This month we’re excited to feature the beautiful work of Alissa Thiele from A Tea Leaf. She’s been selling at our craft fairs for quite some time and is also the newest employee in our retail shop!

Combine one part sweet Midwestern drawl, one part savvy designer, one
part hard-core crafter, with a dash of Portland, Oregon’s hip
independent spirit and you get mixed media artist, Alissa Thiele. This
petite artist charms you with her soft accent, and cuts you with her
sharp artistic sensibilities stemming from her study of nature and
design.

Emerging deep from the husks of the Nebraska plains, this artist is
now seeking inspiration, good teas, and a dose of rain in Portland.
Her subtle artistic observations combine influences of urban and
natural beauty alike. Her artwork series, Standard Movement, displays
her delicate juxtaposition of found and created components such as
coffee rings, stencil graffiti in honeycomb patterns, found vintage
paper, and drawn native Oregon plants. Together, the various elements
create an abstract, yet recognizable organic collage that is as
elegant as the flourished frames that hold them. These same graphics
translate well to Thiele’s greeting card series, custom-made wallets,
and pendants that carry the same name.

To round out her craft offerings, she has a jewelry line, strictly
earthy color. Overall, Thiele’s work is elegant yet quirky, wild yet
calming, altogether creating a harmonious symbiosis of the organic and
other-worldly. She may be short and sweet, but this Cornhusker
transplant’s art and crafts pack a solid punch.

You can also see more of her work online at http://www.etsy.com/shop/atealeaf

Explore the frontier of technology, art and culture this month with The Wild! It’s a series of events happening all over town from May 11-25th. There will be fashion shows, tech tours, comics, a web conference, and much more! Our Super Colossal Spring Sale was the kickoff event last Saturday and we’re also participating in the WebVisions conference on May 22nd-24th! So many fun events…be sure to check it out!!

225+ Artists selling Handmade Goods, a Special Wedding Section, Free Craft Projects, Adoptable Cats, Free Goodie Bags for the first 200 Shoppers + More!

SEE YOU THERE!!!

An exciting addition to this year’s Super Colossal Spring Sale is that we will have REAL LIVE CATS available for adoption through the CAT Adoption Team! And our sources tell us the adoptable kitties will be wearing bowties by Business Catual!

The Super Colossal Spring Sale is THIS SATURDAY!!! Scope out your favorite vendors on the vendor list, and download a copy of the booth assignments and a map of the room to start planning your day of handmade fun!!

We are super excited to have a special Wedding Wonderland section in our Super Colossal Spring Sale this year! What is Wedding Wonderland, you ask?! Vendors with items we thought might be of interest to folks planning a wedding have been conveniently placed together in several rows! All of our vendors have amazing goods to show you, so please be sure to visit all of the booths whether you’re planning a wedding or not!

Be sure to pick up a copy of this week’s issue of The Portland Mercury!  Inside you’ll find an event program for our Super Colossal Spring Sale on May 11th! It’s a 32 page full color booklet featuring a cute springy craft project by Chelsey of The Paper Mama, an interview with the dynamic art duo Jolby, a full vendor list and map of the room, special product spotlights, and ads from vendors, sponsors, and other awesome businesses!

We love our friends from Collage! They’ve been hard at work creating some cool projects for you to make in the FREE DIY Area at our Super Colossal Spring Sale on May 11th! See the projects and schedule below. Also be sure to visit the free card making station sponsored by the lovely folks at SCRAP! Both are located near the food concessions.

Domino Pendants: 11:00am-12:45pm

Stamped Muslin Bags: 1:00-2:45pm

Washi Tape Greeting Cards: 3:00-4:45pm

at what you might find at our upcoming Super Colossal Spring Sale on May 11th!!

Crafty Wonderland Super Colossal Spring Sale

Saturday, May 11th

11am to 6pm

-at-

The Oregon Convention Center

777 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Hall D

Portland, OR

Our friends up at School House Craft in Seattle have a cool new conference coming up! It’s called Blogger’s Summer Camp and sounds like a super fun day of learning from some of the best bloggers in the NW and mingling with other creative writers! The full day’s program is only $45, which includes a healthy lunch buffet and lots of networking opportunities. Read all about it and register here!