Is it Christmas Yet?

With almost four decades as a big sister under my belt, I've pretty much got annoying my younger sibling down to an art form. One of the best ways to torture my sister is by talking about Christmas early and bragging about how I've already finished my Christmas shopping. (I used to do this by Thanksgiving every year, although I've lagged the past few.) Anyway, just to get an early start on this (torturing not shopping), I texted these stockings to her last weekend.

Crazy thing is, in the craft fair world Christmas is fast approaching and applications for the holiday shows are being solicited already. So I figured I'd better start getting ready. These stockings are modern and cool, and just Christmassy enough without being traditionally boring. I think my favorite is the mid-century modern chairs but truly I'm in love with every one of them! Check them out in my Etsy shop here.

Can't Hardly Wait: Rockridge Out & About

Going into my second month of no craft fairs, the withdrawal symptoms are getting more intense: Night tremors, the sweats, you know the drill.

Luckily I've got a very busy October planned and lots of sewing to do! First up is the Rockridge Out & About on Oct. 6. I'll get to take my pop-up tent out for another spin and debut some of my new upcycled clutches and coin purses in the awesome three-tiered wire basket display I recently acquired.

I can't wait!

New Look, Same Great Taste

Astute readers will notice that I've got a new banner on my blog. The old logo, cute as it was, was just something I found on Vistaprint and not terribly original. So I've been on the hunt for something better and when I saw a painting my husband did, I asked him to transform it into a digital file. And thus, the new and improved logo. I just got the business cards in the mail and have updated my Etsy shop, as you can see above.

I've been keeping busy with a couple of side sewing jobs, and restocking a few stores nearby, but I've got some shows coming up in October and November (and hopefully December). So I'll be making lots of new things and showing them off here. Don't change that dial!

What is Upcycling?

Hands-down, this is the No. 1 question I get asked at craft fairs, followed closely by “where do you get your fabrics?”

The answer to both of these questions can be traced back to my first fair in Martinez almost two years ago, when I met a woman named R.C., who is also known as the Dumpster Diversion Diva.

At the time, I was still mastering the art of the tote. My fabric stash had not yet reached epic proportions and I was trying to get as much of my supplies as possible from thrift stores. I was beginning to be drawn in by the dazzling array of prints and patterns available in quilting cottons. Unfortunately, as the raw material for a tote bag, quilting cottons are not ideal. They just aren’t made for the heavy duty daily use a bag gets.

Enter the Diva, who introduced me to upholstery samples destined for the trash heap but rescued in the hope that someone would do something useful with them. So I accepted the challenge and embarked upon this project, combining two of my very favorite things: making bags and recycling.

Upholstery material is meant to be used on a sofa or chair that’s sat on every day, spilled on occassionally, and attacked by kids/pets/rambunctious friends fairly often. This makes it a great starting place for a bag. It’s thick and strong and generally has some stain-resistant properties.

And because most of these samples are smaller than your average handbag, it affords me the opportunity to join together prints and textures and colors in a creative and unique way. Every bag is one of a kind and, if I do say so myself, a work of art.

I know I'm not the only one who's doing this, not by a long shot. I didn't invent it but I'm proud to be one of many people finding joy in repurposing materials to make beautiful, durable and useful items. That's what upcycling is. One person's trash becoming another's treasure.

So to recap: These

... get turned into these.

Craft Fairing it Up in My Hometown

I celebrated the Fourth of July with a booth at the El Cerrito festival, which featured food, music, tons of kids rides and games, and some craft booths. A great time was had by all.

I've noticed that at dedicated craft fairs people are much more in a buying mood but I did pretty well anyway, and when I wasn't selling it was fun to people watch. I seriously never knew that so many people had patriotic outfits just waiting to be worn on July 4.

It was the debut of my appliqued cloth napkins and they performed well on their first outing. I'm glad I have a bunch left for the Temescal Street Fair on Sunday. Even though I grew up in El Cerrito and live in the Grand Lake neighborhood, Temescal is where I seem to find myself hanging out a lot of the time.

That's right, I'm doing TWO fairs in one week. It's a crazy time around here at Just Sew Jana headquarters, by which I mean that Jana is crazy and sewing even more than usual. But that's all part of the fun!

