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Alex · tinyfound
@tinyfound.com
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Stories of independent makers, artists and designers, in their own words – how they came to their craft, and where to find their work. – Alex. tinyfound.com
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A maker from our story, Jay Rubinstein, spent years as a teacher and network manager. Then a poem about books became a wooden mobile – "everything started from that point." Now he makes about 25 moving sculptures a year in Scotland.
#Woodworking #Handmade #Mobiles
The Dryad by Jay Rubinstein: a hanging figure of curved walnut and light wood veneer strips, surrounded by falling wooden leaves and birds on strings. A mobile of four flying geese by Jay Rubinstein, made from shaped light and dark wood veneers, hanging below a white ceiling above a window. A single swallow by Jay Rubinstein: a moving wooden bird with curved wings of light and dark veneer, hanging from a thin wooden bar.
November 3, 2026 at 10:32 AM
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A maker from our story, Keith Kralik, had about 23 jobs – nothing stuck. Then his wife planted a garden, and he started pressing its flowers. Now he makes pressed-flower art in Colorado. tinyfound.com/p/keith-kral...

#PressedFlowers #Handmade #BotanicalArt
Keith Kralik holds up Happiness, a large pressed-flower original of sunflowers, daisies, coneflowers and poppy pods on black paper, in his garden. Keith Kralik holds up Spring, a large pressed-flower original of cosmos, tulips, a red poppy and hundreds of small blooms on white paper. Pressed anemones, periwinkle, lilac and geum by Keith Kralik on a pink plate, surrounded by fresh flowers and a cup of coffee.
November 2, 2026 at 9:49 AM
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A maker from our story, Karin Celestine, was a science teacher. Now her needle-felted mice, hares and shrews star in her own picture books – and sell out in a day. tinyfound.com/p/karin-cele...

#NeedleFelting #Handmade #FiberArt
Karin Celestine’s Lightbringers: three needle-felted mice holding glowing lanterns among dark leaves at night. A needle-felted mouse by Karin Celestine asleep in a copper moon dreaming boat, hung on fine wire beneath a small copper moon. The Ostara Hare by Karin Celestine: a needle-felted hare carrying a birch-bark basket on its back and a woven basket of nuts, standing on a wooden block.
October 30, 2026 at 11:28 AM
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A maker from our story, Elizabeth Runyon, has a degree in music theory, not art. She learned to weave in monthly classes – and in September two of her reed sculptures were shown in Venice.
tinyfound.com/p/elizabeth-...

#FiberArt #Handmade #Basketry
Out of School by Elizabeth Runyon: three hanging fish woven from natural reed, their long woven tails looping in the air against a black background. Self Contained by Elizabeth Runyon: a closed reed vessel shaped like a gourd, with curling woven arms rising from its top. Elizabeth Runyon’s reed sculpture Fragments of My Former Life: Upward Trajectory on display at the Homo Faber Biennial in Venice, among other woven works.
October 29, 2026 at 11:07 AM
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A maker from our story, Cynthia Haller, trained as an interior decorator in Geneva, then worked as a translator. Now she designs bold patterns for fabric and wallpaper in India.
tinyfound.com/p/cynthia-ha...

#SurfacePattern #Textiles #Handmade
Cushions by Cynthia Haller of Home Cyn Home on a grey sofa – a navy pattern of golden eyes and a cream pattern of turquoise flowers. A stack of fabrics with patterns by Cynthia Haller – pink arches with palm trees, green leaves and stripes – with a wooden spool and a pin cushion. Coral and white fabric with Cynthia Haller’s pattern of arches and turquoise fans, held up in daylight beside a green plant.
October 28, 2026 at 12:42 PM
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A maker from our story, Indrė, sold firewood with her family in Lithuania. Then they bought an old sawmill – and learned furniture by doing. Now they build from solid oak and old beams.
tinyfound.com/p/furnitureb...

#Woodworking #Handmade #Furniture
A tall mirror by FurnitureByBukmedis in Lithuania, framed in rough old timber beams, leaning against a whitewashed wall. A low solid oak table by FurnitureByBukmedis with a natural live edge, set with a candle and tea bowls on a linen runner in a sunlit room. A dark solid oak desk by FurnitureByBukmedis with thick slab legs, under a paper pendant lamp in front of tall curtained windows.
October 27, 2026 at 12:35 PM
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A maker from our story, Jeny Guneva, ran an engineering company with about 30 people. Later she studied glass at the art academy in Sofia. Now she makes kiln-formed glass in Bulgaria.
tinyfound.com/p/etsy-inter...

