Take a minute to get to know our fantastic crafters, artists and designers.

Alex McCarty
Alex McCarty is the blonder half of the dynamic duo that instigated this whole webshop, She has been designing and creating a variety of products under many pseudonyms for several years now (possibly her whole life...), including Brother Sun Designs and lunablue studio (both are featured at Blossom Boutique). Alex has no formal art training, but she does admit to winning most of her hometown coloring contests as a child, and her drawings have been taped to the windows of many fine establishments in her childhood town of Grove City, Pa. Although she can't remember how she got there, Alex now resides in Reading, Pa with her husband, Corey, her two beautiful children, Eden and Finn, and their overweight cat, Louis. Once her senior high class president, she now spends her free time sorting buttons and dreaming up great names for companies she hopes to someday start. For now, Blossom will have to do!!
For more longwinded but pure-hearted insights and musings, visit Alex's craft blog here.
 

 

Corey McCarty
Corey is a graduate of Kutztown University with a degree in Graphic Design. He makes his bread and butter at the Reading Eagle newspaper in Reading, Pa. where he designs pages, information-graphics and illustrations. But his jelly comes from selling his paintings, illustrating children's books, and creating crafty stuff with his wife Alex. They are the founding members of Blossom and Corey is also it's web designer. You can check out his personal website here to check out his portfolio of his paintings, digital artwork, portraiture and photographs. They have two great children: a bouncing baby boy of four months, Finn, and a six year old girl, Eden. Both are challenging Corey in ways he could never imagine and he is still getting used to finding pink hair clips and nuks in his brief case.
In addition to generously (and sometimes painstakingly) designing this site, Corey's design and illustration works can be viewed at his own site, McCarty Design Studio.
 
Erica Steffy "Pails In Comparison"
Erica's products were inspired by her love of tins and timeless treasures. She likes to think of herself as a "multi-media artist," for fear of proclaiming herself a "crafter." Her hat is off to all her crafty comrades who can admit their addictions to ric-rac and embroidery. In her photo (left), she is with her daugher, Madelyn, by far her best creation.
 
Liz Spencer
Liz is a registered nurse by day, student by night and crafty during the in-between. She is a self taught knitter who passed on knitting knowledge to her grandmother. In truth, she is mostly self-taught all things crafty and enjoys pretty things in general. The End.
 
Janet McCaffrey "Primrose Design"
As it happens, Janet also graduated from Kutztown University with a degree in graphic design, but this was many years before Corey. She still does freelance graphic design, but mostly as a way to support her real loves -- sewing, embroidery, and crafting with vintage textiles. She has an extensive collection of materials (OK, it's taking over her house), and never passes up a flea market or garage sale because you just never know what treasures you'll find. She lives in an 1861 farmhouse in northeast Pennsylvania with her husband and two cats.
Janet's other beautiful creations can be seen at her personal shop, Primrose Design.
 
Raquel Urriola "Lola's Rags"
It all started as a little girls dream… At 3 years of age, I dreamed of one day becoming a fashion designer. I would embarrass my sister by wearing left over strips of fabrics as scarves and cuffs to go out to the kiosk. I remember sketching primitive designs of clothing on scraps of paper or my school’s drawing book. I kept pages and pages of ideas and sometimes I made a few for my paper dolls. I used to make some outfits for my Barbie’s as well! As time went by, I kept up with my sketches but never really sewed any of them. However, I watched my mom and sister sew dresses for us or my nieces. My older sister would make beautiful dresses for me…I remember how much I loved them! At age 11, I moved to Pennsylvania from Panama for schooling. I kept watching my sister sew and I drew more ideas for my designs. One day, she helped me make a gorgeous dress I wanted to wear and that was how I started to pick up sewing. It was not easy but practice has help me improve. I graduated from college with a business degree but I continued dreaming of making my designs one day. One of my closest friends at the time really made my dream happen one night while we were hanging out. She is an artist and we would hang out while she painted. She finally said to me, “Why don’t you make a bag or something instead of just watching me… I have some scraps of fabric you can use plus needle and thread”. So, that night I made my first creation. A square bag made of sky blue velveteen with a gold stripe plus golden straps. That started my journey and I have never stopped making bags but I added clothes two and half years ago when I moved to New York City. My bags and clothing are one of kind items. They are inspired by my love of feminine style and passion for past eras like the 20’s-50’s. Plus, I add my Latina flair of course! I chose the name because my middle name is Lourdes “Lola” is a nickname derived from it plus “Rags” due to the fact that I sometimes use vintage buttons, fabrics or trims. I make my bags with love and I hope that the person that buys it will love it as much! ;)
 

