LadyFest Boston and Spring Zine Thing

From us at the BBB, you probably know that there are few things we love more than people supporting local artists in any format, especially in the form of local events that bring communities of cool people together. The month of January, I spent some time hanging out with the people organizing and supporting LadyFest Boston during the Washington Street Art Center fundraisers that were put on by LFB. LadyFest is a 3 day event of music, workshops, talks and meetings taking place at the Cambridge YMCA on Mass Ave. The general purpose of the event is to listen to great local music that involves women, be totally awesome, and make connections with people who support feminist ideals. LadyFest Boston starts TONIGHT, and is being organized by a great group of volunteers. Check out their site to see the huge list of bands from greater Boston and beyond. Other events include the first meeting of Permanent Wave Boston, and a comics workshop with Liz Prince. Check out the LFB facebook, or listen to some of the bands at the LFB bandcamp to find your favorite new band.

Speaking of comics, volunteer organizations, upcoming events, and the WSAC, Marissa and I are ALMOST ready to post more details, and calls for participation about our April event, currently being called Spring Zine Thing.  So far our rough event-sketch is for a totally sweet afternoon selling, swapping, reading, and making zines at the WSAC on Saturday April 14th. So put it on your calendars, and get to work on making a zine to bring! First time zine makers of all ages are 100% welcome, as are those who have been making zines since the 70′s. We want to see zines of all subject matter, size and format! Info in the form of fliers, posts, and a facebook event will be coming soon to an internet connection near you…

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2012 events are cooking in the oven!

The Bazaar Bizarre rules, Union Made rules, and since one of our mottos is ‘DO FUN STUFF’, we want to have more events throughout the year. January 2nd started off Small Craft Advisory’s 2012 event planning session – yeah we like to start early! We had a great time thinking up fun events, locations and themes for the year, and sharing our personal 2011 BazBiz highlight reels.

First up for new new new events is the Spring Zine Thing, which Marissa and Megan are co-organizing for mid-April in Somerville at the Washington Street Art Center. The Spring Zine Thing is going to be an afternoon for selling zines, swapping zines, making zines, listening to music and hanging out. If you know any zine-loving friends, writers, illustrators, comic artists and anyone into DIY press, help spread the word! We will be sending out a call for participants in the next few weeks with all the details. Megan and Marissa will be at the WSAC this Friday, January 13th for the ‘Adventures Close to Home‘ art opening. Come check out some great art (up for auction!) to benefit LadyFest Boston, and talk to us about how much you love zines!

In the meantime, all of us here in the SCA hope you had great holidays, and are enjoying the slightly slower pace of the craft world in January. Oh, and don’t forget to draw // design // print your Valentine’s Day cards!

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Bazaar Bizarre Boston Interviewed by WBUR

The other day several of the organizers of the Bazaar Bizarre Boston got to chat with WBUR reporter Andrea Shea about the continued rise and sustained world of craft and art. It was really great to be able to talk about why we love being part of the crafting community, why we make art, and why it is important to us to help keep it going!
WBUR

The piece will run Friday December 16th 2011, during their Morning Edition program, and will run twice, either at 5:50 and 7:50, or 6:50 and 8:50. Tune into listen on your radio, or by going to WBUR and clicking ‘Listen Live’. We will also post a link to the story online when it becomes available.

Thank you Andrea!

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Mass Market on Sunday December 13th!

Come say hi to Small Craft Advisory at Mass Market on Sunday December 13th! We will be at Mass Art at 621 Huntington Avenue, Boston MA 02115 from 12-6, with all the other great craft, art, record, vintage goods and food vendors!

Mass Market!When we aren’t busy planning the Bazaar Bizarre, we like to hang out at craft fairs and have fun.  This year we have a table at Mass Market, and will be crafting up delicious snacks for you!  Right not we have on the menu a selection of hot soups and stews to keep you warm and full on a cold winter day while you shop Mass Market:

Potato & Red Lentil Stew – Megan’s favorite winter veggie vegan stew. This slightly spicy stew is full of white and sweet potatoes, flavored with cumin and a dash of cayenne.

