Changes afoot
Posted by Leah on Jun 28, 2007
The Pleasanton Craft Mafia is now the Pacific Coast Mestieri, and will represent artists and crafters all over California. We will still be hosting fabulous shows full of handmade art and craft throughout the greater bay area, so it’s really just the name that’s changed. Hope to see some of you at the Summer Splash in August in Pleasanton!
Pleasanton Craft Mafia Summer Splash
Posted by Leah on Jun 18, 2007
I’m very excited to announce that the Pleasanton Craft Mafia is doing a late summer show in Pleasanton on August 25th. This show is going to be a blast, as all PCM shows are, and will feature art and craft work by many of the very talented craft mafiosas I’ve featured on my blog over the last couple of weeks.
Details are on the Pleasanton Craft Mafia website.
You won’t want to miss it!
One more Southbay Soiree artist
Posted by Leah on Jun 17, 2007
Joanna, another craft mafiosa, showed her original drawings and paintings at the southbay soiree.
Here’s a shot of her booth:
I wish I had gotten a good close-up of some of her work, because it’s really hard to see all the detail in her drawings from this shot. You can see her work on her website though, www.joannacrawshaw.com.
Designs by a Hummingbird
Posted by Leah on Jun 14, 2007
Here’s some fun jewelry from another Pleasanton Craft Mafia member, Jeannine of Designs by a Hummingbird:
Jeannine’s work is colorful, fun, and often intricately beaded as you can see in the photo. She also does metalwork combining different metals, such as copper with silver.
Here’s a shot of her booth from the show:
Chel’s mixed media art
Posted by Leah on Jun 13, 2007
This photo shows a sampling of Chel’s mixed media art (and one of her dolls). In addition to creating art, Chel founded the Pleasanton Craft Mafia and a large organization for mixed media artists called ZNE. She is definitely multi-talented! Scroll down a few posts for a link to her doll-blog story about the Southbay Soiree a few weeks ago….
Dreams and Jewelry
Posted by Leah on Jun 12, 2007
Andrea of Dreams and Jewelry made these beautiful earrings with a verdigris patina:
She was selling her beautiful enamel jewelry along with patinated metal creations like these earrings at the Southbay Soiree. I didn’t get a good picture of her enamel work, unfortunately, but you can see some of it on her dreams and jewelry website. Andrea is a metalsmith, so most of her jewelry is completely handmade from sheet metal, with either a patina or enamel adding color to her pieces.
Make a Scene Photography
Posted by Leah on Jun 11, 2007
This beautiful box was on display at the South Bay Soiree. Anni of Make a Scene Photography mounts her photographs on wood boxes like the one shown here. I think they would make great jewelry boxes! She also makes small books, and of course sells photographic prints. I believe she’s available for event photography too.
I tried to get a good shot of her table, but she was by a window which made all the pictures look dark. I did get this shot that shows a little bit more of the variety in her photographic work though:
Villain Accessories
Posted by Leah on Jun 8, 2007
At last weekend’s South Bay Soiree, I got to meet Brandi of Villain Accessories. She makes lovely beaded jewelry, and loves cloisonne beads. I love her company slogan: Villain Accessories “Because being beautiful makes you the bad guy.”
Here is a shot of part of her display, a tree-like piece with lots of pretty chain necklaces hanging from the branches:
And here’s a shot of her whole table - as you can see, she does some really nice multistrand necklaces:
I especially love how she showcased a long necklace on a bust wearing a satiny top, so you can see how her jewelry would go with a dressy outfit.
Craft Links
Posted by Leah on Jun 7, 2007
Just a few links to some stuff I’ve been checking out around the web this week:
Crafty Daisies -
Learn to Crochet, Lesson 3. This lesson has links to videos demonstrating some common stitches, like shell stitch, that are slightly more complicated than the basic single and double crochet stitches.
Jeannine of Designs by a Hummingbird reviewed me. thanks Jeannine!
Andrea finds all kinds of great handcrafted work, and features it on the Anything Indie blog. She recently posted about a few of my fellow Pleasanton Craft Mafia members, as well as some very talented people I hadn’t heard of before.
Craft in America 3-part documentary - haven’t seen it, but it was shown nationally on PBS stations last week. I’m hoping to catch it in reruns and see what all the buzz is about!
Pleasanton Craft Mafia now has a blog, updated (almost) daily with fun features, like meet a member, local art/craft workshops, information about shows members are participating in, and more.
Ellie at the South Bay Soiree
Posted by Leah on Jun 5, 2007
I’ll post some pictures of my own from the south bay soiree eventually, but in the meantime, check out Chel’s adorable photo-journal of her doll, Ellie, checking out everyone’s goods!
