Essimar makes some of the most beautiful cards I have ever seen and, being a creator of paper goods myself, I have seen A TON of cards. I wonder how it is that Esther R. lives in Chicago and I have not seen her work until today, thanks to her tuli card being on the Etsy front page. I’m really at a loss for words. Each of the cards are little works of art. These are two of my favorite.
 Express yourself artfully:
http://essimar.etsy.com
Another one of my favorites from THE PACK LADY: Rummage & Craft Spectacular is R Blade Designs. Raiza hand carves these unique pieces and it’s amazing how much personality they have. They look even better in real life. She even hand made her display for her jewelry out of wood. I already know one person I am placing a special Christmas present order with R. Blade for. I bet you do too!
Wood is good:
http://rblade.etsy.com
Us ladies from Ladyfest Chicago 2007 had been preparing for months for this past weekend. October 18th – 21st was the culmination of our efforts. My major contribution to Ladyfest Chicago 2007 was organizing the craft fair portion. I called it THE PACK LADY: Rummage & Craft Spectacular. Not only handmade items but records, clothing, and vintage goods were allowed to be sold. There was so much awesome present, but not a whole lot of customers made their way down to the AV-aerie Saturday. The turnout could have been better. We got a lot of press and nods on blogs, but the turnout could have been better. I think a lot of vendors made new friends and had a good time though. I know that I did.
I genuinely loved every vendor, but one of the standouts was Sunni of Bykes. She has such an eye for putting colors together. Not only does piece fabric together for quilted coasters and purses, but she hand dyes and spins her own yarn. It makes me wish I could actually knit or crochet.
Go fly a kite or ride a byke:
http://bykes.etsy.com
I love tiny things. I am fascinated by itty bitty foods. I love using the macro feature on my camera so I can see the minute details of the world. I love the miniature sculptures that Melissa Axelhoney makes. I just had to get one of these ghostees when I saw all of them lined up in a ghostly row. A couple years back a friend gave me a cat moshee, which is displayed on the shelves above Hoggle’s cage. Now that moshee will be joined by both a ghostee and a whale by Axelhoney. So sweet but still kind of sad. I love that stuff.
Get your boo on:
http://axelhoney.etsy.com
Well, I had a fantastic time at Crafty Bastards in DC last weekend. It was the most I’ve made at a fair so far. It’s really great seeing my stuff go into the hands of really nice people. Everything I make is stuff that I really like, so it’s kind of funny to see what the general populace likes. After taking SO MUCH time making those “sew rockin” band cards, I did not sell a one at CB. There were some bigger indie bands in there too, so I am at a loss. I think they may sell better online, but that will be a huge undertaking to photograph each one since I made over 100 different ones.
Something I have noticed that sells a lot at craft fairs is onesies and with a good friend being preggers, I jumped on the bandwagon. I made onesies with these previous designs but no words: artichoke, mixtape, and the boo ghost. Hoggle approves:
These new cards I’ve been working on are made with old band photos taken before I went digital. Most of the photos had some slight imperfection (the back of a head in a shot, not a great action shot, etc.), but they look great sewn onto a card. I’m still thinking of a good name for them, but as for now I’m calling them band photograph cards, because I’m not feeling clever right now. I’m rather feeling like a zombie, having made 78 of these babies. I had an entire under the bed storage box filled with (mostly) band photos I’d taken. I really like combining photographs with bits of fabric or rick rack. This is one of the most enjoyable crafts I’ve done thus far. I also made a rather cool pillow, but I haven’t stuffed it yet. I’m just gearing up for Crafty Bastards! Reba Rar Rar Press and I leave on Thursday morning for DC. Wednesday night is The Lucksmiths at Schuba’s. Things feel like they’re on the up and up.
Left to right: Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals), Hayden, and Eric Axelson (Dismemberment Plan)
I loves me a good moustache. Before hipsters started growing them because they were ironic, I still loved moustaches. At Renegade Craft Fair last weekend, I kept coming back to this since it’s such a fantastic idea. There was a company called Ladicakes in Chicago that made pillows shaped like their namesake’s moustache. The best was the Burt. That pillow was a big huggable thing. I just went to their former site and now it’s become some food blog. I think Ladicakes must have passed the torch to Sally England Design of Grand Rapids, Michigan, who makes this pillow with 4 interchangeable moustaches.
They’ll take you for a ride:
http://sallyenglanddesign.etsy.com
 