POST TYPOGRAPHY PRINT SALE! SATURDAY

Image from Post Typography

Once you've hit up MICA Art Market this weekend, get ye back to the ATM, because you're not gonna wanna miss the epic Print & Poster sale at POST TYPOGRAPHY this Saturday! Baltimore's favorite Design Duo (now more of a 5-some, actually) are opening their studio for One-Day-Only (Saturday, December 8 from 12am-5pm). The sale will feature limited edition prints, posters and artwork from PT's past 10 years. Give an affordable Hanukkah/Christmas present to your walls while helping reclaim space in some flat files!

If you missed co-head's Bruce Willen & Nolan Strahls'OSAYCANYOUSEE exhibition at the WindUp Space last month, now’s your chance to take home artwork from the show or to score a rare Post Typography-designed poster—some of which have never been available for sale in Baltimore.

Prints available will include: complete OSAYCANYOUSEE editions, Dan Deacon tour posters, Built to Spill, Double Dagger, Alien, Groundhog Day, Godspeedyoublackemperor! and more! Prints are available for as little as $10. WHAT!!!!????

Best of all, this sale benefits a worthy cause. Most of the purchase price of each piece of artwork will be donated to WFMU’s Hurricane Sandy recovery fund. New Jersey-based WFMU (the planet’s best freeform, listener-supported radio station) sustained serious damage from the hurricane, and Post Typography wants to help keep them on the air.

Seriously. Are you not camped out in line yet? Just be there!

Visit the Post Typography studio at 3 W 23rd Street, Baltimore, MD 21218 on Saturday, December 8 from 12:00 - 5:00 PM. Come early! Some prints will have limited quantities available—first come, first served (Copies cannot be reserved until paid for).

This Week: MICA Art Market!

Cards by Monica Stroter

Bow tie by Rachel Beckman

The Maryland Institute College of Art's ART MARKET opens this week! Over 275 MICA students, faculty, alumni, and staff will be represented, including our very own Sugar Paperie, A Fiber Circus, and Bowerbox Press. Be sure to stop in for hundreds of wonderful art-themed gifts, including: illustrations, paintings, prints, posters, sculptures, mosaics, stationery, T-shirts, ceramics, jewelry, textiles, book arts, toys, wrapping paper, and much more!

MICA ART MARKET

Wednesday, Dec. 5 - Saturday, Dec. 8

10AM-6PM each day

Brown Center (Iceberg on Mt. Royal Ave.)

1301 W. Mount Royal Avenue

Print by Val Lucas

Thank you to Chop Shop!

Charm City Craft Mafia sends a big thank you to our sponsor Chop Shop!

A one-stop shop for all your hair, skin, and body needs! Ream more about Chop Shop here, or visit them in Hamilton!

Thank you to Clementine!

                           Charm City Craft Mafia sends a big thank you to our sponsor Clementine!

Dine at Clementine and enjoy locally grown veggies and local, responsibly sourced meats.  The menu changes daily! Read more about Clementine here or visit them in Hamilton! 

Holiday Heap Vendor Spotlight: Tasha McKelvey

Get to know Holiday Heap vendor Tasha McKelvey:

What is your favorite holiday tradition? 

Having a big yummy dinner with the whole family.

What do you have new for Holiday Heap?

Whiskey Jugs & Santa Ornaments (they are the cousins of my gnome ornaments).

What do enjoy most about the holidays in Baltimore?

Coming up for Holiday Heap, getting to spend time with all my Baltimore friends and sampling some amazing Baltimore restaurants all in one weekend.

What is your favorite holiday cookie?

Gingerbread (the soft kind, not the hard kind)

Holiday Heap Vendor Spotlight: Open Eyes Press

Learn a little bit about Holiday Heap vendor Open Eyes Press:

What is your favorite holiday tradition? 
Definitely decorating the house. I love putting up the Christmas tree, and displaying cards I get from family and friends on the mantle. It definitely makes me feel closer to all the people I don't see very often during the year.

What do you have new for Holiday Heap?
I have screen printed pillows this year! I've been wanting to do these for awhile, and finally got them printed in time for the holidays.  They're made from linen and organic cotton/hemp fabrics, so they're really soft and durable. All the prints are my original designs, so you won't find them anywhere else.

What do enjoy most about the holidays in Baltimore?
The general excitement in the air, and shopping for gifts for friends and family (at indie craft venues like Holiday Heap, of course!). openeyespress.etsy.com

Holiday Heap is Right Around the Corner!

Are you ready? Holiday Heap is tomorrow!

