IDLE HANDMADE
The Renegade application probably seems like neither the time nor the place to bring up the heavy topic of mental illness, but it is the bedrock underlying most of the products I sell and the art I make more generally. Mental illness diagnoses apparently just continue to accumulate. Living with Bipolar Disorder, Complex PTSD, ADHD, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder casts a dark shadow across my life.
But only from the shadow of my four disorders can the vibrancy and lightheartedness of the pieces I make be born. It seems so counterintuitive that channeling a painful emotional experience into art can almost always yield something lovely. As Imogen Heap sang, there is beauty in the break down.
I draw inspiration from other areas of life: everyday objects like stop signs and pill capsules, fantasy worlds led to fairy wing backpacks, and pop culture pops up here and there as well. These inspirations jumble up in my pinball brain and shoot back out in the form of the eclectic and rather eccentric Idle Handmade inventory. The bags I sew – and essentially all of my art, regardless of medium – are my way of looking on the bright side of life.
I’d be thrilled to bring my passion for art and craft and the magical healing ability of making to either Renegade Los Angeles or Renegade Chicago! (Or even both?)