Today we’d like to introduce you to Valerie Rosenthal Hebert.
Valerie, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Val’s Art Studio is the name of my handcrafted art business which started as an experiment in 2006. At the time, my oldest son was ten years old and needed a school advocate, so I quit my day job to provide the support he needed. Not one to keep idle, I found I needed a creative outlet, so I signed up for a local holiday craft fair and gave myself one year to develop five lines of gift items using materials and crafts that made my heart happy. My focus was based on creating fine, heirloom quality crafts made of existing materials, much like what I had created under my mother’s guidance when growing up. Having a lifelong attraction to wool and recently having learned to knit, I quickly realized I would not be able to produce enough hand knitted wool material to satisfy my needs, so I turned to discarded wool in the form of thrift store wool sweaters. I felted the wool, which meant I washed and dried the wool, resulting that I could cut the wool apart without the fear of it unraveling. This form of creating new products from discarded materials became known as “repurposing.” Little did I know at the time I was at the forefront of a new craft movement.
After refashioning the wool into new clothing items, I would then needle felt into the wool, which means I would use loose wool fiber and barbed needles to create a wool painting on the garment. Smaller cut pieces of felted wool turned into children’s toy items and smaller pieces were patchwork stitched together to form a backdrop on which I would needle felt birds, my favorite subject matter. A 2-dimensional fine artist with a BA in Fine Art with a Painting emphasis, and a lifelong sewist and crafter, all my artistic sensibilities were allowed to come together on the canvas of repurposed wool. I was enchanted with this medium! At the end of my first year of crafting and setting up for my very first craft fair, my location was right inside the entrance. Happily, my sales were brisk that day! At the end of the show, I learned I had been the featured vendor, which I took as a great compliment. The organizers and craft show shoppers told me they had never before seen items like what I created. It seemed like I was onto something good!
Fast forward 13 years, and I have continually refined my crafting process. Over the years, my needle felting techniques have gradually and steadily improved (I am completely self-taught in the craft of needle felting) and under the notion that practice does indeed make perfect, my needle felting continues to improve the further I explore this craft. Always willing to teach others my craft, I have created a line of online needle felting classes, as well as teaching monthly workshops in my San Diego studio.
Currently, my art studio is located within the San Diego Made Factory amongst fellow artists and creatives and where I can participate in Open Studios each Second Saturday of the month, as well as be a part of a collective group of makers that values handcrafted goods in a world that seems to have gotten caught up in quick, impersonal consumerism.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Smooth sailing within my business means creating a variety of products that make me happy and delight the consumer at a price point that we both agree is worthwhile. It also means I am continually challenging myself to grow artistically within the art and craft world, and my customers are enchanted by new work and willing to support my craft. It means I am making a financial contribution to my family household and able to afford the price of crafting a handmade business. (Fortunately, the cost of my materials is minimal, and much of the cost is in my labor as well as my studio rent.) It means I am feeling continually grounded in my work, willing to promote myself socially and artistically in all the many ways an artist needs to do so to create a successful business. It means I can stay well-paced with my desire for growth and change within my business and associated industries. It is a well-oiled chain of events that must be continually fed and supported with the desired outcome of being a prolific artist who continues to charm my followers!
I have attributed struggle within my art business to urges of unfulfillment and unrest surrounding mental health advocacy. After ten years of advocating within my family for my child’s support in school and life, I learned of the community need to properly advocate for children within families who deeply struggle with behavioral or mental health challenges. I found this need so profound that in 2016 I took 80% leave from my handmade craft business to work for the National Alliance on Mental Illness; NAMI San Diego. Since 2016, not only have I learned to navigate the Behavioral Health Children’s System of Care, but I have also been able to use my creative voice at the table of mental health and family advocacy by teaching parents and caregivers as well as community partners how to be proactive advocates for struggling children and families.
During these past three years of transition, my ongoing personal challenge has been with the time spent away from devoting 100% of my efforts to my art studio. Though it feels most days (and particularly through the holiday season) like I am working TWO full time jobs, my studio time is where my world falls away and the joy of making my creations completely recharge my mental health advocacy batteries! Before working for NAMI San Diego, I struggled with the overlap between my mental health advocacy world and my artistic world, knowing internally my artistic world supported my personal self-care as our family navigated situations that often break families apart. Art is what has grounded and supported me during trying times. Currently, I am working out how to mesh these two worlds more seamlessly together, which I feel will be a great boost to my artistic business, especially as our world grapples with concerns of mental health challenges and substance use disorders in families.
