Craft Show Line Up - Spring and Summer, baby!

I have this very moment finalized the dates and details of my craft show Spring/Summer season.  And so now, my kittens, you pull out your calendars and mark down all of the delightful shows where you will be coming out and visiting me with your bright, shiny faces.  Extra brownie points if you bring me refreshments.

And here we go:

MAY

Crafty Supermarket
Saturday, May 7, 2011, 11:00am-6:00pm
Clifton Cultural Arts Center
3711 Clifton Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45220
craftysupermarket.wordpress.com/

*This is a favorite show of mine, primarily because it is such a great mix of people and indie craft at it's finest.  A warning - it gets crowded.  In my experience, afternoon is not quite so crazy, though that means you miss out on the 100 bags of free swag given to the first folks in the door.  Of course, these folks will have been waiting outside for 1-2 hours for said swag, but I hear it is worth it:)  This show gets a ton of press, deservedly.  In the past I've had my work appear in Cincinnati Magazine and on the Fox19 morning news when they promoted it!

OTR Gateway Summer Celebration
Saturday, May 21, 2011 10:00 AM- 4:00PM
12th & Vine in Over-the-Rhine
Cincinnati, Ohio
www.otrgateway.com/

*Organized by the fine folks at Mica 12/v, this is a great show with live music in a hip corner of the Gateway Quarter in historic Over-the-Rhine.  I've attended this fine festival, but never worked it as a vendor, so I'm excited to be a part of it.  If I recall correctly, beer is available, just in case that sweetens the deal for you at all.

 

JUNE

The City Flea

Saturday, June 4, 11:00am-5:00pm

Central Parkway and Vine Street at the Cincinnatus Mural

Cincinnati, Ohio

http://www.thecityflea.com/

*This is a brand new event that's come to Cincinnati, and us Cincy craft folk have been abuzz over it.  This will be a monthly event throughout the summer, and I will be in the first and last of these shows.  The line up of vendors looks great, it's in an extremely cool spot (my high school art history teacher took us on a field trip to this very mural, I'll have you know!), and the couple organizing the show have done a bang up job. 

Midwest Craft Caucus

Saturday and Sunday, June 4-5 (I will speak on Sunday, June 5th)

Economic Community Development Institute (ECDI) in Columbus, Ohio

http://www.midwestcraftcaucus.com/

*This is a weekend-long conference for us crafty folk trying to make a living off of our handmade goods.  Columbus has a strong handmade scene, and so it makes perfect sense they'd organize such an amazingly resourceful series of lectures and discussion panels.  I will be part of a discussion panel on Sunday, Working with Craft Collectives and Street Teams, to share my experiences as a member and leader of PlushTeam.  Check back to their website for a finalized schedule of sessions and their times, it's not up quite yet.  

INDIEana Handicraft Exchange 

Saturday, June 11, 11:00am-8:00pm

The Harrison Center for the Arts
1505 North Delaware Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202

http://www.indieanahandicraftexchange.com/

*My first time as a vendor here!  I've attended this show, way back when it was brand spanking new, and I really loved it.  I was newly operating abbydid at the time and it was really inspirational to me to see such a fine array of handcrafters doing their thing.  I hear it has really grown since then, I'm excited to check it out.

SEPTEMBER

The City Flea

Saturday, September 3, 11:00am-5:00pm

Central Parkway and Vine Street at the Cincinnatus Mural

Cincinnati, Ohio

http://www.thecityflea.com/

Mariemont Art and Craft Show    

Sunday, September 11, 11:00am-5:00pm

US 50 (Wooster Pike - just west of Mariemont Village Square)

Cincinnati, Ohio

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=177649902274714

 Westwood Art Show                        

 Saturday, September 24, 10:00am-4:00pm

Westwood Town Hall

3017 Harrison Avenue

Cincinnati, Ohio

*Welcome to my hood. The West Side is great for many, many reasons, but hipness is not one of them.  Having said that, I have found two craft shows on my side of town that I consider an absolute pleasure to be part of t his is DEFINITELY one of them!  The old town hall is a lovely venue, the grounds around it perfect for a craft show, live music, and play areas for the kids.  Amanda, the woman behind the show is probably the nicest person you will ever meet, and she is a indie crafter as well - here she is on etsy.   Go show her some love, she deserves it.  She works tirelessly to promote the Westwood community.  She also looks dead on the Widow Garret from Deadwood.  Just sayin'. 

And there we have it!  Clearly, I'm one busy bee.  As you can see, I'm not traveling much this season, mainly keeping it local.  As far as childcare and finances go, that just makes the most sense.  I have so many new things I'm working on, I can't wait to share them with you!  I so love the feedback I get when doing these shows, you are the folks who inspire me with new ideas and help me tweak the old ones.  Feel free to shout ideas my way ahead of time!  I'm working hard to make what I think you want to see at these shows, but if you have requests, I'm more than happy to hear them.  

See you soon:)

Steampunk Challenge - the Steam-powered Sewing Machine

As I've probably mentioned a million times, I'm a member of the PlushTeam.  This international guild of plush artists comes up with a Team Challenge every couple of months to keep us on our toes and get those creative juices flowing.  I try to participate in as many as possible, and occasionally I even win something as a result, but I always come away from it inspired and having tried something crazy, different, and out of my comfort zone.

And so, it is my pleasure to present to you my entry for the PlushTeam Stempunk Challenge (in the gadget category)- the entirely steam-powered sewing machine of the Victorian Age!  Or at least what I imagine it probably looked like with that little abbydid spin tossed in.

Please visit www.plushteam.com the week of April 18-23 to VOTE for my Steampunk piece if you think it is the plush best exemplifying the glory of the Steampunk Era! Oh, and also, buy this piece and display it proudly for all to see!  It's located in the PlushTeam Shop for your perusing and/or purchasing pleasure.

But, Abby, tell us more!  This bad boy is made of hand sculpted foam core covered in a variety of up-cycled upholstery fabrics, sourced from leftover samples from interior decorators that were headed for the trash. Clock hands serve as sewing needles.  Metal bobbins, a necklace chain, and the mechanics of a wind up duck make up the inner workings inside the panel.  A pressure gauge accompanies some bobbins and doodads at the top. The side wheel is a faucet spigot.

Wait, did she say a wind up duck?  And is that a duck foot I see in there?  Why, yes, yes it is. 

Measures 13"x9.5"x6.5", approximately the same size as a standard sewing machine.  And that concludes our glimpse for the day into the oddly wondrous place that is my brain.  Carry on:)