 

Nichole Windsor "PolkaDot Pendant"
As a part-time dental hygienist and a full-time mommy to two boys, Nichole grew up in a family full of girls where accessorizing was paramount. This passion has stayed with her even if the boys don’t like pink and dangly things. Having to wade through ankle-deep tractors and monster trucks for too long, she was aching for the creative life again. B.C., “before children” that is, she enjoyed quilting, knitting, and interior decorating as well as gourmet cooking—these all but faded away since the boys appeared. Her husband Michael believed she was going through a “mommy mid-life crisis” and encouraged her to find a creative outlet. After a long hibernation, beading leaped back into her life—years ago making daisy friendship bracelets was all the rage; now semi-precious and vintage beads have replaced the seed beads of yesteryear. Her house may be full of blue denim and John Deere green, yet in a little nook of her home, pink-girly bling reigns supreme.
 

 

Christina Utsch
As a child, her Grandmother introduced her to the magical world of sewing. Little Christina would help cut squares and assemble them into cute patterns for quilts. Then at the age of 7, a christmas present changed her life forever. Santa had given her a sewing machine just for kids! That was just what she needed to start her own sewing career. Today, Christina likes to create items inspired by her own feline friends.
 

 

Karen Peterson "Fresh Crafts"
I'm a Vermont girl who ended up on the west coast. I followed a boy to Northern California in my early 20s, and I'm still here. By day I'm program officer for an environmental nonprofit organization.  Fresh Crafts was born in 2003, after I realized I had done NOTHING creative for several years! Why bottlecaps? Why not! So much looks so good at 1.05 inches round. I discovered the wonderful world of vintage caps, which really adds to the appeal of the funky Fresh Crafts goods. I love making things every single day. It's the anecdote to this crazy world! In my spare time (ha ha) I am a member of the board of directors of my town's community foundation, I volunteer at the Point Reyes National Seashore Morgan Horse Ranch, I eBay compulsively, run, swim, walk, pet my two kitties, obsess on HBO series and Jon Stewart, and these days PLAN MY WEDDING! Yikes. By the way, the horse in the photo is Pokey, the sweetest equine on the planet.

To see other craetions by Fresh Crafts, visit her website here.
 

 

Debbie Chialtas "Soapylove"
Soapylove is the second child of Debbie Chialtas. Her first child, Sequoia, can take all the credit for Soapylove's existence. If it wasn't for the nesting instinct that he inspired during her pregnancy, his mom would have never become suddenly compelled to make more soap than her friends and family could ever use in one lifetime.
A devoted Barbie fan as a child, Debbie's early creative instincts led her into a career in fashion design. Debbie has a BFA in Fashion Design from Academy of Art College in San Francisco and has worked in the fashion industry for almost 10 years (time flies!). She has made custom wedding gowns, children's clothes for a small biz she once had, and has worked with apparel companies of every size. She discovered her love of soap when she was pregnant with her sweet son, Sequoia. Once the soap bug bit, it couldn't be ignored! She started making her own body products and then discovered the wonderful world of glycerine soap, which indulges her love of color, shape, designing, and instant gratification!
Debbie's son is now over 1 year old and she's still totally thrilled by soap. Debbie's clean creations are inspired by fashion, color, candy, textiles, other wonderful crafters, and who knows what else! There's something for everyone - from your little mudpie making neighbors to your fashionista girlfriend. Every item is wrapped and ready to give or display in your home. Of course, they're not just nice to look at. They lather up like crazy, smell great, and leave your skin feeling clean and pampered.
You can view Debbie's other soapy creations at her wholesale gallery, here