Big Chill 2013 Poster!

Gorgeous!  Molly Steinmetz, MECA student and mastermind behind bitches and beehives, has designed a lovely poster for our craft fair coming up this December.  The original is black and white, and we will be taking it to task with an armada of watercolors.  Would you like a few posters of your own to paint and post?  Just email:  audrey@mayostreetarts.org to find out how to get your hands on some copies.

Annnd… it’s still not too late to apply!  Applications close October 31st and we love to see all the creativity that’s been pouring in to our mailbox.  Click the “Apply!” tab at the top of the page to download the application and instructions.

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Introducing: The First Annual “Big Chill”

Something’s brewing here in our little corner of Portland… stay tuned for updates because The Big Thaw’s cousin, The Big Chill will be happening this winter!

Not many details now, but soon to come.  Please share with your friends and contacts who might be interested in applying to be a vendor or coming as a customer!  They can either subscribe to blog updates from this website or contact us at:  thebigthawportland at gmail dot com  for updates via mailing list!

We promise to continue to make the website entertaining and informative about all the lovely sellers we will be hosting this winter.  Time to revamp!

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Vendor Spotlight: Doonyaya

ohmygosh!  It’s STILL snowing in Portland.  Wherever you are we hope you’re warm, healthy and don’t have one eye bulging out a la Ren & Stimpy due to the tremendous stress of neverending winter.  Don’t worry, The BIG THAW is coming soon!

Today we get to ogle the work of Dunja von Stoddard aka DOONYAYA which is a just plain awesome name.  The Doonyaya shop offers pot holders, sachets, cat toys, journals, postcards and beyond.  Let’s take a little peek:

Colorful Catnip Toy!

Cat toys!  Sometimes it’s a GOOD thing that a product gets tested on animals and these are one of those things.  Apparently the felines go wild for these guys.  I personally go wild for the fact that they’re not those creepy, hairy mice that my cats seem to bat around for a bit, ignore, and then they emerge months later from the sofa covered in fur and food.  Doonyaya’s catnip toys do double duty as colorful accents while making your kitty go nutso for cat herbs.  Fun!

Sooo many colors you may need to grab two!

Now might be a good time to mention that Dunja’s business tithe (10% of her profits) go to organizations that save and protect animals.  So on top of all the niceness listed above you’re also doing your little part towards contributing to the health and happiness of other critters.

In the paper department, Doonyaya peddles journals and postcards.  The latest work is inspired by Victorian culture and 60-80s pop culture.  Pictures are worth a thousand words:

Journal Designs by Doonyaya

New!! Oversized Postcards from Doonyaya

So, basically once you’re done filling your shopping cart with all of the above you’ll probably like to see her potholders and sachets, complete with silk screened birds.  Fresh clothes and fashionable casseroles, here I come!

Sachets by Doonyaya.  Look at the kissing birds!

Potholders by Doonyaya.  Owl and bird love!

So there you have it, folks.  I had an opportunity to ask Dunja about how she heard about The BIG THAW and she had these lovely things to say about Maine artists and the Etsy Maine Team:

“I heard about The Big Thaw from joining the Maine Team through etsy. I am so impressed with how many artists and crafters there are in our State, and the team has been a great way to see what my fellow Mainiacs are doing. Having moved from New York, I’ve found Maine to be incredibly inspiring and supportive of artists. I am living the dream here, making things every day out of my garage-turned-studio, and getting encouragement and feedback from my small but mighty crafting community. I am excited about the Big Thaw because I always get inspired by what other artists are creating.“

Us, too, Dunja!  And no lack of inspiration come Saturday, April 16th 10am-4pm at Mayo Street Arts Center at 10 Mayo St. for The BIG THAW!

Awesome. Just awesome.

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Art Fer Yer Walls, plus Facebook is Awesome

Speechless! I’ve literally never written a check for anything so cool as 100, limited edition, four-color screen prints of a fox, a bunny rabbit and two birds.  All of them signed and numbered, ready to share with the local universe (and beyond!)

 

so so so so so so nice!

I’ve made an Etsy listing for local people, click here if you’d like to purchase and pick up somewhere on the peninsula (I’m flexible and mobile).

Annnd here is a listing for those who can’t make it to the Portland, Maine peninsula or for those who are insanely busy like me (I hear ya, we’re nuts!) who would like me to ship it to you.  Really fantastic Spring colors, one of these is promised to a frame to hang in the hallway at my place!

 

look at the fox pop! bright, citrus orange against blues and greens!

