Artisan's Asylum from an Artists' Perspective

by Melissa Glick of Melsplace

As a visual artist, I sometimes feel like a minority at the Artisan's Asylum. This 40K sf. converted envelope factory is home to over 200 members who either work in shops (wood, metal, glass, jewelry) or with new technologies (3D printing, laser cutters, computer controlled routers called shop bots) or on bikes, leather, electronics and much more. The Asylum is a place where you can take a class or develop a business. It is considered an incubator for innovation and entrepreneurs by some.

For me it is the place I go almost everyday, were I am surrounded by creative people making things, not un-like a medieval guild. Having access to tools and knowledgeable people makes The Asylum an environment with endless creative possibilities for me, but it can also be overwhelming for someone who has a hard time focusing.

It's thrilling to learn about 3D printing, software programing and electronics, but not having studied physics or computer science, I can feel pretty ignorant. When someone tells me about their project, I need to stop them at the first step because I don't understand how a change in temperature could activate a switch or how playing your recorder attached to a computer can result in notation and sound files you can then use in loops.

I was already working with obsolete technology when I came to The Asylum looking for a work space. Little did I know what a perfect match it would be. The first thing that tipped me off was when successful inventors and PhDs joined me for "take apart sessions. They told me they enjoyed disassembling old computers and that as children this was how they first became interested in what they do now.

Even though we come from different backgrounds, no one looks at me like I'm crazy when I use old computer parts in assemblages combined with collage. Or when I hung little wooden reclaimed chairs, painted in primary colors from the 50 foot ceiling. Seen here during the construction of the Veladrome, which bikes rode around demonstrating the power of centrifugal force. This is an awesome video of the building of the Veladrome in fast motion and put to music.

The best thing of all is that these ingenious, talented people are kind and generous with their knowledge. Working out of the Asylum has had a tremendous influence on my work and I am learning new skills all the time. At first, I used gears as a decorative element in my work, then I leaned to use battery powered motors to make them move. Currently, I am converting computer cooling fans to be reversible in a piece that combines purple glass tiles and collage. My next blog will be about the collaborative project, The River of Connectivity, a 6ft x 4 ft Hacker Creation with 8 moving fans controlled by an ardino processor!

History and Craft at Plimoth Plantation

by Jessica Burko

Last month Lucie Wicker wrote about her visit to the living history museum that is Plimoth Plantation and all the handcraft examples and demonstrations available throughout the property. This month, inspired by Lucie's post and the re-opening of the newly renovated Craft Center at Plimoth Plantation, my family decided to go learn and explore everything this local gem has to offer.

Top image: signage between the 21st Craft Center and the entrance to Plimoth's 17th Century English Village
Middle image: my 2.5-year-old daughter romping through the Village fields to see some sheep
Bottom image: a view of the dwellings in the English Village

If you've never been, Plimoth Plantation is a living museum dedicated to telling the history of Plymouth Colony from the perspective of both the Pilgrims and the Native Wampanoag people. On the property there is a 17th century Wampanoag Homesite and English Village, both remarkably accurate down to every historical detail. Visitors to Plimoth walk through these environments experiencing and learning with each step.

According to the Plimoth Plantation website, "The English Village is a re-creation of the small farming and maritime community built by the Pilgrims along the shore of Plymouth Harbor. In the Village, the year is 1627, just seven years after the arrival of Mayflower. The English Village brings colonial Plymouth vividly to life. Here, you will find modest timber-framed houses furnished with reproductions of the types of objects that the Pilgrims owned, aromatic kitchen gardens, and heritage breeds livestock."

My children, ages 5 and 2.5, loved exploring the homes of the villagers and imagining how we might live in such dark and cramped spaces with open fires and only one bed. A far cry from our modern way of city living for sure! We learned how the Pilgrims built their homes by hand, and crafted every item they needed from the materials the land provided. The people we met throughout the Village explained their methods in voices of the 17th century as costumed role players with adopted names, viewpoints and life histories of the original people living and working in the Colony in 1627.

Top image: toys and dolls handmade and played with by Wampanoag children
Bottom left image: my 5-year-old son learning how to spin flax fibers into linen thread in the English Village
Bottom right image: a Wampanoag woman handcrafting a bag, with her baby on her lap

Nearby at the Wampanoag Homesite, we learned how the 17th century Wampanoag would have lived. We got to explore different kinds of homes including a mat-covered wetu and a bark-covered nush wetu, (a house with three fire pits inside). We again had discussions about what it might be like if we lived in these homes, how it would be different from our own home in Boston, and also different from living in the houses in the English Village. We learned from the Wampanoag at the Homesite how these dwellings were built, by hand, and how the techniques were passed down from generation to generation.

