random nicole's random life:

i recently teamed up with the H2 hotel in healdsburg to begin monthly craft workshops. i'll be setting up shop in this eco-modern hotel in april, may, june & july. we're kicking off these sessions with a vintage necktie dyed spring egg workshop this saturday. i want to give a shout out to robert mahar of mahar dry goods who taught a version of this class at my old shop the craft kitchen a few years ago. he used to sell the kits so you could easily make the eggs at home, but he's currently taking a little break from crafting. nonetheless you can still check out his blog, which is full of crafty wonderment! so if you're in sonoma, stop by the hotel for some spring crafting coupled with a sparkling wine tasting from J vineyards.

here's the low-down...

Apr 23, 2011

Green Room | 1-4pm
Free to hotel guests, $10 to outside guests.
Includes a tasting of J Winery Sparkling, kids accompanied by adults are free!

You’re hip to the green scene. you recycle. You try to eat local. You may even compost. But when it comes to finding a use for those heinous ties grandpa wore…you’re stumped. Well, not anymore. instead of shying away from the paisley and striped ties in the back of the closet or at the thrift shop, you’ll learn how to transfer the prints of vintage silk neckties onto eggs. Using this unique method you’ll imprint the intricate colors and patterns of ties onto the egg’s blank canvas as it becomes a lovely and unique object d’arte showcasing the prints of those forgotten ties.

“do you want a beer?” kelly asks me when i walk into WORKSHOP, her studio space on mcallister street for our meeting to discuss me teaching craft classes there.

“i’m okay. beers are like pringles for me when i’m in san francisco. it’s hard to have just one.”

we sit down and start talking about one of my favorite subjects…making stuff. kelly is not only the owner of WORKSHOP but also the founder of INDIE MART, an indie arts & crafts show in the city. she’s a woman who makes the crafty part of my heart go pitter pat…fast-talking, covered in tattoos, eyes veering towards the windows to check out the skater boys cruising by (the same way i passed the time in this neighborhood 16 years ago when i first moved to sf), hard working, community oriented and able to slip from sewing to silkscreening to carpentry in a single bound. in fact she’s designing and installing the new retail shop for the GANGS OF SAN FRANCISCO (the best line of tees ever, you may have received one from me last christmas when i broke the bank at their RENEGADE CRAFT FAIR booth) which coincidentally we were both wearing at our meeting.

she shows me the space…the big room with tables awaiting students, the darkroom for burning silkscreens, the annex room with more space for classes and some goods from indie designers. there’s a comfy couch, high ceilings, a row of chairs on a shelf and scissors stuck right into the wall…yes…i’m right at home.

after a little chatting, i change my mind and head over to the mini fridge wrapped like a pabst blue ribbon and pop open a tecate. business and booze are besties (did i learn nothing from watching mad men?)

at her studio, WORKSHOP, she and other veteran crafters teach a wide variety of workshops…screenprinting, rock ‘n’ roll sewing (learn to sew while listening to def leopard and use your skills to make a beer cozy), pie in jar (which got a mention in last month’s sunset magazine), how to make teas to cure a hangover, heavy metal aerobics, street stencil graffiti, bike maintenance, ginger beer brewing and so much more.

i’m ecstatic to say that i’ll be joining the workshop crew this summer to bring in some of my girlie classes into the punk rock diy foundation of creation that kelly oversees. so look out san franciscans for my transforming your tees, basic sewing, purses & totes, wallets & pouches, silkscreening classes and more this summer at workshop.