Made by Hand

Gorgeous artisan goods to gift or keep for yourself.

BY JACKIE VARRIANO

This one-of-a-kind wood cutting board was crafted by Erickson Longboards owner, Bill Erickson, in Seattle. erickson longboards.com

These modern vases are made with stoneware clay by ceramicist Nicole Novena at Encinitas, California-based Clay & Craft. clayandcraft.com

Based in Boulder, Colorado, Shari Rogoff Moraga, owner of Leo's Dry Goods, was inspired to create these “Modern Mountains” canvas cocktail napkins by the local scenery. leosdrygoods.com

Part of her “Midnight Noir” collection, Minu Oh of Clay Factor Ceramics made these bowls (and those seen far right) from marbled porcelain in her Portland, Oregon, studio. clayfactorceramics.com

Artisans at Mazama Wares in Portland, Oregon, make these hand-blown cocktail tumblers and carafe from soda-lime glass. tannergoods.com

This tropical print cotton and flannel eye mask was handmade in Portland, Oregon, by Dana Herbert Accessories. danaherbert.com

Hand-crocheted in Los Angeles from 100 percent deadstock fabric, Sheltered Co.’s seaglass-hued weighted throw is soft and soothing. shelteredco.com

Handmade La Conner’s Neroli + Pink Peppercorn luxurious lotion and hand balm are fragranced with pure essential oils in quaint La Conner, Washington. handmadelaconner.com

Seattle-based designer Britta Ambauen hand-worked this custom sterling silver band with a raw morganite stone set in a 14-karat-gold bezel. brittaambauen.com

Meet the Maker

BILL ERICKSON ERICKSON LONGBOARDS

Twelve years ago, Bill Erickson made his own longboard out of a piece of walnut. Soon after, he was laid off from his wine industry gig and began making longboards full-time. He reclaims as much of the scrap wood as he can and turns it into unique cutting boards in his studio in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. He mainly sources from arborists and farmers, but has been known to do a little digging at salvage shops. “Instead of a guy who has coffee tables all over my house, I have a ton of stumps, sanded down until they shine,” he says. Erickson admits he still occasionally emails his old boss to thank her for unintentionally setting him down this path. “I don’t really believe this is work.”

SHARI ROGOFF MORAGA LEO’S DRY GOODS

When artist Shari Rogoff Moraga first started drawing with thread, it was just for fun. But one makers market later, a store approached her to do wholesale, and Leo’s Dry Goods—named for her grandfather’s shop, where she played among the textiles as a kid—took off. Moraga says she’s inspired by vintage botanical prints and the view of her dogs playing outside her studio. In her drawings, the thread spooled from her sewing machine serves as ink, and the fabric as paper. She doesn’t keep track of time when creating, she just sits at her machine and puts thread to fabric. “It’s very freeing. I toyed with getting a programmable machine, but it’s the act of sitting down and actually drawing as I go that’s what I love about it.”

PAMELA HUNTER SHELTERED CO.

It’s not that she was moving constantly or always on the go; Pamela Hunter’s daughter Ransom, now six, just never sat still. “She was always kind of moaning, like life was just a little bit painful for her,” Hunter says. When Ransom was two-and-ahalf, Hunter was crocheting a rag rug, dreaming of a cheap option to fill their home with warm accents. “But it was the worst thing you had ever seen; it was squishy and so heavy.” In a serendipitous stroke of genius, Hunter draped the rug over Ransom and something magical happened: “She just melted into it.” It took Hunter 32 hours to make that first blanket. Today, many small triumphs later—including becoming more efficient—she has nine employees hand-weaving the beautifully soothing blankets and throws in a cozy, plant-filled warehouse in downtown Los Angeles. Her first retail shop, Flock, opened in October 2019, ensuring Sheltered Co. blankets can continue to bring comfort to those who need it.