Tag: handmade

Meet Our Sponsor: Butcher’s Sew Shop

We are so thrilled to welcome Butcher’s Sew Shop as one our Art Star Craft Bazaar sponsors this year! The ladies behind this sewing studio in the Italian Market are here to tell you all about what they offer. I can’t wait to take a class with them myself. They will be set up at our bazaar, demonstrating sewing techniques and I also hear you can enter a raffle at their booth to win a class. I’m in!! ~ Megan

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Words and Photos by Amalia Petherbridge and Andrea Brown of Butcher’s Sew Shop.

A handmade garment has a story to tell. Each step of the process is its own feat, from sourcing the perfect fabric, to painstakingly laying out and measuring your pattern pieces, to stitching and restitching until the seam is finally straight, to getting that hem nice and even. Then, there’s the fact that there’s no better feeling than getting a compliment on one of your handmade duds and having the chance to reply, “Hey, I made this!” That’s the experience we hope to pass onto others by teaching the art of sewing at Butcher’s Sew Shop.

Butcher’s Sew Shop hosts classes for adults and kids on a quiet corner (in a former butcher shop) in the Italian Market neighborhood at 800 S. 8th Street. The majority of our workshops focus on garment making using modern patterns and professional techniques, but we also love teaching things like quilting and bag making. Our goal is to foster a non-intimidating environment for learning and problem solving, and to inspire people to build a handmade everyday wardrobe that rivals the fit and finish of any store-bought clothing. Our sister program, Sew Philly, runs after-school and summer camp programs for children ages 5 through 14 in the same space.

We have workshops for women and men, from the novice to the experienced sewer. There are ongoing courses that teach foundational skills, such as the Sewing 101 class that teaches students how to thread and operate a sewing machine, how to cut fabric on-grain, and how to sew a two-toned bag with a zipper, lining, hardware and topstitching. Our upper level classes focus on dressmaking, fitting, patternmaking, casual menswear and more. We also host workshops focused on seasonal specific items–like swimwear in the summer (coming up!) and wool coats in winter.

At the start of our beginner-level Sewing 101 class, we ask students why they want to learn to sew. For many, it is a sentimental reason; they grew up with family members who sewed or they learned long ago as a child, and they feel inspired to pick up the lost craft. Many want to learn for more practical reasons, such as altering store-bought clothing to fit their bodies. Others have stressful careers and are looking for a creative outlet. Whatever the reason, our goal is for students to leave our classes feeling productive, proud and accomplished.

For us, learning to sew is one way that we can feel more connected to the production process of our clothing. As a culture, many of us spend most of our days consuming physical things or consuming media, and spend very little time creating anything tangible or thinking about the origin of the items we wear and use. We’re proud to be building a community of people in Philly who can appreciate and understand first-hand the craftsmanship that goes into creating handmade pieces.

We’d love for you to join us for a class! If you’d like to learn more about Butcher’s Sew Shop and the classes we offer, visit butcherssewshop.com, follow us on Instagram at @butcherssewshop, or come stop by booth #70 at the 2016 Art Star Craft Bazaar. Our children’s sewing programs can also be found at sewphilly.com. Thanks for reading!

Butcher’s Sew Shop
800 S. 8th St.
Philadelphia, PA 19147

May 2, 2016
Meet the Maker: Nicole and Luke of vestige HOME

vestige HOME a creative brother and sister duo
words and photos by vestige HOME

We moved around quite a bit growing up and learned to rely on our own ingenuity and creativity for entertainment. Tinkering, exploring, and creating with our hands was a daily activity. We both joined the service after high school, Luke enlisted in the Coast Guard and Nicole joined the Navy through ROTC. Many different jobs and years later, we find ourselves tapping into the strengths of one another and building a small business. It’s a bit of a unique setup and thanks to the Internet, FaceTime, and modern shipping services, we make it work. Luke works out of his studio in Oakland, California and Nicole works out of her studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with each of us visiting every few months to share time in the studio together and participate in shows.

Photo by Lauren Gibson Photography

We create functional pieces that we hope will encourage people to cook, gather, and make their homes a more beautiful sanctuary. We believe that handmade goods offer a deeper connection than those that are mass-produced. The special care taken in creating unique pieces and supporting a local, creative community adds a richness to our lives.

