HHD in the press, and Thank You!

First off, we would like to thank our awesome sponsors, kick-ass volunteers, our wonderful vendors, and all 1800+(!!) of our lovely guests for making our first event so fantastic. The entire committee was completely blown away by the response, and this is definitely not the last you're going to hear of the Handmade Ho Down!

We've also have a review in Ashcan magazine's online issue! Thanks again and keep in touch - we'll keep the blog alive and keep us updated on any and all craft-tastic news! Have a great holiday!

Love,

the Handmade Ho Down (Too Live) Crew!

What you callin Ho Bag?

The Handmade Ho Down (Too Live) Crew is excited to present to you,  a new term in the Official Handmade Ho Down Dictionary of Cool Slang.

HO BAG.

a Ho Bag is a stylish, eco-friendly alternative to shopping bags, that let's everyone around you know, that you not only buy Bay Area local goods from your Bay Area local artists and craftisans, you also care about supporting DrawBridge- a Bay Area Local charity organization that helps underprivileged youth.

Ho Bags are also a great carrier for all your amazing finds at the Handmade Ho Down. not to mention a must have accessory while avoiding the maddening dis-spirited frenzy at your nearby shopping mall. (but if you happen to find yourself at one, these bags are so roomy you can fit lots of ripped off heads!) (ok that was gross!).

we came up with a list of ways you can use a Ho Bag:

• perfect for carrying groceries
• it avoids the use of wasteful plastic bags
• how could you look any cuter?
• great for storing knitting projects
• one-upping forever 21, as they don't have the Handmade Ho Down Ho Bag design on any of their bags
• sneaking popcorn, snacks, and beer into the movie theater
• picnics!
• diaper bag
• a sweet and charitable way to present a gift
• to carry wine bottles at your next holiday party
• trips to the library
• lug around heads you have chopped off while shopping at the mall instead of Handmade Ho Down
• let everyone know that you were at the very first Handmade Ho Down!
• cat/small dog carrier
• its an old tradition to have a "carry all" dating back the 17th century
  
• put over your head when running into your ex!
• collect pine cones on walks outside
• frame it and hang on the wall 
• use to hide behind when the scary parts come on tv
• when in a crowd, you can use a ho bag to wave at your peeps so they know where you are!
• A Ho Bag is a retro comeback from the stylish fashion of wearing a "tote" while shopping in the 40's
• buying one means you have contributed to DrawBridge, who bring art awareness to thousands of children in the Bay Area who deserve to see the beauty in their lives, despite their situations

these Ho Bags are exclusive to the Handmade Ho Down 2009 event, happening TOMORROW, December 3rd at 1015 Folsom St. San Francisco.


Ho Bags are $5 each, and proceeds benefit DrawBridge. how can you resist? sign me up for 6.

Drawbridge Raffle

There are many amazing things about the Handmade Ho Down show (photo booth, DJ's, live art, booze, amazing vendors) but one of my favorites is the charity Raffle benefiting Drawbridge (read more here). Thanks to the generous donations of vendors and some of our sponsors (Brainwash and Magnolia Photo Booth to be exact) we have some pretty kick ass items ranging from jewelry to gift certificates to undies (yep underwear). Raffle tickets will be 1 for $2, 3 for $5, 6 for $10 for all items except, the photo booth, which will be 1 ticket for $5 and 5 tickets for $20.

So make sure to check out a few of the items below so you can scope out what you really want and don't forget to check out the list of vendors who have donated items. Thank you!

Shaya Durbin Jewelry Eristotle

Red Stem

Meghan Patrice Riley

Petula Poppy

JennyKim

fieldday

aManoPress

Vivi Dot

Alloneword

Gemini Designs

CC Star

Newsprout

Mangosteen Jewelry

Invisible Hero Clothing

Earth Cultured

Vintage Oddities

Squishy Sushi

Gooseberry Press

transient*treasures

Taryn Lin Design

tickytacky

bubbles and boo

mama's magic studio

Satin Corset

Kendra Renee Jewelry Design

Gabriella Designs

The Enchanted Square

bathing in luxury

Pomegranate Ink

Pushcart Design

Monkey + Seal

Local Colorist

Picture Yourself Inside the MAGNOLIA PHOTO BOOTH!

Just when we thought this event couldn't get any cooler, Magnolia Photo Booth jumps in and pumps it up another notch!

The Magnolia Photo Booth Co. combines the classic privacy and spontaneity of the photo booth with the latest in professional digital studio photography to make sure the fun comes fast and the memories last.

So, what can we expect from the MAGBOOTH at the Handmade Ho Down?

Not only will there be an attendant who will bring along a variety of props and accessories (I am so being a pirate!); but we'll also be able to get in the booth as many times as we want and take home hundreds of photos that print in under 15 seconds a pop!

Everyone will also be able to view the event photos, order re-prints, or download files to make their own prints on the magnolia website!

Use of the photo booth are entirely complimentary, but there will be a tip jar for all to show your appreciation. Portions of Magnolia Photo Booth will go towards DrawBridge, so be sure to tip your Photo Booth attendant!

What's more, Magnolia has really stepped up by donating a $1000 gift certificate for our charity raffle to go towards a MAGBOOTH for your own event! Wow, Magnolia has proven they love our community and we LOVE Magnolia!

So, I guess the only question we have left is, "How many Handmade Ho Down crew members can we fit into a MAGBOOTH?"

Meghan Patrice Riley, handmade fine jewelry

"Making jewelry is the best job in the world" says Meghan Patrice Riley. She learned her craft by taking classes everywhere and apprenticing with a fine jewelry maker. Her "other job" is working with nonprofits and government agencies to provide housing to low-income families - exactly in line with making handmade things and supporting locally made goods.

The Mission is her favorite neighborhood for tossing one back. And the drink of choice is a Kombucha - tasty and fizzy! Singing Radiohead's "Creep" is her Karaoke song. She dreamed of fighting ghosts with Slimer.

What is the craziest gift you have ever received?

I was surprised with a wax pen by my amazing fiance. It's great! I can sculpt in wax more easily with this tool.

Which one song describes your life the best? Why?

Mad World by Tears for Fears. It's has a depressing sentiment which I would say is not an echo of my life, but I absolutely love this song. I work a lot, am involved with a lot of projects and I run around a bit "mad."

We are beyond excited to have Meghan vend at our show, can't wait to see you in her booth!

Jenny Kim, custom jewelry.

Jenny Kim, of San Mateo California, has been making jewelry since 2004. Her pieces are original, delicate, feminine and hold a the eye with their organic shapes and beautiful finish.

How did you get started on Etsy/Making things?

I've been making art in various forms since before nursery school. My first "mural" was a crayon portrait of my family in my childhood bedroom. In the third grade, I began selling mini-picture and puzzle books to classmates for the going-rate at the time of 50 cents apiece. I was a student in the Advanced Placement Studio Art Program at a Los Angeles-city high school, taking nine semester-courses of art before graduating.



Years after finishing an undergraduate degree unrelated to the arts, my instinctive urge to make pretty things with my hands cried out again, and I began taking metalsmithing courses at the City College of San Francisco, in the evenings after my long workdays. Metal immediately became my favorite medium. I have a hard, edgy side to my personality, juxtaposed against an equally-present soft, sensitive, and sensual side. Working in metal, and particularly creating organically-inspired forms with the lost-wax casting method, spoke to me like no other medium had in the past. I have now been creating jewelry and metalwork on a full-time basis since 2007.

What does buying and selling local handmade mean to you, and how has it affected your life?

Buying and selling locally handmade products means that I am supporting my neighbors, my community, and my local economy. I have also purchased items that were locally made in places where friends and family live to give as gifts. For example, I've made an effort to buy handmade products from artisans in, say, Seattle, to give as a gift to my sister who lives in that city, with a note: "This was handmade in Seattle. Just supporting your local artisans."

Crafty Girl 05

Jeanine DeSoto creates colorful bright quilts and pillows in her adorable shop Crafty Girl 05.

How did you learn your craft?
First I started sewing fleece blankets with store bought binding, which slowly progressed into quilts and now pillow cases.

How did you get started on Etsy/Making things?
I saw etsy on a yahoo article of the top stay at home jobs and from there decided to give it a try. I started sewing after my grandma passed away and inherited her sewing machine, one day I decided to go to the fabric store and try to make a blanket I had seen for my self.

Where's your favorite neighborhood to toss one back?
I enjoy hanging out in Clayton, California, this small community has my favorite essentials; hair salon, dog groomer, coffee, and good sandwich shop.

Did you have a crush on a TV character when you were little? Spill it!
Yes, of course it would have to be Dylan McKay from 90210.

Kendra Renee Jewelry Design

How did you get started on Etsy/Making things?
I learned how to work with silver from a jewelry artist in Boston. I became an addict, and knew I wanted to own my own jewelry design business. I began amassing quite a collection of tools, and started producing my own line.

What inspires your creations?
I think about jewelry all the time. I am inspired by many things- the simplest of which are the tools I work with every day. I find architecture and mechanical objects to be incredibly beautiful (I kind of drool over the Bay Bridge) but I am also inspired by regularity in natural objects, like the spirals formed at the center of a sunflower.

What does buying and selling local handmade mean to you, and how has it affected your life?
I try to do it as much as I can because I truly appreciate all who have done it for me. They have made it possible for me to do what I love, all day, every day.

As this is a charity event for DrawBridge, give us some insight on how you personally, or your shop, gives back to your community.
I am pumped that the Ho Down is working with Drawbridge, they sound like an amazing organization, and I am proud to donate some of my work to their benefit. I am really new to this community and I am looking for other ways to give back too.

If you were invisible for one day and could go anywhere without being detected, where would you go and what would you do?
I would visit to Louvre at night when there was nobody there to get in my way of the Mona Lisa. (I have night vision too, right?)

Dee & Lala

So, who's Dee and who's Lala?

Christen Cutrona is "Dee". A family nickname that was shortened from Christie Dee (a name literally given to her by her older sister the day she was born). A proud mom of one, owner and creative director of designeka, a boutique graphic design studio.

Mable Lee is "Lala". With an affinity for all things paper, she took a letterpress class and fell deeper in love with the paper arts. A few years and 7 presses later, she is the brains, muscle and proprietor of Lala Press, a design and custom letterpress studio located Los Angeles.

When Christen and Mable met in a design group in 2007, they knew immediately a collaboration was in the future and shortly thereafter, Dee&Lala was hatched!


Together these two produce some extremely fantastic letterpress cards and wall prints. You can find Dee&Lala's original artwork on their letterpress wares in over 200 stores across the US and abroad.

Here Christen answers a few random questions from the HHD crew.

What do the holidays mean to you?
A time to step back and spend quality time with family and friends.


What inspires your creations?
The observation of life and it's wonderful little quirks.

If you had to be an animal for one week, which animal would you choose to be? And what would you do?
No question, a bird. Who doesn't want to fly?

What's your favorite drink?
Coffee. I've been drinking coffee since I was 5.

Did you have a crush on a TV character when you were little? Spill it!
Randolph Mantooth from Emergency 1. Crazy.

Mangosteen Jewelry

"The East Bay Express described me as "public interest lawyer and mega-traveler."
I like that. In my day job I work for a non-profit that helps people and communities become & remain economically secure." -- Gabrielle Lessard, of Mangosteen Jewelry.

How did you learn your craft?

I'm learning all the time. I started beading and have gradually moved to more work with metal & wire. I am just getting into metal clay & enamels. I have taken several classes at the Crucible in Oakland & recommend it highly: www.thecrucible.org

As this is a charity event for DrawBridge, give us some insight on how you personally, or your shop, gives back to your community.

My 'day job' is as a public interest lawyer for a non-profit, the Insight Center for Community Economic Development. I get to work with lots of other non-profits that are doing amazing work in thier communities.

Also, I have another business where I purchase hand-crafted items from organizations that help artisans in the developing world develop thier businesses and market their products. Most are fair-trade certified; one works with survivors of human trafficking. www.mangosteenoakland.com

Gooseberry Press

After working for years in scientific research at various universities Nina started Gooseberry Press to pursue her love of art and design. She loves vintage fabric & ribbon, funky color combinations and is crazy about pattern. Most days you can find her in the studio trying to get some work done, staring at fabric swatches and "coloring" in Adobe Photoshop as she pleads with her cat Jules to "stop helping" and get off of the keyboard. She dreams of traveling around the world to "research" more cities... for work of course.


If you had to be an animal for one week, which animal would you choose to be? And what would you do?

I would choose to be an Emperor Tamarin. Ever since my daughter and I first saw them at the San Francisco Zoo we make it a point to visit them whenever we are over there. They are such cheeky little things. They look like little Dr. Seuss characters - you know which one? The Lorax! They look like they are always having such a good time jumping from branch to branch...I wish I could do that all day.

If your life was a book, what would be the title and how would your story end?

A Perfect Circle. I think that if my story would end with me surrounded by my family and I could think back on all of the things that I wanted to do and truthfully say I tried my best to accomplish them - I would be happy.

Meet Bubbles and Boo

Meet Louise Bedsworth, the designer at Bubbles and Boo, based out of Oakland, Ca. She creates fun, functional products for stylish and creative moms and kids, including project and tote bags, fabric strorage buckets, and children's clothing.

What inspires your creations?

I love fabric and pattern - and, I have a ton of it! So, mostly, I guess that I would say that I am inspired by great fabric. I also tend to look at things and think, "I can make that." - even if there is really no way that I probably could. So, I tend to try a lot of

things. While I have been sewing for our kids and our home for a while, I think that my husband is glad that I am finally working through some of my fabric stash.

How did you learn your craft?

I am fairly self-taught. My roommate in grad school got an old sewing machine and this fabulous stash of fabric (left from one of her grandparents who was a tailor/seamstress). She helped me make my first skirt ( a cute little plaid number) and then I went from there.

What does buying and selling local handmade mean to you, and how has it affected your life?

I love to buy something from the person who made it. It has been great to see more and more people selling handmade items locally through street fairs, farmers'

markets, etc.. I also have to say, it has been really inspiring to me.

As this is a charity event for DrawBridge, give us some insight on how you personally, or your shop, gives back to your community.

These days, most of my time is given back through work with environmental agencies and on environmental issues. It was great to read about DrawBridge - it sounds like a terrific organization and one that I would love to support and get involved with.

Taryn Lin Design: Urban Chokers and Metal Arts

Welcome Taryn Bilstein of Taryn Lin Designs! Taryn uses her skills in the metal arts, making unique and urban chokers, earrings and rings.

Which one song describes your life the best? Why?

"Put the Blame on Mame. It may not describe my life but its a great song. I'm not sure I would

want to be Mame and be blamed for the worlds disasters but, she has a lot of power that way."

How did you learn your craft?

"Made it up along the way and took classes in metal arts."

What inspires your creations?

"Everything really but looking at all the latest runnway creations

on line is very inspiring."

If you were Barack Obama for one full day, what would you do with your presidential power?

"I would tell the GM factory they had to start making high speed trains and public transit. Put people back to work."

What does buying and selling local handmade mean to you, and how has it affected your life?

"Well selling local handmade means a lot of fun. I have a great time selling the things I make and its makes me happy."

Linda Yu, of YUL Designs: Gemstones anyone?

Two decades of collecting fine gemstones and jewelry evolved into a passion for jewelry making, and voila, YUL Designs was born! Meet Linda Yu: she loves to work with beautiful gemstones and see them transformed into wearable pieces.

If money were no object for just one day, what would you do?

"Go ga ga over at Harry Winstons, Tiffany's, Cartier, and Mikimoto and come home with enough bling to fill up a bathtub and BATHE in them.. do they really need to go back after that??"

As this is a charity event for DrawBridge, give us some insight on how you personally, or your shop, gives back to your community.

"I donate a toooon of my pieces annually to local events that auction off in raffles or silent auctions... Cancer Schmancer (most recently), local crab feeds, professional organizations (California Dental Association), church events to sponsor missions, events, etc..., local hospice groups. One can never give too much... you sure can't take it with you..."

If your life was a book, what would be the title and how would your story end?

"One Dolce Vida (One Sweet Life).. not that there hasn't been some craptastic moments in it... but we can always hold a positive outlook for the present and the future... story ends with world domination... one BLING piece or gemstone at a time.. that is my motto in my supply shops and on Facebook!! somehow I must contribute to making this world a beautiful place.."