• Dos & Don'ts For Freelance Photographers

    Dos & Don'ts For Freelance Photographers

    Visual poet and photographer Danny Bittencourt shares interesting advice on how to manage your career as a freelance photographer Choosing which themes to explore in your work, developing your own visual language, managing your routine and timetable, being your own boss... Sounds pretty good, right? Of course, being freelance has a lot of benefits, if and when you can avoid the most common problems. Visual poet and photographer Danny Bittencourt (@dannybbittencourt) is an expert in freelancing. In this post, she shares her dos and dont's for freelance photographers. Discover more in the video below:

  • Materials: Beaded Jewelry

    Materials: Beaded Jewelry

    Discover which materials you can use to create original pieces of jewelry with Daniela Le Feuvre, co-founder of Fatto–a creative space dedicated to making accessories Beads are one of the most versatile items you can use to make jewelry. Thanks to their varying shapes and infinite colors, you’ll be able to find beads for all different designs. Elsa Amigo and Daniela Le Feuvre are experts in jewelry making. Together they founded Fatto–a creative space dedicated to making accessories out of beads. In the video below, they explain which materials you can use to create original beaded pieces.

  • Louis Bicycle Creates One-of-a-kind Embroidered Clothing

    Louis Bicycle Creates One-of-a-kind Embroidered Clothing

    Louis Bicycle creates hand-dyed embroidered clothing, from hoodies to bucket hats Being forced to adapt to new circumstances can take us down unexpected paths. Louis Bicycle (@louisbicycle) was taking a break from tattooing and selling his hand-made screen prints and linoleum block prints at a street fair in San Francisco when the pandemic caused the fair to shut down. During those first few days stuck at home, he picked up a tote bag that he had started to embroider a tiger onto a couple of years before. He finished the bag and put it online. “It got a decent response, so I made another the next day. It just went from there.” Since then, he has put out a variety of clothing—unique pieces that sell out almost immediately. “I've sewn for a long time, even a small amount as a kid. As I got older, I fixed clothes. I had a little wave a few years ago where I made some little embroidered patches. I just did it for a month or so and set it down. I hadn’t done hoodies in the past, just patches and tote bags. I soon figured out a way to put a backing on the hoodies so I could embroider them in a way that it would stay flat.”

  • 5 Textile Artists with Unique Styles You Should Follow on Instagram

    5 Textile Artists with Unique Styles You Should Follow on Instagram

    Get to know some of Koral Antolín’s favorite textile artists In recent years, thanks to some excellent representatives around the world, textile art has been revamped. Textile artists who incorporate traditional techniques with contemporary experimentation have been creating unique and incomparable pieces. Designer, embroiderer, and art director Koral Antolín (@koralantolin) is one of these artists. She creates handcrafted textiles that embody her love for linear drawing and embroidery, with resulting painterly effects.

  • Basic Materials to Start in Woodworking

    Basic Materials to Start in Woodworking

    Patricio Ortega shows us how to execute a home carpentry project using basic tools and materials Patricio Ortega is the founder of artisanal furniture workshop Maderística (@maderistica), where art and design come together to create unique pieces. He teaches the Domestika course Professional Woodworking for Beginners.

  • Cyanotype Tutorial: Printing with Leaves and Flowers
    Teacher Craft

    Cyanotype Tutorial: Printing with Leaves and Flowers

    Learn how to create cyanotype prints without using digital or manual photolithographs with Fábrica de Texturas Cyanotype is a monochromatic artisan technique for printing negatives; it requires a surface treated with a series of chemicals and an object to be placed on top of it (the object can be a photographic negative or anything else that covers the light). When the sun shines on it, the surface darkens, while the covered areas do not, thus leaving a mark with the shape of the object. This is a simple technique that requires few materials. If done properly, it will allow us to create original prints on pieces of paper, cardboard, fabric, and more. In the following video tutorial, Gabriela Rodríguez, from the DIY design workshop Fabrica de Texturas (@fabricadetexturas), teaches us how to get started in cyanotype using some simple elements such as leaves and flowers. Discover it below:

