorite thing in the world?
LZ: Coffee and my husband, Adam…… perhaps not in that order.

DB: Your favorite place in the world?
LZ: Manhattan

DB: Your favorite meal?
LZ: Sundried tomato and red pepper pasta with shrimp.

DB: Why did you decide to support Dustbowl?
LZ: My main purpose in opening the store was to create a place where local designers, artists, and crafters could expose their work and make a living. That is exactly what Dustbowl is doing. I am thrilled to be a part of it.

Visit Lindsay at Collected Thread at 1739 NW 16th Street in Oklahoma City.