Okay, okay. Enough is enough. Here’s a collection of handmade goodness that represents all things that are not snow, white or cold.  So draw your blinds and block out the memories of shoveling endless mounds of white and enjoy a taste of spring.

Wanna submit your own 5 handmade stops in a county or town or region of PA?  Just send five links to nick@pacrafts.org. from Kathleen Walck of Katydid & Kid and Melissa Strawser of Bertoia Studio.

1 – MADE Shop – Labeled a ‘SoHo-like arts and crafts store’ by the Morning Call, MADE Shop is co-owned by husband and wife team David Jones and Tess Doran. Expect a wide selection of trendy fashion and functional crafts. The shop is open six days a week from 11 am til 6 pm most days (don’t go on Tuesdays, that’s their day of rest). 277 W. Main St, Kutztown.

2 – Global Libations – If you’re doing these 5 stops in one day, you’ll want to make a pit stop here (its only a quarter mile from Made Shop so walk down). Organic coffee and baked goods plus a vegetarian menu. 21 E. Main St, Kutztown.

3 – Goggleworks Center for the Arts – 145,000 square feet of space dedicated to 34 artist studios, daily art courses, several galleries, revolving exhibition spaces and (perhaps a hidden gem) 130-seat movie theater. The center is impressive and deserves your time, so be prepared for two or three hours or exploring and discovering. 201 Washington St, Reading.

4 – Reading-Berks Guild of Craftsmen – Looking to join other crafters, crafts-men, crafts-women and like-minded lovers and makers of all things craft?  Reading-Berks guild is the largest and most active of the 15 chapters of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen. You don’t have to live in Berks county to get hooked up with this group. They meet monthly at the Goggleworks.

5 – Z-Town Made – Ztown Made is a small collective of artists living in Berks county.  Less a location, more a combined force in design, Ztown Made is made up of Sara Smedley, Melanie Linder Design, Skylark Studio, Clothesline and Chez Sucre Shez.

Where would you go from here? What are groups stand out in the area? Share your favorite handmade stops around Berks county in the comment section below.

I recently shared some craft show etiquette tips on the Pennsylvania Guild’s blog and thought this would be a great one to get additional advice from HiP-sters.  Here are 7 new tips for newcomers and veterans of the craft show world. Be sure to share your tips in the comments.

1. Be you. People are buying you as much as your work.
2. Stay awake and never look preoccupied. No reading. No napping. No txting, tweeting or phone calls. You should always be available when there’s a question.
3. If you are bored and looking for something to do, re-arrange items in your booth. It draws attention to your work.
4. Say thank you when someone compliments your work. Compliments can turn into sales.
5. Always greet people who walk into your booth. A simple ‘hello’ breaks the ice.
6. Small comments can open big discussion. Such as ‘do you know what that’s for?’
7. Always smile. If you’re unhappy, fake it.

So what are your tips?  Share them in the comments below!

A recent post about the culture of cheap on the new Crafting an MBA blog got me thinking – A LOT – about the importance of talking about handmade and its essential role in our lives.

As craft-makers and lovers, we sometimes think the act of making a craft is the most important part of then selling it.  But, it’s essential that you talk about the story behind the piece: inspiration, materials chosen, process, setbacks, resolution, etc.  Tara Gentile has great insight on the PA Crafts blog today about sharing your space in pictures.

The story of the work’s creation is why someone wants to buy the piece. Sure they may want to buy it simply because its red and matches their shoes.  But that story is why I, for example, bought a $30 woodturned dish for my son’s first food bowl instead of a $1 piece of plastic.  I want it to last, I want it to matter and I want to care about what it is.  I didn’t want it to just fill my immediate need of having a bowl.

I want us all to commit to talking about craft more often, more openly, being open about pricing and explaining the real cost of handmade goods.

If you’re a craft-maker and have neighbors or friends or family members that don’t know what you do, tell them what you do. Show them how you do it! And state why your work costs what it does. It’ll go a long way. If you love craft, share it. Make the norm to give handmade and include a business card of the maker. It connects the person behind the work with its new home.

Yes, handmade craft costs more than plastic junk (or craft imports), but its actually a real cost. It pays a living wage. Not just a ‘fair trade’ wage but a living wage. And one worth paying.

Thanks for listening to my little rant.  I hope you share in the comments below about your thoughts on the subject.  I’m leaving you with this video from Craft Scotland called ‘The C Word.’ I hope it’ll inspire you to share your craft.

2010 is not meant for Pennsylvania football.  Not so good.  Since neither is going to be in the Super Bowl, start a new annual tradition.

Take this challenge from Wendy Edsall-Kerwin and make a bowl on Super Bowl Sunday.  She made a bowl last year as a challenge to herself and this is Wendy’s challenge to you…

This year, I challenge you to join me!  You can make your bowl out of metal, wood, plastic, bread, papier-maché, anything that you want.

I want you to have plenty of time to come up with an idea.  The bowl can be started before the 7th, but it should be finished (if possible) on the actual Sunday.  There’s plenty of time before kick-off to work on your bowl, so don’t worry about missing the game.  You might even be able to use your bowl for chips or dip if you plan right!

There is a Super Bowl Challenge 2010 Flickr group set-up where we can display our finished products and I’ll showcase some of them right here on my blog.  There is also a Super Bowl Challenge Facebook event page and, if you have your own blog, show us the progress of your bowl and we can link to each other.  And make sure to tell your friends, too.  The more the merrier!

So put on your thinking caps, start designing, and set aside February 7th, 2010 to make your own Super Bowl.

Remember: after you make your bowl, take a picture and upload it to the Super Bowl Challenge 2010 Flickr group.  I’ll share the work later on so everyone can see the great creations.