Here’s a look at last year- this year promises to be just as exciting!

If you’re planning on coming, RSVP over at our Facebook page, and check out the vendor sneak peeks on our blogspot! Come hungry, and get lunch from Clementine, Gypsy Queen, orIced Gems!

Saturday, December 1st, 10am to 5pm, at 2640 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore MD 21218, inside St John’s Church

Thank You to Trohv!

Charm City Craft Mafia sends a big thank you to our sponsor Trohv!

Trohv is an inventive, independently-owned shop featuring home goods and gifts with varied collections of new and vintage goods. 

Read more about Trohv here, or visit them on the Avenue in Hampden!

Holiday Heap Vendor Spotlight: mightMIGHT

Get to know Holiday Heap vendor mightMIGHT:

What is your favorite holiday tradition? 

Lights. Give me a string of lights and watch me go.

Also: eating cookies (but that's not just limited to the holidays)

What do you have new for Holiday Heap?

SO excited to be able to show off my newest project: The Under Appreciated Animals series. I just completed a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign to raise money for printing costs and am so proud of how it all came together. The idea was to make a *new* A-Z for kids (and not so little kids), which featured animals you rarely, if ever, see in children's books & nursery decor. The images from the series are available as prints, but also as a matching/memory card game, flash cards with fun facts about each animal, a coloring book, magnet & postcard sets, stickers and plush!

What do enjoy most about the holidays in Baltimore?

Would I sound too much like a suck up if I said Holiday Heap? Really, though, as grueling as it is getting everything ready for these holiday shows, a GOOD show is sooooooo worth it. I love living somewhere where so many people come out to shop local for the holidays. Also: eating cookies.

What is your favorite holiday cookie?

Oh hey, look! A question about cookies! Well, hands down favorite cookie ANY time of year is the chocolate chip (but i'm super picky about it, so, yeah). Holiday specific? I like those almond-y 3 color cake thingies with the raspberry layer between each color and then its all dipped in chocolate. You know those things? Those. Whatever those are. Yes, please.

Holiday Heap Vendor Spotlight: Block Party Press

Learn a little bit about Holiday Heap vendor Block Party Press:

 

What is your favorite holiday tradition?   
It's definitely trimming the Christmas Tree. I make ornaments each year for my sons, so it's really fun to remember all the memories of Christmases past as we open up each ornament and add it to the tree. By the time my sons leave home, they'll have a tree full of their own ornaments and a lifetime of memories to share with their families every Christmas.
 
What do you have new for Holiday Heap?  
I have some new jewelry designs, but I'm also making more non-jewelry gift items this year; Flasks, compacts, card holders, key chains, magnets and more. Lots of goodies for filling those stockings!

What is your favorite holiday cookie? 
My favorite holiday cookie is old fashioned gingerbread men. They're fun to decorate and even more fun to eat.

Holiday Heap Vendor Spotlight: Little Flower Designs

 

Get to know Holiday Heap Vendor, Little Flower Designs:

What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Each year my family gets excited to put up our Christmas tree. Both my husband and I have a collection of handmade ornaments from when we where children and ones that we have made or bought from fellow makers through the years. It always feels good to get them out and now share them with our daughter. And of course to add to our collection!

       

What do you have new for Holiday Heap?  

This year I will have a sweet polar bear ornament. Plus a lovely assortment of my illustrated pottery.

Holiday Heap Vendor Spotlight: Threeravens Yarn & Fiber

Get to know more about Holiday Heap Vendor Threeravens:

What do you have new for Holiday Heap?

Besides a huge amount of super bulky yarn, I'm pleased to be offering handspun-yarn covered pendant lamps this year! Wool is safe, colorful, and light, and makes the most interesting textured lampshades. I can't wait for everyone to see them!

What is your favorite holiday tradition?

My favorite holiday tradition has and probably always will be putting up the Christmas tree with my mom. She has ornaments from my childhood that always need to be hung while telling some funny story about why she still has it - like the styrofoam gingerbread man that I took a bite out of, in hopes of finding an actual tasty cookie. Yes, we hang it with the obvious bite missing!

What do enjoy most about the holidays in Baltimore (or in your home city)?

All the lights and decorations around the city, hoping for the holiday snow we almost never get, seeing everyone's hand knits come out to play, the holiday train gardens, Miracle on 34th St... this year I want to catch the Merry Tuba Christmas fun, too!

What is your favorite holiday cookie?

