Back From Craftcation & Full of Inspiration

Now that my head has stopped spinning from the goldmine of information I received this past weekend, I’m happy to revisit my trip to the Craftcation Indie Business & DIY Conference in Ventura. It bears repeating from post numero uno, that it was PHENOMENAL!! After 4 days of what were essentially business workshops, I still feel like I was on vacation. My only regret is missing out on some of the awesome hands-on sessions ranging from sewing and textile surface design to jam making and fermentation. The creators and organizers, Delilah Snell & Nicole Stevenson put together something really special of which I am in awe of and truly grateful for!

So, how did my weekend begin? After eagerly waiting for the day to arrive, my partner in crime, aka mom, and I set out on the road for the 2-hour journey up the coast. Pulling up to the hotel where the conference was based, I was overcome with giddiness, ironically not because of the weekend at hand, but because it immediately struck a chord with me:

This is where they filmed Little Miss Sunshine, ha!

At check in we received amazing gift bags filled to the brim with awesome stuff from the sponsors.

After the very first panel we attended we knew the weekend would far exceed any expectations we had. Delilah, Nicole, and Angharad (of The Urban Craft Center) provided invaluable insight for a start-up indie/diy business. Angharad, especially, was extraordinarily generous with her advice, thank you again!! If you make your way to Santa Monica, her shop is bursting with creative inspiration! At the BBQ and opening celebration that night we were greeted with abundant food, drink, music, and speeches with the opportunity to meet fellow diy-ers.

Craftcation lost no momentum as the weekend progressed and I was inspired by the surroundings, people, and information….

the view from City Hall & new friends,

the Hollywood frontier on Main Street,

even finding beauty in the train tracks right outside my hotel room…

What's more, I got to attend a panel and lecture by one of my favorite artists, Jenny Hart. Her embroidery art is exquisite, and her Sublime Stitching patterns are so fresh and fanciful! I can’t resist including a picture of her Camp Out pattern I stitched up for my nephew's first Thanksgiving (we go camping every year!).               

So with the skies beginning to weep, I too was sad to leave, but excited to put to use everything I gained to help make Creative Outlet Studios an amazing space for community & crafting. If you have the opportunity to attend Craftcation next year, don’t miss it!

Lauren

And So It Begins: My First Blog Post…..Ever!

It has taken me a long time to come to terms with writing a blog, saying “hello world, listen to me,” but the time has come and I’m finally ready to begin. A thought occurred to me recently, that I have always had a blog (called my mind) from which I post (via talking) on a daily basis, often minute to minute. So how am I any worse off writing than talking? I’m not; simple as that! I realized that the key laid somewhere in who I was talking to and finding my voice accordingly. Where in the past I crafted rather solitarily (minus a slew of Craftster posts!), I have a new community to craft with and talk to via Creative Outlet Studios. I expect the online community of crafters will join the physical community at COS and vice versa, and I could not be more ecstatic to open dialogue and share with you on here and in the studio, as I have evidently been primed to do all along!

With these realizations and a PHENOMENAL weekend at the Craftcation Conference in Ventura (post to follow!), I look forward to this new beginning. I hope you’ll stick around and see how it goes!

Lauren