BOoM Emporium

Our Etsy shop is the boomEmporium... The Benevolent Order of Makers are selling their wares, art, and works... for now it's all about our hand carved, original designs and block prints on napkins and tea towels. We look forward to expanding and sharing more of the many articles we create.

This is all new to us. Thank you for your patience and feedback. And thank you for visiting our shop, and telling your friends about it, spreading the word, sharing our name.

Make Shop Opening Today at Noon PST

Today, at noon pst, we will open our Benevolent Order of Makers Shop, at Etsy. That's a long name for a little shop, so we gave it an official name nearly as long, which we will post here when the *doors open!*

This link will show you some of the items that will be available.

We are tweaking, still. And nervous. There were a lot of decisions to make, and questions to address. We are on the fence about international shipping, and... well, more, which we know will eventually sort itself out. For certain, we have a greatly raised respect and awe for all you online makers and shop keepers; you're amazing! Friends, thank you for your support, encouragement, and patience. We hope we manage all of this with grace and efficiency.

Coming Soon :: Maker Shop

Am I putting the goat before the cart?
Yes.

You see, I've been designing and carving stamps, and then using them to print on fabric. A nice thing to come of all of this... many friends have asked me to open a shop, make the napkins, aprons, and tea towels available for purchase. I even took a special request to carve a goat!

I've been busy and I've managed to print a good amount, and I would like to make them available before Thanksgiving. Gee, nothing like creating my own holiday rush! So, without a shop, or a shop name, or mailing envelops, before I figure out PayPal, or Venomo or Carrier Chickens... I am about to launch the business end of a little cottage industry. I am hoping that by announcing this now, and sharing some previews, I will push myself into figuring out the bureaucracy and formal aspects of being a working artist. Another hope is that some clever and dear friends may share their tips and suggestions for handling sales, pricing, packing, exfoliating, and reducing fine wrinkles. Just kidding about exfoliating, but I could probably use some ironing tips... 100% cotton is hard to keep pressed!

I am going to share some samples of what I have been making, but I am not taking any orders until I can be certain of how I will take payments, and handle deliveries. So! Before I am OPEN I will announce an official day and time, and accept orders, then.

"Buffet" napkins! They are a generous 20" x 20", 100% cotton. There will be a few sets of 5, and mostly sets of 6.



Alex designed and carved the dragonfly. The patience! He printed them flitting across the napkins, in different directions. They look amazing!

All of these are our own designs, hand carved, and hand printed.



Dish cloth, tea towel, chicken scarf? These would be fun to add embroidery to. They are 27" x 27", 100% cotton, and a very nice weight. Sometimes these are called "flour sack" and can be very thin, and not square... these are well finished, and thick(er).

I am really happy with the weight, structure, and feel of these towels.

Bee and honeycomb on a big, handy tea towel.

These three stamps are inspired by papel picado, the Mexican art of paper cutting.

This bee, with some honeycomb, is printed on a 100% cotton, wrap apron. I love how the wide straps of this can be pull over-head, and cross in the back, so there are no apron strings to tie. Also, it has 2 nice sized pockets in the front.

The apron is a nice weight, and looks and feels like natural linen. I haven't taken it off since modeling it.

Designing, carving, and printing has been a lot of fun, and I appreciate how encouraging friends have been. I will be back with an update as soon as possible!

Another Scratch Day

Scratch Day 2017

Remember last year, when we celebrated Scratch Day?
Or maybe you haven't heard of Scratch? This link will take you the page About Scratch, and this will show you where events celebrating Global Scratch Day are taking place.

Scratch Day 2018

Maria is still writing programs using MIT's online program that teaches computer programming. Her favorite Scratch activity is illustrating in vector lines. She's also learned to animate, and she likes using code to create games. Last May she volunteered, again, to teach what she knows about vector line illustration and graphics in Scratch, at the Global Scratch Day event in our area. As a group inspired by outreach, peer-mentoring, and making, playing and sharing... we love Scratch Day, and we are gratified to see our young maker, Maria, bring her skills and enthusiasm to this event where she enthusiastically and skillfully teaches new and intermediate programmers about the exciting possibilities in computer programming.

This year saw an even greater turn out for Scratch Day, compared with last year. There were more participants, and happily, more volunteers. Everything is overseen by Ido Tuchman, with help from Leslie Goldman, and a lot of professional engineers and programmers.

They've got a great venue, but if this continues to grow, we may need an even bigger space for next year!

Ido welcoming everyone to Scratch Day!

Maria's class, Vector Graphics, was in the second session of the day, so she stepped in to give one on one support to a beginning Scratch student. In no time, they had finished the tutorial, then moved on to developing an original game.





Not being too sure what the skill levels in the class would be, Maria decided to let her class be interactive and spontaneous. She shared her background and interest in Scratch, and then announced that she would like to share how games and programs can be enhanced with custom art and animations. Taking suggestions, and answering questions, she developed a lesson for a vector graphic animation. There was time to keep everyone caught up in the lesson, while adding more to the project, as the classe's skills and interests developed. The class and lessons stayed fresh, and engaging.

By applying her patience, practical knowledge, and her love of the subject, Maria was able to effectively teach and motivate, and make the lesson fun. And since the classes were larger than last year's classes, Maria was happy to have an assistant, Lucas, a Boy Scout, familiar with Scratch. They made a good team.

Maria brings her love of learning to her class, and it's infectious.

Every layer, and line of code used, created this vector graphic and animation, and was developed on the spot, based on ideas and questions from the class.

Scratch is a free learning tool from Mitch Resnick and the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab. If you've ever wondered about writing code, creating software, being a programmer, we hope you will, no matter your age, visit Scratch, and give it a try. It's simple, encouraging, and made for sharing.

