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By Merritt Gade, July 6, 2010 7:54 pm

Boy, my blog was broken.  It is now fixed.  Thanks, Joe!

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By Merritt Gade, June 17, 2010 4:26 pm

Join me and many other Austin artists at the Mohawk on Wednesday, June 23rd from 6pm to 10pm.  There’s a different band or DJ every hour, food from local sponsors, and drinks by The Mohawk, of course!

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By Merritt Gade, June 9, 2010 3:30 pm

It’s been one year of blogging for me!  I’ve learned a lot about a lot, but still haven’t learned to love writing.  I’m not as scared or intimidated as when I first started, but it’s still not natural to put genuine thoughts and feelings out in a genuine way.  My favorite posts to write are about upcoming events or new pieces I’m working on, which are usually very much in the realm of technical and factual.    I do like to feature other crafters, although I feel like I don’t do their work, or coolness as people, justice.  I can dare to get more expressive about someone else’s work; however, there’s still very little Salman Rushdie flourish.

I’ve made blogging a somewhat regular habit, though, and it feels important to me for some as-of-yet-unidentified reason to keep on keepin’ on.  More on that later, I suppose.

If I’m not too unsure of putting my feelings into written form.

And I’m especially flourishy that day.

Maybe.

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By Merritt Gade, June 3, 2010 4:26 pm

I have been focusing on jewelry for the past year and a half, but my not-so-secret passion lies in making tiaras, hair picks, and anything super fancy for special occasions.  I just love love love pearls, gemstones, gold, platinum, silver, all of it.  I always have.  Growing up, I cut out pictures of high-end jewelry from catalogs and mailers and glued them to all manner of dress-up props.  I collected costume jewelry and wore all of it at once.  I buried treasures in order to find them again and feel the renewed glee of the first glance at a bracelet’s sparkle or gem’s depth of color.  I’ve devoured more books about crown jewels than any normal person should.

My lust for the subject paired with my knack for working with hand tools created my very first tiara.  That, and a conversation with my cousin (Hi, Jill!) about one-of-a-kind versus generic-and-gross weddings.  Over the years, I’ve found the exploration of the subject using materials I could afford and tiny work spaces I was dealing with to be quite satisfying.  I can honestly say that my tiaras are unique and totally of my own design.  They’re inspired by what I’ve seen, but they’re built using the resources available to me and with my own way of crafting.  I love the unique architecture that goes into a tiara–so delicate yet strong, so over the top yet completely purposeful, and so many, many ways to personalize.

Recently, I was contacted by a bride-to-be asking if I could make a piece for her very special day.  She wanted a hair vine–a long, wire-twisted tendril with beads and sparkles, usually wrapped or pinned through a more loose and natural hair style.  She saw my work in my Etsy shop and thought I might be the right person to attempt her wish.  She emailed me the one tiny picture she had of what she was looking for and a description of her overall goals for the end product.  The inspiration vine was silver with clear or white glittery pieces and some tiny leaf- or feather-like adornments.  I did a little research to find more pictures of the same or similar hair vine, but didn’t discover much.  I knew I would have to invent my own way of doing it anyway, so I just kept the tiny picture in mind and tried to focus on my own vision.  We were communicating completely by email (she lives in Brazil), so we clarified and solidified details, I set a time line to keep our communication clear and moving, and I started in.

I located a few silver leaf-shaped bead options for her to choose from (she picked my favorites) and gathered some round, white pearls, clear Swarovski crystals, and quite a few feet of 26 gauge sterling silver wire.  Having never made a hair vine, I was a little nervous, but I got over it pretty quickly after doing a few practice lengths in junk wire.  I found that reshaping the leaves made for more graceful lines and kept the spacing of each small shoot off the main vine a pleasing and consistent distance from the next.  It took a few hours to get the whole 15.25 inches completely wrapped and another 30 minutes to tweak each tiny tendril into a more organic and flowing line.

I am pleased with the results and, most importantly, the bride was ecstatic!  I sent her some pictures to approve before officially posting it to Etsy, and all of the sentences in her reply ended with exclamation points.  She’s going to send some photos of it in action, which I can’t wait to see.  I’m tickled that I made my first hair vine as well as completed my first online custom bridal piece.  I can’t wait to do more!

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By Merritt Gade, May 20, 2010 4:02 pm

The Renegade Craft Fair this past weekend was AWESOME.