#GlassArt #Handmade #FusedGlass
Alt: A blue and green fused glass vase by Jeny Guneva shaped like a breaking wave, holding white lilies against a black background. A wide kiln-formed glass bowl by Jeny Guneva in cobalt blue and green, its rim rippling like a wave, on a black reflective surface. Three glass lamps by Jeny Guneva in blue, amber and green, their folded glass shades on brushed steel bases. Two kiln-formed glass pieces by Jeny Guneva in smoky grey with bright orange ribbons, reflected on a dark surface.
October 26, 2026 at 11:37 AM
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A maker from our story, Safiye Ceren Akıllı, was working in logistics. Now she builds hand-painted furniture in Turkey for the 4–5% of buyers who want something unusual. tinyfound.com/p/ahsap-hika...

#Woodworking #Handmade #Furniture
A black chest of drawers by Safiye Ceren Akıllı of Ahşap Hikayesi, each drawer hand-painted in a different color or pattern, standing on painted ball feet. A wooden sideboard by Safiye Ceren Akıllı with hand-painted drawers, lattice doors and turned yellow legs. Safiye Ceren Akıllı at a table saw in her Ahşap Hikayesi workshop in Turkey.
October 25, 2026 at 9:32 AM
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A maker from our story, Krister Tonsiver: "Sometimes you don't really know what is hidden inside until you cut into it." Rare Masur birch, a 1924 log workshop, Estonia.

The story: tinyfound.com/p/warenoff-c...

#Woodworking #Handmade #Woodcarving
Woodworker Krister Tonsiver of Warenoff carves a block of birch with a knife, in warm low light. Krister Tonsiver, pipe in his mouth, studies a wooden blank at his workbench. Krister Tonsiver works on a small piece at a rough wooden workbench in his 1924 log workshop in Estonia.
October 23, 2026 at 9:02 AM
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A maker from our story, Małgorzata of Ceramics Nastawka, ruined around 15 sinks before one came out right. Now she hand-throws ceramic bathroom sinks in Poland.

The story: tinyfound.com/p/ceramicsna...

#Ceramics #Handmade #Pottery
A handmade ceramic sink by Małgorzata of Ceramics Nastawka, glazed turquoise inside with a textured white outer wall, set on a grey stone counter. Ceramicist Małgorzata of Ceramics Nastawka sits on a wooden cabinet holding a handmade ceramic sink glazed lime green with a dark flower around the drain. Małgorzata of Ceramics Nastawka smiles as she throws a clay vessel on a pottery wheel in her studio.
October 22, 2026 at 6:22 AM
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A maker from our story, Panna of PannaDraws: "The fantastic surrounds us, it IS the world we live in." Fantasy watercolors – and, since 2025, hand-sculpted clay dragons and unicorns. Ireland.
The story: tinyfound.com/p/pannadraws...

#FantasyArt #Handmade #Ceramics
A hand-sculpted ceramic dragon by Panna of PannaDraws, glazed deep blue with a crest of pale spikes, sitting with its tail stretched out. Fantasy artist Panna holds a framed watercolor of a red dragon curled in a cliffside cave, with a small dragon and a sheep on the ledge. A glazed ceramic unicorn by Panna, dark red and brown, rearing on a rock base with a twisted golden horn. A glazed ceramic stag by Panna, brown with pale-tipped antlers, standing on an oval base.
October 21, 2026 at 8:50 AM
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A designer from our story, Abigail Fleming, swapped London fashion for Cumbria – "catwalks for colour palettes." Ben the Hoose Interiors, England.

The story: tinyfound.com/p/ben-the-ho...

#InteriorDesign #HomeDecor #Wallpaper
A snug by interior designer Abigail Fleming, with floral wallpaper on the ceiling, matching curtains and two green velvet armchairs. A cloakroom by Abigail Fleming of Ben the Hoose Interiors, with green and white vertical tiles, fox-print wallpaper and a round brass mirror. A vaulted living room by Abigail Fleming, with a tiled chimney breast, a long fireplace and leaf-pattern wallpaper on both sides. A bedroom by Abigail Fleming, with blue leaf-pattern wallpaper on one wall and a rattan-shade pendant above the bed.
October 20, 2026 at 10:12 AM
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He set up his own workshop in 2016 because he had no control over quality or lead times. Nicolas Tranchant, a French engineer in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, runs a custom silver jewelry workshop: tinyfound.com/p/vivalatina...