The most wonderful part of this living environment is that the Wampanoag Homesite staff are not role players. They are all Native People, either Wampanoag or from other Native Nations, and they were all dressed in historically accurate clothing made of animal skin and natural fibers. This engaging environment had everyone in my family feeling like we were a part of daily Wampanoag life. 

We saw how meals were cooked in a large outdoor "kitchen" housed under a simple shelter with an open fire. It was truly awe inspiring to witness members of the Wampanoag Nation make their cooking pots from clay, craft their cooking utensils from wood and stone, harvest their crops, grind their grain, and using only the ingredients that were available in the 1600s, cook a meal for their families. I left with a new perspective on how our own meals arrive at the table and a deeper resolve to adopt a more home grown, handmade, slow foods lifestyle in my own family.

Top image: loom weaving demonstrations in the Craft Center
Middle image: my children partaking in a craft project with illustrator Frane Lessac
Bottom image: a ceramicist at work in the Craft Center

Our last stop of the day was the newly renovated Craft Center at Plimoth Plantation. As the Plimoth Plantation website explains, "Since 1992, the Craft Center has provided guests with a rare glimpse into the historic crafts and technologies that allow the Museum to so vividly re-create the look and feel of the 17th century. Using tools, materials and craft techniques of the 1600s, Native artisans make stone, wood and sinew tools, porcupine headdresses and hand-coiled clay pots. Other artisans practice historic English trades, making reproductions of the objects that 17th century colonists imported from England."

At the core of the Craft Center renovations are a working bakery for visitors to view demonstrations of 17th-century baking techniques, and the addition of hands-on activities for visitors. There were extra presentations and demonstrations the weekend we visited as part of the Craft Center celebration. One of the highlights for us was seeing a presentation by a husband and wife team who wrote and illustrated a new children's book entitled The Mayflower. Mark Greenwood, the author, spoke about his research for the book and his desire to make the history and story of a people escaping religious persecution accessible to small children. Frané Lessac, the artist, described her process of creating the images in the book and then led an activity to create a ship out of paper that opened up so a story could be written within it. My children were riveted, and we brought a copy of the book home as a memento of our Plimoth Plantation experience.

While the day was filled with history lessons big and small, for me it was an experiential view into a true handmade lifestyle. My son and I recently had a conversation in which I told him that when his Nana was his age there were no cell phones, no TVs, no paper towels, and no computers. His response was, "How did they do anything?" to which I replied, "They found other ways." It's true there are now endless shortcuts and means to accomplish most things while maintaining clean hands, but there are still endless ways of using those same hands to make what you need from what you have around you. While I won't be throwing away my cell phone and laptop any time soon, our day at Plimoth Plantation has definitely inspired me to incorporate more handcraft and good old fashioned hands-on resourcefulness into our daily modern life.

Why Handmade: Visit to Prunella’s Workshop

by Lynn Mohney of Prunella’s Workshop

This week marked a historical event in Prunella’s Workshop’s history. We had our first tour, demonstration and lesson. Boston Handmade members joined us on this momentous occasion and managed to convince me it can be done. Not only is it possible, it was a lovely experience.

Our shop space is limited. Our room had to be divided in half to provide an adequate safe place for a toddler to play during the day. While many crafts are possible with a toddler directly under foot, we work with oxy-propane torches. Having a child grab your elbow at an inopportune moment is not a great plan. That said, our space is planned out efficiently to maximize the number of tools available to us.

Jill of Early Bird Designs forming a bracelet

After pleasant conversation over refreshments in the playroom, we adjourned to the studio, where I introduced Boston Handmade to my workspace. I handed each lady a copper bracelet blank, explaining that, while not fully annealed, the blanks were not work hardened. Annealing is the process of heating up the metal so it is soft and pliable. The metal becomes work hardened as we work it with hammers, and if it is worked too much it can become brittle and break. I invited my guests to bend the metal with their bare hands. A common misconception is that metal will not bend as it is cold and hard; as such timid hands will not bend the bracelet. I demonstrated the metal would bend quite easily, and could easily be hammered flat again.

