From Tragedy to Triumph

Shari Clark's dream of riding in the Rose Bowl Parade has come true! On New Year's Day 2014, she rode a Norwegian Fjord horse through the parade wearing a very special modern bunad outfit that I had the privilege of helping create. Shari sewed the beautiful skirt, elegant cape and decorative vest to her ensemble. The blouse she wore with the costume was a collaboration of talents between my mom, Mary Hoffmann, and me. She did the beautiful tailoring, and I did custom embroidery work. (See close ups of the blouse: here) It's exciting to be able to share with you some photos and video footage of the blouse we created in action during the Rose Parade events together with the gorgeous ensemble Shari made!

Shari's road to the Rose Parade is of tragic beginnings. Her beloved Fjord horse had contracted rabies from a skunk that had entered its fence line. Shari and her entire family had to be treated for the infection, and they ended up losing their lovely horse. While still grieving the loss, Shari was asked by her coach if she'd be interested in riding in the Rose Parade. She said okay, and her path to the Rose Parade began.

Shari had some amazing experiences while she was in Los Angeles for the parade including: a training ride through the foothills of Santa Monica to the Hollywood sign, riding in Equestfest, attending a party thrown for her group by the local Sons of Norway, sleeping under the stars on the blocked off highway in the parade lineup, and of course riding in the Rose Parade!

Shari wearing the bunad blouse at Santa Anita Racing Park with a couple other partygoers at the 

event put on for the Rose Parade equestrians.

(Photo courtesy of Shari Clark)

Shari riding in Equestfest with an antique wedding crown on loan from the 

Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum of Decora, Iowa.

(Copyright Andrew Mergenthaler)

(Copyright Andrew Mergenthaler)

(Copyright Andrew Mergenthaler)

See Shari riding her horse in Equestfest along with some of the other performances in this video:

(Video by Andrew Mergenthaler)

(Photo courtesy of Shari Clark)

(Photo courtesy of Shari Clark)

Riding in the Rose Parade!

(Photo copyright of Sandra North)

(Photo copyright of Sandra North)

Shari road with the Norwegian Fjord Horse Registry. Photo I took of the group while watching the Rose Parade on TV on New Year's Day:

For Shari, the experience of taking part in the Rose Parade brought her triumph after the tragedy of losing her horse. She says, "On this long and unpredictable journey of life dreams can come true. After shattered dreams I also found a dream come true."

A big thank you to Shari Clark for sharing her story, and for the opportunity to take part in her costume for the parade! A very special thanks to the talented photographers and videographers that allowed me to use their work in this post.

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Drop me a line at: taeamade@hotmail.com.

A Morning with Rando

Spending a morning painting a masterpiece to adorn my dining room with local artist Rando was a great way to start the week! Rando's colorful and visually vibrant pieces are sure to catch anyone's eye. I've been a fan since the first time I saw one of his works several years ago. Having a chance to paint alongside him in his studio was golden!

If you get a chance to chat with Rando, you'll first realize his kindness. It was such fun hearing his life stories and discussing art. Many of his years were spent in Hawaii with a passion for surfing. I enjoyed his adventures, what he finds meaningful and how he was brought to Fargo. 

Of course we talked about the type of material his uses to create his artwork. His fabric of choice is a traditional canvas stretched over the frames he builds. He also custom built his easels to suit his needs. He uses all types of paints, but we mostly used acrylic. 

Here is a succession of photos as my piece was coming to life:

A little Q & A while the paint dries ;.)

Taea Made: When did you know that you wanted to be a full-time artist?

Rando: When I sold my first painting.

TM: Where do you find your inspiration for the pieces you create?

R: God.

TM: What is your most favorite piece that you've created?

R: A lion painting (when it sold for 5 grand.)

TM: What other hobbies do you enjoy?

R: Bike riding.

TM: If you weren't a full-time artist, what would you be doing?

R: Trying to be an artist.

TM: What do you want others to take away from viewing your art pieces?

R: I hope the painting.

And my final creation...drum roll please...

...ta da!

Check out Rando's unfinished piece that he was working on which already looks amazing:

Both of our pieces will receive a special coating by Rando to seal in their beauty. Can't wait to pick mine up!

