Markets this Weekend

photo card by Life is Balance

There is a slight chill in the air and it's finally starting to feel like autumn. What a more perfect time to stroll around and visit some craft markets this weekend. 

MANHATTAN

RENEGADE CRAFT FAIR returns to NYC this weekend.  Held at the Metropolitan Pavilion at 125 West 18th St. Visit our Etsy NY members PurlBKnit and Cor Pottery.

purlbknit of Brooklyn,NY


BROOKLYN

Hollyberry Fair

The Hollyberry Fair is in it's second decade. Located in Park Slope at 339 8th St between 5th and 6th avenues. All items are handmade and a few of our team members, including Tamara Garvey Illustrations, Be in the Moment jewelry, and traceytooledesigns will be selling their goods.  The fair is 10 am to 3:30 pm.

bridy27design

In Williamsburg, Brooklyn is the Artists and Fleas Market located at 70 North 7th Saturday and Sunday 10 am to 7 pm. Our own Birdy27 Designs will be there selling her handmade yarn goods.
 

QUEENS

folkloric jewelry

If you are in Queens you can swing by the Ridgewood Night Bazaar.  In it's second of two Sundays it is located at Gottscheer Hall 657 Fairview Ave.  Our team member Folkloric Jewelry will be there!

You can keep up to date with all of the local markets that our Etsy NY makers participate in, just check out our Facebook page or sign up for our newsletter.

Have a great weekend!

Tracey

traceytoole.com l www.traceytoole.etsy.com

The Etsy NY Holiday Handmade Gift Guide- 2015

It’s that time of year again! That’s right, the hustle and bustle of this busy city we all know and love has transformed into a winter wonderland brimming with holiday cheer and excitement! Friends and family come together to celebrate with good food and gift giving. Do you have something for everyone on your list? Not to worry, The Holiday Handmade Cavalcade is coming to town and we’ve got you covered!  

This year, the Holiday Handmade Cavalcade will be returning to Chelsea Market on December 5th & 6th with over 50 local indie vendors from the Etsy NY team! Below is a sampling of what you will find. Scope them out online and come meet the makers in person. You’re sure to check everyone off your list with so much handcrafted greatness all in one spot!

For Your Favorite Fancy-free Friend

1. jennengStudio - Gray Canvas Tote Bag with Leather Straps

2. VickiFinkelCeramics - Stoneware Black Lidded Mugs, Midnight Magic

3. bshorr - Crochet Cup Cozy (Camouflage)

4. ApertureAgog - Hand Embroidered Wall Art, NYC Subway Graffiti

 

For the Animal Loving New Yorker

Invite Etsy Home for Thanksgiving!

It's already mid November and planning for Thanksgiving is in full swing! Whether your hosting the event or plan on being a guest of friends or family there are so many ways to bring handmade into your holiday! As an interior designer I am often asked by friends and family for help planning the decor, so I've decided to share some of my handmade holiday favorites! 

Let's start with dessert since it's the best part of Thanksgiving! Beautiful handmade dessert pedestals by E. Isabella Designs are the perfect way to make your prized cake or cupcakes stand out among a sea of plastic and aluminum containers. This stand is perfect to bring out for every holiday and sure to become a prized family heirloom!

Country Home City Home's collection of vintage milk vases are sure to make a stunning centerpiece that rivals the turkey! This collection of 15 unique vases are a gorgeous to set a fall vibe. Use with single stem flowers and greenery for a sophisticated seasonal display. 

Yvonne Ellen from the UK knows how to create an inspiring tablescape. Her beautiful coordinating stag dinner and side plates are truly one-of-a-kind and unlike anything else we've seen on Etsy. And the stag and owl are the perfect additional dinner guests to your feast!

These holiday napkins from Urban Bird and Co. are sure to leave a lasting impression with guest! Modern and clean, these napkins are a great addition to any china pattern. They are also washable and reusable throughout all your holiday parties and gatherings.

Any finally, from our friends at Knot & Bow here in New York, metallic and white party confetti! Nothing glams up a table like a little gold and silver sprinkled all over. It's a simple touch that will bring the whole presentation together!

 

Do you have tips and tricks or traditions for decorating your table for thanksgiving? If so we want to hear all about it in the comments below!

Enjoy the planning!
~Amberlee

Amberlee Isabella Home

Meet the Artisan: La Muse Kalliope + Giveaway

Q: What is La Muse Kalliope? Can you briefly describe your business for us?

A: LA MUSE KALLIOPE is about celebrating YOU through our products, such as our best-selling Interactive Dragon Monsters, which are unique plush characters that have multiple opportunities for interaction, and the plush Les Musettes, Personal Lil' Muses.

LA MUSE KALLIOPE celebrates YOU with creations designed to strike your happy and creative cords to bring out the absolute best of each person.

Making the Dragon Monsters interactive is an original concept. Furthermore, using a unique construction method of my own making, Ori-Sculpture, I combine origami methods in my soft sculpture plush creations.