I proceeded to demonstrate the use of the hydraulic press. While the bracelets could be made in their entirety without the press, I wanted to to show this quick and easy process. Yet another eureka moment occurred when they realized the nylon the bracelet was formed into was quite solid. When in action, the pressure of the press squeezes the nylon in such a way it appears almost as soft as jell-o! I did a quick annealing demonstration in which I showed how to add a hammer texture and the process of making the bracelet without the press.

The real fun was to follow! Jill of Early Bird Designs showed us what she had learned by making a bracelet of her own she was able to wear home.  There is nothing like watching someone learn something entirely new. Jill was a great sport, and she made it look really easy. That was when I made my deep dark confession. I too had never made a bracelet using the hydraulic press before, as typically this is my partner’s domain.

All in all, this was an interesting learning experience for me. While I am comfortable with my processes, I had never branched out into teaching prior. I wasn’t entirely certain how it would pan out, but I was confident my Boston Handmade team would be patient with me should my plan not work out as intended. I learned I needed more time! These experiences never play out exactly as I imagine in my head, but I am pleased to say it was fairly close.

Have you ever done a demonstration/lesson in your studio? How would you prepare?

An Artisan's Day

by Leanne of Loomination

For the past year, I have been working mostly full time as an artisan. Before that, I had a day job and squeezed my studio time into days off that were already jam packed with chores and errands.

I always thought it would be amazing to devote myself completely to my craft and wondered what my days would be like. I spend the vast majority of my time weaving, but there is also a lot of work that goes into the running of a business. I recently finished a business program that really changed the way I work and the structure of my days has changed a lot. We have a live/work studio, so on most days I don’t leave the house, which can sometimes feel a bit claustrophobic.

Studio side of the loft

Here’s a glimpse into my recent (super-glamorous) schedule, so you can see what it’s like for yourself!

Wednesday:

7:30 - rise and shine (yeah, I know, that’s super late, I’m working on it, I swear!)

7:30-9:00 - computer work. (Today it was working on my wholesale line sheet and figuring out a password protected area of my website for wholesale ordering.)

9:00-9:30 - yoga

9:15 - boyfriend leaves for work

9:30-10:30 - breakfast, shower, walk the dog (who has to sniff EVERYTHING)

Recent work in progress!

10:30-2:00 - weaving

2:00-2:15 - lunch break (leftovers - no cooking today!)

2:15-4:00 - more weaving

4:00-4:15 - another dog walk (again with the sniffing)

 

He's cute, though, so it's worth it!

4:15-7:00 - still more weaving

7:00 - boyfriend returns from work

7:00-8:30 - cooking, dinner, Netflixing (currently: Boss)

8:30-11:00 - more computer work while Netflixing (tonight it's this blog post, an email blast, and a ton of emails)

11:00-12:00 - relaxing and reading

A lot of my days look like this, although I don’t always work in the evening. Usually, I do some finishing work (fringe twisting, hand sewing, etc.) on the couch, but most of my finishing work gets done while I'm at shows, so I’ve been doing a lot more work on the computer in the evenings lately.

What I love most is having the flexibility to decide what I want to work on and when. Sometimes you just need to switch gears for a while to get your inspiration back.

Do you work from home? What’s your workday like? 

Very Pinteresting

by Jill J. Burns, Early Bird Designs

Pinterest is my favorite social media platform. I suppose it’s not surprising that as an artist, I would be most interested in a site that is mainly images. As many of you know, Pinterest is a 

virtual bulletin board where you can collect and organize images by creating boards and pinning content for different topics that appeal to you. Now lots (over 17 million) of people use Pinterest for all kinds of reasons – perfect for collecting ideas for that bathroom remodel or planning Grampa’s 80th birthday. You can make that one a community board and family can pin their finds. But for me, and other artists/makers, it is great resource for inspiration, source

images for new work, and keeping current with trends. Having a tidy place for my curated images is super sweet. I still cut out images I find here and there and paste them into my sketchbook.  

Sometime old school still works too.  Boston Handmade has an eclectic group of boards with something for everyone. If you follow the boards any new content will come up on your homepage.

Pinterest as a marketing tool

Did I mention that lots of people use Pinterest? Well businesses have figured out it can be a powerful marketing tool. Artists and makers should get it on that action too. Since many folks 

make boards for projects they are planning, -- weddings, parties, wishlists and gift giving ideas – your
work could end up on someone board, which then gets repined, liked and spread through the virtual world like a wild fire. Pinterest has added a new feature so you can enrich your pins and have images linked to their original source. It makes things convenient for viewers to go directly to your Etsy or website. 

Here is some more info on using Pinterest to its fullest marketing potential from Copyblogger and ArtBizblog.

