wholly craft!

i have yet to mention our gracious columbus hosts (who have been even more gracious that they expected as we are some serious lingerers when we want to be). this is because they deserve their own attentions. that's chong pictured above. he clearly can't keep up with my button making action, disproving the assertion of one craftin' outlaws patron who stood in front of my table on saturday saying to her cohort that "everyone and their brother is making buttons these days - because it's easy." i doubt she would last as long as chong. he did pretty well. and i'd be lying if i said that i hadn't passed out in the same way once or twice.

our human hosts are equally crafty. seth is a screen printer who spent his sunday doing an impressive revamp on a thrift store picture frame. i am seriously inspired by such displays of gumption. i need more day-off projects when i get home. okay, maybe i just need more days off. olivera (whom i have now know for a few years) is also the mastermind between columbus' first (and maybe only?) outlet for handmade goods, wholly craft!

aitor and i made a visit to the shop today. i am actually kicking myself for not getting a picture of the awesome mural that just happened to be there when olivera moved to this new location. i guess you are just going to have to go see for yourself. aitor and i picked up a few goodies - a book on wood finishing, a book on paint and wallpaper, some vintage fabric, a zine and some secret surprises for secret people. if you are ever in columbus, wholly craft is the place to go. olivera also makes the round to nearby craft fairs (she will be at renegade chicago, for instance), so keep and eye out. but the shop itself is the best. now to read all those books about things we should be better at doing...

oh, the shame. the shame.

outlaws of ohio.

oh no. i am running out of steam when it comes to writing about craft fairs. craftin' outlaws is a fair we did a couple of years ago on our last tour and which seems to have grown steadily since. this year, they moved to a new location which solved a lot of problems (like the always-rained-upon back yard at the old venue). oh, up there are some of our lovely neighbours from the pittsburgh travel agency. i really liked their stuff and would have bought a shirt if i wasn't feeling so poor. i try not to feel poor but this week got a little scary.

we spent most of the day cooped up behind our table so i have a paltry collection of pictures - mostly of my own stuff. the venue was an old converted church with big coloured glass windows and the light got beautiful in the late afternoon.







aitor even took a picture of me that i liked (without goofy teeth in). so, here you go sweetie; it isn't just pictures of you (revealing how little you change your clothes) anymore.



after the fair, we all had to clear out so that a wedding reception and a playboy oil wrestling could load in (for serious). a bunch of folks from the fair went out to northstar cafe. i ate a burger made of beets. the last time we were in columbus, we walked into the northstar and heard someone way "friends!" we looked way up and saw our friend rick rumoli. it made no sense and was the best surprise and i can't walk in there without remembering that senseless moment. we had a good time with mr. rumoli, too. we ate ice cream.

baltimore more more!

as expected, our travels through baltimore today were all too brief and all too wonderful. first off, we went for a stroll through hampden, a kitchy little neighbourhood with a shopping district, nice cafes, yarn shops and the like. i had a rendezvous with the lovely folks at atomic books. rachel picked out a new batch of buttons for the shop while i browsed the racks (which house a dizzying array of books, zines and crafty stuff). the atomic empire used to be split (get it?) between two shops - atomic books and atomic pop - but have now reconsolidated into the newer, larger location on falls avenue that houses everything. it's overwhelming in all the right ways.

when we strolled past their old location, we saw this:

it would seem that our screen printing friends from squidfire are spreading their tentacles into the world of retail outlets. congratulations, guys! everyone in baltimore should go check out their new shop and the revamped atomic books.

aitor also encountered his true love in a shop window.



all the curves you'd ever want and she don't talk back. on a good day, she'll also match your socks. but alas, the store was closed and seemed pricey from what we could tell. thankfully, we encountered something a little closer to our price range at the common ground cafe down the street.



who can resist fake teeth for a quarter? well, i can tell you who can't...





after our goofings and fun and soup eating, we had to cheese it over to another amazing baltimore landmark (and a must-see for any visitors if you ask us), the american visionary art museum. i sell to the glorified gift shop there, sideshow, which is owned by the same lovely man as paper boy and uncle fun in chicago. billy from uncle fun was central in our first visit to baltimore. his urgings to go to the museum didn't overplay the majesty of the place. actually, the museum is hard to even describe and pictures are only allowed outdoors, so i will leave you with this:



totally amazing from wall to wall.

ted, the owner, picked out a heap of buttons and i picked up some remaindered books (he has a way of sourcing out an amazing selection). he also got aitor to do an impromptu unflattering portrait of gina, one of the employees.



the protrait was only on a ramada note pad and the rest of the staff wanted their portraits, too, so ted suggested we plan a trip back wherein aitor could set up for a whole day doing portraits in the museum itself! isn't that amazing? we're working on dates and think this will happen in late october or early november. i'm totally excited.

but for now, we must just dream of our return and shove off into columbus for the craftin' outlaws fair tomorrow and whatever adventure lays beyond that.

stowaways.

this morning (and last night) we spent interloping in yet another family. we were sheltered by julie, steve, sage, ella & hazel (and their pack of puppies) all of whom we just met by chance when we were rained out of the art star craft bazaar at the very start of our trip. and how lovely to get to spend all this time visiting right into families. it is exceptionally fun to hang out with the kids (not that the grown up time in the evening wasn't deeply appreciated and full of laughs). after such a short visit, both ella and hazel decided that they should come with us or sabotage the car to make us stay. very flattering, indeed. and thanks for not pouring sugar in the tank, ella. we can't afford any more mechanical work.

below are two special views of the ladies.

