The WonderCraft

It’s party time again, folks!  Kim here.  In case you missed the last announcement the store is currently closed while we take a little summer break.  We’re all abuzz getting ready for the big Indoor Campout tomorrow evening from 6pm-9:30pm here at the WonderCraft (1601 E. Cesar Chavez #103, Austin, TX 78702).  We’ll be celebrating the launch of, Campsite #5, our friend Peter’s new line of indoor tents made from vintage fabrics and sheets.  The event was inspired by Peter’s time camping in the cornfields of Western Massachusetts.

You can enjoy free beer from the keg of 512 Brewing Co beer provided by Aviary, make your own s’mores, add a little “nip” to your cocoa free cocoa ;), and sing campfire songs with live performer Ryan Pale.  What’s more, the first 30 people to arrive will receive something special to take home!

But the coolest part of this whole shindig is that Peter’s tents will be set up for people to interact with (i.e. please play inside)!

Who says playtime is just for kids?  Not us…ever!  So come and get cozy with us for the final time in our current space this Friday night 6:00-9:30.  Additional details can be found on the Facebook Invite.  See you there!

Hello Crafty Folk,

    

Coming up on Saturday at Austin’s Mini-Maker Faire we’ll be hosting a really cool make and take project. It’s all going to start with our awesome DIY photo booth that Jen made out of PVC pipes, shower curtains & her laptop. It’ll be set up to print out two sets of 4 little photos that you can keep or use in our photo pendant project.

Once you have your photo you can paint the base (we have squares & circles) and mod podge your pic right on to it. I really love the way it looks like a tiny Polaroid.  Then you can learn how to hammer brass to make a personalized charm. (You could of course do only one of these or both for a super amazing mother’s day present).

I got the idea for this from seeing something online somewhere (probably Pinterest) and thought it would be a great project!

This one is made of polymer clay, I think.

Hope to see you out at the Faire!

Jen here: The WonderCraft will be at the Austin Mini Maker Faire on Saturday, May 12th. We are all super excited to be a part of this event because it has been too long since Austin has had a Maker Faire. There are going to be so many cool makers that it’ll be hard for us to sneak away to see them all.

I think my geek is showing when I say that the life-size R2D2 is what I’m looking forward to the most.

The Austin Bike Zoo is always a welcome site around town. If you haven’t seen their giant rattlesnake bike you’re missing out! No matter how old you are, seeing these creations pedaling around will make you giggle like a three year old.

Along with the purely fun things to see, two of my favorite organizations will be there as well.

Girlstart is an organization who’s mission is to empower girls in science, technology, engineering, and math. They run several after school programs, summer camps, and weekend events. Their work has always impressed me and it’ll be great to see them spreading the word about what they do and shooting off their straw rockets. I hope I get a chance to build my own.

Austin Creative Reuse will be providing upcycled and recycled materials for all kinds of crafty goodness.  I’m a big fan of their mission of providing materials that would normally end up in the trash to artists and makers. Check out their website. They have some great plans for the future.

This is just the tip of the iceberg as far as the fun stuff going on that day. There will also be great vendors on hand so you can get some last minute Mother’s Day shopping done (don’t forget it is Sunday, May 13th!), local bands to tickle your ear drums (Dead Music Capital Band and That Damned Band), and lots of great speakers.

You can go to the website for advance tickets.

Stay tuned for next week’s post on our awesome make & take DIY project!

Last week we debuted a new layout and new features to our newsletter and it got me thinking of how far we’ve come since our first e-blast. Here is the old look & layout in three stages:

Obviously we’ve got our old logo and the old look and feel, but also really huge is the content here. In our first newsletter we have 5 classes featured and a special offer, it basically doesn’t speak much to our customer other than to offer our classes. With what I’ll call “stage 2″ in the middle there, we’ve included a blurb from our blog, a note about where we’re located and some product pics, and then at the bottom list 3 different classes. This was our stage hoping to reach a new audience with a variety of skill levels, we offered tri-crafts (3 crafts centered on a theme), basic and in-depth classes. By stage 3 we had given up on scheduled classes altogether because we just weren’t reaching the minimums needed to go forward. Instead we focused on events and private parties or custom classes. We came to realize that we weren’t able to have such a broad offering a-la the “something for everyone” approach we had started with and really just wanted to give our customers exactly what they asked for.

After moving into our new space, rebranding with a new logo and updated look and feel, we had a new newsletter:

Stage one of this new look focused heavily on events and we were sending it out mainly to publicize the shop, events we would be hosting, and participating in. After a while we realized that we wanted a little more good content for our followers. So last week we released our new format. It will be sent out the first and third weeks of the month and have the following features: “In this issue” section, “It came from the blog”, “Sh*t to go to” and “Now in the shop”. With hopefully more interesting blog posts, great events you are interested in, and just a little feature of a new or fun product we want to share. I hope you like our new features, let us know if there is something you love, something you miss, or even something you hate about our newsletters. We would love to hear from you!

Spring has sprung here in Austin, the flowers are blooming, the weather is perfect and well, we’re feeling it! Here are some of our sweet springy goods to brighten your day.

Crochet edge floral pillows from In Flore, so pretty! ($42)

It can get rainy here in the spring, so this sweet new necklace from This Creative Life is perfect ($25). I love these teal and white earrings by Debbie Carroll ($18) and bright studs by Pretty Kiku ($10).

Who doesn’t need a monster bunny for Easter? This cutie by Monsterami even has a white cotton tail. $30

Come shop spring at The WonderCraft!

