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: Ohlnu

"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: Amy of Ohlnu

Who are you?

My name is Amy Clark, I am an art student at PSU and the creator of Ohlnu.

What do you make?
I make bags from Pendleton wool and leather, accessories from natural gemstones, and paper roses from old books and vintage comics.

Besides making things, what do you do?
I am also an art practices major at PSU and a wife. I spend most of my time trying to balance going to school, creating things for Ohlnu, and still keeping a social life.

What inspires you?
I’m inspired primarily with my life experiences. My family is Ogallala and Rosebud Sioux and I have always been influenced by our Native American heritage. I have lived in the Southwest, Midwest, and Northwest regions of the US and always draw my inspiration from my adventures there.

Where can your work be found?
My work can be found at my etsy shop www.ohlnu.etsy.com. I also participate in local craft fairs, two large ones that are coming up are Crafty Wonderland’s Super Colossal Spring Sale on May 12 here in Portland, and this summer’s Urban Craft Uprising on July 7 + 8 in Seattle, Washington.

What do you love about Portland?
My favorite part about Portland is how eclectic it is. You can do or be anything that you want and will be accepted and loved for who you are. I also love how close it is to hiking trails and amazing wilderness areas.

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.