#Jewelry #Handmade #SilverJewelry
Silver Mexica-collection ring by Vivalatina, engraved "Mexico 1970 1986 2026" around a raised soccer ball. Gold pendant with turquoise inlay in a Mexica-style geometric design, by Vivalatina.
October 19, 2026 at 7:30 AM
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"Eventually I started taking those photographs into Photoshop and changing them into something more." – Suzanne Kaltbaum, fine art photographer, US. Her street and travel shots become limited-edition prints: tinyfound.com/p/suzann-k-f...

#Photography #Art #WallArt
Suzanne Kaltbaum's "A Parisian Moment": a woman with a red umbrella walks past black-and-white striped columns in a soft, painterly street scene. Suzanne Kaltbaum's "A Quiet Pause": a hooded figure sits on a rooftop wall among mist and green spires, in warm painterly tones.
October 18, 2026 at 4:30 AM
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Ronalds Jaunzems turns stone mortars, flowerpots and candle holders on a stone lathe – a tool and technique that hadn’t existed before. Stone artist, Latvia. About €6 on ads in ten years.
tinyfound.com/p/stonedecor...

#Sculpture #Handmade #StoneCarving
A granite sign stone by Ronalds Jaunzems with a carved bell niche, inscribed “Bejas skola 1867–2023”, as he sets it upright in a yard. Ronalds Jaunzems shaping a rough granite boulder into a smooth bowl in his wooden workshop in Latvia.
October 17, 2026 at 6:33 AM
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“Instagram gets attention, but a newsletter gets belief.” Heather Rae, needlepoint artist, USA. Her $575 Mimi sold out on day one – to a newsletter subscriber, not an Instagram follower. The story: tinyfound.com/p/heatherrae...
#Needlepoint #Handmade #FiberArt
Heather Rae, needlepoint artist, sitting on the studio floor among her needlepoint canvases, tapestry bags and a dress form wearing a stitched skirt with oranges. tinyfound card for Heather Rae Atelier – $0 on ads, a $575 piece sold out in a day, a newsletter of about 1,200 subscribers next to 37,600 Instagram followers.
October 16, 2026 at 11:37 AM
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“In general I don’t build what I want, I build what clients will pay for.” – Craig Thibodeau, puzzle furniture, Virginia. How videos of his pieces being solved bring in nearly every commission: tinyfound.com/p/craig-thib...

#Woodworking
Craig Thibodeau’s Roentgen Puzzle Desk with its drawers and hidden compartments opened Automaton Table by Craig Thibodeau with its top lifted and inner drawers and trays fanned out
October 15, 2026 at 8:39 AM
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Klinta Lapsa paints large abstract oils in Latvia. About 200 buyers so far – most through Instagram. Saatchi Art and Artfinder brought her no sales at all.

Artists who sell online: which art platform actually brought you a buyer – and which one only took fees?
#ArtistsOnBluesky
October 14, 2026 at 9:48 AM
tinyfound.com
This week in the tinyfound email: an ice cream scoop funded overnight by one article, glass bought unseen, firewood that turned into furniture, and drawings on Lay's chip bags.

Six makers a week, in their own words. Next issue Tuesday:
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Stories of independent makers, artists, designers and small businesses, in their own words – how they work, how they find customers, and where to find them.
tinyfound.com
October 13, 2026 at 9:46 AM
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Italo Armone once ordered a kitchen island 4 cm bigger than the project. He didn't wait for the client to notice.

How his studio, riformae, in Catanzaro, Italy, gets most of its clients by word of mouth: tinyfound.com/p/italo-armo... #InteriorDesign
A kitchen with a dark wood island and a round orange wall panel, designed by Italo Armone’s studio riformae. A kitchen with an orange cabinet door, a checkered floor and a red table, designed by Italo Armone’s studio riformae. A dining area with a red oval table and globe pendant lights, designed by Italo Armone’s studio riformae. A living room with a concrete column and a panther-print wall, designed by Italo Armone’s studio riformae.
October 12, 2026 at 10:19 AM
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tinyfound tells the stories of independent makers, artists, designers and small businesses, in their own words: how they started, how they work, and how they find their customers.

Newest: Aldo Boscolo shapes Murano glass freehand in the flame – the colors come from metals inside the glass.
Aldo Boscolo Blows Murano Glass Freehand. Its Colors Come from Metals Reacting in the Flame
Aldo Boscolo was born on Murano and shapes every piece freehand in the flame, without molds. His earliest customers were tourists who stopped at his workshop window to watch him blow glass – today his...
tinyfound.com
October 9, 2026 at 12:25 PM