Denver Fashion Truck is a mobile boutique owned and operated by husband &  wife, Adrian & Desiree- “Mobility for Denver’s Art and Fashion”

Q. Tell us a little about yourself & your background in the arts & crafts world?                                                                                              

A. (Desiree) I am a maker myself. Mostly dresses and home décor.       (Adrian) I have always been an artist, drawing, graffiti art, and I am currently in school obtaining my BFA in fine arts and communication design. So naturally we found ourselves indulging in arts and craft, not just as artists but as fans too. Eventually we came to want to offer these goods to the public.                                                                          

Q. What/who is your biggest inspiration?                                             

A. (Desiree) My husband and our daughters. They inspire me and push me to be the best I can be.                                                    (Adrian) I simply want to create awesome things and then share them with people, that's what inspires me. 

Q. How did you get into your position in the arts & crafts world?

A. (Desiree) My husband and I were sharing vendor booths at different events. We had wanted a boutique for years. We followed our path and a year and a half ago DFT was born.                                      (Adrian) Well as artists we wanted to get exposure, we worked a few of Fashion Denver events then we wanted to start establishing ourselves with our own events/business and share our work. This is after hitting a few dead ends with potential outlets for our work. So we figured if we want to perform, first we have to build the stage, hence Denver Fashion Truck. 

Q. Tell us about a few favorites of your: Weekend activity? Food? Color? Animal?

A. (Desiree) I love exploring our city and small mountain towns on our days off. I love a perfect hamburger. The color purple has always been my favorite and I’d have to say the fox is my favorite animal and dogs!                                                                                                       (Adrian) I love the mountains and exploring mountain towns! My favorite color is orange, you either hate it or love it nonetheless it's funky, fun and synonymous with my favorite time of year, autumn! My favorite food is Mexican! Isn't everybody's favorite food Mexican? But seriously street tacos! Com'on now!. I really need a favorite animal in my life, I like everything furry at the zoo except for tarantulas. My dog is pretty awesome too. 

Q. What do you love most about the handmade movement?

A. (Desiree) I love seeing the growth especially in our home town. Being a native, it’s such an inspiration to see what a community the handmade market has become.                                                     (Adrian) I like that it employees makers and creative types! It's also an awesome stage for us, It's more personalized, 

Q. What is the most important feature in an artist's application for you?

A. (Desiree) Passion + execution.                                                               (Adrian) I think it's important for an artist to be aware of their branding and to see that awareness from a potential customers view. 

Q. What are you most looking forward to in being a part of the Jackalope Arts jury? 

A. We are excited to see all the different applications come through, to see what others are doing in the handmade community.

Q. Where can we find out more about you?

A. Check out our revamped website. Set to launch April 2015. www.denverfashiontruck.com

One of the Owners and Face of Fancy Tiger Crafts

Q. Tell us a little about yourself & your background in the arts & crafts world?

A. I had a crafty upbringing as my mom had a craft supply store when I was little called "the Craft Peddler" in Parker Colorado. Not only did I spend a lot of time there as a child, she also took me to craft fairs with her where she sold her work. In 2006, I opened Fancy Tiger with my partner Matthew Brown that combined our two passions of fashion and crafting. In 2008, Fancy Tiger became two stores, Fancy Tiger Crafts and Fancy Tiger Clothing and this was when I partnered with Amber Corcoran. In addition to running Fancy Tiger Crafts for almost 9 years, we also put on the wildly successful Holiday Handmade craft fair here in Denver that ran from 2007 - 2012. My craft ties run deep.

Q. What/who is your biggest inspiration?

A. The crafting community is my biggest inspiration - I love being constantly inspired by our friends, customers, and staff and all the things they make. 

Q. How did you get into your position in the arts & crafts world?

A. Being the face of Fancy Tiger Crafts for so long has helped me gain a lot of friends in the community and respect from local and non-local crafters alike. 

Q. Tell us about a few favorites of your: Weekend activity? Food? Color? Animal?

A. I love hiking and backpacking which makes Colorado the perfect place for me. I try and get out into nature once a week and enjoy all the seasons - from snowshoeing in the winter to high-country camping in the summer, I like to take advantage of our amazing locale. My favorite daily activity is to enjoy soy milk lattes at one of our many amazing coffeehouses in town. I love all vegetables and my favorite way to eat them is just sticking with what's in season.

Q. What do you love most about the handmade movement?

A. I love seeing all of the amazing things that are out there. I love the support that everyone gives each other. I love buying beautiful handmade things and knowing the story behind them. 

Q. What is the most important feature in an artist's application for you?

A. Photos. Good, clear photos that let me see the workmanship and get a feel for the crafter is so important. Styling and lighting are important pieces that go into the photos and can allow me to get a sense of what someones booth is going to look like and what their style is. I also like knowing the story behind the products - how did they get started or are they using a particularly interesting material? 

