Artistan Profile: Julia and Keoxa Artists' Guild

(Their 1870's Chandler & Price press.)

Keoxa Artists' Guild has been operating out of Winona, MN since 2007. They make letterpressed charms such as: handbound blank journals; greeting cards; framed prints; and more.

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(A handbound blank journal)

They also offer customized wedding invitations, business cards, and other printed matter, as well as state-of-the-art digital design. They use a sliding-scale pay rate and enjoy working with local non-profit or other community organizing groups.

(Wedding invitations, all set to be mailed off.)

Artistan Profile: Stacie and Be Kind Naturals

Stacie is one of those people who seemingly does everything. This Handmade Maverick has 3 jobs; volunteers; has pet egg-laying hens (one of whom is named Marilla); and she has a successful small business making all-natural personal care products, Be Kind Naturals.

While on her honeymoon in northern California, Stacie and her spouse loved the handmade soap at their bed and breakfast. 12 years ago, Stacie learned how to make soap, and she's been making soap like a madwoman ever since. She found it was tough to go back to harsh commercial soaps, and since her whole crew has sensitive skin, it just made sense to make it herself.

These days Stacie also offers Dead Sea bath salts, aromatherapy lotions, soy candles, and other all natural aromatherapy items. Stacie is thrilled by the customer reaction to her soap, and is honored when customers come back for more. She loves small-town life, and is excited to see Winona come out to support it's artisans and growers on May 1!

Artistan Profile: Beth

Ohmygosh! Just in time for Handmade Neighborhood, we have a few more profiles. Hold onto your seats, dear reader, and get ready to keep it local!

Beth Lindholm (along with her daughter) crafts under the moniker Miss Bella Mia Boutique. She can't remember a time before painting, sewing, woodworking and making other unique items was a part of her daily life. Beth is always on the lookout to learn a new technique to create something special.

Beth is looking forward to Handmade Neighborhood. As a first time participant, she will be featuring embroidered and personalized blankets, kitchen linens, purses, baby items, and tool box kits. Seriously, those tool box kits (for children) + one of her personalized children's tool aprons = the cuteness.

+ = cute

When she's not creating cute stuff, she plays with her cute dog, Sadie, and loves to play tennis. She can't wait to see you Saturday!

Artisan Profile: Muddy Hands!

Today, Handmade Neighborhood (The Blog) is offering a two-for-one special.

Presenting Muddy Hands!

Muddy Hands is a Winona-area duo. Rachel and Tanya currently participate in local events and operate their own e-commerce site. In the future, the hope to open a storefront in Winona. Both of these artisans have been experimenting with creative endeavors since their formative years.



Rachel fell in love with pottery in college, while receiving a degree in Art Education. She continues to exercise her creativity. As part of Muddy Hands, she creates purses, jewelry, photographs. Recently she started teaching pottery. Sharing her creativity brings Rachel peace, and she looks forward to building Muddy Hands and eventually opening the store.



Tanya remembers experimenting with home-recipes for skin and hair treatments in middle school and high school. After receiving her degree in Psychology and the birth of her children, she chose to pursue her dream of opening a place for relaxation. As she completes her education in Massage Therapy, she is excited that she and Rachel are bringing something special to Winona.

Artistan Profile: Sarah

One of our newest artisans is Sarah. For Sarah, art is automatic. She loves creating things, and most recently, has been making jewelry and delving into photography.

Sarah uses high quality materials. Colorful gemstones and glass are her favorites for her necklaces and earrings. Just for fun she has some waaaaay cute button rings. She is so excited for Winonans to look fantastic in her pieces!

In her professional life Sarah is a therapist, and she loves her job. When not at work or playing around with color in various and sundry ways, she likes to read, kiss cats, watch puppy videos on youtube, smell flowers, crack herself up, and hum in harmony to songs she's never heard before.She also has a penchant for impersonating NPR broadcasters. Oh, and, her absolute favorite, she has been "annoying people with exuberance" for ages.

Artistan Profile: Angela

One of Handmade Neighborhood's super-talented jewelry makers is Angela.

(Hi Angela!)

She started making jewelry with a friend as a way to spend some time together and make a little extra money. She loves making trendy pieces, and gets excited when she sees her items on people around town. Angela's items are on-of-a-kind, and often include Swarovski crystals, pearls and sterling silver

In what we artisans like to call "civilian life," Angela loves spending time with her 13-year-old son and twin 11-year-old daughters. She moved to Winona 5 years ago, and appreciates the incredible natural beauty of the area. Come see Angela on May 1st at Handmade Neighborhood!

Artist Profile: Lori

Lori is a local musician and music teacher. She also enjoys painting, writing and generally creating. She uses oils, sometimes in combination with metallic paints and varnish. Recently, she has taken up sewing and has found a special place in her heart for metallic embroidery thread. You can read more about (and by) Lori on her blog, The Emanciporium.







On May 1st, Lori will be featuring her original paintings, some prints and notecards, and pillows and other sewn items made of fabric with her paintings printed on them! That is absurdly cool.