First, the vendors:  Not only did I work with some really great people, I also got to work surrounded by really great people.  There was so much creativity in that room!  Any time I got a chance to talk with a neighbor or visit some of the other booths, I was greeted with an artist’s smile, not a pushy salesman.  Everyone who traveled for the show was grateful to be in Austin, and everyone from Austin was proud and welcoming.

Second, the place: Set-up and tear down couldn’t have been smoother, with my boothmates being extra exceptional with the carrying and the lifting and the sharing of the jobs to be done.  The event organizers were smart in their scheduling and the actual location was made for just such craziness (dollies, ramps, loading docks, parking, giant doors, etc.).  Since there were around 200 booths, there were at least 400 people moving about the place.  Totally smooth, no drama.

Finally, but most importantly, the shoppers:  These were of a kind I’ve never seen in that many numbers before.  It seemed like everyone was cool.  Not only the trendy types, but generally interesting and cool Austinites as well as handmade admirers.  Oftentimes, the people watching at events is very entertaining, in a not-so-nice kind of way.  This show was full of my and my neighbors’s target audience.  Full!  So much love!

Thank you to everyone who came out!  And special thanks to April, Maggie, and Stephanie for being wonderful crafters, excellent business women, and all around awesome people!

Now, off to Louisiana for a much needed break with Joe, my family, and one fun event after another!

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By Merritt Gade, May 11, 2010 11:56 am

I’m getting ready (and feeling pretty on top of things) for the Renegade Craft Fair happening this coming Saturday and Sunday.  I have most of my inventory made, just need to finish a few items and get some labeling issues ironed out.  I have my display ideas finalized, just need to actually make one piece and tweak another.  And, most importantly, my boothmates and I had a practice run for our space set-up and I couldn’t feel more confident in our awesome teamwork, professionalism, and handmade magic.

In addition to sharing space with April Wright, I have two other crafty ladies to boast on.

Stephanie Friedman of The Flashbulb makes gorgeous sewn art pieces.  She then photographs each piece and creates prints and cards from the images.  One can purchase the cards, prints (framed or unframed), and even the original sewn creation.  Each one is unique, full of color, and totally wonderful!

Maggie Murphy of Assorted Musings by Maggie makes lovely crocheted and knitted wearables.  Crafting with many types of yarn and buttons, materials are often chosen for their sensible washability as well as gorgeous color combinations. Some yarns are even made from recycled plastic bottles!  Each of her bright and cheery items is one-of-a-kind and completely special.

Stop by Booth #37 this weekend to see everything these fine crafters have to offer!

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By Merritt Gade, May 5, 2010 12:03 pm

I haven’t done First Thursday since late last summer.  The EtsyAustin Team’s regular space ran into some issues and had to cancel all future participation.  I’ve been wishing to try it again since I had a few sales and a lot of really positive comments from browsers.  Plus, hanging out in Austin on a nice spring evening with other crafters is always fun.

Recently, the team found a new spot and organizer, so the regular showing of the handmade magic is back on.  We will be located near Hey Cupcake! on the east side of the 1600 block of South Congress.  Everyone will be set up by 4pm and stay until dark.

In addition to my usual wares, I’ll be sharing a tent with April Wright (who is also a tent buddy for Renegade next week).  Her jewelry and wine charms are fantastic.  She designs and draws each piece on shrinkable plastic, which makes every item one-of-a-kind.  Her images are bright, original, and totally cool.

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By Merritt Gade, April 29, 2010 10:55 am

And it’s not just big, it’s huge.  Renegade Craft Fair is coming to Austin for the first time ever and over 200 vendors, all artists and hand crafters, will be selling fabulous goods for two whole days!  My group included!

The Renegade Craft Fair takes place Saturday, May 15th and Sunday, May 16th from 11am to 7pm both days.  The venue is the Palmer Events Center, 900 Barton Springs Road, which means it is indoors and air-conditioned (also windproof, my favorite aspect).  It is FREE to attend, with garage parking for $7 a day.  In addition to the tons of excellent handmades, there will be music, food, activities for kids, workshops, a photobooth, raffles, and so much more.

My co-vendors are April Wright Designs, Assorted Musings by Maggie, and The Flashbulb.  All of our work is bright and colorful, so our booth is sure to entertain the eyes at every turn.  Everyone makes something different, so in addition to my jewelry, you’ll find knit wear and accessories. art quilts, hand drawn, wearable art, framed prints, and so much more.  We’re planning a giveaway for each day of the event so be sure to stop by and get your name in the drawing.  More about each of my boothmates over the coming weeks.