Craft:

If you like to shop for indie art and design goods look no further than Elsewares.com. Where else can you get a robot boy t-shirt, vintage record bowls, a recycled soda can cuff, and a whole array of cute cards -- all in one place? We are so happy to have this cool web shop be one of our advertisers too! Just in time for the holidays, I got a chance to talk to the founder of Elsewares, Ryan Deussing on the inspiration for his shop and his picks for cool holiday gifts.

Nat: Please tell us about why you started the Elsewares shop?

Ryan: I pretty much started ELSEWARES because I needed something like it and nothing existed. There wasn't anyplace online that made it easy to find innovative products from artists and designers. That's what I wanted. And then I started to talking to designers and I found out they wanted it too. So I bought a digital camera, called in a few favors from my friends who build web sites, and made it happen. That was just over two years ago and we're still doing more or less the same thing - making good design easy to find. Only with better photos.

Nat: Why do you think independent art and design are so important nowadays?

Ryan: All kinds of art staves off mediocrity, indifference, and death. The way I see it, creativity is a survival mechanism and design is just one means of sharing creativity with others, of benefiting the world with your enthusiasm. Independent design is about authentic, unbridled creativity and I think that's the key to it's popularity and success. It has heart.

Nat: How do you find such beautiful and interesting things to sell in your shop?

Ryan: We're always looking - there's no secret, we just always have our eyes open for new ideas. Plus we encourage people to contact us and we get submissions every day.

Nat: What's one thing on your holiday wish list?

Ryan: Sauna Box. I'm not getting one - in fact I don't have anyplace to put one - but I totally want one!

Nat: What are some Elsewares goods that make cool holiday gifts?

Ryan: Early leaders in the holiday popularity contest include:

Baseball Cuffs ($25)

Foxy & Winston Holiday Cards ($20 for set of 5 cards)

Hug Salt & Pepper Shakers ($22)

and these awesome ornaments! ($20 for a set of 2)