Artist Call for 2019 Historic Shell Holiday Shop

Calling Local Artists and Makers!

*** 10/31 We are no longer taking applicants for the 2019 Historic Shell Holiday Shop. If you have applied, expect an email from Alison ([email protected]) in the next couple of days. If you have any questions send an email. Thanks!

We’re looking for talented local artists and craftspeople to feature in our fourth holiday shop at the Historic Shell Station in Downtown Issaquah: 232 Front St N. If you make great gifty goods we want to feature you!

This holiday shop is curated and run by Alison Lang of So, There (andsothere.com); and will focus on fun, unique, handmade gifts of all sorts. The shop will be open weekends, from Thanksgiving to New Year 2019 in beautiful, festive Downtown Issaquah.

No table or booth fees! No booth to tend! Chosen products will be sold on consignment, and artists will receive payment (minus commission) for sales following the shop’s closure in December. Artists will be responsible for dropping off stock on November 24-25, and picking it up on Dec 31-Jan 1.

If you make it, we want to see it! We are looking for handmade: fashion accessories, jewelry, pillows, candles, textiles, home accessories, small furniture pieces, journals, stationery, books, office accessories, electronic gadgets, games, children’s toys, and more! Original art pieces and locally designed items will also be considered– Please note, though, that hanging and displaying original pieces is extremely difficult in the space, which limits the kinds of pieces I can display.


A few more important things

    • Artists must be able to drop off stock on November 24 or 25, and pick up on December 31st or January 1st.
    • Shop commission is 40% to cover insurance, display, processing fees, and venue. Artist will receive 60% of sales, via check or PayPal by January 30th, 2020.
    • Artists must affix a price tag and business name to each item (pencil prices are ok!) Special packaging or tags are welcome.
    • Priority will be given to early applicants and those that are very local to Issaquah.
    • If you have a display or furniture piece you love to use, and are willing to lend, let us know! (Pieces may be used for other artists.)

Join Us!

Please fill out our Google form below to be considered for the 2019 Holiday Shop. I will send a confirmation that I have received your application within 2 days. If you don’t hear from me within 2 days, or have any problems with the application, please email me at [email protected]

2018 Featured Artists and Makers

Aline’s Cardboard
A Tea Leaf
Beehive Creations
Britt Greenland
Childress Jewelry
Christine Stoll Designs
Coyote Moon Arts
Designs by Sharidor
Earth and Clay
Flux Ceramics
Frog & Fern
Glass Elements
Graceful Moon Studios
Heidi Rose Artworks
Jillian Born
Kalliomäki Designs
Kitten Mittens
la objeteria jewelry
Lexicon Collective
Lexi Sommer
Lisa Mueller
Little Kicking Bird
The Magpie’s Nest
Mayhem Here
Moonflower Books & Cards
Moultonology
Mrs. Robinson’s Affair
Nineteen: Twenty Six
OOliva
Rachel Beyer
RaincitySews
Scented Gypsy
Soul Remedy
So There
Starlight Glassworks
Susan Hass
Tomato Tomato
two squirrels and a nut
Uzura
Wicked Kitty Toys
Yardia

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New Canvas Prints

I try to stick to paper, but at heart I’m a mixed media gal. I’ve been printing on fabric for pouches for a while now, but I kept getting requests for printed fabric that people can use for their own projects. Tada! These pieces of unbleached canvas have been printed on the antique letterpress and are a perfect starting place for pouches, pockets, or patches. They measure 4.5″x10″, and you can trim them to any size you like before finishing them off. I’m excited to try some of my other designs on fabric. Are there any you’d like to see? Email me!

The 4th Historic Shell Holiday Shop Opens November 23!

 

Visit the 4th Historic Shell Holiday Shop in Downtown Issaquah, opening November 23. We’ve put together a fun collection of useful gifts from more than 45 local artists, designers and makers. You can find ceramics, art kits, cards, journals, screen printed clothing, knitted goods, jewelry, holiday decoration…. you get the idea!

