Welcome to Muggles Market Monday! We are please to announce a weekly feature spotlighting one of the artisans scheduled to appear at our brand new Muggles’ Market at this year’s Geek Gala. Our first featured artisan is Portable Weirdness. Heather “Snoozepossum” Hamilton took a few minutes to answer some questions about her business and general geekery.
- What kind of items will you be selling at this year’s Muggles Market?I usually have an assortment of walking staffs, wands, stone and bone knives, rocks and fossils, pendulums, rune and ogham sets, jewelry and hair accessories, “Trail Markers”, which is odd, aesthetically interesting mess I find out in the woods, Dead Guys (blinged out skulls), the House Gourdians, and a handful of stuff that may not have any purpose other than being cool to look at. “Questionable Decor, Possible Art, & Primitive Bling” really does sort of sum it up well, because sometimes I don’t even know what I’m going to make till I make it.
- How did you first get started making these things?I’ve made my own accessories and crafty stuff out of natural object for as long as I can remember. It’s a way of relating to natural science on a personal level. Also, I’m kinda picky, but I believe if you don’t like something you should figure out a way to fix it instead of just whinging about it. So it’s sort of a way of putting my dremel where my mouth is ;0)
- What has been one of your favorite projects to work on?I just finished a walking staff made of pyracantha wood, and I’m a bit bummed to be done because it’s not likely that I’ll ever have a piece like it again. I get most of my wood from doing tree and yard jobs and storm clean up, and I had to cut and move one that was around 20′ tall and as big around as my arm. Pyracantha doesn’t usually get that hefty, so it was a real treat to get an opportunity to mess with it. The colors are amazing, and firethorn has a lot of cool folklore attached to it.
- What else can you tell us about yourself?My workshop blurb probably says it best:“Snoozepossum Hamilton was found under a large rock back into the late 60’s and no one ever bothered to put her back. She’s an annoyingly eclectic OBOD hedgewitch nerd landscaper, hiker, and animal care volunteer who makes odd OOAK things into odder OOAK things, sometimes without having the foggiest clue what said things are till she gets them done. General forecast is for scattered afternoon gardening, rocks and fossils, frequent gusts of bone and woodworking, and a 95% chance of critters.”
- So this year’s Geek Gala is about space travel – if you could join any TV/Movie space crew – who would it be and why?Gaaahhhh!!! I have to pick ONE? Out of the lot, it’d have to come down to a tie between being on board the TARDIS and the last Babylon station . . . (rolls d6) . . . and it’s Bab 5 (salutes)
- Check out their website at: www.portableweirdness.ninja
And make plans to come visit them on Saturday, October 22nd at this year’s Geek Gala!