By Hand: Makers Among Us | The Makers
In an effort to expand our definition and perception of the arts, By Hand: Makers Among Us shines a light on makers from our local community who create beauty and function in their work; taking art off the wall and highlighting connections between art and life. Learn more about each of the eight local makers featured in the exhibit.
Tali Bouskila
Tali Bouskila is the owner of Flower Casita, a full service florist serving the North Bay counties. After extensive global travels to Spain, Morocco, China and Tibet and a Liberal Arts education at San Francisco State, she signed up for floral classes, reinforcing practical knowledge gleaned from working in her newly chosen field. While studying perspective and structure from generations of skilled designers, she mastered Japanese Ikebana, as well as many other styles of design. A love of nature and of working with her hands led her to open a series of small businesses, most recently here in downtown Petaluma.
See more from Flower Casita
Jess Brown
Jess has always been inspired by beautiful textiles. She began making dolls for her children in 1998 using cashmere sweaters and antique remnants. As a natural progression, she then launched Jess Brown Pieces in 2012; a collection of carefully edited timeless pieces inspired by vintage flea market finds that Jess has amassed throughout the years and worn threadbare. Each piece has been redesigned with a modern aesthetic, while keeping the integrity of the original design. Jess carefully hand picks natural fiber fabrics such as khadis from India, cottons from Japan, and classics from Liberty of London.
Visit Jess Brown Design
Barry Grzebik
A trained luthier, Barry designs and builds a wide array of unique guitars in a small, converted horse barn in Petaluma California. His instruments utilize local reclaimed Redwood whenever possible along with more traditional instrument building materials when necessary. Barry started his professional life as a designer of audio equipment and loudspeakers and working in Architectural Acoustics. The engineering behind and overall aesthetics of his instruments are informed by this early career work.
Explore Grez Guitars
Gwynne Johnson
Gwynne was raised in Ireland and lived in Philadelphia, New York, and Chicago before moving to Petaluma over six years ago. She holds an undergraduate degree in Art History from The University of Pennsylvania and a graduate degree in Fine Art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she taught undergraduate photography. Gwynne has been making art for over twenty years across several media. For the last four years she has been making ceramics under her brand, Guinevere.
Shop at Guinevere
Kala Ukulele
Kala Brand Music Co. is the world’s most popular ukulele brand and the founder of the Original U•BASS®, family-owned and operated here in Petaluma. Our owner Mike Upton was able to realize a lifelong dream in 2015 by forming a team of local luthiers and builders to introduce the first USA-Made varieties of Kala Ukuleles, branded as our Kala® Elite USA Ukulele. Every instrument is an individual, from the handpicked wood to the tiniest of structural pieces.
See the Kala Ukuleles
Alisha Reyes
Alisha began her journey into the fiber arts at age 17 when she took up the hobby of knitting – specifically socks. She quickly dove into the rabbit hole of all things fiber and found herself exploring pattern design, working in yarn shops, teaching classes and even living and working on a farm in exchange for learning to process fiber and spin yarn. In 2018, Fiber Circle Studio was born – a community space for fiber artists of all levels and backgrounds to learn, evolve and share through workshops and workspace. Alisha runs this makerspace and marketplace for all things yarn and fiber in the heart of downtown Petaluma.
Learn more about Fiber Circle Studio
Marta Shannon
Marta is a textile designer, weaver and teacher. An academic focus in Latin American Studies introduced her to the amazingly colorful and complex world of handwoven textiles. Inevitably, she obtained a loom of her own which led to a year apprenticeship with a production weaver in Sag Harbor, New York. After an early stint in Austin, Marta landed in the Bay Area. In her studio, located in an old chicken coop in west Petaluma she weaves scarves, shawls, ponchos and throws to sell. She has been teaching weaving since 1981 and offers classes in her studio and various other venues.
Explore offerings from Marta Shannon
Greg Zall
Greg is a furniture and cabinet maker with 30 years of woodworking experience and a wide ranging portfolio. After attending the College of the Redwoods’ Fine Woodworking Program, he set up shop in Petaluma, California. His commissions include Gap Headquarters, Kidsoft and MacDougal Creative. and work for bay area designers and architects such as the Arc of the Torah at Stanford University, Tehiyah Day School, and Bnai Israel Synagogue, Petaluma. Greg has taught at the California College of the Arts, and also teaches his own style of inlay and marquetry at the College of the Redwoods and regular classes at his shop in Petaluma.