open house this week!

don't forget the Mystic Mermaid/handmadeVA open house is only 3 days away! be sure to join us for a good time...live music, food & wine, giveaways, & of course, great handmade goods. if you haven't stopped in for a while, you'll be delighted to see the changes we've made in the handmadeVA space. we've been busy adding new artists and crafters with some fun new items.

details:
Mystic Mermaid/handmadeVA halloween open house
wednesday, october 13th
6-9 pm

see you there!!!

dc crafty fun!

several handmadeVA & 7cities crafters friends had the great opportunity to check out dc's crafty bastards arts and craft festival this past saturday, and it was awesome! we were all pretty inspired by the 150+ vendors with some fun reconstructed clothing, prints, jewelry, ceramics, and more. plus, we were all excited about our free etsy "i heart handmade" bumper stickers! and soraia got a hug from jay mccarroll, the first winner from project runway! (sorry i don't have more pictures...i was too caught up looking at all the craftiness!)

afterward, we decided to check out some of the monuments:



some of the group:

it was definitely an awesome day and well worth the trip! perhaps next year, we'll be vending as well??

open house at the mystic mermaid!

yay! it's time for our open house at the Mystic Mermaid! join handmadeVA and others on october 13th from 6-9pm for live music, refreshments, giveaways, and a good ol' time! handmadeVA ladies will be there helping you to make your very own fun halloween mask. don't miss it!

handmadeVA has expanded!

handmadeVA is growing....we've just expanded our space at the Mystic Mermaid! now we've got room for lots of new treasures, including...

super cute primitive hand-carved birds by dan henkel.

my fav, with the sad little eyes!

awesome vintage-inspired crocheted neckwarmers by katie emborski (the attic suitcase).

plus, we've added wood-burned items and notecards by amanda hertz (pics coming soon!).

we'll be adding more handmade goodness in the weeks to come, and we'll have news about an open house night soon!

cute as a button!

hooray! welcome to our newest crafter, katie bowling [one delightful button]. she makes the most adorable fabric covered button earrings and bookmarks. check it out:

i mean, really...how cute are those?? stop by the shop to check out our new items!

why i care about local, handmade goods...and why you should, too.

www.storyofstuff.org

You need to watch this video. We all need to watch this video. It made me want to cry, yell at somebody, kick myself for continually falling prey to this horrible kind of consumerism, and then go protest somewhere....peacefully, of course.

But most of all, it reminded me that this is why I care about handmade, local goods. This is one of the reasons HandmadeVA exists. Yes, we want you to buy our stuff. But we want you to think about your purchases wisely, too. How often do we truly pause to consider the impact of the purchases we make? What sort of consumer cycle are we supporting when we buy from the "big-box-marts" as opposed to local businesses? And even when we shop at local businesses, do we think about where the goods they sell are coming from?

I don't expect HandmadeVA to change the world or put an end to consumerism as we know it, but I do want HandmadeVA to be a catalyst for change in the 7 cities. We are not just about awesome local crafts. My hope is that it will encourage you to think more carefully about what you buy. Shop local, buy handmade!

Please take the time to watch "The Story of Stuff." It is well worth it. Feel free to comment below....I'd love to know your thoughts on the matter, and what we can do to make changes in our community.

lookin' good...

so we finally got all the gals together for a little sprucing up in the shop today (and a group photo)! we're all so excited about how things are going with handmadeVA, and it's only getting better.

come see for yourself...it's pretty awesome.

new items added recently:

gorgeous prints [sophie's lament]

fun mermaid signs [kelly guswiler studio]

more soy candles [gymbohannah]

new earrings [from heather's hands]

va love tote bags [dreamfly]

and love ninjas!!! [23hearts]