A Little Sheepy Reminder

A Woolly Little Sheep on My Shelf 

a small framed photo from a craft show long ago

Many years ago now (at least 7 years ago, maybe more), I participated in one of my very first craft shows. If I remember correctly, it was a local show in the Kansas City area when my husband and I lived there for a while. I had created a lot of crafts over the years for myself and others, but just recently started to make items through traditional feltmaking for a profit. I hadn't sold my items in public much before and had recently started selling on Etsy with moderate success.

I am ashamed to admit that I can't remember the name of the photographer in the booth next to mine, but she was a very nice, young woman - there with her dad helping her unpack and set up, unwrapping each photo one at a time to display. She had a lot of photos of local sites like the Plaza light display at Christmas time and Kauffman Stadium. My husband and I chatted with her off and on and purchased a few small local attraction photos including a Plaza print. We had to be careful not to spend all of our craft sales earnings for the day, but honestly, we usually did and then some when we attended shows - way too many great artists concentrated in one place not to be tempted.

At the end of the show, I was very touched when the young photographer gave me the little sheep photo above already in a beautiful silver frame. It was larger, prettier and more expensive than the few 4x6 black and white photos we purchased from her. I was surprised and honored that she'd hand it over so freely. She hadn't sold much that day, and I could tell it was a bit disappointing to her. Yet, the same way she unpacked everything so carefully, she packed up everything again for another show on another day. I never saw her again.

I have carried the little framed sheep through a few big moves and shuffled it from wall to shelf and occasionally tucked away in a closet, but I always remember the kindness from a fellow artist that surrounds it. The encouragement that it embodies. The photo is more about remembering where I came from and who I am today because of it rather than the framed sheep itself. 

Today, I don't remember her name or even her face anymore, just her youthfulness and hopefulness about what she loved to do. I also remember the meaning and the feeling of encouragement that is imprinted on the framed photo. Other than craft supplies, I'm not much of a hoarder of material or deeply sentimental things. There are, however, exceptions - like my sheep.

Do have an object that embodies a feeling for you? Or an encouragement in the form of something tangible?

Come see me and my handmade felted goodies at the No Coast Craft-o-rama this weekend in Minneapolis! Shop, browse, and buy!

If you live in the Minneapolis area or just happen to be there this weekend, don't miss out on the No Coast Craft-o-rama. It is an extravaganza of top notch handmade arts and crafts. I will be a vendor this year, and I'm thrilled about it! I'll be selling a wide range of my felted goodies from hats to scarves to wrist cuffs to needle felted jewelry to brooches to wallets to . . . and the list goes on and on. I'll literally have hundreds of items displayed for sale. Some of them you can see in the photo above, and there are some brand new items that are not listed in my Etsy shop too. Besides my felted goodies, there will also be dozens of other vendors with handmade items from soaps to screen prints to jewelry to . . . well, the list goes on and on.

I will be in booth number C-4 (right by an entrance area). If you plan to go, please look me up on the vendor map and stop by. I'd love to meet you! Be sure to introduce yourself and let me know that you read my blog. And, as far as my blog goes, this will probably be the last post that I make until early next week because I am knee deep in handmade felted goodies in preparation for the big event. I will also be putting my Etsy shop in vacation mode later today or tomorrow until sometime early next week. If you've had your eye on anything there, I'd suggest that you snatch it up now. With over 10,000 visitors expected at the two day show, I don't know what I'll have left when I return (hopefully not much!). You can find more info about the No Coast Craft-o-rama below or visit the website for complete details. I sincerely hope to see you there!


When: Friday, December 5, from 3 PM to 8PM and Saturday, December 6 from 9 AM to 5 PM
Where: Midtown Global Market on Lake Street in Minneapolis
Who: Anyone and Everyone who loves crafty and artsy things! (It is a great place for Christmas and Holiday gift shopping!)
How much: It is free to get in, but I know that you'll be tempted by all the handmade goodies there so bring some cash!
What else: There are many great places to eat at the Midtown Global Market.

New Handmade Tie Dye Felted Wool Scarves! And a little craft show reminder too . . .

I just wanted to share my latest ties dye creations. I am having a lot of fun felting basic white merino scarves then dyeing them in a kettle. I use rubber bands and marbles to create the stripes and dot patterns. I'd like to also use a needle and thread to stitch some patterns into the scarves before dyeing them, but that will take a little more time to do. There is an instant gratification when just using the rubber band method. It is quick and pretty easy to tie dye this way. It takes a little longer to make the hand felted wool scarves though. I will be listing this new tie dye collection of scarves for sale in my Etsy shop this week and next week, and I'll probably be making more soon. You can also see more photos of them in my flickr photo gallery. If you have any good color suggestions for my next batch of tie dye scarves, please do leave a comment! I really like most of the colors so far, but your opinions are greatly appreciated.

