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 …

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 …

I am honored to be a part of this years 12 Days of Indie Holiday Shopping from Indie Fixx. To win a $50 gift certificate to my shop leave a comment at the original post with your Broken Plate Pendant Co favorites for yourself or your gift recipients. Multiple entries will be accepted, but you must leave a comment for each entry, i.e. if you find 3 favorites, then leave 3 separate comments. This will increase your chances for winning. One random commenter to win. This contest ends December 9th at 11:59 …

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. …

I was SO excited when my copy of 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse arrived yesterday.

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’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 …

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!

I often say that my pendants are only as nice as the plate that they originally came from. Nothing illustrates this more then this set made from a broken platter by Little Flower Designs. It would be impossible to make something ugly from this plate! =)
At a recent craft show, an unforutate gust of wind came and blew this lovely floral platter to the ground, breaking it into pieces. I felt bad for poor Linda, but was a bit excited to get my hands on the shards!
With permission from the …

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 was lucky enough to meet Liz and Jeff of Cosa Verde at The Summit of Awesome a few weeks ago. They are a crafting/programming couple who have combined their talents to create this amazing website that makes it easy to navigate the sea green craft. In their words “We wanted to make it easy to find great green goods for your neo-hippie niece, your grandpa who doesn’t believe in global-warming, and everyone in-between.” I love the laid back, non-preachy vibe of the site that gives you the feeling that …

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 …

By request, I have now added Pink and Blue, I’m so crafty, I make People logos to the MuthaCrafter shop! Both are available on black and white shirts, on the belly or the chest.
I am busily preparing to go out of town to DC for the Summit of Awesome, this weekend. I will be doing a demo of my process on Saturday from 10-11:30. I am probably most excited about going to a screening of the Handmade Nation movie on Friday night. It seems like I have heard about this film for ages …

Today I updated the shop and added 20 new pieces! Get um’ while they are hot! If you saw one in in my Flickr uploads ( here or circles here) that you are interested in, contact me to see if it is still available (or it will end up in my craft show or wholesale stock.)
Some Random Links for your enjoyment:
Don’t forget that Summit of Awesome is coming up, get your tickets here.
Have you seen what Annie of Imogene has been up to? See it here
Over at GreenStarStudio Enjoy free shipping on …

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 …

Please join BEST members at the 8th annual American Visionary Art Museum’s Bridal Happy Hour!
Thursday April 2nd, 5:30-7:30. Enjoy food and cocktails and view work by some of Baltimore’s best wedding vendors. And best of all, it’s free!
Why go handmade for your wedding?? There are many reasons!
-Have custom jewelry, paper goods and spa gifts created that are as a special as your wedding.
-Support local and woman owned businesses.
-Many BEST artists use sustainable and green materials in their work.
-Give your wedding a handmade touch that is unique.
-Show your bridal party and …