This is President’s Day weekend, and while many folks take advantage of a few extra days off by going away, I’m going to take you to the nation’s capital. No, it isn’t to go to camp with our comrades down at The Sidwell Friends School, but to the White House. You read that right, The White House. I don’t have top secret clearance, but I do have inside knowledge of the crafts that used to go on in The First House. Time for a little bit of handwork and history my friends...
During the time of the American Revolution it was considered unpatriotic to buy goods that were made in England, so many American women picked up needles & yarn and began to stitch. Knitting was a symbol of liberty!
Do you know of any First Ladies that were handy with yarn? Here’s a quick list:
- There are records that show Martha Washington sold knitted socks to raise money for the Revolutionary era troops
- Edith Roosevelt used to have knitting circles at The White House
- Grace Coolidge sponsored a knitting competition that was judged by Vogue Magazine
- Eleanor Roosevelt was once introduced as “first knitter of the land” and was pictured on her Christmas card knitting
Crafts are important to thos of us that participate in them. Whether it's sewing, crocheting, knitting, or embroidery there is probably a little bit of history involved in it that you never knew about.
I’ll bet that you never thought knitting was part of the fabric of our American History did you?!
Camp fair season is in full swing, as Miss Julia wrote last week. One way to get all of that fabulous summer camp information is from the MetroKids parenting magazines that can be found all over the Philadelphia region. In addition to advertising summer camps and camp fairs, this resource also has interesting articles and fun things to do with your kids at home.
We were so pleased to be invited by MetroKids to submit a project to be included in the January issue and I'd love to share it with you - just in time for Valentine's Day. Homemade Valentines are always the best to create and to receive and you can make this one with your kids with just a few simple materials that you probably have around the house. Especially if you have kids who like handwork...
So while we are busy introducing new families to our family at camp fairs, you can get busy with your kids doing this fun activity, or any of the great crafts Miss Alisha creates on our website for How-To Tuesdays!
Happy Valentine's day from our family to yours!
Love, Miss Melissa
After watching children come through the studio today, Wednesday Febuary 1st, in shorts, t-shirts, and flip-flops I stopped thinking that Summer was so far away. In reality, just a few short months from now we will be planning trips to the beach, eating ice cream outside and of course for many kids Summer means going to Camp!
Now a days with so many camp offerings parents and kids have to make a lot decisions about where to go and what to do. With these endless choices you might wonder how does one make an educated decision on what camp will be the best fit? At The Handwork Studio we have found that camp fairs are a one stop shop for families to see a lot of different camps in the region and to get a more intimate look at them. Rather than tediously checking countless programs out online camp fairs offer the opportunity to speak first hand to the counselors and directors at each of their respective camps. Many even have visual aids, props and equipment to show and sometime demonstrate what goes on in their camp on any given day. Another perk of visiting a camp fairs is that they are free and can be a great afternoon or evening out with the kids. Many camps will offer a small activity or a give away that makes it fun for everyone.
At the Handwork Studio we love to bring kids in on the experience. When we set up our booth we bring many examples of projects that we could potentially create over the Summer and also offer kids to make a quick easy project on the sewing machine with one of our trained instructors.
Since we feel camp fairs are a fantastic way for families to experience us a big part of my job throughout January, February, and March is being out on the camp fair circuit. A few days a week I travel around NJ, PA, DC and MD region setting up camp fairs at schools, malls, hotels, pharmaceuatical companies and more. I truly find these fairs to be invigorating. One of my favorite things is meeting new families that are excited to learn about us because their child has expressed an interested in what we offer and of course it is great seeing alumni Handwork Studio campers visitng our booth with big smiles and a hug!
If you are interested in checking out one of the upcoming camp fairs that The Handwork Studio will be at feel free to check us out here to see where our next stop will be!
There are a few things that make American summers unique. 4th of July barbecues, fireworks and of course...the great American Road trip.
Last summer Miss Julia and I embarked on an unprecedented Handwork Studio event by taking our one of a kind summer camp on the road; well not just on the road, but on the highways, byways, bridges and tolls of the U.S. making stops in Texas, Colorado, New Jersey and Maryland.
What made the experience so great is hard to pinpoint, if not impossible. You just can’t put into words the awesomeness of a denim covered van filled with fabric pulling into a national park for a night of camping, or the way a new group of families and kids look at you the first time that they see you in your Handwork Studio apron. And quite frankly, I wouldn’t want to have to pick just one great thing…I WANT THEM ALL!
People often ask Julia and I if being on the road was difficult. What it was like being in the van driving for 14 hours a day. How often we stopped at gas stations or rest stops. Our answers are always the same, “Oh, it was so much fun!” However, at some point though Miss Julia does mention the fact that I shouted “COWS!” at every bit of cattle we drove by in open country pastures. No, really, every cow I saw I shouted it. I really like cows.
