Peppermint featured artist: Paul Taylor

Full disclosure here: I know Paul through his wife Angela. Angela was/is a customer of mine for a little over 2 years and always bought a lot of scarves from me. 

A year and half ago at the RMSC show we got talking and she told me about Paul and his work. The next thing I knew: I was buying Paul's work because I loved all the detail he put into it. At Peppermint I'm featuring Paul's colorful glass bracelets. 

Paul began working with glass in 2002 while studying at RIT. Over the past ten years he has worked with many upstate new York glass artists. He built a glass studio in the Hungerford building on Main street in Rochester where he displays and sells his work, teaches private lessons, and does public demonstrations. He has also taught classes at Studio 34 Creative Arts Center. Paul can be seen selling his work at many art festivals across New York state.

All artists featured at Peppermint receive 70% of profits from sales of their items. 

Peppermint featured designer:Josean Vargas

I met Josean through one of my best buddies. He was introduced to me as " Josean loves to make clothing and accessories too". Of course, we hit it off right away. Born in Puerto Rico, Josean studied Elementary Teaching at the University of Puerto Rico, Ponce.

Josean's love for fashion started when he was very young and at age 16 started experimenting with sewing after buying a sewing machine for his mother.

By 24 he was making dresses for beauty pageants. To further his passion, he took a fashion design course at Sor Isolina Ferre Centers in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

Work brought him to Rochester and when I met Josean, he was sporting the most colorful and wellcrafted bow tie I had ever seen. Josean mentioned how he got into bow tie making when he found office appropriate clothing but couldn’t find any appropriate accessories to go with the same.

I encourage Josean to make a whole bunch for Peppermint and he quickly made 15 for the store. Till date we have sold 3 and they are incredibly popular. Come on in and check them out yourself!

Store BEFORE remodeling

Just so you all know what it looked like before :)

I took over from a lingerie store that had grey carpeting, built in racks and built in changing rooms. The lighting was very dim (just drop ceiling ) and the wall was a teal color.

Spring Ad for various Rochester publications.

Photo by Matt Holmes. MUA by Nicole Barry and Model is the lovely Brynn Wilkins.

Peppermint will also carry Tilly Bloom!

If you're not familiar with Tilly Bloom- I say you look her up RIGHT NOW.

I first learned about her through an Etsy treasury and ordered one of her pieces for myself. I was smitten by the whimsical nature of the illustrations and the high quality metal she uses for the pieces.

In her own words: " Tilly is a Scottish lass in her '20's who lives in Bonnie Brooklyn, New York. Her inspirations include anatomy, the Victorian Era, surrealism, eyes, monochrome, folktales, creatures, the absurd, dolls, Sci-fi, diagrams, faces and inanimate objects."

Here are samples of her work. Peppermint will have 4-5 of her necklaces and over a dozen earrings!

Peppermint featured artist: Casey Wright/Peaches Products

Like Amanda- I also met Casey via Mayday 4 years ago. We didn't become good friends until 2 years ago when I wrote to Amanda and Casey about volunteering to do some graphic design work for Mayday. Casey confessed to me: when she first met me she thought I disliked her and was a weirdo :) . Today- we laugh about it.

I have admired Casey's felting work for as long as I've known her. We have traded crafty bits as well as bought crafted items from each other. Casey's work in a nutshell: detailed and adorable. Sitting next to her at many craft shows I hear customers cooing and awwing over the sheer cuteness of her felted animals and stuffed owls. After they are done awwing- they proceed to look at the work closely and be amazed by the amount of detail she puts into them.Her etsy shop is called Peaches Products.

Here are some samples of her work and I am so happy to be carrying this at Peppermint.

Peppermint featured artist: Beadwork by Amanda

From Amanda's blog

Aside from Peppermint apparel and Excessary accessories ( wow a mouthful there), I decided to feature different artists on a rotating basis. This would keep the store fresh and allow customers to have access to new work in varying mediums. Today I want to take a moment to talk about Amanda Preske & her jewelry venture: Beadwork by Amanda.

Beadwork by Amanda features handmade jewelry and accessories made using recycled circuit boards and resin.

Amanda is a PhD student studying chemistry at the University of Rochester. A few years ago when her brother dismantled a computer, she found herself fascinated by the circuit board and the  range of colors within the component.It was only a matter of time before she started to combine the parts with resin to create the "geeky" beautiful jewelry.

She also creates a line of jewelry called Azure Seas . This contemporary line features sterling silver and high quality gemstones pieces that are classic, colorful and beautiful.

Amanda is also one of the founders of Mayday Underground: one of Rochester's most awesome indie craft shows. My first encounter with Amanda was at the very first Mayday 4 years ago.

 Amanda's jewelry will be available for purchase at Peppermint starting Saturday 04/14/12.

Azure Seas