Also, I wanted to remind you that I will be selling my wares at a craft show coming up on this Saturday, November 22nd. If you are going to be in the Kansas City area, please stop by the Christmas for a Cure Holiday Open House and say "hello!" You will find several artists and crafters with their uniquely handmade items for sale. It is a good time to Christmas and Holiday shop! Click here for time and location information. And, since I will doing a show on Saturday, this also means that I will be taking down some of my shop listings for that day. If the item sells at the show, it will be gone. If you've had your eye on a scarf, purse, or otherwise one-of-a-kind item, I suggest that you think about making a purchase before Friday late afternoon when I take the listings down until Monday.

Oh, and one more little thing - today, November 20th, is my 32nd Birthday!! No, I am not (yet) ashamed to say my age. My thirties have been very good to me so far . . . I am thankful for all the years that I've had and look forward to many more years if that is what God has in store for me.

National and Local Arts and Crafts Shows: So how do you find them? And how do you participate?

This past Saturday, my husband and I woke up early (well, early enough for me anyway) and went to a local area art festival. It is called the Plaza Art Fair and is a long standing tradition here in Kansas City. It is considered one of the top five art fairs in the country with highly competitive jurying for artists to participate. And, it gathers over 200,000 visitors during its three days. The mood and quality of artists and their work is very upscale and professional in every respect. Of all the wonderful things that there are to do here in Kansas City, the Plaza Art Fair is one of my favorites that I look forward to every year. It is inspiring and intimidating because of all the extraordinary displays of art from ceramics, to textiles, to mixed media, and beyond. I don't know that I'll ever be that caliber of artist to compete for such a coveted spot in a show like the Plaza Art Fair, but I certainly love to go see who this year's artists are and what exquisite things they make.

Personally, participating in public venue shows can be a bit nerve racking to me. I consider myself an introvert in such settings so it is more difficult for me to comfortably chat with browsers and handle the crowds. Usually, I choose to only do a few arts and crafts fairs during the year, but I would like to step out of my comfort zone and start doing more. In Fall of 2007, I participated in my largest show yet, the Strange Folk Festival in the St. Louis area, and had a wonderful time! I also learned a lot about selling in a large public venue, but unfortunately, this year, my schedule did not permit me to do that show again. (If you are in the area, I do highly recommend that you go check it out!) I am however thrilled to have been accepted as a vendor in the No Coast Craft-o-Rama in Minneapolis on December 5th & 6th! You may have read my previous post about it. This is really the only large public venue show that I've planned to do this year, and I am in full force making things for it. I hope it turns out to be a fabulous event for everyone involved.

Whether or not you choose to be a vendor at local or national shows, I always encourage artists and crafters to attend as many of them as they can - just to browse and chat with the vendors. These events are food for the artist's soul and can be quite eye-opening to what is currently popular in the world of arts, crafts, and design. Below you'll find a list of resource information on where to look for local shows and other artsy events. You'll also helpful to links arts and crafts show preparation.

And, before I sign off for this post, for those fiber artists out there, I just wanted to share two fellow fiber artists that I found at the Plaza Art Fair this past weekend. Annaesthetic, a.k.a. Anna Shapiro, is a woven textile designer that produces the most lovely scarves, shawls, and other clothing accessories - just amazing! Also her booth display was terrific. It was like a little boutique. And, Miriam Carter is a traditional feltmaker who had a variety of scarves, hats, and other clothing. Her lattice style felted scarves in many different colors are a classic.

Now on to some resource info . . .

Where to find event listings:
www.indiecraftshows.com
www.eventlister.com
www.craftlister.com
www.lunacraft.com
www.zapplication.org
www.juriedartservices.com
www.hpifestivals.com
www.bazaarbizarre.org
www.sunshineartist.com
www.festivalnet.com
www.artandcraftshows.net
www.craftmasternews.com
www.artfaircalendar.com
www.midwestartfairs.com

How to prepare for an arts & crafts fair:
Attending a Craft Show - All Fiber
Preparing for an Art or Craft Festival - Squidoo
How To: Prepare for a craft fair - GetCrafty
A Craft Show Check List - The Crafts Report
Craft Show Booth Ideas - Craft Show Success
Do a Craft Show w/o Breaking the Bank - The Storque
Arts & Crafts Fair & Shows Flickr Group
Craft Fair Goodies & Ideas Flickr Group
Photos of my own craft show table displays

**The image is a screen shot of some handy dandy craft show aprons that I found doing an Etsy search for "craft show apron" - these would be very useful and are super cute!

Everyone needs a little heART! Kansas City Etsy Valentines Trunk Show, Friday February 1st!

