American Craft Council has championed the art of craft for more than 75 years, bringing together thousands of makers and their work to major cities every year for its annual marketplace. That’s something worth celebrating, and that’s what San Francisco Bay Area Craft Week is all about. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the marketplace will be held online, running now through September 13. We’ve curated a list of 10 must-see makers featured in this year’s extravaganza.
Photography provided by Ashley Buchanan Jewelry
Ashley Buchanan Jewelry
Jewelry and Adornment
Ashley Buchanan is a full-time jewelry artist based in Atlanta. She participates in high-end craft shows across the country and sells her work in shops and galleries as well as online. When making her powder-coated metal jewelry, she focuses on image, pattern and decoration with a nod to ornamentation and historical jewelry. She creates wearable works of art that push the boundaries of jewelry while maintaining a clean, contemporary aesthetic.
Photography provided by Girardini Design
Girardini Design
Mixed Media
The self-taught husband-and-wife duo behind Girardini Design chooses to make their living in the arts. Although cold rolled steel is their main material, their interdisciplinary approach also incorporates such materials as brass, copper, wood, fused glass and others. Girardini Design’s metal finishes are varied and include ground, sanded, patinated and lacquered surfaces.
Photography provided by Sarah Graham
Sarah Graham
Jewelry and Adornment
Marrying innovative materials with her exceptional taste for design, Sarah Graham creates jewelry unlike anything else. Her work is organic and textural with a muted palette that is subtly feminine yet substantial, unique yet universal in its appeal.
Photography provided by Mary Jaeger
Mary Jaeger
Apparel
This modern designer’s work is rooted in rich and elegance traditions. She fuses ancient Eastern and contemporary Western styles to create one-of-a-kind statement pieces. “My niche women’s and interior accessory collections are inspired by my passions for color, texture and pattern,” says Jaeger. “I use shaped resist dyeing techniques synthesized with voluminous silhouettes, and I love handcrafted construction and couture details.”
Photography provided by Lingua Nigra
Lingua Nigra
Jewelry
Alicia Goodwin is a Chicago-based jeweler who specializes in creating textures loosely based on the randomness of nature. Inspired by Mesoamerican gold adornment as well as Victorian era mourning jewelry, her work incorporates simple shapes with deep patterns in metal, creating dimensional, functional art. Her love of craft knows no bounds and can be seen in her rich, detailed work, which is created using several techniques, most notably acid etching and metal reticulation.
Photography provided by Corey Pemberton
Corey Pemberton
Home and Living
With a degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, Corey Pemberton has completed international residencies with such institutions as the Pittsburgh Glass Center as well as a fellowship at the Penland School of Crafts. He currently resides in Los Angeles, where he splits his time between glassblowing, painting and outreach work with Crafting the Future.
Photography provided by Rayo & Honey
Rayo & Honey
Home and Living
Roachele Negron’s inspiration for Rayo and Honey? The many written affirmations her mother placed throughout her childhood home, drawing on literature, affirming quotes and Black pop-culture references. And her mission is to create goods that add adornment within personal spaces. She particularly likes phrases that stay with you long after you’ve consumed them.
Photography provided by Colin Richmond
Colin Richmond
Home and Living
A self-taught carver and mold maker, Colin Richmond developed the look of his creatures through trial and error in the days before YouTube. He approaches his mixture of mediums as a puzzle when crafting his creatures. His goal is to make a lifelike piece that feels as good as it looks.
Photography provided by Sara Thompson
Sara Thompson
Home and Living
An accomplished silversmith, Sara Thompson has a degree in craft with a concentration in metals from the Oregon College of Art and Craft. She works bilaterally between wearable forms and minimal utilitarian objects. She is trained as a bench jeweler and uses traditional silversmithing to explore the vessel and the intimate connection of handheld functional objects.
Photography provided by Yolotli
Yolotli
Apparel and Accessories
Yolotli combines art and style to create timeless designs for the sophisticated, conscious consumer with a focus on excellent craftsmanship, artisanal techniques and the highest quality natural materials. The name Yolotli, which means “heart” in Nahuatl, pays homage to a culture that has deeply inspired founder Nicole Kelly and continues to influence her worldly approach to fashion and design.
