Poppy, an art and gift store in downtown Columbia, Mo, is a huge supporter for local handmade artists. Twenty-five percent of their artists are from Missouri, and the majority of the rest are American with a few Canadian and Israeli. These artists and companies contribute cute, whimsical pieces that have the distinctive Poppy style.
Angie Schlotzhauer is the artist behind L.E.goods. Schlotzhauer says she has known she was going to be an artist since kindergarten. Schlotzhauer teaches elementary school, and runs L.E.goods in her spare time. She started clay work in college and began making jewelry on a whim one day. Her family really liked what she made so she kept making pieces. Each pendant or earring is hand sculpted from clay, rather than made from a mold, hand-painted and kiln fired in her homestudio in Columbia. Her work can be found in Poppy, ordered from her Etsy store and bought at craft shows around Missouri.
1canoe2 is a Mid-missouri letterpress. The company began with two childhood friends, Beth Snyder and Carrie Shryock, as they dreamed by a campfire anda canoe on the Missouri River. One canoe and two girls; hence the company name. 1canoe2 makes cards, calendars, and prints using the letterpress printing technique, which combines the technology of a printing press with handmade art. The technique uses relief printing– where protruding surfaces of a printing plate or block are inked and the recessed areas are ink free. A worker composes and locks movable type into the bed of a press, inks it, and presses paper against it to transfer the ink from the type which creates an impression on the paper. It is a long, arduous practice started by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-15th century. 1canoe2’s art is whimsical and colorful and can be found in Poppy, on their website or in any of the stores listed here.
Matt Smith isn’t just the name of the actor who plays the eleventh doctor on Doctor Who. Matt Smith, from Columbia Mo., is a woodworker. M.Smith Woodcrafttakes recycled wood from small sawmills in central Missouri and turns the wood into cutting boards, coat racks, and custom projects. Smith creates sturdy, handmade work, which can sometimes be whimsical in that some of his cutting boards are in the shape of animals or the state of Missouri, which means that his work is right at home in Poppy. You can also find him at art festivals like Columbia’s Art in the Park, which takes place in Stephens Lake Park the first weekend in June.
To learn more about Poppy and the artists supports, visit their website or the store in Columbia, Mo.