Happy Maker Monday!
This Monday we are featuring Dave Charest of Charest Studios! We love his eclectic and varied work. You can find everything from amazing wire baskets to folk art on his shop! We love that Dave continually experiments with different types of art and pursues his creative wanderings. It has lead him to produce an array of interesting artwork and the ability to turn his creating into a full-time career! Charest Studios also has functional items that can bring artistic flair to any space. We can’t help but think all produce was meant to sit in one of Charest Studio’s hanging wire baskets! To see more of Dave’s work and learn more about his journey keep reading!
: Tell us a little about yourself.
: I live in Bantam, Ct. with my wonderful wife, two chihuahuas Brody and Chica and our cat Bella. I am a full time artist who is fortunate enough to have a separate studio on my property that is even bigger than my house. I love making and designing things and doing many various types of art work.
: You have been making art for over 20 years, but started selling your work on Etsy after hearing about it from a friend. Can you let us in on how CharestStudios started, its early days, and how you got to where you are today?: After several years of making and accumulating art for my own pleasure, I was encouraged by family and friends to try and sell my work. In 2008, one of these friends told me about Etsy. As soon as I heard about Etsy, I became excited to check it out, and i opened my own shop that night. I started out with mainly mobiles and small wire sculptures. I was very excited with my first sales and became interested in offering other items. As I was working with wire and making the mobiles, I became familiar with wire and became interested in vintage baskets from the depression era. I started experimenting with various basket making techniques with wire. One of these baskets was a large table bowl type basket. I liked the basket, however I felt that it needed something. I remember picking up the basket and looking at it from all different angles.. It was then that I got the idea that if I could make the shape more round, put an opening in the front and make it a hanging basket, that it would be something that I would really like. And thus the sphere basket was born and it was a great success. It still remains the most popular item. This also encouraged me to work on other basket designs, which led to the whole Charest Studios basket line. As well as the basket line, I continued to add mobiles, folk art, lighting, abstract art or whatever comes to me.
Castle Foundations 