Amy Lou Stein, the owner and operator of the eclectic space called Craftwork in Somerville, is leaving after 17 years for a move to Europe. Sales of jewelry and her unique stone art objects go on through her online shop since an announcement Aug. 12 and closing of the store at 259 Highland Ave.
Most of Stein’s work has taken the form of jewelry, but increasingly she seems to have turned to stringing rocks and found objects together with intricate care in patterns reminiscent of weaving. With one piece, she weaves leather strapping to fasten a piece of pearl-colored selenite to a found rock. In another piece, Stein binds a railroad tie she found at Walden Pond.
There’s a charming sense of woo-woo spirituality in Stein’s jewelry and art-making. “Each Magical creation is made entirely by hand with so much love it might break your heart. Sometimes it breaks mine. The remedy is knowing that you are here, in this space, to fill your heart up,” her website reads. It’s bemusing yet endearing; her shop’s presence in Somerville is irreplaceable and will be missed.
Craftwork loaned its space to other artists, artisans and weirdos to show and sell their work through an initiative called “Collect.” Now it’s going to another local mover and shaker, Jenn P. Falk, who will likely teach mindful yoga classes in the space.
Share your own 150-word appreciation for a piece of visual art or art happening with photo to editor@cambridgeday.com with the subject line “Behold.”
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