April 27, 2008
Art in the Square... and in my heart
Yesterday I attended Art in the Square at the new Town Square Shopping District here in Vegas. Ohhhh I missed being surrounded by talented artists. Fearing that all was lost in Vegas when it came to the indie craft scene, I was reminded that the indie spirit lies everywhere.
Some of the artists that I fell in love with:
01) minzer by Megan O Wold. I must have stayed a good 20 minutes staring at all the mixed-media collage work and pretty, funky jewelry she had.
02) Megan and Mary Beth share an etsy store called iadornu, I bought a cute "tie tack" with a wee tiny original illustration of an owl with gold-fill chain dangling from the wooden chip. Need to take a picture, it's so dainty and cute. Mary Beth also has her own online portfolio, and I love it. These two ladies were the highlight of my day!
03) Adam Michaels was a really cool, pleasant dude. He had this small watercolor and ink (I think) canvas of a key, a lock, brush strokes and pencil markings that I was enamoured with. Maybe sometime down the line I might purchase it, so loved it (he also said my accent was sexy hehe)
04) Christopher Reitmaier - musician and artist, another cool dude. He creates intriguing mixed-media artwork with salvaged scrap materials that he often finds in the outskirts of the city where casinos and industries dump their crap in. The pendants are awesome, I'll be sure to snatch one for meself next time I see him!
05) Helton Photography - I am terrible, I forgot this nice lady's first name. I admire her talent to capture the beauty of children, something I am not particularly talented in my photography (I like me some inanimate objects lol). She was really sweet and I liked her table decor. She had a huuuge green apple (wooden, perhaps), a little wooden train, a bouquet of ranunculus, and her three impressive photo books.
It all filled me with such great delight. Thursday was one of my days off (remember how I mentioned I had 4 days off this week? Well, I actually ended up working two of those days, oh well) and to tell you the truth I did not want to leave my bed. I just sat there, laptop turned on, stressing about all the the ideas and things I roaming my head. Thankfully, somewhere in between the bed and the shower, I lightened up and guess what...I crafted!! Yes, I did. Pretty little things that I didn't even have sketched out from months ago, they just popped into my head... well, more like my hands.
I decided to share my vintage buttons with the world, so I glued them to tiny clothes-pins, and made little kits, for you to hang mementos and postcards and little things. It includes 18 inches of baker's twine, two clear pin-tacks, six clothes pins and an original vintage black and white photo, just because. ^_^
Somehow, I think a little voice inside my head says Give Vegas a chance.... Have not felt anxious at all since Thursday. That is a good sign. :)
Posted by starmagn at 01:41 AM | Comments (3)
November 23, 2007
Mutation: Success!!
YAY! I am happy to report that Mutation Craft Fair held this past weekend in Savannah, Georgia was a success! According to co-organizer Meghan, fun (and yummy treats) was had by all!
I gathered two articles about the festivities that appeared on Connect Magazine and Savannah Morning News, respectively here and here.
From Connect:
- Shannon and fellow crafter Amy Nieto threw together the first Mutation fair in spring 2005 after meeting through a Savannah thread on crafster.org, which caters to independent crafters. Held at the now-defunct StarCCA space on Bull Street, Shannon and Nieto deemed their first fair a success after two months of planning, recruiting fifteen vendors and “200 to 300 attendees. Especially since we had no idea what we were doing.”
And that's exactly how it all went in Spring 2005. Two months of planning and absolutely no idea of what we were doing. But it happened and it's been one of the best experiences of my life. Never did I imagine I'd meet so many wonderful people.
Really. I mean it. To all of you who attended the craft fair this weekend (and past events)...THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.
Not enough words to express my gratitude.
Images will come soon soon soon!
Brendan, Heather and Meghan, Awesome Organizers!!
Posted by starmagn at 02:56 AM | Comments (0)
November 15, 2007
Mutation Craft Fair Fall 2007! YAY!!
TOTALLY AWESOME REMINDER for Mutation Craft Fair this weekend!!
YAY! Ladies and gentlemen I am proud to announce our next Mutation Craft Fair FUNtastic event to be held this November 17 through the 18th with a radical art show to kick off the weekend events on the 16th! It will all take place at Desoto Row/Starland Arts District in Savannah, Georgia. Meghan and I took a year long hiatus from Mutation (we both really needed it) to make sure this Mutation is better than ever!
Make sure you also stop by the Art Show at the Bamboo Garden in Desoto Row (Bull Street and 40th). Artist, animator, illustrator and fantastic person, Adam Levine will be raffling two of his whimsy Adimals plushies with proceeds going to the Big Brother Big Sister Organization.
