Meet The Makers
Unas Bolsas
Handmade Sustainable Bags
I am an entrepreneur, a wife, life enthusiast, a dreamer and a risk taker. I try to live my life with a meaningful purpose. My philosophy in business comes from my family: Never start a business just to make “Money.” Start a business to make a difference!
During lockdown I got all the time to think about what I wanted to do next. So, I decided to pursue this dream of mine: to have my own line of women's bag. With that in mind, I wanted to see how could I also make a difference. With that focus, I found production partners who not only create ecofriendly item but also focus on improving lives of artisans.
And so, UNAS BOLSAS was born. Unas Bolsas means "Some Bags". Unas Bolsas' mission is to ensure sustainable livelihood for our skilled Artisans. Every bag purchased helps Artisans earn money to empower and uplift their families and communities.
Our well-designed Eco-Friendly products are made from high quality recycled plastic and up-cycled material to reduce waste of products at the end of their useful life.
I wanted to do something that can have an impact on people, and at the same time it is sustainable for our planet.
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Haus of Jung
Versatile and minimal, with edge, Haus of Jung leather accessories are 100% handmade in the atelier cottage in Richmond, Virginia, by Brazilian founder and designer, Natalia Maurer.
Natalia's background in Psychology and Carl Jung inspires her to hold space for the needs of the Self, manifested and expressed through a custom accessory. The Haus aims to shine light on the importance of mental health and inner work, so we can integrate our shadow and exist in our full potential.
Instagram
Email (for any custom orders)
Website
Lauren Hall
Lollie's Mad, Mad World
"WE'RE ALL MAD HERE." The famous line from Alice in Wonderland, quickly sums up Lollie's Mad, Mad World owner, Lauren Hall's life and the business itself. By day, Lauren is the Visual Arts Manager at the Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen. Outside of work, she is wife to artist husband, Jay, and mom to Dylan and the family's five cats.In between designing jewelry and sewing fun new projects, she teams up with Jay and their artist friends to share their unique creations through Lollie's Mad Mad World.The artist's styles and mediums range vastly from wild collage to whimsical jewelry to eye-catching paintings. Each artist is one-of-a-kind just like their works of art. We hope you'll see something in our eclectic mix that resonates with you and that will bring you joy long after your purchase!
Please feel free to check out out website
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The Lightbulb Studio
Live for your lightbulb moments
The Lightbulb Studio was founded by Maddie Koerber, a Richmond based artist originally from Baltimore, Maryland. With a bit of whimsy and loads of color, she paints florals, landscapes, animals and just about anything else that brings inspiration.
Her work is influenced by her background in graphic design and a love of color that started growing up in her parents’ paint business. She’s been involved in a range of projects and has a particular fondness for completing commission pieces, making her clients’ creative dreams acrylic realities.
“My goal with any painting is to bring beauty to people. It is an enormous privilege to make art in this way, and I’m living a dream come true so long as I have the ability to create and simultaneously spark unexpected joy in others.
I’m grateful every day to do this work.”
You can follow The Lightbulb Studio on Instagram for behind the scenes clips of work-in-progress paintings, upcoming projects and pictures of her studio cat, Tallulah.
Check our Facebook too!
Honey Lavender Love
My name is Alecia Underwood and I am the owner and creative mind behind Honey Lavender Love. I started the company in 2020 as a way to help spread inspiration and joy with short phrases on my oversized coffee mugs to my family and friends.
Some of my popular phrases include "Coffee gets me started Jesus keeps me going", "I've got a good heart but this mouth" and "I'm sorry did I roll my eyes out loud". And then I expanded my product line using my gift of creativity and passion for decorative items to include colorful mugs, coasters and serving trays.
My commitment to my customers is to provide quality products which will bring them joy and put a smile on their face.
