Assembled: A Handmade Arts Market

  I've encountered an exciting new opportunity!

  Well, let me back-track a bit.  I've been out-of-the-loop for a little bit while I cared for a loved-one who was ill, but now I'm back, and embarking on something very exciting!

   I've wanted to do an all-Etsy-seller craft show forever now, but logistically, it seemed challenging. BUT, Aigner/Prensky Marketing has launched, with the backing of Federal Realty, a series of Summer craft shows to celebrate the redevelopment of the Assembly Square Mall area in Somerville.  You can read more about what they're hoping to do with the area here: http://www.assemblyrow.com/vision/, but they've got big plans for the it, including creating new housing, restaurants and shops, and it promises to be pretty cool.

  But that's not the big story.  I will be producing the premier show of the Assembled: The Handmade Arts Market at Assembly Row, for Aigner/Prensky Marketing on Saturday, May 18th.  AND it's going to be an all-Etsy show!  A show full of Etsy artisans sharing their unique, handmade wares, to kick off the Summer.  I am so excited.  Sometimes, vending online means you repeatedly interact with people who you never get to meet in person.  You may even talk to them every day, or perhaps they've purchased a number of your pieces, but you have no idea what they look like or who they are and could pass them on the street and never know it.  This show will be such a great opportunity for Etsy sellers to connect to eachother, to supporters of the Etsy marketplace, to chat and exchange ideas. 

 

Where the Assembled market will be held

The show will also feature a workshop on how to start an Etsy shop, tips and tricks for running a successful shop, etc.  So if you have an Etsy shop and feel you have something prurient to share, or you'd like to start and Etsy shop but aren't sure where to begin, or you're already running a shop but could use some help getting it where you want it, come to the workshop!

  Applications for the May 18th, Etsy-themed Assembled show are now being accepted.  Please apply!  Or, if you know of an artist in New England whose work you love, please forward the link along to them: http://www.assemblyrow.com/wp-content/aruploads/2013/03/Application_for_artists-fillable-form.pdf.  I want this show to be spectacular, and with your help, it will be!

Cheers! 
Dara

How's It Done?

So, I mixed a few colors of polymer clay to resemble the natural tones of a live mushroom, and rolled the clay around a wire, topped with a clay mushroom cap carefully shaped with a manicure-tool, and with the point of a pin, applied clay polka dots to the cap.  Likewise, I created mini succulent plants with the green tones of the clay, rolling out and slicing tendrils and pressing them together to form a miniature aloe/agave. 

I began with a variety of miniature glass vessels.  In went the elements of our full-size terraria; colorful sands and bits of fragrant reindeer moss.  I wanted to add something extra-cool; living mushrooms can’t really be cultivated in a terrarium (or at least, to my knowledge) though I’d love to give it a go, but I thought of a way to incorporate adorable little mushrooms into the necklace version, by creating them out of polymer clay.

I love terrariums; the idea of an entire ecosystem existing under glass, green things growing and thriving, bits of nature you can keep close-by on a table or desk.  We make contemporary terrariums at Hieropice, but only sell them at shows, due to the risk of damage during shipping.  I wanted to make a version of our terrariums available to customers who can’t make it to shows in New England; a small, portable version of them that could be worn.

Someone inquired recently about our Lost World Mini Terrarium Necklaces, and how they are made.  The short answer is, very carefully!  Joking aside, they’re the product of a lot of intricate work, and I appreciate the question.  For artists who handmake work for sale, the process is often ignored in favor of the appearance of the finished product.  If you’ve ever hand-made anything, you know that the process, the work, materials, skill, and effort that went into it is 80% of the finished product’s significance.  And those of us who hand-make for a living really love it when someone appreciates the work we do!  So here’s a bit on the process of making these pieces.
I trimmed the wires and the pieces went into the oven, and afterwards, I strategically placed them in the vessels with a narrow pair of tweezers.  Adding additional Spanish moss or sand, and sealing with waterproof adhesive and a decorative stopper finishes them off, and they’re hung on meticulously-selected chain.  Each one is unique, incorporating some elements and not others, created with color, contrast, and balance in mind.  That’s the process, in a nut-shell, and thanks to the fan who inquired!

New Minis, at Abeille

Just a quick post to say that I've stocked a bunch of new mini Maasai beaded earrings at Abeille, in Brookline.  Most of these aren't available on Etsy yet, so they're exclusive to Abeille, (for now) save the mauve/purple pair, which is available here.   The mini size (2 cms across) is great for more delicated-eared gals.  Here they are, set out in a sparkly, beaded rainbow, at Abeille!