Photo by Lauren Gibson Photography

We work in a wide variety of mediums and we both enjoy exploring and continually learning new things. Every day is different as we juggle the administrative activities of running a business as well as designing, prototyping, testing and producing our pieces. Wood, metal, and a bit of textiles are the mediums that we are currently working in.

We strive to give our customers the best experience possible. Thoughtful touches like gift wrapping our shipments and including a handwritten note are a standard part of how we do business. We are always grateful when a customer decides to purchase a piece from us that they will either give as a special gift to someone or cherish in their own homes.

For more sneak-peeks and behind the scenes content follow vestige HOME on Instagram @vestigehome, and for more info, check out www.vestige-home.com We look forward to seeing you at the vestige HOME booth #79 this Mother’s Day weekend!

April 14, 2016
Meet the Maker: Heidi Shenk/Row House 14

Words and Photos by Heidi Shenk

I’m Heidi, the owner and designer of Row House 14, an indie stationery and paper goods company. I’m a small town Indiana girl that made her way to Baltimore somehow and became a teacher. On the days I felt burned out in the classroom, I turned to art as a creative outlet. The final products– cards and stationery.

Six years later, I moved on from the classroom to design and make cards full time from my home studio in my historic Baltimore row house. I never thought that something I did to keep a creative energy going would turn into my job, but I am always excited for a new adventure in life and haven’t looked back since.

My inspiration comes from daily life, so many of my cards embrace the humor in every day life. I enjoy writing the cards just as much as I like to design them. I pair bold and bright colors with recognizable images to create designs that are relatable. If I can make someone laugh or smile or just make someone’s day a little better, then I think my ultimate goal has been accomplished.

I love experimenting with the final product as well. Some of my cards are bolder and brighter in design and finished digitally. Others, I print myself using a letterpress printing press. Each medium offers its own creative challenges and pushes me to hone my craft and think outside the box.

Aside from greeting cards, I offer other stationery goods such as note cards, notepads, and pencils. The pencils are all individually hand imprinted with a vintage Kingsley press– a piece of history in itself. The process is one that I enjoy immensely and is truly a labor of love.

Working with my hands is incredibly fulfilling for me. I also find importance in using recycled and sustainable paper and products for the end results in my shop. I want my business to not only bring happiness to others, but to be an extension of my own lifestyle from the day to day, so that includes being environmentally conscious while still providing an incredibly high quality product, as well as finding joy in what I do in the day to day.

Through Row House 14, I hope to offer witty, stylish, and ridiculously hilarious stationery goods.
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Thanks for sharing Heidi! Visit Row House 14 at our May 7th + 8th Art Star Craft Bazaar at Penn’s Landing Great Plaza, Booth #86 (along the Walnut Plaza).
http://www.rowhouse14.com/

April 12, 2016
Meet The Maker: Tara Vaughan Ceramics

Hey friends! I am starting up our Meet the Makers series again. We will be featuring posts by a selection of our new Art Star Craft Bazaar Vendors every Tuesday and Thursday each week, leading up to the show on May 7th + 8th. We hope you enjoy these profiles as much as we do. First up is new Art Star Craft Bazaar, Tara Vaughan. – Megan

My name is Tara Vaughan and I make pottery here in Philadelphia.

I was first introduced to clay in freshman year of college at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. I took the class as an elective, but quickly fell in love with it. I immediately changed my major from Insurance to Ceramics and continued to work in pottery and sculpture throughout my time in undergrad. After graduating in 2014, my friend Morgan and I decided to get a studio together in the Crane Arts building. We were very fortunate to have such amazing friends and mentors that were willing to donate a lot to help us get on our feet. We were given hundreds of pounds of clay, tables, molds, tools, and the best of all, even a 35 year old kiln. (Which after being refurbished, works like a charm!)

I hand build all of my work. Pinching and coiling are my most used methods, while I do slab work for more geometric pieces. Almost all of my work is made using the same technique, but usually with different results. Bottles are my favorite piece of pottery to make, because they never turn out the same. I always have an idea of how I would like it to look, but the result is always very different, sometimes better. Each form is new and unique to the one made before it.

I love plants, and decided to make a planter for every type of plant lover. Small to large, indoor to outdoor, hanging or sitting, I have got one for you.