Please tell us about your business.
If you aren’t sure you know me yet, I am Val, the creative miss that is Val’s Art Studio. That’s “miss,” not mess… My husband refers to me as “ADD Val.” Studio assistants often refer to me as “Sidetrack Sally.” Well, mostly they are right, but thankfully, my art expression is all of that and more.
Val’s Art Studio is a welcoming space to celebrate the love and warmth of Handmade Craft, to enjoy work made from repurposed natural fabrics, to explore and delight in unique needle felted creations. I create heARTfelt mixed media fiber art from repurposed wool (i.e.. discarded wool sweaters) and natural textiles which I felt, cut, fold, sew + stitch up. Then, I needle felt into it, which means I use special barbed needles to dry felt loose wool fiber into the sewn creation. I stab, poke, mesh and transform my sewing into something completely unique and artistic, and often very whimsical. I often finish with embroidered words or accents. My work speaks for itself through a language of love. People of all ages seem to fall for my special creations at first sight.
Needle felting took me from a place of despair due to unforeseen life circumstances and allowed me to find a sanctuary of peace deep inside my heart. Sewing and making art allow my hands to create the dreams my mind makes up, while my brain is busy solving life’s challenges. My art serves to encourage, love, sooth and bring joyfulness to all who encounter it. Though I’ve always been sidetracked by sewing and fashion design, my background includes a BA in Fine Art with a Painting emphasis, which fuels my art brain and helps organize my designs, refine my patterns and allows my colors to come to life.
I love the art I create. My work is constantly evolving and I’m always excited about the next project, which I usually discover during a bit of daydreaming. I am driven by nature, whimsy, the eclectic and unusual, and try to pull a bit of these elements into everything I make. Most pieces are one of a kind, or something I create in a very small series. I aim to instill heaps of charm into each piece I create, a handmade keepsake for future generations. Made with so much care and love… from me to you.
Val’s Art Studio is also the home of Hello Felt online classes, personal one on one lessons, kits and patterns. Hello, Felt is an online e-course where I share all my needle felting and sewing tips & tricks. I am always happy to teach others the art of my craft.
To see an amazing stop motion video of my entire creative process, please view my website at www.ValsArtStudio.com and scroll down on the front page until you reach the video. It’s super fun to watch!
Named 1 of 10 “Stars of San Diego” in 2016. My feature story was published in the Jan 2016 issue of San Diego Home and Garden Lifestyles magazine. Here is a link to the article here: http://bit.ly/1RAl7Wo
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
As a small business owner, I am always looking towards the future and planning big! My biggest effort this year will be to continue working on blending my two worlds of mental health advocacy and art more seamlessly, as well as stressing the necessity of practicing art as a form of self-care. I will continue to work on refining my craft in a manner where it is profitable for me to create my items while being affordable for the consumer. Moving forward and resulting from my new lovely studio within the San Diego Made Factory, I will continue to offer monthly workshops teaching others the amazing and versatile craft of needle felting, wool painting and soon mixed media art and watercolor painting workshops. Please reach out and connect with me! I’m looking forward to meeting you. :o)
Pricing:
- Lovable plush characters featuring Mr. Toast, Mr. Sushi pillows and Mr.Teethy tooth fairy pillows, from $28 – $38
- Special vintage style hoop art pieces from $38 – $78
- Unique room decor created from felted repurposed wool featuring needle felted birds or custom pet portraits from $135 – $292
- Unique one-of-a-kind clothing made from repurposed wool and cashmere for women and children starting at $135
- Workshops and lessons starting at $40
Contact Info:
- Address: San Diego Made Factory, 2031 Commercial St, #131, San Diego, CA 92113.
Open each Second Saturday monthly from 2-6 pm, or by appointment - Website: www.valsartstudio.com
- Email: valsart@me.com
- Instagram: @valsart
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Vals-Art-Studio-156962177660255/
Image Credit:
Valerie Hebert
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