  • How to Create Shapes using the Shape Builder Tool in Illustrator

    How to Create Shapes using the Shape Builder Tool in Illustrator

    Learn to use the Shape Builder tool in Adobe Illustrator and make your workflow easier While it might not be the most well-known tool that you Adobe Illustrator has to offer, it is very useful for working with vectors. The Shape Builder tool allows you to create complex figures using basic geometric shapes and work quickly with different design types. This tool is very straight-forward and easy to use. Once you get to grips with how it works, you’ll be able to work out how to create perfect shapes very quickly using the tools offered by Adobe Illustrator. Here we explain how to use the Shape Builder tool to create shapes in Adobe Illustrator:

  • A Brief History of Botanical Printing

    A Brief History of Botanical Printing

    Discover the history of this naturalistic printing technique with Anabel Torres For any textile design enthusiast or anyone who loves DIY artisan techniques, botanical printing offers a world of possibilities. With it, you can decorate items of clothing, paper, fashion accessories, wall hangings, jewelry, decorative items for your home, and much more. Fashion designer and textile artist Anabel Torres (@anabeltorres) talks us through the origins of this artisanal technique, which can be used to dye any type of fabric with natural pigments.

  • Learn to Use Masking Fluid with Watercolor Paints

    Learn to Use Masking Fluid with Watercolor Paints

    Painter Ale Casanova teaches us how to create interesting effects with watercolor paints and masking fluid Leaving areas blank when painting with watercolors can be very complicated–just a drop too much water and the paint will run all over your page. This is where masking fluid comes in–it’s a liquid that enables you to protect areas of your drawing so that they stay clean and dry. Painter and teacher Ale Casanova (@alecasanova) shows us how to use this tool in our watercolor paintings so that we can achieve original effects, textures, and styles that enhance our final piece. Learn more below: To carry out this exercise, we will need: –masking fluid –an old toothbrush –a nib pen –watercolor paints, brushes, water, paper towels, a portrait to paint

  • What is Shibori?

    What is Shibori?

    Discover this traditional Japanese technique for dyeing textiles Costume and textile designer Carolina Raggio (@carolina_45) reinterprets ancestral techniques to achieve modern results. Carolina is the creative director of her own eponymous brand, for which she develops timeless garments and accessories. In this blog, Carolina explains more about the history of this technique and how you can experiment with it to create unique designs and patterns.

  • What is CNC?

    What is CNC?

    An introduction to this automated manufacturing process CNC stands for computer numerical control. It refers to the automated control of machinery and tools–such as drills, boring tools, lasers, and lathes–to generate physical parts from CAD (computer aided design) files. This manufacturing process is much faster, incredibly precise, requiring very little to no human assistance or interaction. CNC machines have at least two axes, operating along an XYZ plane–X axis (vertical), Y axis (horizontal), and Z axis (depth)–following instructions from a computer. The number of axes usually determines the type of movement a CNC machine can perform. The instructions the machine receives are written in a programming language known as G-code. We can use CAM (computer aided manufacturing) software to automatically convert CAD files into G-code.

  • Store Window Dressing: The Materials

    Store Window Dressing: The Materials

    Kiosko Creativo takes us through the materials you’ll need to bring a concept for a store window to life Window dressing is a fusion of lots of different disciplines: art direction, crafts, architecture, sculpture, installation, and, of course, design. It involves experimenting with colors, materials, perspectives, and depth to create optical effects that attract the attention of passers-by.

  • Learn 3 Fundamental Pottery Techniques

    Learn 3 Fundamental Pottery Techniques

    Lola Giardino teaches basic ceramics techniques so that you can start making your own creations Lola Giardino's (@lolagiardino) relationship with pottery started in 2011 as a way to escape from digital life. She tried different crafts but soon fell in love with ceramics and developed the skill to shape incredible objects just using hand building, a technique where the beauty and uniqueness of the pieces come from little imperfections. Lola shares the three basic modeling techniques so that you can also become an expert in hand building:

  • Ale Rambar's World Is Made of Paper

    Ale Rambar's World Is Made of Paper

    This Costa Rican architect and visual artist creates layered sculptures of portraits and human bodies. Ale Rambar (@alerambar) is a Costa Rican artist whose work is based on the topographic analysis of the human body. If you have ever seen a topographical 3D map, the kind architects use when creating the model of a building, you'll find his three-dimensional compositions made with layers of paper incredibly familiar, yet mesmerizing. Each piece is cut and assembled layer by layer, creating incredibly detailed scenes and portraits full of meaning. Topographies (2016) Topographies was Rambar’s first collection of layered sculptures made of paper. This innovative technique was inspired by his architecture studies. “After analyzing kilometers of topography, I began to remember how as a child, I imagined how the mountains of the Braulio Carrillo National Park had the shape of human figures. I then began to generate topographical studies using human beings instead of terrains,“ Rambar explains.

