A Celebration of our New Members - in blues and greens

Curated by Lynne of Cozy Cottage Creations

1. 6 ft. Leash, Moody Blues , by Cody's Creations
2. Venezia Bella Gothic Triptych Window , by Parrish Relics
3. Historic Salem House Pillow BlueGreen , by Not Without Merit
4. Textured Beetle Wing Earrings with Brass Gears , by PurpleShiny
5. Hair Clip peacock feathers with brass cameo , by Elephunk's Trunk
6. Northwoods Sock Monkey, Popples , by Monkey Shine Studio
7. Hair Comb Green Origami peace crane , by Elephunk's Trunk
8. The Pouch A Leash Bag Zippered Pouch , by Cody's Creations
9. Davis SQRZ T by SQRZ Market

Find Out How Many People Are Subscribed to Your Etsy Shop's RSS Feed

By Danielle of The Merriweather Council

Sooo, in the most bootleg terms possible, RSS feeds supply the quick and simple version of either blog posts or some other thing gets updated frequently. When you subscribe to an RSS you can read it alongside others in what’s known as a “reader”. You don’t have to go around to each blog you want to visit, you just subscribe to their feeds and the posts come to you anytime the blog is updated. Its not an email, it’s something you check in on anytime you want. And just in case this is important: it stands to Rich Site Summary.

Okay, first, pull up your Etsy shop and scroll down to where the Tweet button and Facebook "like" buttons are. Under that you will see "Subscribe to feed" - click that.

Now highlight the address from the window that opened and copy it!

Now go log into whatever account you use for your Google reader and find "reader" in the navigation bar up top on your gmail page, and please click it.

Now see where it says "add a subscription"? Click that and paste the address you copied from above and click the "add" button

Now you will see your feed in your reader. Go over to the right hand side of the screen and click "show details"

Now you can see some stats about this feed including how many people are subscribed to it! There are a whopping 4 people subscribed to mine!

For more tutorials, come visit me on my blog!

The Other Craft

by Karen Mahoney of City by the Sea Ceramics

Craft- an art, trade, or occupation requiring special skill
Craft Brewery- an independent brewery that produces up to 6 million barrels of traditional beer per year

May 16-22 is American Craft Beer Week. It's a time when the brewers of the country come together to promote their craft, offering special tours, rare and special brews, parties, tastings, dinner pairings, and other events. As a crafter myself, I appreciate and feel the need to spread the word of the other craft: beer. It's a great American craft, that doesn't generally come to mind when thinking of the term. Let's change that!

Anheuser-Busch : Berkshire Brewing Company :: Crate and Barrel : City by the Sea Ceramics

The Brewers Association recently changed the definition of a craft brewery from producing a maximum of 6 million barrels, up from 2 million. Boston is home to the largest American-owned (those big guys are all foreign-owned) brewery, Boston Beer Company, aka Samuel Adams. They lead American breweries, producing about 1.8 million barrels a year. The next highest production is from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, CA who doesn't even produce 1 million barrels a year. Budweiser produces about 150 million in this country a year. Of the $101 billion in beer sales in 2010, only 7% of that is craft. The combined total of over 1,700 breweries is still only 7% of what the big guys see.

Craft brewers face the same obstacles us other small crafters face. There are bigger, richer, world famous company with tons of profit to dump into advertising that will bring more profit. They have little understanding of the needs of the communities they lie in, and don't care to know their customers faces or names. They only want their dollars. Bringing in more dollars is the goal, even if it means giving up quality. It is a very different business style than what crafts of any sort promote. We have to struggle to keep our head above water and to find those who recognize the importance of what we are doing and what we have to offer. Craft brewers too struggle against "the big guy" and the mass produced item that comes to most people's mind when they hear 'plate', 'sweater', or 'jewelry'.

Jim Koch of Samuel Adams giving a tour

As a potter I see many similarities between brewing and ceramics. They are both delicate balances of science and art. They both at one point gave civilizations the ability to sustain themselves, pottery by giving people something to cook and contain food in and beer by giving nourishment when food wasn't an option. Potters and brewers both use natural materials, being at the mercy of what the earth can offer you. Mines deplete and crops die. We can carry out our projects as planned, but things can go wrong at the very end, both in the fermenter and in the kiln. The most well known brewers and potters in America aren't going to be recognized by 99.9% of the population. Both processes are long and drawn out, being completed over a number of weeks. Beer and pots both can contribute to the beauty and enjoyment of a meal.