Kim here.  Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been asked if, “[The WonderCraft] is doing anything special for South by Southwest (SXSW)?”  Well folks, the answer is “YES!!!!”  This year’s project is the brainchild of Stella’s amazing new men, Matt Bradshaw and Mamus Judd.  ”So what are you doing?” you might ask.  Think, street art meets Joan Jett.  Our amazing WonderCraft crew will be hitting the street with spray cans and stencils in hand to “overspray” your shirt, bag, umbrella…imagination.

Inspired by the works of Banksy and the super awesome stenciled Sex Pistols shirts Joan Jett was famous for sporting, we’ll be walking around creating our own version of street art, in the actual street, on you!

We’ve come up with some pretty badass stencils and we’ll have a patch option which we can safety pin to you (or your bag) like a rockstar and you can later iron-on.  OR…for the true bad-asses out there, we can literally spray the shirt on your back!  Be a bad-ass…come on…you know you want to!  Wanna know where and when this performance-art-esque activity is taking place?  Keep an eye on us on facebook and twitter and use the hashtag #oversprayproject. And us know if there are any awesome stencils you’d like to see!

Kim here.  We wanted to give you a little recap of the Beef & Cake Event this weekend.  Nearly four hundred people joined the festivities and squeezed in wherever there was space (hint…next year, we’re thinking about moving this to a venue to make an even larger event!).  We had SUCH an amazing time, got crafty, boogied down, raised hundreds of dollars for Austin Pets Alive!, and selected Stella’s New Men!  Many thanks to Aurora Armada for the amazing photos (the complete set can be found on our Facebook Page)  and Lucy Blue Studio for the fabulous photobooth!

Yours truly, the WonderCraft girls sporting the finished Make & Take product: cupcake fascinators.  ”Let them eat cake!” I say.

…and they did!  The most amazing cake ever courtesy of Blue Note Bakery!

You can find all of the photobooth pics at the Lucy Blue Studios Facebook Page.  If you forgot to pick up your printed pictures you can come and pick them up during our open hours at the shop.  The mastermind behind the make-and-take concept, Melissa Nelson with Jen wearing the realization of her imagined goodness.

People really got into the Make & Take!

Serving up the good stuff, Saint Arnold Brewing Company beer or Tito’s Handmade Vodka with cherry and grape soda courtesy of Rollerfeet sodas (flavors available at Lucky J’s Chicken and Waffles).  Which was your favorite?

Attendees had a tough choice, as evidenced by the closeness of the race.

The winners of the Stella Needs a Man Competition Matt Bradshaw and Mamus Judd…(check out their applications by clicking on their names).

Stay tuned for more details about what Stella’s new men will be getting up to!  Once again we want to thank our amazing sponsors, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Saint Arnold Brewing Co., Blue Note Bakery, Rollerfeet Soda, Heywood Hotel, and Jack and Adams Bicycles  and remind you to patronize them regularly!

Sponsored by:

Kim here.  Just thought we’d let you know about some of the details we promised to announce about the upcoming Beef & Cake event at the WonderCraft next Saturday, February 11, from 6-10pm at our shop on East Cesar Chavez and Comal.  First some logistics.

The Store will be closed on Saturday to prepare for the event.  Doors open at 6pm.  We’re expecting a full house so arrive early to partake in the deliciousness, secure your spot and participate in the make-and-take.  The making and taking will be shut down strictly at 7:30 so we can start the booty shaking (yes…I intentionally made that super lame rhyme).  Please be prepared and dress in layers as there may be a line and we hear it’s going to be a bit on the cold side, but we suspect it’s going to be nice and cozy on the inside with all the Beef (&) Cake and all ;) ;).  Don’t forget to vote and while you’re at it review the finalist’s profiles so that you’re ready to cast your extra votes at the event.  See voting instructions for details http://www.thewondercraft.com/let-the-voting-begin.

Beefier!

1st get ready for some booty-shaking with the addition of our amazing DJ Hot Britches (a.k.a. BEEF!)

28 year old Hot Britches! also known as Beef! Has been DJing in Austin for over 4 years now playing alongside such acts as Flosstradamus, A-Trak, Dave Nada and many more. Hot Britches! born of out of the house party scene and loves to party like nobody else, playing your favorite 90s, indie, disco and other hits while also introducing you to some of your new favorite songs as well. It is always a good time with Hot Britches! at the helm. Check out the event page, where you can listen to a sample of his bad-assedness to get you primed for the party!

Cakey-er

“Let them eat cake!”  Blue Note Bakery will be providing decadent treats for our fabulous event, so get there early!

Booze-ier!

…and of course the question everyone’s always asks, “Where do I find those sponsored parties with the free booze?” Right here @ Beef&Cake!  Stay tuned for more details on the featured drink courtesy of our friends at Tito’s Handmade Vodka, and Rollerfeet Soda!

Stay tuned for more details, including a Make and Take opportunity for early birds, food, and the featured drink.  We aren’t charging at the door for this event for three reasons:

1.  Our amazing sponsors have provided their services for this charitable event so if you’d like to see these types of events continue, please visit the event page, click on the sponsor logos to visit their sites and most importantly PATRONIZE these amazing local businesses!

2.  This event is intended to benefit Austin Pets Alive!  We’ll be doing a raffle to raise money for this amazing organization and we’ll donate 10% of our sales that night to them as well.

3.  It’s our first year celebrating the Stella Needs a Man talent competition and we’d like for as many people as possible to join us!