Chicken Corn Chowder – Ryan’s favorite recipes are always savory, creamy and decadent.  Crisp chunks of corn, tender chicken, and cubed potatoes in a light creamy sauce.

Veggie Chili – Sarah’s chili is a classic! Black beans, pinto beans and kidney beans will be simmering with sweet peppers, tomatoes and other assorted veggies, mildly spiced.  This chili will be vegan, but we will also have a little crockpot of spiced ground turkey to add in on request for any meat-lovers.

Biscuits & Cornbread: If you haven’t had Alison’s dinner biscuits, you are seriously missing out. A family recipe involving special yeast cakes is crucial to making these fluffy biscuits.  Megan will be making big squares of cornbread from scratch. If you think all cornbread is dry and crumbly, this recipe will change your mind for sure!

Tea & Coffee: Our tea and coffee urns were a huge hit for vendor set-up at the BBB, and we will have them up and running for Mass Market. A big selection of teas will be on hand, with strong coffee and a variety of milks and sugars.

We hope to see you at Mass Market, and help keep you full and warm while you shop the great vendors at the fair. Check out the vendors list on the MassMarket website and facebook page to plan your shopping!

 

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Quick Thank You for BBB2011

To everyone who helped make the 2011 Bazaar Bizarre Boston an amazing day…Thank you! Danke! Gracias! Merci! Obrigado! Grazie! Arigato! Over and over and over!

Another Instagram photo of Sarah's

The vendors, the volunteers, the organizing team, the shoppers, the staff at the BCA, the lunch delivery guy, and all our family and friends – you all help make this totally awesome thing happen every year.

Since the best way to end an amazing event is to immediately start working on the next one, Small Craft Advisory will have the first meeting to start planning BBB 2012 in January! :D

 

 

 

 

 

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Caricatures and Comics by the Boston Comics Roundtable!

Prefer to give your friends and family the gift of paper this year? Look no further! At the Bazaar Bizarre Boston, the Boston Comics Roundtable will be offering their fantastic comics anthologies (featuring their newest comics anthology, Inbound 5), showcasing mind-blowing collections of mini-comics, and wooing the crowds with spectacular caricatures.

Boston Comics Roundtable

The Boston Comics Roundtable is a collective of comics artists and writers in the Boston area. We meet, we talk, we publish, and, most importantly, we encourage each in the pursuit of creating more and better comics. Since 2008, we’ve published Inbound, a Boston Comics Anthology as a platform for showcasing local talent. In that time, additional publications have also come out of the Roundtable, including the Outbound science fiction anthology and the Hellbound horror anthology. It is our belief that when it comes to comics, you can be your own best publisher. In that spirit, the Boston Comics Roundtable has always embraced a D.I.Y. spirit.

Boston Comics Roundtable

Featured NEW Comic – Inbound 5: The Food Issue
Our best and brightest comics artists come together in Inbound 5 to share their reminiscences, fantasies, fears, and love of food. From the deeply personal to the fantastical, this book explores our complex relationship with what we eat.
When did humans first learn to cook? Why are we sometimes attracted to the most repulsive cuisines? Is it possible to turn into the food you eat too much? Inbound 5 takes you from the historical tales of fishwives and cheese-chasing to the beautiful and evocative legends of food handed down from the gods. http://www.bostoncomicsroundtable.com/inbound-5/

Mini-Comics Gift Packs
In addition to comics anthologies, the artists and writers of the Boston Comics Roundtable also write, draw and publish mini-comics. Whether they are created by individuals or teams of artists, writers and designers, the Boston Comics Roundtable will showcase dozens of mini-comics at the Bazaar Bizarre for less than $5 each. Come browse the BCR table and pick up individual mini-comics that strike your fancy, or be adventurous, and pick up one of our mini-comics gift packs.

