Long weekend : INACRAFT 2011

How was your holiday ? Mine was a bunch of fun and a little bit of shopping experience !

Last week, INACRAFT 2011, the biggest and the largest craft fair in Indonesia was held. I, my husband and my son went there at Friday. We went early in the morning and expected to arrive at Senayan at 10 a.m., when the exhibition gate was opened, but hey... what the heck was that ? A giant queue, no, a giant crowd was in front of the exhibition gate !

So, by holding my son tightly, I and my husband tried hard to enter the gate. And we did it ! (after 15 minutes of hot and crowded queueing). I promise, for the next Inacraft, I will go there solo !

Below are few snapshots from the event, enjoy !

Above : Romantic Cotton's Booth

Above : GDa's Gallery

Above : Cute kid's stooll. Bought some of these ^^

Above : lace craft from Green Craft & Design

From the same booth, I bought a set of lace coaster, lace pin cushion, and a taffeta rose

And I met Puri from Idekuhandmade. Bought two owl cushions for my two little bunnies and her book for myself. Unfortunately, I forgot to take my picture with her !! *regrets*

Here is Zakiyya with her owl cushion

See you on the next InaCraft !

Pattern Testers Required - Lace & Chiffon Handbag (CLOSED)

Yup ! I need two pattern testers for this fresh-from-the-oven small handbag. If you want to be included, you can put your name on the comment section, with your email address. I will close this requirement at Friday morning, and send the PDF to the two pattern testers.

Does this mean that I will sell this pattern online ? I still don't have the answer

Note : This pattern testing must be finished at next Friday (April 29th, 2011). So I need the pattern testers to commit finishing the handbag at the due date

This post has been linked up to some of these link parties

Act and Change : Jessica Van Den

Do you see a new tagline ? "Act & Change" is a series of interviews, short interviews or introductions of inspiring people, to make us "act and change", either change ourself or change the world. If you consistenly read my blog, I actually had started this series few weeks ago, by doing an interview with Kay Whitt, and some short interviews with sewing artists (Part 1 and Part 2)

For this intially launched "Act & Change", we have Jessica van Den, who is a seriously creative girl, jewellery designer, business maven, indie-biz motivator, and now she is a zine publisher ! Wow ! She writes regularly on Jessica van Den : Crafting a Business, Epheriell Design Blog, and contributes on Scoutie Girl. She also has her own online store for her Epheriell jewellery line, and Vintette on etsy.

And haven't I mention that she also publishes a zine ? *bespoke* is the name. If you are an Australian crafter and artist, you may familiar with *bespoke* zine. Here is Jess sharing her publishing venture

1. Please share to us, how did you come to an idea to publish *bespoke* zine ?

I was enjoying my blog at EpheriellDesigns.com - but I wanted to do something more. I was inspired by a number of zines I love, including Aussie zine Mixtape, and New Zealand zine Extra Curricular - and I thought 'hey, if they can do it, so can I!'. So, I put the word out through my social networks, and the response was so positive that I went for it!

2. Let's pretend : If *bespoke* is your microphone, what words do you really want to speak out loudly through it ?

That craft is fun, that creativity is vital to a fulfilling life, that vintage should be cherished, and that you CAN make a living from your craft.

{Image courtesy of Jennifer Wu}

3. When you gain so many article submissions, you have to choose and eliminate. How difficult it is ?

Hmm, it can be hard... luckily, since I do 4 issues a year, if I get something fabulous that I can't fit into the current issue I'm working on, I can schedule it for a future issue. But it is difficult to turn people down - especially people I know and have built a relationship with online... who likes saying no to friends?

4. When you're stuck, what is your strongest reason to stay ahead ?

My readers. All of the amazing people who have bought a copy of *bespoke*; who have told me how much they enjoyed it... the thought of bringing a little joy and inspiration into their lives keeps me motivated.

5. Jess, I know you as a multi-talented persona. You are a jewellery designer, an indie-biz motivator, and also an indie zine publisher. How do you manage your time to maintain your magazine publication ?

