Each week we feature an advertiser from the Crafty Bastards Classifieds. This week the honor goes to:

The Broken Plate Pendant Company!

The Broken Plate specializes in giving new life to old dinnerware, ceramics, glass and “anything else in my way.” Each piece of glass is wrapped in copper tape and lead-free silver solder to create an original, precious piece of jewelry. Visit the official website to pick out a favorite!

The Broken Plate also custom-makes pendants. So if you ever find yourself with broken pieces of a ceramic that had sentimental value, ask her to turn it into something beautiful (and that can adorn your neck!)

Crafty Classifieds for goodies like this and more!

Make stuff? Place a Crafty Bastards ad, it’s FREE!

The Crafty Bastards Discovery Series is in full swing! With our second workshop in the series under our belt, we’re gearing up for the next one in August.

The Crafty Bastards Discovery Series has crafting experts come to Whole Foods on P Street once a month, to talk to the Crafty community about ways to make crafting a successful endeavor on many levels. The first workshop, hosted in June by Tina Seamonster, gave crafters all the info on how to sell successfully at craft fairs.

Our last workshop, Crafting Online 101, was hosted by Caitlin Phillips of Rebound Designs, who went over various web tools and popular online programs to help artists and crafters sell and promote themselves on the web.

Below is a brief summary of what was discussed at Crafting Online 101. For more details, check out Caitlin’s blog on her site at rebound-designs.com.

CRAFTING ONLINE 101
Having a strong online presence is quickly becoming essential in the crafting world. With the huge boom in the popularity of indie craft, competition is fierce, so the more people who see your work, the better. Here are some tips on how to use the Internet to get your craft business going, or to promote your existing business to new audiences. Don’t get too overwhelmed - you don’t have to do it all at once. There are so many different tools to use online and new ones are popping up every day.

Your Online Presence: Yourshop.com vs. Etsy
Having a place online where customers can find you is essential to success today. There are two main options: Your own website vs. an Etsy shop. There are pros and cons to each.

You can always have both an Etsy shop and your own website, and link to your Etsy shop with an Etsy mini. (See example here: www.rebound-designs.com ) Etsy minis can be put on a blog, or a Myspace page as well.

A few thoughts on Myspace and Facebook: These can be useful tools for promoting your business, but they should not be the only online presence you have. If you are sending customers who are attempting to shop to a Myspace page with blinking graphics and embedded MP3s, it makes you look very unprofessional. Use sparingly.

The #1 Most Important Rule of Websites: Have good photos! Your online store is the only way a customer across the country can see your products, so make sure your pictures are well lit, in focus, and show the product properly. There are lots of good tips on product photography if you search online.

Accepting Credit Cards Online
Having awesome photos isn’t enough. Customers have to be able to buy your work easily online. The simplest way to get started with accepting credit cards online is through PayPal. You can do this in several ways. For no set up fee, and no monthly fee, you can use Website Payments Standard. This lets you either install a cart system, or single purchase ‘buy it now’ buttons, which link to the secure PayPal site. https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_wp-standard-overview-outside.

Blogs
This is a huge marketing tool for the craft world. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of blogs devoted to discussing indie craft and design. Some are personal blogs of artists who share their creations, how to tips, favorite things, and so forth. Some are more commercial blogs, with semi- to full-time professional writers keeping up with the hippest new things, and with paid advertisements.

Some of Caitlin’s Favorite blogs include:
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/craftybastards/
http://www.designspongeonline.com/
http://indiefixx.com/
http://poppytalk.blogspot.com/
http://www.ohmythatsawesome.com/
http://blog.craftzine.com/
http://extremecraft.typepad.com/
http://modish.typepad.com/
http://readymademag.com/blog/
http://www.boingboing.net/
http://www.ilikeseamonsters.com

Twitter
Twitter is sort of a microblogging tool, which lets you send out short messages under 140 characters. You can send them from your phone, or the web, and you can include links (tiny url is useful here). You can follow other people’s twitters, and they can follow you. You can twitter about a new blog post, or a new item in your shop, or to let people know about a craft show you’re doing.

Flickr
Flickr is a great site for sharing pictures of your work. You can have a gallery of past work, works in progress, your booth displays, or whatever, and you can tag them so others can find them. You can join groups with similar interest, and this is really the best way to get your pictures seen.

