Stuck in Vermont 13: Craft Mafia
Friday night in the Old North End and Studio STK was hopping with crafty items created by the recently formed Burlington Craft Mafia. Homemade hats, shirts, jewelry, bags, belts and haute couture fashion was artfully displayed around the room to the delight of shoppers.
Even the food looked good, bright green cupcakes and little sandwiches cut with love to look like ducks and stars. On the stairs, Colin Clary sang and played guitar in a rainbow colored sweater.
I talked to some of the featured artists and members of the crowd about crafting, obsession, inspiration and recycling.
I have to admit it, I am a craft addict. And I am an obsessed artist who spends most of her time snipping away at tiny bits of video footage. These talented, hard-working women inspire me.
I can so totally relate to Joanne when she talks about how her happiness is intertwined with making things (which leads to not sleeping much). There is something so satisfying about making something that other people can enjoy and wear daily. When you are doing that, who needs sleep?
I also talked to Allison about her haute couture fashions which carve out their own niche in the Craft Mafia and involve an impressive swath of recycled materials - a zipper from an industrial sleeping bag, fabric from yard sales and a dress made out of t-shirts. Makes you think anything is possible!
The evening started out slow but ended with a bang. I walked out with
a beautiful blue beaded necklace (thanks Kacey) with a flowered heart
at the end. And that showed a massive amount of self-restraint because the place was packed to the gills with delectable items.
You can find out more about the artists and purchase their amazing goods by visiting their individual websites which are all listed here.
The wonderfully whimsical song is "Some of My Favorite People Are..." by Colin Clary off his craftily-packaged sweater album, "Sweater Weather or Not, These are the Songs I Got."
PS My apologies for the crunchy look of the Stuck in Vermont videos. I am going to make a concerted effort to find some better YouTube compression settings. As much as I like the DIY, low fi look of the STVT vlogs, it would be nice if people's faces were not crawling with pixels! If anyone knows of any YouTube compression magic tricks, please let me know.
talk to Nate Beaman about how to get your compression on. He's the shiznit.
Posted by: g-lo | March 20, 2007 at 04:33 PM
Eva, what compression software are you using? Also, can you list (or e-mail me at kinojay33@yahoo.com) your codec settings, bitrate, fps, etc. I may be able to help you find something that will work better.
Posted by: jay | March 20, 2007 at 06:24 PM
Wow, could you have found a more perfect song for this episode? I guess Colin was the ideal performer to have at a Craft Mafia opening.
Posted by: Ed | March 21, 2007 at 09:25 AM
thank you so much for doing this! Its so fabulous and I think you perfectly captured what we are all about.
I'm sorry I never got a chance to chat with you!
Posted by: holly | March 21, 2007 at 10:56 AM
Eva thank you so much for covering our event. the video came out wonderful! thanks for finding us worthy of your great vlog.
Posted by: kacey | March 21, 2007 at 11:37 AM
Nicely done, the craft fair looked so much bigger in the video then in person. I'm sure it will grow in the future. There's nothing like home-made stuff. Take that Walmart!
Posted by: Sky | March 21, 2007 at 08:07 PM
great song! you make vermont sound so great -- how do you do that every time? maybe because VT is so great! and so are you!
your adoring fan.
Posted by: Q_Monroe | March 28, 2007 at 11:30 PM
Would it be completely gauche and wrong to inquire with a crafter regarding a specific commission request? I mean, is that like asking an artist to paint something to match your living room couch?
I had the most incredibly vivid dream about a leather bracelet with crows on it the other night, and I'd really love to find someone who could make it for me. Anyone know any leather crafters who might be interested?
Posted by: Molly | April 04, 2007 at 06:52 PM
Molly!
I asked Kacey of Burlington Craft Mafia about this and she says:
Hiya.
I know I love commission requests. I wish i worked with leather so I could help her out. I am sure most others agree with me and would be happy to take a request. I cannot think of any off hand but I can suggest pointing her in the direction of Etsy. You can search Etsy by materials and many other categories and tags. Most artists/crafters on Etsy love being contacted about doing commission work. I would look around on Etsy and perhaps she can find a seller who works is making leather jewelry who would love to do a commission piece.
hope that helps.
-kacey
Good luck Molly!
-- Eva
Posted by: Eva | April 04, 2007 at 10:52 PM
Wow. Thanks Eva (and Kacey)! I did look through Etsy and found bracelets that were of similar construction to what I want - I'll inquire with those crafters. But I think I'll keep looking for someone local for a bit before I do that.
Thanks again!
Posted by: Molly | April 05, 2007 at 08:50 AM
Local is always better, 'tis true. will keep my eyes open and ears peeled for leather workers in town! Am sure there is someone!
Posted by: Eva | April 05, 2007 at 05:16 PM
Hey Eva!
Dana Smitten here.... nice job with the vlog, it's lookin' great!
Just wanted to check in about the re-recording of 'trapped in VT'. As you may know, we've been spending all sorts of time in the studio finishing up our record, so it would be easy for us to get the bit you want.
Drop a line when you can and we'll get it sorted out.
Best,
Dana
Posted by: Dana Kaplan | April 07, 2007 at 09:47 AM