Periodically for Studio Spaces I highlight artists and designers from the Indie Fixx Shop with you through an interview and pictures of their studio, work in progress and other interesting pics and today I’d like to share the work of Jennifer Syfu of Starving Artist Bazaar. I am a big fan of Jennifer’s glasswork jewelry, especially her amoeba, eukaryote and protozoa deisgns, and I even own a few pieces myself.

Read more about Jennifer and Starving Artist Bazaar below.

1. What’s the name of your shop and what do you make?

My shop is called Starving Artist Bazaar and create lampwork glass beads and pendants, paintings and silver/stone jewelry.

2. What’s your favorite thing about your studio or work space? Your least favorite?

I love how my glass studio is outside and I can look out into my garden. Sometimes, I walk over to the peach tree and grab a peach. The problem with working outside are the wind gusts, dust storms and insane high temperatures in Phoenix, AZ. Oh. And a spider jumped on my neck once.

3. What do you listen to or watch while you work?

Some music I’ve been listening to - Regina Spektor, Grand Ole Party and Jimmy Cliff. When I’m done with a bead and I’m putting jewelry together I usually watch old BBC productions checked out from the library.

4. What are some of your inspirations?

Glass marbles, flowers, biology, Dale Chihuly, Barnett Newman, magazines, television. Lots of things.

5. Anything you want to share? Doing any craft shows this season, have some new products coming out, or get a really big write-up in a national publication?

I just joined the Phoenix Craft Mafia and I’m really excited about that.

6. Do you collect anything?

Paintings and prints from friends and artists I discover at craft shows. Also, I make and collect handmade glass marbles. Marbles inspired me to get into hot glass.

Today for Studio Spaces, I’d like to share the work of Lila from Anna Ruby King with you. I’ve been an admirer of Lila’s ever since she burst on the scene last year and I am happy to say that you can find Lila’s rescued fabric and hand-drawn cards and prints in the Indie Fixx Shop. I especially love Lila’s sweet fabric and hand-drawn cards and love that they are all different depending on what fabrics Lila has chosen. Here are some of my favorites that are for sale in the Indie Fixx Shop.

Learn more about Lila and her work from my interview with her and these images from her studio.

1. What’s the name of your shop and what do you make?

My business name is Lila Ruby King and I am a jewellery designer and artist. The business is just in its beginnings, right now I have my little Etsy shop, Anna Ruby King, where I sell my works on paper, soon I hope to get the jewellery side of things going too.

2. What’s your favorite thing about your studio or work space? Your least favorite?

I actually have two spaces for working, I have a messy area, in what is basically a storage room for my in-laws, where I do my jewellery work, and I have a clean area, which is my kitchen table, where I make my gift cards, paint, draw, everything else. I should add that the kitchen table has not been used for its intended purpose (eating on) since I started my business. I have to say that there are not too many things I like about either of these spaces, however both of them do have fabulous natural light, and my jewellery space does have a lot of room. Very soon I’ll be moving into a new place, and I have already designated a room there for my new, super fantastic, combined jewellery and paper work studio, I can’t wait!

3. What do you listen to or watch while you work?

When I am in my jewellery studio, I have my little mp3 player which I listen to, right now I have it playing some Radiohead, Powerfinger, U2, Faker and The Doors. When I am inside doing my clean work, I usually have the tv on, I am totally a news junkie, I guess I feel like I am learning something about the world while I am working.

4. What are some of your inspirations?

As you can see by my work most of my inspiration comes from nature, but what interests me most is the way we as humans classify nature. I love how we have to give things names, put them into groups, put them into boxes with labels, document, classify, explore. I love scientific drawings, maps, historic and new, colour charts, diagrams, books. I am also drawn to colours and patterns, anything bright!

5. Anything you want to share? Doing any craft shows this season, have some new products coming out, or get a really big write-up in a national publication?

I am starting a new project that I am calling The Pigeon Project. I am kind of fascinated by pigeons, yes they have a bad reputation, but you have to give these birds credit, unlike those sensitive animals who struggle to live in this world with us humans, pigeons thrive, is there any city in the world where they are not everywhere? So as part of my fascination, I’ve decided to start to document pigeons. Every day, I will find a pigeon, document where I found it and draw it, partly I want to document the great variation of colours and patterns in their feathers, and also I am curious to see if I will ever find the same pigeon twice. I’m not sure how long I will carry it on till, maybe until I do get the same bird twice!

Secondly, hopefully very soon, I will be up and running with my jewellery work as well, keep checking at my current Etsy shop for any news on both of these!

6. What is something completely whimsical that you enjoy doing?

So, I’m not sure if this classifys as whimsical or somewhat crazy, but I’ll tell you about my future business idea that I like to daydream to myself about (my husband also thinks this is a good idea, so let me share the crazyness around a little.) I’d really like to have one day a nature reserve, a great expanse of land, where there will be lush grassy fields, little winding creeks with pebbles, lots of trees and everything else you need for such a thing. Then I would like to populate my reserve with yellow Labradors, who would roam around all day long paddling in the water, creating holes in the fields, eating all the strange bugs their hearts desire. I could charge entry into my nature reserve, like people go to those safari parks. I am fairly certain that anyone who has owned a Labrador will totally understand the brilliance.