It is against the Terms of Service of Flickr to exploit it for commercial purposes, so just posting pictures of crafts with the intent to sell them or advertise them is not cool. But, you can still drive traffic to your site in many easy, legal ways.

Social Bookmarking
Check out Wikipedia for a good breakdown of this bookmarking at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_bookmarking.

Mailing Lists
A mailing list is an efficient and direct way to keep in touch with all of your customers and fans. You can send out announcements for shows you are in, upcoming sales and promotions, shop updates, etc. It’s great because past customers that may have wanted to purchase again often forget, and an email is an instant reminder. Every time I have sent out a mass mailing, I have received orders in return. The best way to send out a mailing list is to have a program that collects, manages, and sends the mail for you.

Overwhelmed?
The most important thing to remember about online marketing is that you don’t have to do it all. Try a few things out and see what works for you. But as crafting as a business gets more and more popular, it will get more competitive, and the more ways you have of reaching potential customers, the more sales you will make. The more customers are personally interested and invested in you, the more excited they will be about your work, and it doesn’t get better than that.

Read more from Caitlin on her blog, at rebounddesigns.wordpress.com.

The Next Crafty Bastards Discovery Series workshop is coming up in August. If you’d like to get the exclusive invite, just sign up for the Crafty Bastards mailing list and you’ll automatically receive the invite about a week before the event. You must have an invite to attend, and our friends at Whole Foods provide the yummy treats… cause you can talk about crafts on an empty stomach!

Crafty Bastards alum, Thembe Fashions, is hosting a Trunk Show & Sample Sale at Dekka this Thursday night.

Dekka is the new, funky, hip place to shop and hang in the U Street Corridor. The Dekka showroom hosts fashion, art and music, and showcases local artists, designers, DJ’s, musicians, and other pretty darn cool talent.

Thembe Fashions handmakes classic, unique, and original accessories and clothing.

Philissa Williams, the mastermind behind these ultra chic designs, has made a name for herself in the DC area creating wearable pieces of art with vintage materials.

Learn more about Thembe Fashions in our previous Crafty Bastards Vendor Spotlight post here.

Thembe Fashions Trunk Show & Sample Sale
Thursday, July 17, 6-9pm
Dekka Showroom, 1338 U Street NW (2nd and 3rd floors)

In the week leading up to last month’s Crafty Bastards Festival, we began posting a series of interviews of crafters who were going to be there. Unfortunately, in all the hustle & bustle, we were unable to publish them all. This continues the Q&A’s that we weren’t able to get to!

Just as you shrink from buying soaps for fear of synthetic additives, Biggs & Featherbelle have decided that you should have an alternative — handmade body care products that are free of synthetic fragrances, dyes and additives! Their soaps are made from unique recipes that use the properties of natural resources to heal and nourish different skin types. Pamper your eyes with their array of body butter bars, lip balms, soaps and bath soaks at their official website.

1. Using just three words, how would you describe your work?

Clean, natural and fun

2. What are you doing to prepare for Crafty Bastards? Are there any new products or techniques that you will be trying out for this show?

Making soap…we are always making soap. We are excited because we have a new summertime product. We are bringing our new body scrubs to Crafty Bastards!

3. Is your craft widespread in the handmade community? What makes your stuff different from others in your craft genre?

Surprisingly we never see many other body care vendors at the shows we do. There are tons of great handmade body care folks in the community but there is not an abundance of them at the shows we do. I never frown upon other body care vendors or view them as competition. We are all working together to open up the customers eye to using natural, handmade goodies for their bodies instead of all the commercial junk out there. Our products generally stand out for their ingredients and packaging. We are sticklers for a very clean product with only essential oils and nothing synthetic.

4. Starting an independent shop takes a lot of dedication, planning and hard work. At what point did you realize you had the chops to start your own indie craft business?

We slowly have worked our way into it over five years. The dedication, planning and hardwork never ends but we love it!

5. Where are your favorite places to find your supplies?

We source our raw materials from a lot of different places. A large chunk of our money goes to Columbus Foods for soap making oils and Camden Grey for essential oils. We would love to get everything local but some of our ingredients are unique and not available everywhere. We like to get the best quality and a fair price so we can pass that along to our customers.

