San Francisco Fog

In July we were so awesomely able to participate in the Renegade SF craft show. Boy was it cold...my first time in Cali and I never expected to freeze. I knew San Fran would be cool, but wow, it was beyond that!!
Basically to sum it up, the Renegade show was great, San Fran has it's own very, very, very laid back vibe, and great progressive politics. My favorite thing out there was the friendliness of the people...wonderful people, and some crazies, but NYC is chock full of crazies too, however this was a different brand-o-crazy...

It is so all good!! Can't wait to go back...you can now find The Hand of Fatima @ Picnic on Polk Ave. in addition to Bettina in San Fran. Woot!! Here are some pics of the most awesome murals, and some other reminders of the foggy Bay city of legend!
The lovable, Harvey Milk, whose Castro Camera is now a modern shop with several low brow art pieces and handmade goods.

This was in the Castro, and so appropriate that it almost hurts...awesome.
And now some stuff from the Mission. I am a looooong time street art enthusiast and these allies of graffix are up to par in my book.

I. LOVE. THIS.

::BUST:: Spring Fling

Hey you and you and you! So, the BUST show was fun, I want to share some new great designers I finally got to talk to and some I discovered, that will come in the coming days...but the consensus is that all of us indie artists are really feeling the hurt of the economy. So many great supporters came out, and so many were there for fun, jobless. Three, yes, three of my customers came to say hello, and had lost their jobs. I know that so many great people will rewarded for there patience and hard work.
Here are some pictures of the day we spent at the WARSAW in Crooklyn, thanks for all you fantabulous folks that chilled with us.

***You'll see the line of fascinators and the hat I made with a mink skull***



Dawn who used to work at BUST came buy and brought me some Swarovski crystals I love her and her cute self.

BUST Magazine Craftacular and Art Star Philly

Did I ever tell you, I fell in love in Philadelphia? It's true I left N.Y.C. and tried something new, went to school and met my soul mate in a public speaking class...I guess you can say the rest is "history" and the future.
Philadelphia is haunted. There are spirits and grimy tales everywhere around the ex-industrial city. Unfortunately historic and colonial Philly is plagued with bad management and issues of crime, so there are just warehouses, factories and empty turn of the century homes abandoned and decaying. However, the greatest testament to this city of spooks is The Divine Lorraine Hotel.
After my husband, and Clarke Park, I fell in love with this place. It's abandoned and stands isolated on Broad Street. If you look at it for too long, you will become entranced.

I'm sure that when corruption forces the locals to leave and city officials and realtors decide to gentrify that this beautiful and unique structure will be turned into luxury condos or knocked down, but I only hope that the Philadelphians will fight for it...and knowing many Philadelphians, they will. Boomer, who is like my brother, told me to ask his mother about what this place was like, and although she was just a child when it closed down, she told her mother's tales of its shine.

I would do many insane things to get inside this place. To get the key tags, the escutcheons, and just walk through the ghostly hallways and spider webs.
Why all the talk of Philadelphia?? Well, I'll be at the Art Star Craft Bazaar on May 30-31 (memorial day weekend) @ Penns Landing.

I can't wait to catch up with my peeps and walk around another haunted neighborhood, Northern Liberties, a friendly way to say the beginning of North Philly. If you ever want to see another spooked out hood try Kensington...you've gotta look at that place with a certain kind of eye to understand what I am talking about. You can almost see the steam rising above the abandoned factories off of Allegheny Avenue and down by Frankford Ave. You can just feel the grit, no women in corsets with wigs and Victorian lockets...work and workers, immigrants and natives building lives, legacy and a nation on creating things.


Next Sunday, May 17th...I will be at BUST Mag's Spring Fling in Brooklyn. I've added all these events to the calendar on the website. Love Love Love!!


*Thanks to Prof. Jas. Mundie on Flickr.com for this beautiful photo of the hotel. I found this artist's stream through google and am now inspired.

Trunk Show and The Handmade Cavalcade

Hey! So I am kicking off the season of shows with an intimate trunk show with Chez Marie. The show was by invitation only (as requested by the coordinator and owner of the space). It will be all women and a variety of ages, from early twenties to fifties. I will have pics for you guys because I have started a new display format...I picked up some awesome vintage suitcases and my Mom is helping me to distress some newer wooden jewelery caddies. Fun stuff.
On another note, the first trade show I will be doing is The NewNew's
Handmade Cavalcade in Tribeca on Dec.6th...check out this fabulous graphic flyer designed by Jamie Boyle Ibrahim of bluestitchbooks.