Hello Craft: Summit of Awesome

I'm going to be a guest speaker at the Summit of Awesome event put on by the lovely people of Hello Craft! This is a huge crafty learning event, held at the Kennedy School McMenamins for 3 days next month. Crafty celebrities from across the county will be there to speak and inspire.

My class is called "Finding Your Niche", and I'll be sharing my experiences and insights at 2pm on Wednesday, June 16th. I'll also be teaching a workshop on glass etching at 1pm on Thursday, and selling my wares at the Show of Awesome from 10am-3pm at the Doug Fir Lounge on Saturday (the day before Father's Day). Whether you have your own small business and want to learn ways to improve it, or you've been thinking of selling your crafts, you should register for the Summit of Awesome now!

Get the full event schedule here. Quote from the Hello Craft website:

The Summit of Awesome is three days of business and technical education seminars as well as hands-on workshops produced by the non-profit Hello Craft. Taking place in the Alberta Arts District of Portland, OR, from June 16 to 18, this year’s Summit is co-produced by Hello Craft’s event partners and PDX craft superstars, Crafty Wonderland and DIY Lounge. Summit seminar topics range from how to organize craft fairs and develop successful product lines to teaching crafters how to prepare taxes and form LLC’s. At the 2nd annual Summit, Craftnote speakers are crafty renaissance man Mark Montano and BuyOlympia founders Pat Castaldo and Aaron Tuller. Full speaker list can be found here. A special addition to this year’s event is the “Show of Awesome,” a 40-vendor craft show on Saturday, June 19, at Doug Fir Lounge.

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Tea Time

Community is sometimes hard to find, so I know how lucky I am to have friends in the crafty community here in Portland, whom I see pretty regularly. I'm hosting a PDX Etsy team Tea Time at our house next Wednesday, May 12th, from 11am-3pm, so we can all catch up now that the big Crafty Wonderland Spring Sale is over.

If you're a member of the PDX Etsy team, check the Tea Time thread in our message board to get directions to my new address. If you're not a member of the team, then why not host your own tea time to gather some friends for an afternoon of gossip and bonding? Taking time out of our busy schedules is absolutely necessary for making those personal connections that often spur on a bout of inspiration!

The photo above was taken at the last PDX Etsy Tea Time, at Mary Kelly's house. Check out the little yellow cream pitcher that Sean and I made her as a housewarming present! Her Robo-Dino artwork looks great on all our products, and I knew we had to make give her something special with that little guy on it.

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Crafty Wonderland's Spring Sale

Crafty Wonderland's Super Colossal Spring Sale!
Saturday, May 1st + Sunday, May 2nd

 at The Oregon Convention Center, Hall D 

(777 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR) 

from 11am-5pm

FREE * All Ages

www.craftywonderland.com

Our first event of the year is coming up this weekend! We'll be at booth #89, between Crafty and Knotpile. We'll be debuting our newest juice glasses, plus we'll have an assortment of fused glass jewelry, all our most popular tumblers, soap dispensers, oil & vinegar bottles, and super discounted less-than-perfect items.

Check out the other reasons to come to the Super Colossal Spring Sale:

* 200 goodie bags stuffed with fantastic treats from local and national crafty businesses that will go to the first 200 shoppers through the doors - EACH DAY! That's right...200 bags on Saturday morning and 200 bags on Sunday morning!

 

* Local craft supply super store, Collage, doing free workshops both days in the DIY area.

  (a complete schedule is below)

* The lovely folks from Hello Craft running their Make Something Awesome area to help spread the word about the upcoming Summit of Awesome.

 

* Crafty super star Mark Montano will be signing books and leading a craft project in our DIY area!

* A fancy event program featuring a fun craft project, an interview with a local crafty superstar, and a full vendor list + map of the room!

 

* Lots of food options - including vegan and vegetarian options.

* Space to sit and relax between shopping and crafting!

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New Camera!

My dad sent me an early birthday present this year, and it's a Canon EOS 10D camera! I've been using the same Nikon Coolpix 995 for the past 6 or so years, and it's done me well, but I've been itching for something with more capabilities.