Brewing grains

American brewers are now leading the way, inspiring European brewers that gave us the classic styles. Our brewers are incredibly creative and curious, not letting traditions or standards stop their ideas. There are brews out there with flavors of pistachios, chocolate and espresso beans, jalapenos, bourbon, oatmeal raisin cookies. I've even brewed up a *delicious* ale myself using peach ginger tea. Brewers are taking the basics and pushing them to develop what they are looking for. Now that's craft!

I urge you to celebrate American Craft Beer Week! Support this local craft by grabbing some bottles at the store from one of the many amazing breweries Massachusetts is home to or stopping by one of our great brew pubs! Beer is like any other craft, if you get your toes a little wet you'll find yourself wanting to jump right in and learn all you can. If you want any recommendations at all, comment on this blog post, I would be so happy to help you find a beer/brewery/brew pub!

MIT's Festival of Art, Science, and Technology

By Jennifer T. of MaJenta Designs

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) celebrates their 150 year anniversary this year, and as part of the celebration the had very exciting installations as part of their annual Festival of Arts, Science, and Technology (FAST). FAST is an interesting intersection of creativity, ingenuity, and innovation.

It was a mild spring evening, so my family decided to go out and scope my sister's alma mater's campus.


This installation was reminiscent of the vaulted cathedral ceilings of Gaudi's Sagrada Familia.


This "Unflat Pavilion" is the formation of something 3D from using only 2D flat plywood.

This "String Tunnel" is supposed to guide the way to MIT's Infinite Corridor. Looking up at them, it created almost a 3D view.

The "MIT Mood Meter" have these sensors throughout campus, to measure the level of "happiness" around campus.

"Liquid Archive" is a piece that's actually in the middle of the Charles River, which has an interactive moving projection that kept moving and changing across the inflated "MIT". In the background you can see the Mass Ave bridge (and if you see the glowing square behind that, there is the "citgo sign" near Fenway Park). The "Light Bridge" also was an interactive stream of lights symbolizing the connection of Boston and Cambridge.

Even though FAST were only temporary installations, they still have several pieces and architecture around campus to still be in awe of, such as their "Stata Center", where the building looks almost surreal with its sidings/walls appearing as if they are collapsing and defying gravity.

West Medford Open Studios Recap

by Allison of Fraske Designs

On April 30 and May 1, four members of Boston Handmade participated in West Medford Open Studios.

Allison of Fraske Designs, Sharon of Stray Notions, Karen of City by the Sea Ceramics, and Lynne of Cozy Cottage Creations all exhibited their work for the weekend.

Karen and Lynne at WMOS

It was a fun experience. We enjoyed meeting people from the neighborhood and being part of such a vibrant arts event on a pleasant early spring weekend!

Bright

By Kerry of Kerry Hawkins Photography

I usually photograph buildings, mannequins and quirky windows but, I also like to photograph nature. It is nice to take a hike and bring along my camera. You never know what you can discover. I also fell lucky when I stumble upon a beautiful plant of flower a flower. Things in nature can change and may only last a few weeks or a season.

Introducing the Newest Members of Boston Handmade

Boston Handmade is pleased to announce the addition of seven new members! We are so happy to welcome each and every one!

In no particular order, introducing our newest members:

Kerrie of Cody's Creations

Celeste of Elephunkstrunk

Jan of MonkeyShineStudio

Evan of SQRZ Market

Christina 'Riv' of Purpleshiny

Merritt of NotWithoutMerit

Jen of Parrish Relics

We are happy to have you join us!

Next Up.... Dedham Open Studios!

This coming Sunday, May 15th, the town of Dedham will hold it's first Dedham Open Studios event. Boston Handmaders taking part of this event will be Kerry Hawkins Photography, Nancy Rosetta Jewelry and Karen Mahoney of City By the Sea Ceramics

1. 9 Bangle Cuff Bracelet , by nancyrosetta
2. Boats, Jamaica Pond, Boston 8x10 Matted, by Kerry Hawkins Photography
3. 2 Plates in Brown by City by the Sea Ceramics