Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!

No, it's not an I-ate-too-much-Halloween-candy distress call! It's Mayday! Underground Crafts + Art: the coolest indie craft show in Rochester, NY! I am super excited and humbled to be included in this bi-annual show for the fourth time!

This show was first held on May Day in May a couple years ago celebrating many things such as the end to the cold winter season (well, in milder climates. Not so much here.). November marks the half-way point in the year from May Day to May Day and is also the beginning of the cold, winter season.

We begin to settle in for the cold, nesting in our homes with the comforts of warmth and loved ones. Historically, the time for farming was finished and leisure time was turned to more domestic chores such as making clothing and repairing equipment. 

These activities called for skill, technical ability, and a lot of time invested in mastery. Unbeknown to many of these people they really were craftsmen, craftswomen and artisans. They passed these skills down through the ages. 

Join us at Mayday! Underground Crafts + Art as we celebrate generations of skill and mastery coming together to meet modern materials and fresh design. 

Saturday, November 5, 2011 

Mayday Underground Crafts + Art 

10:00 am - 5:00 pm 

The Main Street Armory 

900 East Main Street, Rochester, NY 14605 

The BEST indie craft + art show in Western NY

The fabulous organizers, Amanda and Casey, have put together a slide show of all the different crafts + art you will find at this show. You will see it's an amazing collection of of innovative material use and awesome talent.

Mayday! Underground Crafts + Art: November 2011 Artists

Entirely too much fun will be had by all! 

Free swag bags to the first 50 people (there will be a line so get there early)! Plus raffles!

Before you come to the show enter HERE for the Mayday Underground sweepstakes! Up for grabs are three $25 Mayday Moolah Prizes and three swag bag prizes housed in the newest pirate-themed tote bag! It’s all on Facebook, so invite your friends to join in on the fun. Even if you don’t win, you can still print out the entry confirmation and exchange it for a free raffle ticket!

Also, you can help support Sample Soap, a local non-profit that collects unopened soaps, shampoos, lotions, sewing kits, diapers, cosmetics, toothbrushes and toothpaste and distributes them to the neediest citizens of the Greater Rochester, New York area. Bring your donations to Mayday Underground! You'll earn a raffle ticket!

Be there or be unhappy for the rest of your life be square!

- Vickie
xoxo 

I've Been Examined by The Examiner

You can’t make art in a vacuum. I firmly believe it takes community. Rochester, NY has one of the finest art communities in the nation. Having made the foray into doing local art and craft shows, I have had the opportunity to meet many fellow local artists. I find this group of people to be excellent networkers, sharers, and cheerleaders. I can’t believe some of the opportunities that have come up for me as a result of all this art love here.

Today I am especially grateful for a local connection I made with a reporter named Kathleen Landers from The Examiner at the MayDay Underground Arts + Crafts show in May. Kathleen has written a deeply humbling story about my artwork and me. She really took the time through phone calls and many emails to get to know me and what fuels my artistic passions. I could not be happier with how her article turned out. Click the screenshot of the article above to go read it.

“Kathleen is a Rochester native who owns her own decorative painting business and displays her work in local shops and art shows. Inspiration is fostered when seeking out area talent and she loves sharing concepts she's learned.” - Kathleen’s Bio on The Examiner

The Examiner consists of local news, events and attractions, real estate, shopping, and more where you can find local top breaking news and perspectives by trusted local experts. The Examiner serves 240 markets in the United States and Canada. The site is broken down into local pages, such as the Rochester, NY Examiner. There is probably a local Examiner for your area.

To keep the celebration going the Rochester NY Etsy Street Team (RNEST) is holding a giveaway on their blog for one of my new domino pendants (pictured below). Check out the post on Wednesday, June 16th for details and a chance to win! Many thanks go out to Michelle of The Quilted House for organizing the RNEST giveaway and blog post!

"Sophisticated Squares" Altered Domino Pendant you could win. The contest starts on Wednesday, June 16th on the RNEST blog.

This domino pendant was created from a larger original work of art I made especially for my line of domino pendants. It is printed on high quality photo paper and ink. This process allows me to create stunning detail on a small scale.

So hop on over to The Examiner post and get to know me better! And don't forget to enter the RNEST giveaway on Wednesday! I'll post about that again so you don't miss it!

Have a happy day!

All New Buffalo Indie Market

Mary Stephens, Founder/Director of the new Buffalo Indie Market in Buffalo, NY, has launched a monumental undertaking in setting up a monthly independent artists’ market. Local artists now have a place to set up shop and sell their handcrafted wares. The Market will be open every second Sunday of the month starting May 11, 2008.

The first event will be on Saturday, April 12th from 11 am to 4 pm at Pearl Street Grill and Brewery on the second floor in the Pan American Room, 76 Pearl Street, Buffalo, NY 14202. The Pearl Street Grill and Brewery will be the home of all the Market’s events.

The Market’s mission is “to bring a monthly market of unique and stylish handmade products to the Buffalo community while nurturing the professional talents and business potential of up & coming designers & crafters. The Buffalo Indie Market offers local consumers a whole new way to shop and provide the Buffalo community with a space to discover hand-made jewelry, handbags, clothes, stationery, pottery, knitted items and more.” [quote source: Buffalo Indie Market website]

More about the Market: “When starting Ry Stephens Design, a handmade cards and invitations business, Mary [Stephens] quickly realized the need for a more current year long market. With the recent growth of on-line markets and independent artists, a need for a Buffalo market of current handmade products appeared obvious. In October of 2007, Mary took part in Brooklyn Indie Market, which is a weekly Independent Artists market in Brooklyn, New York. The warm welcome she received there and the pleasant community atmosphere developed by Kathy Malone and Johanna Resnikoff, a native of Buffalo, spurred Mary's desire to start an Indie Artist market in Buffalo. Buffalo has long awaited for a market that brings all the latest handmade creations from the local Indie Art community to the area’s consumers.” [quote source: Buffalo Indie Market website]

Buffalo Rising Online recently gave the Market some great press. See it HERE. There is also a group at Indiepublic for members interested in networking with each other.

I am looking forward to hopefully participating in this market in May. Even though I am not from Buffalo, it still is a local scene for me as it is only a 1.5 hour drive from Rochester. Now we indie artists in Rochester have to get on the ball and open our own market. Mary Stephens has set the bar pretty high.

Thank you, Mary, for all the hard work you have put into this! So many people are going to benefit from it.

Applications for future events can be found on the Buffalo Indie Market website as well as flyers and postcards to distribute for advertising the events. Spread the word!