Caricatures

Looking for the perfect, personal holiday gift? Well, just sit back, relax and let our caricature artists whip up something for you for only $10 per person. This year, the Boston Comics Roundtable will feature the following spectacular caricature artists:

Braden D. Lamb is an illustrator currently working on the “Ice Age” and “Adventure Time” comics for kaboom! studios. He recently finished studying illustration at the Art Institute of Boston. His favorite X-man is Beast. His work can be seen at http://www.bradenlamb.com/

Boston Comics Roundtable BradenLamb

Boston Comics Roundtable BradenLamb

Dan Mazur grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1983, he relocated to Los Angeles to work in the motion picture industry, then in its infancy. After 23 years on the west coast — including 17 in Topanga Canyon, California — he moved back to Cambridge, where he turned his attention to the art of comics. He has since become a household name at his house. For more information on Dan, please read this paragraph again. His work can be seen at http://www.danmazurcomics.com/

Boston Comics Roundtable DanMazur

Boston Comics Roundtable DanMazur

Dirk Tiede was born in California, grew up in the Midwest, and cut his teeth as a graphic artist in Chicago. He holds a BFA in commercial art from Millikin University, but has been drawing comics for as long as he can remember. He began “Paradigm Shift” as an online comic in 1999, and is a founding contributor to premiere comics portal Modern Tales. His artwork is showcased in the books “Toon Art: The Graphic Art of Digital Cartooning and Webcomics”, appears the documentary “Adventures In Digital Comics”, and was featured in Season 3 of NBC’s “Heroes”. His work can be seen at http://www.dirktiede.com/ and http://www.paradigmshiftmanga.com/

Boston Comics Roundtable DirkTiede

Boston Comics Roundtable DirkTiede

Visit the Boston Comics Roundtable at the Bazaar Bizarre activity room, where you can also check out gather here, Lindsay Metivier, the Boston Derby Dames, and Repeat Press.

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Custom Letterpress Posters by Repeat Press

If you’ve been to the past few fairs we’ve run, you’ve most likely already witnessed the scene below.

Repeat Press
Last year, Mike Dacey of Repeat Press approached us about setting up a booth to print letterpress posters on demand.  How could we refuse?  Instantly, I started thinking about what I would get on a poster…before I could decide, Dace presented me with the perfect one.

Due to the immense popularity of the posters, we decided to plan a whole activity room where you can be part of making holiday gifts! In addition to Repeat Press, you can stop in and check out gather here, Lindsay Metivier, the Boston Derby Dames, and Boston Comics Roundtable.

Repeat Press

For the past few Bazaars I’ve brought the Repeat Press “Mobile Unit” – a modified Vandercook letterpress circa 1930 that I use to print custom posters for people while they wait, using vintage wood type. After the first event, I quickly discovered that there was more demand for posters than time that I had to print at the Bazaar, so I also take orders for posters to be printed back at the studio and mailed to customers after the event. Additionally, I’ll have limited edition concert posters, art prints, and greeting cards for sale that I’ve produced.

Repeat Pres Repeat Press
We hope you can come to the Bazaar Bizarre, and we certainly hope you visit the Repeat Press booth!

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One last chance to win 2 free Early Bird tickets!

Hope everyone has had fun this week looking out for free Early Bird tickets, and checking out some awesome local art and craft businesses around the city.  Our very last set of Early Bird tickets can be won this Saturday – mere hours before the BBB! You could avoid the BBB line, and get first dibs on your favorite crafts at 11AM by spending the day in the art-centric neighborhood of Union Square Somerville!