Sadly, I will not be there. Airfare from Las Vegas to Savannah is horribly expensive, but I am confident this event will be fantastic! Please stop by and have cupcakes and shop indie for the holiday season!
Posted by starmagn at 03:23 AM | Comments (4)
October 13, 2006
Things I learned at Mutation
Trying to get a dozen hellium balloons inside your car is HARD. Extra hard if you're avoiding a potential accident by having them block your rear view. Yeah. Not the highlight of my Mutation day.
(I am transferring all the trillion pictures I snapped at Mutation right now. they will come slooooowly)
Posted by starmagn at 04:53 PM | Comments (0)
October 07, 2006
Lovely Mutation Saturday!
Yay for Mutation, gorgeous Fall day and fantastic vendors (oh and cupcakes)! I am glad to report Mutation #5 was quite the success and it was just plain awesome. I took so many pictures with my baby camera that it's gonna be insane going through all of them. So I will only show two for tonight, because after that I will... PASS OUT! I am so tired. But so very pleased with the outcome.
So, I promise to post more pictures soon!
Meghan (right) and I
Posted by starmagn at 03:08 PM | Comments (1)
September 23, 2006
Mutation Craft Fair, yeah!
YAY MUTATION CRAFT FAIR!
We at Mutation headquarters are getting quite excited and ready for this season's Mutation Craft Fair on Saturday, October 7th to be held at the Fellowship Hall of the Unitarian Universalist Church on 313 E. Harris (Habersham + Harris) in Downtown Savannah, Georgia.
Come join us for music, refreshments and hip handmade goods from more than 20 talented artists! Thanks to our sponsors Primary Art Supply, @ Home Vintage General and SCAD Radio for making this happen!
Posted by starmagn at 09:36 AM | Comments (0)
June 19, 2006
The next Mutation
My very last Mutation (for reals this time). Saturday October 7th, 2006. At a new location in the downtown area (about 20 blocks away from the old one), meaning a better crowd.
More details to come soon :D
Posted by starmagn at 12:14 AM | Comments (3)
April 09, 2006
Mutation fun Part #1!
In the spirit of posting crazy ass shit pictures of me, here is a very lovely, non-suggestive photograph of me hoarding the Smarties that fell down from Darth Vader pinata heaven tonight at my birthday bash!
Seriously guys. Drop me a line. I mean, come on. HAWT.
But yeah, today's Mutation was GREAT! So many people showed up! Unfortunately that really scary (at least to me) storm kinda died things down a bit, but at least it happened by the end of the fair. But lots of fun was had, lots of things were sold and Amy did lots of talking, for once! I even got interviewed on camera by SCAD's Beecon. Woot. I'm sure I mumbled like a right idiot, like I frequently do when I'm on camera.
But no rain tomorrow! woo. And it'll be slightly cooler, which is good, because the gallery inside was scorchin'.
Sooo yeah. WOOOOT. Amy VERY HAPPY!
Posted by starmagn at 12:02 AM | Comments (2)
April 05, 2006
OVERBEARING CUTENESS.
Button template for the Mutation Craft Fair. Once again please direct your browser to Marilyn Patrizio's excellent website. She was kind enough to make all these lovely illustrations for us and seriously, how hard do you rock Marilyn? Thanks a bunch!
So excited for Mutation!!
Posted by starmagn at 03:15 PM | Comments (5)
March 23, 2006
Mutation Craft Fair!
Help spread the Mutation word!
Help the indie craft cause by placing these mini fliers and buttons on your blog or website (you are allowed to hot link, if necessary)! Artwork created by the super talented Marilyn Patrizio!
Posted by starmagn at 10:06 PM | Comments (1)
March 22, 2006
Trying to expand Star Magnolia...
So I applied for The North Carolina Handmaidens' Handmade Market to be held on Raleigh on May 6, 2006. I have never been outside of Savannah ever since I came here and I believe this is an excuse to visit the area. Heck, even if I don't get in the show, I still want to visit all the crafty people farther north. Anybody wanna come with me? Roomie? :D
Problem is.. I have NOTHING READY! Not even for my beloved Mutation!
I really want to make some Gocco fabric prints from my You are sew nice image. We'll see. Just two weeks left. Stressing.
Posted by starmagn at 10:15 PM | Comments (0)
February 05, 2006
Apply!
Yeap, we're taking applications. This time we'll be screening the apps, meaning we have to let you know if you'll be accepted or not.
