Love, Love, Love : Vintage Game Pieces

Everyone has a junk drawer, box, or (ehem) entire home filled with all the odds & ends that they just can’t get rid of. Ever since I was little, I would save anything and everything small and colorful in special place. For years, I have been gathering loose game pieces. My collecting started years ago with Bakelite and vintage plastic dice. Each happy die and dot was a mini piece of art to me. I finally capped off my collection when I found the perfect gumball machine to display them in and filled it to the top.

It took a lot of quarters to fill this machine!

I also love pawns – plastic, metal, and wood in every shape size and color. They remind me of being sprawled across the floor with my friend Kim after school and engaged in a friendly game of Parcheesi, Monopoly, or Boggle. At the end of every school year, I have the students in my 2nd grade class pull out the loose pieces from games that have seen better days and save them before retiring the boards. I also keep an eye out for vintage games at tag sales and people are always passing bags of “treasures” to me. When there's a plastic pawn or wooden die, it's a welcome surprise.

Pawnacopia

There’s nothing more exciting and inspiring to me than spreading out, sorting, and playing with colorful pieces of anything. Whenever I hit a creative roadblock or feel the urge to organize, I will break out my cafeteria trays, spill out my materials, and sort the day away. This usually leads to new inspiration and ideas. It also makes me hungry because the colors look very “candy shop” to me!

Tray o' Play

Most recently, one of these spill & sort sessions inspired my “Fun 'n' Games” rings made from wooden nickels and a collage of game pieces.  I sold them for the first time at the Prospect Heights Fair. The school fund raising event was attended by lots of kids which meant lots of little fingers kept picking up and playing with the rings. I find that my materials, being upcycled and vintage, bring out a lot of nostalgia and people have a tendency to pick up and play with the jewelry or share stories about the items. As a designer, that's a big perk - I always love hearing these personal connections. 

wooden pawns & wooden nickels

wooden letter dice and wooden nickels

Clusters of pawns remind me of mushrooms or little people.

Once I attach the adjustable ring backings, I will have a whole new batch of rings to share at my upcoming shows:

Saturday, April 23^rd – New Beginnings Trunk Show with Folk Couture by Grace Napolean – Bethel, CT

Friday and Saturday, May 6th and 7th – Twist – Northampton, MA

Saturday, May 21 – Shop the Archway – DUMBO – Brooklyn, NY

Swing by and play!

On the Road - Propect Heights Craft Fair

Last Saturday and Sunday I was out and about at two fun shows. The weekend extravaganza started with the Prospect Heights Craft Fair.  I headed off early to Brooklyn with my new set up and a few new items:

 

Fun 'n' Games Rings - The tops are created out of old wooden nickels and vintage game pieces.

I left bright and early, and made good time to the school. I was welcomed by a warm, friendly parents, fresh baked goods, and coffee. Who could beat that? This was the third year of the event, which was organized to raise funds for an amazing variety of arts programs at PS 9. In addition to vendors, there were student-created crafts, kid events, a raffle with items donated from vendors, and great local food.

I was excited to try out my new display created out of a vintage pink plastic suitcase and some cork boards.

Pink suitcase display

Final Display - Tada!

There was an upbeat crowd of parents, kids from the school, and lots of locals. I was pleasantly surprised to see one of my favorite vendors, Katie of Lily Rain. You know how everyone has a certain something that they wear, that always gets compliments? Well, that always happens when I wear my handmade, free trade bracelets from Katie!

Speaking of bracelets, I got a lot of love for my REcap bracelets (made from Crayola Marker caps). Here is one of my biggest fans. He discovered that my bracelets also make great building materials.

Both fashionable and stackable!

One of my favorite parts of doing a show is meeting new people. To each side of me were fabulously creative and kind gals who made the day fly by. My inner Edie Beale squealed when I saw Deborah Julian's cat photographs. Taking inspiration from the felines in her own life, she incorporates photos of her kitties into classic art compositions. Julie Peng of Bugsella creates a onesie-wonderland with whimsical clothes and accessories for little ones. She hand sews and screen prints her book and nursery rhyme themed wares for many worthy charities. Dana, of DanaMade was one of the first vendors I met in the morning. One look at her rings and I knew she was my kinda crafter! She too makes jewelry out of cool vintage finds. I added her to my Etsy "favorites" list as soon as I got home. 

Ring by DanaMade

Being a teacher, I always get excited when I meet an author. At the show they had a variety of events planned throughout the day for kids, including a visit from local author Ellen Bari. She wrote a book called "Jumping Jenny" about a girl with tons of energy and no place to direct it, until she thinks of having a jumpathon to raise funds for a sister school in Africa. This year the second graders at my school raised over $2,000 for Guiding Eyes for the Blind through a hoopathon. I was so excited to see that there is finally a great picture book out there about kids making a difference through outreach (and believe me...I've been looking!). I was so thankful to meet Ellen, get a signed copy of her book, and hear all about her publishing process. Hopefully my kiddos will be able to Skype with her soon!

Jumping into Action!

The Prospect Heights Craft Fair was the perfect show to start off my spring/summer season. I felt right at home at the school and met many wonderful folks there. Can't wait for the show next year!

Twitch and Whiskers Craft Show Schedule - NY, CT, MA - Spring 2011

Come visit me and my creations in person this spring. I have many colorful and exciting things to share with you!

Here's a list of my spring 2011 shows:

Saturday, April 9 - Prospect Heights Craft Fair - Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, NY

Sunday, April 10 - Heirloom Flea Market - Danbury, CT

April 23 -Trunk Show at A New Beginning Salon in Bethel, CT 
with Folk Couture by Grace Napoleon

May 6 & 7 - Twist - Northampton, MA

May 21 (my birthday!) - Shop the Archway - DUMBO, Brooklyn, NY

Summer 2011 - Dates TBD - Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY

Will I see you there?