Sit back with a cup of coffee or Spicy Chai and let me tell you a romantic story. All about US.
About a year ago, I met Enrique on the SF Etsy Facebook page. He commented on a photo of me and my interest was peaked. We became Facebook friends shortly there after and began a friendship from afar. He lives in San Jose you see.... here I am in San Francisco. This last October, we finally met for quick drinks at one of my favorites (Chomp n Swig) while he was in the city to see one of his favorite bands play. And from then, we started dating.
Christmas rolled around and since we had only been "official" for about 3 weeks... I didn't know what to get him! I had already made him something but I felt like it wouldn't be enough... so I wanted to build a gift basket of sorts and decided to go to Goorin on Haight to get him something extra special: a gift certificate. I laugh at myself when I say I a little piece of plastic is something "special" but I knew this was just another adventure waiting around the corner for us: picking out a rad hat for him!
At the counter I got nervous that I'd put too much money on the gift certificate. The gesture had to be just right... so I asked for advice from Adam, the Shop Keeper & Assistant Manager Jeff. I said... "see, we've only been dating for a couple months... and only been official for about 3 weeks."
Adam, being silly asked me "wait wait wait... how did you two meet?!"
So I told him our story & his eyes got really really big. Instantly he changed the subject. "What's SF Etsy?!" I let him know all about our collective of gifted and talented artists in The Bay Area. How we all make different kinds of art, how we're a mighty collective & have events, too. He said a dream of his would be to have an event in their shop. Something where they could bring in music, but have venders selling, too.
Meanwhile, Jeff had packaged up my boyfriend the most awesome gift box with the gift certificate, rain spray & a nice feather to put in his cap once he had it. I clutched the hat box like it was the best treasure a girl could have ever scored.
Jeff, Adam and I exchanged information and I promised to get back to them ASAP about the craft show. What came from meeting Jeff & Adam was an event here in San Francisco called The Local Artist Trunk Show at Goorin Bros. on Haight.
I put a call out to SF Etsy for those who might be interested to be venders at the small trunk show & also (through Rebecca Saylor) contacted Sugar & Spun; an artisan cotton candy company. Jeff & I talked a couple times to talk about table space & features of the event. We even had a mini-meeting with Enrique as Jeff picked out the perfect hat for him one rainy Sunday afternoon.
I worked on all of the PR for the event with The Goorin Bros. pitching in with graphics & Lisa slating us into social media call outs on the SFEtsy pages. We were added to multiple online calendars via social media. FunCheap SF, The Bold Italic & more! It was truly a team effort.
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| I was glad that Alana of Etta+Billie wanted to join in on the fun! She even brought her Bacon Soap! A collaberation she did with NoshThis |
Here's the featured sellers we had at this show:
Rick Kitagawa of Monkey & Seal
http://www.monkeyandseal.com/
AND
Sugar & Spun with their awesome Cotton Candy!
Sugar & Spun with their awesome Cotton Candy!
They had samples coming throughout the night.
sugarandspun.comXiomara Watson will also celebrate the release of her first solo album blending rich soul and deep jazz to deliver vocals that are both timeless and fresh.
You can listen to her here: https://soundcloud.com/therealxiomara
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| Full crowd with a happy Adam (the Shop Keeper) right in the center of it all! |
Adam & Jeff also brought in an acoustic guitar player to play between Xiomara's sets (she sang twice). He was amazing, too... although I never caught his name. He had a very soft tone to his voice.
Lemme tell you that there was love in the air. I dunno if it was just because of how the whole event got started or if it was because it was just the day before Valentine's Day. Either way... not even kidding... every person there got at least one hug from a stranger. I spotted dancing, lots of smiles and friends reconnecting! There are a few moments in life when you get to see magic happen & this was one of those nights. Great energy & overall great vibes.
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| Creek of Compass Rose Design was positioned in the center of the store. The work they do is so great & they have such a passion for all things vintage that it was fun to talk to them more about where each piece came from. |
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| Rick & Eve of Monkey & Seal with Wes & Brandi |
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| Rick's Set up was easy to fit into a backpack on Muni. I was super impressed. Goorin placed his spot right next to the artist series which was perfectly matched with this neck ties |
With Goorin giving 15% off their hats during the event, people came just to rock a new hat on their Valentine's Day weekend plans. I suspect all the new hat owners out there from the event will look especially dapper this weekend. Even I ended up with a red hat I just couldn't part with. Here you can see one of my little friends rocking my new hat.
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| These darlings belong to Susan Leff of Made In the Haight |
But that's not all that happened last night...
We had the most fun night ever all over the bay area. Rebecca Saylor (or new Co-Captain) taught beginner sewing at The Museum of Craft and Design. Meanwhile, in the South Bay, Gretchen (our new Senior Graphic Designer) taught how to make Beer Bottle Cap Earrings at Spread in Santa Clara as part of her gig: Craftbrewlry.
I was sad I couldn't make it to those two events but I'm happy that both Rebecca and Gretchen have events coming up that I'll try not to miss!
March 1st:
New! Inspired by our monthly Etsy nights and your feedback, MCD is now offering a quarterly craft class for adults. Recommended for adults 18+, no previous experience or Etsy attendance is required. Perfect for beginners, come make a fun and versatile box bag with instructor Rebecca Saylor. Classes are first-come, first served. Tickets are $75 or $60 for Museum members. More details at www.sfmcd.org
RSVP and Get Tickets here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1457591437790637/
March 13th:
BOTTLE CAP JEWELRY CLASS
Make functional craft from bottle caps provided by Speakeasy Ales & lagers. Earrings, keychains and more. Gretchen Schwartz of CraftBrewlry shows you how. $10 includes all materials and brew. Adults 21+ www.sfmcd.org
RSVP and Get Tickets here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1462847250603362/?previousaction=join&source=1
And I sure hope that this Goorin event sparks a regular pop-up in their amazing shop. We had the most fun last night! For more information upcoming vending opportunities, keep your eye on our forum! Happy Valentine's Day!
SPECIAL THANK YOU AND HIGH FIVES TO GOORIN BROS. & the Haight Street Goorin team. They are truly special people and SF Etsy is really lucky to call you all friends now.
If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, visit Our Team Page about joining SFEtsy!
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