Stop over our website (still going thru updates) and find out more about our fourth Mutation Craft Fair!
Posted by starmagn at 06:20 PM | Comments (0)
January 29, 2006
Aaaalmost there...
Okay, so we do have a venue for Mutation Craft Fair, the same gallery as the previous three times, Starland Arts Collective, Savannah, Georgia. This is last resort if we can't find a venue closer to Downtown by the end of next week.
The fair will be held on the 8-9 of April, 2006 (11 months after the very first Mutation, awww). We still do not have a definite table fee, but it might be somewhere around $50 for both days and $30 for just one (or perhaps slightly less).
Let me know if you're very interested in attending!!
Posted by starmagn at 06:38 PM | Comments (1)
January 14, 2006
Introducing....
No, we haven't secured a venue, but we might be close. I just want to bring the fair to your attention. The plan is to have a two-day indoor event featuring about 50 vendors (twice the size) on an April weekend this year, and in a location in the heart of Savannah: the Historic District. Downtown is where it all happens, the tourists are a-plenty, close to the river front street beeming with dozens of shops and restaurants (River Street), and many families stroll the streets with their children for a nice day out. This would ensure a very very successful craft fair, even more so than our previous ones.
Even though we still don't have a secured venue or date, we'd love to write you down in our vendor's list if you are most definitely interested in participating (with no commitment at this early stage, of course). Join the Mutation mailing list to get speedy updates of important information!
We would loooove to get more artists from outside the South East region. So think about it, it's fun and Savannah is a very lovely town. You can find more about it (including info on accomodations) here, here and here.
Also...how do you guys feel about having a two-day craft fair on Easter weekend (april 14-16)? You think some people might find this a little inappropiate? Our initial date was April 8-9, but the venue that we're most interested in is booked for that weekend. What says you?
Posted by starmagn at 03:15 PM | Comments (0)
November 21, 2005
We got this email this morning and I couldn't help posting it here. It brought a little tear to my eye. It's so nice to wake up on a Finals Monday morning and read something like this!
Hi Megan (and Amy)
I just thought you might like to know that you and mutation craft fair
have inspired me to start up my own market... all the way over here in
New Zealand.
We held the first one last week and it went amazingly well. Now were
planning on doing it bi-monthly after our christmas event.
There are alot of people here in Wellington, NZ that owe you gals some
thanks, because if it wasn't for you Bitchcraft would have just remained
one of those things I would hope someone else would do.
Hope your holiday sale went well!
-Heather
www.bitchcraft.rottonpear.geek.nz
How bloody sweet is that. Totally made my day.
Posted by starmagn at 08:23 AM | Comments (0)
November 19, 2005
here we go
Just four more hours till Mutation. I still am going crazy. There's a 30% chance of afternoon rain. Please no. Still going crazy.
Plus I have to ride over there with all my belongings.
It's bloody 40 degrees outside. I really don't like this weather. :'(
Wish us good luck!
Posted by starmagn at 09:09 AM | Comments (1)
November 03, 2005
Mutation's Handmade Holiday
Yeap! It is that time again! The Holidays! Unsure of what to give to that picky cousin or d.i.y. crazy friend? Stop by Mutation's Handmade Holiday sale this Saturday, November 19 at the Starland Arts Collective in Savannah, Georgia and delight yourself with the whimsical talents of local indie designers! As always, raffles and gifts will be handed out, as well as yummy food (yay for cupcakes), entertainment and other fun stuff. The event is free to the public and runs from 1-6pm.
By the way, y'all should stop by Marilyn Patrizio's blog and profess your true love for her. I shily asked her if she could illustrate a flier for the fair before the end of the weekend (we are very short on time), because her style is what I had in mind for this fair's imagery. I must have emailed her around 4pm... and by 8pm, I had my awesome flier ready to add text and print away. How freakin' cool is she, even though she had so many other work to do and took time for silly little me. Once again, thank you so much Marilyn, you are a great, great person :D
Posted by starmagn at 01:34 AM | Comments (3)
October 20, 2005
30:60:90
Super duper multi-talented Dan Quinn organized a really cool art exhibition show last Friday, that took place in three different houses (hence the name 30:60:90)...(as in the angles of a right triangle... get it? No? go back to school!). All kinds of arts were present, such as photography, illustration, painting, fashion, film and other doo-dahs. Yours truly had three of her photographs neatly framed and displayed. It was such a strange feeling to see your artwork in a context away from class critiques. It felt good. All the other artwork were just amazing. Very much fell in love with Tommy's illus. :)
I also whored Star Magnolia that night and Dan let me set up a little table with whatever I had to sell, mostly leftovers from Mutation. I sold one Retro Stationery set and basically all of my buttons and stickers! Everybody was in love with my Bobs.
