Cabin in the City

Books, cats and midwestern charm.

Madison

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Craft Fair + Pub-Crawl // A Recap

Filed Under: Make Tagged With: , ,

Back in May, I participated in my second ever craft fair – the Madison Makers Market + Pub-Crawl – and it was a blast! I ate, drank, sold some crafties and made a cool trade with a new maker friend. But let’s get into it.

Prepping

Last show, I was stressed to the max stitching up 50 different hoops. Since it was my first one, I had zero idea what to expect. This time around, I was a bit more confident. Plus, I had about 35 hoops left in my inventory for the selling which meant I didn’t have to spend every spare minute stitching. Instead, I stitched up 18 over the course of about four weeks which was a pretty good schedule. I also had friends giving me some A+ hoop recommendations. Oh! And a lovely gal PM-ed me before the show asking about RuPaul’s Drag Race hoops and I was happy to oblige. I’m thinking a not today, Satan, not today hoop will become a new standard.

The Show + Bar

Like last time, I brought my mom to be my helper. She’s very patient and calm, which was good because as an anxious person, I was low key freaking out that morning.

Unlike last time, though, this show wasn’t held in a single location. Instead Madison Makers Market had the most amazing idea of having crafters set up booths in a few bars on Madison’s East Side. Eat, drink, buy crafts – it’s the perfect day. I was lucky enough to get a space in the new-ish Old Sugar Distillery where the light was phenomenal and the other vendors very kind. Prior to opening for the day, I got to meet Sarah from Gypsy Adornment in person (had been following her Instagram for a hot minute), and we had a little swap. She nabbed a Queer Eye hoop and I got a witchy lariat necklace in exchange. My only regret is that I couldn’t steal away to see the other makers in the other bars.

Once the doors opened, though, I was pretty surprised with how steady business was! Lots of folks were browsing around with their Dark & Stormies, picking up grad gifts and last-minute Mother’s Day presents. The energy of the space was definitely right and the bar was hopping all afternoon. I was 100% into it, and I think people were into me too! I sold about 18 hoops by the day’s end, which felt great!

Now that I’ve got two fairs done and dusted, I’m feeling a bit more confident about my pieces. Once I’m done with my pal’s wedding hoop, I’m going to start stocking up again. You never know when the next fair might be!

• • •

P.S. You can find my hoops at my Etsy shop always! PM me for custom orders!

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A Mashup Made in Heaven // Craft Fair + Pub-Crawl

Filed Under: Adventure, Make Tagged With: , ,

I’ve got some cool news, folks! Next month I’ll be setting up shop for Madison Makers Spring Market & Pub-Crawl.

As you can tell by the name, this is a craft fair unlike any other. Dozens of makers will be setting up shop in a handful of Madison bars – all located within a few blocks of one another. It’s the perfect event for day-drinkers and craft-lovers (me and also me).

I’ll be stationed at Old Sugar Distillery on East Main Street. I’ve never been to this spot, but it looks incredible! The organizer of the event says this space is filled with lots of natural light (big plus for sellers) and, from what I can tell, it has a ton of amazing cocktails ready for the sipping (big plus for everyone!).

I’m really looking forward to setting up shop, hanging out with my mom and enjoying a good ol’ dark and stormy. I feel so much better about this show now that I’ve got one under my belt and now that I’ve got some inventory already prepped. I’m still planning on making some new pieces, though. You can see what’s coming from @kaminskihandicraft on Instagram.

For more details about the event, be sure to check it out on Facebook!

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The Mini Crafty Fair

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I planned on writing this post immediately following the Mini Crafty Fair (that was all the way back on December 16!). But I’m glad I waited a bit to give myself a little perspective on the whole business of things. Also this is my third recap in a week. You sick of them yet?

But let’s start at the beginning! Back in December, I set up my first-ever booth at the Goodman Community Center in Madison for the Mini Crafty Fair. I’d been applying to fairs for a few months (after deciding to act on a longtime goal) and I was thrilled to set up shop with the Crafty Fair. It was a pretty chaotic ride, but I’m thrilled I did it. Here’s how the whole journey went:

The Days Before

Leading up to the big day, I was an absolute wreck. And by “leading up” I mean at least the three weeks prior. I was stressed to the max about hitting an arbitrary goal I set for myself. You see, I wanted to create at least 50 hoops to take with me and I was going to get to that number or die trying. While I sacrificed a lot of time and shed quite a few tears, I made it!

The Setup

During my extended panic period, I didn’t have much time to worry about my display. I had been looking for ideas online and was coming up empty. Instead of panicking about not having the most creative setup, I trusted my gut and drew up a pretty simple plan.

My dad, God bless him, made me two easels for displaying hoops. With those, I had a pretty good scaffolding for my setup. I just filled it in with a simple runner that I sewed, a felt letter board (#basiccraftingbitch) and some twinkle lights that I impulse bought at Target.

For how little time I put into planning the table (though, don’t get me wrong, I still put in some time). I was thrilled with how it turned out! It was pretty minimal, but it was easy to set up, easy to shop (hopefully) and a total breeze to disassemble.

The Fair Itself

The day-of, I was lucky enough to have the help of my mom. She picked me up at the crack of dawn (OK, just 7:45am) and drove me all they way out to Madison and helped me set up my table.

Since my booth wasn’t that elaborate, it took only a few minutes to set up and we had plenty of time to see what a lot of the other crafters were up to (and even buy a few things ourselves, like this adorable Old Fashioned ornament!).

