Cándida Duran Taveras, Sunlight Vida
Cándida Duran Taveras creates high-quality-dyed, upcycled products that lower how much textile waste goes into landfills. “I only sold upcycled clothing for the first three years, but as demand for my work grew, the harder it became to find enough clothes,” says Duran Taveras. “Right now, about 30% of my onesies, 60% of my shirts, 100% of my dresses and 100% of my drapes/tapestries are upcycled.”
Duran Taveras is as bright and colorful as her tie-dye: She’s an artist, award-winning filmmaker and a birth worker/doula. “My art is how I am able to express myself and share it with the world while bringing in funds so that I can provide my doula services at a sliding scale to [Black, Indigenous and people of color],” she says. “Systemic racism and implicit bias are rampant … in reproductive healthcare. Did you know you’re three-to-four times more likely to die for being pregnant while Black? Birth workers of Color are crucial in challenging the disparities our communities face in reproductive healthcare … I strongly believe that anyone who wants to have a doula should be able to.”
When she started dying clothing, “I started off like everyone else,” she says. “I was a kid buying kits and dyes from the grocery store, but about 10 years ago, I started researching how to make my tie-dye look better and found online communities of people who tie-dyed professionally. Then I really got into it and worked my butt off to get to their level.”
In terms of how she’s been impacted by the pandemic, Duran Taveras says that when COVID hit, she didn’t know how her small businesses would react, but the DIY Festival’s virtual format is helping participants to adopt new technologies for their stores. “We are encouraging artisan participants to build their own virtual galleries so they are learning a new DIY skill in a technology platform,” says Brown. “They are digital pioneers.”
Regarding the Virtual Festival, Duran Taveras is excited for what this Festival format has to offer. “After seeing the roll out of the plans, I think it will be a very cool experience.” You can find more information about Sunlight Vida at her Etsy shop and doula information at sunlightvida.com.
Faith Elenbaas, EcoBloom
Crafting and saving the environment go hand-in-hand, with the innovative reuse of objects and materials helping to keep household wares out of landfills. “My grandmother taught me the very basics of sewing when I was a tween, but I’ve been self-taught the past few years,” says Faith Elenbaas. She then developed a passion for trying to save the environment by creating one reusable item at a time. “I think the most important environmental solution my crafting provides is introducing the idea of reuse. A few simple changes can dramatically reduce the amount you are sending to landfill.”
One solution she’s created this year are zippered snack bags with wipeable linings, so lunches don’t have to leave behind their traces for centuries or millennia. Her website also sells metal smoothie straws, bamboo utensils, wool dryer balls and no-waste sets such as the Plastic Free Children’s Easter Basket.
baas says her business has been impacted by the pandemic. “COVID has made it harder to sell my products,” says Elenbaas. “I mostly sold at markets like the DIY Fest prior, but now I’m looking for new ways to make my website more widely known so my products can help people reduce their waste and work towards a future that is less harsh on the environment.”
The Virtual DIY Festival puts all of Elenbaas’ and other artisans’ crafts into one place with two different virtual experience options. Virtual DIY patrons can either enter the festival by visiting alphabetical artisan profiles with links to their stores, social media and their virtual gallery, or via a 3D virtual experience by selecting an avatar, entering the lobby of a festival area and locating their exhibitor’s gallery alphabetically. They may shop by clicking on the exhibitors store links and chat virtually with the artisan.
To check out her eco-friendly wares ahead of the festival and learn more about EcoBloom and Elenbaas’ products, see her Instagram and website.
Betsy Croft, Betsy Croft Pottery
Originally from Southern California, Betsy Croft she came to Utah to attend the bachelor’s degree in Visual Arts Program at Brigham Young University and now calls Provo her home and art base. Her colorful paintings of animals and designs on modern, simple ceramic shapes bring a pop of color to the dinner table.
“I have always lived an artistic life, so I spend all my days thinking creatively and breathing life [into] my work. I never considered art to be a passing pursuit or a fleeting interest; it was destined to be a part of my life in a very serious way,” she says. “When I am not making art, I am thinking about making art. Every aspect of my life revolves around art. I began to sell art when I realized that my passion needed to be funded, and talents and skills compensated.”
She includes creative and cute items in her product line you don’t always see in ceramics, including an avocado mirror, a bird-shaped spoon rest and a ceramic-house tea light. “My favorite way to decorate pottery is with a variety of colorful glazes, and with simple yet striking designs,” Croft says. “Even when I paint with a rainbow palette of colors, I try to treat each surface like a composed painting. Every pot I make is intended to be its own work of art.”
To see this colorful and unique ceramic work, find Croft’s pottery and artwork at betsycroft.bigcartel.com, on Facebook and the Craft Lake City website.
Published in Visit Salt Lake on July 30, 2020