Please start by telling us a little about yourself and your studio.

My name is Julie Burk and I own J.Rae's Shabby Cottage Designs. I specialize in vintage prints on fabric, but also love to create shabby cottage chic pillows, sachets and much more! I am a wife, mother of four grown boys, and grandmother of six precious children: four boys and two girls, all under the age of seven. I do what I love, and that is making things using vintage and antique prints! The things of yesteryear are my favorite! Older things seem to have much more character and wonderful history.

If there’s one thing that defines you, what is it?

I love the Lord Jesus, and try to live my life in a way that is full of love for everyone! I try to put that love into my work as well, and create things that people will cherish!

What role does your family play in your art?

My husband, kids and grandkids appreciate my use of vintage items in the creation of my pretties!

Where do you live and what is it like?

I live in a little town in upper north-eastern Arkansas. I love it here! It is a small city great for raising children. I wish they had more outlets for hand created things. There are a lot of wonderful antique stores and flea markets locally though, which gives me the opportunity to find a lot of vintage fabrics, laces and other wonderful items that can be re-created into wonderful shabby cottage treasures.

Where did you learn your medium?

When I was younger my mother was wonderful about teaching me to sew from a young age by putting me into 4-H sewing classes. I always loved all of the home-ec sewing and cooking classes I could take as well. The things I am doing and creating now are far different than the things I made in classes back then however. I have put my own spin on home decor items, and love coming up with new ideas!

What are your goals with your ArtFire studio?

I hope to not only have a successful business with my ArtFire studio, but to inspire others to use beautiful vintage prints of yesteryear in their home decor, and their very own creations. I just want to do what I can to keep some of the beautiful vintage artwork alive in the hearts of this generation.

How did you come to selling online?

I got tired of working in the corporate world, and fell in love with antique and vintage items when searching online for my own home decor. I found some beautiful treasures, and thought, "wow, I think I could make things like that." I started very small just selling a few handmade decorative pillows, and it blossomed from there. I am always striving to come up with new ideas and one-of-a-kind creations!

How did you come to find a home on ArtFire?

A friend of mine told me about ArtFire, and when I logged on and checked it out I thought it was a wonderful and joyous place to find one-of-a-kind creations and awesome vintage treasures! I started by listing just a few items and have been adding more and more as I can. My goal is to have many more items listed within the next couple of months!

Why do you think that buying and selling handmade products benefits society?

There are so many mass produced goods out there. It is such a wonderful thing to have one-of-a-kind creations in your home. Vintage treasures are fun to transform with just a little effort into something wonderful for your home decor. So many artisans strive to put love into all that they do, and strive to share it with others through unique forms of selling like ArtFire. It is always an honor to me to be able to purchase and have in my home, or give as a gift a unique hand crafted item. There is so much heart in art!

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