Come see us at the Historic Shell Station, 232 Front Street North
Open Nov 23-Dec 30, Fri-Sun 12-6PM.

For more photos and up-to-date info, visit our Facebook page

 

Artist Call for 2018 Holiday Shop

THE 2018 CALL FOR ART IS NOW CLOSED.

Thank you to everyone who applied! If you are interested in applying for future pop-up shops with us, please join our mailing list, and keep an eye on our Facebook page.

***

Calling Local Artists and Makers!

We’re looking for talented local artists and craftspeople to feature in our fourth holiday shop at the Historic Shell Station in Downtown Issaquah: 232 Front St N. If you make great gifty goods we want to feature you!

This holiday shop is curated and run by Alison Lang of So, There (andsothere.com); and will focus on fun, unique, handmade gifts of all sorts. The shop will be open weekends, from Thanksgiving to New Year 2018 in the beautiful, festive Downtown Issaquah corridor.

No table or booth fees! No booth to tend! Chosen products will be sold on consignment, and artists will receive payment (minus commission) for sales following the shop’s closure in December. Artists will be responsible for dropping off stock on November 18-19, and picking it up on Dec 31-Jan 1.

If you make it, we want to see it! We are looking for handmade: packaged food items, fashion accessories, jewelry, pillows, candles, textiles, home accessories, small furniture pieces, journals, stationery, books, office accessories, electronic gadgets, games, children’s toys, and more! Original art pieces and locally designed items will also be considered.


A few more important things

    • Artists must be able to drop off stock on November 18th or 19th, and pick up on December 31st or January 1st.
    • Shop commission is 40% to cover insurance, display, processing fees, and venue. Artist will receive 60% of sales, via check or PayPal by January 30th, 2019.
    • Artists must affix a price tag and business name to each item (pencil prices are ok!) Special packaging or tags are welcome.
    • Priority will be given to early applicants and those that are very local to Issaquah.
    • If you have a display or furniture piece you love to use, and are willing to lend, let us know!


Join Us!

Please fill out the form below by October 30th to be considered for the Historic Shell Holiday Shop

[contact-form-7 id=”289″ title=”2017 Holiday Shop”]

We should confirm your application within a week. If you have problems with the form, or you don’t hear from us, please email [email protected].

 

2017 Featured Artists and Makers

Aline’s Cardboard
A Tea Leaf
Beehive Creations
Belly of a Whale
Britt Greenland
Catshy Crafts
Camp Smartypants
Christine Stoll Designs
Coyote Moon Arts
Earth and Clay
Florette
Flux Ceramics
Freebird Studios
Glass Elements
Graceful Moon Studios
Heidi Rose Artworks
Kitten Mittens
Lexicon Collective
Lexi Sommer
Mayhem Here
MCreativeJ
Mrs. Robinson’s Affair
Pieced Together Designs
Sand Hat Games
Scented Gypsy
Shine on Art Accents
Snooter Doots
So There
Starlight Glassworks
Susan Hass
Uzura
Wandering White Pines
Yardia
Zoe Beth Jewelry

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A look at our Letterpress

IMG_1848_lookatletterpress
I wrote this post for our sister blog Adventures-in-Making in October 2015. It gives a little peek into one aspect of our process.

With the weather turning gloomy it’s becoming less practical (and pleasant) to work outside, but I have had more chances to work more with my lovely letterpress. It dawned on me (while I was listening to the clunking and whirring of the machine) that I haven’t ever shared my adventures with this 126-year-old guy, even though he takes up a huge space in my heart (and my bedroom.)

I thought I’d show you a couple of behind the scenes shots, and talk about my printing process.

An old etching of the letterpress model I work with, in the amazing American Wood Type book my mom passed down to me. Synchronicity?

There are a lot of great resources for learning about the history of printing (I’ve listed some resources below) so I won’t get too much into a subject that I’m learning more about all the time.

