Follow BEST on Pinterest!

Have you caught the Pinterest fever?  If you haven't, you've most likely heard of this Internet phenomenon at least...a place where you can virtually "pin" things you like to a number of bulletin boards, without covering the walls of your house!  I myself have had to limit the number of times a day that I browse through my friends pins, and every time I go on I find new ideas about what to make for dinner, outfits I want to put together, great ideas for my classroom, as well as adorable photos of baby animals.

There truly is a pin for everyone, and while you need to be invited to join, I would bet you could find at least one person you know to sign you up!

BEST has a group pin board where you can find new and exciting products that are offered in our Etsy shops- go check out our board, and start pinning today!



written by Lauren of JerseyGirlDesign

Closed for the Holidays... just a short break.

After a busy, busy season for us, we will be taking a much-needed break here at the BEST blog. While many BEST members work from home, and often in pajamas, they are some of the smartest and hardest working people I have ever met. (Of course, there are lots of members who also have day jobs, kids, etc, and who knows how they get everything done?) I think most of us (and I'm sure many of you) feel just like that little one in the image above. Tired.

Of course there's you to thank, our readers, our friends, the people who allow us to do what we love. We love seeing you at shows, hearing your comments on the blog, we thank you for taking to the time to peek into our thoughts every day. (We know some days are better than others!). Thanks so much for your support.

On behalf of BEST, we'd like to wish you all the happiest of holidays & a warm, wonderful new year. See you in 2011!

Photo by zizzybaloobah

Inspirations - Falling into Fall

School's back in session, temperatures are dropping (a bit), and I'm thinking about boots and sweaters. Which means fall is coming. And many of our BEST members have been busily preparing new, autumnal work. (If you've ever worked retail, for a magazine, or as a crafter, you know these crafters have been thinking about fall since the beginning of summer!)

New BEST Members - NicoletteLeFaye

We really have some great new members, but in my humble opinion, the one with the most interesting photos is NicoletteLeFaye. But who is she?

She's a nursery rhyme idol, living with her spoiled Maltese in a Hampden rowhouse.

Or maybe she's hiding from the law in a back alley, while maintaining her glamorous style.

A runaway bride?

Nope, definitely a New Wave star by day, superhero by night.

Nicollete's profile reads:

I also am a trapeze artist, musician, ballet dancer, crappy figure skater, and I sporadically star in local films. I have a wicked case of ADD...

So who is she? And what's next? I'm still not sure. But I can't wait to find out. I know it will be fantastic.

Artcars!

Check out the artcars right next to the DIY tent on Charles Street- especially the one by BEST member Val Lucas of Bowerbox Press!

check us out!!!

did you catch us in the storque? we're not models, we just play them on etsy!

pictured, l - r: curiouszoo, tigerlillyshop, sweetpepita, jenmenkhaus, jennyjen42, dandelionblu, vwstudios, spatherapy, elisasherejewelry, blockpartypress, thebrokenplate, and jillpopowichdesigns

photo by tya anthony of eyeni photography

BEST membership update

For those of you who have contacted BEST to become a member, we wanted to let you know that you will hear back from us on August 4th. Please stay tuned - as you can tell by our blog, the next few weeks will be busy!

You are always welcome to come meet and chat either this Sunday at our first trunk show or at Artscape the 18th - 20th. Thanks, and we look forward to meeting you!

image by goosegrease

Saturday! Saturday! Saturday!

Crafty Bastards is this weekend! If you happen to know a crafty bastard personally, you probably haven't seen her for a while because she's barrocaded herself in the studio, or possibly handcuffed herself to the sewing machine on the dining room table (there will be no eating here).

But have no fear! Some of the craftiest bastards from near and far will come out of hiding this Saturday at Pyramid Atlantic in Silver Spring, MD.

I am really looking forward to seeing these Owly Shadow Puppets


and perhaps purchasing a Mean Card or two from Julianna Holowka...


There will also be BEST and Charm City Craft Mafia members in attendance along with many other Baltimore artists and crafters, so be sure to stop by and say hi!

This Saturday, June 28 from 10am-5pm
Pyramid Atlantic Art Center
8230 Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring, MD

You're the Best!

Hey, all you crafty Baltimore Etsians, don't look so sad... we have so many people who want to be part of the team that we are having trouble sorting through them! Please bear with us - we're reorganizing and planning and figuring out just how to make this group the BEST it can be! (hehe) We're seeing lots of great work come through, and trust us, you WILL hear back from us. In the meantime, head over to our the Baltimore Crafter's flickr pool and join in the fun by sharing your work with the rest of this charming city. We'll start featuring work from non-BEST artists in the near future on the blog.

See you soon!

photo by miscelena

Hmmmm.... What to do this weekend...

Join BEST members JenyGwen, JenMenkhaus, Miscelena and SweetPepita at the EcoFestival in Druid Hill Park! We'll be celebrating Baltimore Green Week and selling eco-friendly goodies for you and your family. Prepare yourself to fall in love with our park on a guided hiking or biking tour, discover how delicious and extraordinary vegan meals can be with fare from Yabba Pot, and just relax! Listen to music, enjoy art displayed in green space and maybe even learn a little something about how to take better care of your world.


And if that's not enough, this Sunday, April 27th, Bowerbox Press will be at the Day of the Book Festival in Kensington, MD. The fair is from 12 to 5, rain or shine. There will be authors, publishers, book artists, craftspeople, musicians and more!

Information is available at dayofthebook.com

Spring Bags

Our very own JennyJen 42 in this month's issue of Baltimore Magazine! That's her super-cute Mr. Owl Bag on the left.

It's not easy being green

As Kermit said, it's not easy being green. Materials can cost more, you have to be creative with packaging, and you have to carry bags with you everywhere, so you don't have to use those nasty plastic ones.

Yet, many of us here at BEST fully support this ongoing trend of being "green. " TheBrokenPlate takes plates that would ordinarily end up in a landfill and makes gorgeous pendants, brooches, rings, and earrings with them. SweetPepita takes old (but still cool) tees, combines them with super soft organic cotton, and turns them into the most fabulous tees for babies and toddlers. For my work, I use vintage plastic, 100% wool, and fabric scraps - and produce virtually no waste product, as I compost all of my scrap materials.

Even though we live our lives this way 365, we're kicking off a full "green month" in honor of earth day. We'll soon be posting details on this month's giveaway, featuring work by BEST crafters with sustainable practices (you can enter to win by joining our mailing list here.) We'll be participating in Baltimore's Green Week, and we'll be posting "green features" on our blog all month long.

There's more of us who are making our craft with conscience. There are more of you, too. If you have an eco-friendly tip, craft, or event to contribute to our blog, please let us know. Until then, look for our members doing green crafty things around Baltimore. I'll be the one carrying all the bags.

TaDa!!!!!

BEST's new postcard! Get ready for a media blitz!!! The gals of Baltimore are busy getting our works out there!!!

Sweet Pepita!

So, hi! I’m Shannon from Sweet Pepita. I sew kids’ t-shirts and hats from organic cotton and recycled fabrics. Pepita is one of my baby girl’s many names. For real. My husband and I couldn’t choose just one. And if it weren’t for the birth of my daughter, I’d probably still have a jewelry studio in my house instead of a sewing machine parked in the dining room. So it was only fitting, I think, to name my business after her.

















I think my Sir Isaac Newton realization of the importance of art came in the kitchen as a child. Unable (or unwilling) to control my impulses, I grabbed my mama’s carved wooden bunny from off the windowsill. It was 6 or 7” tall, maybe 3” thick, and deceivingly light. Its color was a nearly perfect match to our cupboards, a kind of sickly yellow-brown. With a healthy pink eraser, I removed bunny’s penciled-in eyes, and held bunny, now a smooth, monochromatic woodland creature in my hands.

My mom was crazy mad.
“No, No, No. No. You do not do that. Why did you do that?” She grabbed the pencil and scribbled bunny’s eyes right on back. “That’s how the artist wanted it.”

Except now it is so obviously Mom’s scribble.

Nearly twenty years later, I graduated college with a degree in Spanish. While working towards that degree, I studied jewelry fabrication and design at MICA and began working for Barbie Levy, a jeweler based in Owings Mills, MD. From Barbie I learned so much about jewelry production and the craft world.

A friend taught me how to knit. I baked vegan cakes. A lot of vegan cakes. I did a little bit of everything. And then came Pepita. After the colic subsided I drew design after design for a line of infant clothing I just couldn’t get out of my brain. I knew I wanted to create a green product. And it had to be super-cool and unique. Finally, in late August of last year, my ideas were realized in fabric.

I sew because my mom taught me how to when I was still small. And I think it’s in my blood. Working with my hands has always been the most satisfying way to make a living. I can feel that I’m doing something and I can see my style and my touch in what I do. I know that with love and skill and care, our craft and our art is our history. And that’s how I want it.