What is your shop name & URL, real name, and what do you sell?
My name is Jamie Ribisi-Braley and my shop name is JamieRibisi - http://jamieribisi.etsy.com/ I sell original art including oil paintings, ink and watercolor drawings, photographs, and also giclee prints. My twin sister and I share another shop called Constant Galore found at http://constantgalore.etsy.com/ which we sell our various crafts & vintage items from.
Where do you live? Tell us a about your town.
My name is Jamie Ribisi-Braley and my shop name is JamieRibisi - http://jamieribisi.etsy.com/ I sell original art including oil paintings, ink and watercolor drawings, photographs, and also giclee prints. My twin sister and I share another shop called Constant Galore found at http://constantgalore.etsy.com/ which we sell our various crafts & vintage items from.
Where do you live? Tell us a about your town.
I live in Manchester, Maine which is a beautiful small town just outside of Augusta. We moved here from New York in November of 2007 in order to start a Bed & Breakfast / Artist Retreat. We found a lovely old farmhouse from the 1860's that we're currently renovating to turn into our dream business, Sweetland Retreat. You can watch our progress and send us encouragement through our website: 
http://www.sweetlandretreat.com/ We are very fortunate that the Sweetland sisters that lived here for many years before us knew how to keep a beautiful yard and we are amazed daily by the new flowers and plant life that we find. After this harsh winter, it certainly reminds us why we moved to Maine!
Tell us about your family & pets.
My husband, Brian, is also an artist and the best guy around. He takes wonderful care of me and we're coming up on our first anniversary in September! We recently adopted a Schnoodle
named Sammy (full name: Staff Sargent Samuel Erwin, named after my brother-in-law) He doesn't live up to that ranking, though, cause he's the silliest dog around. We share the house and business with my twin sister, Joy (ribsmalone.etsy.com), whom I've known since the womb. Between the three of us, we're fairly well versed in all things art and are extremely excited to get started on our Retreat.
How long have you been making your craft & what got you into it?
I've been loving and making art for as long as I can remember. I started to get serious about it in high school when I attended a portfolio program for 4 years that prepared me for college. I attended Boston University with the notion that I would be a sculpture major because I enjoyed doing that much more than painting. Luckily, they had a well rounded program that required you to take all art subjects and when I had to make a decision in my second year, I realised that I wanted to challenge myself and learn to be a better painter. I became obsessed with color and it's been a wonderful love affair ever since!
Do you feel like your craft is related to where you live?
Now that I love in Maine, I see colors and nature that is new to me-- it definitely influences my work. Sometimes as I drive around I see some awesome color combinations and I take a mental note and apply it to my next canvas. I also have a real studio for the first time in a long time and it faces out to my back yard. Having a good view of a beautiful environment is very
inspirational.
Tell us about the awesome craftspeople that you've met around Maine-- have you collaborated or met with any Maine Team members?
I love the Maine team! I've met such wonderful people that I can't name them all but I will try to name a few. Bob from heroncovewoodcarving and his wife Sydne are the nicest people that I've met in Maine so far! I first met them at a team get-together at Jennifer's house (whimsidoodle) and we stayed there so late shooting the breeze. I love to learn about people's craft/art and how and why they got into it. I love that Bob uses cast off wood from his boat building business to create his wonderful (and *very* soft) utensils. Everyone that comes to Sweetland Retreat will watch me cook breakfast with his spatula! Roxy (gigglinggnome/roxyjewelry) is literally a neighbor living in the next town and we have had a craft night together and our husbands bonded over environmental madness. I also have met some wonderful local artists around my town-- I joined the Harlow Gallery and they are *the* nicest business that I've ever worked with. They have so many events going on and it really inspires me to keep creating.
I haven't collaborated with any team members yet but let me know if you have any ideas!
What are your plans for the future? (Life and/or craft)
The first major plan is to get Sweetland started and to help out the local economy a little by giving local artisans the opportunity to teach classes and make some extra income. We also strive to create a community of artists locally and internationally and can't wait to see what this will bring into our lives.
For my personal work, I'm looking forward to really getting my work out into the world which is a new experience for me. I had been very private about my artwork previously and now I'm ready to share!
http://www.sweetlandretreat.com/ We are very fortunate that the Sweetland sisters that lived here for many years before us knew how to keep a beautiful yard and we are amazed daily by the new flowers and plant life that we find. After this harsh winter, it certainly reminds us why we moved to Maine!Tell us about your family & pets.
My husband, Brian, is also an artist and the best guy around. He takes wonderful care of me and we're coming up on our first anniversary in September! We recently adopted a Schnoodle
named Sammy (full name: Staff Sargent Samuel Erwin, named after my brother-in-law) He doesn't live up to that ranking, though, cause he's the silliest dog around. We share the house and business with my twin sister, Joy (ribsmalone.etsy.com), whom I've known since the womb. Between the three of us, we're fairly well versed in all things art and are extremely excited to get started on our Retreat.How long have you been making your craft & what got you into it?
I've been loving and making art for as long as I can remember. I started to get serious about it in high school when I attended a portfolio program for 4 years that prepared me for college. I attended Boston University with the notion that I would be a sculpture major because I enjoyed doing that much more than painting. Luckily, they had a well rounded program that required you to take all art subjects and when I had to make a decision in my second year, I realised that I wanted to challenge myself and learn to be a better painter. I became obsessed with color and it's been a wonderful love affair ever since!Do you feel like your craft is related to where you live?
Now that I love in Maine, I see colors and nature that is new to me-- it definitely influences my work. Sometimes as I drive around I see some awesome color combinations and I take a mental note and apply it to my next canvas. I also have a real studio for the first time in a long time and it faces out to my back yard. Having a good view of a beautiful environment is very
inspirational.Tell us about the awesome craftspeople that you've met around Maine-- have you collaborated or met with any Maine Team members?
I love the Maine team! I've met such wonderful people that I can't name them all but I will try to name a few. Bob from heroncovewoodcarving and his wife Sydne are the nicest people that I've met in Maine so far! I first met them at a team get-together at Jennifer's house (whimsidoodle) and we stayed there so late shooting the breeze. I love to learn about people's craft/art and how and why they got into it. I love that Bob uses cast off wood from his boat building business to create his wonderful (and *very* soft) utensils. Everyone that comes to Sweetland Retreat will watch me cook breakfast with his spatula! Roxy (gigglinggnome/roxyjewelry) is literally a neighbor living in the next town and we have had a craft night together and our husbands bonded over environmental madness. I also have met some wonderful local artists around my town-- I joined the Harlow Gallery and they are *the* nicest business that I've ever worked with. They have so many events going on and it really inspires me to keep creating.
I haven't collaborated with any team members yet but let me know if you have any ideas!What are your plans for the future? (Life and/or craft)
The first major plan is to get Sweetland started and to help out the local economy a little by giving local artisans the opportunity to teach classes and make some extra income. We also strive to create a community of artists locally and internationally and can't wait to see what this will bring into our lives.
For my personal work, I'm looking forward to really getting my work out into the world which is a new experience for me. I had been very private about my artwork previously and now I'm ready to share!
Interested in being interviewed? Email me- jamieribisi {at} gmail.com