I am very excited to be a part of ASCB this year. Please come and say hi! I would love to meet you.

www.taravaughanceramics.com
Find a selection of Tara’s work year round in our Shop

April 5, 2016
Meet the Maker: Indigo Marie Illustration

by Indigo Marie Illustration

Hello there! I am an illustrator & soft sculpture maker residing in Baltimore, Maryland. I have a strange fascination with hairless kittens, tea, & otherworldly splendor. I am a collector of old, weathered textiles, driftwood scraps, & anything with a story that’s since been neglected.

As a young child I was most often found hunched in the branches of the old apple tree in my backyard illustrating & writing books. Not much has changed since then. As a fresh graduate from Maryland Institute College of Art with my BFA I’m slowly starting to carve away my artistic path.

I love working in a variety of mediums however my primary mediums include ballpoint pen & acrylic paint for my 2D illustrations. For my sculptural work I use polymer clay glazed with acrylic paint and fibers for their soft bodies. Being a maker allows for a very magical opportunity to inject art into peoples everyday lives with it being serendipitous and affordable. This is the reason why I delight so much in making my strange little, dusty creatures. They look as if they have arrived on a ship from a different world, a charming nostalgic treasure hidden on a book self end or crevice of someone’s sacred space. I delight in creating these odd treasures that people tend to double take to fully soak in.

All I ever hope to achieve with my works is to inspire people & get them out of their heads to reconnect with the pure wonder of imagination and the feeling of being 5 years old again, uninhibited by worry. I use nature as a primary muse to my works as well as my love for soaking in different people essences and injecting them into my characters.

I currently sell work in local artisan shop Strongbox and at scattered pop up markets around Baltimore. I enjoy doing commissions for people. I find a lot of pleasure in getting told what to create from other people’s worlds and hopefully superseding their expectations. The unexpected collaboration between the artist and the client is oddly beautiful to me. After the chaos of the holidays are over I will be helping illustrate a book for a dear friend which I’m very excited to dig into and have high hopes for.

This is my first time vending at the Art Star Craft Bazaar and I could not be more excited. Please take a gander at booth #36. I look forward to meeting all of you!

Visit Indigo Marie Illustration on her website

November 5, 2015
Meet the Maker: Scott Staats

My name is Scott Staats and I am a glass artist. I’ve been blowing glass for five years but I have spent whole my life creating art. I have always loved to create things and make art working with many different mediums, but once I started working with glass I knew I found the one for me. Glass instantly fascinated me, it can be used in so many ways to create nearly any shape and color, yet you can never touch it with your hands while working with it.

When I’m in the studio working with the glass it starts out as a liquid, at 2000 degrees fahrenheit, with the viscosity of honey and is gathered on the end of a metal blowpipe. All of the glass starts clear and then the color is added while it is still hot. Once the glass is colored it gets blown up and manipulated using a variety of traditional tools. When the piece is finished it placed in an annealer where it can cool to room temperature over a time span of 24 hours.

I am inspired to create by so many things I see around me. I have always been drawn to the random natural patterns and colors of nature and the scale and lines of urban cities. Drawing upon these inspirations I like to incorporate wood and steel into some of my work.

I like making art that people will enjoy, give as gifts and decorate their homes with. My products include seasonal decor, functional glass, installation art and custom lighting. I hope that my work brings joy to people’s lives like so many other artists work has brought to mine.

This will be my first year as a vendor at the Art Star Craft Bazaar and I am very excited. Please visit my website at www.ScottStaatsGlass.com and please visit me at corner booth #46. Thank you.

November 3, 2015
Meet the Maker: Brianna Paquette from Ministry of Culture

Ministry of Culture is the clothing and accessories label I created for myself while I was attending school at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. I was living in Brooklyn at the time and like most other people my age, I was trying to find ways to make extra cash to support the cost of rent in the city. I stumbled across this cute little handmade clothing store in my neighborhood called Better Than Jam and convinced the owner Karin Persan to take me on as an artist. I had been experimenting with different sewing, dyeing and printing techniques for years but had never had an outlet to sell my line before; it was a big jumping off point for my business.

I grew up sewing my own clothes and making jewelry but it wasn’t until my brother found an ad in the gas station, in our town of West Burke, Vermont, that I ever considered it as a potential profession. Tara Lynn Bridal was looking for interns interested in learning all aspects of fashion design. I started working for Tara and learned everything from production sewing, to embroidery, applique and pattern making. She encouraged me to apply to the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC and go back to school. I stayed in New York for 6 years working in different areas of the fashion world; as a pattern- maker, sample maker, sewing teacher, with private clients, in textile shops. I collected a wealth of knowledge as well as a mountain of fabric. Almost every company I worked for had some sort of textile “waste” which I always asked to keep. All of which I used to inspire my own clothing designs. Finding ways to use what I had, pushed me to be more creative. I like to see and feel the fabrics, watch how it drapes and then think of how each piece would be best suited in a garment.

