{image1}Faythe Levine has scratched her self-described "crafty itch" by making things for as long as she can remember.
"The first business venture I made was when I was eight or nine and I learned to make friendship bracelets. Remember those ugly things made out of embroidery floss? I tried to sell them to all my parent's friends," says the 26-year-old creator of Flying Fish Design, a one-woman company that exclusively sells her fresh-and-crafty creations.
Levine previously operated the Flying Fish Gallery in Riverwest, most noted for its incredible sock monkey show featuring hundreds of sock moneys from around the world.
Levine's creations are the cool kids of the craft world. For example, her best selling item -- and her personal favorite -- is a set of six squirrel postcards taken at the intriguingly freaky Sanfillippo Funeral Home in Madison. The cards feature taxidermy rodents riding a horse or drinking a beer and somehow they manage to be creepy and cute -- kind of like Christina Ricci before she sold out and guest starred on "Ally McBeal."
"Who can pass up a squirrel with a beer?" asks Levine.
Levine's playful handiwork also includes matchbooks covered with images from recycled children's dictionaries, felt coin purses and Popsicle stick purses.
"Yup, exactly what they sound like: purses made out of (250) Popsicle sticks," says Levine, who moved to the Midwest seven years ago from Seattle, and currently lives in what she calls the ideal workspace in Riverwest.
"I've found my dream workspace and plan to stay put until they decide to 'revitalize' my building into condos," she says.
Levine's creations are available at Outpost, Beans and Barley, Jackpot, the General Store in Riverwest and her Web site. She will also have a few items at a gallery show in New York City called Drunk vs. Stoned.
What inspires Levine? "My inspiration comes from what I see, who I talk to, what interactions I have, what materials I have or stumble across, the music I listen to ... everything," she says. "My ideas come from idea heaven."
Flying Fish Design's Web site is www.flyingfishgallery.com
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
