Hibou Designs at West Elm and Bazaar Bizarre

by Anne-Claire of Hibou Designs

That has been a busy week but it was also a fun week! The Etsy/West Elm pop-up Holiday shop at the Burlington location (MA) on Thursday December 1st was very nice and also a great occasion for me to explore new territories as I made some specific pieces for this event.

I made some animal decorative pillows that looked really cool on their sofas! Check it out in the pics below.

Owls, elephants, penguins, fish, crocodile... there was a whole menagerie there :)

A big Thank You to Etsy and West Elm for organizing this event especially to Kate Downey the West Elm/Burlington MA store manager and all the staff as well as to Vanessa Bertozzi, Director of Community and Education at Etsy.

I am looking forward to do this again soon!

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Then on Sunday the 4th there was the amazing Boston Bazaar Bizarre craft fair! As usual it was really good and very busy. I had a fantastic time and I'm already looking forward to do it again next year :)

I had the opportunity to test some new designs which is always good as there is nothing better than getting comments directly from your customers! I had a lot of positive feedbacks and want to thank everyone for their support and kind words about my work, it means the world to me and it is what keeps me going so a big THANK YOU to you!

Here are a few pics... one of them with my son who came to see "Mama's plush show" :)

A little display rehearsal at home before the show...

The Muscle Marcel plushies are quietly observing the crowd! The one with the red stripes and the heart and dagger tattoo found a new home soon after :)

Here I am with my son Jack, without the inspiration of whom a lot of these plush wouldn't exist...

Happy "Bad Mood Eating Monsters", elephants and penguins enjoying the spotlights.

Here is my newest design, the fish pillow. In from is my little happy crocodile with his own habitat :)

A big Thank You again to the organizers of BBB who were extremely helpful and attentive. I really felt like they rolled out the red carpet for us crafters this year and it is rare enough to be mentioned and applauded :)

Another big Thank You too to my customers and all the people I had the pleasure to chat with, I really enjoyed meeting you and am looking forward to see you again soon in my little Etsy shop!

Happy Holidays!

West Elm Inspiration

By Arthur of Arthur Halvorsen Ceramics

Over the weekend my friends were having a party at their apartment in the South End and they wanted to do a crafting project, naturally as the only artist in the group they asked me to put something together. I was a little scrambled as to what to do with them because I couldn't do clay, it's too messy and not portable at all. A few nights before Boston Handmade did the awesome project at West Elm where we folded paper into ornaments courtesy of Etsy and it donned on me that I should do that!

So off to Michael's I went. I got heavy card stock and foam stickers to decorate with and my friends LOVED doing it! I just wish I grabbed a few of the extra blanks that we had left over from our event at West Elm. Well, I still think that they came out really good and my friends really enjoyed the project, luckily I was one of the people doing a fold-a-thon at West Elm because some of my friends needed help but they all came out great. We didn't have a place to hang them right then and there so I decided to hang them for my friends off their chandelier in their living room, and I think they look pretty cool hanging there! Enjoy the photos!

Boston Handmade at Artists Crossing Gallery

By Jennifer T. of MaJenta Designs

Consider shopping local and supporting handmade this holiday season! There are a few galleries that are featuring the work of some of the talented artists of Boston Handmade. One of the galleries is right in downtown Boston!

Artists Crossing: 505 Washington St, Boston, MA (Map it)

Downtown Crossing

(across from Eddie Bauer)

Open EVERY day!

Five Boston Handmade members are currently featured!

Jewelry and housewares inspired by Japanese papers by MaJenta Designs

Up on the walls are mixed media canvases by Reclaimed to You

Handsawed sterling silver jewelry by Nancyrosetta

Original millinery designs and an assortment of hats by Elephunk's Trunk

Metalsmith fine jewelry by Cristina Hurley Jewelry Designs

There are a total of 20 artists featured this month, come check out all the lovely artwork and handmade creations!

Life in Stitches

By Evan of Evan Webster Ink

I can't say I expected to be focusing on a book about writing for this blog post about crafting. But after finishing bird by bird by Anne Lamott, I can't think of anything more appropriate. It turns out there are many similarities between the writing process and the crafting process. Much of the book's content relates to any creative process. Let me explain.

The title, bird by bird, refers to the idea of taking things one step at a time. The enormity of our vision and goals, even for a single, seemingly small, project can stifle our ability to simply get started. But start we must. A fine scarf is comprised of many small stitches.

This is equally true on a bigger scale: a medium or long-term project. Your best photograph of the year comes from days or, more likely, months of doing shoots that aren't quite right - until one is. For me, a batch of t-shirts begins with just one, but ends in hundreds of finished pieces. The first one is always the hardest. The examples are endless: creating a collection of mugs for a holiday show, crafting a scrapbook to welcome a newborn child (congrats Jessica!), or setting out to paint the world, all of it, as you see it.

The book is bulging with beautiful ideas and funny passages. But just one more I'll mention. The author talks a lot about creating crappy first drafts. Even the greatest writers do this. And I'd bet my Michael Jordan autographed golf card that great visual artists do too. Embracing the mistakes could be the key to future successes. If we stopped trying to walk after taking our very first steps the entire world would still be on all fours. Can you imagine? We would be going to school, to work, to the opera, dancing, hiking - on all fours. No one would be dunking, that's for sure. But, and it is amazing, people do dunk in our world! Along with lots of other truly awesome things. So get crafting, make mistakes, have fun, and take life stich by stitch.

Yao Ming takes it step-by-step. Even Yao used to be a small child, think about that!

My next knitting project- a baby blanket and a small purse

by Karen Mahoney of City by the Sea Ceramics

I had a new little niece that was on the way and I decided I was going to make her a baby blanket. I thought her older sister may get jealous of the gift arriving and not being for her so I wanted to knit a small purse for her as well, since she loves bags and purses.

Here is the 27"x27" blanket I knit for the new baby, and a small purse I knit for her big sister.

I did a seed stitch on both, which was a new stitch for me. I decided to do the purse first, figuring the pattern in the yarn would hide any mistakes better while I was still getting a feel for the stitch.

A broken arm kept me from finishing it before my new niece was born, but I'm excited for her to finally receive it!

Monday Mosaic: Gifts for Guys

1. Dudley SQRZ T , by Evan Webster Ink
2. Harness - Adjustable in Licorice, by Cody's Creations
3. Sterling Silver Kenpo inspired Dragon Pendant , by Cristina Hurley Jewelry Design
4. Home of the Red Sox 5x7, by Fraske Designs
5. Foxy Fox Mens T Shirt, by An Li Studios
6. Sawdust Fired Cup, by City by the Sea Ceramics

Buy Handmade for the Holidays!

by Anne-Claire from Hibou Designs

The Holiday season has started and Christmas is just around the corner. I have been sewing up a storm to prepare for Boston's big event TODAY: Boston Bazaar Bizarre!

This is a great way to kick off your Christmas shopping and support local crafters/artists as all the vendors in this fair are local and offer hand made items.

Please come and say hi and take this opportunity to "Buy Handmade for the Holidays!"

Boston Bazaar Bizarre TODAY, December 4th (from noon to 6pm)!

Here is a sneak peek at the plush goodies you will see there :)

Yep these are voodoo dolls!....

So if you are in or around Boston today come see me and lots of other amazing vendors including a group of Boston Handmade members!

Oh and pass the word around!

Thanks folks,

Anne-Claire aka Hibou

JP Holiday Fair Today

Boston Handmade will be spreading the holiday cheer all day today at the annual JP Holiday Fair. See you there!