30 Under 30: Crafters

Handmade crafts tell stories. From the tiny imperfections in the material, to the painstaking attention to detail in every hand-sewn stitch, each piece is entirely unique. They tell us a little bit about who made them, where they live, and what inspires them. And buying handmade goods says something about you — that you support local artisans and you believe being one of a kind is the best kind. So, in honor of National Craft Month, we culled the country for 30 of the most prolific storytellers, all 30-years-old or younger, and brought them together here for our inaugural “30 Under 30” class. From jewelers and bookmakers to potters and toymakers, each crafter is different, but each has something to say. So listen up, it’s story time.

Name: Lorena Barriento
Business Name: marañón
Location: Boulder, Colorado
Age: 22
Craft: Embroidery
Website: spinthread.etsy.com

Embroidery sounds like an old-fashioned craft, but it’s made a fierce comeback thanks to some young crafters like Lorena Barriento. Embroidery couldn’t look newer and more remarkable with Barriento’s colorful embroidered jewelry, which she sells through her business called Marañón. Necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and even shoulder accessories flawlessly fuse this old craft with high fashion in the form of colorful geometric shapes (lots of triangles and collections of cubes), and nature inspired designs, including several beautiful peacock fan necklaces on a copper chain.

Barriento proudly asserts, “My customers appreciate that their [piece] was meticulously handmade just for them, and no two pieces are exactly the same. It pleases me to know that all of them are walking around wearing something totally unique.” So keep a look out for Barriento’s colorful embroidered jewelry on trendy passersby or give a piece away as a perfect unique gift.

Name: John Benz
Business Name: BionicBenz Studios
Location: San Jose, California
Age: 29
Craft: Custom belt buckles/photography
Website: bionicbenz.com

Impressed with the high quality of handmade goods on Etsy, high school counselor John Benz says he became motivated to create his own craft niche, which started with leather belts and buckles. After much trial and error and, Benz has successfully garnered a growing loyal following who appeal to him not only for custom order snap belt buckles, but also for his ultra-useful buckle making tutorials.

Unique, often antique, images don the front of his rectangular buckles. Benz uses muted colors that he hopes create a mood as well as a piece of understated, but expressive artwork that you can wear.

Where does his inspiration for designs come from? Benz graciously credits his customers, saying, “I still think that some of my best work comes from custom orders.” Benz admits that the greatest challenge with creating and selling his craft has been finding that sweet middle ground between being an efficient production line and unique artist. Despite the challenges associated with his craft, Benz proclaims himself “a true believer that if you love what you do, it will work out in the end.” A great lesson to remember for his high school students and for us.