emiko-o reware

I can hardly believe it’s been 2 months since I last posted, but here we are again, gearing up for another Accessorize with Toys crafting marathon! This weekend we’ll be at Renegade Craft Fair at the SF Fort Mason Festival Pavilion (the large building way out back by the water), 11am -7pm. This year the organizers have really upped the ante by making this much more than a crafting bazaar selling of wares. Upstairs in the Mezzanine will be a Craft Hub, which is where we’ll be, along with other hands-on workshops by SCRAP and Etsy! Food, drink, and even live music! Best of all, it’s FREE entry (’cause they know you’ll for sure spend some greenbacks once you’re in).

We’ll be doing decorative badges, keychains, and bracelets the entire weekend, so stop by and make something with us. As always, we encourage people to bring favorite parts and bits from home to make their creations extra personal. Like last year, we are asking for a $5 donation per project to cover our material and booth costs. However, if you bring us a DONATION of small Toy or Game PARTS, you get to make a FREE PROJECT.

Take a minute to check out the Renegade Craft Fair site (we’re the first on the list of artists/vendors!) to plan your course of crafting action for the weekend.
Stay posted on our latest news and upcoming events and photos on our Facebook page. The map to the fair is linked there. Become a fan right now!

workshop at Renegade. photo by Jeanne LeDoux.

Just a last-minute reminder that Shana & I will be bringing Accessorize with Toys recycling workshop to our beloved S.C.R.A.P. (Scroungers Center for Reusable Art Parts) tomorrow, Saturday, August 8, from 1-4pm. We’re super excited to be there and see what people create from the mecca of craftiness that is S.C.R.A.P.! It’s a Drop-in Family event, so stop by for a little bit or stay all afternoon and create some jewelry with us. We’ll have our usual stockpile of repurposed game/toy parts and findings, plus we just got a ton of new flat nose jewelry pliers for everyone to have an easier time of opening those pesky jump rings. Best of all, you get to pick stuff from the SCRAP warehouse-what a treat!

There is a fee to participate, the proceeds go to keep SCRAP running. For more info, please contact SCRAP directly by calling 415-647-1746.

Accessorize with Toys was again a superstar hit of the party, this time at the Renegade Craft Fair this past weekend at Fort Mason in San Francisco. The fair was both Saturday and Sunday, from 11am-7pm and our booth was rockin’ pretty much nonstop! This time Shana and I zoned in on helping people create specific projects: charm bracelets and keychains, which worked out perfectly for our limited 10×10 space (we actually prefer the more intimate setting). Over 50 people per day participated, and about 70 bracelets and over 30 keychains were made. Families, young kids, teenagers, adults, seniors, and fellow crafters alike sat with us in our crafty toy zone. Thanks to organizers Danny and Sue for promoting our workshop, both on the website and on other online bulletins! We can’t wait to come back next year.

Photos of our lovely participants and their creations are up on Flickr. It was great fun seeing everyone get revved up about making; we had SuperMoms (like this mom here to the right, who helped her 2 girls all the while with an infant strapped to her front), Super Dads, entire clans (thanks Pam for bringing your family and a donations bag!), best friends, other artists, you name it!

Our next stop on the Accessorize with Toys train is at SCRAP on Saturday, August 8. You get to use materials you find at SCRAP as well as what we bring. It’s going to be epic. Call or email SCRAP to register: 415-647-1746 or workshop@scrap-sf.org
Hope to see you soon!

happy camper at Accessorize with Toys

The second day of Maker Faire was definitely less crazy than Saturday; much more laid back, giving us a chance to talk more with people. Our supplies were pretty wiped out by the end of the day, but amazingly our energy wasn’t. Hopefully next year we’ll be easier to find (apologies to those of you who couldn’t find us!).

We’re looking forward to bringing Accessorize with Toys to the Renegade Craft Fair, July 18-19 at SF’s Fort Mason’s Festival Pavilion. If you join us at Renegade, make sure to bring $5; as much as we want to offer it for free, we’ve got to cover our expenses so we can keep it going!

If you can’t make it in July, mark your calendar for August 8 at S.C.R.A.P. SCRAP is launching their Family Day workshops and we’re glad to be a part of it. RSVP by emailing worshop@scrap-sf.org or call 415-647-1746 for this drop-in event.
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Accessorize with Toys at Maker Faire

The first day of Maker Faire 2009 San Mateo is done and whhew! are my dogs a’barkin’! This year our Accessorize with Toys workshop is in the Show Barn, our first year out of the Swaporamarama and on our own. If you’re looking for us, we’re in the same area as the awesome Tech Shop, and situated between the Metal Arts Guild and the Metals Arts Association of Silicon Valley.
What seemed like the highest attendance of all Maker Faires, we could barely keep up with the photo taking of participants and their projects. But the photos are up on Flickr, with much more to come after tomorrow. Here are some of our favorites.

Maker Faire, here we come again, this time you will find Accessorize with Toys outside of the Swaporamamrama. I had 3 lovely years with the Swap, but thought it was time we had our own billing. Hopefully we can fit all our recycled toy bits into the space allotted (we were spoiled with tons of space and chairs in the Swap room).

So, if you’re a fan of our workshop, stay tuned for more info on where we’ll be and what we’ve got in store….

Frances, our biggest fan!