Discriminating Weirdos

Will the Banner Make All the Difference?

I promise not to harp on it much longer (because it happens on Saturday), but the Third Annual St. Paul Craftstravaganza is coming up this weekend!  Em seems to think there is a lot to do before we can leave tomorrow morning, but as usual, I'm taking a calmer approach.

I have, however, spent quite a lot of time prepping for this show.  After a successful show before Christmas, I was low on product and I've been working since then to make as many things as I could before St. Paul.  I'm pretty happy with the amount of stuff I've got, but when you make one-of-a-kind things, you can never really have enough.

I also spent time last week making something I've always felt our booth was missing: A BANNER!  People have always liked the name of the company and get a chuckle out of it, but we've never had an official freak flag to fly.

We had thought about having one printed up at Kinko's, but that just didn't seem to fit our whole "making stuff" deal.  Instead, I came up with this little fella using a bunch of old material we were going to throw away.  The needle (on the right) is embroidered, and for scale, is about 14" long.  Each letter is cut from a different piece of scrap and hand sewn on with bright threads.

Wish us luck! (ADAM)

Craftstravaganza Prep: The Moss Covered Three Handled Family Grudunza Problem

As regular readers of Discriminating Weirdos know, I've been stuck on my hat stand problem for a while. 

My original concept, entitled The Moss Covered Three Handled Family Grudunza, was constructed out of galvanized pipe, and had little red rubber balls on the ends to hold hats. 

The pipe concept was great, but the rubber balls (however jolly) didn't do a very good job of staying attached to the pipes, and weren't shaped properly to hold hats in even a mild breeze. 

Last December, Adam started making melted record bowls (see previous post).  It occurred to both of us that these bowls would make perfect hand stands, if only we could figure out how to attach them to the pipes. 

Months later, and only with an impending deadline, did we come up with a really easy solution that was entirely obvious from the beginning had we thought about it at all. 

A tutorial on attaching record bowls to a grudunza: 

Start with a melted record bowl. 

Easy to make.  If you need a tutorial on this, just ask.  But you'll have to wait until next week.  I've got a lot of stitching to do.

This was my idea.

Also my idea.  It seemed so obvious that the nut thingy should screw on the bolt thingy.

This was Adam's brilliance.  He's very good at using whatever happens to be at hand.  Sometimes this involves far too much wire and rubber bands.  This time, he found exactly the right tool for the job.  The red thing is one of those electrical insulator end nuts leftover from ceiling fan installation.  It fits perfectly into the end of the pipe.

He's feeling very clever.

This was the scary part. 

Would it work? 

Would the bolt fit into the red thing tightly enough? 

Would the red thing hold in the pipe?

YES!

The completed Moss Covered Three Handled Family Grudunza.

Version Two.  Inverted Melted Record Bowl.

(Emily)

3 Days to Craftstravaganza: HezzaMade

Ooooo! The St Paul Craftstravaganza's getting close!  And I've got three hats I really want to finish!  And we still can't figure out how to affix the upturned melted record bowl onto the end of a galvanized pipe! And I need more grudunza!  OOOO!

I imagine that Heather Hint of HezzaMade is going through some similar turbulence at the moment.  She's gotta be getting ready for the big St Paul Craftstravaganza.  She'll be there with these totally awesome repurposed picture record clocks. (which are also available at her Etsy shop).

Heather has several extremely interesting things to say about herself.  They are so interesting, in fact, that I feel like I should quote her directly, from her website:

Heather Hint enjoys sipping cocktails in various Minneapolis backyards.
She likes to rummage around antique stores, thrift stores and flea markets for items that were once loved by someone and need to be loved by someone else now. She'd like to think she is helping to accomplish this.
She obsesses about food and wishes she were eating clams with bellies and birthday cake ice cream on Plum Island, Mass right now.
She's had more jobs than you will ever have. In an effort to stop this trend she's completing her degree she started many many moons ago. She's looking forward to teaching children.
She was sent to Catholic school in the 3rd grade. She vomited on her desk the first day.
She once gave her nieces and nephews candy cigarettes at Christmas.
She thinks her hometown bands are better than yours.
She hopes you like what she's made. It's certainly not for everyone. She likes that.

From what I now know, I'm pretty sure I like her, and I know for sure that I like her things.  Her store on Etsy claims that she uses flotsam and jetsam.  Maybe she can give me a definition of these words that will stick in my brain.  I can't ever remember the difference between one and the other. 

I'd better go work on those hats.

(Emily)

Another Craftstravaganza-er

I've been to a lot of craft shows, and I've got to say that Cricket Syndicate offers a product I had never seen before: one-of-a-kind box cut briefs made out of recycled T-shirts!  Until I saw them at the Craftstravaganza last year, I thought I had seen every possible way to reuse old T-shirts.  I'd seen bags, wallets, wedding dresses, stuffed animals, and rope.  But I had never seen underwear.

Bravo to Cricket Syndicate for surprising my normally jaded sensibilities!

Em and I will also be in St. Paul this Saturday from 9-6 at the Fine Arts Building of the Minnesota State Fair Grounds.  Drop by and check out her new hats and all of the various ties and patches I've managed to add to my inventory.

Who knows?  You may even pick up a new pair of underwear.  (ADAM)

Emily's Weekend Tiling Project Continues