In addition to collecting fashion industry off-casts, I have spent a lot of time traveling to other countries, collecting fabric, design ideas and learning about traditional craft. Through the years I have done my best to combine my love of travel with my desire to create unique and functional clothing designs. I find my inspiration from the places I have been and the people living there. Style varies from country to country. I like to study the history of each country’s folk art designs and traditional costumes. Color, pattern, and design all have different meaning depending on where in the world you are at and I try to find interesting, modern ways to implement them into my designs. I have studied weaving in Chile and Guatemala, batik in Indonesia and Thailand, natural dying in Laos, lace making in Spain, as well as quilting in America. Essentially if there is a textile related art from out there in the world, it is my goal to get there and learn how it is done.

The idea behind my label Ministry of Culture is to tell a story through fashion, by introducing people to various countries folk art traditions, and creating unique, quality pieces to minimize consumption. I think that it is important to have a sense of global consciousness and do my best to develop that type of awareness through my designs..

I do my work from my studio (aka the barn behind my parents house) in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. I hand draft all my patterns, cut, and sew everything myself. All of my prints are from hand-carved linoleum blocks, and are individually stamped. After I returned from a trip to Turkey last year and started experimenting with marbled silk. I have really enjoyed the individuality of the designs that have come out of it and hope to continue using that technique to print some unique sweatshirt material through this winter. I am headed on a trip through the “Stans” to Mongolia next summer and looking forward to finding inspiration and textiles along the way.

Visit Brianna and her clothing line, Ministry of Culture, at our upcoming Art Star Craft Bazaar!

October 27, 2015
Meet the Maker: Kerry + Neil Stavely of Horse and Hare

Horse and Hare are me, Kerry Stavely, and my husband Neil Stavely. We started working under this name in 2008 when we opened our Etsy shop, pulling it from our Chinese Zodiac signs. I am the Horse and Neil is the Hare.

Neil and I met in Memphis, Tennessee while attending art school in the late nineties and have basically been together ever since. We later moved to Winchester, Virginia where we continue to work and live to this day. We do our work mostly out of our home but also have a gallery/handmade retail store here called Tin Top which serves as a home base for us to showcase our work as well as the work of other artists and crafters from around the U.S. We have some studio space there as well and our beloved letterpress lives there too.

Although our work is rooted in linoleum and wood block printing, neither of us focused on the medium very much in school; we came to it as a way to work on smaller projects that we could easily pick up or put away when our daughter was young. We started off just doing linocut prints but it grew from there and has since evolved; exploiting the medium in more experimental and playful ways, creating mixed media works and semi-sculptural assemblages and carved paintings. Now we do everything from commissioned design work, to our own prints, wearables and home goods to one of a kind fine art pieces.

The subjects of our are work are pulled from history, literature, occult/spiritual symbolism and iconography, and the natural world. We like to blur the line between art vs. craft, low brow vs. high brow. Despite the diversity of content, the work is tied together stylistically which primarily comes from the block printing medium but also from our approach.

A lot of people ask us if we work collaboratively on pieces. Usually we do not. Although we think of ourselves as team, our collaborative process is mainly on the conceptual level, whether it’s bouncing ideas off each other or giving each other constructive criticism. On occasion we might work on the same piece but it’s pretty rare – we both have a hard time relinquishing that control!Again our work is tied together due to the nature of the medium but our styles are pretty different. Neil’s work tends to be more controlled and illustrative whereas my work is rougher and more expressionistic. All in all though, I think we work pretty well together!

Neil and I, on average, only do a couple art fairs a year. This will be our first adventure to Art Star and Philadelphia together, we are really excited about it!

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Find Horse and Hare at our Upcoming Fall Art Star Craft Bazaar on Nov. 7th + 8th. or visit their website here

October 20, 2015
Meet the Maker: Marisa Krol of Interstellar Love Craft

by Marisa Krol, Interstellar Love Craft

I never planned on being a jewelry designer. They say, the thing we most enjoy doing as a child is incredibly valuable in identifying what would make us happiest as adults. Looking back now, I feel that is true for me. The beauty and mystery of life process, is how it has shown up in the most unexpectedly brilliant way.

