Cut The Craft » Crafty Bastards Vendors

Crafty Bastards Vendor Spotlight: LAYERxlayer

kanaya — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 03:44:10 +0000

I’m always carrying around a bunch of stuff to amuse me or for my bike. Mix a nice tote with a great design concept and you have LAYERxlayer. They make totes, backpacks, and small furniture pieces which are inspired by the seasons in New England. Totally genius!

Check out this autumnal beauty. The pouch is removable!

This is a spring bag, but you bet that I’ll be sporting that this fall.

This is exactly what I mean: that cord to keep a picnic blanket on hand. So smart!

Check out LAYERxlayer at the vendor gallery and at booth #31

Product Spotlight: Herban Lifestyle

kanaya — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 13:28:28 +0000

This is great! Herban Lifestyle has created a line of bath and body products just for men. They are made from all natural and organic ingredients including essential oils.

Honestly, who doesn’t need a daily wash?

The shaving soap and the shaving oil also look really incredible. I cannot wait to smell like pine and sandal wood. So swarthy!

Check out those sweet labels, too. Dudes, get ready to freshen up with these great products brought to you by Herban Lifestyle. You can find them in the vendor gallery at booth # 43 the day of the fair.

Crafty Bastards Vendor Spotlight – Home Sweet

Rachel Bone — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 12:56:42 +0000

I generally leave a day at Crafty Bastards so exhausted that I can barely lift my fingers to my mouth to enjoy the delicious DC Ethiopian food I look forward to all year. But last year, I left the fair SO excited about finding new vendor Home Sweet (formerly of DC, currently of DE) that my husband had to hear about it the entire car ride home to Baltimore.

Home Sweet is a small textile design company specializing in hand-printed, environmentally friendly fabrics and home goods. their designs, inspired by different eras and interior styles & hand cut into block prints, decorate fabric for anything from pillows to lampshades.

When I managed to wedge my way into their crowded booth last year, shop owner Jennifer Nelson (a trained scientist by degree) took care to explain her ink mixing (custom colors from pigment) and printing (hand cut blocks) processes with enormous enthusiasm. This talented gal loves what she does.

Can’t wait to see what HomeSweet’s been up to all year. In this ever blooming world of indie craft, it’s no longer rare to find a fellow printer… but it’s certainly not every day that I consider forming a fan club! Check her out in Booth #10 at Crafty Bastards on October 2, 2010 or right now in the vendor gallery.

Crafty Bastards Vendor Spotlight – Raeburn Ink

Rachel Bone — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 12:11:20 +0000

Raeburn Ink is based in western Massachusetts and run by Jennifer Cooke and has been around since 1999, but seems to have really only graced the indie craft fair circuit with it’s glory a couple years ago. Cooke’s designs – inspired by everything from indian textiles to security envelopes are detailed drawings, hand printed on comfy apparel, fabric & accessories in bright, bold, attention grabbing (yet surprisingly eye pleasing) hues, often layered atop one another creating blasts and color-bursts. I adore the fluidness of her line drawings, and her attention to tiny details & ornamentation. A unique & beautiful shop, and definitely one to watch!

Jennifer also designs graphics for computer interactives and museum exhibits, as well as various fashion clients. And has recently completed a new book on Tshirt design – Design Your Own Tees published by St. Martin’s Press & available for pre-sale at retailers like Barnes & Noble.

Check out Raeburn Ink in the vendor gallery and on October 2, 2010 at Crafty Bastards!