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Skyeluna
Established in February 2021, SKYELUNA is a small family business created to encourage and spread the love yourself campaign. With our self care essentials and home fragrance products, our mission is to promote and encourage others to "love yourself" better than yesterday. Skye and I handmake every product in our business (well, I do all the work and SKYE creates more mess in the house) and with the support from my husband, SKYELUNA is able to come into existence. We hope that SKYE will inherit a multi-million dollar business in the future and that SKYELUNA continues to spread the importance of self care/love everywhere in the world.
Check our website and follow us on social media - Facebook and Instagram
Unpopular Market
A designer and maker from Virginia Beach, VA, Cindy Guillermo Heselton has always been gifted with the power of alchemy. From her early days of making purses out of aluminum cans to dresses made out of thrifted bedsheets, Cindy loves turning trash into treasure. In 2020, after endless days in lockdown and looking hard at the troubles we now collectively face, Cindy realized she could use her superpower to take action and do something. And so: Unpopular Market.
Locally sourced and trash to table, Unpopular Market designs and creates clothing, accessories, and home decor items using recycled and repurposed materials. The current collection features pouches and wristlets that give packaging waste and comic books an extended life beyond the landfill, and okay, maybe this won’t be the thing that finally saves the planet from environmental collapse, but it’s a start and Unpopular Market plans to keep going.
Check our website and follow us on social media - Facebook and Instagram
Little May Company
Hi I’m Albree - the gal behind Little May Co!
I’m a VA native, lover of all things neutral, and a creator. Years ago, I watched most of my friends go off to college to follow their dreams. But for one reason or another, I knew that wasn’t the path for me.
I began working in early education and spent every moment I could trying new mediums and finding my niche. Fast forward a few years and I now have the opportunity to share my love of fun cups, apparel and so much more with others! What a dream. You can find these things and more in store at Pop of Confetti and on my website - littlemayco.com
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GRID+LOVE
At Grid+Love, we believe people connect to art when that art connects them to personal, memorable experiences. Through the combination of vibrant color palettes and strikingly simple reductions of familiar bird's-eye views, Grid+Love provides interesting art with a built-in story: your story.
Started in 2012 with a handful of Richmond and Charlottesville map designs, Grid+Love has blossomed into a marketplace of handcrafted map prints, cards, and notebooks covering cities and colleges all over the country. All designs are thoughtfully crafted by Sarah Courtney Oklesson, a Richmond native, graphic designer, and lover of all things maps. She currently resides in the Museum District with her husband and two children, all of whom love taking strolls through the neighborhood and visiting their favorite local spots.
Check our website and follow us on social media - Facebook and Instagram
Buoy Design Co.
Hi! I’m Gaelyn!
If you were to ask me where I feel most comfortable, it’s in the water; be it a river, lake, pond, ocean, or bath tub, the water is where I find myself happiest!
I grew up in northern New York, but ventured south to Virginia Tech for college, and have now settled in my forever home of Richmond, VA!
For my entire working career I have been involved with non-profits, drawn to helping people with disabilities find programs and activities that help build life and social skills.
During the pandemic I found myself looking for a creative outlet which I was able to find in creating Buoy Design Co. I wanted to combine my love of the water with my other love of charcuterie boards and hosting!
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The Gilded Lily
Hello! My name is Catherine Hughes and I am a native Richmonder from Virginia. I spend a lot of time in Outer Banks as well, which has greatly influenced the type of works that I create. For me, my crafting and art are my oasis of calm, a mental yoga that merges a lot of my interests together and allows me to find my zen.
I’m a full-time mom to two adorable and terribly active blonde hurricane girls. I love being able to show them through my art that there can be more to being a mom than cleaning up cheerios and scraping playdoh off of carpets. Mixed media projects have always been my passion. Becoming familiar with a process to create something that brings me joy and that I can be proud of is truly an incredible feeling.
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Kali Rae
Kali Rae
Hi I’m Kali Rae Austin, designer and creator of Kali Rae Made earrings. I’m a Virginia native and a wanna be Floridian, to be close to my parents on the gulf coast. If I’m not making earrings, you will find me on the water fishing or gardening in my backyard. During the day, I work full time for a Veterinarian hospital as an Inventory Manager, and no surprise, I love animals.
I started my journey with polymer clay during the pandemic of 2020. What started as a hobby, is now a passion of mine that fills up my spare time. I always loved art related projects and this hobby allows me to design earrings that are bold and make a statement. Check out my website for latest designs!
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Michele Lachapelle
Michelle Lachapelle is the creator of CrochetableKnits. She is a mom, wife, yoga teacher, runner and creative spirit. Michelle taught herself to knit while living in Chicago to pass the time indoors during the midwest's brutal winters.
She expanded her skills to crochet a few years ago. She is now happily settled in the RVA area, and crafting to her heart's content, often while listening to jazz playlists. She has a special fondness for crocheted amigurumi, the art of creating delightful 3D yarn creatures. She loves the process of working with raw materials (especially yarn!), and watching them transform into lovable (and even huggable!) decorations. Michelle hopes that her work brings others joy, just in the same way that creating does for her.
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Glass Oven Art
Glass transforms with light and movement and is ever changing. It can be almost endlessly recycled and recreated.
I create art that joins function with beauty. I hope my work serves an everyday purpose. Working with glass is an ongoing exploration. I continue to play with new ideas and techniques. It’s essential not to become static.
I have two daughters. I encourage them to be adventurous and take chances to grow and discover what gives them joy and purpose. And, in a moment of clarity I realized that my own journey needed to begin and a business and art studio were born—Glass Oven Art.
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Lillie Wild
Lillie Wild is a family-run flower and pottery business.
We are sisters, Libbie and Millie - together we are “Lillie,” which of course, is also a type of flower. The “Wild” part of our name is a nod to Mother Earth. It’s the energy we create when we work in harmony with nature to make beautiful things for your home.
Even though we both currently live in the city of Richmond, we were born and raised on our family farm in Mechanicsville, Virginia which is where our flower garden currently resides.
The simple act of growing flowers on the land where WE grew up has been the most fulfilling full-circle venture.
We dig the soil, plant the seeds, pick the weeds and water the beds so that beautiful flowers can grow in our garden. Meanwhile, our team of bees are hard at work pollinating and gathering nectar from the blooms in order to make honey inside their hives.
We then carefully harvest and bottle the honey and cut the flowers to create beautiful bouquets. It’s a delicate, synchronized process and we work in harmony with the “wild” in order to make it happen.
In between making bouquets, pouring candles and harvesting honey, we are busy molding clay into one-of-a-kind pieces of pottery that are inspired by nature.
Our designs are both whimsical and modern and we are constantly dreaming up new creations.
We strive to have a zero waste policy with our little business and we make choices that protect the health of the environment because we are only as good as the habitat we cultivate. We do this by saving and reusing any plastic seedling trays and eliminating the use of pesticides and harmful chemicals. Any wax collected from the honey extraction process is then used in our hand-poured natural soy and beeswax blended candles. Any flowers that don’t make it into the bouquets are then dried for their seeds or composted back into the soil.
Reducing, reusing and giving back to the land whenever possible has been ingrained in us since childhood so intertwining that with our business has been second nature.
We acquired our love of flowers and gardening from our mother and our grandparents. We contribute our passion, imagination and work-ethic to our father, but our thriftiness, humility and love of nature is a direct outcome of our upbringing. All good things bloom with time and we are excited to see how we grow and change with this business we are building together.
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and visit our website
Pretties + Papers
Hi friends! I’m Ashley, the owner and maker at Pretties + Papers!
I am just like any dog obsessed person who wanted to put cute bandanas on my adorable rescue dogs, but couldn’t find anything big enough for them in the store. So our pet accessories collection was born! We create joyful, handmade accessories that are meant to help bring out your pet’s (and your) fabulous personality.
Our goal is to provide practical, quality options and sizes perfect for everyone! With your purchase and support, we are so proud to support animal shelters and rescues with supplies and bandanas.
I live in Moseley, Virginia with my two daughters, husband and our little rescue pittie.
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and visit our website