We’re excited to announce we’ve partnered with Uber to offer all guests who are new to Uber a complimentary ride up to $20 using the promo code ARTSTAR
Uber is an iPhone/Android app that lets you tag your location and summon a professional driver to your side within minutes. Once in the car, the driver will take you wherever you need to go. The fare is billed to your card, with no need to tip, so you don’t have to worry about handling cash.
Just click the promo code below and sign up! You’ll be riding in style in no time at all.
We are thrilled to announce that we will be participating in this year’s Crafty Bastards Fair in DC! We have heard so many incredible things about this show over the years and are so thankful to have the opportunity to participate this year for the first time ever!!
For those of you that have not heard of Crafty Bastards, it is very similar to our annual Art Star Craft Bazaar. The show features some of the best makers from across the country, a beer garden, DC’s best food trucks, family friendly activities + more at Union Market in DC on September 28th + 29th from 10-5.
We have partnered with Crafty Bastards and are able to offer all of you some special deals if you plan to make the trip to the show. You won’t be disappointed, we promise!
There is a small fee to enter Crafty Bastards ($5 for the day / $10 Weekend) but we scored you a special deal – a weekend pass for just $8! Because one day will not be enough, believe me! Enter Promo Code Vendor2013 when purchasing a weekend ticket and you will get the discount!
For those of you who want to take a trip to DC for Crafty Bastards, check out the Courtyard Marriott. It’s conveniently located within walking distance of the festival and they are offering a special rate of $126 per night, September 28th and 29th. Book your room today via this link or by calling 1-800-321-2111 and mention the Crafty Bastards room block. If you plan to stay and shop for the weekend, don’t forget to enter discount code VENDOR2013 when buying your tickets to get a special $8 weekend pass!
Speaking of comfort, we know how shopping for great crafts can make one, well, parched! With that in mind, Crafty Bastards for the first time in history will be serving craft beer. In partnership with New Belgium Brewing, there will be an outdoor beer garden featuring several of New Belgium’s amazing Belgian-inspired beers, plus food from local vendors and food trucks. We have a special discount code for you craft beer lovers, a single day pass and 2 beers for $10 when you enter the discount code CRAFTYBEERME when purchasing your ticket online.
We hope to see you there! Be sure to visit our booth and say hi!
Photo by Mikey Ilagan, Courtesy of Night Market Philly
This local favorite street festival features the best of the city’s ethnic restaurants & gourmet food trucks in different neighborhoods throughout Philly. This Thursday it will be in our hood – NoLibs & we couldn’t be more excited! We will be set up at the festival, along with 9 other local crafters.
Guapos Tacos (one of my personal favorites) Photo by Mikey Ilagan / Courtesy of Night Market Philly
There will be more than 40 vendors offering Philly’s yummiest food for under $5. Yards Brewing Company will also be selling beer. Get FREE beer by signing up for LEVEL UP (this year’s sponsor) online with promo code FOODTRUST or at the event. LEVEL UP will also make a $5 donation to the food trust in your name when you sign up. I think I’ll do just that!
Photo by Mikey Ilagan / Courtesy of Night Market Philly
EVEN BETTER – become a “Friend of Night Market” for $50 & get FREE beer PLUS FREE food, cocktails & more!
My favorite dessert food truck: Sweetbox Cupcakes will be there! Photo by Mikey Ilagan / Courtesy of Night Market Philly
Photo by Mikey Ilagan / Courtesy of Night Market PhillyPhoto by Mikey Ilagan / Courtesy of Night Market PhillyPhoto by Mikey Ilagan / Courtesy of Night Market PhillyPhoto by Mikey Ilagan / Courtesy of Night Market Philly
Friends, groups, couples – come one, come all! Get crafty and celebrate Valentine’s Day with us. Deadline to sign up is February 7th and the event is limited to just 25 people, so sign up ASAP. We will only hold the event if we get enough people to sign up, so tell your friends. If we end up not filling up, we will let you know and refund you in full. If you would like to sign up, please click here.
Art Star artist, Amy Rice, has put up these 4 Valentines that you can download for FREE!
(click the image above to download)
*Tips: Use a heavier stock white paper and set your printer to the highest quality.*
Also, check out our new Valentines Day Section on our website
& pick up a token of love for your sweetie. Enter Promo Code LoveBird for 15% off your purchase through Feb. 15th!
Here are some quick gift ideas:
stitch up messages of love with these kits by Chez-Sucre-Chez, $12.50-$14.50"I Like The Way You Smell" print on wood veneer by Spread the Love, $27You're Sweet letterpress notecard by Sycamore Street Press, $4.50
hello! welcome to the home of art star’s new blog. We will be posting artist features, new happenings in the store, events, etc. For the month of April, we will be focused mainly on our upcoming Art Star Craft Bazaar. Erin & I have been hard at work organizing & promoting the show. This year we got in the most applications to date, which is awesome but it made jurying the show very tough. We believe we chose the best of the best. We tried very hard to make sure that there is something for everyone & I think we succeeded in doing that. The complete vendor list is now up on the site – check it out! We will be posting a map of the space w/ booth numbers, along with a corresponding numerical booth number list & alphabetical list, so you can easily find all your favorites. Check back for that soon!