The bowls shown are:

1. Bud Hohlfeld (Doylestown)
2. Wendy Edsall-Kerwin (Elizabethtown)
3. Umelecky (Punxsutawney)

three gifts that were under my Christmas tree

brown leather journal by green trike press

original watermedia painting ‘marilla’ by sean huntington

casserole by mike yoder

all handmade in Pennsylvania and loved…does my guy have good taste or what?

This post is exclusively for you to share what you’ll be doing this weekend around the commonwealth.  Whether you’re planning time in the studio, a craft show stop or long weekend out of town.  Share with us.  And share your work on HiP’s group pool on Flickr.

I, for one, am heading to the Farm Show in Harrisburg.  I hope to walk my one-year-old around to see the sheep, alpacas and rabbits (here’s the for kids page).  Then I’ll make a necessary stop over at the food court for milkshakes.  And then maybe those fresh cut fries.

What else is there to do in Harrisburg while I’m there?

Use the comments section below to share your plans, shows or thoughts.

Wanna submit your own 5 handmade stops in a county or town or region of PA?  Just send five links to nick@pacrafts.org.

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I lived in Tyler State Park in Bucks county for 3 years.  I don’t miss the traffic, but there’s a couple places I miss…

1 - Nakashima Woodworking Studio – George Nakashima was a true furniture innovator and one of the father of the American craft movement.  This working studio will inspire anyone regardless of your craft.  They have open studio hours on the weekend.  Make a point to stop.

2 - Fonthill Castle & Moravian Tileworks – Fonthill is the concrete mansion of Henry Mercer and it is wildly eccentric.  Every inch is covered in ornamentation and Mercer’s distinct tiles (his tiles adorn the State Capitol).  I loved discovering his dog’s paw prints in the concrete floor.

3 - Pineville Tavern – they make a mean ravioli in-house by hand… yummy.  Built in 1742, this place has charm, a great beer selection and fantastic food.

4 – New Hope – this river town has a lively night life, a bunch of galleries in all sizes and is home to the band Ween.  This destination can be a day trip in itself with its indie record shop, boutiques and bars.

5 - Ringing Rocks – ok this has nothing to do with handmade… bring a hammer and knock out some hands-on tones at this 128-acre park.  A fun place to hike and discover some great natural oddities.

Where would you go from here? Share your favorite handmade stops in Bucks county in the comment section below.

I met Lisa Dawn White of Full Moon Flowers at the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts this summer while strolling down Allen Street. Her amazing botanical collages were so intriguing I was drawn into her booth for a closer look, and I’m glad I was. I had a chance to chat with Lisa recently and asked her what she felt was working for her, and she had several tips she was willing to share.

In addition to collecting and creating all the materials used in her work, creating collages, running an etsy shop, and doing several shows a year, Lisa works full-time as a research manager at Penn State University. Needless to say, time and efficiency is really critical for her to keep all the balls in the air and have a sense of balance too.

“I’ve been doing this for 5 years, but this is really the first year that I felt like I had any efficiency in making and marketing my work. It’s nice to be able to not only save time, but have some inspiration left at the end of the day.”

Lisa has found that by dividing up the year into different focused activities, she saves time and energy. She primarily uses the winter months to create her collages and jewelry. Summer is spent harvesting her botanical materials and doing shows. And fall is when she works on creating her own paper, another vital aspect to her original work.

“I found it hard to balance creating new work, collecting plant materials, and doing shows all at the same time. Now I plan in advance to keep things more balanced.”

She also found that working on a series of pieces that use the same components, but are different in size and composition, helps her keep materials organized, saves time, yet keeps each item unique.

Because Lisa does a lot of shows, she purchased a truck to use specifically for shows. She keeps this packed with her show set up materials, tent, etc. to save time. Now it only takes 30 minutes to pack up for a show, and she adds, “I have fewer trips to the chiropractor too!”

Lisa’s upcoming shows are the Chestnut Hill Fall for the Arts on October 4th, Centre Furnace Mansion Stocking Stuffer Sale December 3-5th, and the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen Winter Crafts Market in Boalsburg December 5-6th.

Do you have a tip to share about:

• Your process
• Finding inspiration
• Time management
• Advertising
• Marketing your work
• Networking
• Working with clients/customers
• Finding resources for your work

If you do, and you would like to share it through Handmade in PA, contact me!

Elizabeth Sterling and her husband John market their one-of a kind furniture and jewelry boxes at shows in the Northeast and Midwest, through their web site, and their etsy shop, so wabi sabi. Elizabeth shares her life and love of all things handmade, homemade, and homegrown in her blog so wabi sabi.

A day doesn’t go by where Tara or Jan doesn’t show me something new in the one of the handmade markets that makes me me think “Oh, that would look so marvelous with a skirt I just made!” or “isn’t that a cute hair clip, I could see a little girl wearing that with one of my sundresses!” Wouldn’t it be fun to see more styling of products together in that way? Table settings, fashion, home decor…… All PA artists working together for good!

Of course, with the growing friendships encouraged by sites like Handmade in PA, you never know what can happen when artists start sharing their thoughts. This is what happened when Gina, from Avocado Creations (Middletown), and I began following each others lives…

I adopted a foundling that she has been bottle feeding since she was deposited on her porch at the tender age of a week old. We have named her Mae Belle :-)

So let’s find a way to do more collaborating! You never know what special things might happen!

Rosie Nevius is the owner of Rosie’s Whimsy, a unique line of casual, comfy clothing meant to make you look & feel good. She has been a professional seamstress and designer for over 30 years. She’s also my mom!