"We make Portland awesome" is a bi-weekly series. I’m interested building our
community of artists by helping us all find out more about each other.
This week: Heidi of My Beautiful Mess
Who are you?
What do you make?
I create my own jewelry lines as well as hand painted welcome mats. Jewelry and welcome mats...that shows the randomness of my personality. My current obsession is designing my line of hand painted wooden bangles. In the future I hope to add graphic art prints and enameled bracelets to my ever growing list of random - but awesome - creations.
Besides making things, what do you do?
I'm a stay-at-home mom to three amazing and funny kids and wife to my college sweetheart, who works as a Young Life Area Director. We try our best to live the simple life, love our kids well and invest in the neighborhood and community around us. We ride our bikes and host neighborhood outdoor movie nights and love to eat with people. I also could not survive without books and one of my life goals is to write one of my own.
What inspires you?
Everything that can create emotion or evoke a memory inspires me. My children's laughs, hiking on a quiet trail, great music, bright color, conversations with people who really get me, walking up Hawthorne and seeing the wonderfully weird side of Portland, the smell of dusty books and coffee at Powell's...but mostly I'm inspired by the depth of life I find by living in relationship and sharing life with people around me. Loving and being loved is a huge inspiration.
Where can your work be found?
Currently you can find my work on Etsy and Aftcra. It will soon also be available on Scoutmob and The Bazaar. It is my hope is to get my designs into brick and mortar shops in the Portland area and around the Northwest very soon.
What do you love about Portland?
I love to soak up Portland's vibe on Hawthorne, get lost in books at Powells, smell the fresh air on hikes in Forest Park, discover new vegan friendly restaurants on Alberta, drink amazing hand crafted coffee at Coava and Stumptown and Heart, enjoy a delicious dinner date with my love at The Sweet Hereafter, play with my kids in Washington Park and ride around the city on two wheels at the Sunday Parkways events.
I love how Portland has found it's personality and doesn't feel the need to strive to be Seattle or New York or L.A. The idea of being content with what we have is so important to my family, so the pace and attitude of Portland resonates with us. Getting involved with the people in our community is deeply ingrained in the people of this city as well - which we love.
I also love that it's ok to be weird. Because we are all weird in one way or another, right? The artist, the writer, the designer, the visionary...they are celebrated and nurtured and respected here.
I also love to eat...which makes Portland just about the perfect place for me.
Make sure you check out My Beautiful Mess's Etsy shop and blog.
Thanks for sharing, Heidi!
No comments:
Post a Comment