Crafty Wonderland Spring 2013 in review

Well, several days later I am finally writing about the show! Saturday was Crafty Wonderland, the next day was Mother's Day, and a busy couple beginning of the week at my day job have led me to a Wednesday review of a Saturday show.

Scheduling craziness aside, it has been decent. Crafty Wonderland was good. It was definitely better than last year's CW Spring Sale. <-- Oh my, you should definitely check out that link. My display has changed so very much since then, and I didn't remember that we'd had a crazy May heat wave last year too.

Many of my favorite people were selling there this year, as well, including:
Pepe of Muluk,
Andrea of Travelust,
Michele Maule,
Agnes of Betty Turbo,
Torie of Totinette,
Jackie of Scrumptious Suds,
and so many others!

Many thanks to those who visited, to those who support my business with their time and encouragement as well as with their purchases!

Lewis Elementary Garden Fair in Review

 

This past Saturday was the first show of the year, Lewis Elementary's Garden Fair. It was a fun combination of a plant sale, a cookout, live music, and a handmade fair.

The weather was spring-perfect, warm and sunny. Unfortunately, this meant that lots of attendees stayed outside with the other attractions enjoying the outdoors, while us vendors waited inside. Not resoundingly successful as far as sales go, but not a total loss: I found a mint plant and two strawberry starts for the garden at a plant booth, and we had great neighbors! They included Jackie of Scrumptious Suds, Molly of Elizabeth Jewelry, Ale of Muluk, and Jennifer of JBoldGlassArt. Meeting new friends and catching up with old favorites. I don't get to see these wonderful people during the off-season, so it was good to hang out with them. 

Plus it was a strategic opportunity to run through my new display (and debut some new items! see the acorn garlands above us in the photo?) before the first big show of the year, Crafty Wonderland's Spring Sale, which happens in two weeks.

Upcoming Event: Lewis Elementary Garden Fair, Happening This Saturday!

My first show of 2013 is this Saturday, April 27th, from 10am-3pm. Lewis Elementary's holiday show was a good one, so I'm very much looking forward to this springtime version. They hold a plant sale outside (so stop by and stock up on starts for your garden!) as well as an artisan/handmade sale inside the gym. Several of my favorite makers will be selling there, including the wonderful Pepe and Ale of Muluk, Andrea of Travelust (who also runs the dear shop Little Things), and Jennifer of JBoldGlassArt.

House of Moss will be there, too, with plenty of felted seedlings, mushroom gardens, and felted terrariums, for all of you us out there who can't seem to keep real plants alive. :)

I'm also debuting a new House of Moss sign, as well as some brand-new acorn garlands– not even listed in the shop yet, as of this writing! So stop by and be the first to pick one up.

Crafty Wonderland Super Colossal Holiday Sale 2012 in review

Crafty Wonderland this past weekend was absolutely great. Erik and I had an awesome time meeting so many wonderful people! Torie and Cathy announced that attendance was up by 2,000 attendees from last year: 18,000 people came through those doors! 10,000 on Saturday, and another 8,000 on Sunday!

We had some awesome neighbors (Michele Maule, Pepe & Ale from Muluk, Natalie Joy, Lark Press, Amy from Little Bright Studio, Karyn from Pirouette, and others!), ate some superb handmade treats (lollipops from This Charming Candy, truffles made by Nicole from DotShoppe), and made a fun trade (Adrienne from Neeka Knits). It was also super fun to go around and visit/meet a lot of the amazing makers I've had on this very blog in the series We Make Portland Awesome: Sofia from Buttonlandia, Telle & Rex from ISWAS+WILLBE, Denise from DKruegerBotanicArt, Brooke from Little Canoe, Amy from Ohlnu, and others!

And I got nearly all of my Christmas presents there... though if I reveal where I got those, some certain people may be able to guess what they're getting! ;)

We make Portland awesome: Muluk

"We make Portland awesome" is a weekly series. I’m interested building our community of artists by helping us all find out more about each other.

This week: Pepe and Ale of Muluk

Who are you?
We are Ale and Pepe. We are originally from Mexico and we have been living here in Portland, OR, for the past seven years. We decided to travel to continue learning arts.

What do you make?
We make hats. They are like the 20’s style, made from 100% cotton, so comfy and lightweight. Dreamy, asymmetric skirts: modern, romantic, sexy, and very stylish. Wallets, made from 100% pants. Ties, unique, artistic for guys who love and enjoy dressing up. Each creative tie is unique and features funky designs.

Besides making things, what do you do?
We spend most of our time with our two beautiful girls, We love to travel, go camping, check art shows, visit galleries. Also, Pepe has a radio program called FusionArte, where they talk about art and culture.

What inspires you?
Everything… travel, books, students, places, music.

Where can your work be found?
Web: www.muluk13.com
Etsy: www.muluk.etsy.com

Retail stores:
• Grasshopper, Portland, OR
• Tumbleweed, Portland, OR
• Redux, Portland, OR
• Tender Loving Empire, Portland, OR
• Twilight Artist Collective, Seattle, WA
• Little Things, Portland, OR
• Pop-up Shop Crafty Wonderland, Portland, OR
• Stella's on 21st, Portland, OR  www.stellason21st.com 
• Boston Street Baby Store, Seattle, WA 
• Casita, Seattle, WA 
• Rain or Shine ~gift shop, Seattle, WA 
• Habitude, Seattle, WA 
• Urban Indigo, Oakland, CA 
• Renaissance, Ashland, OR 
• Ruby, San Francisco, CA 
• Compass Rose, Olympia, WA
• Tasty or www.shoptastyart.com

What do you love about Portland?
The green color all over the city, the people (so friendly), diversity, the beer, music... that vintage style everywhere.

Crafty Wonderland in summary

The Crafty Wonderland Super Colossal Spring Sale 2012 was today! It was a pretty good day. Somehow, hundreds (thousands?) of people managed to pull themselves away from the 85-degree sunny loveliness outside and come into the Oregon Convention Center for this event. Despite being rather tired and fuzzy-brained, I had a decent time selling and shopping and socializing.

My favorite part of the day was meeting and visiting so many of my "internet friends"– some whom I've interviewed on the We Make Portland Awesome section of this blog. Some of them were:
• Sofia of Buttonlandia
• Emily of Hedgehog Hiker (my neighbor at this show!)
• Sara of Kitty Baby Love
• Brooke of Little Canoe
• Cassie of Mag-Big
• Pepe and Ale of Muluk and The Blind Insect (You are some of my favorite people!)
• Emily of FunShine Creations (Thank you for the wonderful trade! I love my new earrings!)
• Amy of Ohlnu
• Alysia of Prost to the Host
• Anna of Roots Soap Co (I can't wait to try that laundry soap!)
• Monique of Where The Moon Goes

...And I know there were lots of others who are now escaping my very tired mind! With over 200 vendors, we had a pretty good group of wonderful makers and artists and friends, and it was really fun.