Our Lady of Hodgepodge - Kristen Pulsinelli

Artisan:  Our Lady of Hodgepodge
E-mail:  ourladyofhodgepodge@gmail.com
Website: www.sarahcatherineart.com
Facebook: facebook.com/ourladyofhodgepodge
Instagram: instagram.com/ourladyofhodgepodge
Website: etsy.com/shop/OurLadyofHodgepodge

Hi! My name is Kristen and I am the owner/creator of Our Lady of Hodgepodge in Annandale, NJ. I love all things crafty and I create wearable art that may change on a whim. Is “Hodgepodge” starting to make sense now? I want to create pieces that everyone will love, but will resonate with one person. I truly want someone to look at my wares and say “OMG, this was made for me!” I’m a punk, a nerd, a scholar, a (dog)mom, an accountant, a dreamer, and an artist. These are the kindred hearts ‘Our Lady’ hopes to touch and inspire.

So down to the brass tax; what is Our Lady of Hodgepodge (OLoH)? It is a confused mixture of wearable art. My three major sellers are The Long Tassel Statement Scarf, The Hodgepodge Scarf, and Dollhouse Miniature Bookmarks. The Long Tassel Statement Scarves are one-of-a-kind crocheted scarves that use various yarn weights, colors, and techniques. They are finished off with 10-inch-long tassels on both ends of a 60-inch scarf. The Hodgepodge Scarf is a triangle shaped scarf made from fabric remnants, mostly donated from other local crafters, which I then sew together using a darning technique and a sewing machine. After washing the stabilizer away, you are left with one cool art piece to wear how you like. Lastly, Dollhouse Mini Bookmarks are made using a 10-inch piece of chain, or ribbon. On either end are a dollhouse mini coffee cup, a tassel, and a mini book for which I shrink down an actual book cover to size. These are usually popular as gifts and are easily customizable.

I must admit, I initially created OLoH because I had already gifted creations to all of my family members and my husband got tired of them taking up space. My husband’s favorite line at craft shows is: “Buy my wife’s stuff, it takes up too much space.” Once we started doing craft shows, and saw that even strangers liked what I made, we decided that this could be a nice niche for me and something we could do together… other than fishing … which is okay too, I guess?

Finding Marketspace Vendor Events has worked well for us because Kevin and Kim are super helpful and knowledgeable about where my creations will sell best. They gave me a whole new avenue of locations, clientele, and groups of vendors to learn from. I think all vendors will agree that Marketspace isn’t pushy and won’t fit you in somewhere just for profit. They are very open when you have questions or need advice on doing a craft show. I didn’t get to do as many with them as I would have liked in 2018, but 2019 is a whole new year, so here we go!

Our Lady of Hodgepodge will be at this upcoming event!
April 6, 2019 - Crafts and Drafts at Jersey Girl Brewing in Hackettstown,, NJ