oh gosh, it’s that time of year again! i’ve got one more craft fair left (this weekend! the Holiday Indie Mart in Narrowsburg, NY!) and THEN i can finally start thinking about my own gifting. it happens every year: i can’t think straight until about mid-December because the craft fair season inconveniently occurs simultaneously with gifting season… ahem. well, of course that’s actually a good thing, and i do stock up on some great giftable items while i’m working at the markets. but my aim here is to suggest some ideas for the Makers in your life, and do double good service by supporting indie maker businesses at the same time!
how divine is this Flowers at my Fingertips sewing kit kit (it’s a kit to make a kit!) from A Verb for Keeping Warm? i don’t know any stitcher who wouldn’t be thrilled to receive this, along with Kristine’s lovely new book, The Modern Natural Dyer.
this adorable organic screen-printed t-shirt sums up my basic gifting (not to mention life) philosophy: Stitch more, buy less. brought to you by the awesome maker-space A Gathering of Stitches.
if you know a crocheter, i bet she would love one or both of The Crochet Project’s books, available as print or digital editions. and how about a hand-carved wooden crochet hook from Stephen Willette?
i’m all about experiential gifts, which are most awesome if they result in time spent together between you AND your loved one. whether you live near each other, or use it as an excuse to travel and meet up somewhere non-local, workshops and retreat gift certificates make wonderful gifts. here’s a short list of spots i can personally attest to as being lovely spaces, run by fantastic makers, with high-quality instructors, but i’m sure there are lots more:
a gathering of stitches (portland, ME)
a verb for keeping warm (oakland, CA)
brooklyn general (brooklyn, NY)
clementine (rockland, ME)
craftstitute (ithaca, NY)
craftwork (somerville, MA)
fancy tiger crafts (denver, CO)
sew woodstock (woodstock, NY)
the workroom (toronto, Canada)
white barn farm (new paltz, NY)
and retreats:
shakerag workshops (sewanee, TN)
squam art workshops (holderness, NH)
lucky star art camp (hunt, TX)
i’ve got some more ideas to share, but that’s gonna have to do for now. this maker’s gotta make some more stuff for my fair this weekend!
a few of my maker pals and i thought it’d be fun to do this as a series among us, so see also Bev’s, MaryLou’s, and Gale’s (coming tomorrow) gift guides! and i bet AmyLou might whip one up too.
