I volunteered at the Handmade Philly table at which we were making monster pins or collage pins. We were a kid friendly station and had sooo many creative people sit and chat with us throughout the day. And of course, periodically I’d meander to the swap tables and snag some sweet additions to my closet.

I saw less and less of the items I provided with each visit to the tables which made me a happy camper. And I seriously ended up swapping out all the fabric in my wheelie suitcase for clothing! I managed to complete all the alterations to make everything fit within a day or two which really made the whole experience worthwhile.

Thanks a million to Megan for putting the whole thing together! And I don’t know who got Urban Outfitters to open up their headquarters but it was AWESOME!! I wonder if there are any openings for accountants….

Photo credit: Allison Ostertag

]]> http://www.astitchindesign.com/handmade-philly-3/a-suitcase-full-of-new-clothes/feed/ 0 http://www.astitchindesign.com/handmade-philly-3/so-many-creative-minds-out-there/ http://www.astitchindesign.com/handmade-philly-3/so-many-creative-minds-out-there/#comments Fri, 02 Jul 2010 07:04:33 +0000 Nicole http://www.astitchindesign.com/?p=339 Recently I had the joy of attending an interactive storytelling hour at my library. The main reason for me going (since I have no children with whom to tag along ) was that I’m the treasurer of my Friends group at my library. Brief background, we’re a fund raising arm for the library. They never have enough money to cover all the fun programs or all the great upgrades necessary, so we raise money to provide what we believe will further the interest in and use of the library by the community.
Anywho, the Friends sponsored the library’s summer reading program so I was there to recruit more families. Serendipity happened when I realized that I knew the woman who was performing – Victoria O’Neill! And when I say “I knew”, I mean “I chatted with online via Handmade Philly and email but never actually met in person”.
I had no idea what to expect (see above: no children) and it was awesome! She had sooooooooo many handmade costumes and pennants and a million other things that the kids could use, hold, play with, etc. The story was about a mermaid who was captured but don’t worry – it has a happy ending! I just couldn’t believe how many kids were there and participating. There were sharks:

And pirates:

And seahorses:

Well, you get the point. The kids looked like they definitely enjoyed participating in the story instead of the traditional being read to. And I was entertained! Following is a slide show of all the images I snapped. If only they had a production like this for grown-ups…

I’ll start by showing off the item I received. My inspiration word to Jen was infinity (as in the math symbol, not Buzz Lightyear ) and she came up with this fantastic piece of art! And just my luck, it’s in my fave colors of blue and silver!! She must’ve known.

My recipient was Heidi and her word was love. Talk about tough!! It means so many things to so many people and I tried not to be cliche – so here’s what I came up with (the fabric strip on the right is a piece of my mom’s wedding dress… Don’t tell!):

Heidi created this awesome collage for Tracy using bucolic as the inspiration word:

MaryJo put her embroidery skills to the test and chose to use Ruth’s band as inspiration instead of Ruth’s word – that’s what I like to call artistic license. Ruth was more than thrilled at the result:

To complete the circle, Jen received new art from Ruth, using “bridge” as inspiration:

I loved organizing this since it really wasn’t hard at all. Maybe that’s because there were only five swappers (obviously, not all photos were included here!). Either way, I received some sweet new art out of the deal and can only hope that everyone else enjoyed it as much as I did!

Oh my goodness, it’s almost father’s day! Don’t worry though, you still have a week and a half to pick out and order up the perfect gift. My dad is a traditional manly man. He works with his hands all day and I just can’t use a tie as a back up gift for him. Good news, I have a whole community of crafters to rely on – thanks Handmade Philly!! Hopefully you can find something suitable for your dad too, no matter what he enjoys. Click on the photos for more info!

I don’t know about your dad, but mine always needs a notebook to keep track of things (mainly car maintenance – thanks dad!!!) Pick up a small journal or notepad from readwritebooks which Dad can easily slip into his pocket or keep in his glovebox.

Does Dad’s space need a little brightening? Choose any of the sweet, bright, manly prints available from Pragyak.

This might be the coolest thing ever. Give Dad a way to see you every day with this awesome snapshot pin from Amy Blasco Jewelry. Dad can swap out the pics as you change your hairstyle and he can use this pin as a (large) tie tack or attached to his laptop case.

We all know how much Dad appreciates his afternoon beverage, so show him your love with a can cozy available from Grey Overcast Creations.

If Dad spends lots of time in the office, I’m sure his coffee routine could use a change of pace. Mix it up a bit by gifting him this lovely new mug from Bohner Designs.

Something else to brighten up Dad’s workspace – a terrarium! Pick up this small terrarium in person in Philadelphia from Felt & Kept (no shipping available!).

I don’t know about your Dad, but mine eats on the run every single working day. Set him up with this flatware set so he always has some utensils handy. It also comes with a cloth napkin and sandwich bags!

Clean up Dad’s act with this lovely soap dish holder from Light Mosaics. It’s gorgeous for catching light at the kitchen sink or in Dad’s bathroom counter.

These custom felties from Sqrl & Bee Studio are just too cute to pass up! Pick up one that resembles Dad, or maybe one that resembles you to grace his workspace. Even better, get one to stand for all your siblings so Dad can always have his family nearby!

Hopefully you found something in this guide that your Dad will enjoy! Don’t forget about the tons of other items available from Handmade Philly artisans that weren’t included in this particular guide.

Happy Fathers’ Day!!