So, if I had to pick my favorite things or activities about our trip it would be these:
- Stopping at farm stands in Texas and buying pickled okra and fudge
- Taking Sheepy to the beach for the first time (most sheep never see sand)
- Learning how to pitch a tent
- Seeing the top of Pike’s Peak
- Making it from Colorado to Pennsylvania in 36 hours
At any rate, the excitement is building as Miss Julia and I prepare for yet another summer filled with the pleasant unknown of roads yet untraveled and small hands yet to stitch. It is a promising void that lay before us and we welcome it with open arms (and with a GPS and a full tank of gas).
-Miss Alisha
You may wonder what it is we really do all year round, besides teach your kids about the wonderful world of needle arts, of course. When you glance into the studio window, what is it that we’re doing when we’re typing furiously or talking on the phone? And what do we do when we’re not in the studio?
Summer camp. All day every day, and especially September to March. While most people associate summer camp with summer (go figure), it’s an all-year round event for us at The Handwork Studio. Before the end of camp this past summer, Miss Julia and Miss Laura had already starting scoping out new places around the country to bring our camps. And right now, we’re in the process of launching Summer 2012: new locations, website pages, and glossy brochures, registration, the works. And it sure takes a team to make camp happen: Miss Alisha and Miss Julia mapping their next Road Trip in The Handwork Studio Mobile and launching a new registration site, Miss Melissa planning new projects and sourcing materials, and Miss Megan designing over 20 new camp pages to make it easier for parents like you to find our different camps, locations, and info on how to register.
During this particular camp launching season, I have the pleasure of trying
out a bit of everything: helping Miss Megan with our website, researching our new locations to bring you up-to-date information, accompanying Miss Julia to numerous camp fairs, assisting Miss Laura with public relations and marketing, and on assignment from Miss Melissa: researching and picking my own crafty brain about summer projects. While planning all this might seem a daunting task, it couldn’t be more exciting! In the company of a fantastic team, I know Summer 2012 will be our best camp season yet!
We’re officially launching
registration January 21st...make sure you get a head start on your summer plans! We’d love to have you and your campers back for another awesome summer of Handwork, Machine Sewing, Fiber Crafts, Fashion Boot Camp
programs, and of course sew much fun!
Miss Eva
The holidays have come and gone but none of my shopping is done! As we enter the New Year, the best part of my job begins: sourcing for summer camp.
As the Director of Curriculum and Education, I spend the school year researching current trends and creating projects that your kids will love. After those projects are chosen we then begin the process of purchasing all of materials we need to make them. We have some really great local partners that we purchase from, as well as some national and global sources, who are always looking for the best products for us to bring to your children in the projects they make at class or camp, as well as the products we send them home with in their summer camp goody bags.
When I research the materials I am always looking for the most natural materials with the least amount of packaging - which can be a challenge. We want to expose the children to the most delicious yarns and fabrics available, especially items that they can identify themselves when they visit a fabric, yarn or craft shop. 100% cottons and wools are the finest, but we've found that blends are what's readily available. We strive to offer our children a great mix of fibers to get them thinking about their choices. Whether it's knitting or sewing, the process of choosing those materials will help your child become an anlytical thinker. And it will give them even more pride in their work.
For this blog post, I thought I would share a video that was sent to me from our local fabric company - it is amazing. The warehouse is huge and it's almost impossible to really see anything unless you're on a ladder or an electric lift!
Additionally, I thought I'd include a few images from some of my recent shopping excursions. It truly is one of the most exciting and fun parts of my job!
You cannot imagine how my heart skips a beat when I enter a yarn warehouse like this one. The potential for creation, the colors, the smell of sheep, they are all things that I wish I could share with our students.... if I were Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus I would be shouting "Field Trip!".
This is the trunk of my car after visiting the aforementioned yarn warehouse!
This image was taken by Miss Alisha during one of our recent shopping spree's!
Dear Families, Host School Partners, Vendors and Industry Leaders:
We spent the last two weeks of the year teaching Winter Camp. I received an email from Miss Alisha on Friday, that reminded me how important our work is to kids that I'd like to share with you:
"Having a great day so far. Two parents hugged me for making their children happy at camp. One of them was up and dressed by 7:30 so that they wouldn't be late for camp, the other was thrilled that his daughter came in and walked away easily.
And then, the coup de gras...one of our campers, who has been coming for ages asked me today how old you have to be to work here. I told her that she can begin volunteering at 12, and she was a little disappointed because she is 10. So then she says, "can I just start teaching people the balloon knot to practice for when I volunteer?" So I said sure, and then she spent the next 10 minutes working the room teaching all the other kids the balloon knot. It was spectacular."
