Harvard Museum of Natural History

By Crystal of Vintage by Crystal

A couple of months ago I took a little trip to the Harvard Museum of Natural History. It's free on Sunday mornings for Massachusetts residents...so I decided to take advantage and I sure am glad I did!

I've always found inspiration in nature and growing up on a dairy farm surrounded by woods and fields and ponds and streams...there was plenty of nature to be found. Since moving to Boston 3 and a half years ago from upstate New York...I found nature wasn't at an arms reach anymore. People, restaurants, stores, office buildings and culture took it's place. Little did I know however that a wealth of natural inspiration was in fact at my finger tips. There was more variety and things were even closer up than I had experienced growing up. It was all at the Museum! Room after room after room displayed rocks and historical artifacts and taxidermy animals from every continent! It really was stunning to see the different examples of what nature had to offer. The only thing that was missing was the natural habitat and living, moving creatures.

While I was there I snapped away with my camera. I put together a little mosaic of some of my favorite and most inspiring subjects. The color and texture of animals against pretty blue backgrounds. The shape and size of weird and bizarre rocks. I was in natural history museum heaven! :)

If you're a Massachusetts resident, admission to the museum is free from 9-12 on Sundays. Go check it out and get inspired and educated!

Monday Mosaic - Wrap It Up!

There are so many amazing handmade items waiting for you in the on-line shops of Boston Handmade members - check them out and give handmade for the holidays!
Items in this mosaic have been created by:
MaJenta Designs
Hand Me Downs
Vintage by Crystal
muchacha K
Mimi Kirchner
Stonehouse Studio
Designs by Lulubelle
Lucy Wicker Photography
Sea Glass Things
Kirsten Bassion
The Hole Thing
thirteenthstory
Books by Bexx
Yarn Obsession
Elizabeth Brennick Designs
K. Hawkins Photo

Winter

By: Sedruola of Yarn Obsession

I've never been a big fan of Winter. It was always a season I had to "get through" in order to get to the seasons I do enjoy, namely Spring, Summer, and my very favorite Autumn.
However, since crocheting and knitting I've come to have a fondness for Winter that has allowed me to step back and take a look at the positives Winter brings. Below is a list of reason I think Winter is now not only bearable, but one to look forward too just as much as the others.
There is beauty in the barren trees. It's a time when you get to see the shape of the skeleton that makes up a tree and see through the branches to the other side. When they catch snow or ice, it is glorious!
Long sleeves and socks! I love to be "toasty" and in the Winter cuddling up under a blanket or dressing in those long sleeves and socks, makes it easier to "weather" the cold. A nice toasty fire is also something that can only be enjoyed in the Winter.
Then finally, dressing in lovely warmth-bearing accessories is the most fun. Wrapping your fingers in those gloves or your head in that scarf helps keep the wintery cold out and the cuddleness at an all time high!
I'm not going to say that Winter has become my favorite season, but I will say that I've come to appreciate the soft falling snow, the slush and the cuddles that come in the Winter. There is always an excuse to get closer or drink something that warms you when it's cold outside. So, it may not be my favorite season, but it's wrapping itself into the reasons I do love living in New England.
Images courtesy of:
Knight27
Tactile Baby
Handmedowns
Yarnobsession

Such Great Heights

by Jen of Blue Alvarez Designs

So, a year ago, I started this dress. And I just finished it in time for the Boston Handmade Downtown store opening:


It didn't take a year to finish because of the labor. I had it largely done and put together the summer I learned to use knitting machines at RISD. But when I put it together, the seams were too large, and the task of taking it all apart with a seam ripper - without ripping into the very delicate knitting - was so daunting that I avoided it for a long time. Finally this year something inspired me to pick it back up again, and now, save for the under-layer I'd like to make to go with it, it's finally complete.

This dress brings up a question that I find myself asking a lot. Why make something that you would never wear? It's not that I wouldn't like to wear this. It does fit me, and it is lovely. But on what occasion could I possibly take this out of the house? Would I wear it on the T, to the movies, to work? More importantly, what is the point of clothing that isn't immediately practical? Beyond merely the one fancy outfit that gathers dust in the back of the closet, where do such fanciful creations belong, and why are we compelled to create them?

I say "we" because I'm hardly the only one. Just look at Christian Lacroix, John Galliano, or really the entire concept of couture. Hell, these days we even have people like Alexander McQueen, whose ready-to-wear collections beg the question "ready to wear where exactly?" Each outfit is more opulent and striking than the next, but what kind of activity are they good for?

But I think maybe that's the point. These clothes speak to the characters we wish we were and the lifestyles we imagine possible, not to the gritty reality of today. There are plenty of ill-fitting jeans and sweatshop tees to remind me of not only the drudgery and lack of justice in the garment industry, but also of the daily commute, the leftovers I'll be eating for dinner, and the fact that I'll be eating them alone. To create this airy, gothic thing that speaks to a romantic, handmade vision is to drink a tall, cool glass of water on a hot, arid day.

The parting message here is that maybe I wouldn't be comfortable in one of McQueen's or Galliano's creations while biking to work, but I can absorb that vision and meet them halfway. I can make the effort to put on mascara this morning, iron my shirt and make sure it coordinates with my pants, and pick some shoes that actually compliment my outfit instead of just covering my feet. Then I can remember to write to my congressman about pro-union legislation, and to choose to buy my next, beautiful thing from people who get paid a living wage to create it. Today won't be an action sequence out of my favorite anime, or a glamorous scene out of a Felini film, but maybe, if I keep creating beauty and justice, it can be a little less ugly than the day before.

