Stitches and Thrills

Friday November 22nd the  Etsy Pop-Up Winter Pop Up Shop (organized bythe Ka-Ching Collective) was officially opened with a small party. My compliments for Babette , Margriet , Annabel and Barbara : they created a wonderful shop. There is a lot of variation in the items they selected, yet it all works together perfectly. From both my shops items are available in the pop Up Shop ( MissMinoes and AllFairness ): Apart from the familiar Etsian faces I also met some nice new shop owners. I talked to Nelleke of RedCheeksFactory , the girls from the bows at StrictlyAmsterdam , and to Beau from TheHelloShop . Beau is both designer and soap maker. But THE gift idea for this years holiday season is her home made beard oil . It softens the beard and nourishes the skin. Apart from the socializing we also had first choice in doing our shopping. This even created a line at the cash register! A great success on the first day already. I couldn't leave without Muscle Man Paper ...

June 20th 2013. Worldwide there were Etsy Craft Parties happening that day. I attended the one in Amsterdam. It was an excellent festive event and networking opportunity, organized by Ka-Ching Collectief , a collective of 5 Etsy sellers at Storm Gallery in Amsterdam. We crocheted, made booklets or cards, but most of all had a lot of fun. The Ka-Ching Collectief also have a cool pop-up store there, with handmade and vintage items, worth checking out. Thank you, Ka-Ching girls: Babette Annabel Maggie Barbara Karin

Now that winter is approaching , it is time again for ( fingerless ) gloves . At the moment I 'm working with Silk Blend Yarn by Manos del Uruguay . Not only is the material very soft to work with (30 % Silk / 70 % Merino Extra f ine Wool ). The story behind the Silk Blend makes it extra worthwhile . Manos del Uruguay ( Hands of Uruguay ) is a cooperative of 400 women throughout the countryside of Uruguay . They are spinning and dyeing wool from Uruguay . The wool is hand dyed in large kettles ( Kettle Dyed ). Manos del Uruguay is a Fair Trade organization : they focus on the eradication of poverty through sustainable development . The project also consists of hand knitted and woven products , as ponchos . The Silk Blend lends itself well for fingerless gloves because the material is warm , soft and breathes well . Perfect for t his kind of gloves that you wear during  activities like typing on the computer , texting , kni...

Sunday 12 augustus was the Design Market by DaWanda in the Meininger hote l in Amsterdam. Four floors were filled with Dawanda designers from across Europe. Each could decorate their own room as boutique. I came as a visitor in order to meet other Dawanda sellers . Because of the nice weather it was pretty quiet , allthough this made it possible for me to visit all the shops and exchange ideas. This went on in either German, English or Dutch, as the market was very international.   S ome were unfortunate to get a pretty small room .  But Tizzalicious managed to turn her boxroom into a tiny pink paradise a nd   Funnyture had even managed to drag 2 cabinets into the room . :)   Here's a photo collage for an impression. I saw so many gorgeous designs: I will refer to them in my blog in the coming weeks. (*By the way: I  also have a Miss Minoes shop at   DaWanda .)   Colourful handmade textile...