I am Genifer Brown of Downtown Genifer Brown Designs. I create wearable art. It isn’t quite jewelry because there really aren’t actual jewels involved. My work involves pendants, pins, earrings, and bracelets made of hand sculpted clay and various types of fiber.

What is the worst craft fail you’ve had?

For fun, I sculpted the H.P. Lovecraft creation Cthulhu. If you’ve read Lovecraft, Cthulhu is described as being this huge, horrifying monster that causes the people unlucky enough to see him to go mad. I carefully read the descriptions of Cthulhu and began sculpting. When I finished, the top half of Cthulhu turned out just as I wanted, but when I looked at the rest of my work, I realized that I had sculpted this completely horrifying entity with sexy, curvy women’s legs. It looked incredibly silly…I ended up re-doing the legs a couple of times to get them right. Dread Cthulhu lies dreaming…with his girlish gams.

Where do you get your materials from?

I get my clay from Hobby Lobby or Michael’s depending on who is having a sale or where I have a coupon. The fiber I purchase from various sources, including Goodwill (I “reclaim” any cool looking textiles I find), Paste, and The Bead Store (my source for the fantastic sari ribbon and recycled silk). I also find materials on etsy every once in a while.

If you could talent swap with another local St. Louis crafter for a day who would it be?

Ok enough about you!  Tell us what you like about Paste!

There is a really nice fiber selection! I found some great yarns to use in some of my fall and winter work.

My work is currently available at Paste, and beginning in October at a shop in Belleville called Piece by Piece. I occasionally do craft fairs, but not really often, maybe once or twice a year. I have an etsy shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5151975).

I’m an indie crafter and photographer from the Lou. My company name is South City Studio – its moniker is a tribute to my favorite part of town and where I call home. I’ve always been an artsty fartsy type, my mom is a painter and as soon as I could hold a paintbrush she started schooling me on the wonderfulness of the art world. When I was an unruly tween I got my first camera and have been snapping photos ever since. There’s been a lot of changes to my crafts over the years and they continue to evolve as I add new skills to my bag of tricks. Most recently I’ve been working with polymer clay and have designed some new jewelry I plan to debut at Paste very soon!

What is the worst craft fail you’ve had?
Gosh, there are a lot. Most of them involve painting a design. The painter gene skipped me.

Where do you get your materials from?

I buy as much as I can locally: Paste and the Washington University bookstore because I get a discount! I also buy some supplies online through Etsy. I also participate in the Upcycle Exchange and will scour thrift stores and estate sales to acquire supplies for various projects.

If you could talent swap with another local St. Louis crafter for a day who would it be?

Oooh, this is a tough one, I admire so many of the crafters in St. Louis! Can I cheat and list a few? Bobbi of DownZipper because she’s got boatloads of patience and is a meticulous seamstress. Renee of Strung Out & Wired because I’ve always wanted to try my hand at resin and her stuff looks good enough to eat. Karen of C. Bunny Binx, she makes the cutest critters in the whole wide world. Some of my other favorites include: April of Miss Lemon, Kate of Red Anvil, Allison of Squaresville, Cara of Sweet Shot Shop, Heather of Monsterbubbles and James of Fat Daddy Leather. St. Louis is loaded with talent!

Ok, enough about you! Tell us what you like about Paste!
The owner, Katie, totally rocks. She’s really in to community building and supporting local crafters. The store features the work of several local artists and crafters (including me!). I also like that she looks for ways to extend support in to the community beyond the crafty stuff. For example, the weekend the store opened she donated 25% of the proceeds to The Soulard School. Coming soon there will be a knitting benefit that will provide handmade goodies to Children’s Hospital. In addition to being a great organization, Paste offers all the staples a crafter needs, carries products that are hard-to-find as well as fun and funky items that I’ve not seen anywhere else.

Shamelessly plug yourself!

Arts & Crafts Stuff:

www.showmeetsy.org
www.stlouiscraftmafia.com
www.flickr.com/southcitystudio

Blog Stuff:
www.southcitystudio.blogspot.com

Arts Editor: Girls Guide to the Galaxy
www.girlsguidetothegalaxy.com
holly@girlsguidetothegalaxy.com