Furniture Makeovers Launch Party

We'll be introducing our 2013 jury very soon, but in the meantime, we want to share and celebrate a huge accomplishment by one of our previous jury members and a longtime supporter, Barb Blair. We select each Indie Craft Parade jury member because of their involvement in the Greenville art scene as well as their contribution to the creative community at large. We think these folks have a lot to offer, so we're thrilled when they get recognized well beyond the scope of our city. This weekend, Barb will be celebrating the release of her first book, Furniture Makeovers, with a book party at her studio. The celebration starts Friday at 5pm, complete with amazing freebies for the first 100 guests in the door! Check out all the event details here.

If you're not familiar with Barb or her work, she specializes in redeeming found goods and furniture, often giving discarded pieces new life. More about the book from Chronicle:

Furniture Makeovers shows how to transform tired furniture into stunning showpieces. You’ll never look at a hand-me-down dresser the same way again! The book offers 26 easy-to-follow techniques that can be applied to all different types of pieces, from bookshelves to desks: painting, applying gold leaf, wallpapering, distressing, dip dyeing, and more. In addition to the core techniques, author and Knack Studios founder Barb Blair shares 30 beautiful before-and-after makeovers from her studio and outlines how to achieve each look. With helpful step-by-step photographs, a visual glossary explaining all the tools and materials needed, and a lovely contemporary aesthetic, Furniture Makeovers is a treasure trove of ideas and instruction for the home decorator.

Join us at Knack Studios this Friday to see Barb's work in person and celebrate with one of Greenville's many creative entrepreneurs!

School Scholarship: Artists Day

It's been a while since we've given updates about our school scholarship program, but today, I'm really excited to share some photos from this past Monday when three Indie Craft Parade participants shared their skills with the students of Gateway Elementary in Traveler's Rest. This post is also a really good opportunity for us to say THANK YOU to everyone who financially supports Indie Craft Parade. These are the kinds of projects that we can do because people and companies sponsor us. We're working really hard to make sure your investments are worth it, and we think that immersing kids in the arts is one of the best things we can do.

I spent the better part of the day with the artists and students, and I really had a great time. There's nothing like seeing kids discover something new. I loved hearing the questions they had for the artists. And I especially enjoyed watching the kids learn that art is a much broader field than they may have thought.

We coordinated 3 local artists to demonstrate their craft/trade throughout the day: Cory Godbey showed 4th graders and kindergarteners his work as a professional illustrator. Deb Potter brought her spinning wheel and felting supplies to 1st and 2nd grade. And Matt Moreau let 3rd and 5th graders try their hand at letterpress printing.

Cory shows the 4th grade class how he paints digitally. They were completely mesmerized by his work...particularly with this video that he designed and animated. They couldn't get enough of it.

Cory's presentation to the kindergarteners, however, quickly turned into a game of pictionary. "Draw a snake!" "Draw a dog!"

Deb taught the kids how she spins the wool that her husband shears into yarn. One girl told us it was "the best art class she ever had."

They particularly loved touching some of the dyed wool.

Muscling the Kelsey letterpress. The kids did a great job!

Numbering and signing their prints.

Thank you again to the art teacher, Joanne, for helping us coordinate the day. She's doing a great job with her students!

The Spring Flea at Swamp Rabbit Cafe

Looking for something fun to do this Saturday? Walk, ride, or drive over to our friends at Swamp Rabbit Cafe & Grocery for The Spring Flea!

Winner: The MaieDae Mixer

And the winner is... Brittany! (Chosen at random thanks to random.org.) Hooray for Brittany and The MaieDae Mixer! Brittany, we've just emailed you to arrange your free ticket.

For everyone else, hurry over and buy a ticket, they're going like hot cakes! The MaieDae Mixer is must-not-miss event for bloggers, small business owners and creatives. Get the details here and get your party on!

The MaieDae Mixer & Ticket Giveaway!

Have you heard about The MaieDae Mixer? It's "an annual fancy networking event for bloggers and creatives in the Southeast," and it's all the rage. It's going to be held on June 1, 2013 in beautiful Rome, Georgia, and you don't want to miss it. Pssst - keep reading, we're giving away a ticket!

From their website: We are incredibly excited to launch the first annual Maiedae Mixer event! Hosted by the owners of Maiedae: Jenny Highsmith & Savannah Wallace. This excitement is rooted in a passion to create a community of bloggers and creatives in the southeast region. Because, let's face it...we are a pretty small community and it's time to get out, mingle, and make this side of the states more "known" for its blogging and creative community! It's a time to celebrate, meet new friends, and spur one another on towards great and exciting things! Plus, it's going to be a *great* excuse to buy a new dress, put a little lipstick on, and get yourself gussied up for a fancy evening.