My mom [obviously the offical keeper of Christmas in my family!] makes these sugar cookies that are the thinnest, tastiest things EVER. She hits them up with a sprinkle of colored sugar, nothing overly fancy - they are the best. *nom*

Holiday Heap Vendor Spotlight: Baltimore Print Studios

Learn more about Holiday Heap Vendor Baltimore Print Studios:

What do you have new for Holiday Heap?

We're super excited to participate for the first time. We have some new letterpress prints and something we've never tried before and had a lot of fun making - letterpress printed wrapping paper!

What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Pie!

What is your favorite holiday cookie?

See above.

Holiday Heap Vendor Spotlight: Almanac Industries

Learn a little more about Holiday Heap vendor Almanac Industries:

What is your favorite holiday tradition? 

Making food together with our family.

What do you have new for Holiday Heap?

Leather iPad sleeves, holiday gift tags, lots of awesome screenprinted wallets and zip cases!

What is your favorite holiday cookie?

Ginger Molasses

Holiday Heap Vendor Spotlight: pidge pidge

Get to know more about Holiday Heap vendor pidge pidge

What is your favorite holiday tradition?

I love spending the day in the kitchen- cooking with family and friends, snacking and catching up.

What do you have new for Holiday Heap?

Super cozy limited edition infinity scarves with handwoven cuffs are coming with me to the show! I'm also working on some smaller woven items still in design that will debut at Holiday Heap.

What do you enjoy most about the holidays in Baltimore?

When visiting Baltimore during the holidays, I love to spend the day warm by a wood stove with family and nothing to do but relax.

What is your favorite holiday cookie?

Macaroons :)

Bazaart Craft Fair at AVAM Baltimore 11/23-24

BAZAART American Visionary Art Museum

800 Key Highway

Baltimore, MD 212130

410-244-1900

AVAM.org

Friday- 5:30-8pm ($20/$10 members)

Lite Fare, Beverages, Music & First dibs on handmade work!

Saturday - 10-5pm (FREE!)

Open to the public

This weekend, after stuffing yourself so full of root vegetables and trying a slice of every type of pie... You're probably thinking you'll be content lying belly up on the living room floor while family shuffles around you throwing footballs indoors... But know what would be even better? Getting out of the house and coming to the Visionary Art Museum in glorious Baltimore City for a festive start to your holiday shopping at BAZAART - A holiday marketplace of original creations!

Come visit a handful of Craft mafia members & 50+ talented local craft vendors and impress your extended family with your in-the-know status in the visionary arts community. Check out handmade pottery, sewn & knit goods, jewelry, screenprinted tees, printed stationary & papergoods, nifty upcycled housewares and so much more..... then you can carry it all back home and high five each other on Holiday Shopping Spree well done, while you make stuffing sandwiches and fight over who has to eat the cranberry sauce. Blechhhh. See you there, Baltimore!

Holiday Heap Vendor Spotlight: 50/50 Company

Get to know Holiday Heap Vendor, 50/50 Company:

What is your favorite holiday tradition?

The 50/50 Company's favorite holiday tradition is eating giant bear claws early in the a.m.!

       

What do you have new for Holiday Heap?  

New for this year are hoodies!  We've got a dangerously ripped grizzly bear with 6 pack abs that's just screaming to be taken home.

Holy Hedgehog!

Imagine my delight when I saw these cute things in the catalog of Crate & Barrel's subsidiary company, Land of Nod.  Made by our very own Jen Strunge, of Cotton Monster!!

 

The site even has a fun little bio on the featured artist.  

You can get your own handmade Cotton Monster on her shop, or at Holiday Heap!

Seeking Volunteers...

Volunteers needed!

The CCCM needs your help! We are currently seeking some awesome, fun and motivated people to help out with Holiday Heap. Help is needed before, during and after the show. If you are able to lend a hand for one of the following time slots please RSVP to pinkkisspottery@gmail.com and let us know your coming!

Friday, November 30^th

-7pm-9pm (help setting up the church)

Saturday, December 1^st

-7am-9am (help with loading in and setting up)

-11am-1pm (help with lunch distribution)

- 4:30pm-6pm (help with pack up and clean up)

Holiday Heap Vendor Spotlight: Volta Organics

Learn a little bit more about Holiday Heap Vendor Volta Organics:

What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Every Christmas my parents give all of the kids stockings full of little things like pens, gadgets, socks, etc.  My sister and I always get the same gifts in slightly different colors or patterns.  At some point in our 30 years of being sisters, we figured this out and began having stocking races.  We sit across from each other and open a bunch of tiny, densely wrapped gifts as fast as possible, screaming out what we got and what color it is as we go.