This email just swelled my heart and made me take pause to think about what we promise to deliver in 2012.
Our New Year's Goals:
* To create an environment of love, trust and creativity for our students and staff.
* Be innovative and continue to design the most fun projects ever.
* Continue to find and hire dynamic, energetic, fun instructors that the kids will love.
* Be responsive and respectful with everyone.
* Make handwork available to more people by opening new locations - 22 planned for summer 2012!
* Be a great partner to our host schools & rented locations.
* Be a loyal customer to our vendors who, like us, try to promote handwork & machine sewing products to children everyday.
* Strive to be the best educator of kids handwork and machine sewing!
We wish you all much happiness, health, prosperity and craftiness in the New Year!
Miss Laura
Despite the lack of plummeting temperatures and snowy scapes in Narberth, it sure is beginning to look a lot like winter at The Handwork Studio (just take a peek at Miss Julia’s fabulous snow-covered hills and wrapped presents nestled in the windows)! It’s hard not to get into the holiday spirit when events like this month's Dickens Festival, holiday workshops, and hat and scarf making with Alex’s Lemonade Foundation are happening all around us - not to mention Winter Camp this week and next week at the studio!
Just last week I had the privilege of celebrating the holiday season with some of my favorite people: The Handwork Studio instructors, of course, at our annual holiday party. Amid piles of homemade cookies (we can bake, too!), twinkling lights and a life-size sewing machine cake, we all shared our stories about joining this incredibly unique and ever-growing family. Our team is a truly special group of women who are not only talented but who also share their love of kids. I am so very grateful to share the holidays with them.
As you all prepare for the holiday season, remember we are here to help you entertain your kids during your last minute shopping. Check out our
Winter Camp schedule and join the fun, continuing next week. And if you’re still looking for last minute gifts for your favorite crafter, check out our list of this year’s
holiday favorites.
Sitting behind the desk, chatting with you on the phone, and working with your children has been a great pleasure this year and I look forward crafting with you all in 2012!
Miss Eva
What do you get when you combine roving carrolers, mugs of warm cider and a miserable old crummudgeon roaming the streets of Narberth? Why The Dickens Festival of course!
This year the festival will be Saturday, December 10th from 12pm-4pm where there will be more than enough for families and friends to enjoy. Children can join the scavenger hunt in the center of town and look for characters from the classic Charles Dickens' holiday tale 'A Christmas Carol'. Be on the lookout for story folk like Ebonezer Scrooge (although, he's not fond of strangers!) walking about the town and win a priza at the very end.
While kids are searching for modern day people dressed in 19th century Dickensian garb, they can follow their fingertips on up the hill to find us at The Handwork Studio, where Miss Julia and I will be having holiday fun creating a festive craft from 1:00pm-3:30pm.
The 4th annual Dickens Festival is a wonderful opportunity for familes to spend time together and have fun at the start of the holiday season, and best of all, it's free! Chilly air, warm drinks, and memories that will last forever. Take a look at this video from last year to get a sneak peek of what is in store! Dickens Festival
We hope to see you there!
--Miss Alisha
As I write this post, I just happen to be in South Beach, looking out over a glistening Atlantic, feeling a cool morning breeze. And it is stunning. Today I am a Fiber Artist.
I’m here in Miami for Art Basel, the country’s preeminent contemporary art fair, of which, I am pleased to announce, I will be a part of.
As a fiber artist and a project designer for The Handwork Studio I have been blessed to marry my love of textiles with an actual job – no small feat in our current economy. And equally lucky to have Laura and the rest of our staff as my biggest fans.
Fiber arts have exploded onto the scene in the last few years, graduating from the very “seventies” weaving and knotting work into a full blown storm of dying, wearables, large scale sculpture, embroidery on paintings – you name it. “Fiber Arts” encompasses so many diverse techniques that it truly is everywhere.
Even in my hotel lobby.
As I went for coffee this morning I was greeted by Tom Friedman’s “GreenYarnAlien” installed in the lobby of the W South Beach. What a perfect way to start my day. As the mom of a 9 year old who loves yarn (just like her mom) and is a handwork junkie (ditto the mom comment), I felt this was the perfect piece to blog about. I am constantly asked… What is Fiber Art? Well, my friends take a peek at these pictures – your kids are sure to love him. And just think, maybe one day your own little handwork junky might be down here doing the very same thing.
Check out our Facebook page in the coming days to look at images of my own work installed during this 4 day frenzy of contemporary arts. And enjoy!
Miss Melissa
