Uppercase Magazine

by An Li Liu of An Li Liu

Hello issue #11! It finally arrived in my mailbox the other day. Uppercase is a bimonthly arts and crafts publication that features a gamut of inspiring images and stories. In my opinion, this is the most beautiful magazine around these days. It’s graphically pleasing and nice to hold.

Uppercase features some of the most talented artists working today from North America and around the world. I really like how it draws from reader participation, accepting submissions for story ideas, giving the magazine a fresh, dynamic community feel. The current issue features art that’s a “Labour of Love”, people whose work is highly detailed and labor intensive, as well as a new column by artist/entrepreneur Rena Tom who answers readers questions about their small businesses.

At present, it’s not available at any local Boston shop, so I got a subscription online. At about $20 an issue, and with so many print publications going under, it’s hard to imagine this being a success. But it seems like they’ve found an international audience who appreciates things well designed, written and produced; it’s become a coveted, collectable magazine in art circles all over. And it’s Canadian to boot!

Check out Uppercase here.

Life in a Day: Now on YouTube

by Allison of Fraske Designs

On July 24, 2010, people all over the world put their day, or portion of their day, on film to submit to the Life in a Day Project on YouTube. The long awaited feature film premiered in movie theaters on July 29, 2011. Now it is available on YouTube here:

On July 24, 2010, I was at a wedding watching the bride (and former Boston Handmade member) hula hoop. Do you know what you were doing that day?

Mosaic Monday: Coffee, Cappuccino and Espresso

Curated by Lynne of Cozy Cottage Creations



1. Cappuccino Card Set of Four , by Lucie Wicker Photography
2. Vortex Pendant, by Cristina Hurley Jewelry Designs
3. Custom Hat , by Elephunk's Trunk
4. Cherry Blossom Pendant, by Nancyrosetta
5. Original paper quilt assemblage , by Reclaimed to You
6. Pink Daisies on Chocolate Brown Pocket Mirror, by MaJenta Designs
7. Owl doll collectible OOAK "JeanJean Le Tatoue" , by Hibou Designs
8. Teabowl , by City by the Sea Ceramics
9. Iridescent Arch of Savitri - stained glass necklace by Parrish Relics

JP Holiday Fair

It may not feel like it yet but the holidays are quickly approaching! And that means... Boston Handmade will once again be exhibiting as a group at the annual First Church Jamaica Plain Holiday Fair! We will be up on the stage selling everything from stationary to hand-dyed yarn, photography, home goods, and much more! We will even be selling our very own Boston Handmade t-shirts as well.

So go ahead and mark your calendars for Saturday, December 3rd. We look forward to seeing you there!

First Church Jamaica Plain is located at

6 Eliot Street

Jamaica Plain, MA, 02130

New Inventory Has Arrived!

by Cristina of Cristina Hurley Jewelry Design

I'm really looking forward to a great holiday season in my shop, especially with all of the new inventory that is starting to come in from my fellow Boston Handmade members! They make such beautiful things, and my shoppers are already commenting on how nice the items are, and how cute the shop looks.

Jessica Burko of Reclaimed to You dropped off lots of beautiful hand knit scarves and hats! Go to her site for other fine pieces, artwork, and paper goods.

Jennifer Tang of Majenta Designs, makes beautiful asian inspired pendants and purse hooks.

These pieces are by Karen Mahoney, of City by the Sea Ceramics. Raku and other techniques are used to create these unique pieces.

Beautiful jewelry inspired by nature by Nancy weller, of Nancy Rosetta. She uses different metalsmithing techniques and materials to give the pieces great color and dimension.

And of course, there's always me! I am making new designs every day and getting very excited for people to see them. you can even see me making jewelry in my shop! It's also my studio.

Come visit us Wednesday through saturday, 11am-6pm...

3 Rockland Street

Canton, MA 02021

781-562-0421

Hope to see you!

Photo Show, Perks, Norwood

By Kerry of Kerry Hawkins Photography

My new photo show up at the fun coffee shop Perks Coffee House in Norwood Center, 685 Washington St. Norwood, MA My show runs through December 4th. I decided to have a little fun with photoshop and go with a vintage theme. My photos are from Dedham, the Boston area and a few from my travels. Stop by and grab a cup of coffee. Perks is a great meeting place, too.

London & Paris Inspiration

By Arthur of Arthur Halvorsen Ceramics

I just got back from an AWESOME trip to London and Paris, and let me be the first to tell you that it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! While is was in London I had to go back to the Victoria & Albert Museum. Right now they are having a show all based on craft called The Power of Making. It was amazing! Everything in the show was a "craft" there was a Japanese artist that made a real bicycle out of mahogany, one of Lady Gaga's wigs and even a gown made out of straight pins! So cool!! Unfortunately I was not able to take photos in the show because it wasn't allowed... BUT there was a piece that was outside of the exhibition.

Can you tell what the gorilla is made out of?? Bent and welded together coat hangers! It was amazing and very tall, my guess standing about 7 feet tall!

So I wanted to share a few more photos that have really inspired me from the trip to Europe and it's totally working its way into my studio life. I'm in the process of figuring out how to make a tulip pyramid or a tulipiere. I can't wait to get laid off from my full time to, only to get rehired in March so I can concentrate on my life in the studio. ENJOY!

Crafting through adversity

by Jessica Burko of Reclaimed To You

Members of Boston Handmade get together once a month to talk about whatever is on our minds that relates to our art, craft, business, upcoming shows, marketing, finding inspiration, you name it, we talk about it. At our recent November get-together the conversation turned to crafting through adversity; how we continue living creatively and making our work when faced with big life challenges.

As it turned out, almost everyone in the room was currently, or had been recently, dealing with hardship that forced focus elsewhere rather than on craft. The difficulties ranged from illness, to injury, to floods, to sudden changes in financial security. Through it all however, no matter how difficult the situation, it seemed that everyone was finding a way to continue creating, and that by doing so, they found strength in themselves to push on and stay calm. I found everyone's stories uplifting, and inspiring.
Sometimes working creatively can help us through tough times, sometimes we can rely on our artist friends to help us along, and sometimes we need even more assistance. The stories of our current members' situations reminded me of friends of mine who survived other tragedies and have continued on with their art despite it all. A couple of craft artists I know have also utilized assistance from an amazing organization called the Craft Emergency Relief Fund. According to their mission statement, "CERF was founded on a single simple premise: people caring for one another during tough times. Building upon the grassroots gesture of passing the hat at craft shows for artists dealing with emergency situations, CERF created an ongoing pool of funds that are available to professional craft artists when they suffer career-threatening emergencies. In addition to the financial assistance, we help acquire donated goods and services for beneficiaries from individuals, organizations and businesses."

If you are dealing with a sudden emergency and are curious about CERF's services and how they might help you, definitely check out their website. If you want to make a donation to this very worthy cause, and assist crafters in need, you can do that on their website too, "Your contribution helps CERF+ provide the immediate assistance craft artists need to get back on their feet and back to work after a career-threatening crisis." Another great way that you can assist a craft artist any time of course, is to buy handmade.