Rachel Beckman » Weaver & Textile Designer

May News

It’s a good month so far, and I’m super busy. It’s a month of lists and trying to stay organized with my nifty day planner, which I always use religiously for a week and a half and then forget about. I’m also trying to avoid spending money on WEBS’ Anniversary Sale since I had a field day with them last month, but their May cotton deals are looking pretty good as I’m doing some major prepwork for this season’s craft shows. I’ll take one of each, please!

In other spending news, I made a huge leap (business investment!) and purchased this little guy:

It’s a Schacht Spindle Co. 4-Shaft Wolf Pup, and  I purchased it from a really delightful company called United Art and Education. I want to give them a big thumbs up because they offer great discounts and from my experience, they have a super customer service team. In 2-4 weeks, this little baby will be mine.

And with good reason. Two looms will will increase my productivity and will help me be a better weaver. Currently, with one loom + too many projects queued up, sometimes I find myself rushing through things to get myself to the next warp. I make changes for the sake of finishing something faster, and while my vision is never the same from start to finish anyways, I often wonder if my work suffers because of this. Two looms means more projects getting done more quickly, so I can work on production and personal work simultaneously.

This is all leading up to the answer to the question, why do I need to be more productive all of a sudden?- It’s Time To Mark Your Calendars!

Saturday, June 16th
Pile of Craft
2640 St. Paul, Baltimore

I have the distinct pleasure of having been juried in to the Charm City Craft Mafia’s annual Pile of Craft. I am very excited and honored to have the opportunity to sell my work alongside many Baltimore artists and crafters I’ve admired for years. It’s a little over  a month away, and it’ll be here before you know it!

July 20-22
Artscape
Brown Center, MICA, Baltimore

This is the second year the fabulous MICA Staff and Faculty will be selling their handmade wares during Artscape, Baltimore’s annual huge, free, fun arts festival. What makes our group the best, besides all the awesome stuff for sale? You can shop in sweet, sweet air conditioning in MICA’s Brown Center.

More updates leading up to these great shows will follow, as well as hopefully a few more exciting announcements.

Happy Spring!

Workspace

Stilts and Giraffes fabric featured on TheCraftStar

I was very honored to wake up this morning and discover that I had been chosen to be the featured artist of the day over on TheCraftStar’s Facebook page.

TheCraftStar is a new online marketplace for handmade goods and supplies. They have yet to launch, but you can read more about the service by following the link above to Facebook or by following them on Twitter @TheCraftStar.

You can purchase the featured fabric here, and more is always available upon request!

Yo-Yo Quilt Project: Blog Launch

Click above to view the project blog. It will only be updated as often as I get submissions, so submit away!

Natural Dye Workshop

Hey Friends! Please check out Carly’s Website for an overview of the first class in our Natural Dye Workshop Series. Lots of pictures!