Being a workaholic probably helps ;) Seriously though, it can get pretty challenging. I'm lucky enough that my husband is at home with me, and he's been taking on more and more work for the business of late. He's now in charge of all the bookkeeping, as well as numerous other tasks, and that frees me up to be able to do more, which is fabulous. I also have a wonderful graphic designer who helps me put *bespoke* together, as I know very little about graphic design! When I decided to start *bespoke* I just went for it, despite not having all the necessary skills, and I've been lucky enough that it's all come together with other people's help. In short, I don't do it all by myself!

{Image Courtesy of Adelle}

6. Do you ever think about "gain or loss" in this project ? Have you ever been worried about financing ?

Absolutely I think about that. *bespoke* is part of my business, and I need to be making a profit on it to make the time I spend on it worthwhile. Getting each issue printed costs a few thousand dollars, so it's a big investment.

7. What is your biggest dream on this project ?

I would love *bespoke* to grow and become well-known throughout the creative and crafty world! I hope it becomes and remains something people are inspired by!

8. It is a casual question. What is your best advice for anyone who want to start a zine ?

Be passionate about your topic - otherwise you might run out of ideas! In this way, it's similar to writing a blog. And go for it! Even if you don't have all the technical skills - jump in and figure it out as you go. Remember to get other people involved - I think involving my community has been the best thing I did with *bespoke*!

***

Thank you so much Jess for the inspiration. Wow ! She is totally a workaholic, isn't she ? I follow her from twitter, and got addicted with her tweets. She builds her community from scratch on social media, and gain so much from it, either friends or sales. How ? Lucky for us, she wants to share her secret with us. "Crafty and Connected" is her first online course for indie business owner, emphasizes on "how to make the world know about you and your business". It will begin at May 2nd, 2011

And The Strawberry Cake Purse goes to....

Congratulation, Mrs. Fitria ...

I will contact you via email this evening

3 Reasons to Start Learning Sewing (Part 2)

{Click each contributor's picture and name to get their links}

Finally post the last part of this short interview, doh ! What a great procrastinator I've been.

Thank you for my friends and new friends that wrote comments and emails regarding my previous blog post. If you have a great passion on it, just do it (as long as it is possitive)

And thank you so much for the contributors, for spending a little of your precious time to write your three reasons. Your powerful insights are so meaningful for us

3 Reasons to Start Learning Sewing (Part 1)

Many of my friends asked me why I started to learn sewing. And I said, I learnt to sew because it is an applicable and wearable art. I used to draw and make sketches, but I couldn't enjoy and wear my art. That was so simple ! Then most of them said "Okay, I will learn it some day" and they wait for a great reason and a huge list of reasons to start learning sewing, like "maybe next time when I have more time". I often hear "I don't have to learn sewing. Clothes are cheap!"

Do we really need numbers of reasons to start learning sewing ? I guess not. So I asked several famous sewing artists to share three (just three !) reasons to start learning sewing. And here some of them (Part 2 will be posted tomorrow morning)

So, what are your reasons ?

Tabitha Emma (and A Giveaway) - CLOSED

Meet our April's Spotlight ! She is the beautiful & talented Tabitha Emma from Sidney. She runs a website named Tabitha Emma where she shares her stunning portfolio, and her blog, She is the one who did my lovely blog make-over ! It is just what I wanted. I'm glad that I met her. in the net (that what makes me love internet, without it, I couldn't ask her to design my blog !)

She also runs an etsy shop.There you will find cute things, from bunny brooch, pretty art prints, ACEO cards, tea & egg cozies, and some embroidered & gocco printed purses

{ click each image for the source link }

And luckily, she is our giveaway host for this month ! See this Strawberry Cake Purse ?

A lucky reader can win it !

This giveaway is open internationally for Innocentia readers/followers only. Just place a comment below and leave me your email address. This giveaway will closed at next Thursday, April 14, 3.00 p.m. Jakarta time Let's comment & good luck !

Girls

Source: etsy.com via Dewi on Pinterest

Girls. They won't have enough lace

Source: muchlove-anna.blogspot.com via Dewi on Pinterest

or childlike dreams of royalty

Source: etsy.com via Dewi on Pinterest

a high dose of pastel and pink

Source: etsy.com via Dewi on Pinterest

or maybe a week full of tea parties

Source: 3.bp.blogspot.com via Dewi on Pinterest









or even a closet full of pretty dresses

Gorgeous images above are from my Pinterest Does anyone have a pinterest account ? If yes,

please let me know by putting your pinterest link in the comment section, and I would love to

follow you

Ruffled Halter Dress

I became a pattern tester last week. And it was sooo fun !! By becoming a pattern tester, I can give some advices to the pattern maker, and eventhough I didn't give her some good advices, at least I could share something to the finished pattern.

