Tumblr Opens a Richmond Office

I've been so excited to learn Tumblr will be opening it's first branch outside of New York right here in Richmond, Virginia. The Richmond Tumblr office will be located in Manchester and they threw a launch party at one of our local favorites, Legend Brewing Company, last night.

Tim and I met up with another Richmond Etsy staffer at the event and the place was packed for the launch. We got the chance to chat with Tumblr's president, John Maloney, and other friendly Tumblr folks. John seemed thrilled to know Etsy already had some staff representation in RVA and said he'd be visiting the local office about once a month.

I'm so proud of Richmond - learn more about the new Tumblr office here.

Support Local Business with Saturday Stroll

In or near the Richmond, Virginia area this weekend? Check out the newest addition to weekend activities down on Broad Street with Saturday Stroll. If you're an artist, crafter, or gourmet and interested in being a vendor it's completely free and a great opportunity. Sounds like it's gonna be a beautiful weekend weather-wise so I'd expect it'll be quite busy. Details on how to get involved via Quirk Gallery and Saturday Stroll below:

Come to Shop Richmond Weekend's kick-off and help us jump start Saturday Stroll. Join us March 20th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m in Midtown (starting at the 300 block of West Broad Street to be exact) to have fun while learning more about your local businesses. And remember to exclusively support your local businesses the entire weekend. Enjoy live music, restaurant specials and more!

Vendor Interest: simply email contact@shoprva.org with your name, the name of your business (if applicable), type of merchandise/food, email address, and contact number. There is no fee to become a vendor. Each vendor will be allotted between 4 and 6 feet of space on the sidewalk. You must bring your own table, chairs, signs and merchandise. You must register by 5:00 p.m. Thursday, March 17th. contact@shoprva.org

Help Build a Whale at VCU this Week

In or near Richmond, VA? Love whales? This just may be a project for you:

help wanted: whale builders

Tuesday, February 23rd any time between 12pm-5pm at 1000 W Broad Street, Fine Arts Building lobby. Help Shay Church & the VCU School of the Arts students of Craft/Material Studies build a life-sized whale. Come dressed formal in your Sunday best ready to get dirty. Learn more about whale building and see video of past installations by visiting Shay's website.

Oh how I wish we'd built a whale back when I was in this program.

Vote For Your Handmade Favorite

If you've been following Rikrak Studio's 2010 Handmade Olympics, now is the time to head over and place your votes. I was kindly invited to judge event #6 last week. It gave me the chance to explore many familiar and new-to-me shops, blogs, and products. I found scores of new favorite Etsy shops, and added several blogs I hadn't come across to my daily blog reader. While narrowing down the nominations was a challenge, my final selections include destinations created and brought to you from people just like you and me who are carving out a difference in the world little by little, one person at a time. Each of the nominees I chose captured my attention, inspired me as a creative person, and left me wanting more; all qualities I admire. I hope each of you will now enjoy the voting process for these 10 thrifty-forward, sustainably-minded blogs, shops, and sites.

Head on over to event #6 for my final 10 choices in the "favourite thrifty-forward, sustainably-minded blog, shop, or site" and place a vote for your favourite. Find out more about the 2010 Handmade Olympics and check out the final voting rounds in each of the 8 events over at Rikrak Studio.

Judging for the 2010 Handmade Olymics

Have you heard about Rikrak Studio's 2010 Handmade Olympics yet? If not, scurry over now to partake in the handmade competition, nomination process, and claim your stake in the $2000 USD worth of handmade and vintage prizes to be had. Kristal, the brilliance behind the Handmade Olympics, graciously asked me to participate in the judging portion of this year's events.

I'll be judging event #6, Favourite thrifty-forward, sustainably-minded blog, shop, or site. Learn more about how to get involved in the overall event here, the specific event I'll be judging here, and more about the other judges involved here.

Judging Etsy's Handmade Moment Video Contest

A while back I was asked to be one of the judges in the Handmade Moment video contest hosted by Etsy. There were many incredible submissions and it was inspiring discussing each of the videos with this roster of talented judges.

View some of what went down during the final judging night:

Learn more about the Handmade Moment video contest and the winner on Etsy's blog.

Sarah Seven Spring 2010 Fashion Show

Last night I was invited to Sarah Seven's spring 2010 fashion show. It was an event put on in conjunction with the Soho International Film Festival. The show was incredible and her work is even better in person than represented in her Etsy shop. I've been a fan of Sarah's since spotting her shop on Etsy, have been familiar with her line, but finally got the chance to meet her in person last night at the show. She's simply a gem.

Some of my favorite looks from the line include:





Here's Sarah post show, scissors round her neck and all:

After stopping by her post show trunk show today at The Dressing Room, a great little boutique/bar on Orchard, I snagged a one of a kind sea-foam hued short number that just happened fit like a glove.

View my full set of show photos on Flickr for all the spring line looks or watch the slide-show below:

Derby Day

Part of my job at Etsy entails curating and writing for the Etsy Finds emails and blog articles. Today's email was centered around the Kentucky Derby, and here's my take on it, vintage style. The items above are the ones I found in Etsy's Vintage Category that represented the feeling I get from Derby Day. Just click the image above to read the article and get a closer look at any of the items shown.

Here's raising my glass to you during the most exciting 2 minutes in sports!

Rosie O'Donnell on Etsy

Today Rosie O'Donnell hosted a "Shop Live" event in Etsy's Virtual Labs. Basically, she chatted in real time with hundreds of Etsians on a live web cam stream from her craft room in her home. She was hilarious and so personable. She's evidently a huge fan of Etsy and shops on the site daily. She's been plugging Etsy in the greater media lately and was showing off several of the items she's purchased in the workshop today. I got to hide behind the scenes and help make things run smoothly...definitely an experience to remember.

You can read more about the event and her charity in this Etsy blog article. She seemed to have a great time and said she wanted to come back to host more workshops on Etsy in the future!

Hanging with Yuri from Lookbook.nu

This past Thursday I was lucky enough to host the Shop Live event in Etsy's Virtual Labs that featured Yuri, the creator of my favorite new site, Lookbook.nu. Lookbook is one part fashion, one part community and one part voyeur. Members can upload their fashion looks and show off their style and anyone can comment on the photos. Yuri was available on webcam talking about her own fashion inspirations and using Etsy items to show off her style. It was a good time and great to meet her.

The up and downside to the site is that it's invite only. So...if you need an invite just leave a comment and I'll send you one so you too can get started!

Every so often Etsy hosts a Shop Live event featuring an up and comer or well known person in the industry. You can read about the past events that have taken place here, and keep up with new events by following this schedule.

No pants subway ride 2009

I wasn't a part of this, nor did I witness it, but only in NYC...nuff said.

Business cards in a pinch

I had an event I needed to attend this weekend where my fork bracelets were on display and was completely out of my favorite moo cards that I use for my business cards. Since moo is located in the UK, I just scooped up a few different papers I've had laying around including menus I had from a french brasserie I used to work at. Then I cranked up my trusty old typewriter, shaped scissors and sewing machine. Finally, I just sewed all the components together with a simple stitch. Couldn't be simpler.

Each one is unique and I have a special spot in my heart for the ones where I actually messed up the typing.

Sometimes happy accidents can turn out better than one imagines. I have admit I like the look of these much better than my moo cards, but they are pretty labor intensive. It took me about 45 minutes to whip up 20 of them so they aren't really a cost effective tool for me at this time. But hey, what a great result when I was in a bind!

Here we are at the event, twas a fun evening for all.

In the area?

If you're in the NYC area, come out this Saturday to the "Where I'm from Tour: Toronto meets New York." There will be live music and local artists (including yours truly) on display. It will be a great way to meet new people in the music and art field and I'm looking forward to it!

Details:

• November 8 ,2008
• Doors open at 10pm
• WHERE i AM FROM TOUR: TORONTO CANADA MEETS NEW YORK USA
• live at: SUPREME TRADING, 213 NORTH 8TH ST, BROOKLYN NY 11211
• RSVP no later than November 6th at toughdumplin.com for $5 Cover
  

See you there, xoxo