Mapano

Enjoy a visit to our featured Etsy shop Mapano http://www.etsy.com/shop/mapano. You will find amazing handcrafted 3D fabric flower wall art and fiber art creations!

"My name is Alessandra. I live in Italy, near Turin and I am a happy wife and a busy mom of two little girls tempted daily to stay in yoga pants. I'm crafter and creative and I like everything is original and unique.



Last year I opened my little shop on Etsy, MAPANO', with some creations entirely designed and assembled by me. I create 3D framed wall ornaments, home decorations, baby dummy keepers, hairbands and fiber jewelry decorated with delicate fabric flowers, copper spirals, beads and pearls.
Cotton, linen, silk and lace, but also twine and burlap are my favorite materials.

What's Mapanò?

MA, for MAMMA in Italian (mom in English)
PA, for PAPA' in Italian (dad in English)
NO, for NONNO in Italian (grandfather in English)
Mapanò is a project that includes ideas and skills of all three!
A beautiful way to live my family and create something unique with people I love!



Above all I love handmade because is free expression of own imagination and creativity. No one is able to handmake something like another one. All handmade creations are always unique and unrepeatable.

When I was just a little child, I started looking at my mother sew and it looked so funny! She taught me to use needle and thread and to create something new using only fantasy and my creativity.
My mother has been a big source of inspiration for me. Simple and always present, she taught me to be honest and to work hard and properly. She died 8 years ago after a long illness but she's always with me and in every smile of my daughters.

When I sew I lose my head and my imagination runs away in a romantic French cottage where I find my inspiration.I love everything is country style and rustic but elegant and chic likewise.

When I'm not creating fabric flowers, I love listen to music (Broadway musical soundtracks, in particular), eat and cook (maybe too much!!) and dance like a crazy with my little two daughters.

At this moment I not know exactly what the future holds for me.
I'll probably have to leave soon my full time job to follow my daughters (very very hard if your husband works far away all week long...), so it's possible that Mapanò, started like a creative hobby, will become a real job.I'm thrilled and scared at the same time!
I'd like to be a mom that reads a story to her daughters before to go to bed and then works until midnight sewing in the silence of the night! Wow!

Ways to contact me:
My Etsy shop www.mapano.etsy.com
E-mail geninatti.sandra@gmail.com
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Mapanò/115077835271835
Twitter: @MapanoGeninatti
Pinterest: pinterest.com/mapano
Wanelo: wanelo.com/mapano

Thank you for letting me share my creations with you!"

Simplicity, Texture, and Experimentation

Simplicity, texture, and experimentation are what drive Heather's gorgeous jewelry designs. She has sold through galleries and shops for many years. She personally designs all of her jewelry and her designs are hand-made using various techniques of metalsmithing. She is currently running a SALE on all items till Oct 1st with FREE shipping. Be sure to stop by her Etsy shop http://www.hgjewelry.etsy.com/

Heather Grandmont Jewelry 2009

Simplicity, texture, and experimentation are what drive my jewelry designs. I enjoy working with many materials but feel especially drawn to metal. Color is one aspect I miss most with what I do but jewelry does lend the ability to add color in the form of enamels, beads, and mixed media. Most of my designs are developed through playing with different forms that I already have made, and sometimes from my sketches- but mostly by putting pieces together till I like what I see. I love metal that has that raw, organic, makers-mark to it. The look of old, worn, time brought to the present. I studied art at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. I was a double major in metalsmithing and painting. I was lucky enough to have received many awards, scholarships, and recognition while attending, both for my painting and metalwork. I haven’t painted in a long time but have managed to continue my focus with jewelry and design. Being an artist you have to get creative with finances which sometimes mean working a job other than your art. I’ve tried numerous times to make it full-time but because of health insurance or cash flow have found myself working at different places part-time such as The Cleveland Institute of Art, Kohl’s, and my current job as a dental receptionist. These jobs have provided me with connections and a group of supportive friends. Without them I might have become a hermit. About a year and a half ago I had a son with my husband Marcus.

I decided to take a short break from my business during pregnancy and right after because I wanted to focus all of my time and energy to my new family and health. I was still in stores during that time but had cut way back. It helped that I had a lot of inventory on hand. Now my little guy is a “little” older and I have been able to sneak down to my studio during his naps and at night. I have been getting that creative bug- you know the one that sticks in your head 24 hours a day till you allow yourself to play again! It feels great to be back and being a mom! Etsy has become a great place to find fantastic artists who are supportive and enthusiastic, not to mention all the great stuff you can buy! So if I find myself in the studio full-time again I won’t have to worry about becoming a hermit. Thanks for everyone’s support and encouragement.