Last Market Pictures & Such!

What an amazing season it's been.

It was a little rainy and very (!) windy, but that didn't stop folks from coming out to the Market yesterday. And after the showers subsided, it turned out to be a beautiful, successful day.

Thanks to all of our incredibly talented vendors and everyone who came out to support the Market this year. Here are some pics from Saturday's show. Enjoy!

Craft Mafia's Ninnycat's perfect Autumn knits!

Hee! Hee! Phil Barbato's plushes always makes me giggle!

My favorite painting by Tuesday Tauchen. Oink!

The moon earrings are a mystical new design by lolojane.

You know the ole folktale, The Fox & the Crow, right? bLuGrn designs certainly does!

Inedible Jewelry looks yummier than my school lunches ever did.

Harmonica & guitar! Is there anything singer/songwriter Melissa Branin can't do?

What a pretty, little Koi pendant, Melissa Lew Bradford!

Happy Halloween from Jen-A-Fusion!

Hey Kristina! Lookin' good! ;)

Sparrows and flowers--wonderful work, Christine Krizsa.

It just amazes me how Lazy Dog Art captures all of her muses' personalities.

First-timers Olivos Art Studios--Loves it!

BoxBoy and his cheeky li'l boxes!

I see a trend--Steve Miller Photography is always busy!

Q&A with Phil Barbato!

If you haven't heard of Phil Barbato yet, where have you been? In my humble opinion, he's one of the best plush artists out there and I am so stoked to have him in our little Market! Okay. On with the interview...

1). What can I say, Phil—I’m a huge fan. I love your monster plushies! Where do you find the inspiration?
It's a cyclical thing. The monsters inspire paintings and drawings and then the paintings and drawings inspire monsters. The general design (like the facial features) is some sort of mash-up of all of the cartoons and comics I've absorbed in my life.

Sometimes I find inspiration by setting a challenge or a constraint. For instance, the Whiskerbears started out each being cut from one 9x12 piece of felt (now they're made of fleece, but I stick to that original size). The size and shape constraint allowed me to explore things like color and texture. On the other hand, the cephalopods (especially the ones with horns) are a challenge I set for myself to push my abilities.

Most importantly, my BFF, Oura Sananikone is a huge influence. We've been making art and music together since college and I can't overstate how much he's inspired me.

2). My personal favorite creation of yours are the Little Apes. (I have a Little Ape hanging out in my guest room!) Do you have a favorite critter to design?
My favorites right now are the cephalopods, especially the Viking ones. I'm doing shapes I've never done before and I really love the way they're coming out.

3). What three words would you use to describe your craft?
warm fuzzy love

4). I noticed you are also a musician. Please tell us a little bit about your band, Now Sleepyhead.
Now Sleepyhead is a group of friends I've been playing music with for a few years now. (I've been playing music with two of the guys in various projects for 15 years.) We've managed to squeeze out one album (which is amazing, if I do say so) despite our glacial songwriting pace. And, there are a couple of single tracks on Benefit Records from Exotic Fever Records in DC. We're all multi-instrumentalists and we all sing. It's lots of fun.

5). Where can we find your craft outside the Ballston Arts & Crafts Market?
My wife, Meghan, and I have been traveling all up and down the East Coast this year trying out different markets and fairs. I'll be at the DC Craft Mafia's Holiday Heist on November 21. I've also applied to Charm City's Holiday Heap on December 5 and the Richmond Craft Mafia's Handmade Holiday on the 12th, but I haven't been accepted to those yet.

On the first Friday of every month (except January) I'm out at the First Fridays Market in Richmond, VA, next to Quirk Gallery.

My stuff is for sale inside Quirk's gift shop as well as the gift shop at Art Adventures in Midlothian, VA, and Hello Bluebird in West Reading, PA. I'm on the lookout for more shops to do wholesale or consignment sales with.

Extra-geeky question: Quick! What’s in your pockets right now?
The key to the garage (I was out there prepping blocks of wood for paintings) and my wallet, which is handmade by the amazing Caitlin Phillips of Rebound Designs from an Isaac Asimov paperback.

Visit Phil Barbato at the Ballston Arts & Crafts Market October 10th (tomorrow!) at Booth #2!

Hey everyone! Don't let the weather forecast freak you out. We may get a few little showers in the a.m., but according to the reports it's gonna clear up by noon. Hopefully sooner! So, get psyched for the last show of the season! Below is the lay of the land ...See you tomorrow!

Print Your Own T-Shirt!

One of the coolest things about Kristina Bilonick Studios, is not only does Kristina have a whole slew of kick-ass T-shirts, she will teach you how to easily print your own kick-ass T-shirt.
Swing by Kristina's booth (#20) this Saturday, and for only $10 you can print your own tee at her "Print Your Own" station.

Kick ass!!

Ballston A&C Market - This Saturday!

Can you believe it’s October already? Me neither … Well, you know what that means: The last market of the season! And, I can’t think of a better way to get a jump on the Holiday shopping than with a trip to Welburn Square for the Ballston Arts & Crafts Market this Saturday.
This month, we have a large, colorful ad running in the print edition of the City Paper and an online ad running all week on the City Paper Online. Plus, we have event listings in Yelp, Yahoo Upcoming Events, and online community calendars all over the place! In the meantime, be sure to keep sending those emails and newsletters to all of your lists, posting about the Market on your sites/blogs and distributing the postcards and posters.

And, remember, we have also created a public Facebook event page, so all you Facebook-users, feel free to 'invite-away' using that, too. Copy and paste: http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php?oid=154391126011&view=user#/event.php?eid=154391126011

Tweet me at the Market!

No Need to Think Outside the BoxBoy

Have you guys heard of Thrillist? It's this really cool newsletter that features the best of the best in DC. Basically, if you made it onto Thrillist, you've made it. So, it looks like another one of our super-talented artists has made it. Congratulations BoxBoy!

Check out BoxBoy Demented Decoupage's article: http://www.thrillist.com/capitol-hill/boxboy.

Then check his boxes in person at the Ballston Arts & Crafts Market on October 10th! BoxBoy, himself, will be at his usual spot, Booth #19.

Weekend of Crafts!

It's like a crafty wonderland on October 3rd! So many options!

Check out Art on the Avenue in Del Ray Alexandria! Art on the Avenue is a festival celebrating the community’s diversity through the arts in the Potomac West area. Over 300 vendors and 40,000 visitors attend. (And that's where I'll be selling my little piggy banks!)

Over in DC, check out Crafty Bastards! Crafty Bastards is an exhibition and sale of handmade alternative arts and crafts from independent artists presented by the Washington City Paper.

And in Maryland, we have The Fenton Street Market, a new outdoor market in downtown Silver Spring, to celebrate the eclectic community.

All these events are rain or shine! Come get your craft on. Oh, but save some money for the Ballston A&C Market next week!

Lazy Dog Art

I just wanted to introduce you guys to a new vendor who will be joining the Market in October--Lazy Dog Art!

I met the artist, Susie, her sister, Kathy and Brian (their doggy muse!) at Clarendon Day. Needless to say, I fell in love with Susie's acrylic creations. Susie really does capture each dog's individual personality in every painting.

So, enjoy their blog and visit Lazy Dog Art in person at the Ballston Arts & Crafts Market October 10th. Inquire about your own personal pet portrait at Booth #18!