Makin the Best Of It and Chainmaille By MBOI

Andrew and Kimberly are the husband and wife team behind HandmadeArtists.com and have an obsessive passion about creating and buying anything handmade.  Kimberly’s love of handmade was carefully and enthusiastically fostered by her Grandmother who believed fully in making due and making it yourself.  She taught Kimberly to sew, knit, crochet, cook, can, and do any number of other crafts.  She encouraged Kimberly to try any art that caught her attention and as she has grown, Kimberly continues this tradition of actively seeking out handmade instead of mass produced and creating as much as possible for herself.  Christmas, birthdays and holidays become a frenzy of creating handmade gifts for her friends and family.  She is carrying on the handmade tradition by sharing her love and talents for crafts with her two enthusiastic sons who have found many hours of enjoyment in creating for themselves in between sports and school activities.

Andrew caught the handmade bug later in life, taking on crafts in order to spend time with Kimberly!  When he is not working his day job as a Senior Estimator at a local construction company, he has tried his hand at making candles, cross stitch, and later spent countless hours, pliers in hand, working on Chainmaille creations.  His latest project, HandmadeArtists.com has taken on a life of its own and has shifted his focus from creation to promotion of other handmade artists.  While not creating as much on his own, the forum and shop have become a new type of creative outlet, promoting and socializing with people from around the world all the while trying to get their products seen by those that appreciate the love that goes into each handmade creation.

Kimberly began Makin the Best Of It in the early 90’s after Andrew pushed her to begin selling her work rather than giving it all away.  That first craft fair was a learning experience to say the least, but Kimberly was willing to learn the ins and outs of selling handmade in person and online and with Andrew’s support, the business has continued to grow to include hand painted and engraved glass, sea glass jewelry, and Chainmaille.  The couple continues to do a few craft shows, children in tow, every year, but has shifted focus to primarily online selling to allow the family a bit more time together.

HandmadeArtists.com came to being after Kimberly tried multiple selling venues and Andrew had to listen to her complaining over what they did or did not have.  Ever the one to fix the problem, Andrew spent countless hours researching and questioning and eventually a new forum and selling venue was born.  The mission statement embodies the couple’s love of handmade and the desire to see handmade showcased as the art that it is without competition of mass produced products.

Tags: buy handmade, chainmail, chainmaille, chainmaillebymboi, glass, hand painted, Handmade, Handmade Artists, handmadeartists, makinthebestofit, sterling silver jewelry, wine

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