Find beautiful things at The Crucible this weekend

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Claire

I had a blast at Bazaare Bizarre last weekend and, now I’ve had a chance to recover a little, I’m gearing up for The Crucible Gifty this weekend!

I have much less prep to do this week, as I had to get most things done by last weekend, so I thought I’d share some of my favourite things from vendors who will be at The Crucible.

Twig Ring from Saara Reidsema

Sterling Silver and Moonstone Ring from Risto

Long Swirly Earrings from Lucy & Mabel

Stud Earrings from Kaya Sattva

These are just a handful of my favourites from the jewelry category, there are so many other amazing artists going, especially metal and glass workers. It’s a fair well worth checking out! See you there

Bazaar Bizarre this weekend!

Posted on November 30, 2012 by Claire

What better way to spend a horrible, wet, rainy weekend than cosy inside doing some Christmas shopping, buying from high quality, handmade, independent vendors all under one roof!? I can’t think of one either, so I’ll see you at Bazaar Bizarre?

I’ll be debuting most of my new designs that I started work on over the summer, here’s a peek at a few of them. They won’t be available anywhere else until January.

These Zig Zag Earrings are a new favourite of mine!

These Filigree Earrings are a new piece for my slowly growing Fae collection and will be available in several colours

The Waves Earrings are a rework of one of my very early pieces. They will be available in a few colours or to-order in any shade

Many of my fellow SF Etsy Team members will also be vending at Baz Biz and the team will be running a team booth again as well, like the one I helped at last year. Sadly I don’t have time to put together a guide of team members shops to show you, like I did last year, but here is a map showing where all the SF Etsy team members will be, put together by our team captain, Katy Atchison.

SFEtsy at Baz Biz Map

Shop with me in-person this December

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Claire

It’s that time of year again! If your gift list includes people who like jewelry (or you need a new piece to go with your party outfit) you’ll want to check out the 2 holiday craft shows I’m doing. While you’re there I’m sure you will be able to find gifts for everyone else on your gift list as well!

The first show I’ll be doing is Bazaar Bizarre on December 1st and 2nd at the Concourse. I know loads of my fellow SF Etsy Team members will also be there and there will also be a team booth!

The second is a show I did last year and loved – The Crucible’s Holiday Gifty in Oakland. This one is the weekend after; December 8th and 9th and is more than just a craft fair, with demonstrations of classes offered at The Crucible, such as glassblowing and blacksmithing!

Hope to see you there!

Inspiration – Unique SF

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Claire

Ok so my mind is still buzzing from the Unique SF show this weekend and today I’m feeling very much inspired by all the amazing artists I saw there!

Here is a small selection of some of it:

Enameled Earrings from Jenny Windler Jewelry

I’ve mentioned my love of enamel before, I’m definitely going to have to get the supplies and learn how to do this myself!

‘Detroit Diamonds’ Earrings from Corey Egan

Not only are these earrings beautiful and my favourite colour, they’re made with recycled, broken window glass

Laser Cut Wooden Earrings from Folia Designs SF

Stained Wooden Bangle from Voz Clothing and Art

I think I’ve mentioned my love of wood before, too! These laser cut designs are just my style and that combination of Sea Foam and wood is making me weak at the knees!

The quality of work at the show was incredible and I’d love to show you all of it but that will have to do for now

Unique SF

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Claire

If you follow me on Twitter you will know that I’ve been getting excited about and working hard for my first craft fair of 2012, which is coming up at the end of June!

The show started out in Los Angeles as Unique LA but this year, for the first time they’re coming to San Francisco! Here’s what they have to say for themselves:

“The largest curated, independent design show in the country is coming to San Francisco! You’ll get the rare chance to meet and shop directly from over 250 hand-selected designers and artists. The fun two-day shopping event makes it easy for you to buy local, discover great design and deals, join in community, and have a blast. Because the products at the show are proudly made right here in the USA, the money you spend goes right back into your local economy and community. With DJs, free drinks/photo booth portraits/DIY crafts, mini-massages in our lounge, and a great cafe with delicious food and sweet treats, it’s a great time for all – you’ll want to spend the weekend with us!”

I’m so honoured to have been accepted and I’ve been working on loads of new designs which you’ll be able to buy at Unique SF before you can get them online!

WHEN: June 30 & July 1 (Saturday & Sunday) // 11am – 6pm both days
WHERE: The Concourse Exhibition Center’s East Hall in the Design District (620 7th Street, at Brannan)

COST: $10 at the door or pre-sale online, wristbands are good for re-entry both days – 10% of all ticket sales go to the fantastic local non-profit organization 826 Valencia. (Kids 12 and under are free)

How to: Make Craft Fair Table Risers

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Claire

I’ve been promising you this post for a while now so I figured it was probably time I got on with it!

I made these table risers a few months ago when I designed the setup for my table. I knew I needed to provide some elevation for my table but I wanted to do that as cheaply as possible in a way that also looked good.

I’m not really a fan of draping a tablecloth over upturned boxes so I looked around for alternatives. Eventually I came up with these upright display pads but I still needed a way to raise them above the stuff in front of them. I also wanted to be able to use the table space behind/under the risers for my tools and supplies.

