Make a paper flower corsage with Scrap!

We are super excited to usher in Spring (COME ON ALREADY, SPRING) with Sarah Glover of Humble Design as April’s Artist of the Month!  

Sarah’s adorable felt creations are hugely popular at the shop!  We can never keep her potted felt cacti and succulents on the shelf for long!  

Sarah’s provided us with some extra special goodies this month, like super-sized plush cacti - aka the perfect travel pillow! So be sure to come check them out before they’re all gone! Also these sweet pom-pom earrings and bloom brooches are sure to look smashing with your Spring wardrobe!  (Or with your raincoat. Just being real here.)

Show some Oregon love with a mini pennant or magnet, or surprise someone special with a colorful felt flower hair clip or felt garland or tiny owl plushie.  All of Humble Design’s work is sure to please as gifts!

 

By Joanna Kurimsky

Our big Spring Art + Craft Market is just about a month away and we would love your help spreading the word to your friends, neighbors + social media followers! Below are some handy web graphics for you to use to spread the word online!

If you want actual printed posters + postcards to hand out you can swing by our retail shop in downtown Portland to pick them up.
Crafty Wonderland Shop
808 SW 10th Ave. in Portland
open 10am-6pm Mon - Sat, 11am-6pm Sun.

Check out the Facebook event for all the juicy details! We will be adding event updates there so stay tuned for more exciting additions! Note that we have Mosho the Cat Rapper lined up for a live performance and Meet + Greet with his cat Ravioli! We also have the Cat Adoption Team on hand with live kittens up for adoption!

Thanks for your support and see you on May 5th!
As usual, the amazing artwork used on our posters is done by Ryan Berkley of Berkley Illustration.

It's that time of year again!

Crafty Wonderland Spring Art + Craft Market
Saturday, May 5th from 11am-6pm
 at the Oregon Convention Center
777 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Portland, OR

Mark your calendars because on Saturday, May 5th Crafty Wonderland will fill a 60,000 sq. ft. hall at the Convention Center with over 225 of the best and brightest handmade vendors from the NW and beyond! We are excited to showcase such an amazing assortment to talent!

WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT AT THIS MEGA-WONDERLAND?

-ALL AGES! FREE ADMISSION!

-GOODIE BAGS to the first 200 people through the doors!

-MOSHO the CAT RAPPER performing and MEETING AND GREETING with his cat, DJ RAVIOLI! Performance at 2pm with meet + greet to follow. Check out his awesomeness on Instagram!

-LIVE KITTENS up for adoption from our friends at CAT ADOPTION TEAM! 

-GET YOUR CRAFT ON in the DIY AREA provided by our friends from COLLAGE! It's FUN and FREE!

-MAKE A FREE PAPER FLOWER CORSAGE with creative reuse materials - sponsored by the folks from SCRAP!

PLUS...MORE GOOD STUFF than you can wrap your brain around!


Check out the vendor lineup here.

RSVP and invite your friends with our official Facebook Invite!

We hope you can join us! You don't want to miss this - it's going to be HUGE!

BUY LOCAL! BUY HANDMADE!

We are pleased as punch to announce that March’s Artist of the Month is Emily Small, better known as Beetle Ink Co.!  

We challenge you to find work more charming than these nature-inspired, hand-drawn paper goods and stickers, rubber stamps and more.  For the cat-lovers in your life, look no further than these witchy animal-familiar designs on cards, prints or even framed original paintings!  

Help us usher in Spring with work by this wonderful artist!  Now that it’s finally time to dig your jean jackets out of the depths of your closet behind all those waterproofs and woolens, you can up your lapel pin game with a Beetle Ink Co. cactus pin (or 2)!

Originally from New Hampshire’s coast, Emily made her way to the Pacific Northwest (via Emerson College in Boston, where she earned her BFA in animation) and now calls Oregon home.  Portland is lucky to have snagged her as part of its maker community! Read on below to see what Emily had to say about her process and the local art scene:

Do you prefer to work collectively or alone?
To be honest, I find myself creating my favorite work alone. But don’t get me wrong, I love to collaborate! I often work with other local artists to make fun limited edition products and for local businesses to create custom designs and branding.

Do you like to participate in group art/craft events?  What do you like to do?
Whenever I have free time between my custom design jobs, personal artwork, and full-time job, I apply to vend at local craft fairs! When I’m not vending, you can find me perusing the booths at Crafty Wonderland fairs, Renegade craft fairs, Sundaze Collective events, Sunday Flea, Portland Night Market, or doodling away at Nucleus Gallery drink ‘n draw nights. I also work full time for the local record label/handmade goods store, Tender Loving Empire, which allows me to attend so many magical art and music events around Portland on the reg.

If you could influence a change in the art/craft world, what would it be?
Support local art! I hope to be an advocate for more community and less competition. I work with local artists and small businesses for all of my outsourced production needs and hope to inspire other makers to do the same. The more money and energy you put into your local community, the more it will flourish.

What is your favorite piece of public art in Portland and why?
I drive down MLK nearly every day and always notice the Fresh Paint murals! Fresh Paint is a collaborative project between Open Signal and the RACC which allows local artists to expand into new medias and grow their skills in a large scale and public space. Every few months, a new artist will paint over the existing mural and create something of their own!

Do you read the Mercury or the Willamette Week, the Skanner, the Oregonian?  Do you have a favorite column?
I follow WW on Facebook for local news and articles. And I always snag a Mercury for the things to do Music section! If you haven’t already listened to local songwriting angel, Haley Heynderickx, you totally should.

What app are you addicted to, happily or otherwise?
*sigh* Instagram, and who isn’t!? It’s such a time sucker, but the amazing artists I follow give me endless inspiration.

Any messages for the next generation of Portland DIY artists coming into their own?  
Slow down. Us makers aren’t machines made to pump out products left and right, we’re humans who can only do so much.  We have limitations and that’s okay! The art & maker world can be so competitive, fast-paced, and stressful. But you don’t have to be! Do you at your own speed.

Wise words and brilliant tips from a great local artist!  Come check out Emily’s work at the Crafty Wonderland shop or at her website, https://www.beetleinkco.com/ for some inspired and adorable work!  Or follow her on the addictive Instagram at @beetleinkco!

By Joanna Kurimsky