Wednesday, January 30, 2008

The Broken Plate

Hi All! I am Juliet from The Broken Plate. I am a 28 year old Baltimore native living in sin with my future hubby (I hate the word fiance) 10 year old step-daughter, 5 month old son and boxer, Mable. I have been crafting for as long as I can remember. It started with building blocks, PlayDoh and Lego's, it would have been a dream to break plates all day as a child!

When I was in high school, I discovered photography. This medium really helped me to explore my creative side. The mix of technical know-how and creativity was really appealing to me. Getting my hands dirty in the darkroom was just as much fun as going out to shoot. I began to craft using old slides in college. I carved, melted, and generally abused slides and then printed from them to see what I got. Little did I know that I was just beginning to discover my destructive side.

When I transferred to Towson University, I did not realize that my photo credits would not transfer. I was already accepted, so I had to change gears. Photography was fast becoming all digital anyway, so I was happy to learn something new. I soon discovered the Inter-Disciplinary Craft major and thought it would be a great fit. After taking a crazy mix of metal smithing, stained glass, paper making and so much more, I was released into the "real world" to find my niche. It was pretty difficult, after college, to figure out how to make work without the parameters of a teachers syllabus to guide me.

I took a good 6 month crafting break and got a job with the Howard County Arts Council. I was surrounded by so many creative people that I soon needed a project and decided on creating a mosaiced mailbox. I had never made a mosaic, but was inspired by artist Ginger Peloquin, as I watched her create the HCAC 25th Anniversary Benchmark.

When my mailbox was complete I had a pile of left over plate pieces that needed a new purpose. I decided to wrap one in silver solder and make a pendant out of it. I began to get lots of compliments and asked were they could buy one. I opened my Etsy shop in September 2006. With encouragement from my friend Annie, I did my first craft show, Handmade Arcade, in November and was hooked on craft ever since. I soon became known as "The Broken Plate lady" and decided that this could be a full time job.

On my last day of work at The Art Council, I learned there was going to be a kink in my full time crafting plan. I was pregnant! With the OK from my doctor, I was able to continue soldering after my first trimester and do a lighter craft show schedule. Even with this kink in my plan, the crafting community kept me busy, sane and entertained as I awaited the arrival of Nolan in September. I even opened a new shop in this time called MuthaCrafter, to sell some of my new baby and maternity ideas. I am in the process of finding a good screen printer to really make my ideas for this a reality.

I am getting used to this motherhood thing and slowly getting back to crafting. It is pretty hard to break plates and solder with a baby, but I am figuring it out. I just started writing for a new blog called Crafting in a Green World which explores the world of recycled crafting. Please check it out!

I think that covers me. I can't wait to get more involved with BEST and see how far our teamwork can take us!


6 comments:

Sweet Pepita said...

Your blog is fantastic!

annie said...

miss julet! i love this bio. here's to crafting in the real world! xoxo

Juliet said...

Thanks guys. (blush)

miscelena said...

Beautiful jewelry, and nice job on the bio!

Are you by any chance affiliated with The Broken Plate in Annapolis?
http://www.thebrokenplate.net/

It's such a great shop, and when I noticed you mentioned Towson, I wondered if there's a connection!

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Hi Juliet!

I loved your blog! I stumbled in here from etsy.

I'm somewhat new to Bmore and new to motherhood too. My son was born in July. Congratulations on Nolan! It's a true craft!

My momma promises me that someday I will again have time for my crafts. :) I FEEL YOUR PAIN! I loved your muthacrafter site too. YAY for people makers! xoxo

ps- I'm "crow" & "lulubell" on etsy.