      

What is your favorite holiday cookie?

Rugelach

Holiday Heap Vendor Spotlight: Tiny Paper Portraits

Learn a little bit more about Holiday Heap Vendor Tiny Paper Portraits:

 

What is your favorite holiday tradition?

My favorite holiday tradition is going home, climbing up into the attic, and passing old suitcases filled with ornaments down like a fire brigade to the rest of my family. 

      

What do you enjoy most about the holidays in your hometown?

When I'm lucky I get to go to my hometown of Franklin, TN for the holidays. My favorite thing is seeing old friends who also went off to different cities. Catching up with people the way social media can't let you.

 

What is your favorite holiday cookie?

My mom's chocolate chip cookies. The first several batches never make it past the cooling racks.

 

Start Your Holiday Heap Shopping List!

Get ready Baltimore! It's about 3 weeks to go until HOLIDAY HEAP 2012! Baltimore's most exciting alternative craft fair, right here in the heart of Charles Village. While you're pacing back and forth, waiting for your big shopping day - you can now begin to check out all the vendors we'll have at the show, because the show page is now live! Check out all our great vendors and awesomely generous all-local sponsors, and start making your holiday list now! Above you'll see just a small sampling of the crew for this year's heap. For the full list & more details as they come - CLICK HERE!

Open Studios Kick Off Party This Friday!

Ready to get your weekend started? A few  members of the Charm City Craft Mafia will be out and about to help kick off the Open Studio Tours that are happening this weekend.  Val of Bowerbox Press will be showing at Golden West, Jen of Yummy & Company will be vending at the corner of 36th and Roland along with a bunch of other vendors and performers, and many of the Mafia's work can be found at Trohv! Swing by and enjoy live music, beer by Union Craft Brewing & local art.  Oh yeah, and it's free to attend! Music and performances by: 5:00 Zoe Burke + Arc 5:30 Tendrills 6:00 Chang Park 6:30 Erik Spangler 7:00 Lisa Doll & the Rock n Roll Romance 8:00 The Music Workshop 9:00 Squaaks   FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19TH 5-10PMLocated at the corner of 36th & Roland Ave, in Hampden.

Last Chance Holiday Craft Show

In case you missed the Holiday Heap application deadline (we are currently pouring over so many amazing entries!), or if you wanted to check out another local craft show, check out Charm City Craftivists! They are a team of crafters who combine their love and talent of homemade with a passion for social activism. Applications are now online, and the deadline to apply is October 26th. Good luck!

Last call for Holiday Heap 2012 applications!

Applications close at midnight, October 5th! Holiday cheer bursts through the walls of St. John's Church at our annual shows, and we the Charm City Craft Mafia are always so incredibly honored to share the festivities with our other indie craft colleagues. The event is FREE, open to the public, and host to food trucks and coffee vendors, in addition to a wide array of thoughtfully juried handmade goods.

Apply now!

Applications are open through October 5th at midnight. Don't forget to take sparkling photos of your very best work, and fill out the application in its entirety in order to be considered. Good Luck, Crafters!

MD Art Law Clinic

Artists with legal questions wanted! Maryland Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts is taking its FREE services to Station North this fall! MdVLA’s Arts Law Clinic will give artists the opportunity to meet with an experienced attorney for a 25 minute session on non-litigation related issues involving copyright, contract, and business law. Free clinics will be held from 1 to 4 pm on Oct. 6 and 20, Nov. 3 and 17, and Dec. 1 at City Arts Apartments. Want in? Two ways: -Make an appointment! e-mail info@mdvla.org to reserve a slot -Drop by! stop by the City Arts Building (440 E. Oliver St.) from 1-4. Can't make it, still interested? They'll be having repeat clinic days from 1-4 PM on October 20th, November 3rd, November 17th, and December 1st.

Call for Artists - Hampden

Hampden Community Council is looking for artists to sell and show their work for a one-night-only event kicking off the citywide Open Studio Tour October 19th. For more info, contact: hccpresident@gmail.com

Sugarloaf Ticket Giveaway!

The Sugarloaf Crafts Festivals is back in town, and they were kind enough to offer a FREE ticket to two of our fabulous readers!

image courtesy of Claymonster Pottery
booth #121

All you have to do is like the photo above on our Facebook page to enter!  Easy peasy!!! The winners will be posted on our Facebook page on October 1, so head on over and enter!

 

More than 250 artisans will set up shop at the show, featuring an array of sculpture, glass, jewelry, fashion, wood, metal, furniture, home accessories, photography and fine art.   All of this crafty goodness takes place at the Maryland State Fairgrounds October 5-7.  Need more details?  All you need to know can be found on the Sugarloaf website or their Facebook page.

