SO I like TOTALLY DID THE DIY TABLE AT the first annual INDIEMADE CRAFT MARKET!!!

jenn sem (of home and planet on southside, you know the store that sells cool recycled shit like jewelry made from skate decks?), my aunt inger (of comfort and joy, the cute store specializing in delish soy candles and monkey paraphernalia, also on southside) and myself were sliding over icy puddles in the frozen sunlight, through the parking lot of the fearless fire co. in allentown. we were struggling to carry our bins and baskets of glitter, glue, markers, recycled paper, tons of garlands we'd made, and a pokey little purple tinsel tree. i hadn't even had any coffee yet. we were greeted at the door by a very pleasant and smartly dressed man who directed us to our tables.

the banner went up, the checkered tableclothes went down, and the D.I.Y. AREA came into focus right in front of our eyes. we spied on the crafters setting out their crafts ('OMG DID YOU SEE THE PLUSHY CUPCAKES!!? SHUT UP SO FCKN CUTE!!!') and i ran out for some much-needed caffeine, wading through a line of happily chattering people that wrapped around the building! i rushed back and everyone's faces were floating behind their wares, anxiously awaiting the opening of the floodgates. flitting around to the folk-indie-rock jams provided by Craft:zine (check that shit out.. wow), we chattered, sleepy but psyched. this was the big moment we had all been waiting for, all these nights of preparation and planning were finally coming together.

suddenly it began.. with a swarm! the super sweet swag bags disappeared rapidly as the starlight ballroom filled up. people rummaged through our various bins, collecting supplies to turn into garlands, ornaments, or anything they dreamt up. our tinsel tree was soon weighed down with glitter encrusted creations of all kinds. we showed how easy paper chains are to make, hung silly stenciled phrases up all over our space, and facilitated the application of sparkles on everything late into the afternoon. by the end of the day we were ready to never glitter or paper-chain ever again - but were still excited as hell that we got to be a part of something we've all been waiting for in this area. it was an outlet for a lot of creative energy that we feel has been steeping for a long time.

i'm glad we provided a space for people to collect themselves and process everything they saw, after taking in a whole lot at once. i'm also happy we had the opportunity to include kids who got dragged along; instead of being bored, they got to make something of their own to take home. i think my favorite tables were the stuffed monster cupcakes with crazy antlers, the ceramicists from PGH who made beautiful ceramic bird earrings (they had a birdcage on the table) and the girl who made little mustached key hooks with mustache magnets for her price tags (find her at www.myspace.com/hurleymcgee).

overall it was an amazing event. everyone went home exhausted and smiling. the turnout was huge, the crafters had a day of much needed networking and promotion, the organizers were ecstatic, we were certainly kept busy, and couldn't have felt more accomodated. we can't wait til the next one! word on the street is that the diy station will be featuring a 'turn-an-old-book-into-a-new-

journal' theme!! it's set for june, so if you're interested in tabling visit www.indiemadecraftmarket.org for more info.