I'll be a vendor at this upcoming Kansas City area trunk show. It is held this Friday at Shiraz Restaurant from 7 - 9 p.m. There will be several other Etsy sellers participating from our local KCEtsy street team. Please come by, browse, and shop local for your loved ones this Valentine's Day. You can read more about the event on our KCEtsy blog.

Come feel the felted goodness in person! KCEtsy Trunk Show this Saturday!

Don't miss out on some fuzzy felted goodies at the Kansas City Etsy Street Team’s Artist Trunk Show. Come buy some holiday gifts (or some goodies all for yourself) at this local KC area indie arts fair. Browse and buy unique, quality, handcrafted items and support your local artists and crafters!

Here's all the juicy details:

Date: Saturday, November 10, 2007
Location: Bella Dance Studio
Address: Bella Dance Studio, Westport Center, 508 Westport Rd. Suite 102, KCMO, 64111
Admission: FREE
Hours: 3pm – 8pm
URL: kcetsy.blogspot.com

Description:
Shop local and shop handmade from local artists and handcrafters in the Kansas City Area who sell their wares on www.etsy.com. A wide range of high quality, unique, handcrafted items will be available. Here is just a glimpse at what this show will have to offer. Amazing wool felt creations; stunning mixed media and digital art; beautiful ornaments, stationary and pendants using vintage art; chic handmade wearables; classic accessories for babes and tots, and much, much more!

During the show enjoy music by DJ Labeaugot, and sample foods by Personal Chefs.

For a list of all our local Etsy artists, visit our KCEtsy blog. View pictures of our recent work at our KCEtsy Flickr group.

Text description of show contributed by member of KCEtsy - tinystitches.etsy.com.

Strange Folk Festival update . . .

Well, it has taken me a while, but I've finally gotten around to posting some photos of the Strange Folk Festival. It was a blast to attend and very well trafficked with buyers as well as packed with top quality vendors. As far as sales go, I did fairly well and more than paid for my trip and time. I'm overall pleased with the festival and hope to be able to go back as a vendor next year. A big thanks to Autumn, our event coordinator guru! She did a wonderful job of making the festival a great success.

Etsy was well represented there with Lauren (stellaloela) and Amy (wonderamy), both Etsy administration. They had a lovely table set up with all kinds of free Etsy goodies and info. You can see a photo of the Etsy banner below. My table was always so busy that I had to send my husband over to snag some nifty free stuff for me!

Please have a look at the event photos below. You may also go to my flickr account to see more photos and full photo descriptions.

Just a little reminder . . . The Strange Folk Festival!

I'm a vendor at the Strange Folk Festival in O'Fallon, Illinois, just outside of St. Louis, on Saturday, Sept. 22, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Community Park.
Please visit the event's website for more information and driving directions.

Meet some of my fellow crafters . . .

While at the Urban Bazaar this weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting several other vendors. That was really one of my favorite parts of the entire experience! I was excited to find several local talented artists and crafters to chat with about their experiences in selling handmade items. It is always nice to get ideas and gab about what you really love to do in life - create and be crafty!

Here's a list of several of my fellow vendors along with their website addresses and/or Etsy shops. Please go browse and see what they have to offer . . .

sylviac.etsy.com - a wonderful KC photographer and aspiring author. You can also check out her literary blog at sylvias-journal.blogspot.com

BellaArtandDesign.com - these are two of the sweetest crafty ladies that you'll ever meet. They offer a range of hand painted totes, jackets, and linens.

alteredeleanors.etsy.com - a funny, quirky local crafter who makes some amusing paper crowns with titles like "Hussy" and "Tramp." She also does altered clothing and some custom orders.

janay-a.com - a fashion designer and fiber artist who is also just a wonderful person and extremely nice to chat with! You can also visit her Etsy shop at abstractpretty.etsy.com

Well, I know that I've left out a few of my fabulous fellow vendors, and I apologize! I need to go find your business cards so that I can add your sites for all to visit. I hope some of my readers take a peak at these great ladies' shops and sites!

Upcoming Kansas City Event . . . Urban Bazaar

West Bottoms Urban Bazaar
I'm a vendor at this local event on Saturday, Sept. 15, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 1221 Union Avenue, Kansas City, MO, in the West Bottoms. If you're local or up for a drive, please stop by, browse, and do a little shopping! The bazaar features several local artists and crafters, and admission is only a dollar for the Saturday event!

I'm just dyeing - roving and locks!

Well, I've been keeping quite busy in preparation for a few upcoming arts and crafts festivals. Here's a sneak peak at some of the wool roving and locks that I dyed over the weekend. Don't be surprised if you see these colors in some future hats, scarves, and jewelry items. I mixed dye colors to come up with that purple roving, and I'm very pleased with it. It reminds me of a grape slush - yummy!