I've been playing with it for the past few days around the house and around Portland. It's amazing how nice the photos are turning out without being edited in Photoshop! The camera is quite heavy compared to my old one, so I'm having to build up some muscles to use it, but it's giving me some really nice results. Plus, the telephoto lens is capturing views of our house renovations that really show off the space. It's so exciting!

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Salamander Sighting

I've been working on cleaning our yard, since there's a huge pile of trash and rotting wood that the previous owners left back there. A large mound of wood was piled up under a tree, and grass and weeds have been growing over it, but I've been picking out the wood to level the ground again. Today, I discovered my first salamander!

I think he/she's an Oregon Ensatina.

The funny thing is that I totally thought I'd discovered a snake when I lifted a log and saw it's head! It's very lumpy, like a snake's, and not many salamanders seem to have that.

Here's another website with info and great pictures of these guys:
http://www.wildherps.com/species/E.eschscholtzii.html#oregonensis

I guess I don't know much about salamanders, since I never expected to find one in my yard, in Multnomah County, nowhere near a body of water. I always thought they lived near rivers. Pretty cool! The beehive that's also in the wood pile is a little less cool.

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I Heart Art PDX + My Day with Visitors from Etsy.com

This past Friday was the first I Heart Art gathering here in Portland, set up as a meet 'n greet networking event for locals to meet each other and learn more about the group. There was quite a bit of networking going on between the 500+ attendees!

If you're unfamiliar with I Heart Art, it's basically a big collaboration between Etsy.com, PNCA (Pacific Northwest College of Art), the PDX Etsy team (sellers on Etsy), and other local groups that want to offer resources and business opportunities to students, Etsy sellers, and the general public. There will be FREE monthly professional development workshops, one of which I'll be teaching in August!

  

The day after the meet 'n greet event, Vanessa and Morgan (from Etsy.com headquarters in New York) met with Christine Claringbold and me at the Trillium Artisan store to discuss a potential partnership with the Trillium Artisans Etsy team. I'm super excited about the prospects of this collaboration! Christine outlined some great goals that will help our team enormously.

 

After our meeting, I brought Morgan and Vanessa over to Sword + Fern, which is a rad brick & mortar boutique run by fellow-Trillium member, Emily Baker. I couldn't stop photographing the rainbow-colored origami decorations she has around her shop! Emily has tons of stunning artifacts in every nook and cranny of her store, but I kept being drawn back to the bright colored paper.

For lunch, I brought the ladies over to the food carts on 12th and Hawthorne for some crepes. Really, what trip to Portland would be complete without eating at food carts? They're all over our city, and everyone has a favorite. My crepe had figs, prosciutto, chevre and honey. So good!

Spending the day with Morgan and Vanessa was such a great opportunity to learn more about Etsy's goals with I Heart Art, and to share some of my personal feelings on things. I feel like my voice was heard, which is sometimes hard in a group of over 4 million Etsy.com users. Since the majority of my business income comes from my Etsy shop, it's extra important to stay in touch with their company. I can't wait to see what else is on the horizon!

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Velveteria

Last week, I found out that one of Portland's beloved landmarks was closing its doors and relocating to southern California. The Velveteria is a museum of velvet paintings, both old and new, lovingly displayed alongside vintage ephemera and labeled with the museum owners' humorous notes. When I realized I was about to lose something I hadn't even enjoyed firsthand, I knew I had to go.

A few days after hearing this sad news, Garth of Extremecraft sent an open invitation to join him and his wife at the Velveteria. They were driving up from Eureka to visit it one last time. The place was packed with newcomers like us, getting their first visit before it left town, and old-timers who wanted to pay their respects. They called out their 500th ticket sold while we were there, saying they've never had this many visitors in one day before.

I was awestruck by the variety of paintings inside the museum (they don't allow photos beyond the entry room, so you'll just have to buy their book for more velvety eye-candy). I imagined that I'd see mostly big-eyed dogs and elvises, but there was so much more than that! There are some seriously talented and inspired artists who use black velvet as their medium.