Crafty Bastards Vendor Spotlight – Cotton Monster

Rachel Bone — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:49:44 +0000

The squeal heard round the jury-room for Jennifer Strunge’s Cotton Monsters explains why they sell out so quickly in her etsy shop whenever she does an update. The Baltimore seamstress works without patterns to create each and every colorful little beast, and uses almost exclusively recycled materials (except the stuffing, which she buys new). Strunge not only produces her own line of plush monsters, eyeballs, absurdist sea creatures & “Von Katz” (a new breed of kitty shaped monsters), but she also works at a prominent local puppet theatre as well as doing week long puppet-making residencies in a number of Baltimore city middle schools. No doubt inspired by the children she spends much of her time entertaining with hot glue & pom poms, her Cotton Monsters are a constantly evolving and modifying species (or is it a “family” or “genus”? where are those middle schoolers with their science textbooks?). When the world is lucky, Strunge will agree to a gallery show, and a human sized, extra-eyed, multi-limbed treasure is born. But lucky for our wallets, she is able to produce smaller, tamer versions of the beasts so that we all might have one to snuggle.

I can’t seem to stop purchasing these beasts for my own home, and have thus become friends with their maker (and thus rendered myself ineligible from jurying her for Crafty Bastards) & will say this: If the world runs out of color, we needn’t worry. There’s a stockpile of rainbows in Strunge’s utopian Baltimore studio. I’ve seen it firsthand.

Check out Cotton Monsters in the vendor gallery and at Crafty Bastards at October 2, 2010.

Crafty Bastards Vendor Spotlight – 2Hawks 2Fishes

Rachel Bone — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:30:23 +0000

Kathy Fahey‘s dedication to promoting the Baltimore folk music scene (by way of hand printed posters, t-shirts & album covers, as well as participation with a local shape-note singing crew) may be what put her on the map & earned her a Best of Baltimore last year (Best Artist – Baltimore Magazine, 2009) but her gentle and layered art style – making screen prints look like watercolor paintings – is what keeps her there.

Fahey’s official crafty business: 2Hawks 2Fishes blends that recognizable style and love of Americana into a line of dishtowels, bags, t-shirts & paper goods- all screen printed & block printed by hand in her home studio. Her booth is always chock full of treasures big and small, and since most pieces are editioned, they are also quite affordable!

Don’t miss this booth! Our complete vendor gallery is coming really soon!

The Countdown Begins!

tina seamonster — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:11:35 +0000

As a vendor for the 7th annual Crafty Bastards, I seriously do not want to start counting down to the October 2, 2010 show. But, as a shopper, I totally can’t wait. And we are hoping that you are getting super excited about it, too! To help you with that, we will be launching the 2010 vendor gallery very very soon!

Here’s a little taste of some of the new work that we will be showing and that I will be highlighting in the coming days!

Sawdust Bear Makes Things:

2 hawks 2 fishes:

Schmutzerland

Horrible Adorables

Crafty Bastards is just 39 days away! Get excited!

Handmade Holiday: Local Craft Shows & MD Crafters

Sara Dick — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:01:52 +0000

Following the list of DC crafters I posted last week, below you will find links to all the Crafty Bastards in Maryland.� I’m working on the Virginia crafters.� Stay tuned.

But first, one of my favorite ways to buy handmade: craft shows!

Craft shows are a great place to find handmade gifts and come with the added bonus of buying directly from artist.� Over on Hello Craft, I posted a round up of all the holiday craft shows I want to shop this year.� The list includes a few not-to-be-missed local events like this Saturday’s Handmade Mart Holiday Shop and Stroll in Silver Spring (where I’ll be sharing a booth with market organizers Kimberly Dorn & Debbie Lee-come say hi!), and Holiday Heap in Baltimore presented by the Charm City Craft Mafia.

Also, DC’s Downtown Holiday Market kicks off this Friday and runs daily from noon-8pm through December 23rd.� Next Saturday, you can scoop up handmade goods at the Squidfire Winter Art Mart in Baltimore.� And, last minute shoppers, be sure to check out the Holiday Booty Market on December 19th.

