Melanie Gehrke’s [BS-Art Education ’08] house is a gallery of finished projects created from do-it-yourself craft kits she assembles herself. Walking through her Madison home, you’ll notice a tiny copper wall hanging near the kitchen, four coasters on the living room coffee table and a copper clip display holding three photos.
“I can kind of think about where there’s a space in my house that I want something and what I want to put there,” Gehrke says. “I start with the end and work backward.”
Her company, The Mad Makery, helps give others the same sense of accomplishment she gets by creating functional décor items.
“I think working with your hands is super important,” Gehrke says. “They’re still going to make along the way, but I’ve kind of gone through and hopefully eliminated all of the pitfalls.”