Handmade Habitat

The Burlap Market Tote
Handmade Habitat is an eco-friendly clothing, home and accessories line with just one busy lady behind the wheel of the operation. Handmade Habitat is about bringing the handmade to all aspects of your life – for you, the home, the cat & with love for the Earth.

Handmade Habitat's booth at Fenton Street Market

1. Who are you, where are you from and what do you sell? How are you known at the market?
I’m Amina! I just graduated from UMD where I majored in Environmental Science, I live in Takoma Park and I make/sell a lot of things – clothes, bags, home decor and cat toys! Sometimes even ties, scarves, pillows, and lots of hand-dyed wearable pieces- basically, whatever I’m in the mood to make. People know me at the market as the girl with the cute tent.

2. How did you get started in your business and what is your future vision?
I couldn’t find a job one summer and boom! I turned my long-time hobby into a business! (Also, my closet had reached a breaking point and couldn’t fit the things I couldn’t stop making! Creating is an addiction for me.) My ultimate goal is to open my own shop which would also function as a dual space for other small-scale handmakers and artists to sell their work and a community space for all to engage with the handmade through demos, workshops and even a regular DIY spot!

3. Tell us why you do what you do. What is so special about your business?
I think we can make a large environmental and social impact through the handmade. It has a smaller impact on the environment than mass-production of items and contains a lot of value in its transference from the person who made it to the person who loves it. I love the personal aspects of the handmade and love to experience this in every sale that I make. I just want my pieces to find loving homes.

4. What is your favorite thing about FSM?
The doughnuts and lemonade!! I can never turn it down. & all the other fun vendors, of course. :)

 

Find Handmade Habitat’s Etsy shop here, but be sure to visit the mobile shop in person at Fenton Street Market!
And yet another blog to keep an eye out for – Of Cats and Crafts – a handmade, DIY, cat-loving, thrift-hounding blog.