  • 5 Fashion Design Courses to Create Garments From Scratch

    5 Fashion Design Courses to Create Garments From Scratch

    Learn how to design clothes and accessories with resources at hand If you have the fashion design bug, but the idea that you need very specialized knowledge is preventing you from giving it a try, this post is for you. These experts in fashion design and artisanal techniques will help you discover that manufacturing clothes and accessories using different contemporary styles is easier than it looks. Textile Silkscreen Printing with Stencil, a course by Festela Store In this course, you will learn to create unique garments by stamping your own designs with artisanal techniques explained by Festela Store, a clothing brand that has adopted the slow fashion movement. The method is applicable to all kinds of garments. You will start by creating a mood board to inspire you, experiment with various materials, and create your own fabric stamps.

  • Fill Your Ceramics With Color With This Simple Marbling Technique

    Fill Your Ceramics With Color With This Simple Marbling Technique

    Paula Casella Biase, potter and founder of Bambucito, shows us how to marble our pieces quickly and easily The creation and personalization of ceramic pieces goes beyond modeling, although this is an essential part. The shape of the piece is completed with the decoration that we want to apply, and the use of glazing techniques usually contributes to a much more attractive and unique finish. One of the simplest glazing techniques is marbling, with which we can use a few colours and some heat to create more interesting work. To help you learn to apply marbling, ceramicist Paula Casella Biase (@paulacasellabiase) explains her technique in the video below:

  • Screen Printing Tutorial: How to Make Handmade Packaging
    Teacher Craft

    Screen Printing Tutorial: How to Make Handmade Packaging

    Discover basic tips to create packaging at home with Tatabi Studio’s screen printing technique Using DIY techniques for your brand identity allows you to create an original and unique style. Among the techniques that help us achieve this aesthetic is silk-screen printing, a popular methods for brands to boost their designs. That's why designer Elena Sancho, founder of Tatabi Studio (@tatabi), teaches us how to use this printing technique to create unique packaging with a lot of personality. You can watch the tutorial here:

  • What Is Furniture Restoration?

    What Is Furniture Restoration?

    Discover the principles and history of this surprisingly modern vocation Furniture has, of course, existed throughout history: humans have always needed a place to rest their bodies and store their things. It wasn’t until the late 19th and early 20th centuries, however, that the historical and cultural value of furniture, and, in turn, the importance of restoring and conserving it, was recognized. The craft itself also became a means of practically understanding the processes that created the antiques we admire. A community of restorers and museums blossomed and continues to share their findings openly to ensure the authentic preservation of historical artifacts and the skills and techniques used to make them. The Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute lays out three main principles of furniture restoration: The minimization of deterioration (preservation) The consolidation (stabilization) of artifacts as they currently exist Repair/replacement (compensation or restoration) of existing damage One of the most ambitious feats of recent restoration was the work on the chair of Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France until her death during the French Revolution in 1973, by the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

  • What Is Upcycling?

    What Is Upcycling?

    Upcycling champions Emma Friedlander-Collins and Ximena Corcuera guide us to environmental awareness in a creative way

  • How to Make a Lucky Knot

    How to Make a Lucky Knot

    Learn how to create a simple decorative knot for use in macramé with Belén Senra An easy way to get started in the fun and therapeutic world of macramé is by learning one of its most basic decorative knots: the lucky knot. All you need is a rope and the desire to express your creativity. In the following video, the textile artist who founded the brand RanRan Design, Belén Senra (@belensenra), shows you step by step how to create this simple and beautiful Chinese knot.

  • How to Create a Decorative Tassel

    How to Create a Decorative Tassel

    Learn a quick way to create tassels to decorate clothes, jewelry, and accessories with Binge Knitting Binge Knitting (@bingeknitting) is a duo of designers and weavers made up of Bárbara Bremer and Carolina Herrera. They knit all kinds of fashion and home accessories with traditional crochet or crochet and needle techniques. Both infuse in their pieces with a contemporary vision of design and sustainable fashion.