Stop by Rando's studio on the first block south of the intersection of 8th St. & Main Ave. in Fargo, ND to see his latest pieces. Find his work online: here

Shakin' It Up Stitch Style

Urban Threads has claimed a spot for themselves as rock stars of the embroidery world. With their fun, edgy and sometimes broody designs, they appeal to a trendy audience of embroiderers. You'll find many Urban Threads designs stitched into Taea Made pieces. They are at the top of my list of machine embroidery design houses, and I'm ecstatic to have had a chance to do a little Q & A with their founder! Here's my conversation with Niamh (pronounced nee-uv), the Art Director & Evil Genius behind Urban Threads:

(The extremely creative and artistically gifted Niamh.)

Taea Made: When did you first become interested in machine embroidery?

Niamh: I fell into machine embroidery almost by accident. It was offered as an internship position from my Art College, and I jumped at the chance to do in-house art & design. Once I found out how much potential there was in the art of machine embroidery, I just had to keep going!

TM: Did someone else teach you machine embroidery, or were you self-taught?

N: Everything I learned about machine embroidery has been on the job. In some ways it was self taught, because there were a good few weeks where I sat in front of my little home machine with a manual and a confused expression just like every other newbie. Learning how the designs are created though certainly helps me as a designer!

TM: What are your inspirations for the designs you create?

N: All over the place! Fashion, nature, classic art, tattoos. Almost everything becomes something new when you give it a new context or a new twist. Combining baroque art with tattoo themes was what created our Baroque Punk series. Combinations are my favorite kind of inspiration.

TM: How did Urban Threads come to be?

N: After I had been working as an in-house artist for Embroidery Library, I quickly got a desire to be able to create embroidery projects more in my taste... offbeat and alternative. That desire eventually turned into a 
whole business!

TM: Do you have any favorite stories of when you've seen your work while you've been out and about?

N: I totally ran into some of my plushies at a local store once. That was so weird! It was only about a year or so after I started Urban Threads. Since then I've seen our stuff show up at all kinds of craft fairs, Steampunk events, and Ren Fests. It's so fun to see it because everyone makes the design their own, so it never looks the same twice!

TM: What do you most love about your job?

N: That I get to sit down and create new things every day. It's a dream job for an artist!

TM: What's the most favorite embroidery design you've created?

N: You know, Lonely Robot was one of the first designs I ever made for Urban Threads, so he has a special place in my heart. Plus he's just so cute with his little balloon.

Thank you, Niamh, for taking the time to share your story! Your work is truly inspiring!!

(*Photos courtesy of Urban Threads.)

Getting to Know Wolftree

I had the distinct pleasure and honor of being included in Wolftree Magazine's second volume that was released last fall. It has been an amazing little adventure getting to know the founders of the magazine. They're pretty darn cool cats if you ask me. I'd love for you to get to know them as well, and their amazing publication! Here's a Q & A with one of the four founders of the magazine, Brooke Kupcho:

(The lovely and talented Brooke Kupcho.)

Taea Made: Why did you create Wolftree magazine?

Brooke Kupcho: Desiring something vibrant and purposeful to put our creativity and passion in was the main fuel behind the startup of Wolftree Magazine. Noah, editor and chief, had just graduated from MSUM with a degree in Art and emphasis in Photography. Like many fresh graduates, Noah didn’t exactly know what he wanted to do. Feeling discouraged he said to me, “I wish I could just get my photos into a magazine.” I replied, “Why don’t we just create our own magazine?” At first we were joking, but then it became real. So we created a magazine.

With friends like Dustin and Sarah, who help Noah and me dream and dream and dream, it was easy to get Wolftree rolling! I impulsively announced to the social media world that a new magazine would be coming out in May. At the time the team didn’t even own the correct software to create a magazine. It worked though…somehow!

(Wolftree's founders left to right: Brooke Kupcho, Noah Kupcho, Sarah Strong and Dustin Snyder.)

(Noah & Brooke Kupcho, husband and wife duo, at Wolftree's Volume 1 Launch Party. 

The first night I had the opportunity to meet them!)

TM:  What does Wolftree’s name mean?

BK: Wolftree Magazine in its entirety is about redefining. We want to redefine what art and community are and the depth they really reach. During the dreaming and joking conversations about starting a magazine we decided we needed to name it. In about 5 minutes, Dustin said, “Let’s name it Wolftree.” We thought it sounded cool – so we kept it. Little did we know, an actual wolftree is a tree with a large crown that sucks the nutrients out of the soil and kills all the smaller trees around it. We definitely didn’t want that to be the magazine’s moto. However, we redefined what Wolftree means. We’re a small publication that lifts makers, dreamers, and adventurers up. We have a small crown and help sustain others!