I firmly believe we are all gracing this plane of existence to connect with and learn from one another. In our own unique ways, we connect through infinite forms of expression. It is my intention to create a platform in which expression is free to be what it wants to be in any given moment. Interstellar Love Craft was created 6 years ago (almost exactly as I write this), to communicate the intention of connecting with and serving others though creative expression. Months after its inception, I began the process of learning my craft through volunteering my time studio assisting an artist in my local community. During this time; the past, present and future felt as if they were intersecting, and ILC found its home in the practice of jewelry metal smithing. I share this with you because openness has been, and continues to be, a significant component in the success and growth of this endeavor. An openness expressed in process as well as outcomes, interactions and direction. No matter what path one takes, it will always be a roller coaster of experiences and feelings about those experiences. So long as we adhere to our values and inner truth, pay attention, and not take anything that isn’t constructive personally, I firmly believe we will be taken care in this world.

For me, expressing and sharing this inner light and truth is what inspires my line of work. My hope is that it is felt by, and experienced through the wearer. By utilizing open forms inspired by sacred places and sites of reverence, pieces take shape and become apart of a greater collection. There are tangents along the way that result in micro collections and one of a kind pieces. This keeps the work engaging for me, and hopefully for those who follow its development and support its growth. I often feel like I am making something for someone in particular, which is unique to them. It brings me joy beyond compare when each piece unites with its person. For this reason, I enjoy traveling as well as building relationships that are both customer and community based. For example, the Art Star Craft Bazaar in Philadelphia not only has become one of my favorite destinations, but it has also been a source of inspiration and collaboration in a way that facilitates growth. In no other place, that I have had the good fortune to spend time in, has the maker scene felt so supportive, healthy and fun. You all rock!

In closing, words cannot express the gratitude I feel for being able to participate in the creation of what I want my life to look like, and the good fortune of meeting others along the way who are invested in doing the same. It is a power we all possess, and one that requires the conquering of certain fears and trusting that the universe strives with us towards fulfillment. I hope that whatever it is that moves you, it is something you are able to practice with regularity. Discovering purpose in ones work, and feeling like we are a part of a larger network of life supporting beings seems to me to be most valuable.

Thank you for taking the time to read my musings on life, work, and creativity. I hope you are living (at least part of the time) in a place of childlike joy and peace. And if not, make the time to search and discover. Humanity might depend on it.

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You can find Interstellar Love Craft at our November 7th + 8th Fall Art Star Craft Bazaar or visit her website year round!

October 15, 2015
Make This: Easiest Handmade Book Ever

Photos + Tutorial by Bonnie Kaye Whitfield

I am obsessed with this book form. It is the fastest way to turn a simple sheet of paper into an 8-page book, all without gluing or sewing. Use this tutorial to whip up a quick notebook, zine or to quickly transform an old work of art.

You will need:

paper – either blank or an old print, etc
scissors or cutting knife
bonefolder – optional

Gather your materials. I’ll demo with a blank sheet of 12 x 18” paper, but I also have an old test print to make into a book, too.

Start by carefully folding your paper in half, with the shortest ends together (like a “hamburger”). If you have a bonefolder, a super handy tool for making tight creases, then use it. Otherwise, your finger/fingernail will work just fine.

Next, fold your paper once more in the same direction. When you open it, you should have 4 sections created on your paper.

Then fold your paper in the opposite direction, where the longest ends touch (like a “hotdog”). Make a tight crease. When you open your paper up you should now have 8 sections.

Fold you paper back in half again, on the very first crease you created (like a “hamburger”). Hold the paper carefully, and begin to cut into the folded edge on the crease – STOP when you get to the corner where the 4 creases come together. When you open your paper, it should look like you have a big slit in the middle.

Refold you paper long ways (like a “hotdog”) and begin to squeeze the two ends of the paper together so that the hole in your paper closes to form 2 more pages. Fold these 4 page “spokes” together to close the book. Sometimes the book has a mind of its own, and you just let the pages tell you how to close up the book.

And there you have it, your new 8-page, no-glue, no-sew book!

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Bonnie Kaye Whitfield designs and screen prints home textiles + paper goods under the name, Bonnie Kaye Studio. Products are created to inspire memories at home and around the table. A donation is made with every purchase to help feed hungry Americans.

www.BonnieKayeStudio.com

July 30, 2015