Its a Party!

I'll be there! You should come out to this Meet n' Greet party!

this Friday - the 26th - 6:30pm at PNCA
free drinks and snacks
click the hand for more info

Discussion at the Museum of Contemporary Craft

Kaffeeklatsch: an informal social gathering for coffee and conversation

Tuesday I had major plans to sit around at home consumed in production isolation(ah the holidays approach) and drowning myself in Election news and media coverage in every form possible. As I was checkin' out my blog feed I saw that Cathy and Diane were both going to be downtown at the Museum of Contemporary Craft for this round-table discussion about DIY in Portland. I looked at the clock and saw that I had time to be there, so I thought, why not.

Heres the official description of the event:
From craft fairs, etsy.com sellers and zinesters to the independent music scene, bike activists and “foodies,” Portland has a reputation as an epicenter for Do-It-Yourself (DIY) culture. Join guests Susan Beal and Cathy Pitters (PDX Super Crafty) and Justin Hocking (executive director, Independent Publishing Resource Center) for a discussion on DIY, its connection to craft and the contemporary resurgence of all things independent.

Afterwards I left feeling very positive about Portland (which is great considering it is cold and rainy and gray and I am feeling seasonally effected by the sh*t weather).

This event made me remember that I love living in PDX. I love that we have a Museum of Contemporary Craft, and the Independant Publishing Resource Center, and all the glass resources in town, and the Crafty Wonderland, and the Portland Saturday Market and Mercy Corps NW, and Portland Store Fixtures and the ReBuilding Center and so forth and so on... its such a cool city to live in as a craft person, and in a way that sums up the whole discussion!

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DesignSponge Biz Lady Meetup

DesignSponge meetup crowd shot
Originally uploaded by LeahPellegrini

Last night I attended a most incredible biz women in design meet-up. Organized by Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge and hosted by the Design Within Reach Pearl studio.

There were four discussions: sales (consignment v. wholesale) , finances (Mercy Corps NW opportunities), finding success as an artist (Amy Ruppel), and an amazing PR talk by Grace herself.

The picture does not do the meeting justice. There were A LOT of local business ladies there. I was shy to take pictures (me?!).

Grace posted notes from her talk: really good stuff - check it out if you are interested: http://www.design-sponge.net/bizladies/DSPublicRelations.pdf
I will be utilizing this "four-pronged attack" for sure! How could I not! This advice is like gold!