Small Business Spotlight: Bread and Badger

Here at Bee Thinking and Mead Market, we take pride in supporting fellow local small businesses. Both our Southeast Portland shop and online store are stocked with products made by local craftspeople, including gorgeous drinkware from Portland-based business Bread and Badger. We sat down with Amanda Siska, the creator of Bread and Badger, who does all her own designs and sandblasting. Stop into our shop or visit our website to pick up one of Amanda’s bee-adorned coffee mugs or wine glasses.

Can you talk about how Bread and Badger got its start, and where your name comes from?

I’d been selling shoes for a number of years before I decided I couldn’t take it anymore and I needed to draw full-time. I learned about glass etching in 2005 and I’ve been scratching surfaces ever since. Originally, I wanted to be a tattoo artist, but I found that glass engraving with a rotary tool was similar in technique, without the sterilization and possible regret.

In 2008, demand for my hand-carved designs became too high to fill, so my husband, Sean, quit his day job to help me transition to sandblasting. We now sandblast all our glassware and ceramics in our Portland studio, using top-notch professional equipment.

The name comes from the term "bread and butter," because this is our family's main source of income, but I chose the word "badger" because I was inspired by an article in National Geographic about honey badgers. Honey badgers are fearless creatures that will not back down from a fight, and are impervious to venom. They can kill animals many times their size and they eat bees and poisonous snakes. Quitting my job and starting my own business has been one of the hardest things I've ever done, and I am inspired by those tough little creatures every day, which can take on so much that other animals fear.

We carry your coffee mugs and wine glasses etched with bees in our shop. What other products do you make?

Anything that can be sandblasted, pretty much! We focus on drinking vessels, so we have an assortment of glass cups, barware, growlers, and ceramic mugs, which all feature my artwork. I like to draw happy things, so there are a lot of cute animals, and graphics that I think are symbolic of different interests (sugar skulls, knitting, constellations, trees, etc.).

Where do you find inspiration for your original designs?

I mostly look to nature these days, since I don't ever get enough of it in my busy life. I've been inspired by outer space, plants, and unusual animals. I'm also trying to think about icons that people in specific locations relate to, like the desert or the ocean.

What techniques do you use to craft your products?

We sandblast all our own products now, though I sometimes enjoy hand-engraving a very special piece for fun. We also carry some laser-engraved wooden items (magnets and holiday ornaments), and acid-etched brass pendants, which feature my artwork.

Do you have any advice for someone thinking about starting their own small business?

Do your research, find out if your idea is viable, and then jump right in! I think a lot of people overthink things too much at the beginning and never really get started. Also, you won't really know if you'll enjoy your business until you get into the thick of it, so just go for it. Everything is a learning experience.