Five years ago I went on a college field trip to the American Craft Council show at the Baltimore Convention Center. I remember having two distinct thoughts, “Holy cow, this is the most amazing show that I have ever seen!” and “Wow, I would never want to do a craft show.” We all know that I changed my mind on the latter thought, but the first impression remained.
In 2006, I did my first craft show, Handmade Arcade in Pittsburgh. I had  a TERRIBLE set up, no cords for my pendants …

Can you tell I am having fun with my circles? I am. Everyday J comes home and I bombard him with all of the new ways that I want to assemble them. He kind of looks at me like I am nuts, but I might just be.
My new favorites are this necklace and this bracelet. I really like combining a few different patterns in one piece. I will be adding them to my Etsy shop and taking what does not sell to ACC with me in February.

I hope everyone is having a productive new year so far. Despite starting my year off sick, I am excited for this year. Instead of doing a year in review post for 2009, I thought I would rather look ahead to some of the good things on the horizon.
2010 started off well with a great blog post about my work over on We Covet . That is aways a nice surprise!
This year will mark the first time having a booth at the American Craft Coucil show! I will be in the AltCraft section which …

Last show of the season is this Saturday!!! Yes, there’s another chance to shop handmade for the holidays in the Baltimore area. The Squidfire Art Mart moves from its original location at the Lyric Theater to a larger arena, the DuBurns Arena on Boston Street in Canton.This event is this Saturday, December 12 from 11 - 6. This new space not only has parking but guarantees more vendors that get to have a 10 ‘ X 10′ space! Look for more mini-boutiques instead of just table top stores! Members from …

My first and favorite show of the holiday season, Holiday Heap is this Saturday! I have SO much stock to show you, I can not wait. I will also be bringing some fresh T’s and totes from my Muthacrafter shop with me too!
If you’d rather stay in and shop on Etsy, I will be donating 10% of Etsy sales to the MD Food Bank, along with other members of the Baltimore Etsy Street Team. So, whether you are buying for someone else, or a gift for yourself, you can feel good …

Can you believe how quickly holiday stress creeps up on you? I saw Christmas decorations in Target before Halloween even came. Not cool, guys. Not cool.
I am kind of excited about this holiday season because, instead of killing myself and doing 10 shows, (that may or may not be lucrative) I decided to focus on doing only 2 local shows and building my Etsy shop. This may be my greatest decision ever, or a huge mistake, BUT the deed is done. To be honest, bad shows really make me question my career choice. …

Ok, ok. I am a slacker blogger, and I know it. My life is really not interesting enough to blog about daily, trust me.
This is just a quick post to tell you about the Squidfire Philly Art mart that I will be participating in on October 17th. This is the first time Squidfire is bringing us to Philly, and everyone is really excited to go. Philly is right around the corner, so please do stop by and get some holiday shopping out of the way!
Also, while writing this post, I …

In case you have missed all of my gentle hints, Crafty Bastards is this weekend. I have tons of new work to show and am SO looking forward to getting out of this house to sell. I hope to see some of you there. The vendor list is Awesome and can be found here.
I am taking the day off today to express my loove if plate patters with a tattoo! I found this quote on 144 plastic jumping frogs blog, and had to share.
“Everyone with a tattoo has their bullshit …

I have created a new section in my Etsy shop where you can browse all of my Etsy collaborations for charity. These are quickly turning into my some of my favorite pieces! I recently added the goodies to the left, made from broken plates sent to me by Just Mare.  I instantly fell in love with this ceramic artist from Arizona after seeing (and buying) her Chickadee mug on the front page of Etsy. $5 from each sale will benefit The Humane Society of Central AZ.
I am slowly building up stock for the upcoming craft show season. My first …

I have survived another Artscape! Phew, it was awesome, thanks to everyone who stopped by. It seems like I spend my whole summer preparing for Artscape, then as soon as it is over I have to think ahead to holiday shows, can you believe that? I will be updating my shows page over the next few weeks, adding all of the shows that I have already lined up for Fall/Winter.
I will also be updating the shop a bit by adding a few new pendants (including this one.) Be patient with …