Pinterest the largest rabbit hole of them all?  

Now we all know that social media turns procrastination into an art form. Since Pinterest is a feast for the eyes, hours can drift by looking at one compelling image that leads to the next, and the next. Not gonna lie, Pinterest is pretty seductive that way. So darn visually mesmerizing. So watch out!

Take time off and do something fun

by Diane Ivey of Lady Dye Yarns

Sometimes taking a break in your craft can be so rewarding! I have spent this whole summer dyeing yarn, teaching classes, and connecting with yarn stores and I realized I really needed to have a break. Often times we are so focused on our work that we forget the other important things in our lives such as family and friends.

This summer, I made it an effort to take care of myself and do fun activities. Although we did not have a hot summer here in Boston, I did find time to go to the beach with friends and soak up some sun and knit. As summer comes to and end and fall is in the air, I want to encourage all of you to take some time to do something fun outside of your work. If you live in New England consider going apple picking, wine tastings, and even jumping in leaves this fall! It’s all about a work life balance!

An afternoon at Extras For Creative Reuse in Lynn, MA

by Jessica Burko

For the past decade or so I've been very interested in creating artwork from already existing materials. The idea of rescuing what might otherwise be discarded and giving it new life through art deeply inspires me. I recently had the opportunity to gather some materials from a non-profit warehouse full of donated items in Lynn, MA called Extras for Creative Reuse.

From their website, "Extras for Creative Reuse is a unique place where people come to be inspired and find materials to create, invent, explore, and learn. Each week, we divert about 10,000 pounds of materials from the landfills and help get them out into the learning and creative communities... For the past thirty-three years, teachers, artists, educators and parents have come to rely on Extras for our low to no cost materials to supplement their educational and creative arts programs and projects." 

The materials available are wide ranging including very large paper, random office supplies, so many fabric samples and scraps it will make your head spin, architectural samples such as tiles enough for thousands of mosaics, and unidentifiable thingamagigs to create just about anything from sculpture to imaginative functional items. All of these materials are donated from manufacturers, businesses, individuals and institutions from around New England.

I came away with a large stack of rainbow colored felt, a giant roll of white paper, a year's supply of pens and paper clips, several books on crafting with kids, a large bag of wooden train tracks, and a small pile of strange items my son choose including tiny plastic "pirate bottles" and a vintage 1980's handheld Tetris game.

To learn more about this valuable resource visit: http://www.extrasforcreativereuse.org/

Why Handmade: What is Your Title?

by Lynn Mohney of Prunella’s Workshop

What do you call yourself? Why? It seems a simple question for some, and for others it can be quite complicated. Are you an artist? Artisan? Craftsman? Designer? How do you define each one? Are there negative connotations to any or all of these for you? When you break it down further to your specific specialty, is your title clear, or do you need to break it down even further?

A lot of emotional weight is carried with terms such as artist, and craftsman. Such terms carry different meanings for people, depending on their personal experience, and it can be difficult to separate emotion from objectivity. The title one person uses for themselves may be unsatisfactory to someone else in the same or similar field. For sake of objectivity, I’ve looked up the definitions of some of these terms in the Merriam Webster Dictionary.

Double Infinity Scarf by Loomination

Artist: a person who creates art : a person who is skilled at drawing, painting, etc.; a skilled performer; a person who is very good at something

Art: something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feeling; works created by artists : paintings, sculptures, etc., that are created to be beautiful or to express important ideas or feelings; the methods and skills used for painting, sculpting, drawing, etc.

Artisan: a person who is skilled at making things by hand

Craftsman: a person (especially a man) who makes beautiful objects by hand; a person (especially a man) who is very skilled at doing something

Craft: an activity that involves making something in a skillful way by using your hands; a job or activity that requires special skill

Designer: a person who plans how something new will look and be made; a person who creates and often produces a new product, style, etc.

Handmade wool Felt clutch by Sugin Textiles

Did you find any surprises? I personally was struck by the definitions of craftsman v.s. artisan. I’ve preferred artisan over craft or craftsman, as the latter has taken on a meaning of unskilled creating. Playing with play dough, as opposed to creating ceramic pottery, if you will. There is definitely nothing wrong with the former; I like to do it all of the time, but I don’t have to be good at it to call it a craft.  Yet, by very definition, Craftsman and artisan are almost the exact same thing. In fact, the advantage of using the term artisan over craftsman seems to be the gender neutrality of the word.