2 Art Openings This Weekend!

House Show

Friday, September 21 6pm - 8pm

Urbanite @ Case[werks]

1501 St. Paul Street

Suite 116

Baltimore, MD 21202

Join us for the opening of HOUSE SHOW! Co-curated by Marianne Amoss, Marian April Glebes, Sarah McCann, and Jessica Young of D center Baltimore, the exhibit studies and celebrates the idea of the rowhouse as storyteller. It examines how these familiar structures serve as narratives, recording and telling our personal stories and the stories of streets, neighborhoods, and entire cities. What are the stories contained within rowhouse walls? How do rowhouses reveal how we live now, and how we used to live?

In keeping with the interdisciplinary mission of both Case[werks] and D Center Baltimore, HOUSE SHOW features work in a variety of mediums and by a range of artists, representing architecture, photography, sculpture, oral history, and more.

The exhibit is at Urbanite @ Case[werks] from September 21 through October 24, 2012.

Black Foliage

Saturday, September 22 7- 10pm

Nudashank

405 W. Franklin Street

3rd Floor

Baltimore, MD 21201

This exhibition brings together over 60 artists using a wide range of techniques and imagery within the field of drawing, painting, collage and sculpture to create a singular artistic vision. BLACK FOLIAGE takes its name from the contemporary psych rock band Olivia Tremor Control’s 1999 album Black Foliage: Animation Music Vol. One.

Like the album, this exhibition combines pop and experimental aesthetics into something eccentric and cohesive. The combined efforts from these artists will create something akin to a psychedelic zen garden. *Black Foliage, originally took place on a much smaller scale at Chinatown Arcade, A DIY pop up art space and formerly a cell phone dispensary within the alley at 48 Bowery in New York City on July 22nd 2012.

For a list of artists, and more info on Nudashank, CLICK HERE.

APPLY NOW - HOLIDAY HEAP 2012!

Applications are NOW OPEN for Holiday Heap 2012 - An alternative craft fair in Baltimore, hosted by yours truly - Charm City Craft Mafia! Holiday Heap is a juried show and you must apply each time to get in. Each year, we feature over 60 talented artists, selling their own unique handmade ceramics, jewelry, prints, paintings, sculptures, plushies, apparel, homegoods, bath & body products and so much more! In addition to the fantastic holiday shopping, there are also food trucks and coffee vendors on hand to keep shoppers fueled and happy throughout the day.

APPLY HERE TO BE A VENDOR!

Applications are open through October 5th at midnight. Don't forget to take sparkling photos of your very best work, and fill out the application in its entirety in order to be considered. Good Luck, Crafters!

AVAM OutSide-Show

The American Visionary Art Museum is putting on their twice annual:

OUT-SIDESHOW Flea Market!

Saturday, Sept. 8, 9am-3pm

The Flea Market includes original art, books, toys, antiques, vintage clothing, collectables, and more.

Kooper's Chowhound Burger Wagon and Miss Twist Ice Cream will also both be in attendance!

...and did I mention

ADMISSION IS FREE!!!

So see you there THIS Saturday!

Check out their website for further details.

P.S. The Mafia's own Kacey Stafford of Found Studio will be vending!

BMore Papercuts Opening!

This Friday, September 7th, Bmore Paper Cuts is having an opening at

Charmed Life Gallery!

The opening will be going on from 6-10pm (and the word is there will be corndogs!!!)

As well as musical accompaniment to Bmore Papercut's fabulous most recent works.

Charmed Life Gallery and Tattoo Shop is located at 

4505 Hartford Road,

Baltimore MD, 21217

For more detailed information visit Bmore Papercut's blog.

Pyramid Atlantic Book Arts Fair!

Hey y'all! If you will be in the Baltimore area in November you definitely want to check out the

12th Biennial Pyramid Atlantic Books Art Fair & Conference

Going into its third decade, the fair showcases book art, limited edition prints, fine papers, and specialty tools along with exhibitions and book arts related programming. 

"This three day event will connect international artists, scholars, collectors, publishers, and art lovers. Serving to inform and inspire, the Book Arts Fair and Conference is a celebration of the printed form and the book as art."

The fair is taking place November 16-18, at the Silver Spring Civic Center, at Veteran's Plaza

Find out more about the fair at their website, or keep up to date by following their blog!

P.S. The Mafia's own Val Lucas of Bowerbox Press will also be in attendance selling prints!