If you're in the neighborhood, stop by my booth near 49th and Telegraph in Oakland. I've got some more upcycled totes I was holding back for this event so it'll be a different mix of mixed bags.

Oh Deer

 

Some neon and deer print bags for your viewing pleasure. (I found this fabric at Ikea on a recent trip to help a friend pick out curtains.) I have been postering and passing out cards for the upcoming Patchwork Modern Handmade Festival and was inspired to make something extra springy and eye-catching. Just two more weeks to go!

Nice Rack!

 

At craft fairs, I tend to sell more of the items I have laid out on the table than the purses and tote bags I have hanging up. It could be because they are better displayed and easier to access so I thought I'd try something new for the Patchwork Modern Handmade Fair at Jack London Square on May 12. I just hauled this out of the closet and I hope it'll do the trick!

Spring Into Patchwork

I got my acceptance letter today -- I'm officially in the spring Patchwork Modern Handmade Festival at Jack London Square in Oakland on May 12. YAY!!! Last year was a big success and I can't wait to do it all again. Hope to see you there!

Deja Vu All Over Again

 

So a few weeks ago I returned to where it all started, it being my love affair with craft fairs! My first-ever outing was in Martinez at the Support Women Artists Now (SWAN) Day Festival in March 2012 and my second time was just as good as the first, dare I say even better as I've learned a lot about craft shows in the past year.

Most important lesson: Don't put out every single thing you have! Especially if you're me and you went all crazy making a ton of stuff! Now I'm still working on this, but having a cleaner and more cohesive booth display really helps the customer zero in on whether there's anything there that they want to buy. It's also a much more eye-catching display to have fewer items well arranged, as opposed to a giant jumble of things. My photos above might still look like quite a jumble to some but I'm definitely improving.

Another thing I have learned is that you just never know what's going to sell. I made a bunch of pot holders because they've always gone quickly and I was completely out from last year's run of fairs, but only sold a few. On the other hand, all but one of my table runners was snapped up and I sold all but two of the roll-up tote bags, which I made about a dozen of before deciding that they wouldn't be popular. So go figure!

ALSO, and I can't believe I almost forgot this, I scored a ton of upholstery fabrics in bright colors and big pieces too! I was so excited I spent hours locked up in my sewing room going through it all despite being completely exhausted after spending all day at the fair. Don't worry, I gave the dumpster diversion project a generous donation even though they said that I was doing them a favor by taking them off their hands! I will be making some more colorful upcycled upholstery spring totes soon, you can count on that.

Where It All Began

Can you believe it's been a year since I did my first craft show? Crazy! Since my first foray with the Martinez SWAN (Support Women Artists Now!) I've been a busy bee, with a Sonoma school craft fair, the Treasure Island Flea, some fun home events, the Patchwork Indie Arts & Crafts Fair and even a Unitarian church event!

Now it's back to where it all began and I'm looking forward to seeing some old friends and new. Hope you can make it!

P.S. I got a spot inside the Old Train Depot this year, and I'm not sure if that's good or bad because people might not be able to find me, but that's where you should look.

A Craft Fair to Remember

A great day at the Patchwork Indie Arts & Craft Festival. Thanks for the pics, Paula!

On Display

I've been preparing for the upcoming Patchwork Indie Arts & Crafts Show by sewing, natch, but also by thinking about how to display my wares. I have just a 4x6 booth, which means there's room for little more than a table and my stand-up purse rack.

At a thrift store a few weeks back I spied this letter organizer. It was a bit country chic as it was, so I slapped some orange paint on there and viola! It makes a perfect display for my zipper bags, don't you think? I'm gathering a bunch of baskets and other similar items for the rest and I'm tempted to get some more orange paint, but might just go for the eclectic look instead. That always seems to suit me.

Big News!

You guys, I'm so excited! I've been accepted as a vendor for the Nov. 18 Patchwork Indie Art & Craft Festival at Jack London Square. I'm planning to do a bunch of my rainbow bags, which is my new favorite thing to make, and have Jim do some more iron-on artwork too. It's going to be a great day and I'm going to have lots of fun preparing for it!