I loved that the paintings were grouped by themes--y'know, Jesus, next to the virgin Mary, next to Mr. T. There was a shrine to Michael Jackson, with portraits depicting the pop icon in various stages of his life. They've even got a black light room, where you can view some of the art in ways that nature never intended.

Having just glimpsed a small portion of the Velveteria's larger collection, I'm disappointed that it's moving away. Locals like to claim the place as an example of "Keep[ing] Portland Weird." I say, Portland can be weird without the Velveteria, and maybe it's time to spread some of that kitschy inspiration to another city.

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Recycled Tots Packaging

We're very lucky, here in Portland, because we have Carton Service. I've been stopping in there about once a week to get recycled packing peanuts, large shipping boxes and whatever other awesomeness I can fit in my car (I can't fit a whole lot with 2 enormous bags of peanuts in there). Carton Service buys and sells packaging products for shipping or moving, and I wouldn't be able to run my business without them.

When we package our glassware to ship out to customers, we use a lot of crumpled newspaper to fill the boxes. Last holiday season, we kept running out of newspaper to use, so we had to buy unprinted newsprint in sheets and rolls.

We discovered that Carton Service has rolls of unused plastic-coated paper, which apparently, came from a frozen tater tots company! This paper is fantastic for our packaging, and I always keep a spare roll on hand in case my newspaper supply runs out. We got this roll recently, and it weighs a full 60 pounds!! If you order something from us online during the holidays, don't be surprised if you find this recycled tots paper in your box.

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Cicada Jewelry by KimiDukes

Where I grew up, we had a lot of cicadas in the summer. Their unmistakable buzzing was intrinsically linked with the sticky, humid New England weather. I used to patrol our backyard, searching for their creepy brown skins, which were always attached to our split-rail fence. I don't know why they fascinated me so much, but I've never quite gotten over it.

When I was at Crafty Wonderland recently, I discovered the amazing natural history style jewelry of local Portland designer, KimiDukes. Her deceptively simple pieces incorporate all kinds of hidden treasures: cast resin cicada bodies, tiny bird skulls and bones, shiny beetle wings, dried seeds and other lovelies. The bold colors of the resin contrast perfectly with the earthy pods. These beautiful accessories brought back all the wonder and joy of discovering little pieces of nature from my childhood!

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Red Boots Design Hoodie

Another great thing I picked up at Renegade in S.F. was this awesome purple zippered hoodie from Red Boots Design! I knew I needed a new sweatshirt, but I still had a really tough time choosing between all their great colors and designs.

I finally settled on this great Koi fish design, since I loved these pretty fish printed on the front and back. Plus, I've never owned an outerwear garment in such a perfectly bold color. (Do I sound like a crazy elderly person for saying "outerwear garment"?)

Not only do Red Boots make great clothes with a heavy focus on bike themes and mechanical diagrams, but they also make beautiful wall-mountable bottle openers. I've already picked out the perfect one for my future house in turquoise and bright red. These folks have totally got my number in the color department. Plus, this dude has the best curly handlebar mustache, AND they let us borrow their dolly to load our stuff into Renegade the first day. Love love love them!!

P.S. The button that I put on the pocket says "get excited and make things" (patterned after those "stay calm and carry on" posters). Someone awesome gave it to me at Maker Faire.

P.P.S. Think it rains all the time in Portland? Check out the crispy grass in our front yard. It's sort of like the desert here in the summer, FYI.

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Shop in Person this Sunday

I'll be vending at Crafty Wonderland this Sunday, August 9th. If you'd like to pick up a specific glass, shoot me an email now, since I don't always bring every single design.

I'll have a box full of seconds (ones that didn't etch perfectly, or the glass has a minor flaw) for you to dig through. Now's the time to pick up something for yourself, because nothing beats these great deals!

There will be 40 other vendors there too, plus a DIY table for you to get your craft on. It's supposed to be rainy on Sunday, so come on down to the cozy Doug Fir!

