Northwood News ♦ December 2014

Making It Yourself:  Living the ‘Crafty’ Life in North Four Corners

By Jacquie Bokow

Are you the sort of person who likes having handmade items in your home?  Perhaps you like to make them yourself, too.  Jane Kohlenstein, who lives on Eastwood Avenue, has been creating — and more recently, selling — items she’s made on Etsy and at local venues.  Etsy, which has been called “an online craft show,” describes itself as a marketplace where people around the world — one million, they claim — sell unique, hand-crafted goods.

“I grew up in a very creative family,” says Kohlenstein.  “My mother, grandmother, and aunts all paint, sew, knit, and create, so it was fairly inevitable.  As a kid, I would often make tiny pillows for my dolls or jewelry for myself or to give as gifts.  As I got older, that creativity spread to ‘crafty’ things around our home and then, when we had kids, I began to craft and create along with them.”

Kohlenstein sells a variety of appliquéd baby onesies, as well as wool stuffed dogs, giraffes, owls, elephants, foxes, and bunnies.  She also fills custom orders, including toddler tote bags and market bags.

“I began making these things simply to give as gifts to our friends for baby showers and kid birthdays,” said Kohlenstein, “but then, after hearing so many people suggest that I sell my items as well, I decided I’d give it a go.”

Kohlenstein chose Etsy as the most reasonable place to start selling her handmade items, “mostly because they make it so easy for you.” She says there’s “no need to worry about setting up your own website and store platform.  You do have to pay a small fee for each item you list for their services, though.”  See her items at www.etsy.com/shop/Buzzmills.

Sharing by Blogging

When Kohlenstein isn’t crafting new items, she’s sharing “how to do it yourself” tips on her blog, www.buzzmills.net.  She’s shown how she made clothes for her children, her husband, and herself.  She shares party ideas and many projects and crafts you can do with kids.

“I also share tutorials with step-by-step instructions for a variety of projects from kid crafts to sewing to holiday crafting and creating ideas,” she says.  “With the Christmas holidays coming up, there will likely be several projects in that vein.” In the past, she’s shared plans for hand-crafted items ranging from felt ornaments to air-dry clay Christmas trees to festive wintry pillows.

“In the end, I really just love to make,” says Kohlenstein.  “I’m always thinking about how to create this or that.  My children are thinking about it, too!  We live in a creative household and on my blog you will see our adventures in sewing, creating, crafting, gardening, and exploring.  It’s what gets us through the day and fulfills us.”

Shopping for Hand Crafts Locally

For shopping in the area, Kohlenstein recommends GALA Artisan Jewelry and Gifts and the Fenton Street Market (she has sold some of her own products at both).  The GALA retail store sells jewelry, accessories, pottery, art glass, toys, and gifts, all handmade by local artists.  GALA — which stands for “Guild of Artists Local to the Area” — is at 10417 Armory Avenue in Kensington (www.galaartisans.com).

If you’ve been to downtown Silver Spring on the weekend, you’ve probably seen the Fenton Street Market, where the street is blocked off and filled with covered stalls selling all manner of items.  Unfortunately, it’s closed during the winter (www.fentonstreetmarket.com), but there will be a last “Buy Local Holiday Market” on Saturday, 20 December 2014, from 9:00 a.m.  to 3:00 p.m.  More than 60 vendors are expected, selling art, bath and body products, jewelry, kids’ toys, baby clothes, and more.  Check the website for the full vendor list.

“Both GALA and the Fenton Street Market are fantastic places to consider shopping if you are looking for local, handmade, and unique items,” she adds.    ■