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A sampling of what you can find in my booth at the Four Corners Art and Artisan Festival, in Tiverton, Saturday July 19, 10-4. 
New coin pouches.
Wallets with handmade buttons from Rising Sun Earthworks.
Crayon rolls
Custom order baby shoes. Sizes newborn--12 months.
Knitting and crochet organizers.
New wristlet clutches.
Knitting project bags.
Wet bags
Large variety of snack bags.
Mesh produce and beach toy bags.
Cosmetic bags
Even some sale items!!!
There will also be an assortment of tote bags and two strands of fabric bunting. I hope to see you there!!
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This Saturday I will have a tent at the Four Corners Art and Artisan Festival in Tiverton, RI. This event is one day only, July 19 from 10-4 (rain date July 20 but the forecast looks beautiful!!) According to my festival materials, there are at least 62 artisan vendors exhibiting. There is also the yummiest local food truck you'd ever hope to sample from Acacia Cafe. I'll have two new products making their debut! 
Wristlet clutch with zipper closure, two inside pockets and a detachable wrist strap. $35. 
Canvas coin pouch. Zipper closure, coordinating lining, and a swivel lobster claw clip to attach the bag to your keyring or larger bag. $15. Come out and join us in a beautiful country setting to support local artists and artisans. We would love to see you!
Image from http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/originals/b2/b7/6a/b2b76a0ff7d1acf9cde7e4bf06cc4cbe.jpg via Pinterest.
Are you a subscriber to my email newsletter? About once a month I send an update that will list any new products as well as locations of upcoming festivals, markets and fairs. Sometimes there is a coupon code. I promise not to overload your inbox. Honest and for true. Once a month. That's it. Send me an email at karenkatin [at] yahoo [dot] com if you are interested! 
My booth sign hanging at the Aquidneck Growers Market last year.
I'm a sucker for a beautiful print magazine. Especially a crafting one. If it's main focus is sewing? Forget it. There are two magazines to which I subscribe (and will share at a later date), but today I'm going to share the ones I buy here and there whenever I find myself in Barnes and Noble with a gift card. Inevitably, they are British publications. The aesthetic is simply gorgeous, which makes me look the other way when I see the price sticker. The first is "Mollie Makes." I've toyed with subscribing to this one for over a year, but haven't yet. My procrastination has paid off because they are now publishing a US version that will be far less expensive. Each issue comes with a gift, usually a small hand crafting kit. This magazine has a broad range from sewing to knitting to paper crafts. The artwork is just lovely. 
Another title that caught my eye recently is called "Craftseller." I bought it in the name of business research (wink wink). This magazine goes so far as creating tutorials for things that you can make and sell yourself. It's fun to see everything listed in pounds instead of US dollars. Other business advice I found lacking, based on my experiences thus far, and found that their pricing suggestions were really low, not factoring in labor at all. While not very useful for what I aim to accomplish with my business (only 2 sewing tutorials), the images and styling are very inspiring to me, design-wise. Nearly all craft magazines not only contain detailed instructions for creating the items shown, they often include a template section at the back that you can either cut out and use as-is, or enlarge to the directed percentage and copy for use. Very handy! 
The price is enough to make you pause. Better Homes and Gardens craft magazines are far less expensive. But, the writing, photography and overall look of these magazines is far different. 
The last British crafting magazine I will share with you today is my favorite, aesthetically. This is called "Prima Makes." The cover hooked me with the color palette. 
The layout of the tutorials and recipes is clear, beautifully styled and most were relevant to me either directly or as inspiration for other projects I might tackle. 
One article that had me dreaming was a travel guide to crafting workshops held in various picturesque locations throughout Europe. It is also the least expensive of the three...bonus. All of these publications are available at Barnes and Noble, in case you would like to pick up a copy of your own.
Do you have a favorite crafting magazine? There is much sewing going on to fill orders and prepare for the upcoming Four Corners Art and Artisan Festival July 19th in Tiverton, RI. (Stop by if you are local--10-4!)  Produce and wet bags. There is also much work in the garden. Now that the initial planting is done, some harvesting has begun (peas and raspberries), and the weeds are starting to feel way too comfortable, keeping me busy.  About half of the vegetable garden is shown here, there are more flower and herb patches around the property (all in need of weeding!) Apologies for the crummy picture...I need to stop taking phone pics... With all that time in the garden, plus my commitment to designing eco-friendly alternatives to plastic, it should be no surprise that I am a long-time subscriber to Organic Gardening magazine.  Imagine my surprise when I turned to this page in the current summer issue.   Very cool article! Natalie Chanin is a designer in Alabama committed to using organic cotton fabric. The article used the phrase "wearable sustainability," which is new to me. In order to make her process more sustainable, she wanted to be able to source the cotton locally, not buy it from Texas. In my eyes, that's pretty amazing to be able to buy organic cotton from within the US, but reducing the carbon emissions from the shipping process is commendable. The premise of the article is that she planted 6 acres of cotton, grew and harvested it with the help of volunteers to prove that you could grow organic cotton in her state.
This makes me think that it doesn't take millions to make a difference. Just one person. Which inspires me to keep doing what I'm doing and to continue striving for even more sustainability. I will not likely add cotton to my vegetable garden here in Rhode Island, but I do want to start moving away from polyester fabric. That would mean fewer fabric choices in my product line, maybe a slight increase in final retail price. What are your thoughts on sustainable sewing?? |
Karen KatinAs co-owner of Stitchery in Portsmouth, RI, I teach sewing classes to children and adults. Welcome to my blog Dancing Threads RI.  Archives
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