LA MUSE KALLIOPE uses hundreds of different premium quality fabrics and materials to make our plush creations with the goal of making that special one that a customer can directly connect with and make their own.
 
Also available are baby clothes and t-shirts with my designs and other accessories.

Q: Some artisans develop their products to meet consumer needs, while others craft products based on things and/or experiences that inspire them. What is the inspiration behind your business?

A: In my case, it's a combination of both.  My very first creation, later known as Les Musettes "Personal Lil' Muses" was made with a piece of my Mom's clothing following her passing from Pancreatic Cancer. My reluctance to make something banal lead me to create the first Musette character with an innate ability to inspire love, happiness and creativity like a loving mother. So, you can say my product came about in response to satisfy a personal need that happens to be a niche in the market.

I am nothing if not multi-cultural. I grew up in Taiwan and Hawaii, lived in Japan for a few years and spent a decade in France, where I worked for a luxury brand before returning to the US where I made the NYC Metropolitan Area my new home. All of my creations are inseparable from my multi-cultural background, from the vibrant colors I remember in Hawaii to the designer fabrics I use, to the incorporation of origami in my construction methods, and to my belief in making high quality and unique items that are meaningful.  I'm inspired by beautiful things, both tangible and intangible. That philosophy of bathing in a universe of goodness and spreading happiness is the raison d'être of LA MUSE KALLIOPE and it's creations. We are passionate about celebratingthe uniqueness and positive energy of each individual who cross the paths of Interactive Dragon Monsters and Les Musettes.

Q: Oftentimes, each artisan has a different strategy and objective for their business. What are the next steps for you and your business?

A: Right now, the bulk of our sales comes from the Holiday season (Union Square Holiday Market). A next step for LA MUSE KALLIOPE is to establish and maintain strong foothold in wholesale and retail sales throughout the other 11 months of the year as well as a stronger online presence. We want to take a balanced approach into expanding sales so we allow ourselves flexibility to switch focus to what's working better at any given time. Besides sales and marketing, production is an area needing major overhaul. This year, I ended up doing all productions myself except for one month in early Summer during which I trained two hired help. It's very difficult to find seamstresses who can do high quality work with efficiency. In 2016, the first half of the year will be devoted to hiring and training production help. My goal is to free up production time to allow me to give the much needed attention to other aspects that are imperative to growing my business.

Q: Can you tell us some of the partners you have made? Retail stores where we can find your product?

A: LA MUSE KALLIOPE sells our products on our own website and through Etsy. Otherwise, LA MUSE KALLIOPE is entering its fourth year of having its own Shop at the Union Square Holiday Market in NYC. Through Union Square Holiday Market we are grateful of our many return and new customers from all over the U.S. as well as other countries. It is a great opportunity to reach such a wide and diverse customer base.

Q: As many artisans look to grow and further develop their businesses, do you have some advice that you can share with fellow artisans?

A: My advice would be to follow what works while also taking risks. For instance, Interactive Dragon Monsters was not the main product when LA MUSE KALLIOPE began. It attracted its own attention and a little more focus on it allowed it to take off and develop a life of its own. I had to put aside my original vision to follow what was working. This isn't always easy to do. This is the same with taking a risk to develop and expand your business. It's not always easy to do, and, of course, you must do your best to make it a calculated risk. Hire that extra help, buy that material in bulk, spend the extra money for a lucrative market or space to sell. The only way to keep moving forward is to mix in a big leap along with all the measured steps. It may be scary at the time but overcome that uncertainty and you will see the rewards!

Also, dare to be different and be innovative. For me, an artisan is someone who excels at what they do with a passion. Have the courage to think outside of the box anddevelop unique ways to do what it is they do, the art they create that no one else has done before.

Having an unique product is not all. You need to find sales and marketing channels to sell your products so you can continue to follow your passion to create.  Hand in hand, you will also need to find a trusting party either in-house or outsourced to build the inventory you will sell.

Last of all, believe in yourself and your unique product. If you are an artisan like I am, I know you will want your product to reflect your philosophy and values.

Special thanks to Jean for sharing with us. You can find her products showcased on her Etsy shop at La Muse Kalliope. And, details of her special product GIVEAWAY are below, as well as directions on how to enter!

Jean is generously giving away Two Dragon Monsters with loops to make into Christmas Tree Decorations (Valued at $38!) especially created for this raffle! You'll get one Shaggy Ninja I Heart You Dragon Monster + one Camouflage WannaBe Dragon Monster with Mustache and Glow-In-The-Dark Fangs and a Unicorn Horn. This comes with illustrated instructions on how to interact with them. 

This is one giveaway you do not want to miss, especially if you are looking for holiday presents for children or the young-at-heart. Winning this set might help you check off a friend or loved one!

To enter the giveaway, please like La Muse Kalliope's: Facebook Page, follow La Muse Kalliope's instagram: @lamusekalliope, and/or follow La Muse Kalliope's on Pinterest.

Enter to WIN La Muse Kalliope's Giveaway here (or below)! 

Tutorial: DIY Apple Picking Canvas Tote

Apple picking time is here! Crisp fall leaves, fall foliage trips, pumpkin picking.  I think autumn might be my favorite time of the year! I love picking apples and pumpkins and I am so happy to pass this tradition on to my daughter.  It's something kids and adults can do. Apples after being accumulated can get heavy.  So you want to use a tote that is durable.  For this tutorial I am using an organic duck canvas lined with a quilting weight cotton.  This is a beginning intermediate level sewing project.  Good for someone who has learned to sew and wants to do a new project and learning a few new techniques!

Materials clockwise from top: rotary cutter, omni-grid ruler, seam gauge, thread, fabric, webbing

Materials:

3/4 yard canvas

3/4 yard cotton quilting weight

2 yards cotton webbing 1 1/2" wide

matching thread , 2 yards cotton webbing 1" to 1.5" wide, iron, sewing machine

STEPS:

1.     Cut out your shell and lining pieces, cut out your pocket.  

  • Shell- cut 1 piece 38” x15”
  • Lining -  cut 1 piece 36” x 15”      
  •  Pocket – cut from the lining fabric 9” x 8”   
  • Straps – cut 2 pieces of the webbing 34” each, these straps are long. If you want them shorter, take a few inches off

2.  Make the pocket: if your print is non-directional, choose a longer side of the pocket piece, this will be the top.  Fold over ½” and press, repeat.  Sew an edge stich along this fold. For the remaining 3 sides, fold over each raw edge ½”  to the wrong side of the fabric and press.

3.     Sew the pocket onto the lining piece.  Take one of your lining pieces and measure 4” from the top. Center the pocket with the wrong side of the pocket facing the right side of the lining fabric. See photo. So both “right sides” of the fabric are facing you.

 

4.     Pin in place and sew with an edge stitch on 3 sides, not the pocket opening.  Be sure to back tack a few times at the top two corners.  These are stress points.

Edge stitch 3 sides of the pocket.

5. Ok now to attach the straps. Measure in 3" from where a side seam will be and place the webbing.  Fold over the top edge of the bag 1/2"  to cover the webbing, fold over again 1". Pin.

6.  Take this webbing and smoothly run it over to the point 3" from the side.  You are on the same side of the bag. Be sure to not twist the handle. Repeat step of pinning. Repeat these steps for the opposite side of the bag and other handle.

7.  Sew down the handles all along the top of the tote.  To hold all those apples you will sew 2 rows of stitching around the tote top edges and sew a reinforcement X where the handles are. 

8.    Now it's time to sew the lining to the shell, French Seam style! Lay the lining to the shell wrong side to wrong side.   Sew ½” seam allowance, trim down to 1/8”, fold over the seam face to face and sew ½” seam allowance.  Your seam on the inside of the bag should be covered.  Repeat on other side.

french seam, cut the seam down to 1/8"

inside view of French Seam

Finished! Ready to go apple picking or take a trip to your local farmer's market!

Enjoy the beautiful autumn!

Tracey Toole |  www traceytoole.com |   www.etsy.com/shop/traceytoole

Save the Date: EtsyNY's 8th Annual Holiday Handmade Cavalcade

This holiday season:

Shop local, support handmade, and get free stuff

Don't miss EtsyNY's 8th annual Holiday Handmade Cavalcade, located in Manhattan's famous Chelsea Market!

Dates: Saturday, December 5thand Sunday, December 6th

Times: 10 AM to 8 PM (Saturday), 10 AM to 7 PM (Sunday)

Location: Chelsea Market, 75 Ninth Avenue between 15th and 16th Streets

Admission: Free

Last year's Cavalcade at Chelsea Market hosted more than 16,000 shoppers over two days. This year's event promises to be even more exciting, with more than 50 New York-based artisan vendors offering handmade art, greeting cards, beauty products, clothing, gifts for baby, jewelry, and much more. Knock out all your holiday shopping while feeling great about supporting small businesses and local artists.

In addition to offering a selection of unique and handmade gifts you won't find anywhere else, the Cavalcade gives shoppers several opportunities to win free items from EtsyNY vendors.

GOODY BAG GIVEAWAY

EtsyNY gives exclusive goody bags to the first 100 shoppers on each day of the Cavalcade. People in the know line up long before the market opens to snag these bags crammed with handmade products, coupons, and other great prizes from EtsyNY members and our promotional partners. Don't miss out this year!

GIFT BASKET RAFFLE

Each purchase at the Cavalcade earns you one chance to win gift baskets generously filled with handmade items from EtsyNY makers. The more you shop, the better your chances to win!

FOR MORE INFO

Visit the Cavalcade website and RSVP on Facebook!

MORE ABOUT CHELSEA MARKET

Make a day of it at Chelsea Market – shop your heart out at the Cavalcade and savor the gourmet offerings at one of the world's greatest indoor food halls.

Chelsea Market has become a beloved foodie mecca and tourist destination since opening its doors in the Meatpacking District 15 years ago. With 50 shops and restaurants offering everything from books to fresh-baked bread to seafood, it boasts more than 5 million visitors every year. For more information, visit www.chelseamarket.com.