History of Handmade by Buffy

Handmade by Buffy has been a long evolving project. It started soon after I graduated from college, with hand sewn dolls and greeting cards sold in coffee shops and gift shops in Northern Wisconsin (ie: Hayward, Sarona, Birchwood, Ladysmith). 

When I moved to Chicago for a job opportunity in 2000, the focus became custom dolls and magnet paperdolls sold by order at an art gallery in Oak Park, various craft/art markets and by referral.

As Etsy was developing as a platform for artists and crafters to sell their services, I focused on online markets. Less traveling and worrying about tracking stock in various locations. When I first opened my Etsy shop around 2010, in addition to the dolls, I sold stylized oil paintings and then paintings with embroidered detailing. 

Then as my professional work and family absorbed more time and energy, I focused more on using the computer as a medium; selling digital products vs physical. I started illustrating custom pet and couple portraits in vector and offering design services as a side hustle.

A new position I began working at in 2013, allowed me more creative freedom and inspired me to revisit my outside creative pursuits. I also was surrounded by a wonderful team of fellow artists who egged me on. So around 2015, a time of "renaissance" began.

In 2018 after a friend introduced me to enamel pins and how to have them made, I started developing a line of soft enamel pins. This line was themed with Native gardened vegetables with my mother, who was a master gardener, to sell at farmers markets and in my Etsy shop. My mother has since passed but the finished collection still sells in her honor.

This job also rekindled my love of designing repeat patterns and textile designs. In 2024 I started creating patterns for fabrics and wallpaper on Spoonflower. This has been a very motivating platform to belong to and I enjoy entering the Design Challenges.

I also found myself revisiting the embroidery on canvas as a tactile distraction. Instead of just embellishments on a painting, I started embroidering the whole piece, skipping the oils, to create hand embroidered illustrations on canvas and I've begun experimenting with needle felting.

That brings us up to date in 2025. Itching to delve into a new product development project (my last professional position), I've joined forces with my sister, Lynn, to marrying my fiber art illustrations with our love of doing jigsaw puzzles. We pooled our money to produce a line of puzzles and plan to keep adding more products and lines along the way. We've refocused my website to an ecommerce shop and we're learning the ropes of marketing as we go, oh boy!! We're also planning out a booth display so we can go live at markets and art shows in Chicago (where I am) and Hayward WI area (where she is). It's all a learning curve on where to prioritize but we're super excited and hopeful.

Keep following our journey!! 

-Buffy