Posted by Crystal Pepperdine, Founder and Executive Director of Flint Handmade
For our April Second Saturday giveaway, we are featuring Missy Healey of
Mah Hemp Jewelry & Accessories!
This is Missy holding bunches of her colorful hemp necklaces on the balcony of her apartment. When the weather is nice, she likes to spread a blanket on the grass and make jewelry in the sunshine!
Missy's indoor workspace is a cozy little dining nook. She says:
"I have a VERY small apartment. Therefore, my entire home turns into my work space at times.
The shelving unit I use as storage was made by my father when I was a child. It was initially used as a shoe shelf. When I got older and moved out of my parents’ house he painted it from baby blue to black to match my living room. Now I use it to place all of my beads, hemp and other craft materials."
Can you guess Missy's favorite craft material? Hemp, of course! She says:
"My favorite material to use is hemp twine. It is a natural material that has thousands of benefits for the environment and over 25,000 uses. I enjoy utilizing it, as well as educating other about the plant properties, uses, and benefits."
In additional to her necklaces, Missy has started making home decor with hemp. Above are hemp-wrapped flower vases made from upcycled glass vessels such as frappacino, spaghetti sauce and pop bottles.
"Lately I have been working on hemp bowls, baskets, flower vases and other containers. This is a new field of hemp crafts I have not done before. I was inspired to create these types of items after I had seen them on Pinterest.com. Next, I want to make wind chimes and mobiles."
I asked Missy what she likes to do while crafting:
"I like listen to people who inspire me to be the best and most creative person I can be. Therefore, I typically watch Oprah Winfrey while I am being crafty. If she is not on the television at that time I watch Create TV or I listen to Bob Marley because his music is very relaxing."
Missy's other crafty hobbies include sewing. She has two machines, one of which (in the background of the above photo) was given to her by her aunt.
I asked her how she got into crafting:
"I definitely got the crafty gene from my mother. She has always been making arts and crafts since she was a child. My whole life she encouraged me to be as creative as I could be.
Mah Hemp Jewelry & Accessories began in February of 2009. I initially started doing macramé just to pass the time after I had a minor surgery. Within days my friends all wanted a necklace, anklet or bracelet. Before I knew it I was heading to craft shows and it grew much bigger than I ever expected it to."
I can attest that Missy's mom, Cindy Healey, is very creative. She makes photo quilts for her family members with vinyl pockets that allow the photos to be easily changed out.
Missy has an attractive black and white photo quilt by her mom on display in her her living room, which is right next to her craft nook.
Missy has other great crafts on display in her living room.
If Mah Hemp didn't keep her busy enough, Missy also manages the
Grand Blanc Farmers' Market and one of her craft vendors gave her this lovely arrangement.
(She gave me one of pinwheels to use a template for a future Flint Handmade craftLAB. Yay!
In addition to Mah Hemp and the Farmers' Market, Missy a social work major at the University of Michigan-Flint and she is participating in a study abroad class this spring to bring free health care and health education to orphans and disabled children in Cambodia.
In fact, Missy and her classmates have organized a craft fair to raise funds for their study abroad.
Crafts for Cambodia will be at the Davison VFW Post 4087 (9474 Lapeer Road, Davison, MI 48423) on Sunday, April 29, 2012 from 10am-4pm. The event will feature over 30 vendors with handmade crafts, home party goods and local foods as well as a silent auction, 50/50 raffle and kid's games. Admission is only $2.
"Mission: Hempossible" is the name Missy used for her study abroad fundraising endeavor:
"I’ve been saving all of my money that I earn from jewelry sales to fund my study abroad program to Cambodia this May. I have an amazing group of supporters that have encouraged my growth within my business...which in turn has helped me grow as a person."
Well, we think that Missy's dedication to the handmade movement, eating locally and global health care are very inspiring and could help all of us grow as people, too!
For the Second Saturday Giveaway, Missy has graciously donated a beaded hemp necklace with a bronze-colored flower charm.
For YOUR chance to win the Hemp Necklace with Flower Charm (valued at $8) by Missy Healey of Mah Hemp Jewelry & Accessories, just complete steps A and B:
A) Follow Flint Handmade via the blog, Twitter, Google Reader or whatever newfangled "following application" tickles your fancy. Or, if you don't do the whole following thing, email us at flinthandmade@hotmail.com and we will add you to our email list.
B) Leave us a comment in response to this blog post by 5pm on Saturday, Apirl 21, 2012 answering the following 2 questions:
1) How do you follow Flint Handmade?
2) What other crafts could Missy make out of hemp to help fund her study abroad?
Please be sure to answer BOTH questions to qualify for the drawing.
The winner will be selected at random and posted on the blog within one week after the deadline. The winner will have 30 days to claim the prize. You must check back with the blog to see if you won!
We hope to hear from YOU and we hope you enjoyed our April Second Saturday Giveaway!
