Speaking of designers at arts and crafts shows, I found The DIY Trunk Show for arts and crafts producers in the Chicago area. The DIY Trunk Show is run by Cinnamon Cooper and Amy Carlton who are crafts activists (for a better idea of what that means, read Third Wave Craftivism ). Judging from the effort expended towards creating new selling and showing venues for start up artisans, Cinnamon and Amy are going to give AIBI a run for their money. You can read an excellent article they’ve written on trunk shows here. This is not to say that all of the “artist” entries were outstanding; Cinnamon expresses her frustration saying

But I will say that I criticized people for making something called “snowman poop“. I still hold that xeroxing sheets of a paper and sticking it in a ziploc baggie with packing peanuts, marshmallows, or cotton balls isn’t a craft.

Anyway, I perused the list of participants in the trunk show that was held November 5, 2005 and culled a few memorable entries.

Not that my opinion matters but Cheryl Sterling can call herself an artist and get no argument from me. I wanted to put up a photo of one of her quilts but haven’t heard back from her for permission prior to press time. She makes quilts from photographs and they’re absolutely amazing. I think this one is my favorite.

One handbag making vendor is Miss Alison and although you can see nicely worked samples here, the styles shown on her DIY page are newer and more unusual. Miss Alison mixes interesting use of graphic shapes and colors. I’d like to see her expand and build on her range to develop unique bag shaping as well.

Works! is a vendor who made me laugh out loud. Works! makes lamps “out of anything that will hold still long enough to drill a hole in it”. Scroll down this page to see a lamp made out of a 50’s era portable hair dryer. Those of you familiar with my recycling inclinations and appliance repair proclivities will understand why I appreciate this artist’s statement:

I focus mainly on pre-1960’s kitchen appliances, 8mm film projectors and typewriters. I avoid making cutesy combinations of things which reflect more on the artist than on the inherent beauty of the object. I salute the faceless geniuses who toiled in obscurity to design waffle irons and coffee percolators to excite the eye and stimulate the imagination while making the breakfast.

Lastly, I noticed another mostly non-clothing person –Loosetooth is also a vendor on this site. I’d made the acquaintance of its proprietess Brandy Agerback awhile back regarding her day-time job as a graphic facilitator. I’m a big fan of her work -compelling, vibrant and intelligent- she’s on my short list of people I’d like to meet in real life. Here is a simple illustration describing the concept of graphic facilitation (akin to mind mapping) and here is a rendition of De Bono’s 6 styles of thinking (De Bono’s site is remarkably poor for such a renowned authority on creative thinking but I hope you’ll explore his work anyway; he’s worth it) and lastly, this is a truly stunning piece of work (scroll down to see all of it). Here is the index to all of her graphic faciliation work. I’ve often wondered if Brandy would have a future in textile design if she chose to explore it.