6. Crafting is a grassroots revolution of sorts. It’s catching on as people appreciate all things handmade, original, recycled and environmentally/socially conscious. Does this influence/inspire your work? If so, how do you incorporate it into your craft?

Our products are all about being handmade and green so we love the fact that more people are understand and embrace the value of it.

7. After seeing your work, many would-be crafters are inspired to start their own creations. Will you have any DIY kits available for sale at Crafty this year? Could you provide any simple how-to’s or tips for readers who want to get started on their own designs?

People are welcome to ask us questions anytime! We have even done some demos on making products. We learned by reading books and experimenting. If anyone is interested in handmade body care products, we have a lot of good books and information to pass along.

I think we did a fine job finding totally excellent performers to fill the schedule! There’s something for everyone, so be sure to time your visit right to see your top picks! At the front of the fair we’ve got the acoustic Welcome Mat Stage to draw you in, then the Main Stage in the back to keep the crowd in a festive mood. I really can’t wait to see and hear everyone…so much great music! Be sure to check back in the Crafty blog for Q&As with all the performers, too.

MAIN STAGE

10:30-11:15: DJ Ca$$idy
www.myspace.com/garutachi

Resident DJ and co-founder of Garutachi Events, DJ Ca$$idy spins a playful mix of indie dance selections.

11:30-12:15: Rock-n-Romp featuring We Were Pirates
www.rocknromp.com, www.pirateswerewe.com

Rock-n-Romp, the awesome kid-friendly indie rock concert series, hosts multi-instrumentalist Mike Boggs and his live band comprised of a rotating cast of friends, as We Were Pirates. Bring the kids to see them play and they can also get a moustache painted on, a cool tattoo and stop at the coloring station to create their own works of art! Moustache painting and coloring books sponsored by Spooky Daddy. Tattoos provided by Craft Mutiny.

12:30-1:15: The Beanstalk Library
www.thebeanstalklibrary.com

Sounds like The Beatles and The Band had a bratty baby in the polluted Atlantic Ocean that washed up on the Carolina coast and hitchhiked to Washington, DC.

1:30-2:15: Aligning Minds
www.aligning-minds.com

Aligning Minds is the unique collaboration of two producers using sound to achieve a mutual vision. Hypnotic breakbeats, infectious basslines, dubby soundscapes, and idm experimentation.

2:30-3:15: Head-Roc featuring the G.I.F.T.
www.head-roc.com

Head-Roc, The Official Mayor of DC Hip Hop, introducing new material - backed by The Godisheus International Funk Train aka The G.I.F.T.! A 21st century Funk, Rock, and Soul Band experience you won’t want to miss!

3:30-5:00pm: Rockabilly Rave Up featuring J.P. McDermott and Western Bop
www.westernbop.com

With soaring vocals, hard-rocking rockabilly, and a heartfelt way with a ballad, D.C. native J.P. McDermott is breathing fresh air into one of America’s great musical traditions.

WELCOME MAT

10:45 - 11:30 Friends of the Library
www.myspace.com/thefriendsofthelibrary

Friends of the Library are a female-fronted indie rock/pop band from the DC area. They hope you enjoy the show and the festival.

12:15 - 1:00 Arthur Harrison on Theremin
www.harrisoninstruments.com/

Arthur Harrison, a member of “The Cassettes,” specializes in the “theremin.” He’s performed extensively throughout the country providing the public with the unique experience of this seldom-seen instrument.

1:30 - 2:15 Montgomery Fox
www.myspace.com/theberbers

Montgomery Fox is a bombastic folk musician. He sings, shouts and blows (on his harp) original and otherwise tributes and criticisms to the world. He also does fun kiddie tunes…. now that he has a toddler.

2:45 - 3:30 Third Channel
www.myspace.com/thirdchannel

Jason Hutto, Samantha Spinney, a casio, delay pedal, tambourine, time, space, crafts.

4:00 - 4:45 Sweet Teeth
www.myspace.com/bearclawtx

Started by Chris DeWitt in 2005, Sweet Teeth began as a minimal folk outfit, and has since grown into its own more electrified sound.

