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FAR NORTH DALLAS DECEMBER 2009

COVER STORY: Think Outside the Gift Box

Forget designer labels, mall crowds and perfectly wrapped packages. This year’s hottest gifts are handmade close to home

By Marlena Chavira-Medford

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Maybe it’s the chill in the air, the splashes of crimson in the trees, or the sound of a familiar melody you haven’t heard since, oh, about a year ago.

Do hints of the impending holidays send you straight to the nearest mall, where you fight fellow frenzied shoppers for mass-produced presents?

This year, forgo the status quo. Instead, take a deep breath, peruse the following pages, and then do some shopping you can really feel good about.

Like an army of Santa’s helpers, many of your creatively gifted neighbors are busy in their workshops crafting one-of-a-kind items that are sure to garner many oohs, ahhs and heartfelt thanks from your loved ones this year.

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Manhandled
Emily Adams first became “a button head,” as she puts it, while waiting tables at Applebee’s.

“You had to wear at least 15 buttons, or ‘flair’ as they’d call it. It was very much like ‘Office Space’.”

That evolved into a fierce button collection, Adams says.

“The day I learned that I could actually make my own buttons was a very happy day.”

Happy, she says, because she has always been the creative sort, dabbling in scrap booking and printmaking. Designing buttons soon became another artistic outlet.

Her husband, Matt, who uses “any excuse he can to buy a new power tool,” soon took an interest in her buttons, tinkering and toying with them.

“He figured out we could drill a hole through them and make jewelry with them.”

Thus, the birth of Manhandled, a line of buttons and button-jewelry the couple creates in their home studio.

“I picked the name ‘Manhandled’ because I figured that was the best way to keep my husband involved,” she jokes.

“But really, this has become something we enjoy doing together for fun.”

Most of the buttons and jewelry are inspired by movies, like “The Wizard of Oz”, or subcultures, like the sci-fi collections.

Whether you want the world to know you’re a Barbie fanatic, or that you’re into recycling and eating organic, Manhandled likely offers a button that proclaims it. And if they don’t have it, you can ask them to make you a custom button at $1 a pop.

There are also dangling button earrings, hairclips and rings. And because the rings are magnetic, you can switch out the buttons to change up your look.

“This is something kind of different, funky and fun — that’s why I think people really like it.”

WEBSITE: emilyadamsonfire.com
PRICE RANGE: $4-$20

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Pamela Michelle
Sure, you could find a suitable holiday gift at the local department store, but as neighbor Pamela Michelle says, mass-produced items don’t carry the same sentiment as a handmade gift.
“Each piece I make is a unique work of art — it’s one-of-a-kind, so you won’t ever see someone else with it.”

She’s speaking about her line of jewelry, most of which are hand-painted pendant necklaces and rings.

“I’d describe my style as modern, whimsical, nature-inspired with a Scandinavian influence,” she says.

“Every piece of jewelry I make is a reflection of me. In fact, if I wouldn’t wear it, I wouldn’t make it.”

Michelle, who says she’s had a distinct artistic streak “pretty much since birth,” began her line about two years ago.

“I actually work full-time as an illustrator and graphic designer. I needed a creative outlet, so I started doing acrylic paintings. One of my friends saw a painting and said I needed to start selling them. I said ‘Huh? Really?’”

She put her doubts aside and took her friend’s advice, and sure enough, people started buying her artwork. She still sells prints of her art, but it has now evolved into a jewelry line. She has also started collaborating with two other local crafters to form Sneaky Collaboration, a line of handmade pillows and bags that feature her artwork.

“Some of the pieces have my design printed on the fabric, or I may hand-paint some wooden buttons for a piece,” she says.

Whether she’s creating a necklace or a print design for a handbag, Michelle says it’s a labor of love.

“One necklace will take me about a week, and bigger projects can take me considerably longer — and that’s on top of my fulltime job,” she says.

“There’s a creative release in this for me. The big payoff is seeing it all come together once it’s done, and getting to meet the people who end up buying that piece.”

WEBSITE: pamelamichelle.com
PRICE RANGE: $22-$128
CONTACT: writepamelamichelle@gmail.com

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Chalkydoodles
It all started with a gift. Lyn Pollard received an oilcloth bib when her son was a baby, and her life has never been the same since.

“That’s when I first discovered oilcloth,” she says. “I just fell in love with its texture — so thick, durable and such a great quality.”

So she started experimenting with oilcloth, dusting off that old sewing machine her mom had bought her back in college.

“I’ve really never been a sewer at all. In fact, I always would joke that I could sew a straight line, and that was about it.”

But learn to sew she did. She has turned those oilcloths and that dusty old sewing machine into Chalkydoodles, a line of aprons, tablecloths and lunch bags.

“It’s kind of crazy that I’m running a business that involves so much sewing because I’ve really just learned by trial and error. I don’t know; I guess the best explanation I can give is that crazy things can happen to you once you have kids — you start looking for creative outlets in places you never did before.”

She has operated the business out of her Highlands North home for about two years. Most nights, you’ll find her in what her kids have dubbed “mommy’s sewing room,” where she creates her latest pieces. Much of her line features bright, vintage-inspired prints. And because she’s a Bowie mom, several of her products are geared towards parents.

“The splat mats are really popular with parents because you can put those down when the kids are doing crafts, and it catches all the mess,” she says. “I also do custom aprons for kids. And my chalk cloths that let you write on them are also fun for kids.”

Pollard takes custom orders for people who’d like to personalize their gifts; those take about two weeks to complete. Larger orders, such as custom-sized tablecloths, are put on a waiting list and typically ship out in about three weeks.

Chalkydoodles hit the market with a big boom — something this now bona fide “mom-trepenuer” never saw coming.

“I started this as just a way to make some money on the side,” she says.

But after Target caught wind of her products and carried some of them on its website, she was officially on the map.

“After that happened, it got a little bit overwhelming. Last year was really a bit of a blur.”

These days, things have simmered down to a comfortable pace, and she suspects that most of her neighbors don’t even know there’s a mini-enterprise operating next door.

“I don’t think many of my neighbors know I do this. To be honest, it’s really not something I ever saw myself doing — but I enjoy it, and I’ll stick with it as long as I’m enjoying it.”

WEBSITE: chalkydoodles.com
PRICE RANGE: $20-$130
CONTACT: lynpollard@gmail.com

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