bookish lady

Crafty Bastards, the City Paper’s “indie craft extravaganza,” was the first craft fair I ever did, and was where I befriended my best pal, Patty. We’ll both be back at Crafty Bastards 2008 this Saturday, June 28!

Another special thing about this year’s fair is that it’s taking place at Pyramid Atlantic, the book art and printmaking center where I do my letterpress printing.

Stop by to see 70 vendors, local music, a craft swap, and lots of free workshops!

Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair
Saturday, June 28, 10am-5pm
Pyramid Atlantic
8230 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring, MD

Great artists and live music! Food! Free and open to the public!

Today, Sunday, June 1st from 11-5pm

Penn’s Landing Great Plaza - on Columbus Boulevard between Walnut Street and Market Street, Philadelphia PA

Festival website: http://www.artstarcraftbazaar.com

Who: 150 artists & live music by Falkonr and others bands
What: Affordable, unique, and high quality art and crafts. Free and open to the public.
When: Saturday, May 31st from 11-7pm & Sunday, June 1st from 11-5pm
Where: Penn’s Landing Great Plaza - on Columbus Boulevard between Walnut Street and Market Street, Philadelphia PA

Here’s the festival website:
http://www.artstarcraftbazaar.com

Come visit!

When I was in Chicago last year, I sold a mixed-media book I had made about a summer of love and tomatoes. Lots of people who looked at it didn’t quite know what to do with an artist’s book, but liked one particular piece of text I had used and expressed their wish for a print of it:

“Bring me a tomato in July and I’ll give you my heart in September.”

Here it is, in time for farmer’s market season:

I love sending mail just for fun.

So, I was pleased to stumble across this letterpress block of a postman and had to make something with it. I used text from one of the best fortune cookie fortunes I’ve ever gotten:

“Something nice is coming to you in the mail.”

I’ve been doing a lot of flat cards lately; they remove the pressure to write a book, which makes it easier to send more mail!

Today was hot and sticky like all the summers I’ve spent at the beach or the lake with my huge extended family. Fitting, since I’ve been in the letterpress shop cranking out these new cards for summer!

This reminds me of photographs of my grandmother Simone and one of her brothers (or more likely, one of her various boyfriends):

And this one could be of my aunts:

Philly folks: catch me this weekend at Art Star Craft Bazaar!

I love Philadelphia (especially these attractions) and I’m psyched to see friends, show off my new cards, and check out all the other great vendors at the Bazaar.

I did this fair two years ago, and that trip is a bit notorious in the memories of my companions and me (for keys locked in the car, the “soda incident,” and weather that blew over my tent and got my work wet, among other things), so I’m looking forward to (slash hoping for?) a more relaxed weekend this time around.

The scoop:

Saturday, May 31 from 11-7 and Sunday, June 1 from 11-5
Penns Landing Great Plaza
On Columbus Blvd between Walnut and Chestnut Streets
Only 1 block from the 2nd St. stop on the Market/Frankford line

Lots of live music and 150 vendors!

Civilian’s new Shop is taking off already, so they’re throwing a trunk show this Saturday to spotlight some of the local vendors! I’ll be there and my wares will be for sale alongside stuff from Lisa Marie Thalhammer (whose work I love and who sells her t-shirts at Civilian) and John Davis of Fisticuffs (whose leather cuffs you might have seen at Crafts & Kisses). Lots of other vendors I’ve never met will be there too, and I’m psyched to see what they’ve been making.

It’s an excellent time to check out the two exhibits up right now, both of which look really interesting–craigslist and 100 ways to kneel and kiss the ground. I missed the opening and have been wanting to see both. Read about them here.

The deets:

Saturday, April 12, 2008

11am - 4pm

The Shop at Civilian Art Projects

406 7th Street NW, 3rd Floor

Chinatown/Penn Quarter, Washington, DC

ETA: Cocktails and refreshments will be provided!

KB wrote an excellent post a week or two ago on the Crafty Bastards blog about getting vendors for your indie craft fair.  And gave a mini shoutout to me and Crafts & Kisses!

I’ve kinda been in recovery ever since February–producing the event took a lot more out of me than I realized it would.  I’m just starting to settle down and get into some new printing projects that I hope to show off during the Spring/Summer festival season.

p.s. If anyone’s tried emailing me through the website, I think it’s been wonky for awhile (maybe even a few months) and I’ve missed a lot of emails.  Try me directly at info (at) bookishlady (dot) com.

Civilian Art Projects has opened a shop where locally made art and crafts will be sold!

The gallery’s shop opened last week with items from Kristina Bilonick and glitterlimes, and my journals and cards will be added by tonight’s opening for DCist Exposed.

Civilian Art Projects

406 7th Street NW, 3rd Floor

Chinatown, Washington, DC

7-9 pm, Friday, March 7, 2008