Q. What are you most looking forward to in being a part of the Jackalope Arts jury?

A. Seeing all the amazing things people are making!

Q. Where can we find our more about you?

A. at fancytigercrafts.com, on our blog fancytigercrafts.com/blog and on instagram at "fancytigercrafts" and "fancyjaime"

Christine Haynes: sewing author, teacher, and pattern designer and Owner, Christine Haynes Patterns 

Q. Tell us a little about yourself & your background in the arts & crafts world:
A. I started making art really young, as I grew up in a small arts community filled with galleries and artists.  It was perfectly normal to pursue the arts as a way of like.  I learned to sew when I was 10 and did loads of other arts activities, like ballet, oil painting, and ceramics as I grew up.  I received a BFA in studio art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a focus in Film, Video, and New Media.  I made art, sewed my own wardrobe, and worked in arts administration until one day when I participated in the second Renegade Craft Fair.  I sold clothing I made and it was a hit.  From there it all just snowballed- I started writing for magazines, wrote my first book for Random House, started teaching sewing, and then launched my line of sewing patterns.  I'm still writing, teaching, and designing today!

Q. What/who is your biggest inspiration?
A. My patterns are inspired by a host of things, but mostly from observing people, films, and vintage materials like yearbooks and sewing patterns.  I want the women who sew my patterns to feel beautiful and unfussy. I prefer a quiet life and never want the need to be clothed to be a burden; rather it should be a joy. 

Q. How did you get into your position in the arts & crafts world?
A. I got here after years and years of stubborn hard work!  There is no way to work for yourself with our working really hard at it.

Q. Tell us about a few favorites of your: Weekend activity? Food? Color? Animal?
A. Since I almost always teach on Saturdays, my weekends are usually Sunday and Monday.  A favorite Sunday activity is the simple pleasure of having a long leisurely breakfast and reading the Sunday papers with my boyfriend.  A favorite food is hummus!  It's a weakness for sure.  My favorite "colors" are green and blue, but my real favorite is gray, if that can be considered a color.  And my favorite animals are my kitties, Sally and Pinta.

Q. What do you love most about the handmade movement?
A. I love it when my students come into class- innocently learning to sew so they can make clothes for their kids or something for their home- then slowly become aware of what a revolutionary act this truly is.  They don't come to class with the intention of rethinking how things are made and how they consume mass-produced products, but most eventually start to think about the cost of materials and labor really quickly into learning things for themselves.  It's empowering in a way that they didn't expect, and to witness that transformation is incredible.

Q. What is the most important feature in an artist's application for you?
A. Honesty.  The work must read true and like it's coming from their own voice. 

Q. What are you most looking forward to in being a part of the Jackalope Arts jury?
A. I'm excited to seeing all the work come in and then to see the finished show!

Q. Where can we find our more about you?
A. My website is simply my name, www.ChrstineHaynes.com, and you can find me on all those social media outlets that you know and love:

Instagram - @christinehaynes
Twitter - @christinehaynes
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/christinehaynesstudio 
Blog - http://www.christinehaynes.blogspot.com
Pinterest - http://www.pinterest.com/christinehaynes/
Flickr - https://www.flickr.com/photos/venicegirl/

Learn about all of the Pasadena, Jackalope jurors here!

Brent Turner: The Campbells PR / Beer and Tall Buildings
 

Q: Tell us a little about yourself & your background in the arts & crafts world: 
A: I remember the moment distinctly: I had just returned home from a month-long tour with my band. I quit my day job at a PR agency to head out on the road and now here I was, back home, scared shitless about bills, staring blankly at my computer. PR was the only profession I really new. So I decided to open my own consultancy and promised myself I'd only work on things I loved. These things were (and still are) art, design and architecture.

Q: Tell us about a few favorites of yours: 
A: That's easy. Wilderness, dense cities and beer. British ESBs (and their California pale ale analogues) to be exact.

Q: What do you love most about the handmade movement?
A: I love the intentionality of the handmade movement. Time in quiet contemplation almost always leads to brilliant ideas. And I think the protracted handmade process facilitates that type of introspection. 

Q: What is the most important feature in an artist's application for you? 
A: I look for 3 things in any creative work: concept, craft and heart. First, is there an original idea or an original progression of an existing idea? Second, has the artist developed his or her craft to the point that it induces a sense of wonder or respect for the work in front of you? Third, does the work speak to some level of universal truth? This is the heart of a work. It should be self-aware but not self-conscious. It will certainly be flawed too, but somehow perfect in that state of imperfection. Everyone has heart. But putting our hearts into our work is the hardest thing to do.

Q: What are you most looking forward to in being a part of the Jackalope Arts jury?  
A: I'm looking forward to that rush of seeing new work. I liken it to watching the Lakers (well, the Lakers of old) in the playoffs. With every shot, there's a rush of the unexpected. Not every shot goes in the basket, but you're always hoping. I feel that way about art and artists too. Not every work is a slam dunk…yet. But you always see the seedling of something greater to come. That's really exciting to me.

Q: Where can we find out more about you? 
A: My career has shifted into copywriting now, which means my craft is writing propaganda for organizations and individuals. And I'm resuscitating a podcast I started years ago with Coagula Art Journal called Beer & Tall Buildings. It's loosely described as "drinks and conversation with thinkers and creators." Now that I've admitted I'm bringing it back publicly, I can't back out now. So check it out (and links to recent copywriting work) at www.BeerandTallBuildings.com.

Overhead image of the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair