I have a few other picture perfect suggestions for ya…
Personalized Appliques
Father’s Day Beer
Cupcake Topper Necklaces
Customized Thank You Notes

Handmade Austin Women 4th Annual Spring Show
May 2nd and 3rd, 2009
It’s the weekend before Mother’s Day!
Saturday 10am-6pm
Sunday 12pm-5pm

Handmade Austin Women presents the fourth annual Spring Show on May 2nd and 3rd, the weekend before Mother’s Day. Handmade Austin Women are dedicated to unique design, and the highest quality in handcrafted work. We organize our show to promote the profound benefits of sustaining women artists at work here in Texas. We support Austin’s cottage industry and the growing character of our local, independent economy.

Handmade Austin Women are pleased to announce the 2009 lineup:

• Trisha Allen ~ Uniquely Recycled, Art Cards
• Jenifer Nakatsu Arntson ~ Accessories, Wallets and Handbags
• Jo Bridges ~ Paintings
• Lisa Crowder ~ Studio Jeweler, Metalsmith
• Kathryn Davis ~ Mixed Media Collage Handmade Accessories
• Jamie Jo Fisher ~ Contemporary Art Jewelry
• Laura Freeman* (aka Luna Tart) ~ Ukulele
• Chia Guillory ~ Sunhats, Fashion and Accessories
• Laura Imhoff* ~ Singer Songwriter
• Heather Jarry* ~ Marionettes
• Gabel Karsten ~ Still Life Painting
• Beverly Mangham ~ Art Assemblage and Clay
• Christa Mares ~ Sculptural Crochet
• Melanie Schopper ~ Functional Ceramics
• Cherie Weaver ~ Drawings, Paintings

*musical entertainment

A family-friendly musical marionette matinee begins every other hour on Saturday. Live music plays on Sunday. Both days we offer complimentary tea and coffee service. Additionally, the Ginko Studios gardens will be open for viewing. Our show grounds are handicapped accessible, but call ahead for special-access arrangements.

For information, (512) 293-9505 or see us online at: www.handmadeaustinwomen.com

Handmade Austin Women
Spring Show 2009
Hosted by: Ginko Studios
Located at: 800 Gullett St.
Austin, TX 78722
(512)389-1920

This event is supported in part by Women and Their Work. Please visit www.handmadeaustinwomen.com for more information.

Download Letter-Sized 2009 Poster [PDF] [JPEG]

The first person that came to mind when I thought about wearing Barbie was the amazingly talented Margaux Lange. You can find her one of kind work on Etsy or her website. Margaux explains her love of Barbie by saying: Barbie™ was immensely important in fueling my creative life as a child, and ironically continues to be such for me as an adult. My “Plastic Body Series” jewelry stems from a desire to re-purpose common materials in combination with metals. I am inspired, terrified and fascinated, first and foremost by humans. Whatever her rationale I’m just thankful for the rad jewelry.

At first I thought fashion designer Jeremy Scott seemed a bit subversive for Barbie, but then I recalled his love of Care Bears and thought maybe not. March 9 – 28 if you just so happen to be jet setting in Paris stop by the colette store and check out the special Barbie™ boutique featuring a capsule apparel collection “Barbie™ by Jeremy Scott”, which will include Scott’s iconic trench coat, dresses and tees, all done in fun Barbie® patterns and iconography. Additionally, colette has commissioned additional Barbie™ accessories for “grown up” Barbie® girls including a mobile phone, luxury jewelry, stationery, candles and cosmetics.

Fuchsia haired jewelry maven Tarina Taraintino partnered with Barbie awhile back for a line of fun girlie jewelry. There are tiaras, chunky rings, charm necklaces and more. She even has her own pink haired Barbie, sometimes life is just not fair.

Barbie gets all “doll’d up” with Stila with a limited edition spring collection of beauty cans and a talking palette (yes I mean really talks you through your eyeshadow)! Apparently there is a larger collection of makeup and a Barbie hair dryer coming this fall available at Sephora. If that hair dryer is Barbie pink I am totally ditching my current gray model.

So what if your house wanted to wear Barbie? Well my favorite designer in the whole wide world Jonathan Adler is about to make that exact thing happen for one lucky house in Malibu, CA. That’s right kids the Barbie Dream House is fer realz! Jonathan Adler Loves Barbie™ – For Grownups is a capsule collection of “Jonathan Adler Loves Barbie™” décor pieces, including designer pottery, pillows, decorative objects and more – available at one of Adler’s nine stores or on his website. Additionally, Jonathan Adler and Barbie® will partner on an ultra stylish Barbie® Collector doll, which comes with coordinating doll-size furniture (of course!). These chic creations will hit retail shelves in the U.S. in September 2009. OMG I can hardly wait to see!

Last but not least I wanted to celebrate Barbie and her impeccable personal hygiene in my own special way. I gathered up my supply of Barbie hair brushes, a few plastic flower petals, chunky beads and made a little necklace magic. This necklace is an ode to Totally Hair Barbie.

Once I selected just the right supplies I used my Dremel to drill holes in the tops of the hair brushes. From here I wire wrapped them using eye pins so that they would hang from my jewelry wire. I also wire wrapped my flowers with eye pins. Once this was all done I strung everything up with a combination of fun vintage beads, added a clasp, crimped up the ends and my masterpiece was ready.

I think Totally Hair Barbie would like totally appreciate this necklace. Consider it a gift from me to you on your special day Barbie. Happy 50th from Naughty Secretary Club.

The Bearded Ladies Present: Shop Austin

Independent designer, craft & fine art showcase

Event Name: The Bearded Ladies Present: Shop Austin

Date: Saturday April 18, 2009

Time: 11:00am to 5:00pm

Location: Saengerrunde Hall, 1607 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78701

Tickets: in advance $8, at the door $10.

Website: www.TheBeardedLadiesPresent.com

Contact: info@TheBeardedLadiesPresent.com

Event Info: The Bearded Ladies Production Co. is set to produce its first show in Austin, Texas. The 2009 event will be a craft fair, fine arts festival, and independent designer showcase all wrapped up into one. By featuring the best vendors in Austin, The Bearded Ladies Present: Shop Austin will provide shoppers an opportunity to find one of-a-kind gifts, unique accessories, fashionable attire, home decor and more. Shoppers can browse the work of talented artisans who buck the trend of mass-production by offering handcrafted goods that are finely constructed and very unique. These independent entrepreneurs are locally based, but also come from surrounding areas to participate in what is sure to be a fun family event filled with items you can’t find anywhere else. The first thirty shoppers to arrive at the event will receive a goodie bag stuffed with great giveaway items from vendors and local businesses. Shopping begins at 11:00 a.m., and admission is $8 in advance, $10 at the door; parking is available near Saengerrunde Hall.

The Bearded Ladies Present: Shop Austin is currently accepting applications for vendors. All local crafters, independent designers, and fine artists that want to broaden their customer base are invited to apply. Let all of Austin know what you have to offer and join The Bearded Ladies Present: Shop Austin!

To apply go to: http://www.TheBeardedLadiesPresent.com/apply_here.html

I’m excited already and can’t wait to go and shop!

From 1-3pm I will be teaching a class on making your own Revamped Vintage Necklace. Each student will be able to make their own necklace and matching pair of earrings learning how to use jewelry tools, string beads, basic wire wrapping and more. I am going to bring a suitcase full of vintage jewelry supplies for you to play with, but feel free to bring your own goodies as well. The class is $50 per student which includes all the supplies you will need and your own beading board. Feel free to bring your own set of pliers (flat, rounded and wire clippers) or I will have sets available for $10 each.

Never fear Austin I will be teaching 5 new classes in October at Craft-o-Rama. call (512-707-2405) or email Craft-o-rama in Austin to sign up for the new batch.

Collage Cuties Class: Tues. 10/16 6:30pm-8:30pm
Love what you see on the scrap booking aisle, but don’t care a thing about it? Incorporate all the fun papers into your jewelry! In this class you will make a bangle bracelet, large disc earrings and necklace using paper and decoupage medium. Learn to look at pictures in magazines, junk mail, wrapping paper and more in a whole new way. Feel free to bring any paper you would like to class, but Jen will also bring a large stash of her collage curios like vintage wrapping paper, wall paper, book illustrations, old cards and more for you to choose from as well as jewelry supplies and decoupage medium. Fee is $40.

Charm Bracelet and Earring Class: Sat. 10/25 11am-1pm
Learn the fundamentals of jewelry making while whipping up your own one of a kind Revamped Vintage Charm Bracelet, and matching earrings. This fun and informative 2 hour class will cover the basics of jewelry making like the difference between head and eye pins, wire wrapping, and how to open and close a jump ring. Class supplies include everything you need to make your charm bracelet and earrings including a giant assortment of vintage beads and charms from the Naughty Secretary Club stash for you to choose from! You will need flat and round nosed pliers as well as wire trimmers for this class. You will be able to buy a set from the instructor on day of class as well for an additional $10. Fee: $40 and includes materials.

Starting Your Small Business
Tues 10/14 7PM-8:30PM
Did you know you could have your own craft business up and running in under an hour? Signing up for Etsy is that easy. Or do you think a traditional website is the right angle for you? May take a little longer, but it is not a whole lot trickier. Once you have your business all set up the next steps are letting the world know, networking and making some sales. This 1.5 hour long class will you give the run down on getting started! Fee: $30

Marketing Your Business
Tues 10/21 7PM-8:30PM
The success of your business is 40% what you make and 60% how you market it. Not yet signed up for Twitter? Don’t have a blog? Not swapping swag with other crafters? You could be missing out on easy, crucial and often free ways to promote your crafty business. Whether you knit booties or solder jewelry this class will help you understand the best avenues to market your small business. Fee: $30

Taking Your Business to the Next Level
Tues 10/28 7PM-8:30PM
Things are running along smoothly with your small crafty business, but you want to know what else the world has to offer. How do people get product lines, book deals and TV shows? There is no secret formula, but Jennifer Perkins has experience in all three areas and will tell you what she knows. Fee: $30

If you love kitschy jewelry and especially love making it yourself then might I suggest you run right out to your local Borders or Barnes and Nobles and snag yourself a copy (remember if they don’t have a copy PLEASE ask them to order one), order it off of Amazon or get a signed copy at Naughty Secretary Club!

Also if you could help me spread the word about my book I would love you forever and ever! Re-post this bulletin, Twitter about it, if you make some jewelry from the book add it to our Flickr group, if you have the book and heart it please leave an Amazon review, mention the book on your blog. Every little bit helps!

If you are going to be in Austin on August 30th, please stop by Craft-o-Rama from 3pm-6pm for the Naughty Secretary Club Book Release Party!

Xo,
Jen

P.S. enter the word BOOK into the coupon/voucher field when you check out at Naughty Secretary Club and get 25% off your entire order all August long!

Have you joined Polyvore yet? I am so excited to see what kinds of outfits people put together using Naughty Secretary Club jewelry I decided to run a contest about it! All you have to do is sign up for Polyvore and join the Naughty Secretary Club group. From there put together some outfits using Naughty Secretary Club or Hot Pink Pistol and add them to the group. We will pick our top 5 favorite outfits and not only post them on our blog but we will also give you some awesome-o prizes! You have until June 7th to enter!

FIRST PLACE – $ 100 worth of Naughty Secretary Club Jewelry
SECOND PLACE – $50 worth of Naughty Secretary Club Jewelry
THIRD PLACE – $25 worth of Naughty Secretary Club Jewelry
FOURTH PLACE – Naughty Secretary Club T-shirt
FIFTH PLACE – Copy of Bead Simple by Susan Beal

Remember in order to win your set has to include at least one piece of Naughty Secretary Club or Hot Pink Pistol. Good luck and be sure to keep checking the group to see what kinds of fun outfits people are putting together.

The Naughty Secretary Club Secretary’s Delight Bracelet video is finally done. The video shows me traveling from craft stores to thrift stores and back to Naughty Secretary Club headquarters whipping up a casted resin bracelet. This is a project in The Naughty Secretary Club: The Working Girls Guide to Handmade Jewelry. The back of the book will have all the cute secretary pictures my sister Hope illustrated for you to scan in and make your own bracelet with! There are two other resin projects in the book, but I’ll let those be a surprise.

*NEW* Naughty Secretary Club Resin Bracelet