Who: Stephen Wain
What: Wain Green Wood
Where: Charleston, South Carolina
Website: www.waingreenwood.com or e-mail him at waingreenwood@gmail.com
Stephen Wain started creating wooden pieces around three years ago using palette material to make simple benches. Over the last year, his love of heart pine and creative talent have led him to where he is now: building beautiful, functional custom pieces for eager customers. Wain Green Wood operates out of a moderate sized warehouse type space on the outskirts of downtown and is full of Stephen’s hand made projects. He uses 100% old Charleston building materials, so each piece comes with a little bit of history behind it. Stephen likes that you can see the old tool marks, carvings and other markings made by craftsmen from hundreds of years ago. “We like to highlight that, to show the craftsmanship – both old and new.” It is a space he hopes will rally other carpenters to join him, as he feels some have the ingenuity and creativity, but rarely have an outlet for it.
Stephen’s price points are incredibly reasonable and he can even break it down for your budget. You are simply paying for his hours and hard work, but will most likely spend about half of what people in bigger cities would charge you. “There’s no magic to it, just time. And if you’re not gonna put the time into it, you can’t ask people for their money. It wouldn’t be honest.” Well Stephen, I couldn’t agree with you more.
“This is deeper for me, the history is here. The Preservation Society started here and was basically made to protect heart pine. Heart of the South-this heart pine. There’s just something majestic about it.”
A woman came to Stephen wanting to keep her child’s crib with the family, so he broke it apart and turned it into this small child’s bed.
Hercules guarding two early benches
A lady found Stephen on craigslist, showed him these old columns and said, “Do something with that”. So they started talking and sketching things out, and decided on this table. Stephen added the copper inlay to match another piece of her existing furniture.
Photos and story by Kate
What: A New Guide to Charleston
Who: Anna Kate and Savannah
Where: Charleston, South Carolina
Website: surceepress.tumblr.com
This isn’t your average guidebook. Anna Kate and Savannah, two recent graduates from the College of Charleston, have teamed up to create a small low country publishing company that focuses on limited edition handmade art and literature books. Their largest most recent publication is their A New Guide to Charleston – full of images, poems, and recipes from locals that allow visitors and residents alike to enjoy all of what Charleston has to offer. Other guidebooks may be tourist focused, but this unique book lets readers in to the artistic, young and vibrant side of the city that might otherwise be missed. More projects are yet to come from this creative duo, but be sure to pick up this limited edition guidebook while you still can!
Photos by Melinda Scharstein
Lady Baltimore recipe by Sugar Bakeshop
Photos by Brooke Branch
Folly Beach recipe by Amanda Downey
The creators, Anna Kate and Savannah
The new guide retails for $60 and is available online and at Heirloom Book Co. located at 123 King Street. Be sure to check out their website for more of their handmade journals, bookmarks, totes and other paper goods as well as their Facebook page.
Photos by Kate
Name: Belinda T. S. Phing
*Phing is my Chinese name which means “Peaceful”… But I am known mostly as Belinda. I wanted some attention to my other name, hence I made Phings the name of my Etsy Store. I also like that Phings (pronounced as Pings) rhyme with Things
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Age: 33 (not as young as my quirky things!)
Website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/phings
When did you first start making your phings?
I started Phings when I stumbled upon Etsy. The world is surely creative! I was blown away with so much arts and crafts. However, the start up of Phings was not immediate. It took me a while to find what I wanted to work on. It took me about 3 months of playing around with different materials before landing on what I have in my store now.
Your work definitely seems part comic, part early 20th century, part antique to me. Are there any particular inspirations behind your work?
I started design school at the age of 19 and the course was interior design. I love homes and making beautiful homes! Much later, I enrolled myself into an Animation and Multimedia school. My days then were mostly digital art, animation, comics and film making. In a nutshell, my life was a big tapestry of various experiences. In art, I believe the same and there are no borders and limit to what one can create.
I often am inspired by going places (like vintage markets or bazaars) and looking at object/things and allowing my imagination to take flight of what I can do or create with them. This is the most fun part of creating! And I never stop thinking or even experimenting on this aspect.
Where do you find a lot of the materials you work with? Or is that part of the secret?
The materials in my store are largely Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF). I loved the fact that MDF are residues from wood industries. It is drill easy, lightweight and can be treated with paint or paper. MDF is mostly used for large furniture. Instead I am using these to make crafty trinkets. In some occasions, I like using thrown away materials and repurposing them for something else. I also combine digital art on my pieces – they are either ephemeras or digitally altered ephemeras.
Do you sell your Phings anywhere else besides Etsy?
At this moment, Phings is only available in Etsy.
What is your “day job”?