For today’s Studio Spaces, I’d like to the work of artist Terese Bast with you. You will find Terese’s whimsical and charming prints in the Indie Fixx Shop. Hailing from Finland, Terese works on her illustrations, pins, postcards and her artwork, which includes mixed media work of drawings, paintings and textile materials.

The artist Terese Bast in her studio.

Learn more about Terese and her work from my interview with her.

1. What’s the name of your shop and what do you create?

I have been working with illustrations and product design in the last two years. I really enjoy working with clients and having a creative dialogue going on in the working process. In my own business, Terese Bast, you can find prints and postcards.

2. What’s your favorite thing about your studio or work space? Your least favorite?

My studio is at home - so I think that both the favoite and least favorite thing about the studio is the fact that I work at home. It is very practical, near to the kitchen and coffee machine and I also have a nice space. But on the other side, it can get quite disturbing when my kids are running around. But so far, there have not been any major disasters around here and I also think that my children find it educational to see what I am doing all day long.

3. What do you listen to or watch while you work?

I prefer the silence and just looking out of the window while working. But there are days when music is needed and my latest favourites are Jens Lekman and Maia Hirasawa, both from Sweden. I also love Nina Simone and Serge Gainsbourg.

4. What are some of your inspirations in your work?

Nature and life itself together with all the arts and artistis out there inspires me. Life and imagening life is wonderful!

5. Do you have a studio pet?

No studio pets around here….just on paper.

6. What’s your favorite snack?

My favourite snack would be hazel nuts, cashew nuts, pecan nuts, walnuts.. I love nuts! And they are beautiful as well.

I’d like to introduce a new feature to you today….it’s called Studio Spaces. For Studio Spaces, I will choose one Indie Fixx Shop artist or designer to highlight through photos of their studio space and a short interview. I am always fascinated by how people set-up and decorate their creative spaces and I also like to hear about what inspires them. I know you guys are interested in the same stuff too, so I hope you like the new feature.

The first designer I’d like to introduce you to is Jennifer Ramos from Textile Fetish. Jennifer started her home-based business,Textile Fetish, in the winter of 2001 and she creates and sells one-of-a-kind, handmade items, made mostly from reclaimed and recycled materials. Currently, I carry several designs of hot beverage cup sleeves from Textile Fetish in the Indie Fixx Shop. Both decorative and functional, they can help you reduce the amount of waste from those coffees-on-the-go, which I know I am guilty of indulging in.

Learn more about Jennifer and Textile Fetish from these images of her studio and from my interview with her.

1. What’s the name of your shop and what do you make?

Textile Fetish sells one-of-a-kind, handmade items, made mostly from reclaimed and recycled materials.

2. What’s your favorite thing about your studio or work space? Your least favorite?

My work space is the formal dining room at the front of the house. There’s no wall or door to close it off from the front entryway. So whenever we have a new guest (you know how people look at your space differently when they see it for the first time?) I feel a little shy about it. I do, however, appreciate that the space is all mine and that it has a green wall and has everything I need in one place. It’s taken a long time to get it to this point.

3. What do you listen to or watch while you work?

Netflix “watch instantly” documentaries, scary ones about food and government corruption, and also old tv shows like Emergency and Adam 12. Or The Office. Or Weeds.

4. What are some of your inspirations in your arts & crafts?

The pairing of the two words, “arts and crafts” reminds me of when my mom had me painting clothespins brown and sticking on tiny googly eyes so we could make reindeer. And I abhor the glue gun! What inspires me in my designs is, 1.) a need for something functional, 2.) the desire to use up small pieces of fabric. Patchwork allows me to piece scraps that can then be cut into what’s required to make other items. It’s a compulsion. It’s a reuse-reuse-recycle obsession. I think a better question is: What inspires me to keep doing this? The economy is up and down and business is not always booming. During those down times, it’s easy to question whether I still have a customer base to sufficiently support what I do, and whether I ought to go more mainstream or close-up shop altogether and go back to my State job. That’s when I watch documentaries about Daniel Johnston, Charles Bukowski, The Flaming Lips, and Frank Gehry because they help me stay focused. They remind me that a person’s art should remain organic and that even when it fails to bring in loads of money, it continues to serve a greater purpose.

5. Anything you want to share? Doing any craft shows this season, have some new products coming out, or get a really big write-up in a national publication?

So far I have no shows scheduled. I’m hoping that the airlines will straighten out some of their issues and I am especially hoping they do not start limiting checked baggage to one-per-person.

I have an apron design that appears in the new book, A is for Apron by Nathalie Mornu. It’s my first time to be published in print.

Lastly, you can watch me demonstrate how to make a “Super Easy Craft Apron” on the DIY website. This 6-minute clip is from one of the episodes I taped with two of my friends in the summer of ‘06.

6. Who would play you in a movie of your life?

You know, it’s hard to say as this would have to be someone much younger than me. If I live to be pretty old, and I am assuming that the movie of my life won’t be made until my life is, well, coming to a close, well, you see what I’m saying.