Crafty Wonderland
The 2nd Sunday of Every Month
at Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E. Burnside, Portland, OR
11am-4pm * All Ages * Free Admission

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Martha Stewart in 1985

I'm always asking my neighbors to bring over their old newspaper for me to use as packing material for my boxes that I ship out, and one friend just gave me an unexpected surprise. In a big box of newspaper (some of which dated back to Mother's Day), was a paper bag stuffed with yellowing copies of the Oregonian from 1985. That's right, this newspaper is the same age as my sister who's getting married.

I just discovered the bag of antique papers tonight. Holy Mother of all things Retro. I feel guilty packing my glasses with these pieces of history, especially when they contain pictures of a young Martha Stewart, features on a "Sportsman's Thanksgiving" (a "celebration of a harvest of field and stream" with recipes for pheasant, duck, venison, and salmon), an op-ed article whining about hooking up a touch-tone phone, an informative piece on "Salsa, Mexican Ketchup", and breaking news about the trend of wine coolers.

I might just have to hang on to these relics for a time. At least until I can make the pheasant recipe that calls for Krusteaz pancake mix and a package of bacon.

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Tea Time with Anda from Etsy

A few folks from Etsy.com are traveling around the west coast, visiting some of the street teams between Renegade Craft Fair events. We were lucky enough to have Anda (who does the social networking and webgraphics for Etsy--if you follow Etsy on Twitter, you've been reading her tweets!) stop in for Tea Time in Laurelhurst Park!

It was a beautiful day to be in the park, and I loved getting to see some of my crafty friends. We need to hang out more often! I also got to knit a few more rows on the banana silk scarf I'm working on.

From the left are Ryan (littleputbooks), Lea (leakarts), Leah (leahpellegrini), Aimee, Danielle (misspurl), Judi (curlygirlglass), Kirsten (piperewan), and Anda.

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Camping

When I was a kid, my family used to go camping every year, plus a few short trips with the Girl Scouts. Since I've lived on my own, I haven't gone camping at all (unless you count the months that we traveled across the country in a VW Vanagon--we did stay at a few campgrounds then).

This past weekend, Sean and I took a 4 days off to camp with our friend Autumn and her extended family in Scotts Mills, OR. It was strange to be completely disconnected from technology for that long. It was pretty much the only way we could force ourselves to relax, and it was much-needed!

Mostly, we just sat around the firepit eating junk food, but our campground also had lots of activities for us: paintball (Sean and I sat that one out, but the other guys had fun giving each other welts), frisbee golf, volleyball, and more. Our large group site came with a yurt, which had fusball and airhockey.

It wasn't quite "roughing it", but it was low-stress and simple. If only the weather had a been a little warmer (it dropped down to the 60's for most of the time we were there), maybe we wouldn't have huddled around that fire so much. It's still nice to get away every now and then to make you really appreciate the running water and flushing toilets at home.

Thanks to the Drey family for sharing your hospitality with us! We had fun!

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Alberta Art Hop

Sean's parents have been visiting us from Florida for the first time this week, and we've been seeing the sights all over Oregon! We've really enjoyed showing them around our new city, plus the Gorge, the coast, Mt Hood, and a day trip down to Corvallis (to meet an author friend that's just written a book on climate change). We've been eating amazing food everywhere we go, and I don't know how we'll adjust to our normal lives once they leave!

They're heading out tomorrow, which is just as well, since we'll be attending the Alberta Art Hop. I'm excited to do this fun street fair because it's a great way to hang out with some artist friends in the beautiful weather! Come down to Alberta St and see us and a bunch of new products (we'll be at 28th).

We'll have new jewelry and bobby pins, plus unreleased pint glass designs like Cassette Love, a Snail, a Hen and a Mermaid. See them before they're online!

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Annie Dyer Pottery

At the guild gallery in Portland recently, I discovered a few local artists whose work I really liked. Annie Dyer is one such artist, creating glossy, organic pottery pieces that resemble polished burl wood. I'm always impressed when one art form can mimic another, and this is a good example of that.

Not all pieces look like wood, but they all incorporate a non-glossy, organic texture. I'm not sure how she creates this effect, but I love it!

Annie has an especially appealing sake and sushi set that I really want. Check out her website and shop for her lovely ceramics around Oregon.

