It’s a well-know refrain for entrepreneurs everywhere: Every day I’m hustlin’. And that’s rarely more true than during the year’s final months, when harvest festivals, craft markets, and holiday bazaars pepper the calendar.
On the following pages, meet five small business owners who have harnessed the joy of creating to fashion whimsical and one-of-a-kind products and gifts.
Zoo & Roo
Amy Olszak
It was love at first sight when I set eyes on Amy Olszak’s sarcastic plant markers several years ago. Brightly colored, modern garden labels with tongue-in-cheek phrases such as “Next Victim,” “Water Me,” “Rootin For Ya,” and “I Will Survive” struck a chord with my own black thumb tendencies.
“I kill any plant that comes my way,” Olszak admits. “I was making (the plant markers) with myself in mind, joking around with myself.”
These humorous markers remain a “surprising bestseller” of Olszak’s business, Zoo & Roo — for which she also makes acrylic earrings, home and garden accessories, cake toppers, stickers, and engraved drinkware.
Need a Holly Springs or Fuquay-Varina Christmas tree ornament? Zoo & Roo makes them. Tiny ghost or pumpkin stud earrings for Halloween? She’s got those, too. What about North Carolina–themed waterproof stickers for water bottles or laptop cases? Check.
“I’ve always been a colorful personality,” says Olszak, currently sporting purple streaks in her otherwise blonde hair. “I like bright colors and happy, positive affirmations, and I infuse that into the things that I make.”
Hundreds of colorful sheets of acrylic line the shelves of her studio, a renovated third-floor workspace in her family’s Holly Springs home, waiting to be transformed into a new pair of earrings or personalized cupcake toppers.
“I think most artists get inspiration from the world around, whether it’s outside walking around in nature or, more recently, the books that I’ve been reading. I immerse myself in something, and it sparks a little idea, and the next thing I know, I have something new that I’m working on.”
The wildly popular book A Court of Thorns and Roses inspired Amy Olszak’s recent collection of engraved drinkware, stickers, and bookmarks.
That’s exactly what happened with Zoo & Roo’s most recent collection, an officially licensed assortment of drinkware, bookmarks, and stickers based on the #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling book A Court of Thorns and Roses and subsequent sequels by Sarah J. Maas.
“I read it once through and I was in love with it so much, I immediately started it back over and read it again,” says Olszak, of the five-book fantasy series. “I didn’t really want to leave the world, and all these ideas and my favorite quotes just kept bouncing out at me. So one day I started doodling.”
Olszak connected with Maas’ team, who loved her work, and quickly brought her into the “Maasiverse” with an official license agreement.
“The centerpiece of the collection is this gorgeous 40-ounce tumbler with full wrap engraving. I found these tumblers that engrave gold or rainbow, so it makes it feel so much more magical, like the spirit of the books,” Olszak says.
Olszak hopes to develop additional book-based collections, inspired by Maas’ other series and more popular romantasy novels (any Fourth Wing fans out there?).
“It gets really exciting when you come across someone who has read the book. I know there’s a whole world of people out there that are just as obsessed as I am.”
“I love creating so much,” Olszak says. “It’s just the best feeling in the world to know that other people appreciate what I do as well.”
Kokedama Kulture
Vicky Rivera
Vicky Rivera’s small business started as many do: a joyful creative outlet amid the pulls of motherhood, homemaking, and caretaking. Spurred on by mentoring from her mother-in-law, Rivera got her hands dirty, literally, creating kokedamas — a Japanese art of planting similar to bonsai.
“It’s basically a potless, fun way to have your favorite house plants,” says Rivera.
“It’s like making a giant mud pie … then I take the plant and put it in the soil ball, then wrap it with green preserved moss. Then I bind it with fishing line,” Rivera explains, adding it takes around 45 minutes to create one kokedama.
The result is a houseplant with a very rustic, natural aesthetic and creative options for display.
“As long as you have a spot that is getting enough light, you can go wherever your creativity leads you. You can tie a string around it and hang it up. You can set it on a cake stand. You can put it on a pile of rocks. There are no rules,” she says. “Part of the appeal and the fun is that you get to choose and find a cool way to hang it or put it in your house.”
Rivera sells an ever-changing assortment of plants at pop-up events and online for local pickup. Her most popular kokedamas include money trees, ginseng ficus, and ponytail palms.
“All the ones that look like mini trees are really popular,” she says.
Rivera has also made kokedamas of miniature roses and Meyer lemon trees, both of which typically live outside.
Vicky Rivera makes, sells, and teaches the art of Kokedama — potless planting — from her Holly Springs home.
“You can really do anything, as long as you’ve got the right soil inside.”
Rivera notes that watering occurs by soaking the root ball, so you’ll need a water-friendly surface and sufficient air flow to deter mildew to display them.
Plants in the home are known to encourage relaxation and a soothing atmosphere. Rivera shares the art of kokedama through workshops at Atlantic Garden Center in Raleigh and in her Holly Springs home.
“Getting your hands dirty, expending some creative energy, and putting together the display is an outlet in and of itself,” she says.
Parcero Studio
Johana Melbert
Parcero Studio’s Johana Melbert will open a brick and mortar location in downtown Raleigh this fall.
“With just yarn and a crochet hook, you can create so many different things,” says Johana Melbert of Parcero Studio. Melbert, a Fuquay-Varina resident, began crocheting and knitting at 8 years old and has returned to her longtime hobby throughout her life for relaxation and recreation.
Parcero Studio specializes in functional fiber arts, such as this laptop cover.
