The Boston edition of Bazaar Bizarre is coming up this Sunday, December 7, from noon to 7pm at The Castle at Park Plaza (Arlington and Columbus). It's an opportunity to peruse handmade crafts from local (and far-flung) artists. Learn a new crafting technique, get a little something for yourself, or stock up on those obligatory holiday gifts this weekend.
To help you prepare for the fair, we're running profiles of crafters (courtesy of the wonderful Bazaar Bizarre Boston Blog) all week. These will introduce you to different crafters and aid you in deciding which booths to visit (you probably don't have time for all seven bajillion, but you can try). Today, we're pleased to present Toiluxe... yes, a toilet seat maker.
Who are you and where are you from?
My name is Stephanie Ziobro and I'm from Western Massachusetts. I currently reside in Medford, Massachusetts, and Toiluxe.com is located in my guest room/living room/dining room table. I currently sell primarily online and via word of mouth.
How did you get your start crafting?
The very first toiluxe seat was inspired about two years ago. I had to come up with a gift for a friend who had everything, yet who also lived in a studio apartment. Her toilet seat lid was currently missing and I realized I had been presented with the opportunity to not only give her a unique gift, but a gift that would reside in a space where absolutely none of her other items could reside.
What inspires you the most to create?
The people I meet. I can't tell you the number of times I'll be talking to someone and suddenly the toiluxe voice in my head says "OOH! They would LOVE a Pin-Up Girl/pop-artsy/Jesus/etc seat!"
More on favorite toilet-toppers after the jump. Content from Bazaar Bizarre Boston Blog. Images from Toiluxe Etsy Shop.
What are your favorite materials to work with? Do you have a favorite color palette?
I love retro, campy, kitschy anything. I'm obsessed with Pop-Ink paper, things with Jesus on them, scream queens, pin-up girls, anything that can be attached to something with glue, and I LOVE working with acrylic sealer now that I've learned how to keep it from getting on absolutely everything I own. And I bet Home Depot is wondering where all their Bemis 400s keep going.
What are some other things you like to do when you are not busy making awesome stuff?
I co-own and am the main designer for mottoapparel.com, I build websites and do all kinds of graphic design projects, I love photography and creating things with images—I pretty much just love to make stuff. I have a "real" job and I go to the gym, but I don't necessarily like to do those things.
What should someone shopping at the Bazaar Bizarre Boston stop by your table?
1. I'm cute.
2. My items are fun, yet also very practical.
3. I will have the only Jesus toilet seats in the building.
What is your favorite song or album to listen to while working?
I actually work best while I'm watching really terrible movies on cable, preferably B-rated horror flicks. Painting and decoupage-ing and acrylic-ing has a lot of "down-time" so I love to have crappy dialogue on in the background—bad enough to not be distracting but interesting enough to watch while waiting for things to dry.
Your favorite celebrity or historical figure (dead or alive) shops at your table at the BBB and makes a purchase (work with me here). Who are they, what did they buy and why did it catch their eye?
Hunter S. Thompson would probably buy a toilet seat because in a drug-induced haze, he'll mistake it for a festive holiday cookie, swallow it whole and be constipated for two weeks. Or John Stewart—because if I heard he was going to be there I'd make a seat with his face on it.
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