So to break it down a little more for you. This is a "Get Fancy, Get Connected" (as we like to call it) networking event for bloggers with delicious desserts, great music, swag bags, giveaways, crafting time, photo-booth...and a couple more surprises. It's a time to pamper yourself, meet creatives and best of all, dress up!

T I T L E : The Maiedae MixerH O S T S : Jenny Highsmith & Savannah WallaceL O C A T I O N : 7-Hills Fellowship Hall, 538 Broad Street Rome, Georgia 30161D A T E  &  T I M E : Saturday, June 1st, 2013 - 6:30PM-10:00PMT I C K E T S : $95.00 - Only 50 available! Purchase yours here.T H E M E : Will be announced on April 15th!

Jenny and Savannah from MaieDae are not just completely adorable, they know their stuff too. These girls are a ridiculously talented team; check out their blog, design studio, and photography. The MaieDae Mixer is sure to be a splendid evening of meeting, making, and partying! You can see more fun details about the event here.

They have graciously offered us a ticket to give away, so one lucky winner will get a free ticket to The MaieDae Mixer!

TO ENTERComment on this post! Tell us about the best party you ever went to. The winner will be drawn at random and announced on Tuesday, April 16.

Guidelines:- The free ticket is not transferable, so don't enter unless you know you would be able to attend.- If you've already purchased a ticket, you can still enter! If you win, MaieDae will refund your original ticket.

UPDATE: This giveaway closed on Monday, April 15. Congrats to Brittany, our winner!

Studio Tour: White Whale Studios and Gallery

Today we're taking you on a tour of one of Greenville's most unique artist co-op spaces, White Whale Studios and Gallery. Caroline George Lott is the owner of White Whale, a large house-turned-studios located about a mile from The Pendleton Street Art District. We asked her to share the story behind White Whale with our readers.

Indie Craft: When was White Whale founded, and was it always a dream of yours?

Caroline: Our Grand opening was October 2nd, 2009. Being an active part of the local artistic community was always a dream of mine. Owning and operating a studio was something that became a reality when we purchased a historical house in the Monaghan Mill community. We did not want to "ruin" the house by turning it into a multi-family house or just rent it out. We wanted to to have it live on as a place to serve the community.

One of the White Whale artists hard at work in his studio.

Indie Craft: We love that you turned a house into a group of artist studios. How many artists call White Whale home right now?Caroline: We currently have 7 fabulous artists. Most of the artists are full-time professional artists.

Common gallery spaces are located throughout the house.

Indie Craft: This big white house is such a beautiful and inspiring place. Do you know much of its history?Caroline: Yes, it was built circa 1890, even before the textile mill that is right down the street. It started out as a teacher's boarding house, and has been used in many different ways since. Anything from a boxing training facility to a bed and breakfast.

Indie Craft: What is the significance of the White Whale name?Caroline: The studio's name harkens back to Melville's infamous tale of a determined white whale (Moby Dick) outwitting the relentless Captain Ahab, just as the artists, within the walls of this old white house, battle the odds to pursue their work and life's calling.

You can visit White Whale Studios and Gallery during Greenville Open Studios.

The good news is that White Whale does have an available studio at the moment! If you're an artist in need of working space, you can email your portfolio to whitewhalestudios@gmail.com or visit the White Whale site to learn more about their mission in Greenville.

Available studio: 12 ft ceilings and plenty of natural light.

Also, be sure to follow White Whale on Facebook to keep up with their resident artists and find out about upcoming art shows.

Dates for the next Makers Summit

The first ever Makers Summit was such a success, we've decided to do it again next year!

We'll be updating the website with more info about tickets and speakers in the coming months, but in the meantime, you can check out photos and video from our first event.

Live Art Installation

We have a very fun public art project to share with you today!

In anticipation of their new store opening, Anthropologie has partnered with the Fine Arts Center to create a temporary art installation in downtown Greenville. A team of artists will work alongside high school students from the Fine Arts Center to create a large-scale piece of art and we're all invited to come watch.

This Saturday and Sunday, March 9-10, head to the site of Greenville's new Anthropologie (at the corner of Coffee and Main Streets) to observe as the project takes shape.

A note from Anthropologie:

"The piece will be painted on the barricade currently outside of the Anthropologie store location at 1 North Main Street on the weekend of March 9th and 10th. The 20’ by 8’ painting is designed and conceptualized by the students of the Fine Arts Center and we invite the community to observe as the students, along with the team of artists who will work full-time at the Greenville location, progress from first brush strokes to final touches. The painting will be on view at 1 North Main Street until the store opens at the end of March."

Mark your calendars and head downtown this weekend to see the artists in action. This should be a lot of fun!