Meet the Maker
Elderberry Hill
Tell us about yourselves and what you do: We are a sister team. We have been creating goodies and collecting antiques and vintage items our whole lives. As children our mom took us everywhere with her. Flea markets, antique shows, craft shows. It didn’t take us long as little girls to know what we liked and to start collecting fun finds very early on. Janel is an independent spirit who loves nature and sharing her passion for reclaimed items and unique finds. Emily, her husband and 3 children (and one on the way) live on their hobby farm and enjoy teaching their children the more simple way of living.
What is your inspiration when it comes to making: We both have a passion and a drive for reusing materials. We could just be on a hike and find a stick that would make the cutest pumpkin stem. We could be driving down the road and find a roadside find and make something incredible out of it. We are constantly bouncing ideas off of each other. We love the challenge of bringing something that was once considered junk back to life. We both consider ourselves to have old souls. We were taught very young that you used what you could find and had to make something you needed. Going out and buying something new isn’t as fun as making something yourself. The biggest thrill is teaching the kids the same practices of making something yourself and being proud of it.
Is this your full time business or something you do on the side?: For both of us right now it’s more of something we do on the side. In the future we would love to do it full time.
We are just in different seasons of our lives right now. When we do turn it into a full time business we want to make it our main focus. Right now growing ourselves and our families is our main focus and passion.
Where do you create?: We both laughed as we read this question. Picture this, Janel has this pretty little creating space with shelves of vintage canning jars full of sewing notions and stacks of gorgeous vintage feed sack fabrics and little nooks and crannies of all kinds of little gadgets and gidgets to create with. This is where we laughed, Emily sews and creates anywhere she can get 2 seconds to sit down. Passenger seat of the car, baseball practice, the porch while the kids are in the pool, the kitchen counter while dinner is burning on the stove. Last summer I actually set up my sewing machine on the wrap around porch on a rolling cart so I could watch my kids and sew at the same time. Someday I’d like to have a beautiful studio. For now I have embraced the chaos.
What are some of your favorite tools and supplies?: Vintage fabrics, anything rusty, barn wood. Seriously anything we can find that is unique and rare. We like making something that no one would have ever considered making before. Seeing our customers appreciate our creations is such a satisfying feeling.
What can you expect to find in our booth at A Day In The Country?: We have hit the road this summer collecting some really fun vintage items. We are bringing a 1950’s pink child’s 3pc kitchen that is glorious! We are the queens of vintage goodies and clothing! We have found some really fun rustic and farm fresh items too! We have some great primitive items that we have found or made. This year we took a leap and tried something new, we hand dyed our own fabrics with rust and other natural elements to make some gorgeous rustic looking fabric that we made pumpkins out of. They turned out beautiful! We also hit the jackpot in vintage fabrics this year and have made some amazing vintage velvet pumpkins, sweater pumpkins and some adorable fall decor items. Emily will be bringing her funky pumpkin people dolls too! We will also have some great vintage and handmade Christmas items. We take our booth space and jam pack it. It will be brimming with gorgeous and eclectic finds, we promise! We are so excited to be a part of this show and to meet all of you!
Follow Elderberry Hill’s new Instagram page and enter to win a $10 gift certificate to their booth!