The fair opened at 10:00 and I was lucky enough to get a sale in the first ten minutes! A sweet girl picked up a little blerg hoop and I was officially in business! Throughout the morning, I sold a few of my favorite pieces off to really great ladies and that really put me in a good mood. Well, that and being visited by my sisters, aunts, husband, mother-in-law and my oldest friend. Special guests are always welcome!

Admittedly, I kind of got down on myself for the last hour of the fair. I had made a handful of sales, but didn’t really make the splash I was hoping. Maybe my references were a little too specific (that’s what my mom said, but I stand by all my You go, Glen Coco! hoops); more likely, my expectations were way too high. Mostly I came to the uncomfortable conclusion that I spent so much of my free time making an absurd amount of hoops, and in the end, a lot of that work wasn’t necessary.

But I’m not going to get down on myself about that now, because at the end of the day, I set a goal for myself and I achieved it! Plus, if I decide to do another fair in the future, I’ve got a little experience under my belt!

The Cherry On Top

After a long day of hoop hawking, my family was sweet enough to indulge me at the Old Fashioned on the Capitol square. This place is one of my favorite restaurants, and they’re the only bar I know of (south of Wausau, at least) that sells brandy slushes. So I got to sip on one of those and enjoyed some beer cheese soup, onion rings and a prime rib sandwich. It was a good way to wrap up the day and it felt like a great kick-off to the holidays.

At the end of the day, this was a HUGE learning experience for me. And I sort of have the itch to do another!

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It’s Getting Real: Kaminski Handicraft @ the Mini Crafty Fair

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Remember how I said I had something up my sleeve in my small goals post from November? Well, it’s true! On December 16, I’ll be participating in the Mini Crafty Fair in Madison!

I’m so so thrilled to be a part of this holiday market. My mom and I have visited this pre-Christmas fair for a few years now and we always discover the best artists and makers (and we come home with lots of goodies).

But I’m also thrilled because this is my first time taking Kaminski Handicraft out into the wild! As my first fair, I’m banking on it being a major learning experience, but you gotta start somewhere! I’ve recruited my mom to be my helper for the day, my husband to help me build a display or two and pretty much all of my friends to come check me out.

With only a few weeks until the fair, I’m kicking my stitching into overdrive. New fabrics, new designs, new new new. I’ll admit that my stress levels are a little high, but I’ve got a few dedicated stitching days planned to help me get some hoops completed. I’m thinking 50 is the magic number, but we’ll see!

I’ll probably write about this more here and on Instagram before the event, but here are the details anyways: The Mini Crafty Fair, Saturday, December 16, 10AM-4PM at the Goodman Community Center in Madison, WI. Or to make it really easy, check out the event on Facebook.

I hope to see you local folks there!

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The Stars Align: Tarot Art Show

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: , , , ,

Once in a while, the universe does me some wonderful and mysterious favors. And more rarely, the universe does me some wonderful, mysterious and coordinated favors.

Proof? A few months back, I wanted to get a little more serious about my interest in tarot. I had been envisioning embroidering tarot cards for some time – as a for fun, witchy woman sort of thing – but didn’t really want to go at it until I knew more about tarot readings and what the cards symbolize. I expressed some interest in this to some friends one day – less than a week later I got an email from my local yoga studio advertising an upcoming tarot workshop. That’s some great timing.

But then just a few days after the class, I was mindlessly scrolling through Instagram and I saw that an artist I follow, Lesley Numbers, posted a final call for artists for her art show. Her tarot-themed art show. HOLY SHIT.

Talk about the stars aligning, right?

Lucky for me, Lesley still had cards available to assign. Through the powers of divination and random assignment, I was given the Knight of Cups. I obviously took this as a sign and immediately googled its meaning. Just like drawing the Fool, it turns out the Knight of Cups had some relevant messages for me. The Knight of Cups can symbolize energy and drive (but in a controlled and peaceful way) as well as creativity. Ummmm… is it just me that sees that card as the perfect parallel for this project? Tarot is real, everyone.

With this assignment and metaphysical encouragement, I got to work embroidering my most complex project yet: the traditional Smith-Waite Knight of Cups. It took about 40 hours to complete (and some really sore fingers), and I think it turned out really well! I’m pretty proud of this one.

Some of the really lovely cards on display in the Bubbler inside Madison’s Central Library.

For all you locals, you can see my work in-person, along with cards from 150+ artists, at The Bubbler inside Madison’s Central Library now through the end of April. And if you’re really into this idea, you can attend the opening on Friday, April 14 – there will be other works on view, including some from Lesley Numbers herself, the library’s artist in residence. You can find all the details about the event here.

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Lazy Saturday: Dane County Farmers’ Market

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It took me all spring, summer and the first few days of fall, but I finally did it, you guys: I made it to the Dane County Farmers’ Market in Madison.

Market sunflowers

While I was in college, there was hardly a Saturday between April and November that I missed the market. Most mornings I’d wake up, ready or not, with one thing on my mind: cookies. So I’d be off getting a giant M&M cookie and back before my friends had even lurched from their beds.

Today my singleminded search has shifted to Stella’s blueberry scones and Summer Kitchen’s jams. This place has hands down the best jam I’ve ever had. If you’re new to the stand, I’m going to throw out that the Hedgerow (strawberry, blackberry, blueberry, and raspberry) is the best. Along with all the other varieties.

Summer Kitchen's jam

After a lap around the square and a short walk up State Street, I came home with this little haul: two new jams, some baby bellas from Palm’s Mushroom Cellar, mini sweet peppers, and a few Cortland apples. I admittedly also had two scones, some apple cider, and a few pieces of candy, but that’s all gone now – can you blame me?

Farmers Market Haul
My haul. Forgive the wrinkled tablecloth.

If you lucky Wisconsinites haven’t been yet this year, you have until November 8th!