WLM WLM Summer 2015 | Page 40

WLM | shop Manni, a native of Germany, opened her first scrapbook store in Alaska after discovering a love of crafting. “I took one card-making class,” she says. “That was it - I was hooked!” Manni’s love of cardmaking, scrapbooking and stamping grew as she discovered other forms of creating. Today, the shop is a crafting mecca. Spend some time browsing through the store and you’ll see Manni’s creativity everywhere. From the perfect Halloween spell book to bedazzled, bucking bronc wooden boxes to unique, hand stenciled signs, “We just keep finding new things – you never know what we’ll start doing next,” Manni adds with a smile. However it’s not just Manni with the creative knack – Joe contributes his talents to the business as well. On our visit, we joked that Joe is an attorney by day, crafter by night, but that’s actually a fairly accurate statement – a long-time attorney in Laramie, Joe has spent years creating functional and artistic pieces with glass. A history with auto glass work led to a request for unique detail by a client – and a new passion was born. Today, Joe sandblasts the iconic Wyoming bucking bronc on everything from Zippo lighters to heavy duty glass pitchers and olive oil cruets. “I 40 Wyoming Lifestyle Magazine | Summer 2015