I am TV producer. I produce commercials which require digital production such as animation or visual effects.
What is your dream job?
A job I can clock in and clock out anytime I like, create fun stuff at the same time and earn a good salary! My dream job must also provide me with flexible time to work with animals.
What were you like as a child? Have you always been creative?
I was not the typical doll girl. My parents saw me climbing trees and catching ladybugs. I often made stuff from everyday things found in the house. I recall making my own kites, ball bearing games and card board houses. I also played a mind game of my own where I imagined myself living upside down from the ceiling. I also recall sending a handmade card to a friend with paper confetti hidden in the fold. On the envelope I made a little condition that she should open the card near a blowing fan. You can imagine what happened next…!
Do you ever have particular people or places in mind when creating your Phings?
When I first started Phings, I wasn’t sure if anyone would like what I create or even have any use for it. So frankly I do not have any particular target group/people/place in mind to start. Starting Phings was something of a test bed for me… I wanted to know exactly how others would react to my creations…and having a global audience is a great advantage! I am now slowly discovering how people respond to my creations and it’s been a great motivation!
Do you ever do personalized orders?
I am selective of personalized orders at this stage simply because I am lacking of time. I would only take up a personalized order provided I have the time and commitment to do it properly.
How would you describe your creative process? How long does a single piece of work take?
My creative process usually starts in the mind. I could be harboring ideas for a few days before attempting to make them. For most of my trinkets, I create the base shape first before embellishing them with paint/ digital pattern/textures. The hours I spend creating differ from one to another. In some days, I could come up with a few great pieces fairly quickly…but in some other days, one piece may take me forever. My creativity goes in parallel with my mood and concentration I guess.
Is there a certain type of music you listen to while making your work?
Any songs would be fine for me so long as they are not piercing or sound noisy to me.
What is on the walls of your bedroom?
My bed is against a wall of white empty picture frames! I may fill them up one day but at this moment, I like it the way it is.
All photos taken by Belinda T.S. Phing
Please visit her website HERE to see information about (and more of) her work
Name: Malarie
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Age: 23, 24 as of Oct. 13
Website: http://itsastitch.etsy.com
When did you first start making your jewelry and art work?
I started doing it as a hobby in 2008, after I would often think up designs and fail in finding them for sale. I started embroidering only 8 months ago! I picked it up really fast and absolutely adore doing it.
Some of your jewelry and work is very funny and comical, like the tetris pieces and embroidered wall art. Are there any particular inspirations behind this?
Truth be told, I’m a geek. A huge geek. I like geeky things, so when I went searching for decor, I noticed a pretty big lack of geeky home decor. I decided to take one for the team and start making it, and the ideas just come to me. All of my pop culture pieces (tetris, futurama, typeface fonts) come from just my interests and things I enjoy talking about. When I see someone else react positively to them, it’s almost like knowing “Hey, I should be friends with this person”.
Where do you find a lot of the objects you work with for your jewelry? Or is that part of the secret?
Lots are from vintage/thrift stores. I adore using old charms and fabrics!
Do you sell your work anywhere else besides Etsy?
Craft shows and festivals, hoping to start selling my work in brick and mortar stores next year.
What is your “day job”?
This is my day job! I sell full time with Etsy.
What is your dream job?
This is pretty darn close to my dream job, and I’m thankful that I’m able to do it. BUT, my not-so-secret desire is to be a singer in a rock band.
What were you like as a child? Have you always been creative?
Yes, my first hobby was dance, which I did for about 5-6 years, tap and ballet! If I had embarrassing photos, I would share them here. After that I got into theater, which I did for about 5-6 years, as well. I miss it a ton! Nothing quite like the rush of Opening Night. As far as what I was like as a child, a bit of a goody-two shoes, I loved to learn and had all kinds of friends. I played outside often, and had a wild imagination.
How would you describe your creative process? Any rituals or specific times you like to do it?
I go through phases. There will be a week out of the month where I just hole up and create item after item. It’s often with the windows open and some good tunes playing.
Is there a certain type of music you listen to while making your items?
What perfect timing! Lots of upbeat stuff, lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Girl Talk, Holly Throsby and The Sleepy Rebels while I create. I need music while I make.
What is on the walls of your bedroom?
Sadly, nothing! I know, how shameful. But I’ve only been in this apartment for about 6 months, and one wall in my bedroom is exposed brick. I’m also pretty sure my walls are made of thick tissue paper, so perhaps it will just be bare for the remainder of my time here.
What do you hope for?
Success, happiness (for all my loved ones, not just me!) and as of late… quiet! I savor quiet moments here, they last for about the blink of an eye. Never knew how much I took it for granted.