Resident DJ and co-founder of Garutachi Events, DJ Ca$$idy spins a playful mix of indie dance selections. Check her out online at www.myspace.com/garutachi and getting the party started onthe Main Stage at Crafty Bastards June 28 at 10:30 am!

Explain your band/stage name and define your sound.

My stage name is simply my actual name with dollar signs replacing the S’s… Not to be confused with the rapper that shares the same stage name of course. My rapping skills are pretty atrocious, you don’t want to hear me rap, trust me. My sound can be described as a playful eclectic mix of indie dance music though I have my guilty pleasures and am not ashamed to throw Wham in my sets (You’ve been warned). Synths, vocals, and lots of bass are what you can expect. Not to mention love songs, lots of long songs, I’m a hopeless romantic, what can I say?

What are your influences and worst equipment experiences?

I’m influenced by music of all likes; The Knife, Serge Gainsbourg, Daft Punk, Leonard Cohen to name a few. In terms of DJs, I admire Diplo, 2manydjs and Busy P, all exceptionally gifted musicians. I started DJing mainly for myself as a form of self meditation and pretty much do it for fun. Not that I don’t take myself seriously as a DJ but I feel like once anything is taken too seriously in life it’s sucks the fun out of it.

The worst equipment experiences would have to be the instances when DJ monitors were not working, I shall not name venues. I’m a stickler for beat matching these days, I enjoy the mathematic component of it. There you have it, I’m a big nerd.

What’s your favorite local hangout and best stage you’ve played?

I’m a bit biased in terms of local hangouts, a proud home owner in the Atlas District you can typically find me on H St at Rock and Roll Hotel and Sticky Rice. Anything walking distance is key. The best stage I’ve played and most memorable was the Raleigh Hotel Penthouse Rooftop in Miami for the Anthem Magazine party during this year’s Winter Music Conference. Oh Miami…

How do you feel about being a Crafty Bastard?

I’m honored to be a Crafty Bastard and a part of such a uniquely wonderful event supporting all of the super talented budding artisans that our great city has to offer.

Where can the adoring public see you next?

Thanks for the shameless plug! You can find me 3rd Saturdays of each month at Garutachi, a dance event held at Rock and Roll Hotel and I’ll be a guest DJ along with Cale from BYT on July 4th at Sorted, a fantastic party thrown by DJ Stereofaith at the Black Cat.

Jason Hutto, Samantha Spinney, a casio, delay pedal, tambourine, time, space, crafts. Check them out online at www.myspace.com/thirdchannel and on the Welcome Mat stage at Crafty Bastards June 28 at 2:45 pm!

Explain your band/stage name and define your sound.

Third Channel’s name comes from some 60s’ stereo technology called Phantom Third Channel which supposedly if you had your stereo speakers set just right and you position yourself in some mathematical perfect spot you could hear not only the left and right channels but also a phantom third channel of sound filling your brain. Audio companies always had some gimmick back then like Quadraphonic and whatever. Our sound is melodic delayed casio keyboard and tambourine pop.

What are your influences and worst equipment experiences?

Canned accompaniment through the years has always inspired me. Rhythm’s that were designed to be unique to their beat but bland enough to work with the maximum amounts of melody, brilliant! Worst equipment experience may be this upcomingcrafty bastards. We are trying to make it work with battery power on the front Welcome Mat acoustic stage.

What’s your favorite local hangout and best stage you’ve played?

My favorite place is my porch. There are so many birds singing it feels like they are about to take over. Iota has been the best on stage sound, full and comfortable.

How do you feel about being a Crafty Bastard?

This is my third or fourth crafty appearance so I’ve accepted being a crafty bastard.

Where can the adoring public see you next?

No other plans to play, we just always do. Art openings are the bestest.

Friends of the Library are a female-fronted indie rock/pop band from the DC area. They hope you enjoy the show and the festival. Check them out online at www.myspace.com/thefriendsofthelibrary and on the Welcome Mat Stage at Crafty Bastards June 28 at 10:45 am!

Explain your band/stage name and define your sound.

We are called Friends of the Library. The name is pretty self explanatory, but feel free to read into it as much as you’d like. Our band is a four-piece female-fronted indie rock/ pop band that writes music for the information age. You could describe our sound as twee meets overdrive as they aspire to be the beau ideal.

What are your influences and worst equipment experiences?