TM: What inspires you?

BK: We are truly inspired by the people we feature within the magazine and on our website. Each person is on his or her very own journey and we are blessed to taste a tiny bit of it. We meet musicians and painters. We encounter people who trek across the states in search of mountains and fog-filled lands. We talk with those who have not settled for the standard and have sought out ways to achieve their dreams. What an inspiration they are!

(Photo of me taken by the very talented Noah Kupcho in Wolftree's studio. The sewing machine 

was from my aunt circa 1960, which I've used for teaching sewing classes. I'm sitting on my great aunt's boudoir chair, surrounded by some of my pieces of work.)

(Check out this amazing video by Shane Reetz with some behind-the-scenes 

footage from the photoshoot.)

TM: How do you hope to inspire others? 

BK: We would love to share the message that people are doing what they love and making it work.

TM: What is your dream for Wolftree?

BK: The dream of Wolftree is for it to be sustainable. We do not need a profit (though that would be a blessing) but, we want for it to continually be printed free of advertisements.

(Brooke & Noah Kupcho at Wolftree's Volume Two Launch Party. 

Note Brooke stylin' in some Taea Made textile stud earrings.)

TM: How can others become involved with Wolftree’s mission?

BK: We love partnership. People can collaborate with Wolftree by living their heart’s dreams and doing their passions. Wolftree hosts workshops each month. We have had writing workshops, cooking workshops, and soon will have a coffee-cupping workshop.

We also have a very active website where we do 2 online features weekly. wolftree.co is the URL. Our Instagram is very active as well @wolftreemag is our name. We warmly welcome submissions of makers, dreamers, adventurers’ works and journeys for an online feature or spread in the printed magazine.

(Send submissions to submission@wolftree.co)

TM: Where can people purchase Wolftree magazine?

BK: We have an online store through wolftree.co. Through this store, we have joyously sold copies to individuals in every state and to 6 different countries! What an adventure! Locally, Wolftree Magazine can be purchased at Zandbroz Variety, Proper and Prim, Unglued Market, The Plains ArtMuseum, and ecce art gallery. We also have Wolftree placed in markets in the Twin Cities, west coast, Montana, and throughout North Dakota.

Upcoming events:

We will have a booth at the Unglued Craft Fest on February the 21^st and 22^nd. We will continue to have our workshops in Fargo, ND as well. Our next workshop is a writing workshop, taking place in February. Check out our events tab on our website as we continually update it. 

You can find Wolftree's website: here

Purchase Wolftree Magazine: here

Thanks to the creators of Wolftree for sharing your creativity, your friendship and all the laughs!

(*Photos courtesy of Wolftree.)

Modern Textiles Opens Up Shop

My favorite local fabric gals opened up a brick and mortar shop today. I had the privilege of being their very first official customer. Modern Textiles has been selling their beautiful and up-to-date fabrics up until now at Unglued Market, Eco Chic Boutique and The Studio. Many of their fabrics have been used in making my Taea Made creations. 

Come take a photographic tour with me:

The lovely owners of Modern Textiles, Roxanne and Connie.

The front window of the shop.

Sweet little touches.

Customers can buy this reusable bag to bring with them each time they shop, and receive 10% off their fabric purchase.

They've got notions.

Lots of new fabrics to choose from. In the past, Modern Textiles has focused on quilt weight cottons and home decor fabric. In their new shop, they've added felts, knits, laminated home decor fabrics, and more!

Patterns and more notions in the rear of the shop.

Classroom for sewing classes at the back of the shop.

Even a children's play area, so you can bring your littles shopping with you.

Thanks for the fun morning ladies!

Road to the Rose Parade

Read The Forum article about the Norwegian bunad shirt I helped create to be worn in the Rose Parade on 

New Year's Day 2014, and watch the video: here

Photos from the creation process:

My uber talented mom, Mary, did all of the tailoring.

I put many hours of embroidery work into this baby.

Images of the finished bunad shirt:

Thank you to Sherri Richards for her beautifully written article, Aaron for his amazing video footage and Dave Wallis for the wonderful photos documenting the piece. And a special thanks to Shari Clark for thinking of me for this project!

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Drop me an email at: taeamade@hotmail.com.