The poster, which is printed in four colors on gorgeous, heavy-weight paper, will be for sale at the very reasonable price of $10 the day of the fair.  If you purchase in advance, however, the Etsy listings are 20% off at $8.  Coupon clipping be damned, here is a better way to make some savings!

We’ll be using proceeds from the sales of the posters to printing flyers, making proper sign-age the day of the event, populating Mayo Street with candy dishes full of delicious candy and so much more.

Oh!  Did I mention Emblem Studio was available for custom screen printing work?  Such excellent craftsmanship, we are so, so pleased here at The Big Thaw.

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Did you know The BIG THAW is on Facebook?

Well, it is.

Here is the group page:  http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_121923504545596

Here is the event listing:  http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=104897699588395&ref=ts

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Beginning tomorrow, The BIG THAW website will be shining the spotlight on our vendors so that all you shoppers can start making your wish lists and saving those pennies (quarters, dollars, benjamins) effectively!

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Deadline to Post: Friday, February 26th

Friendly reminder, kittens!  Have your applications in the mail by Friday so they are here in time!  Click here for application page.

In other news:  our poster is ALMOST done!  You may have noticed we revamped the colors on the site.  The blues, greens and punchy orange all come from the poster design and we can’t wait to show it to everyone when it’s finished!

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Two More Weeks! Be Sure to Send Applications by February 25th!

Good morning from Audrey at Little Eye Designs —

Phew!  My mail carrier must be mightily confused where up until a few weeks ago all s/he brought to my front door was bills and catalogs.  With all these handwritten envelopes coming to me from amazing Maine artists, crafters and vintage resellers my new favorite thing to do is come home from work and get the mail!  OK, truth be told, it’s always been one of my favorite things to come home from work but this is the icing on the cake.

~

Today:  a reminder. It’s a good idea if you haven’t sent in  your application yet to make sure it’s in the mail by Friday, February 26th to make the February 28th deadline.

~

Another reminder: no application is considered ‘accepted’ until you’ve received and email from The BIG THAW confirming your application and your vendor fee check has been deposited.  We’ve had an overwhelming demand for upstairs spaces, so those of you who end up in the artist studios downstairs will receive a $10 refund from your original check.  The artist studios downstairs will be open, as well, and we will be feeding customers down the stairs the only way we know how:  with candy.  Also, thoughts on a purchase-based raffle have been kicking around and I’ll have more details later but I do know it will be incentivizing visiting downstairs vendors.  The spaces downstairs are perfect for:  vintage sellers and people who need wall space to hang flat or framed prints.

~

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals by Meagan Anderson and Emblem Studio

In other news, I hope to be meeting this weekend with Kris Johnsen of Emblem Studios and Meagan Anderson who are the fantastically talented artists who are going to be making The BIG THAW poster.  We’ll have a run of 100 limited edition silk-screened prints available for sale at The BIG THAW.  The poster you see in front of you is an earlier collaboration from the two talented artists that piqued TBT’s interest and made us say “Yes, yes.  These are the people who must make our high-flying flag.” Er, poster.  Still!  Keep your eyes peeled for visual excellence.

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Sharing Means Caring: Apply With a Friend!

Hi, everyone!  Thanks for visiting The BIG THAW website.  You’re probably looking for more information about how to apply, so you can click on the tab at the top of this page that says “Apply!” to download the .pdf (please email littleeyedesigns at gmail dot com for a .doc file)

Sharing Means Caring. And nothing says caring like a heart-shaped outhouse window. By Little Eye Designs.

I was reflecting today on how huge the response has been already to what was just a seed of an idea at the beginning of January.  Phew!  I wanted to talk a little about how we encourage sharing tables for artists, crafters or vintage sellers who may be doing their first craft fair, who like spending the day with their friends selling awesome things, or maybe don’t have as much start up cash as they’d like.

Let me be the first to say:  applying to The BIG THAW with your buddy to split a space is highly encouraged. Why?  Well, truth be told is that no matter what Carl Sagan says, space is limited.  We calculate to have room for about 30 vendors, if only individuals were to sign up.  But wouldn’t it be great if we had 10 shared tables and were able to expose our visitors to 40 sellers instead of 30?

Here is a little bit of info why it’s great to share + care with your artist-y, vintage-y friends:

1.  Cost. Wow!  The vendor fee just got cut in half like that.  Need I say more?

2.  Company. Sometimes 6 hours can seem like a long time to be on your feet, peddling your wares.  It’s nice to have a familiar face to keep you company throughout the day.

