Tag Archives: gifts

Oh geez, SFZF is only 3 weeks away!!!

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In 3 glorious weeks, my BFF from CO, the righteous MQ, will be in SF and we will be getting our DIY on at the SFZF or San Francisco Zine Fest (that’s a lot of initials/acronyms in one sentence)! And this weekend felt like a Zine Fest preview weekend for me.

Yesterday, Saturday, I took a walk and checked out the Market SF artist fair at the Blue Macaw in the Mission and met some lovely artists. Melinda Mae and I gushed about how much we love the physical textures of fabrics and how we can’t resist touching them! We also discussed the best places to buy fabrics (Japan & NYC are at the top of the list, just in case you’re curious. I learned later that LA is also great). I really wish I could buy Melinda’s handbags – they’re so beautiful! Hopefully one day soon.

I also lusted after Creek Van Houten’s amazing steampunk jewelry and trinkets. Leyna Lightman gave me a cookie and told me about dyeing lace and the lace she bought in Turkey. I bought fun envelopes from Meleta Buckstaff and I LOVE her bracelet cuffs made from old men’s ties. Brilliant! I didn’t get to talk with them, but I really liked Monkey and Seal’s crafts too! Lastly, I spent a long time talking with Stephanie Cortes of nerdJerk whose blog I’ve just started to read, but whom I already have an ENORMOUS craft crush on. She’s also a member of the SF Bay Area Etsy Street Team. I bought her zine and she gave me a button. Huzzah! There were lots of other lovely artists at the fair, but unfortunately I didn’t get to talk with them all.

Today, Sunday, I took an early morning bike ride through the Mission to Ocean Beach. On the way back through Golden Gate Park, I stopped at the County Fair Building (the same venue as the SFZF) and checked out the Vintage Paper Expo. I had no idea people were so hardcore about vintage paper goods! I’ve also never seen so many boxes of postcards in one place. In order not to get overwhelmed/spend any money I didn’t spend a ton of time there, but I looked lots and I did buy a couple vintage postcards for friends. I want to save my pennies and hopefully buy some original, turn of the century fashion plates next year!

And to top it all off, I visited a friend who went to Comic Con in San Diego this year and brought back a little present for me – a signed copy of Amy Martin’s The Girls are Mighty Fine, which I was planning on buying at SFZF! Oh, glory!

So I’m all inspired and close to getting my own projects finished for the SFZF in a few short weeks! I’m putting out a collection of 10 years of my poetry, and my first ever comic book! I couldn’t be more excited. I’m also stoked to work on my Etsy shop and make it better.

Don’t forget, kids! Come to the San Francisco Zine Fest! Sept. 4 & 5 at the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park!

Featured Project #5: Fabric Accessories & MB’s Cuff Bracelet

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There are several projects I’ve completed over the last couple months that I’d like to showcase. So I’ve decided to write about one every day for the rest of the week until they’re all up. This is the last one!

At Currents, my coworker friends and I would always talk about products we wanted to make. They had or were discovering their niches. I was realizing how much I love sewing and working with fabric. I really love the big scarf look (to the extreme!) – all that fabric, texture, and color, surrounding a person. I decided I wanted to try and make fabric accessories based on that idea.

I’ve always been hesitant about making art “for sale” and wondered how professional artists balance the ideas they want to create with making art that sells.

So I chose a path I’ve naturally chosen in the path – making art a gift. My friend MB’s birthday was coming up (in April), so I decided to make my first trial fabric accessory piece for her. I made a mock up version out of muslin to kind of figure out the ins and outs of the look I wanted. I was going for full and fancy! I think of this bracelet as the mama of the ones I’ve made since. And it still holds a lot of inspiration for me. Lately, I’ve been leaning more towards simpler, and smaller, bracelets, but I think there’s still a lot of richness for me in the “full and fancy” that I should delve into.

Anyway, I’ll let the product speak for itself:

For more fabric cuff bracelets I’ve made, please check out my Etsy shop!

P.S. In making things “for sale,” I’ve been able to find an answer to my question. I realized that the only distinction for me when making art “for me” vs. “for sale” is simply a feeling that what I’m making is FOR SOMEONE – an individual. Who they are, I don’t know, but they’re out there and this is for them. And from research that I’ve done and other artists I’ve talked to, what I know now is that I should continue listening to my art, my heart, and making what I love, what calls to me, what I’m passionate about – and people will naturally be drawn to that, and want that in their lives as well. It’s useless trying to gear towards and guess what you think people will buy. If I make high quality art that I love, others will love it too.

Yes!