Does anybody know what pattern that I tested ?

And I'm so sorry for posting tutorial not too often. I'm trying to be more gently with myself lately, and not waking up at 2.a.m. ^^

Note : This post has been linked up to some of these awesome link parties

Interview with Kay Whitt from Serendipity Studio

source

Of course, many of you have heard about Kay Whitt. She is the designer behind Serendipity Studio and the author of Sew Serendipity

source

I'm in love with this Mod Jacket from the book

I'm so grateful that she wanted to answer my questions. We talked about how she published her book, her obstacles and her opinion about what a good sewing book should look like. Plus, she is so awesome. Think about it, she answered all of my questions, from people unknown, separated far apart, from another part of this world. No further talk, here she is ...

1. Kay, can you share us about how your book "Sew Serendipity" could be published ?

I was actually approached by F+W Media to publish a book for their KP Books imprint. It involved my putting together a proposal of the designs and overall style of the book. The acquisitions editor presented it to their committee and they approved it. From there, it took about 2 years for the book to be available for purchase. It is a lot of work, as the projects go through design, then the sample sewing, and finally the writing/illustrating. The process is long but worth it! The publisher handles the book design and production with my input, then they send it to print once all of the editorial and author reviews have been completed. One of the nicest things about working with the publisher is their ability to sell the book to large distributors around the world, so the exposure to my work is greater.

2. What is your biggest reason or passion in writing a sewing book ?

It is another way for me to share my designs. Up to this point, I have self-published my patterns one by one. I continue this process for the patterns I produce for Serendipity Studio. I love to sew and share my techniques with others (my passion in life!) and so the book was a perfect way to do that.

3. What is your greatest obstacle ? And how did you overcome it ?

I would say that since I started the company, my biggest obstacle was not knowing how to hand draft the different sizes for my patterns. I do not have a degree in design, therefore I did not have the skills to produce the pieces as I wanted. To overcome this, I purchased pattern drafting software which enables me to create the tissue pieces with all the different sizes for my designs. I started working with it 6 years ago and it has been a learning process ever since. It is still the most challenging part of my work, but something I don't really consider an obstacle, rather a puzzle that gets solved every time I produce a successful design!

4. Have you ever met a rejection upon your idea ?

If you are referring to publishing, no. I have been lucky in that what I have wanted to do has also been the desire of the publisher. We worked through minor differences as the book came together, but that would not be considered rejection.

5. From scratch to finish, how long did you writing and publishing process take ?

From the time the book was proposed until it was ready for purchase, it took about 2 years.

6. According to your opinion, a good sewing book shall consist of :

A good sewing book should cover all of the techniques that the designer regularly uses in an easy-to-understand format. Most people are visual learners, so the more photographs the better. My book has photographed techniques at the beginning as well as hand drawn illustrations throughout the instructions so that readers can easily understand how to put the projects together. Another important component would be for the book to have projects that range in difficulty from easy to challenging. In this way, there is something appealing for the beginner as well as the experienced sewer. Lastly, a sewing book should be accurate. It takes time and effort for an editorial team and the author to work through the instructional text, but it is highly important that they are correct so that the reader will have an easy time making the projects. I think this can "make or break" the success of the book.

7. In explaining how-to : Real Photographs or Sketched/Computerized Diagram ?

I have both in my book. We found it would be better to photograph the general techniques that are used time and again throughout the book, so those are together in one of the introductory chapters. For the project instructions, I drew the illustrations by hand and those were scanned in by the publisher. These were drawn as I sewed the projects to make sure that they truly represented what was going on in that particular step. Having the hand drawn illustrations lends a "sketchbook" feel to the book and was something that the publisher asked me to do after reviewing my proposal that contained some of my sketches. They liked that approach and the quality it brought to the finished book.

Hmm.. 2 years. It was a long long journey to have your book being published, Kay. But it was all worth it. Thank you so much for joining us today Kay

Do not forget to visit Kay's blog and like her facebook page.