We are also working w/ local artist, Eleanor Grosch, to re-design our website. Eleanor designed this blog for us & the website will look similar. We will have a search engine so it will be easy to find specific items, work by particular artists, etc. We will also be expanding our shop categories & will be able to offer promo codes to our shoppers. We reward our loyal customers w/ a frequent buyer card in the shop & want to offer similar rewards to our online customers. We hope to have this up & running before the holiday season!
Shop Eleanor’s work on our site: ABC’s Print $40Modern Menagerie Mug $12
We’ve been super busy over here at Art Star HQ. I always think of when Rabbit from Winnie the Pooh finds the sign on Christopher Robin’s door that reads “Bisy Backson” (which is supposed to read Busy Back Soon) or something like that………Then in the Tao of Pooh they explain that Rabbit is a “Bisy Backson” (always too busy) and that is so me! At least that is what I took from it…. We just released a new Art Star branded product – this annual weekly planner, in collaboration with the wonderful Julianna Swaney of Oh My Cavalier. As you can see, I’ve got a good amount on my agenda this week.
starting to fill out my weekly planner….complete with doodle collaboration with my hubby
I know that I am not great about always remembering to write in these things, so we thought we’d make one that is dateless. So if you don’t keep up, no worries – you can add the dates yourself! There are 52 weeks & some space for notes in the back. We are so happy to be working with Julianna Swaney – her illustrations make me swoon!
The holidays are right around the corner, so we’ve been looking for new artists & stocking up on all of our products. We just got in a box from Paper Sparrow filled with prints, plush, party invitations, calendars, + notecards. I really love her illustrations of animals, instruments and animals playing instruments. Very sweet! Above is a sneak peek of some of her work, which will all be added to the site soon! Look out for a full blog post on her soon too!
Ceramic Beer Cups by Hope Rovelto
We’ve also just got in these ceramic cups by local artist, Hope Rovelto. These are cast in ceramic from actual plastic party cups & feature Obama, John Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and more! She does have Mittens but I just couldn’t carry that one – sorry! These will be up soon too & I’ll also be posting a really cool exhibition/event that these will be a part of…..
We are now fully stocked with 2013 calendars & planners! Many of them are made in limited quantities, so grab one before they are gone for good!
And finally, I decided to paint these doors with chalkboard paint. It was driving me crazy the way it was. It still needs a few coats, but I plan on using it to write a blurb about Art Star & also hang the magnets. Maybe I’ll let our little customers draw on it too while their parents shop. That might get too messy though.
Thanks to both of my parents, I was born as someone with a compulsion in his blood to visually describe the world to others. There was always a story to tell in a meticulously rendered portrait or a quick accidental brush stroke resembling something familiar.
Playing to my strengths, I was focused by my teachers and honed by my years at the Rochester Institute of Technology’s illustration department. After college and the requisite years that a twenty-something guy spends in a van playing music with his friends, a series of events pointed me towards a job in New York City that evolved over years into a position at a better known apparel catalog as a head fashion photo retoucher/compositor. Though grateful for the experience over those years, there came a point where I realized I needed to spend the majority of my time creating rather than concealing. Although it was mildly rewarding to have a god-like command over reality through Photoshop, it felt unnatural to be largely defined by covering the tracks of others so that it seemed as if no work needed to be done in the first place.
Every night I would come home and scrub dried up pixels from my hands and try to squeeze a few minutes of drawing in before sleep takes over and the alarm resets the day. So when the corporate belts started tightening and heads needed to roll, I opted for the fresh air of Central Massachusetts so someone else could have my desk instead of an unemployment check.
It’s been an exciting year since then, from teaching myself the craft of screen printing to publicly displaying my work for the first time. The din of a midtown office has been replaced by the sounds of migrating birds and the echoes of my past professors/peers while considering my compositions.
In addition to my personal work, there have been the opportunities to produce hand-printed gig posters, music packaging, greeting cards, and entire suites of custom wedding invitations as well as the chance to teach youth printing workshops.
I find inspiration in old friends and new strangers, and in the varying levels of connections we all have with nature, technology and each other. These prints are a blend of vectors and gestures, flora and fauna, and the coping with (and preparing for) equal parts of both happiness and loss. Even though my back is sore and the hours are long, it’s now ink I’m washing off my hands every night and it still feels like I’m getting away with something. Thank you for taking a moment to visit the Art Star blog and I look forward to meeting passers-by at the New Antlers booth #54 at this weekend’s Art Star Craft Bazaar.
We had so much fun this past Saturday at our first ever Crafternoon! We are definitely going to make this a monthly event – so please sign up for our email newsletter or follow us on Facebook/Twitter for updates!
We met up at Penelope Rakov‘s studio in the morning & she treated us to donuts & coffee while she chatted about her work & walked us through her process. Here are some photos from the visit. Check out all the photos on Flickr.
