Urban Craft Uprising

Lately it seems as if crafting has lost its charm and we just don't see as many independent crafters out there selling their work. Have no fear, crafting is not lost it just has a new face. Brace yourselves it is crafting with an edge. "In the spring of 2005, five indie crafters banded together to organize the largest alternative, urban craft fair the Northwest had ever seen. Urban Craft Uprising was born. The group dedicated itself to creating a unique showcase for rising indie craft stars and to providing people with the chance to shop for one-of-a-kind, avant-garde creations." (http://www.urbancraftuprising.com/about.htm) It makes so much sense in the world we live in today where everyone is looking to be unique and strive away from the mass produced products that we have become accustomed to. DIY television shows, projects and products are everywhere, it is time for crafters to take advantage of this obsession. There are so many people out there looking for unique items but lack the creativity to do it themselves. That is where you come in. Have confidence in your skills! Independent crafters have so many more resources at their fingertips than ever before. A popular place to sell crafts today is on http://www.etsy.com. You are able to have a mini website for yourself and your work without all the hassle and the best part is you don't have to have an entire collection just a few pieces that you recently created. The Urban Craft Uprising is another place that provides a large audience for crafters to sell their work. We are especially lucky that we have two of these events in Minnesota that are linking with the Urban Craft Uprising. In Minneapolis we have the No-Coast Craft-O-Rama and in St. Paul the Craftstravaganza! The next fair in St. Paul is on Saturday, April 28th, 2007, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. We are too late to sign up but get out there and check out the new face of crafting so you can be ready for the No-Coast Craft-O-Rama in December! Here is a preview from some of the vendors that will be there.
Tiff

Amy Butler

“Known for her Midwest modern style, internationally recognized textile designer Amy Butler brings her energetic & fresh design to K & Company for a spectacular new collection! As if collected on a fascinating worldwide journey, Amy’s fresh designs capture a spirited enthusiasm for urban sophistication. Simple geometrics, exotic florals, decorative patterns- this is where British mod meets Midwest charm, and it’s an impeccable match.”- K & Company.

So when going through our orders I came across K & Company’s new Amy Butler collection & I had to share it with everyone. I can’t wait to get it in & start playing with it. Here’s the link to Amy Butlers site on K & Company. Take a look and let us know what is a must to have.

http://www.kandcompany.com/products/AmyBr_Intro.jsp
Hope you are as excited as I am!

Crafting Contest

I always find myself going on websites to see the work that other people have done to help me get ideas for my own projects. So...when I was thinking of how we could celebrate National Craft month this March I decided it might be fun to have a Crafting Contest at our store to help share ideas and also show off some of the talented customers that we have here! If you want to participate you must bring in your project by March 9th. The winners will be decided by you, the customer, so make sure you stop in to vote the 12th through the 23rd. It is a great way to see what other people are doing and help to energize you to finish those projects that you have been meaning to get around to. Of course there will be prizes involved. For every category we will have prize baskets filled with goodies and a huge one for our grand prize winner! Hopefully we will have a lounge full of craft projects to brighten our days until spring!

New Fabric!

Brace yourselves we are beefing up our fabric department! We are expanding to include more vintage/ retro patterns in our collection. We recently just received our first few shipments and I thought I should share the excitement. So far we have bolts from Michael Miller and Anna Griffin. They are great for home decor accents like pillows and
also for one of a kind purses. Keep
your eyes open for more fabric and
samples as they come in. I will try to
keep posting them as I see them. Enjoy!
Tiff

CHA winter 2007 is upon us. If you’re not familiar with CHA it is a trade show for the Craft & Hobby Association. “The 2007 show will bring the craft world together to showcase breaking industry trends, the latest product introductions and countless new ideas to energize your business,” describes the CHA web site. I was not one of the lucky ones who got to attend the show from Crafts Direct but since they pack so much into 4 days there is always plenty of company catalogs to go through and order from. There were a couple of items that those who attended were very excited about and I thought I should share… For the Home Décor area Die Cuts With a View has a new Home Collection with metal signs that are very impressive. A new company that we will be carrying has come out with large clock movements, 3 ft. large! The movement can be mounted to almost any surface & even put directly to the wall! For our beading area we will be expanding our Blue Moon Beads section to a 12 ft. section. The Scrapbooking area at CHA took up 2/3 of the show room. I am so excited to look through the catalogues and start ordering. Many of the companies that attended CHA have posted their new products on their web sites. So if you want to stay on top of the new product check them out & let us know if you have any suggestions as to what we should carry. New product will start coming in between the end of February – March. I will definitely try to update the blog with fun new product that we receive.