VIDEO: Fiber artist turns ideas into ‘Buckets Gone Wild’
Georgia Manning Lewis is on the lookout for ideas to make everyday life simpler, convenient and a lot more glamorous.
With her patterns, a seamstress can turn a kitty litter bucket into a carry-all for gardeners, new mothers and hobbyists.
A coffee mug can become a desk organizer, a popular gift item that’s unique, handy and fun.
All it takes is a pattern, a bit of cloth, an eye for a seam and skill at the sewing machine.
There’s a resurgence in interest in fiber arts, and the artists are legion, it seems, as Lewis has turned her skill at pattern-making into Buckets Gone Wild, a profitable business selling patterns through catalogs, on the internet and through pattern distributors, including the most famous of all -— Simplicity.
Lewis was director of nursing from 1993 to 1997 at Conway Regional Medical Center. In 2004, while still working as director of advanced nursing practice for the Arkansas State Board of Nursing, Lewis joined a doll-making club.
“I made the first organizer, the Tote-all-Bucket, from a 5-gallon bucket to carry my soft-dollmaking supplies,” Lewis said. “The club members asked me to teach a class so they could make their own. We had tons of fun, and I have taught classes since.”
By the time she retired, she was making patterns for more kinds of Buckets Gone Wild.
Who are these kindred spirits who have found Lewis and her patterns?
Quilters, weavers, doll makers, young mothers, stay-at-home moms and fiber artists love Lewis’ patterns.
She sells patterns by the hundreds to distributors, and since she developed a website, www.bucketsgonewild.com, she sells directly from her home studio, once the family’s formal dining room.
For instance, order a Jitter Bucket pattern online, pay with credit card online and a PDF of the pattern will be sent by e-mail. A historic skill — sewing — is served by high-tech methods.
She has sent patterns all over the world, including North Pole, Alaska, and to Cape Horn, the tip of South America.
Her newest creation is the Nook-Kind, a tote for an E-book reader with pockets inside and out and a sturdy strap that discourages purse snatchers.
(See Georgia Lewis describe the Nook-Kind at www.thecabin.net)
“I’m sure women could buy a tote anywhere,” Lewis said. “I have many store-bought totes, too, but we fiber artists like to put our own touch on what we carry, what we use. It’s a way to show our originality, our personality.”
These artists go to a lot of workshops, conventions, trade shows and guild meetings.
Out of need came “The Badge and Jot,” handy for such gatherings.
Here’s the description from Lewis’ website. “It’s a badge holder with an inside pocket, a business card holder and a clear outside pocket for your identification badge. There’s room for money, cards and pens. The covers for the steno pad and composition book turn ordinary items into art or daily journals.”
There’s the secret. An artist, pattern in hand, will choose a fabric that fits her personality. A mundane item, like a 5-gallon bucket, becomes a useful work of art.
Her husband, Roger Lewis, Conway’s guru for all things related to the economy, suggested that she make a tote for his 90-year-old aunt who uses a walker.
Out of that suggestion came The Walker, a pattern Lewis provides for free. The organizer fits over most walkers and “makes a stable holder for newspapers, game supplies, fiber arts and crafts, tissues and water bottles.”
Many of her patterns were first suggestions from friends. And she’s always on the lookout for ideas. Georgia Lewis, the artist, can see possibilities, even in an empty kittie litter bucket.
(Staff writer Becky Harris can be reached at becky.harris@thecabin.net and 505-1234.)
Comments (1)
Add commentWay to go Mrs. Lewis!
I like your positive attitude and admire your skills. Sounds like Mr. Lewis has a good eye too! Instead of whining about things, you did something positive, creative and good for our economy. Entrepreneurs are the life blood of the American economy.