All in all, it was avery fun night. Mingled about with lots of people I hadn't seen in a while, exchanged business cards, ate about five cinnamon rolls, and even almost got kissed by this idiot five minutes after I met him. yuck.
Thanks Dan! We'll be waiting for the next 30:60:90!
Posted by starmagn at 04:12 PM | Comments (0)
October 13, 2005
Mutation was deemed to be a failure...
All the signs pointed to humiliation and disappointment. The alarm for 7AM was never set, instead with a sudden jolt (all too often exagerated in movies) I was awoken at 8:50am by one of those nightmares. You know, the ones that involve pesky spiders.... all around my body, unwilling to let go despite my best efforts at slapping them away. Seconds later my awesome friend and little helper, Dan, called to pick me up. So I shower, dress up, and eat with maximum velocity and with a heart that's beating just a tad bit too fast for my own good.
At close to 10:30 am we finally make our way to Mutation, with a quick stop at Kroger for some yummy Krispy Kremes and change. At Starland, there were already about three or four vendors setting up, and I started to believe that this day might just turn out okay.
Dan helped me with my display and I proceeded to clean the really dirty tables, while more and more vendores rolled in. I thought, "Oh wow, they're really early!"...when I realized, "Oh right... I was the one who came in late. Gotcha." Finally met many of awesome designers whose blogs and websites I visit daily, such a delight! I felt like hugging them for all the crafty awesomeness they kindly display everyday for us to see. But then I thought that would be too weird, seeing as I felt those urges seconds before I even got the chance to tell them my name.
Even before the "doors" officially opened at 1pm, people were already coming in and even buying! Let me tell you, it took me a loooong time to set up my table (close to 1pm). Not because there were a plethora of errands and requests to attend. Oh no. More like me oogling at all the amazing products my little Mutants had created! I cannot begin to explain how amazing the quality and awesome-factor present at this fair. We had great stuff last time, but this was a sight to see! We had pottery, jewelry, screen-printed t-shirts, stationery, felt plushies, folk art, lots of buttons, comic books, zines, candles, dolls, furniture, felted animals, handbags, paintings, plants, etc, etc, etc.
Kickass Gary is workin' the Raffle and Freebie Station (where all the Bust magazines and CERF information were at). Meghan is runnin' around like a crazy little ... wingnut? And I'm trying to snatch one of my Krispy Kreme donuts while a possible customer inquires about that weird looking octopus on my table. Luckily, my ever so great Room*e took in the role of sidekick during the remainder of the event (even made a couple sales while I was away strolling around the other tables!).
By 2pm, the gallery was full! Definitely the small but cool article published by the Savannah Morning News the day before helped in reaching a wider audience. Last May most of the attendants were students, and while they were also present this time, you could also see families with their children and even cute elder people stopped by! I was so excited I wanted to jump around like crazy! But again, I needed to uphold an image of sanity and control (it's strictly an image, for sure).
The audience winded down around a quarter past 5, and some of the out-of-towners began to break their tables down and prepare for the long drive ahead. It was such a nice feeling to hear your vendors tell you how happy they were with the event, and how much fun they had, and congratulating us on pulling this together, and how we should totally do this again. Not to sound selfish or anything, but it feels... great to know you're doing something that others are enjoying and that it just might mean something to them. And quite frankly, it means the world to me. Despite the stress and reduced sleeping hours, Mutation provided me with a immense sense of joy and fullfillment that I seldom find anywhere else. And I looove it.
So, a BIG THANK YOU to Meghan Shannon for igniting the quirky and fun spark that is Mutation; thank you to all the vendors who were so kind, patient and energetic; to the sponsors who supported us indie girls; and to all who attended and walked away with probably the greatest gift they'll ever buy.... I thank you from the bottom of my heart. :)
Now, on to pictures!
1) Beautiful potted plants and pottery by Greenware Designs
2) Funny iPod cozies and plushies from i cum sunshine
3) Mini comic books (and excellent display) from Little House Comics
4) Yummy stationery and tape cassettes earrings from Britta Barrett
5) Adorable plushies from Amanda Finn
Silly me didn't take a wide picture of my whole table, instead I snapped little snippets. I didn't even photograph the small wristlets! sheesh! Anyways... isn't my little Bob diorama adorable! (thank you Room*e for the suggestion!)
