{"id":223372,"date":"2015-07-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-07-24T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/handmade-with-love-at-grossmont-center\/"},"modified":"2015-07-24T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-07-24T07:00:00","slug":"handmade-with-love-at-grossmont-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/handmade-with-love-at-grossmont-center\/","title":{"rendered":"Handmade with love at Grossmont Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

Por Genevieve A. Suzuki<\/p>\n

La Mesa shop owner Katharine Bowen\u2019s heart may be softer than the stuffed animals she crafts by hand.<\/p>\n

Bowen, 27, owns Handmade Market, the newest store in Grossmont Center. She is dedicating 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale of her stuffed animals toward opening a no-kill animal rescue. It\u2019s not entirely surprising that animals are Bowen\u2019s passion \u2014 each of her unique creations is a thoughtful tribute to the spirit of the animal it represents.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have always loved stuffed animals,\u201d Bowen said. \u201cWhen I was a child I had mountains of stuffed animals in my bedroom, which are now mountains of stuffed animals in my parents\u2019 attic. Creating them was a merge of my love for stuffed animals, sewing and real animals.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"IMG_6545webtop\"<\/a>
The stuffed fox was inspired by Handmade owner Katharine Bowen\u2019s grandfather.
(Foto por Genevieve Suzuki)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Additionally, every Handmade pet has a name.<\/p>\n

\u201cI named the fox \u2018Theodore\u2019 and the raccoon \u2018Barbara,\u2019 after my grandparents,\u201d she said. \u201cWhile watching a mother raccoon that came to my porch with her babies [one] night, I was reminded of my grandmother. While incredibly loving and caring, my grandmother will also let you know when you are out of line or acting a fool, much like a mother raccoon. My grandfather is the sly trickster of the family; it only seemed appropriate to make him a fox.\u201d<\/p>\n

The dolls lining the shelves in the little shop, which looks like a crafty Etsy store brought to life, are a sharp contrast to the gadgetry that inhabited the space before Bowen opened Handmade.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am quite familiar with Grossmont Center as I have been a patron for about 20 years. \u2026 It seemed like a very comfortable place for me to begin my shop,\u201d said Bowen, who also lives in La Mesa.<\/p>\n

\u201cI decided to open in Grossmont Center on a whim,\u201d she admits. \u201cI was walking through one day to find the perfect birthday present for my stepfather when I passed the open space I am now in. After spending over an hour trying to find a unique gift, it occurred to me that you cannot really find such a thing at the mall.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"All<\/a>
All the stuffed animals at Handmade are crafted by shop owner Katharine Bowen and given their own names.
(Photo by Genevieve Suzuki<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before Handmade, Bowen sold her work online. She still operates three shops on Etsy: Her main site is LilyandPeabody, where she began with large-scale knitting and debuted her stuffed animals. After the animals took off, she gave them their own shop: TheKittyGram. Her third shop, EdithBarnswallow, focuses on larger home d\u00e9cor items. In the coming months, Bowen said the site will host a children\u2019s book series called Big Kitty and Edie\u2019s Magical Adventures, complete with corresponding mini stuffed characters.<\/p>\n

For those of us who prefer to touch, see and squeeze our prospective stuffed pals, Bowen\u2019s brick-and-mortar shop offers both ready-made stuffed animals and the opportunity for customers to pick a new animal for her to make along with their choice of colors and facial expressions. Bowen\u2019s little zoo features cats, dogs, an opossum, a skunk and an owl. She has also made wolves, pigs, sloths, rabbits and whales. Bowen also creates stuffed animals modeled after beloved pets.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can send me a photo of their pet and I will match their color, markings, and hopefully, their personality,\u201d Bowen.<\/p>\n

\u2014Genevieve A. Suzuki is a freelance writer and former La Mesa Courier editor. Reach her by email at suzukigen@gmail.com. <\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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