Gorgeous!!!
That was the weather this weekend at Art Star Craft Bazaar in Philadelphia, where I spent the weekend with my sweet, generous Mom. She helped me lug my block printed fabrics and home goods and display up the hill at Penns Landing, set the booth up with me, and even manned the iPad while I did way too much shopping at the other vendors’ booths.
Thanks, Mom!!
One of the things that was so exciting about Art Star, besides being my first two-day show and my first show in Philadelphia, was that it was the first opportunity to set up my booth that Dan and I have been working hard on for the past month! I wanted to have a space that was inviting and home-like, while also taming the visual clutter that can result from the many varied patterns and colors in my products.
I think we pulled it off! We started with a small table in the middle of the booth that breaks down for easy transport. We added two chairs on the side and a drum pendant above to create a little breakfast table area. I used coffee mugs as holders for my business cards, and added a simple pot of flowers- they looked pretty and also kept our table runner from blowing away.
On the left is a door that we found at a local flea market. We painted it green, added Bjarnum hooks from Ikea and hung our kitchen towels from doll clothes hangers. To continue our “Home Sweet Home” theme, we found two old windows from a different flea market, which Dan stained grey and finished, and to which I applied my fabric to the back side. Several people asked if we sold finished pieces like this, which surprised me, but definitely gives me something to think about!
I added a gallery on Flickr where you can see more pictures of the booth display, if you’re interested.
We definitely had a good time at the show! I loved so many of the vendors and their goods. I had more time to walk around and talk to people than I usually have at shows, and it was really wonderful. I got to catch up with talented folks that I’d met before, like Rachel of Red Prairie Press and Sara Lee Parker. I got to meet new folks too, like my new block printing kindred spirit (and new Philadelphia resident) Chanee of {me}longings studio, and Noelle from Xenotees.
There’s a funny story there. I’ve been wanting this one damn shirt from Xenotees for a while. Like a year or two. My husband, being a good man, looks on my Etsy favorites list to buy me Christmas and birthday presents. He has bought me at least two shirts from Xenotees, which are well on their way to being worn out, but not the one I had in mind. So… Happy Mother’s Day to me! The shirt is finally mine! I also got awesome shirts for the boys (will share photos before they manage to ruin them) and mother’s day presents for my lovely helper.
There were other things that I saw that I did manage to abstain from, at least for now. I loved this rocking horse from Sawyer Bee for our youngest, who is already a thrill seeker at 18 months old. There was jewelry from Interstellar Love Craft, and someone who was in the booth across from me, who I can’t remember right now, but I’ll make sure to look up and share.
So we had a great time, and loved our Philadelphia weekend at Art Star. Time to take a few days to rest, and then get back to work to get ready for the Delaware By Hand Members Show on May 26th!




Cut a piece of iron on hem tape that’s a little shorter (1 inch or so) than the width of your runner.
Cut a rectangle out of your fabric that’s the same length as the short side of your runner, and about 5″ wide. I used muslin here- anything will work, just so long as it doesn’t show through the front side of your runner and will stand up to the heat of your iron. (Yes, that is green paint on my ironing board cover…)
Fold your fabric over and press again. See how the fabric is close to but not touching the top edge?
Fold the bottom edge under and press again. Cut another piece of hem tape a little shorter than your fabric square, place under the bottom edge (or left edge, in the picture) and press again just like you did the top edge.
Cut a dowel rod a little shorter than the width of your runner. Don’t buy a dowel rod if you don’t have one. In my case, I found a random bamboo stake, so I used that. You could also use a paint stirrer, or even a piece of stiff cardboard, I bet.
Cut a length of ribbon, DMC thread, bakers twine, or whatever you’d like to a length that looks good to you. I liked the look of using three strands of thread in different shades of blue. I held the thread up to the runner and eyeballed the length. Just make sure you leave enough extra to tie knots. If you want a clean look without a ribbon or thread hanger, try using two small stick-on hooks to hang the runner instead.
Since I used three strands, I could just tuck the bamboo stake in between the stands above my knot, but if you were using one strand or piece of ribbon, you’d just tie it around your stake. If you find that the thread slips off your stake, you could hold it in place with a dot of glue, too.