And these are all the lovely goodies I bought. I believe I spent about half of my earnings that day, hehe. :D
These are only a fraction of the pictures. For the full shebang please go to the Flickr page!
Posted by starmagn at 11:25 PM | Comments (3)
October 08, 2005
Mutation was freakin' awesome!!
!!!!!!!! Details and piccies to come soon (maybe tonight after the 23 hours I expect to sleep)
[heart][heart][heart]
Posted by starmagn at 07:28 PM | Comments (2)
October 06, 2005
Totally wicked!
Two of the awesome magazines that are sponsoring Mutation!
The Savannah Morning News will be featuring a small article about Mutation on the Your Weekend section tomorrow Friday!!
Posted by starmagn at 01:43 AM | Comments (0)
How soon is now
Oh Mutation, you really got me going. Part of me is ultra-excited about this event, I cannot wait to see all the goodies my little mutants have created. But at the same time... I'm really flippin' exhausted. SO. VERY. Exhausted. To make matters worse, I seem to have misplaced the mylar pieces to make my 1" buttons! grrr!
Tomorrow I shall spend three hours trying to achieve proper color registration on my letterpress project! Grrr, two more colors and then the type. Oh man, so grueling. Still, it is fun. I think I will do my graduation invitations + thank you notes on the Vandercook. Of course, that's if I ace the registration dilemma.
I can only hope all my stationery and bags can be finished tomorrow.
HA! Fat chance!
Posted by starmagn at 01:31 AM | Comments (1)
September 23, 2005
Rarrotonga se murioooooo
Oh, crap. I just realized Mutation is in two weeks.
CRAP. I need to post MORE fliers. And find a band or person willing to play for free. And prepare a press release kit. And post threads on forums and websites.
Not to mention, finish my shizznit!!!!!! Arghhh!!
Your moment of Zen:
(Not my scooter)
Posted by starmagn at 06:27 PM | Comments (0)
September 12, 2005
Mutate!
Just a very friendly reminder of the second Mutation: The Venue for Misfit Crafts to be held on October 8th at the Starland Arts Collective in Savannah, Georgia! Visit the website for more information at Mutationcraftfair.com
Posted by starmagn at 03:53 AM | Comments (2)
August 19, 2005
Mutation: The Venue for Misfit Crafts
Y'all shall come down to Savannah, Georgia on October 8th, and join the hotawesome fun that is Mutation, co-organized by Yours Amazing Truly and even more hotawesomer Meghan. There shall be gifts, raffles, entertainment and lotsa edgy, unique arts + crafts!
Posted by starmagn at 09:08 PM | Comments (2)
August 09, 2005
Noche de Galerias
Yay! Horay for craft fairs! w00t w00t!
After facing desperation and anxiety over the (slow) speed of my crafty hands, my chico Rafa finally convinced me to brave the waters and sell my stuff at Noche de Galerias (Gallery Nights) last week. I already had about four handbags ready, so I thought it would be a good idea to speed things up by making smaller, less elaborate purses along with a few Bob plush toys and wristcuffs.
With 22 final products, I finally set up my small table at 6pm and awaited the night along with all the other crafty people. Unfortunately, the open plaza lacks proper lighting for each vendor, so I couldn't light the ultra-clever fish tank where my Bobs were being displayed. :( Oh well, you learn.
I walked around the other tables to oogle at the crafts, but found myself slightly disappointed at the lack of originality. I mean, it's awesome that you're crafting, but how about if you put a little spin on your products so that you stand out among the rest. Most of the jewelry (the dominating craft that night) was fairly similar. Very few dared to craft outside the box, like Luinny who made AWESOME bracelets from altered beer bottle caps (the metal kind). Yes, we agreeded to a trade, cuz I need to have that bracelet! Some kids silkscreened t-shirts, a girl made some cool decorated trash cans, another one made cute bathing suits, plus a few I might be forgetting. Still, it's a relief to see so many people crafting about.
All in all, I was fairly successfull, selling 80% (very uneducated estimate!) of my baggies. People really liked them apparently, and a few commented so. I even coaxed five people to join the mailing list! The fish tank full of Bobs caught the attention of a few curious minds wondering what the heck were those little...things
Incredible huge thanks to Rafa for being my reliable sidekick and to Digital, who funnily enough, once he showed up people started to buy my bags. He became the Official Star Magnolia Lucky Charm! Oh and I was so happy my good ol friend Liliana stopped by!!!
Posted by starmagn at 03:31 AM | Comments (2)