My first experience printing was at the University of Texas, on a Vandercook press using antique wood type (from the Rob Roy Kelly collection) and modern polymer plates. I eventually acquired a small table-top platen press (a Craftsmen Imperial) and started printing greeting cards and more using the same method I use today on my floor-standing platen press.

Nearly two years ago we moved the one-ton California Reliable into a corner of our bedroom, and it has become a my go-to for printing with love.

IMG_1907_lookatletterpress
Polymer plates before they are aligned on the aluminum base for printing.

While I still use lead type and wood type occasionally, I mainly print with polymer plates on an aluminum base. I draw up the artwork, scan it, clean it up and prep it for the plates, then send the artwork out to have plates made. The plates are somewhat similar to the clear sticky stamp sheets some people use with a clear block; however the material is much harder which allows for much more detail and lets it stand up to the high pressure of the letterpress. The height of the material has to be just right to bring it up to type high on the aluminum block and allow for the ink rollers to roll, and the printer to print.

IMG_1955
Hand carved linoleum blocks being printed on a small tabletop press.

Occasionally I get a wild hair and print from hand-carved linoleum blocks. There’s less perfection in this mode, but you can end up with really great results with lots of character. There’s a trick to raising the blocks up to the right height, but it’s definitely possible.

IMG_1894_lookatletterpress
There’s a long list of things I love about letterpress printing, but color is at the top. I love how each color I print is one solid color instead of being made up of a pointillistic nightmare of Cyan/Magenta/Yellow/Black. (There’s no room in my blue for little pink dots.) Each color on a letterpress print is printed separately; each color has its own plate. I’m a somewhat inexact ink mixer, but I always seem to end up at the right color (and I try not to get ink everywhere.)

IMG_1873_lookatletterpress
Printing the first color of a leafy card.

Alignment (registration) is something that has taken a little getting used to, but I’ve come up with a method that works great for me. Here you can see a couple of polymer plates on my aluminum base, printing the first color of a two-color card.


The opening and closing action on this Gordon-style press is powered by a flywheel and a foot-powered treadle. There is a single magical dance that inks the rollers on the ink plate, rolls them across the printing plate, then presses the paper into that plate to make a print. (I’m learning a little more all the time about the mechanics of this magic, but the first lesson was DON’T LEAVE YOUR HAND IN THERE.) I’m responsible for pumping with my foot/ankle/hip and feeding paper.

IMG_1862_lookatletterpress
Printing on paper handmade from the scraps of other cards.

One of the nicest things about the letterpress is that with a little ingenuity you can print on just about anything flat. Most of my pieces are printed on thick cover stocks, often 100% cotton. I’ve started printing more and more on sheets of handmade paper that I make from the trimmings of those other cards. I love the texture and softness of the paper I make, and I adore the fact that it means I’m contributing less to the landfills. (Want to know more about making paper? 1 2 3)
I’ve also just started to experiment with printing on fabric…. I have ideas….
IMG_1876_lookatletterpress
So that’s my old guy. Our love is still new, but I think it’s made to last.
Time will pass– I will get more ragged and he will get less, and he’ll always have new things to press.
I’ll keep learning.
IMG_1889_lookatletterpress

Resources and Links

Briar Press: A never ending resource for letterpress parts and printers
Letterpress Commons: Developed by Boxcar Press with articles and resources
Boxcar Press: My usual source for polymer plates and some other materials and supplies
Reich Savoy: One of the papers I print on.
Van Son Rubber Base Plus Ink: My preferred ink

The 2017 Holiday Shop is now open!


Visit the 3rd Historic Shell Holiday Shop in Downtown Issaquah. We’ve put together a fun collection of useful gifts from more than 35 local artists, designers and makers. You can find ceramics, art kits, cards, journals, screen printed clothing, knitted goods, jewelry, holiday decoration…. you get the idea!

Come see us at the Historic Shell Station, 232 Front Street North
Open Nov 24-Dec 30, Fri-Sun 12-6PM.

For more photos and up-to-date info, visit our Facebook page