And now, as promised, all the 2009 Crafty Bastards that listed Maryland as their home:

Crafty Bastards: Maryland Edition

60bugs: http://www.etsy.com/shop/60bugs

Alitas Jewelry: http://www.etsy.com/shop/alitasjewelry

Amy Klainer: http://www.etsy.com/shop/AmyKlainer

BEST: http://baltimorecraft.com/shop.html

beth pohlman jewelry: http://www.etsy.com/shop/bethpohlman

Biggs and Featherbelle: http://www.biggsandfeather.com/

b-kao: http://b-kao.com/

Block Party Press: http://www.etsy.com/shop/blockpartypress

Brown Paper: http://www.etsy.com/shop/brownpaper

Carlybird Weaves: http://www.carlygoss.com/

Cotton Monster: http://www.cottonmonster.com/

Dandelion Blu Jewelry: http://www.etsy.com/shop/dandelionblu

DIRTFARM!: http://www.bendependent.com/

Dots, Lines, and Polygons: http://www.dotslinesandpolygons.com

Elisa Shere Jewelry: http://www.etsy.com/shop/elisasherejewelry

Fisticuffs Leather:� http://fisticuffsleather.com/

Folktale Fibers: http://www.etsy.com/shop/folktale

Hogmalion & Company:� http://hogmalion.com/

Jaime Zollars: http://jaimezollars.com/category.php?new=1

jennyjen42: http://www.etsy.com/shop/jennyjen42

Maganda Design: http://www.etsy.com/shop/magandadesign

My UglyKitty: http://myuglykitty.com/

Neighborhood Fiber Co.: http://www.neighborhoodfiberco.com/

Pellinore Press: http://www.pellinorepress.com/

pistolstitched: http://www.pistol-stitched.com/

Rebound Designs: http://www.rebound-designs.com/

Red Prairie Press : http://www.redprairiepress.com/

spaghetti kiss: http://spaghettikiss.websiteanimal.com/

squidfire, inc.: http://www.squidfire.com/

Sugar Paperie: http://www.etsy.com/shop/sugarpaperie

Sweet Pepita:� http://www.etsy.com/shop/sweetpepita

The Broken Plate Pendant Co.: http://ibreakplates.com/

The Devil Made Me Do It: http://thedevilmademedoitclothing.com/

The Garbologist’s Wife: http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheGarbologistsWife

The Littlest Bean: http://www.littlestbean.com/

Tigerlillyshop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/tigerlillyshop

tlane: http://www.etsy.com/shop/tlane

Woolarina: http://woolarina.com/

Happy shopping!

Image Credit: Spruce Springstein Soap by 8th Street Soap Kitchen.� Buy online or in person at Handmade Mart this Saturday.

Crafty Bastards Picks on Etsy’s Homepage RIGHT NOW

Sara Dick — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:17:17 +0000

Cruise on over to Etsy.com & check out the Crafty Bastards picks on the homepage.� Start the handmade shopping early and buy online now!� The Crafty Bastards picks will be featured on the homepage for about an hour, but you can still find them in the Crafty Bastards gift guide for a few more days.

Meet the makers and buy from them in person tomorrow at Crafty Bastards from 10am-5pm at the Marie Reed Learning Center in Adams Morgan.� See you there!

You Will Love Berkley Illustration

tina seamonster — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:04:29 +0000

Have I mentioned that we have over 30! new vendors at the fair this year? Yes, I think I have mentioned that. Well, it is still true. While I can’t promise that you will love super love all of them, I can promise without a doubt that you will love Berkley Illustration. The magical pairing of animals in suits in Ryan Berkely’s drawings is truly a gift for any occasion. I totally plan on stocking up on his silly/awesome prints to give as gifts. What better than this as a gift for your brother’s wedding?

And, this print is a perfect baby shower gift. If you want to make a statement about how awesome YOU are, you will check out Berkley Illustration in Booth #44 at the fair.

This year’s Crafty Bastards Arts and Crafts Fair is on Saturday, October 3rd from 10am to 5pm at the Marie Reed Learning Center in Adams Morgan.

Read Etsy Success Stories: Berkley Illustration to learn more about this awesome vendor.