The Treasure Island Flea and Me

What would I do without Paula? She's been one of my most ardent supporters and fans, and a faithful chronicler of my shows thus far. This lovely collage is from last weekend's Treasure Island Flea, where I learned that wind and fabric bags just don't mix. Good thing my trusty photographer was there to take some pictures before everything up and blew away. Thanks again, Paula!

As for the venue, I think it's probably not for me. But I had a great time nonetheless and scored some awesome soap from the Faerie Goatmother, a trade for one of my upcycled bags!

I'm going to take a little break from the show circuit for now, but I'm definitely going to keep sewing. With less pressure to produce, I think I'll be able to try some new things and learn a few new tricks!

Upcycling With People

I hope you're sitting down. This may come as a shock. In honor of Earth Day this year, I decided to ... wait for it ... SEW SOME PURSES. Boy, that came out of nowhere didn't it? Ha ha.

Anyway, a longtime fan of reuse (in theory), I now have the sewing skills to (actually) repurpose tons of stuff. Since I started sewing I've been a regular at Thrift Town, where I am always sure to find bags of fabric for around $2 that hold untold treasures. And the East Bay Center for Creative Reuse is my other mecca, and thankfully closer to my home. There I get fabric and tons of notions, and the last time I was there I got a boatload of zippers for 20 cents each. You know how excited I get about zippers!

Then last week at the Martinez SWAN Day I met a woman who calls herself the Dumpster Diversion Diva and I traded her one of my bags for a bunch of fabric samples she'd collected from an interior designer who was going to throw these gems away!

So this weekend I made a bunch of stuff from that fabric, including my favorites: The three rope bags in navy blue, brown and red/white. The crossbody was pieced together from some smaller samples (strap included) and the larger tote was a sample that I put a grey bottom on from some scraps I had around.

On the left is a patchwork beauty from some thrift store pieces. All in all, a productive weekend of upcyling.

Happy Earth Day everyone!

Two Great Things ...

Jim's art and my sewing: Two great things that go great together.

This is officially my favorite bag ever because it is the first collaboration the Jim and I ever did. Last week we remembered some iron-on transfer paper we'd bought forever ago so we gave this a try. You have to really iron the hell out of it to make it stick but his beautiful drawings and my mad sewing skillz (not to mention ability to pick out the perfect fabric to go with it) are resulting in some really cool bags. We made eight (four zipper bags and three totes) and five of them sold this past weekend at the craft fairs, but I snagged this one for my very own. I will love it forever, I'm sure of it.

Stay tuned, because Jim is working on another drawing so I see more zipper bags in my future. Yay!

Getting Schooled

Another awesome collage from Paula (thanks!), this time from the Sonoma Charter School Flea Market on Sunday. I sold six or seven purses, I think, and several zipper bags (a couple to some very adorable little girls). I was only one of two craft booths, and the people there were mostly looking for bargains I believe, but Jim and I had fun and I learned some things. Another smashing success.

A Fair to Remember

You always remember your first time. Thanks to my friend Paula, who took tons of pictures at the Martinez SWAN Day fair and made this lovely collage. I had a blast setting up the booth then watching as people admired my bags and other creations. There wasn't a huge crowd there but I made some sales nonetheless. Plus I got to see my aunt and uncle from Danville, my sister and nephew came out, plus tons of friends. It was a great day!

For the Table

Boy did it storm this morning! Wind and rain and cold! It's good I opted not to participate in the scaled-down SWAN day art fair. I am pretty sure I would have been miserable. They're having a make-up day April 14, so I'm crossing my fingers that will work out.

In the meantime, I had all this pent-up energy I'd been building up so I spent the day sewing quite a few things including a couple of table runners and a set of four reversible place mats. You like?

Rainy Day Blues

It's been raining on and off for the past few weeks and unfortunately it's all but certain that it will be raining for the arts and crafts fair this weekend. Which is really, really sad. But not so sad that I didn't whip up this pair of waterproof blue polka dot totes, with the cutest complimentary fabric inside. When the world gives you rain, make rain-proof purses!