Check out this weekend's Boston Handmade Member shows

Posted by Kerry of Khawkinsphoto

Jessica Burko will be showing her work at the RISD
(Rhode Island School of Design) Alumni Holiday Art Sale 2008
Booth #206 • December 13, 10am-5pm
Rhode Island Convention Center • One Sabin Street, Providence
admission: $7; children under 14 + current RISD students (with ID): free

Lowell Fiber Studios, in studio 512 at Western Avenue Studios is open Saturday and Sunday 12-5. The whole building (160+ artists) is hosting open studios.

Linda Branch Dunn will be gallery sitting downstairs at the Loading Dock Gallery from 12-2 Sunday then upstairs in studio 512, Lowell Fiber Studios after that.

Fraske Designs will be showing her work at the Mass Craft Market
Sunday, December 14 @ MassArt's Pozen Center
621 Huntington Ave. Boston • 12 pm - 6 pm | $1 Admission

South End Holiday Market
Saturday, December 13, 2008/ 10am - 6pm
Sunday, December 14, 2008 / 10am - 6pm
Cathedral High School Gym
74 Union Park Street(on the corner of Washington Street)
In Boston's South End
Free Parking at 500 & 540 Harrison Ave
Admission - $5 • Children under 12 free
Boston Handmade Members at the South End Holiday Market:
Elizabeth Brennick Designs, Stonehouse Studio, Mimi Kirchner, Bumble Belly Designs,
The Hole Thing, Vintage by Crystal and Lucie Wicker Photography

Check out the Opening Reception for Christine Marie Art on Saturday, December 13 from 5pm to 7pm at Urban Elements, 230 Essex Street, Salem, MA.

Photos provided by the artists

Things that Inspire - The Power of Symbolism

by Jennifer Yi-Ping Tang of Majenta Designs

One of my passions is to inspire and bring meaning to things, so I just love making pieces that have a special message or meaning behind them. I like using designs that have images that carry powerful symbolism behind them. Such as:

Plum Blossoms on Blue - $15

Plum Blossoms: One of my buyers actually shared this inspirational quote with me, as she wanted to give this pendant to her friend who was struggling with cancer. "Even as winter tries to hold it's grip, the plum tree bursts forth with the earliest blossoms of spring" … which roughly translates to life will triumph. These plum blossoms symbolize strength, hope, survival and new beginnings.


Lucky Koifish - $15

Koi Fish are symbolic of perseverance and good fortune and success in life. The koi fish are able to swim upstream, against the current, against seemingly unsurmountable currents in order to get to where they want. They are also thought to be symbols of wisdom, knowledge, longevity, loyalty, prosperity, and luck.


Dragonfly Dreams - $15

Dragonflies are thought to also be symbolic of love, new beginnings, good luck, and renewal. In the Spring, they are often seen flying in pairs, which are enblematic of marital success and brings a notion of prosperity and harmony.

Mini Crane Earrings - $15

Cranes: Cranes are symbolic of peace, happiness, and longevity, as well as are often used in Asian weddings because it is said that cranes mate for life and are devoted to their partners in all seasons!

Bargains Galore

By Linda B. Dunn
Winter Lights, an artisan gift show at the Loading Dock Gallery in Lowell, opened to the sound of jazz and champagne on Friday December 5. The artists came dressed in their finest:

Don't they look fine?
photo by Adrien Bisson

I was there too, tho' I missed the group shot. My work is beautifully displayed between the jewelry of Heather Wang and Barbara Frost. The show features silver and glass jewelry, wooden pens made from 100 year old mill lumber, flannel dolls for newborns, delicate glass ornaments, housewares in glass, acrylic and ceramic, plus my altered aprons: Something for everyone. If you're looking for gifts that will delight your friends but save your money (and who isn't), forget the mall. Come to an artist's open house.

Western Avenue Studios will be open next weekend, December 13 and 14, from 12-5. Here are just a few of the beautiful hand-made work you'll find there at bargain prices.

Handy keyring bags $16

Hand-dyed silk scarves $20

Lavender-scented pillows from vintage linens $8-18

Quilted ornaments $5

Plus free photo shoots by the wonderful Megan Moore, just up the hall from my place: Lowell Fiber Studios, #512, where you'll find all these goodies and more.

Mass Craft Market - December 14th

By Allison of Fraske Designs

The Mass Craft Market is fast approaching!

What: Mass Market is a DIY flea market where record distros, local bands, button makers, bookbinders, artists, clothing designers, djs, vegan and vegetarian bakers, and many others will come together for a day of swapping, sharing, selling and buying art. Presented by Lindsay Metivier, co-produced by Brian Butler/The Upper Hand Art and Athena Moore/Apple Scruffs.
When: Sunday, December 14 from 12-6 pm
Where: MassArt's Pozen Center, 621 Huntington Ave, Boston
Why: Great place to shop for yourself or for the holidays, or just to look around!

Be sure to say hi to Boston Handmade member Allison of Fraske Designs who will have a table at this event.