There is always something happening on Saturdays in Union Square, and the Saturday before the BBB is no exception.  The Washington Street Art Center is hosting their 7th annual winter open studios! The artists will all be there so follow WSAC on facebook or add WSACSomerville on twitter to find out how to win the very last 2 Early Bird tickets!  When open studios winds down in the evening, Gretchen Graham’s photography show “My Blue Heaven” will be ramping up for the opening reception downstairs in Gallery 321. Check out the artists at WSAC on their website too!
Washington Street Art Center Open StudiosNot only that, but Union Square Winter Craft Market will be right around the corner in full swing! One winner of the two BBB 2011 Early Bird tickets will be randomly chosen from those who enter to win during the day. If you are the lucky winner you will be contacted by email with the details of your ticket info.  Good luck and enjoy all the amazing art and craft in Union Square, Somerville!

Bonus tip is that at WSAC you might just see 2 of the BBB organizers furiously putting together their goods for the BBB, making buttons, packing bags, and checking their to-do lists like maniacs! Behind the scenes mania!

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gather here… at the BBB!

The BBB is lucky enough this year to host gather here in our Activity Room (along with Lindsay Metivier, the Boston Derby Dames, Repeat Press, and Boston Comics Roundtable).

Gather-Here-Red

Here’s some more information about gather here and what they will be offering at the BBB!

gather here is Cambridge’s first stitch lounge offering awesome classes and workshops. We also sell some of the finest natural fibers available to knitters, crocheters, quilters, embroiderers, sewing-enthusiasts and fashionistas. The lounge is filled with handmade goods to spark your creativity.

gather here will be working on a few community knit children’s scarves – come and knit a few rows with gorgeous yarns – no experience necessary! We’ll have some knitting experts on hand to help you get started and you can say you helped donate children’s scarves to the Just-A-Start House in Somerville. Just-A-Start House is an independent living program for pregnant and parenting teenage mothers between the ages of 13 and 20, and their children. The young ladies are provided with comprehensive training in life skills, parenting, money management and help finding individual housing. It’s a wonderful place that provides incredible services to people who really need support.

knitcollagecowl

Not a knitter? Noah, co-owner of the stitch lounge will be doing needle felting demonstrations using a cookie cutter, roving and a needle to create a gingerbread man ornament. He’s become quite the needle felting master but has been way too busy working on RIPD to offer a class this fall. So watch him at work and pick up a needle felting kit so you can make your own.

mini bunting

Plus we’ll have tons of fat quarters in a variety of prints, handmade bias tape, and a pretty awesome collection of holiday gift kits. We’ve collaborated with the local yarn company, Knit Collage to create a beret and cowl kit using just one skein of their gorgeous gypsy garden/rolling stone yarn and some jumbo needles. And we’ve designed a children’s knitting and sewing kit for the young crafty genius in your life. There will be mini-bunting hand cut and sewn by owner/crafter, Virginia! Meet the staff of gather here, learn more about our classes and our products, and join us for some making!

fatquarters

gather here’s table will be located in the Activity Room by the front entrance, so be sure to stop by and say ‘hi’ and try your hand at some knitting and/or needlework!

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Aviary wants YOU to be an Early Bird!

If you haven’t noticed yet, all week we will be posting about how a few lucky people can win Early Bird tickets to this year’s BBB!  Next host for our ticket give-away is Aviary Gallery and Art Boutique in JP! Aviary will be posting on the Aviary facebook page with details on how you can win. Follow Aviary, or stop by the gallery to find out how you can be a lucky Early Bird shopper at the BBB! Aviary’s winner will be randomly chosen from those who enter to win by Friday December 2nd, and will be contacted with their winning ticket details on Saturday morning!

The Beard Show is up at Aviary! Stop by the opening reception on December 1st!

The BBB will be posting about the contests and winners too, so friend us on Facebook and Twitter to keep up!  Early Birds get to come into the BBB at 11AM, that is a whole hour before the rest of the world, with just 100 other shoppers.  Early Birds get first crack at the tables without the crowds! Normally we sell them for $10 a piece, but we are all sold out, and this is your chance to get a ticket for free!

 

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