3.  Friends are your best salespeople. Sometimes when sales are lagging at fairs my friends and I have done we’ll trade places and sell each others’ stuff.  It really works – lots easier to be a salesperson for someone else than for yourself (although it’s good to learn that skill, too!)

4.  Someone to watch the table while you go get snacks. And who doesn’t love snacks?!  Mayo Street’s refreshment bar will be open throughout the day so you’ll leave your cash box at the table during snack time knowing someone’s sitting on top of it for you.

5.  Load in/Load out. Lugging five trips from the main floor to your car, no matter how long or short that trip is, is always exhausting.  Better to have four arms than two to make it happen!

~~~

Lastly, I’d like to reiterate that applications will be open through February 28th, 2011.  No applications are considered accepted until vendor fees are deposited and a notice is sent to the seller or main contact on the application.

We really, really, really wish we could fit everyone but just know your organizers are thinking about every aspect of every application and making the tough decisions with due diligence.  And lots of chocolate cake.  Lots and lots.

xo,

Audrey at Little Eye

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Apply to The BIG THAW

 

springspringspringSPRING! Paper flower stickers by Shanna Tice, vendor at The BIG THAW.

Phew!  Only three days after applications were released to the Etsy Maine Team and already the response has been huge!  What was a tiny, little good idea three weeks ago is now a great, big project.  Today we are opening applications to the general public, and encourage anyone who might love a fun afternoon with crafters, artist and vintage resellers alike to apply!

How-to? Click that ‘Apply!’ link at the tab at the top of the page and download the .pdf of The BIG THAW Application.  You can either print it out, fill in the spaces and mail to the address listed with your vendor fee check, or you can email the contact on the application for a Word document so you can fill in the spaces, email, and mail vendor fee separately.  Please let us know if you have any questions!

Here are the top 5 reasons you want to join us at The BIG THAW:

1.  Great company! Already the response from a strong arts community is getting us excited about a day with creative people from across Maine.

2.  Great food. The BIG THAW is being held on the East End of Portland, which boasts new additions to the Portland restaurant scene such as Chiang Mai II (Thai), Otto’s (pizza) and old Portland favorites like KatieMade Bakery, Coffee By Design, Silly’s and Tu Casa.  Just make sure you’ve got someone to watch your booth for your lunch break!

3.  Great season. The BIG THAW, in addition to being an excellent place to score sweet gifts for yourself and your friends, is also a celebration of the coming Spring and THE END OF WINTER in Maine.  Phew.  Just a few more months!

4.  Great space. Wow – have you BEEN to Mayo Street Arts Center?  The airy, open space doubles as a performance center by night.  Go check something out to get a feel for the excellent ambiance we are super psyched about.

5.  Great timing.  This is the first crafts/arts/vintage fair to be held at the Mayo Street Arts Center.  Whether you’re selling at or just visiting The BIG THAW you’ll be part of history!  Saturday in Spring also promise delicious and nutritious farmer’s market finds at Deering Oaks Park – so why not make a day of it and do a cross-town walk after loading up on veggies?

As applications are received and accepted we will be listing vendors at the tab at the top of the page.  No spaces are guaranteed until your vendor fee check has been deposited as we’re trying hard to make sure we have a diverse selection of goods for the fair-goers to choose from.  We can’t wait to hear from you!

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We Have a Home!

 

Not Mayo St., but another awesome old building. Photo by Audrey Hotchkiss.

Hear ye, hear ye!

The BIG THAW has found its home at the Mayo Street Arts Center in Portland, Maine.  This beautiful, restored church has been made in to a fabulous, warm and sunshiney event space we just know will be perfect for our fair.

Located off of Cumberland Avenue on Mayo St. in the resurgent East Bayside community, there is plenty of parking along the sidewalk AND it’s easy to find!  Get off the highway at Franklin Arterial, left on Cumberland by the big Catholic Church, second left on Mayo St.  It’s a huge yellow church, we’re pretty sure it can’t be missed.  🙂

Mayo St. has a snack and refreshment bar that will be open during the fair… super cool!  There’s also yummy food in the area that will keep our vendors motored up and in good spirits.  Seriously, the number of restaurants in the East End that are popping up lately is totally nuts!  Silly’s, Coffee By Design, Buffalo Wings & Things and Tu Casa have long been favorites, but add Chiang Mai II and OTTO’s Pizza to the list of deliciousness within walking distance.  Score!

Stay tuned about some excellent merchandise we’ll be working like busy bees on throughout February, perfect posters from Emblem Studio to tell the world about us AND information on how you can apply to be a vendor!

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