Our influences stem mostly from long forgotten patterns and colors, tangents, historic events, and cult TV shows. Our “musical” influences can be linked to a long list of bands that can be refered to as being indie-pop, 90’s indie rock, brit-pop, brit-rock, post punk, and other pretty vague genre-fications.
As far as gear problems go, our equipment likes to play games with us. It’s hard to narrow down the #1 incident. We treasure them all so much. As we hate to pick favorites(or worsts), they are all our best little favorite headaches.

What’s your favorite local hangout and best stage you’ve played?

Our favorite local hangout would have to be our home away from home WMUC, the University of Maryland’s college radio station. Where we sometimes DJ, sometimes put on shows, and most of the time deal with uncomfortably warm/cool temperature conditions. We prefer Metamorphic stages. Eveyone needs a little change now and then.

How do you feel about being a Crafty Bastard?

Our band is honored to be Crafty Bastards. To be in the same ranks as the finest peddlers of fabric and fun is quite fantastic! You should all try it and take our word for it.

Where can the adoring public see you next?

The public can next spot us on the now mostly-Arsenic-free stage of Fort Reno, July 10th, with Black and White Jacksons and John Wayne Hero. Come out and support local music!!

Hogmalion & Company (booth #40) wins the award for the best commercial about fetus-shaped cookies ever made.

Check out Hogmalion & Company’s twisted cool at Crafty Bastards Silver Spring on June 28th at Pyramid Atlantic.

It has been two weeks since my first post about learning to use my new woodburning tool. During those first few nights of learning, I didn’t think this follow-up post would be as positive as it is about to be. I didn’t think I would get the hang of it, I didn’t think it would be as fun as it is. I thought I would go running back to my trusty Gocco printer to finish my pieces for Artomatic. I was wrong and this is rad.

In the past few weeks, I have completed about 25 pieces, only ruining about 3! So far, I have only mastered transferring words, not images. Words are easier because you can concentrate on transferring each word, one letter at a time, making sure not to burn the paper into the wood. This is done by using the tool with one hand, while gently lifting the paper as you transfer. It is kind of how you check to see if a fake tattoo has transferred to your skin. Hard to explain. The instructions on the tool actually explained it, but until I messed it up a few times, it was hard to figure out. Transferring images has proven more difficult, so I am still working on that.

This piece is a combination of the star stamper that actually burns stars into the wood and the laser transfer (with multiple fonts):

Close up of the little stars:

Here is how it looks on the wall!

While this piece came out the best so far, the message is a little too cheerleader-y, so I held it back from the two shows I am making these for this month. (I wrote the text after having given birth to twins, so cut me some slack!)

You can see how the transfer really works well on the unpainted wood. I have found, though, that painted wood can be a little more difficult. A few tips so that you can learn from my mistakes.

1. Only let the pen/tool heat up for 5 minutes. Don’t turn it on, go off to watch Battlestar Galactica and come back an hour later. That thing will be too hot! It will then ruin the first half of whatever you are about to do. Along those same lines, don’t try to use a tool that hasn’t heated up.
2. If you plan to paint your pieces, do so the day before. Your paint needs to be completely dry before even trying this.
3. Don’t forget to reverse your images on a computer and then print them out. This can easily be done in Photoshop.
4. Read and follow all of the instructions on the package. I didn’t and this is what caused stress the first night.

Here are a few pieces that were painted before using the tool to transfer laser prints:

You might notice on these that the tool will sometimes transfer a faint clear bit when you run it over blank paper. I tried to minimize this by cutting my designs out very close to the ink. It isn’t a big thing, but might bother perfectionists. Transferring onto the painted pieces takes a bit more patience than the bare wood ones. Don’t be afraid to mess up and if you do, just paint over it and try again.

Of course, this tool can do like 20 other things. I urge people with drawing talent to try it out as a pen! I would love to see something other than deer heads and cowboys drawn on wood! I would really love to see what people with actual artistic ability can do with this tool. Don’t hesitate to comment on the blog if you do try it out. Along those lines, let us know about any kind of new craft you are trying to learn.

Tina Seamonster blogs her life and craft at http://www.ilikeseamonsters.com. Oh! You can see a whole wall of these finished pieces at Artomatic, 8th floor (SW, B7).