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b[+] Designer Interviews: Jessika Mejia

For those that do not know you, please introduce yourself with a little background.

My name is Jessika Mejia. I’m a native Texan who has been crafting since I was a tot. Never in a million years did I think I would end up in Alabama, but a hefty soccer scholarship to Samford University sucked me in. I have spent the last six years here in Birmingham where I work as a graphic designer at Big Communications by day and crafter/wanna-be ballerina by night.

 

 

How did Craftlab get started?

Craftlab was my senior graphic design project at Samford University. It started off as a ficticious company named Craftlab whos main goal was to show people the creative side of recycling through DIY projects. It was meant to be predominately web driven, providing creative online resources, information about environmental issues, and DIY starter kits as well as projects. In the back of my mind I know i wanted to make it a reality so I when i signed up for my first craft show in December 2009 I went with the name Craftlab hoping it would turn into something.

My favorite pieces of your designs are your T-Shirt scarves, how did you come up with the idea?

After 18 years of soccer I had way too many T-shirts for one person so i decided it was time to do something useful with them. Some went to friends others went to thrift stores and some I couldn’t part with so were stuffed into a box. On top of making things when i’m bored, I am the kind of person who refuses to buy something when I know that I can make it. That’s how a majority of my crafts came about. I would see scarves, jewelry and other accessories that were way over priced that I could make for free. So I pulled out my scissors and went to town on my shirts. Low and behold came the scarves, t-shirt and chain necklaces, flower brooches and hair pins, window draft stoppers….and the list goes on.  

 

What is your favorite piece to make for Craft Lab: earrings, necklaces, scarves?

I like to make all of my crafts. Sometimes I have to be in the mood for certain things because some require more time than others. For example, I can start making a scarf and decide to stop twenty minutes later. However, if I start making my newspaper necklaces I have just signed myself up for five hours of non-stop fun. I like that all of them have a process and a rhythm. I guess you could call me a crafting robot at times.

 

How long have you been making recycled designs; do you do any non-recycled designs?

I have been using recycled materials ever since I was a little girl. When I would get bored as a child I would start making things out of found items. For example, the button earrings I sell at craft shows were made from my grandmother’s buttons over ten years ago when we were in Canada for christmas vacation. I do make non-recycled items when I can’t find something to recycle or if someone has a special request but I try my hardest to repurpose everything.

 

What are your hopes for your line; would you like to be picked up by a major distributer?

Just like my senior project, my goal is to show people that recycling can be made fun and fashionable. I love that my products have become a success and have made a profit but at the end of the day I want people to think green and feel inspired to create something new from something old. I would like to sell my products in more local stores and boutiques in order to get my stuff out in the public as well as support local businesses. 

 

It would be great to be picked up by a major distributor. I would love that but I’m afraid that I would be in way over my head being that I am a one man show and have little experience with the business side of crafting. However, I welcome the offer.

 

Where can people in Birmingham find your designs; and where is your office and contact information for requests? 

 

Web: coming soon. I plan on starting an Esty site in 2011

Scarves can be found in the following local stores as through me:

A’mano

www.amanogifts.com

2707 Culver Road

Birmingham, AL 35223-2313

(205) 871-9093

Pure Barre

www.purebarre.com

2826 18th Street South

Homewood, AL 35209

(205) 870-7279

Nashville, Charlotte and Atlanta Pure Barre’s will be selling my scarves soon

I work from home and can be emailed at thecraftlab@aol.com. I am currently working on store orders and preparing for a show so I will not be taking personal orders until the new year; however, those who would like to purchase scarves or other goodies should visit the local stores mentioned above or come to the 5th Annual Holiday Craft Bazaar in Downtown Avondale Dec. 3-5 where I will have a booth full of recycled goodies.

*all photos by Mary Britton Senseney

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Jeans for the Entire Family

7 for All Mankind Designer Jeans are one of the most popular luxury jeans as they are all about great quality, great fit and style. Offering a wide variety of styles fit for women, children, and men, 7 for All  Mankind Designer Jeans styles include: boot-cut, skinny, straight leg, wide leg and more. Most importantly the unique line of well made jeans offers a pair of 7 for All Mankind Designer Jeans for everyone. The company started in Los Angeles, California during the fall of 2000. Now celebrating a decade, 7 for All Mankind has truly changed the landscape of denim for years to come. To purchase your pair of jeans please visit their website here.