I’m not sure if I mentioned this before, but Artscape starts on Friday! Oh, I did? OK, well just in case you forgot, Artscape is July 17-19. The forecast is looking amazing, despite the chance of thunderstorms on Saturday. Sunday will be 81 degrees and sunny, I think that is unheard of in Artscape history! I am planning on shutting down my Etsy shops for Artscape and for a week after to regroup and organize. If there is something that you have had your eye on, please let me know and …

DIY@ Artscape officially kicks off on Tuesday July, 14 with a screening of Handmade Nation, a documentary about the new wave of art, craft and design. Faythe Levine, film maker extraordinaire, will be on hand to answer questions after the film. I had the pleasure of seeing this movie as a part of the Summit of Awesome in DC. It was an inspiring time capsule that really captures the craft scene that we are so lucky to be a part of. I hope you can make it out. Check the Handmade …

Hello World! I Just wanted to check in for a moment and let you know what I have been up to. My next show is not until Artscape next month, so I am spending time filling wholesale orders, finishing up some wedding sets and trying to get a bit more creative with my jewelry. The piece to the left will be in a show in November at Baltimore Clayworks along with 12 other pieces. I am having fun experimenting a bit and getting out of my little pendant making box. I …

This Saturday is Pile of Craft! I am so exicted, not only because the show is indoors and there is no risk of sunburn, but because it is a fun show with awesome artists from The Charm City Craft Mafia and The Baltimore Etsy Street Team. What else could you ask for? Stop by and say hi and see the 80 new pieces that I have added to my stack of goodies.
CCCM will be auctioning off two baskets full of awesome craft goodness! The tickets are only $1 each and all proceeds benefit Youthlight, …

Up next for me - The Great Grapes Wine, Arts and Food Festival at Oregon Ridge! Two days full of wine, food and craft from members of the Baltimore Etsy Street Team, including: CEK Custom Designs, JennyJen42, Sweet Pepita, Jersey Girl Design, Shelly Daly, Yummy and Co., Sugar Paperie and myself, The Broken Plate, all together under one tent!
For more info, directions and discounted tickets, see The Great Grapes website! Hope to see you there!

Can’t wait till this weekend, because the Art Star Craft Bazaar is finally here! The show is in Philly, a mere 2 hours from Baltimore and the weather looks perfect, so hop on 95 and come see me!
When: Saturday, May 30th from 11-6pm & Sunday, May 31st from 11-6pm
Where: Philadelphia, PA @ Penn’s Landing Great Plaza - on Columbus Boulevard between Walnut Street and Chestnut Street (click here for directions) 
The ladies behind Art Star have juried in over 100 of the most talented emerging artists from the Indie Craft Scene.  The …

I feel like I am constantly apologizing for my lack of posts here, but the truth is that I am sparing you from the boring reality of the plate breaking business. Break, solder, polish, post, ship, design t-shirt, repeat… You get the point. Not much to blog about, so here are some fun things to do this weekend… 
Sweet Pepita Trunk Show
Philadelphia City Paper’s Trunk Show
Bust Craftacular
Pee Wee in Patterson Park
Preakness!
The Chesapeak Bay Blues Fest
Wine in the Woods
The next show for me is Art Star in Philly on May 30-31, cross your fingers for …

I am spending the week getting ready for one of my favorite shows of the year, the Squidfire Art Mart! So far, the weather looks PERFECT for Saturday which I hope will bring everyone out to shop for or with mom (Mother’s Day is Sunday, if you did not know!) I will be debuting my new set up and TONS of new work, (about 400 pieces and it is only Tuesday.) I will also do my best to bring a fresh batch of I’m so crafty, I make People maternity T’s.  
On top of …

The Summit of Awesome is shaping up quite nicely and it is looking to be a craft-packed weekend of, dare I say - Awesome? I am so proud to be a part of it! Space is limited so you might want to register now!
So what do you get with your registration? Well, your registration at the Summit of Awesome gets you a one way ticket to propel you and your craft to the next level. It is a great mix of learning and crafting from discussions to hands on, with a little …

I know, I know, it has been a while. I have so much going on here, I can not keep up with blogging, but I promise to get better. My head and my bench have been filled with endless amounts of circles. The latest incarnation are these friendship necklaces which take a more literal approach then the last ones. Kind of silly, kind of cute, I guess.
I am doing lots of other behind the scenes work to get ready for craft show season. New displays, post cards, price tags, wholesale …