The idea was really simple, I bought some long planks of pine from Lowe’s (about 4 inches wide) and had them cut them into 2 foot sections for me. I also picked up a 2 inch wide piece and chopped it into 4 inch lengths.

To make each riser you take 2 planks 4 inches by 2 feet and 2 pieces 2 inches by 4 inches. You also need some nails, wood glue and a heavy duty hammer.
Glue the 2 large planks together along their longest sides and add a few nails to pin them together while the glue dries.
You will now have 2 sides of a box, one will be 4 inches high and the other will be a little higher thanks to the addition of the other plank. Make the higher side the front and the 4 inch side the top then attach the other 2 pieces of wood to provide supports at the back.

At this stage you can stain, paint or otherwise finish the risers however you choose. I used a dark walnut wood stain which picked out the grain in the pine nicely and enhanced the rustic look.

My risers are more than just mini shelves, though. They are also the means by which my upright display boards remain upright and there are a few more steps to follow if you want yours to do the same.

You will need a drill, nuts, bolts and some kind of corner bracket hardware with screws and holes in both sides. Bear in mind that you will be screwing into the back of your display pads so make sure your screws are short enough not to go all the way through to the other side, while still being large enough to not fit all the way through the holes in the bracket. Your bolts must also be able to fit through the holes but not all the way.
Screw the bracket into the middle of display pad so it aligns with the bottom. You don’t need to be very precise as the padding will even out any errors, I did mine by eye.
Stand the pad on the riser where you will want it to be when you’re all done and use a pen to mark where the holes are on the bottom half of your bracket.
Drill holes where you marked, using a drill bit slightly larger than your bolts.
That’s it, you can assemble it by standing the pad on the riser and aligning the holes. Put a bolt through each hole from the top and then screw it tight with a nut from underneath.

Please note that this setup is by no means professional quality and I have no qualifications and only limited experience in woodworking/construction. I am happy with the support this setup provides to my boards but I wouldn’t call it sturdy. I think it would be OK in windy conditions but could easily be pushed over by hand. I wouldn’t use it for any fragile items. If you have any questions feel free to post them below and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Crucible table setup

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Claire

I know its been a while since I did The Crucible craft show (December 10th and 11th) but I learnt a lot from my first fair and I made a few changes for The Crucible fair which I wanted to share with you. Not to mention The Crucible was definitely the fair I enjoyed the most and also the one I did best at so I like talking about it.

You can see the crazy machinery behind my table in this picture! The Crucible is a really cool venue which offers classes in things like blackmsithing and glass blowing.

There wasn’t a good place to hang my banner behind the table this time so I fixed it to the front of my table. Being as the fair was so close to Christmas I also added fairy lights to the table, I ran them along the back, just in front of my risers and you can also see them shining through the tablecloth. I liked them so much I think I will keep them as part of my display throughout the year!

I also printed a credit card sign, to make it even easier for people to know that I accept cards, as well as a sign for my social media information.

I wasn’t happy with the way my bracelets were displayed last time so I added another display board the perfect size for pinning bracelet across. I also tried out displaying bangles flat on the table instead of hanging from the twig.

I added a slatted soap tray to better display my stud earrings and I do think people found them easier to see like that. I did also make a catalogue in time for this show but I’m not sure there was any need for it at the fair. I’ll post about how I made it (simply and cheaply) in the next few weeks.

Of course I’m now thinking about which fairs to try this year and how I can improve (and maybe expand) my display. Lots of ideas in my head, I’ll share them when they’re ready

Last chance to shop before Christmas!

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Claire

No harm in buying gifts for yourself too!

Ok so today is the last day to place orders from my website or Etsy shop and be sure that they will arrive by Christmas.

You will still be able to place orders, so you can still buy a gift for yourself or someone you will be seeing after the holidays. After today I will be checking my shops and shipping out less frequently for a couple of weeks so please allow extra time for your items to arrive.

If you live in the Bay Area you do have one last chance to get hold of my jewelry before Christmas! I will be in the Haight on Saturday 17th December at the Designers and Artists Storefront popup shop.

Shop with Embergrass this December!

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Claire

After the success of my first craft fair I have decided to participate in a couple more, just in time for Christmas! So I thought I should probably share with you where I will be and when in case you want to stop by and buy something from me

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
December 10th and 11th

The Crucible Holiday Gifty in Oakland.
Saturday, December 10th – 12PM to 6PM
Sunday, December 11th – 12PM to 4PM
facebook event

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

December 17th

DNA Storefront: Holiday Popup Shop

The Storefront is open for all of the first 3 weekends in December but I will be there on

Saturday, December 17th – 12PM to 6PM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SF Etsy Team at Baz Biz

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Claire

I mentioned Bazaar Bizarre a few days ago and I said there were lots of members of the SF Etsy team vending there. Well there are and I’ve found a list of (hopefully) most of them so I am going to be able to share some of the awesome, locally made things you will be able to buy if you head down to Baz Biz this weekend.

I’ll start with jewelry, since that’s what this blog is mostly all about: