My Booth @ West Coast Craft

As a vendor, how you set up your booth at an event can be as much or more important than what you're actually selling.  At West Coast Craft earlier this month, there were some extraordinary booths that must have cost a lot of time and money to set up.

I'll admit, I didn't spend a lot of time or money on my booth setup.  I'm just one person, and I was busy with client design work leading up to the event.  I used what time I had to focus on making one-of-a-kind jackets and getting my other items ready to sell.  Here's a shot of my booth during setup on Friday afternoon.

Setting up @ West Coast Craft

The idea for the banner came to me a few days before the show.  I had taken myself out to a cafe to do some brainstorming for the show.  I was thinking about the one-of-a-kind jackets I was making, and wondering if or how they all tied together.  I thought about the main motifs I had been using, and started sketching them out.

Brainstorming & sketching symbols

Once I saw the symbols together, I realized they represented my values as an artist, as a human.  Then inspiration came in the form of a mental picture: I saw 10 symbols painted on vintage catalog paper and strung up in the booth like a banner.

My load-in for West Coast Craft was set for Friday afternoon, so that Friday morning I spent about 30 minutes creating what I saw in my head.  I tore pages out of a vintage hardbound catalog I had, being careful not to rip the brittle paper.  I grabbed some old sign paint and a thick brush, and painted each symbol and word quickly.  I set them to dry in the sun and gathered them up right before we left to load in.

I brought an old black T-shirt with me and clipped it up to form two clotheslines to hang the pages on.  I'd forgotten to bring anything to hang the pages with, but we fished out some old wire that was in the van, which worked perfectly.

I replaced the word "LOVE" with "HEART" before the show started

In the past I've fallen into the trap of overthinking things, so lately I've been trying to come from a more intuitive place.  The question I'm exploring is, Can something be effortless and fun, and still be of value?

I love the way the banner came together and I got several compliments on it over the weekend.  I'll be hanging it in my studio as soon as I find some room.

Designing a T-Shirt for Solid Gold Texas Boutique

When I met Katie, the owner of the beautiful Solid Gold boutique in Austin, Texas, I mentioned I did custom design & she asked about a tee for her shop. I was on board immediately.

When I'm designing for a band or a brand, I spend a good amount of time thinking about the feel of what they're putting out.  If it's a band, I'll listen to their latest album over & over.  In this case, I'd been to Katie's shop a few times and had taken in the overall feel of it and the items she carries.  It's super stylish but not overly trendy, cutting edge but not avant garde, high-end but approachable.  

I strive to design tees that people would want to wear regardless of whether they know or like the band or brand (yet).

Her customers are very stylish, and I pictured a tee that would look good alone or as a layering piece under jackets; as its own accessory or popping off with gold jewelry.  Gold foil came to mind, as I had designed a Featherweight tee in gold foil in the past.  I thought about what kind of tee a stylish girl with a big wardrobe would want, and I knew it could be nicer than your average tee but it would also have to be able to be styled with different looks.  (Or LEWKS).

I made some custom tags for her with special washing instructions.

This design popped in to my head and I instantly knew I'd want to wear it.  I wasn't sure how the gold foil would behave with thick lines though.  Gold foil is a delicate specialty ink and it will decay fairly quickly. It's normally not used for large solid coverage, but why not try it?  I mentioned to Katie that it was a bit risky because the gold will flake.  She was on board with the ephemeral nature of it, making the astute point that it'll look even better as it breaks down (she's got great style). Katie wanted a muscle tee silhouette so we worked together to find the best option, and then she chose to go with black and white versions.  The design will work well with any color, and is flexible enough to work on other products in the future (totes, long sleeved tees, etc.)  

This tee feels premium and cool, and instantly makes me think of outfits I want to build around it.  I'm excited to wear it.  This was a fantastic collaboration & I'm so grateful to get to design with such creative, open-minded clients.

These tees will be available at Solid Gold (1601 E. 5th Street) in Austin soon & in the meantime I'll be wearing mine in California proudly. 

Scenes from West Coast Craft

I had a wonderful time selling at West Coast Craft this weekend.  So many great vendors and shoppers, and tons of inspiration.

Here are a few shots from the weekend.

The Mystery Box was a huge hit.  I had so much fun watching people get drawn in by it.  

Bella took home this one-of-a-kind Eyes of Intuition jacket.

The second pair of Converse I customized to benefit Youth Art Exchange.

I made this one-of-a-kind jacket from a vintage army shirt & vintage bandana and it was the first jacket to find a home.

My friend Charmmie working it in her TIGRES 3/4 sleeve sweatshirt.

West Coast Craft in San Francisco this weekend!

I'm excited to be back for my second West Coast Craft event this weekend in San Francisco.

I've been working away in my studio making a lot of custom one-of-a-kind jackets.  I'll also have some brand new posters and custom totes.

WCC vendors had a chance to customize Converse Chuck Taylors to benefit Youth Art Exchange.  I'll be honest, I misread the instructions and thought these were going to be auctioned for charity, so I put in a little extra time on them hoping that they'd raise good money.  

But it turns out they're going to be sold at the regular price of a pair of plain sneakers!  Note to self: read more closely next time.

They're children's size 11, but I didn't intend them to be worn like any old pair of kids sneakers.  They're small enough to be bedazzled paperweights, so maybe an adult will buy them.  

If you're in San Francisco, please come see me!

WEST COAST CRAFT

FESTIVAL PAVILION @ FORT MASON

SAT 6/13 & SUN 6/14 - 10A TO 6P

FEATHERWEIGHT STUDIO @ BOOTH F44

FREE & OPEN TO EVERYONE