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Writer’s Block, Issue 2: "Lovely Day"

What happened to black love? This is one of the many questions left unanswered in the wake of another depressing Tyler Perry film. I know this is gonna fuel anger from the TP Gangstas out there. Why are so many black women single? Because they flock in droves to movies like For Colored Girls. But seriously, can you honestly say you left out that movie feeling better than you did going in? I remember when going to the movies was an escape from the illicit intricacies of life. Where are the Love Jones 2′s, the Best Man 2′s, The Wood 2′s? Sadly an entire generation’s definition of black love will be shaped by million dollar grossing tales of abuse, deceit, despair, and other subjects we’d like to avoid. Have no fear BStuc is here! Please enjoy my attempts to restore that ever elusive dream that sorely avoids the bulk us. Here’s to a beautiful week filled with lovely days.

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Easy Ways to Relieve Stress and Tension: Interweaving

Image Courtesy of Stephanie Berghaeuser

One of the best and easiest ways to let go of stress and tension is meditation. As mentioned in the previous article (Meditation is for Everyone, November 4th, 2010), meditation is your natural state of mind when you’re not resisting experience. When you are calmly detached and present with moment to moment experience as it arises into consciousness, you are in a very restful and rejuvenating state. Events do not have the opportunity to create tension within you because you are processing these events as they occur. In such a state, you may also be processing events that occurred a long time ago. Mindful awareness relieves build ups of past stress and tension and prevents the accumulation of stress in the present .

Meditation is quite a discipline that many people find difficult. Some say they are too busy. Others just can’t find the self discipline for it. Many people adopt a meditation practice because they have heard and read about the many benefits and that it is a simple way to relieve stress. However, for the reasons above, so many of these people abandon their practices within a few months.

The good news is that there are many ways to make meditation easier – even for busy people. One of these is through “interweaving”.

You probably remember some ways that you personally relieve stress and tension. For some people, reading the Bible has a rejuvenating effect. Yoga practitioners find that, when they stretch throughout the day, they feel much more grounded and centered. Mindful breathing and just stopping to check in with yourself, your breath, your emotions and your thoughts is quite rejuvenating if you do it frequently. Muslims pray toward Mecca five times daily. Bakhti yogis find peace while praying through song. Everyone has at least one serene memory from childhood, such as a favorite nature spot. All these things can become interweaves.

In an elevator, you have 20 seconds to do something that goes a little way toward relieving stress and tension or something which generates feeling in the body. It’s the same with grocery store lines, doctors’ waiting rooms and waiting for the bathroom to open. You can either use these moments to follow your usual habits which cause stress and tension to accumulate, or you can use your “Elevator Time” wisely by taking moments to interweave new habits which cause peace to accumulate.

I call this an “integration strategy”. Most mind body disciplines and spiritual paths have one built in. It’s called an integration strategy because it integrates peace and mindfulness into your daily life.

You don’t have to accept a one size fits all strategy. What you do need to do is find the activities that you are most compatible with so that you enjoy the whole ride. Mindful absorption in such activities becomes much easier that way.

Let’s assume that you’re a Christian riding an elevator. You can visualize Jesus showering you with light while blessing your family, friends, coworkers and enemies with the light of true happiness. Imagine broad smiles on everyone’s faces during this blessing.

Perhaps 20 seconds wasn’t enough. The elevator opens and you don’t feel a whole lot more peaceful. Maybe it even stirred you up a little bit. That’s OK. At least 90% of the positive effects of your action occurred below the level of consciousness. Most of the work occurs behind the scenes. When you’re back at your desk, wait an hour and take 30 seconds to one minute to do it again.  Take another minute and do the same an hour later. The effects are cumulative. This means that they will creep up on you in time and culminate into a powerful momentum of peace. It will become very easy to relieve stress and tension in any given moment if you keep up this momentum.

If you’ve been keeping a regular meditation practice and interweave peaceful activities into your day, you will notice that meditation becomes less and less of a struggle. With the proper strategies, it becomes much easier to relieve stress and tension.

In future articles, we’ll discuss more ways to make meditation easier for busy people and everyone else.

Tom Von Deck is an international corporate meditation trainer, stress management speaker and author of Oceanic Mind – The Deeper Meditation Training Course. You can sneak preview the first half of the book and get free guided meditation mp3s at Tom’s website, www.DeeperMeditation.net

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