Penelope (far right) chatting about her work
bars of colored glass that Penny uses to pull glass cane used to make her jewelryPenny showed us each step that is involved in her process. Here are bundles of pulled glass cane.after Penny talked about her work, we all got to shop her entire collection, which included new & older pieces. All crafternoon purchases were 20% off!We found a drawer filled with finished glass pieces that just needed to be set in sterling silver. A few of our crafternooners picked out their favorites from the drawers & Penny custom set them!
After we were finished at Penny’s studio, we headed over to Art Star for a lovely spread of food from A Full Plate Cafe. Bonnie & Susan of Kaye Rachelle were all set up & ready for us. They chatted a bit about their line of printed home textiles & then we dove right into our make & take! They created 3 simple chevron designs cut from acetate & crafternooners could choose their color/design/placement for their tote/tea towel. We had tons of extra totes & towels, so everyone got to make a few. The results were great!
Bonnie & Susan with their three screens. They gave us step by step instructions on how to silk screen. The cut stencil technique is so simple to do at home. Their chevron designs were inspired by the One & Two Liberty Place Buildings right here in Philly. All three designs worked so great together – perfect for layering them onto the totes in different color inks.Bonnie & Susan showing us how to print. Everyone loved the minty green color they mixed! They chose the perfect fall palette – this green, mustard yellow, & navy blue. Susan suggested mixing a little of each color in with the color you choose so they all have the same tone & work nicely together.The lovely Lisa Castellano is the first one up to print her tote bag!Lisa with her completed tote bagMe (Megan) hanging up all the printed totes to dry.
Thanks so much to Penny, Bonnie, & Susan for making our first Crafternoon so special.
Renee D’Amico of Tadpole Creations makes the most darling plush & appliqued bibs, onesies & more! I especially love her little Russian Babushka Dolls & DIY Pirate Doll Kits. Any one of her items would make a great gift for a baby shower or b-day party for a little one. Though I must say, I wouldn’t mind picking up a few of her plushies for myself – I’m young at heart! This will be Renee’s first Art Star Craft Bazaar & we are so happy to have her, so get to know her & visit her at the bazaar at her bright & colorful booth #43!
Renee D’Amico of Tadpole Creations with her Mermaid Dolls
Art Star: Did you go to art school? If so, where did you study?
Renee D’Amico: I attended University of the Arts and Indiana University of Pennsylvania. I have a BS in Elementary Education with a minor in Fiber Arts.
AS: What types of items will you be selling at the bazaar? RD: Sewn and appliqued baby goods as well as soft dolls and toys for the very small. I create primarily for little ones, however a grown up has been known to go home with a pirate or mermaid for themselves. New this season are DIY Pirate and Matryoshka Doll Kits.
A selection of items by Tadpole Creations
AS: What materials do you work with? RD: Primarily brightly colored cotton fabrics and threads, with stuffing and a bit of fabric paint thrown in at times.
Trained as a painter, I work with fabrics and thread in a way similar to using paint and pencil, using larger shapes of colored fabric, adding outlining and detailing with machine stitched threads.
Babushka Russian Matryoshka Cloth Doll
AS: How are your items made? Describe your process. RD: My creations begin with a basic drawing on paper of a playful idea that I’ve been pondering for a while. When I’m happy with the initial design, I work with paper to create my own patterns and templates, folding and cutting until I find the right shapes. Fabric selection comes next, with experimentation of different combinations until I get to that “ah-hah” moment when I have found the right fabrics to use.
My favorite part of the construction is sitting down to sew at the machine and appliquing the different fabric elements together. I stitch with a variety of different patterns to complete the design with colored thread.
Cloth Elephant Toys with Rattle
AS: Are you able to make your work full-time? If not, what do you do for your day job?
RD: Tadpole Creations is a full time pursuit.
AS: Who are some of your favorite artists?
RD: I am drawn to primitive folk artists and Early American Art, whether it be a weather vane painted sign, piece of pottery or portrait of a child.
AS: What are you reading/listening to right now? RD: My teenage daughter playing the theme of “The Avengers” on her viola.
Whale Plush Toy
AS: Where would you like to see yourself and your art/craft business in the next 10 years? RD: That’s a great question, I am always thinking “okay what is the next step?” when it comes to Tadpole Creations. One goal is to have a separate studio and workspace, as I work out of a home based studio right now. I’d also love to be involved in some exclusive freelance design for a larger company in the future.
Organic Gnome Dolls
AS: Are there any bazaar participants that you are excited to check out this year? RD: The line up looks incredible! I am so honored to be included with this great group of craftspeople. My desk is begging for a Cutesy but not Cutesy plush to keep me company while I do computer work. My daughters are really big fans of Inedible Jewelry, I am sure they will be adding to their collection.
Friends, groups, couples – come one, come all! Get crafty and celebrate Valentine’s Day with us. Deadline to sign up is February 7th and the event is limited to just 25 people, so sign up ASAP. We will only hold the event if we get enough people to sign up, so tell your friends. If we end up not filling up, we will let you know and refund you in full. If you would like to sign up, please click 
And finally, I decided to paint these doors with chalkboard paint. It was driving me crazy the way it was. It still needs a few coats, but I plan on using it to write a blurb about Art Star & also hang the magnets. Maybe I’ll let our little customers draw on it too while their parents shop. That might get too messy though.
