The creators of the now famous Mayday Underground Craft + Art shows here in Rochester decided November was waaaay too long to wait to bring you more indie crafty goodness.
Say "Yay for Midsummer Mini Mayday!"
No, really. Say it. It rhymes. :)
If you are one of the 20 first shoppers through the door you get a FREE swag bag filled with goodies from the fantastic vendors!
There is swag from me at In My Head Studios! I made handmade, tiny, original paper collage domino keychains! How cute are these?!
They are truly one-of-a-kind and Tiny Works of Awesome! I made them with my own handmade stamps, handpainted paper, and words from books. Right now only 20 of these exist so snagging some swag from me will be special!
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.
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!
The Main Street Armory, where Mayday Underground Crafts + Art was held, is an enormous and beautiful venue. I, in the 22 years I have lived in Rochester, have not had cause to go there for anything, thus solidifying my hermit status even more. Luckily I trusted my gut about lighting. I was worried it might be dark in a big, vast space like that so I checked off “yes” for electricity on the application just in case, even though I don’t have a light set-up ready to go. Yep, day-of-the-show improvisation. That’s me, much to my mom’s and Mr. M’s chagrin. Of course, I didn’t actually pack the lights or extension cords, and I had to politely ask Mr. M to go home and get them. He politely obliged. He rocks!
We were sort of in that no-man’s land at the far end of an aisle past the point where people would turn to cross over to the next aisle. They would have missed us completely because we were in the dark under the balcony overhang. Amanda so very nicely said we could move out a little on an angle. We were very careful not to take too much advantage of that though, as it wasn’t super fair to the other vendors under the balcony. I think everyone in that aisle should have been moved out about five feet and into the light.
The extra lighting we brought made a huge difference. I believe it contributed greatly to the near-record breaking show total we made. Lighting is definitely on the list for future shows. I hope to find some battery powered halogen lights, if they even exist. (My dad could have made them for me if he was still around, goshdarnnit.)
I still cannot believe the positive responses to my work. I am so lucky to be doing what I do. Art can be a solitary life with little to no feedback on a day-to-day basis. Then you do a show and you get filled up with about six hours of happy dance from customers. It makes the solitary confinement worth it! It gives me an answer to the times I am in the studio asking myself,
“Why am I even bothering with this?! Does anyone even care?!”
So I have to work to hold on to the feelings of show days to remind myself that I’m not just pushing paper and paint around on canvas or dominoes.
I am creating joy.
I lose sight of that until I see smiles when people are looking at and buying my work.
The talent at this show was unbelievable. I think it was the best collection of artists I have ever seen at an indie show. The number of young indie artists was greatly encouraging (I think I have recently aged out of the “young” category, I’m afraid). Nice to see the newbies getting their feet wet! Of course it’s always fun to hang with my Rochester NY Etsy Street Team buddies! I was next to my pals Michelle from The Quilted House and Stefani from Pine Tree Designs!
On a side note: The doors to the stalls in the bathroom at The Armory were gorgeous antique wood doors. Tall and slim and carved with really ornate designs. But they left me feeling more like I was walking into a church confessional than a bathroom stall! It kind of creeped me out and made me laugh at the same time.
"We Are Queens"; original mixed media collage on 6"x"8" gallery wrapped canvas; available for sale
Rochester needs more shows like this. Amanda and Casey and all the Mayday vendors have proven three times now that this city supports indie shows. Let’s have more!
The next Mayday Underground is slated for November! See you there!
I love how Twitter is connecting me to really neat people and projects. Through Twitter I found out about Wishpot.com.
About Wishpot.com:
“Wishpot is a free social shopping service that makes it easy to save and share interesting things you find in stores and online. Items are easily collected online or from stores and organized using simple online lists. Lists and items can be kept private or shared with others. You can collect and discover products you like, recommend your favorite stuff, share and explore gift suggestions or ask for opinions and advice.”
I was asked to become an Indie Expert at the Indie channel on Wishpot.com! I’m not entirely sure I am an expert at anything, being such a jill-of-all-trades, but then I thought, “Why not me as an Indie Expert?” I know about the importance of buying handmade, the hard work of artists, how much work it takes to do it Indie style, and the power of social shopping sites and creating community between artists and buyers. So maybe I am an expert at something!
My goal is to share with you my recommendations of Indie artists and designers through my lists at Wishpot.com and through the Wishpot Indie blog. I’ve met great people over the past year being on Etsy and Twitter. I’ve discovered lots of really neat art and crafts. And I love love love the go-get-‘em attitude of Indie artists!
Please check out my lists. I have something for everyone, even your hard-to-shop-for man!! Check back often as I am adding new recommendations all the time! And feel free to let me know of your favorite Indie artists and designers in the comments. I'll add them to my lists!
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