It's A Craftmas December!

The Rochester NY Etsy Street Team (RNEST) has a month-long party of handmade goodness planned for December! I'm at a loss for words when it comes to describing my joy about these events. This is going to be gooood!

Several months ago the RNEST team decided to rent a space for a month somewhere in Rochester to hold shows, workshops, and community building events. The Hungerford Building became available to us a few months ago, but something fell through with that. Instead that was a blessing in disguise as now we have the space for December and we can focus on holiday shows and winter fun.

The extra exciting, really cool thing is that Etsy gave our team a grant to do this. Yes! Etsy gave us money to put all of this together. How cool is that?!

We've met. We've talked. We've planned. Now it's time to reveal the crafty month-long RNEST party we have in store for you!

All events are located at The Hungerford Building, Door 8,
at 1115 East Main Street, Rochester, NY, 14609. 

Craftmas Events are on Facebook! Click the links below to RSVP, then share with your friends!



Craftmas: Etsy Style! First Friday Holiday Craft Sale
Friday, December 2nd at 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm 
Saturday, December 3rd at noon - 4:00 pm 

A Handmade Holiday hits the Hungerford Building! Come shop from a selection of quality items made by local artists. Give the gift of handmade this holiday season!


Clothing Swap 
Monday, December 5th at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm 

It’s time to clean out that closet! Bring in your unwanted clothing and take home some new-to-you pieces for your wardrobe...all for free! RNEST artists will also be available to teach demos with techniques for altering and upcycling your clothes into fun, new items! *Any clothing left over at the end of the night will be donated. Nothing will go to waste!


Creative Play Session 
Saturday, December 10th at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm 

Creativity boosting activities and exercises to spark your artistic inspiration and get out of a rut. Come with an open mind and leave with ideas for new projects! (For ages teen and up)


Open Craft Night: Etsy Style! 
Thursday, December 15th at 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm 

Demos: glass pendant soldering, knitting, bead weaving and MORE! Everyone is invited for a handmade, fun-filled evening of simple planned projects and unstructured time with RNEST artists. Bring your crafty works-in-progress, share our supplies, experiment with our tools, and ask us about tips and techniques. A small sampling of our works will also be available for sale.

I am part of the planning committee for Open Craft Night. We have a lot of cool projects lined up that are easy as well as more intermediate and low cost to make. No art experience required! Just watching all the demos alone will fill up the night. It's going to be awesome. I can't wait!!

Direct questions about any of these events to me at inmyheadstudios [at] gmail.com

We hope you can make it to at least one of these events! They will be a lot of fun simply because our team is a lot of fun!

What now? Head over to RNEST on Facebook to RSVP, then share the events with your friends! 

xoxo

- Vickie

New Etsy Twitter Team Members

Etsy Twitter Team: Shop of the Week: NDN Chick

Leanna Pierre, of NDNChick.etsy.com, has been beading her whole life! She’s a member of the Colville Tribe in Cusick, Washington. Her work also includes greeting cards and bookmarks. Her bead work is intricate and the color choices are well designed. Some of her work is also very playful.

“I bead pretty much what ever I can get my hands on. I have made everything from hair barrettes to a beaded whistle. When I need to give my wrist and fingers a break from all the bead weaving and tacking I also make greeting cards.


When I make an item it's not just an item to me. A piece of myself goes into it while I am creating it. If I am feeling sad or mad I don't create anything, I don't want those feelings transferred to the new owner. Each item I create is special to me and sometimes it's hard for me to let it go.”

I asked Leanna how she got her start in bead weaving: “A lot of my inspiration comes from my mom. She's the one who taught me how to bead and she has stuck by me through everything. When I go through a crafting slump she's there to help me up and give me inspiration to continue making stuff. She's always there offering creative criticism and ideas. (Thanks, Mom!) My crafting dream is to become a great bead artist like her.”

Follow Leanna on Twitter @ndnchick
Read more on her blog at ndn-chick.blogspot.com

Special Offer This Week: Free shipping on all orders including international all week. The shipping prices are already changed so no need to wait for a refund or invoice.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade ndnchick.etsy.com

All photos copyright to Leanna Pierre/NDN Chick

Reposted from my original post at: Etsy Twitter Team: Shop of the Week: NDN Chick

Etsy Twitter Team Shop of the Week: Curious Mess

I, for one, would not call Starla Petersen’s Etsy shop, CuriousMess.etsy.com, a mess at all. It’s a shop filled with curiously wonderful items! And the item photography is delicious to boot.

“When I first opened my shop, I was only making the wood paintings. But as things have progressed, I've begun to work my love of fabric into it as well, with the newest items being fabric bowls and fabric brooches/pendants. I love fun and whimsical.”

And it shows in her work. Her fabric bowls are stunning in their design and detail. You can really see the fine craftsmanship in her new line of embroidered brooches, too.

“Everything you see in my shop, I truly enjoyed making. It makes me so happy to be able to express myself creatively, and I hope that comes through in my artwork. I want my work to make people smile.”

What inspires her to create? “The whole entire process inspires me. From start to finish... sketching out ideas... playing around with fabric... picking colors. My absolute favorite part of it all is that first spark of a new idea or design. I get giddy. Unfortunately, my ideas usually come to me as I'm lying in bed about to doze off. It's very hard to get to sleep once I've got a new idea bouncing around in my head.”

When asked about her Twitter habits: “I like to make sure I keep my Twittering fresh. I want people to see not only the shop updates and the things I create, but get a good glimpse of my personality as well. You want to be memorable in a good way. Reply to what others are saying. Make connections. Yes, I just added a new bowl to the shop. But I also LOVE 80's movies!”

Free shipping worldwide April 6th - 12th. Just mention “EtsyTwitter” in your message to seller and shipping will be refunded.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade curiousmess.etsy.com

All photos © Curious Mess/Starla Peterson