[www.anniedyer.com]

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Emmeline Jewelry

While checking out the new artisan work from the Portland metalworkers guild last weekend, I stumbled upon the beautiful work of Miel Paredes for Emmeline Studio. Her jewelry line is made from sheets of stainless steel which have been cut and brushed by hand.

This style lends itself perfectly to the bold filigree style earrings and pendants Miel makes. My favorites were the dragonfly wings, which are layered on top of each other so they move independently when worn! I don't wear normal pierced earrings, but I think this would make a great pendant for me. Would it be weird to wear a dragonfly pendant over top of my dragonfly chest tattoo?

[http://emmelinestudio.etsy.com]

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Larry Nelson Pottery

I had the pleasure of visiting the convention center this weekend to see new glass, metal and ceramic work from the local guild members. I came away buzzing with inspiration, and wishing I'd had some extra money to snatch up some new treasures! I'll share some of my favorites with you this week.

One of the artists I met was Larry Nelson, who makes the most amazing pottery which looks like it's been fashioned out of metal! The tea set above just blew my mind. He uses molds to make a lot of the shapes in his Acme Boilerworks line, but each piece is one of a kind. I wished I could take these home with me.


If you're in the Portland area, you can see Larry's work at a number of events, or contact him to make an appointment to visit his studio. If you're not local, then I bet he'd be nice enough to ship something to you if you asked.

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Teresa Sullivan beaded art

I'll admit that I'm not really a fan of the seed bead. I've tried to like those little glass pixels, but it wasn't until this weekend that I started to really "get it". One of the amazing people that I met was Teresa Sullivan, a Portland bead artist. To call her a beaded jewelry maker would completely miss the mark, however. Teresa creates sculpture and wearable art. She doesn't just string beads on thread, she really paints with her materials.

I had the pleasure of talking with Teresa about her work, and she got me excited about the inspiration behind her pieces as much as the work itself. The necklace above (along with other pieces of hers) was inspired by sci-fi pulp comics from the 1950's where bold, curvy women got themselves in and out of trouble without having to be rescued. She also likes to think of this woman as possibly being the mother of Zap Comic's Checkered Demon, which just adds new dimensions to the thought-provoking nature of her work.

The necklace above is titled "Wanted on Six Planets". You can read more about it and Teresa's other work here.

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Craftgasm Weekend

I had such a fabulous weekend, I can't believe it's over! On Saturday, I went with my friend, Adrienne, to the second day of the Handmade Nation movie premiere here in Portland. Before the film, we got brunch with Twitter friends Heather Mann of CROQ Zine (and her 2 adorable boys,) and Melissa (aka KnitFemme). It was great for me to finally put some faces and voices to the people that I virtually chat with all the time!

We stayed for the panel discussion after the movie with filmmaker Faythe Levine, and other crafty celebs Betsy Greer, Susan Beal, Kate Bingaman-Burt, Jill Bliss and Garth Johnson. It was refreshing to hear their views on the current DIY crafts movement, and to hear about their own backgrounds.

While we were at the Museum of Contemporary Craft, and I completely fell in love with Mandy Greer's exhibit of mossy green dripping chandalier-like fiber/bead/buttony yumminess. I can't really describe it better than that, but I want some!

Sunday was spent vending at Crafty Wonderland, which was packed with people all day! It was really encouraging to kick off the month with some good sales and lots of positive feedback about the new jewelry line. I got rid of some seconds that have been taking up space in the studio, and I got the message (loud and clear!) that you guys really want to see some Astronaut Love designs. They're on their way!

I picked up a copy of the Handmade Nation book and got it autographed by Faythe Levine and a whole bunch of other people who had a hand in the making of the book and film. I sort of wanted to pass it around "yearbook syle" and have all the Crafty Wonderland vendors sign it, since it felt like such a magical day. I also traded for a pair of earrings by Giant Jewels. I'm trying to decide if I should give them as a gift to someone, or keep them for myself!

[The first 3 photos are by the amazing Lee Meredith. You can see more of her photos of this weekend here. The 4th photo is by me--it's of my awesome friend, Autumn Drey of Autumn Comfort Candles. Check out our collaborative etched wine bottle candles on the top right!]

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