My heart is full. Our third annual awards show was such an amazing culmination of celebration for handmade businesses. What moves me so much is not the grandness of the event or perfect details but how much people enjoy connecting with each other and how much they feel celebrated-- and celebrate others. It is the generosity of spirit that defines this event from start to finish.
A PSA about our most important event of the year. I wanted to share with you an email I sent to out yesterday. First if you didn't get this email-- WHY AREN'T YOU ON OUR LIST? :) I wrote this because I know that introverts make up a huge portion of the handmade demographic-- and I know many are not into parties because they can be cliquey and awkward. I want you to know that is not what our awards are about!
As part of our awards show each year, we honor someone who is building up the community. This award is really special to us, because we think that being part of a community means giving back to it. Read on to learn about this year's incredible honoree: Danielle Spurge of The Merriweather Council.
This year's Master Maker--presented by CreativeLive--is the incredibly talented Robert Mahar. Robert's career has run the maker and artist gamut and brings a WEALTH of knowledge to his online and in-person workshops. Last week, AHAS hosted a himmeli decor-making party that was generously sponsored byCreativeLive. We noshed on snacks, made 35 Himmeli octahedrons, and had an awesome, maker-schmoozing time! A BIG thank you to Sienne for being our lead instructor and demonstrating Himmeli construction for us in-person. If you weren't able to attend the party, you're still in luck! We took tons of pictures and have a super-simple tutorial so that you can make your very own, stunningly elegant, statement-piece, Himmeli mobiles! Enjoy!
It is always an immeasurable pleasure when you meet a person who is equally talented as they are nice-- Robert Mahar is very talented and very nice! That is why I am so excited to introduce you to our 2016 Master Maker presented by CreativeLive.
The Master Maker is someone we choose who we can hold up as someone to emulate. Robert has had a generous and devoted career to creativity-- building communities, teaching his craft(s) and supporting other makers at every opportunity. I hope you read on and are inspired by one of the finest people in our community.
We have the raddest people sponsoring our awards show. They really care about makers and want to see them celebrated. Plus they provide some really AH-MAZING resources. We're excited to feature three of them today!
This past Saturday we celebrated makers who are kicking butt as both artists and businesses. They are the people who are bringing professionalism, creativity, community and ingenuity to handmade... and we couldn't be prouder! They are helping push our industry forward. Check out the full list of finalists and also nominees. #formakersbymakers
Wow! This year's crop of nominees was incredible, so when our members voted for their picks, I know they had a tough time deciding. The finalists for each of the artist categories (done by medium) and this year's new best supporting business category are pretty incredible. Congratulations to all of the businesses that did such amazing work this year. The handmade community is proud to have you in it!
Well, it's no secret that our second annual Academy of Handmade Awards is coming up and we wanted to share with you a video that's a look back at last year so you get a bit of the flavor of what our show is like. It was so much fun and is only going to be better this year.
As a prep for the 2nd annual show, we had an ombre dye party for what will become our decor. We invited whoever wanted to come hang out with us, eat snacks and dye alongside co-founder KC (who is the dye master with a degree in fiber arts from Savannah College of Art and Design). A lot of you were interested in coming, but either don't live here or couldn't make it. And then we posted photos and everyone became even more interested in doing something similar.
Each year as part of our awards show we honor someone that is kicking butt in their business and is making cool stuff. This is someone we see as leader in the handmade community and has made a career path that many others in our industry can pattern their own businesses after. We could not be more pleased to announce that the 2015 Master Maker will be Erin Dollar of Cotton & Flax. Not only does she make beautiful home goods and has rapidly grown her business to be featured in stores like CB2, but she has also made herself available to other makers to help them and advise them as they grow their businesses. We can't wait to honor her at our awards show on March 7, 2015!
I wanted to share with you our latest email that went out about the awards show. Hope this helps you understand more about what we are up to. And if you're not yet on our mailing list, please sign up!
-S
A little over a year ago KC and I had the craziest dream: hold an awards show that would honor the artistry and business skills of makers. It would be the kind of awards show that wasn't a popularity contest where you had to rustle up friends to vote for you. It would be voted on by peers who understand how hard it is to be doing business for yourself AND making all of the product yourself.
