Dozens of vendors set up booths in the Renton Community Center on July 22. Some were small business owners and some were selling their art as a hobby. Some were from Renton, and others from Gig Harbor, Kent, Bellevue, and elsewhere. There was hand-sculpted pottery, paintings that changed in the light, and t-shirts that said, “Feed me tacos and tell me I’m pretty.”
“The first thing I made was a really uneven dishcloth,” said Jessica Bowen, owner and creator of her microbusiness JKB Made For Me. She knits and crochets. Now having mastered the dishcloth, she makes stuffed corn dolls, honeycombs, narwhals, jellyfish, and, of course, her signature octopuses (which come in every color and facial expression). “I learned in 2015 and it just came very naturally. I was working as a medical biller and coder and then I had a baby, and then I didn’t like my boss, and I was like, ‘I’m just going to do this as my side hustle!’”
Bowen lives in the Renton Highlands, and hosts crafting meet-ups throughout the month. Every Tuesday she’s at Trenchers in The Landing, from 6-10pm for a “Stitch & Laugh”. Every last Saturday of the month, she hosts crafternoons at Macadons in Downtown Renton, from 1-5pm. Her next is on July 29. “It’s really cool for me to build a crafting community that can be a place people come to and work on stuff together,” she said.
Bowen can crochet one small octopus in about an hour, and she loves to listen to music and watch shows while she does so. “I’ve been making my way through all the Marvel movies,” she said. “I listen to a lot of audiobooks and podcasts. There are some news podcasts that I like that try to comment from an unbiased, non-sensationalized perspective. I also like listening to history books, historical fiction, a lot of…healing from generational trauma. And then comedy podcasts. It’s kind of one or the other.”
She said, “If I’m listening to something really intense then I have much tighter tension, whereas if it’s comedy and it’s lighthearted, I’ll have looser tension from being more relaxed.”
“It’s become my therapy,” Bowen said of crocheting. “It keeps me sane.”
“I’m also a mom of young kids, and so having a sense of completion is very nice. I can think, ‘I finished a thing. The laundry might be unending, but at least I can finish an octopus.’”
Bowen also loves to garden, and wants to get better at it. Someday, she wants to be able to grow a food, like strawberries or cucumbers, and then crochet it and photograph them together. This, in addition to last year’s viral song, inspired her new corn product, which is conveniently removable from its husk.
You can find JKB Made For Me at most local city festivals (Maple Valley Days, Renton River Days, Newcastle Days), and on instagram and facebook at @jkbmadeforme.
“We started business in June of 2013, but I’ve been sewing since I was twelve,” said Susan Amira, owner and creator of Susan Amira Designs. Her last name “Amira” means “princess” in the Middle East.
She also has an apparel design degree. She sells handmade purses, tote bags, ponchos, and Mahjong accessories. “I loved to do it as a hobby, and now I get to let other people enjoy my work and creativity.”
Amira’s favorite piece to make is currently her felt tote bags, because they incorporate the most artistic freedom. Amira’s favorite piece to sell is her poncho, however. Her neon one that she wore at the Bazaar is her favorite; they had sold out fast, and she just had to keep the last one for herself.
“My husband says, [jokingly] ‘can’t you stop sewing?’ and I go ‘no, I really like making things and it’s fun to come up with ideas and colors and fabrics, and I’d always wanted to do something like this as a job in my youth, but I never necessarily was able to live on it. So now that I’m partially retired I get to enjoy it.”
Amira’s husband, Alan, is a big help. “We built this small business together and he does hundreds of things to make it successful, even sewing,” she said.
“It’s a lot of fun for me,” Amira said. “I told my husband that when I can’t do it anymore, then we’ll stop.”
You can find Susan Amira Designs also at local farmer’s markets, and on instagram and facebook at @SusanAmiraDesigns. She is also a star seller on Etsy.
