The other day, I was fumbling around on Etsy, just searching through all the cute handmade items and stores that this wonderful community has to offer. Through my stumbling, I happened to encounter Amie Cunningham's Thief & Bandit Etsy store. Amie originally hails from Canada, but has more recently relocated to Richmond, VA, where she uses hand-printed fabrics to make unique and handmade wearable items.
This store has so many one-of-a-kind gems, it’s almost too good to be true. Amie creates amazing shirts with screen prints that look they should be fitted on an Urban Outfitters mannequin. She creates all of her jewelry from scraps of her hand-printed fabrics. For example, she makes earrings with strips of suede fabric on hooks and also creates necklaces with longer thin strips of fabric. Another piece of jewelry Amie offers (and my personal favorite item of hers) are her bracelets, which she weaves together from multiple types of fabric and fixes together with a clasp. Besides jewelry, scarves and headbands are also sold in Amie’s shop. The scarves are handmade and inspired by Navajo patterns, while the headbands are weaved together, in a similar fashion as the bracelets.
When I feature an Etsy store on Piece of Craft, I look for a store and an artist that seem to stand out from the rest of the handmade world. I found the Thief & Bandit Etsy store to be inspiring, as the artist creates amazing pieces that you wouldn’t ordinarily find anywhere else. I can tell you that in the next few days, I’m buying one of those bracelets...I just can’t resist!
Know of any great crafters either the Phoenix/Tempe area or in the greater handmade world? Tell me, and I will feature them in a future blog post!