#1 - ella's camera face that drives julie nuts and makes sage laugh:



#2 - the face hazel makes when she is trying to arch her eyebrows one at a time.



we are planning a trip back just because we left so much of our hearts with this very special family. also, julie runs the philadelphia independent craft market which we have been wanting to do. next time, we're going to get pictures of sage, too, no matter what he says.

the girls also sent us on our ways with two flower hair clips that they make and sell. i have to say that mine is doing a very good job of keeping my hair nearly in order on this muggy muggy day. i also inherited aitor's in spite of how good it looks on him.



and now we sit in a motel room just outside of baltimore, finishing off the last of the wild arugula soup that jenny made and tried so hard to love but couldn't. we love it, jenny, and feel very spoiled to have home cooking in a motel room. tomorrow holds adventures into one of our favorite cities - baltimore. we are excited. but also...tired. good night!

family time, harada style.

last night we arrived at the lovely new jersey home of our friends jenny and mark where they live with their two little ones, lukas and naomi. it's pretty fun to watch the kids grow with annual check-ins. on our first big craft tour, lukas was only two and the whole family was living in columbus, ohio. i was really excited because he learned to say my name during that visit. now he says all kinds of stuff and hides his face behind toast when we doesn't want his picture taken. he also plays a mean game of zuma.



naomi was just a bump on jenny's belly on that tour. now she is an ambulatory 16 month old who is astoundingly able to get around and figure things out. for instance, here is a picture she took of me:



not bad for just over a year old. i was actually kind of blown away by her cognitive abilities.

here is a picture of naomi with strut strut kitty, a new friend that jenny made and sent us on our travelling way with.



jenny is an amazing plush artist whom i met via the internet a few years back and since fell in love with. with her own little plushies running around the house now, she isn't doing as many craft fairs (too bad for you) but is rather focusing on doing one or two bigger art projects a year. keep an eye out for her work; it's really quite fantastic.

after the kids passed out last night, we went for some walks down to the shore of the hudson to look at new york and chatted about things like geodesic domes until we, too, passed out. now, the little kitty, the reverend and i have moved on and arrived in philadelphia for visits with another family. but that's a story for another day...

coney island adventure day.

there was only one way to bid farewell to brooklyn once again and that is with a visit to a place very dear to our hearts - coney island. we missed it on our last trip through new york and won't be back through until coney season will be almost (if not entirely) over. in recent years, there has been a lingering sense of urgency about visiting coney island as land developers have purchased all the property where coney's boardwalk businesses operate. but more on that later. but first, a to-do list for coney island.

1) go eat some junk at nathan's.
fries, shrimp, corn dogs, lemonade - all good choices.



2) rides.
i am ashamed to say we felt too broke to do anything this time, but the cyclone is pretty amazing. last time we came to coney island, it was with jen and mike (without whom there was a noticeable hole in the experience this time). we all rode the cyclone together and, in a way, i didn't want to sully that experience.





3) poke around.
the is all sorts of weird crap to discover. this tine melissa helped us out with some tips - like the lady who dances for a quarter. shoot the freak was also pretty awesome, but mostly because of the barker's incredibly bored delivery of things like "yeah, shoot him in the head. freaks gotta die".





4) souvenirs.
we actually didn't delve too deeply in the souvenirs of coney island last time we were here, but there are some surprisingly interesting outlets of merch to be found. other than post cards, i don't normally go in for souvenir junk. i mean, there are some notable exceptions like the new york snow globe with a plastic bag instead of snow at the andy warhol museum. but most of the roadside schlock shops we have encountered all have the same stuff. but coney island is unique in the extent to which souvenirs fit it. this time, we discovered an interesting shop called lola staar - a boardwalk shop featuring all the touristy stuff you would expect (shirts, key chains, pins, post cards) but with the distinction of all being independently designed. i kind of fell in love with a lovely screen print there by michael micael motorcycle.oh, and we saw this on the wall:



...too bad aitor won't be around to compete.

we also discovered this interesting installation:

what an amazing project. see? how does this place manage to seamlessly integrate political installation art and the midway aesthetic? this is a very special place. it would a real shame to have it all turned to condos, too. liz who works at lola staar gave us some information on the potential rezoning/destruction of coney island. if you are interested in saving coney island, you can check out the information that has been put together here. if you are a new york resident, you can also feel free to write your mayor a letter.

back through new york.

today we took our time loading the car in the torrents of providence. the rains cleared up just in time for us to say our sad goodbyes to marya and push off towards brooklyn.

i felt very metropolitan, indeed, to have a late afternoon meeting with the lovely christina at etsy about their possible sponsorship involvement with city of craft. we do know that they will be involved in some way, which is very exciting. all other related news will have to wait until it is firmer. after the meeting, aitor and i hung around for a little bit. he drew and i soaked up the wireless signal to do some furtive business and check in on life in the ether.

our constant saviors dominica and marc took us in again. well, marc is away so dominica took us in. i also ate pasta made with beets at the restaurant where she works (amid the many places where she works).



after getting settled, we went on a big mission into manhattan to find our friend melissa. she told us she would be at a bingo night, which we had all but missed. we finally did find the place and her within it as the proceedings wrapping up. it's too bad we missed it, too. it looked like a lot of fun. and it's super cheap.





we managed to convince melissa to come out for a little drink with us after even though she has to get up early in the morning for these professional development classes she is taking on the new new math. i'm glad we coerced her, too, because in all our chatting we hatched a pretty good plan for our hallowe'en on the road. i won't say anything in case it doesn't materialize. but i sure hope it does...