Vase by Early Bird Designs

In addition, I noticed the word designer has a more hands off definition. There seems to be more room in the definition to allow someone else to create the product based upon the imagination of someone else; however, the definition leaves room for a designer who creates their own ideas.

I wasn’t surprised to find the definition of art/artist to be be the most ambiguous. Art is a difficult concept to define, in my opinion, as so much of it is based upon emotion. For example, I had an art history professor who felt there was nothing more beautiful than the emotion and expression he saw in a Jackson Pollock painting. My husband has shared with me he sees the work of a sloppy house painter, who dripped paint all over a canvas. In the world of art, both opinions can have validity, as it is based upon emotion as much as skill. One cannot force someone to have an emotion if they aren’t feeling it! However, by being vague, the definition leaves room for any craft to elevate to be considered art based upon the response to the work, and the ability of the artisan.

However, we don’t typically introduce ourselves as an artist or a craftsperson. There is a lack of specificity to the terms which doesn’t help our patrons. We say we are photographers or painters. We are mixed media artists. It isn’t always even that simple. For example, if you sew, are you a seamstress? Or do you call yourself a sewer? Maybe you are a tailor or a sewist. One member of Boston Handmade has mentioned she doesn’t like sewer because of the word’s resemblance to a gutter in spelling. She likes seamstress, and feels it reclaims woman’s work of the past in a positive way; whereas another member objects to seamstress due to the suggested hierarchy of seamstress to tailor, the latter being a male higher position in the economic scale. Meanwhile just what is a fiber artist or a textile artist, specifically?

My own field has many titles with slightly different nuances to each. There are jewelry artists, jewelry designers, metal designers, metalsmiths, beaders, and wire wrappers, just to name a few. Within my own house we have different titles. My husband refers to himself as a metalsmith, whereas I usually call myself a jewelry designer/metalsmith.

Why does any of this even matter, anyway? We can say what really matters is the quality of the execution of our work, and this is true. However, how we define ourselves can make a lasting impression on our patrons and other artists/artisans. Each person we come into contact with has a perception of what each of these titles mean, and this perception can be the difference regarding whether they take us and our work seriously. If you are finding people aren’t understanding what you do, or the depth of the skill required to do what you do, consider changing up how you define yourself. You may be pleasantly surprised!

So. What do you call yourself now?

Inspiration from the Brimfield Show

by Dana of The Patterned Peacock

As a surface pattern designer, I often find inspiration in vintage textiles and patterns. Which is why I always look forward to the Brimfield Show. If you haven’t heard of it, Brimfield is one of the largest outdoor antique shows in the US. It takes place three times a year (May, July, and September) every year. The show is comprised of thousands of vendors in several fields that line a half-mile strip of Rt. 20 in the heart Brimfield, MA. To my understanding the fields aren’t organized by any category or aesthetic so you never know what you’re going to find in the next tent. Items range from high-end antiques to yard sale junk. And there is never a shortage of interesting things to see. Check out this chair.

And this suitcase by Samsonsite was very cool too.

So here’s what I did come home with:

Vintage Pyrex: I’ve decided to start a collection

Wooden pattern blocks from India: I might try making some fabric for fun

The best find of the day was the Vintage Fashion Tent. It was a new addition to the show and it offers vintage clothes, accessories, jewelry, and fabric. I was immediately drawn to the rack of vintage swatches. Unfortunately, I found the tent at the end of the day so they were packing up the swatches as I arrived. Donna of Donnaland (the tent owner/organizer) assured me that they would be back in September with a much larger collection than what they brought to the July show. (That alone is a reason to go back for the next show.)

The rest of the tent stayed open and I had a wonderful time rummaging through the boxes full of vintage scarves. I found three favorites to use as inspiration.

Summer Inspiration

By Stephanie Cave of Stephanie Cave Design Studio

One of the few artist shacks still in existence at the sand dunes of the National Seashore in Provincetown.

Over the past few years, some of my most inspiring moments as an artist have come from spending time in Provincetown on Cape Cod. This seaside beach town has so much to offer, from galleries, restaurants and shops, to the beautiful seascape, flowers and found objects. It has sparked creativity and happiness, as I’ve been able to spend seemingly timeless moments with friends and family.  

Some of the beautiful scenery that can be seen all over town

Last year I was also fortunate enough to be able to take a couple of art classes to expand my repertoire and this year, I’m doing the same. As an artist who primarily uses textiles to make quilts, home décor and apparel, I have enjoyed stepping outside of my comfort zone to explore wood blocking, printmaking and collage.

