Hatton Henry is a line of leather goods by Vanessa Vaught. Each bag is hand crafted in our Houston, Texas studio. Due to the nature of working with natural materials, each colorway is limited and often one of a kind.
Our shop is the namesake of two true American entrepreneurs, George Hatton Vaught and George Henry Vaught (Vanessa’s Grandpa). Better known to the saddle making world as G.H. Vaught & Son, they produced saddles, harnesses, men’s belts, and more out of their Rockwall, Texas based leather workshop (pictured above) for over 100 years.
Teresa L. Staley is a Multidisciplinary is a Houston based artist, she was born in Australia and grew up in the West Houston area.
Teresa has a degree from The Art Institute of Houston, graduating with honors with a degree in Visual Communications. She has many years of experience as a fine artist, faux finisher and muralist. She has had her decorative painting company for over 20 years and has worked for many of Houston’s elite.
The genre/style of Teresa Staley’s fine art could be described as eclectic; merging romantic fantasy and realism. She mainly works in acrylic, oil, digital and mixed media. Her favorite subject matter includes exotic and powerful women from different cultures, pop art and mixed media abstracts.
“My art is continually evolving found through life’s experiences, observations, and experimentation with many different mediums. My greatest joy is to paint, draw, design and create in many different forms without limits. My life’s work has been in the arts; this is what I know and love best.
I’m an old hippie whose jewelry making began 20 years ago when on a dare my wife signed me up for a beginner beading class at a local bead shop. I was hooked pretty quickly and began making women’s jewelry using silver, stone and crystal beads and constantly learning techniques to make better pieces. While beading is still a passion, most of my work now is with chain and wire wrap.
Five years ago on yet another dare, I began making rings from old silver coins. I don’t cut or solder the coins. One coin makes one ring and the detail from both sides of the coin is preserved and visible. I fell in love with working metal, and am constantly learning new techniques and exploring the boundaries of turning old coins into cool jewelry. Taking something like a 100-year-old coin and turning it into something it was never intended to be has been an unbelievably rewarding journey, and I love that the possibilities are endless.
All natural exquisite henna tattoos painted on skin freehand by myself, a third-generation Henna Artist, it will surely leave you mesmerized. Also, you will see a beautiful display of unique and intricate painting done with Henna and acrylic on canvas, glass, and gourds with vibrant colors. www.hennacompany.com
When I paint, I watch how color interacts and speaks with other colors as I lay them down on the canvas. The relationship that the colors have with each other fuels my paintings and is the emphasis of my composition. I look to Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings and appreciate her soft lines and vivid elements. I often think of a painting and have the image and title in my mind for weeks before it is put to canvas. It reminds me of Van Gogh’s quote “I dream my painting and I paint my dream.” I have created many series over ten years and feel that it will be hard to limit my style and subject matter moving forward. Van Gogh is noted saying” Love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well.” My subject matter is broad, for I find beauty in many things. My paintings are bold, with texture being an element that I use without boundaries.
I create fused glass in my studio; beginning with sheets of glass, I cut, stack, and shape pieces and then fuse them together to create original functional art. Most are sandblasted and fire polished to give a matte finish to add an extra dimension to the art piece.
Peculiar Sentiments boasts of completely unique, handcrafted leather cuffs, bib necklaces, and a variety of jewelry and accessories made from repurposed and found items. Though some of our jewelry features unique new pieces, our love is for vintage jewelry, antique buttons, repurposed hardware, pocket watch parts, clock pieces or any other re-loved and re-discovered treasures, clustered together for a vintage look. Each piece carries its own delightful story. Every cuff is unique, featuring focal pieces carefully selected and clustered into an exquisite work of wearable art. www.PeculiarSentiments.cominstagram.com/peculiarsentiments 936-870-6993
An artisan, photographer and entrepreneur, Natalie has been creating unique designs since she was 13 years old. Repurposing anything and everything from jewelry, furniture, clothing, and even recipes, Natalie’s driving passion is to turn something old and loved into something new and beautiful, while preserving the heart and soul of the original piece.
In October 2012, Natalie launched her business, Peculiar Sentiments. Creatively combining her only available resources: her courage and creativity, a stock of remnant leather, and vintage jewelry from her late grandmother she began creating unique handcrafted cuff bracelets. Encouraged by her family, friends, and customers, Natalie began expanding her repertoire beyond cuff bracelets, to include bib necklaces, earrings, hats, and much more.
Nancy and Tuz Adams at TheTinArmadillo.com We take the ordinary tin can and elevate it into an unusual and beautiful piece of art with the help of a torch and hand molding. Every item is hand-cut with no patterns creating a patina and shape unique to that particular can. Just like the armadillo….he’s an enjoyable mystery! Lanterns create elegant illuminations…Planter/windchimes sound from lids…Creatures that make you chuckle….and sculpture you simply enjoy either inside or out in the garden. All cans are donated…creating a circle of useful life for Mr.Tin. TheTinArmadillo.com 713-303-5279
Back in the early Seventies, during Earth Day’s inception, I was a young teen experimenting with torches and metal…copper, tin, brass etc. I came upon the idea of working with the cans, and it evolved into creating saleable pieces, for which I traveled to juried shows that eventually paid my way through The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Flash forward nearly forty years. Yikes! We still have far too many cans going into the trash… My husband bought me a torch for Valentine’s day so we could resurrect my tin art and create new and more mature refined pieces for the twenty-first century.
The Fish Sculpture on our website is an original, now literally a timeless antique!
My technique is meticulous, obsessive, chaotic yet organized and is in every way, just like me. I bring excitement with color, a sense of flow with texture and the intention to provide joy and delight for the viewer. I have chosen one rule as a guideline to my technique, to create any color, texture, line…from tiny strokes. It is my version of pointillism with a twist and the added energy of spontaneous abstract forms. This technique is as much a part of me as every cell in my body. http://www.mmelgar.com
I’ve been creative since I was little although I didn’t get into painting until my early adulthood. I’ve lived about 1/3 of my life in Mexico and the other 3rds in the U.S. My parents liked to move a lot when I was little. I believe this constant moving has made me adaptable and has given me a great confidence when dealing with expected and unexpected changes in my life.
I moved to Houston in June of 2009. Prior to that I had lived in San Antonio for about 15 years! The longest I’ve lived anywhere. One thing I’ve loved about Texas is the sunsets. Although I don’t get inspired to imitate nature per se because I mostly paint abstract now, the feelings I get when looking at the beauty in our world does give me the motivation to create something beautiful of my own.
I’ve been doodling since I can remember and now I doodle with paint on a canvas. I come up with a random form/image/design that I first doodle and from those sketches or doodles I pick what I feel will look good as a painting. When I start a painting I have a general idea about colors and an idea from the sketch what it may look like. However with paint, my doodles do all kinds of things that are unexpected and it’s always exciting to see the final result!
David Mercado is an artist who resides in Austin, Texas. In the beginning, his imagery focused on the beauty, strength, and movement of hummingbirds—a series that gained him national recognition by their popularity. As his career progressed, however, an exciting new abstract collection emerged which illustrated not only his range as an artist, but showcased the evolution of depth and complexity within his work.
It is the striking imagery of Mercado’s latest venture, however, which reveals a much more personal side of the artist. His “Virgen de Guadalupe” series gives a profoundly intimate glimpse into the faith and heritage which have inspired him. The series unveils an incredible transformation of traditional, iconic imagery into complex, abstract renderings of the Virgin’s image onto board, paper, and furniture pieces. Mercado’s style flawlessly blends the old and new to produce this new intriguing mix of vivid, soul-jarring, and contemporary pieces. @davidmercadoatxEmail David