After a career spanning the military, law enforcement, and insurance, Melbert decided to embrace fiber arts as more than a pastime.
“This is really something I want to do, and I want to have the community learn to do it with me,” she says. “All the little girls and teenagers that want to learn how to crochet or knit, I want to be there for that.”
As the owner and artist behind Parcero Studio, Melbert creates functional fiber art with a modern aesthetic. Gone is the stereotype that crocheting is for grandma’s doilies. Using knitting, crochet, and macramé techniques combined with calming, neutral colors, Melbert crafts velvet scrunchies, car coasters, pet beds, water bottle holders, and more.
“I don’t like to make pieces that are just for decoration. … Everything that I do is something that makes your life a little bit easier.”
“One of my bestsellers is my chunky blanket. It is so soft and chunky, but at the same time it is breathable, but keeps you so warm.”
Parcero Studio will open its first brick and mortar location later this fall in Downtown Raleigh. Melbert will offer specialty natural fiber yarn, such as cotton and bamboo, as well as her own handmade product and a selection of items from other local artists. The shop’s focus will be on creating community through workshops, a space for gathering and learning, and a shared love of local art.
“That’s what all this is about, just to have the community involved to come and to learn, and to get together, and to mingle and meet other people who love the art as well,” she says.
Bold Standard
Kathleen Grebe
Bold Standard’s empowering styles often feature meaningful words or phrases incorporated into the design.
It’s impressive to count companies like Adidas, Nike, and T-Mobile among your clients, but Kathleen Grebe found even more job satisfaction with a different business partner: herself.
Leaving 15 years of corporate art direction and brand design, Grebe created her jewelry company, Bold Standard — and a new career.
“I wasn’t sure my 2D skills would support my endeavors in the physical world. I could design a magazine ad in my sleep, but making a tangible object — producing a physical product — that was not in my wheelhouse,” Grebe says.
An artist residency at Savannah College of Art and Design allowed Grebe time and resources to experiment, an experience she calls “an artist’s dream.”
Still, the journey to becoming a full-time jewelry designer wasn’t a straightforward one.
“Back home, I built my own laser cutting lab and started transforming flat sheets of material, like Lucite and wood, into statement jewelry.
“Laser cutting is technical and finicky — an art unto itself. It seems like nothing goes right the first time. … There are days that I still struggle to turn the vision in my head into a physical reality.
“But makers are problem solvers and hustlers. We also tend to be of the DIY persuasion.
I’m a DIY-till-I-die kinda girl.”
Grebe’s pieces combine graphic shapes with vivid colors, and often feature meaningful names or phrases, such as song lyrics or historical figures and texts.
“I call my brand ‘the gold standard of bold.’ The name also conjures up the phrase ‘to take a bold stand.’ A lot of my work is connected to empowerment,” she says.
Consider her bestselling Break the Glass Ceiling collection, featuring light colored acrylic detailed to resemble shattered glass, or her Women of History series, with engraved names of influential female leaders.
“My jewelry is inspired by those who are fearless in fashion and in life,” says Grebe.
As one of the North Carolina Museum of Art’s community artist collaborators, Grebe creates pieces for the NCMA Museum Store and special exhibition pop-ups.
“Collaborating with NCMA offers me a very special creative outlet. I research upcoming exhibits and design jewelry inspired by the exhibit’s art and time period,” she says.
These artist-inspired collections have included works referencing Wassily Kandinsky, Claude Monet, Alphonse Mucha, and Henri Matisse.
“I’m currently working on jewelry for the Venice and the Ottoman Empire exhibit,” Grebe says. The exhibit runs through January.
Sabrina Lee Handmade Dresses
Written by Jessica Mattison
Dressmaker Sabrina Lee did not get a college degree in fashion design. In fact, she studied law at Georgetown and has lived all over the globe — London, Paris, New York, DC, and now Cary — working as an attorney.
While living in Europe, Lee nurtured her creative side with classes in sewing, pattern drafting, draping, and tailoring from renowned design schools such as Central Saint Martins and London’s College of Fashion.
Dressmaker Sabrina Lee remakes thrifted textiles into custom dresses and garments.
“While I’m not formally trained — as in, I didn’t get a degree in fashion — I’ve certainly studied all aspects of it quite intensely on my own,” Lee says.
A self-proclaimed “tomboy” as a child, Lee never expected to pivot toward fashion. Even now, her interest lies less in the clothing itself than in art, design, and self-expression. “I’m interested in sewing as an engineering problem,” she says. “How do I make this thing that I have envisioned in my head?”
After settling in North Carolina and leaving behind London’s high-end fabric shops, Lee turned to local thrift stores in search of interesting textiles. She now gives used fabrics a second life by turning things like blankets into modern wearable garments and accessories.
“I try to find whatever is interesting to me. Sometimes I immediately know what I want to make with it,” she says, “and sometimes it literally just gets washed, folded up, and stuck in my closet. Then like a year and a half later, it emerges as something. I couldn’t tell you what the magical alchemy is. I just know when it’s time.”
Lee specializes in feminine day and special-occasion dresses, with designs ranging from florals to geometric patterns, hand making every piece in her home studio.
She is currently working on a line of garments made from sheer curtains — something readily available at most thrift stores. The practice may seem unconventional, but it leads to spectacular results.
Customers often request commissioned pieces after Lee’s ability to creatively manipulate alternative textiles inspires ideas for their own materials. Shop Lee’s unique designs online as well as at craft fairs and art festivals throughout the Triangle.