A hand printed piece from my printmaking class.

This summer I am excited to be dabbling in screen printing, bookmaking and drawing. The life of a seamstress is often be confined to strict dimensions and calculations, and so I have found it both enjoyable and challenging to work outside of these parameters. Often my subject matter remains closely tied into my sewing and I find it a refreshing way to approach something I love from a different perspective.  

Why Handmade: Ice Cream

by Lynn Mohney of Prunella’s Workshop

Morse Code Bracelet by Lush Beads Industrial

Happy Independence Day! How will you be celebrating the Fourth of July? I think of today as a day of hot sun, swimming, barbeques, watermelon and fireworks. Families and friends join to have a rocking good time with music and fun. It’s a day of relaxing and partying. And of course, one must not forget the ice cream.

Chocolate Gelato print by The Patterned Peacock

My favorite flavor growing up was strawberry. Now I tend to lean towards black raspberry with dark chocolate chip, or anything with mocha. The kids prefer chocolate. I have always preferred my ice cream to come from small farms where the ice cream is made fresh by hand every day; however, only recently have I considered the significance of this. I remember days as a child running out to the ice cream truck, my tooth fairy in hand. Who didn’t enjoy an ice cream sandwich as part of their school lunch. (I’m not sure schools still allow that!) Never considered at the time, how chock full of preservatives those manufactured prepared food really were. Just some (but not all) ingredients on a popular ice cream truck favorite: Tapioca maltodextrin, propylene glycol monostearate, guar gum, monoglycerides, carboxymethylcellulose, carrageenan, and natural and artificial flavors. Yummy. The ingredients in homemade ice cream? Whipping cream, half and half cream, sugar, and flavor of your choice. There are variances, of course. For example, some flavors are custard based and have egg, but you get the picture. You can pronounce the ingredients. Does this mean we never get ice cream from the neighborhood truck? Of course not.

What does ice cream have to do with handmade arts and crafts? Perhaps very little. However, it does illustrate a perk to purchasing from a person who actually made the item you are purchasing. By hand making ice cream daily, the crafter avoids unnecessary preservatives and fillers our bodies don’t need. We receive a fresher product, which never sat on a semi to be delivered from the manufacturer to different distribution centers, only to eventually get to your ice cream man, school, grocery store, etc. When we buy handmade crafts directly from the creator, we have access to more information about the product. We know who made it. The artisan can specifically explain what materials were used, and where and how they were obtained. Try asking your local department store who made their products, and how it was done!

Please See, one of a kind mixed media encaustic collage, on canvas, by Jessica Burko

Many artists have moved to using recycled and/or repurposed materials when available for their work. Where handmade ice cream is better for our bodies (OK, maybe our bodies don’t need ice cream ever, but it is a nice treat) handmade crafts can be better for the environment. While we may still like to run out to the ice cream man, and there are times when the department store is just the way to go, we should try to go handmade when ever we can!

4th of July, original mixed media collage by McDonald Mixed Media

What are your plans for the holiday? Are you going to see a firework display? (There’s something I wouldn’t want to do by myself!) Maybe light up the grill for a barbeque? I’ll bet you are thinking about a nice big ice cream cone by now. What flavor?

We partied, Etsy style.

Boston Handmade members Jill J. Burns, Bev Feldman, Abby Bohn, Kerrie Beck

Oh Etsy, you never cease to inspire. Boston Handmade got ourselves organized and hosted our very own Etsy Craft Party on the internationally recognized day that you created for the world to celebrate the joy of craft. And we had a blast!

Our party location was held in Natick, MA at the studio building of Cody's Creations, and we were so grateful to the non-profit tutoring program, Kids Connect, for letting us use their multipurpose space for the evening.

The Etsy Craft Party theme for 2014 was Recapture: Bring new meaning to your photographs. Etsy provided ideas and templates for us to re-use old photographs and embellish them with embroidery. So we gathered supplies, printed up some basic embroidery instructions along with a few photos of Etsy embroidered photos for inspiration, and we got down to the business of having fun with craft!

For many of us sewing was an entirely new concept, but we shared skills and tips and in no time we were all adding a new tactile element to our snapshots. Joining us for the evening were Boston Handmade members along with fans of our group and folks who simply heard of our event and wanted to try something different for the evening. We scanned actual photographs (primarily of the vintage variety) and printed them onto cardstock, this way we wouldn't damage the originals, and the cardstock was actually the perfect weight for stitching.

This was a truly fun night and we will definitely do it again next year, so stay tuned!