Etsy Pittsburgh's Own Brooklyn Four Invade Artists & Fleas and the Market at McCarren

This past weekend, the "Brooklyn Four" (so named in honor of the Fox Force Five) took a road trip to sell their crafty wares at both the Artists & Fleas Market and the Market at McCarren. Although sales weren't as good as hoped, we all sold a few things, gave out some business cards, and met many wonderfully interesting people.

We arrived early enough to enjoy a breakfast of fresh baked pastries from the Baker's Bounty stand and to enjoy a stroll around the greenmarket. Jenn (aka hairycarrot) and I (aka BarkerBell) spent the day outside at the park and had fairly good traffic past our tent all day. It had rained almost every day for the past two weeks in NYC so everyone seemed to just want to be outside enjoying the nice day.

Sadly, there was a street fair near the Artists and Fleas Market on 6th and not many people wandered inside to the market so Lynne (aka Charmed By Nature) and Niffer (aka 19 Moons) didn't have as heavy traffic as McCarren Park did.

We had gorgeous weather, around 82, sunny, with a light breeze up until we were about finished packing up at the end of the day when a summer downpour began. Fortunately our tent was still up at the time so we were able to stay mostly dry. The storm ended as soon as it began leaving a rainbow over Brooklyn. After we packed the van for our trip home, we enjoyed a delicious and well earned dinner at Tai Thai, on Bedford Avenue, near 6th.

It was a wonderful experience, great chance to gauge trends for the items we all make, and a great chance to get to know other team members better. Thanks to the other members of the "Brooklyn Four" for a memorable trip. Pictures from our trip are available on Flickr.

Etsy Pittsburgh Team Invading Artists & Fleas Market June 27, 2009

The end of June, the Etsy Pittsburgh Street Team will be taking a road trip to Brooklyn, NY to vend at the Artists and Fleas Market.

Participating Members include:

Charmed By Nature offers handcrafted jewelry with a sense of humor. Celebrate this colorful season with a piece of jewelry that reflects your love of nature and fun! Each of the leaves in my leaf necklaces is hand molded in clay using a real leaf. * no bugs were harmed in the making of my necklaces - they were sculpted from scratch...:)

Funvelopes offers fun envelopes, hence the name. Each funvelope is made from found paper and matched with a sheet of stationery (salvaged) & stamped with an matching image from my vast collection of rubber stamps. (Proof that she didn't fritter the 80's away doing something silly - she collected rubber stamps).Each funvelope are made by a person and not a machine. She even uses lick and stick glue on the flaps so you can seal them up.

BarkerBell offers a number of artistically created unique items. She combines vintage images and other favorites from the past with current trends and recycles and repurposes items whenever possible, creating many Steampunk, altered art, vintage image, & upcycled items.

Silentlotus has a deep fondness and appreciation for gems and minerals which makes creating with them a very spiritual process for her. She loves to blend them with sterling silver and pure brass because it enhances both the beauty and the properties of the stones.

19 Moons limited edition jewelry incorporates vintage and recycled materials to create wares that are both unique & eco-friendly. Your source for original Steampunk, Neo-Victorian, Retro & Industrial designs.

The team will have space inside the market as well as outside at McCarren park on Saturday, June 27th.

If you're in the New York area, take advantage of the opportunity to stop by, say hello, and perhaps even buy a unique item direct from one of the artists.

A Foray into Silver Metal Clay

The Pittsburgh Etsy Team hosts workshops as often as possible to allow the members to learn from each other. The last of these workshops I attended was a silver metal clay workshop, hosted by Lynne, of Charmed By Nature.

From a drab, light gray lump of clay, I was able to make the wings above but pressing a brass stamping into the clay and cutting out around the design. The clay is a low firing version, so it's able to be baked in a regular oven and fired over a stove burner to finish it. A few more steps are involved, which I'll leave to the instructor, should she wish to hold future classes on the topic.

The workshop was fun and informative. Lynne is a very patient and knowledgeable instructor which makes her workshops all the more fun and worthwhile.

She'll be teaching an upcoming Polymer Clay workshop through the Pittsburgh Craft Collective and I can't wait to see what she inspires her students to make next.


My wings, as a brooch, with a brown doll eye added.

Introducing Charmed By Nature! Today's CityCraft Handmade Holiday Happy Hour Featured Artist.

I’m pleased to introduce you to today’s featured CityCraft artist - Charmed By Nature!

Lynne Kropinak of Charmed By Nature, handcrafts engaging & whimsical jewelry inspired by nature. Lynne incorporates “real” nature into her works, using real leaves pressed into polymer clay to make her leaf beads & pendants. She also uses various flea market finds & semi precious stones to create what she describes as “jewelry with a sense of humor” reflecting “a love of nature & fun.” Lynne often hand paints her polymer pendants & beads & has recently added the art of silver metal clay to her repertoire.

Lynne is also an avid knitter & has begun having what she describes as “a love affair with colorful, fuzzy & oh-so-touchable yarn.” She has recently opened a second Etsy shop, Back to the Garden that offers “snuggly giftables” made from gorgeously colored, thick soft wools.

Lynne is an active & important member of the Etsy Pittsburgh Team. She enjoys participating in the numerous Team craft demonstration events & often hosts 'craft nights' in her lovely home.

Come to Navarra on December 18th from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm to shop local, shop handmade, and see Charmed By Nature along with numerous other talented artisans.