Handmade Nashville: HandCraftedBy2

Hey Nashville! Today we’d like to introduce you to Anne Baldwin of HandCraftedBy2. Anne has been married for 18 years and has a 10-year old daughter Ella. She was born in Kansas, but moved around a lot when she was young so she has lived in Oklahoma, Wisconsin and eventually settled in Chattanooga, but she’s been in the Clarksville area since 1990. The “2” in their business name is best friend Renee Stocks who went to school with Anne’s husband from elementary all the way through high school.

When it comes to the history of HandCraftedBy2, it all started with papercrafting - scrapbook pages and hand-stamped cards. Anne’s first project was a vacation scrapbook back in 2004. She got back into it a few years later when she met some other moms from her daughter’s daycare that got together once a month to work on scrapbooks while the kids played. That led to her introduction to “Stampin' Up!” and card-making. The little mom group expanded and they did a card exchange for a year or so. She wasn’t proud of her first attempts, but she got pretty good at it after a while!

Renee was into making jewelry, besides scrapbooking and cards. When the ladies discovered Pinterest, they quickly expanded into other crafting genres, trying out different ideas to see what would sell. Their painted wine glasses have been their biggest seller besides a couple of cards that have been a hit.

Although she enjoys creating Pinterest-inspired crafts, Anne still enjoys making cards and scrapbook pages the most. Unfortunately the ladies are having a hard time finding a market for them so they are always looking for new ideas on how to sell. HandCraftedBy2’s painted glasses are a big hit though and they are also fun to work on.

Anne does all kinds of crafts, but she does NOT sew - she knows a basic crochet stitch and can cross-stitch, but she does not use a sewing machine. She got one for Christmas from her mom a few years back, but it’s only been out of the box once when her mom came over! She bought a pattern and some fabric over a year ago to make a nightgown for her daughter– but it’s been so long that she probably wouldn’t have enough fabric to fit her growing daughter anymore!

She tries to stay faithful to her original medium of paper for her crafts as much as possible. Even when making something not paper related - say reindeer nose candy treats - she’ll use stamps and paper to create a bag topper. Anne loves bright and bold colors and her favorite is the color blue.

Like many craft businesses, the leap from hobby to business came about because of an accumulation of supplies! Between scrapbooking and card making, both Anne and Renee had tons and TONS of stuff piling up – Anne’s work space went from a closet, to a corner of the bonus room, to now her own room in the house! Both ladies had more supplies than could ever be used in their own scrapbooks so they decided to start selling scrapbook pages and cards online. HandCraftedBy2 was born!

HandCraftedBy2 is just getting into the swing of things with craft shows. In the summer of 2013 they did one craft fair - a local event in Pleasant View, TN called the Barrel Festival. Everything else started to gain speed in 2014. They created a website, an Etsy shop and started selling on eBay. Renee discovered how to put a Paypal link on their website so they can now sell items directly from there. The ladies went to a few events in the summer and fall of 2014 with mixed results. So far they have attended craft shows in Dover, Clarksville, Pleasant View, Dickson, Springfield and Hendersonville, TN.

Anne counts crafting as a hobby, a way to use up some of these supplies she’s purchased and recoup some of the money she’s spent. For Renee, it's more a full-time job. She stays home with a special-needs child, so she can really use the income.

Anne’s dream is to run a scrapbooking retreat – she and Renee still go away 3-4 weekends a year with their original group to work on scrapbooks, cards, or whatever other crafty projects they can think of. They sometimes have a hard time finding a reasonably priced venue with enough space! She’d love to have a place just for scrapbookers-- maybe with a storefront to sell some supplies they just can't live without!

At this point, HandCraftedBy2 does not offer classes, but occasionally they post a tutorial on their website. Anne and Renee are constantly trying/learning new things from Pinterest. :)

And lastly, Anne’s favorite phrase? Cool beans!