All I really want to say is that I hope the people at Hello Craft invite me to next year’s Summit of Awesome. Because the one last week was fantastic.
I’ve got my work mojo back.
And there are lots of ideas I want to tell you about.
But for now, I’m just going to sum up the conference, and the extra day I spent in Portland, in photos. (I’ve written about my Mighty Ugly experiences over on the MU blog.)
Everything at the Summit was DIY. I tried to make my name badge ugly. I think I succeeded, but some disagreed. Regardless, it took me well over an hour.
There was a superb mix of businessy learning sessions and crafty making sessions. Christy Petterson taught a screen printing session that will probably change my life.
Jena Coray, of Modish Blog, and I led a session called How to Pitch a Magazine or Blog to get editorial coverage of your work. Let me know if you're interested in more on that topic here on the blog. (Jena also took the screen printing workshop. This, obviously, was not taken during our session.)
Isaac Watson, of I <3 Art Portland and maker of wicked jewelry from camera parts, led a session on community that's led to some serious thinking about how we might kick the Vancouver maker community to become as thriving and inclusive as the one in Portland. More on that FOR SURE. (Also? Isaac and I have an acquaintance in common. I was said acquaintance's camp counselor in the 1990s. Awesome.)
I couldn't resist putting in at least one Mighty Ugly photo. I led a workshop last Thursday, and a session last Friday. The workshop was a blast, and the session's kept me thinking almost non-stop for a week. More on that, as well, FOR SURE.
That's Kari Chapin, author of The Handmade Marketplace, on the left (I miss her and I love her), and dude, OMG, I met Heidi Kenney of My Paper Crane. She led a session on making plush fortune cookies, and she's as sweet and friendly as you've always imagined she'd be.
I first met Betsy in her Etsy store when I sent her cash for her jewelry (I'm desperately in love with her work). We met in person in April in New York for the Etsy panel. And I so loved being able to visit her studio in Portland last week. I adore her, and of course I bought a pair of earrings she made in collaboration with Isaac (above). LOVE
The venue for the conference was the Kennedy School in NE Portland. This place is more awesome than words can describe. It's worth a trip to Portland just to stay there. And here's the obligatory Summit of Awesome class picture, about to be officially taken.
The day after the conference ended, a few of us, including Kari and Lee Meredith (pictured) grabbed Dutch tacos that changed our collective expecations of breakfast forevermore. (Dutch taco = waffle folded with all the good stuff in the middle. With coffee: $6.)
There was, of course, a Show of Awesome craft fair the day after the conference. Here's Lee and Sister Diane at Amanda Siska's Bread and Badger table. I finally allowed myself to buy one of her pieces, which makes me very happy. Also, though I'd met Amanda briefly last year, one of my favourite things about this trip was getting to know her better, and maybe creating some fun projects with her. Stay tuned.
We grabbed a break at the restaurant above the Doug Fir Lounge where the craft show was, and there was a big yellow-tinted window. So I took some pics of my great company. This is Teresa Sullivan, entertainer and bead artist extraordinaire.
And here's Lee. I loved having the chance to spend so much time with her. She's the best, and her total love of fun is contagious. Sigh. I miss my Portland friends.
Dude. The perfect hipster family spent some time right outside the yellow-tinted window, in front of a perfect wall of graffiti. That's all.
We went to Twisted, a beautiful yarn store that also serves tea. And specifically, they serve tea inspired by Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Which makes me love them more than all the luscious yarn makes me love them.
Diane, from Craftypod, is, as you, know the best. I love her, and I thank her for putting me up for a couple of nights even though my company wasn't the best on account of my having lost my voice, and kids, she bought me a unicorn. At the best rummage sale I've ever been to. I have stories of the treasures I scored, but I've managed not to photograph them yet. I will. (The beaded necklace in the foreground is one of them. $3.)
I’m very grateful to have attended and hopefully to have contributed a little to the greatness of the Summit of Awesome. I had fun, I made stuff, I made friends, and I think some very cool projects and collaborations will result in coming months. I’m sending massive hugs to everyone I had the privilege of spending time with, and even bigger ones to the organizers who pulled off a three-day event that celebrated every crafty detail and went off without a hitch.
[…] to write about my trip that I’ve decided just to keep it thematic. Mighty Ugly stuff here, the other stuff on my blog. Sorry to make you go to both places, but it was too daunting to do all in one […]