Here's what a local newspaper had to say about Scratch Day 2018. We can't wait for Scratch Day 2019!

Maria continues to enjoy Scratch, to illustrate, write code, to create games... this one was my Mother's Day gift! Move the teacup to catch falling chamomile flowers, and when the cup is full of flowers it becomes a cup of tea! She wrote this for me and my love of chamomile. And here she is sharing the game with her Tutu.




On a long train ride, Maria used Scratch to illustrate this original character...



And today, after we talked about the senseless death of a young woman, Maria, quietly reflecting, went to her desk, where she made art, in memory of Nia Wilson.

We send our deepest sympathy and kindest thoughts to Nia Wilson's family. We ache to think of anyone missing the chance to follow their dreams. No family should have to experience losing a child, and for it to be such a vicious and dark act, a crime of hate, makes the loss even more heartbreaking. We hope that there is even the smallest comfort for them knowing that their loss is felt, and mourned, that we are speaking Nia's name, lovingly, respectfully, and with grief for her family.

Making Our Way to Gaslight Gathering

The Benevolent Order of Makers are excited to be joining forces with our friends, San Diego Makers Guild, in their booth at Gaslight Gathering, in San Diego. Our makers will be sharing a hands-on activity... making fabric medallions called yo-yos. These scrap-fabric decorations can be sewn together to assemble a bedcover, or used individually to decorate hats, dresses, create mushroom caps, or appliquéd to pillows. They are easy to make, and can inspire Victorian-Steampunk style to just about anything.



Also in our booth, come see original paintings and drawings by Alex V2, a longtime robotics designer, and fantasy artist. With skill and imagination, Alex seamlessly integrates practical engineering and design into daydreamed inventions and worlds. San Diego Makers Guild will be showing off some steampunk(ish) robots and teaching plastic casting and mold making, with reusable, low temperature thermoplastic." Sounds like there will be plenty going on at Gaslight Gathering to make a weekend great!

Meet the Artist

In Dubious Battle an eleven panel, oil painting by artist Shelley Reed.

"Through a large oil painting on a paper grid Reed will allow the viewer to step into the creation of her black and white world, to exist among its painted inhabitants. She will use art historical imagery that is sometimes pastoral and at times aggressive, creating an environment that feels “vaguely familiar, a bit dangerous, and fully relevant to today.”"



Shelley Reed's paintings can be seen in Boston, New York, Chicago, and now, Southern California, while she is an Artist-in-Residence at Lux Institute.

A unique and enjoyable part of the Artist-in-Residence program is the chance to meet the artist, see them working at their art, and to ask questions. This experience is wonderful for personal engagement, and opportunity to relate to the art with its creator. We were interested to learn that Shelley Reed was painting in oil directly on paper, without gesso. She described the quality and properties of the Arches paper, and that she enjoyed how the paper behaves with the oil paints.



Shelley Reed will be giving a Studio Talk, October 5th.

We would like to thank Shelley Reed for the generous and inspiring way she engaged with Maria, Alex, and Bambi; she went above and beyond in her interactions with us, in sharing her experiences, insights, and helpful criticism. As Maker Faire exhibitors, and in our community outreach, we know how much time and energy it can take to engage with the public. We enjoy exhibiting, talking about our interests, and yours, and when someone, like Shelley Reed, makes time to share and personally relate with us, we are especially appreciative. Thank you, as well, to Lux Institute for hosting this inspired program: Artist-In-Residence is marvelous.

(Benevolent Order of Makers is a school, this year... while Maria is homeschooling, we are calling ourselves the Benevolent Order of Makers STEAM Education Academy, or something like that. Really, it's all a pretty natural extension of our regular activities, but with some extra pomp and flare, because that's amusing to us.)

Make a Handkerchief Pretty

Handkerchief: /ˈhaNGkərCHif,ˈhaNGkərCHēf/
noun
a square of cotton or other finely woven material, typically carried in one's pocket
and intended for blowing or wiping one's nose.
synonyms: hanky; kerchief, bandanna; tissue
"a monogrammed handkerchief"
There are all sorts of descriptions and histories of the handkerchief. But I think I like the handkerchiefs that are pretty, romantic, edged in crochet, or accented with embroidery. Adding art, something whimsical or romantic, can make a plain square of cotton special.

These pocket-handkins came four to a pack, from Collage, in Portland Oregon... a Sublime Stitching blank textile. Just the kind of souvenir I cannot resist... one that packs easily, and will inspire creative play.

I decided to revisit painting and embroidering. So, I drew a romantic little ratty, with her bouquet of pink posies. It's just a #2 pencil, lightly sketched on the square. You can even trace an image, like I did with a tea towel, in this tutorial.

The next step was to use acrylic craft paints to fill in color. I use water sparingly, and the cotton square was heavy enough, that none of the paint seeped through, which is nice. But to be safe, I keep waxed paper, or a plastic tray, under my paint projects... newsprint might stain leave marks on the fabric. The paints I use are Martha Stewart's acrylic craft paints. I use a smallish brush, applying thin layers of paint, so they can dry quickly and evenly, and so that I don't leave a thick, stiff feel to the fabric, with too much paint.

Then, I choose my floss colors, and use only two strands of thread to make simple outlining and detail stitches. French knots make perfect little flowers for a ratty's bouquet.

A bit of navy blue floss for her eye, and gray for her face, arms, and legs. A pale, sage-y green for the stems and leaves, and three shades of pink for everything, else, including all of those French-knot flowers.


After outlining her dress, and creating a belt of posies around her waist, I trimmed the edges in leaves, and more flowers.

I wonder, would I actually sneeze into this little handkerchief?
Would you?
Maybe your hand painted and embroidered handkerchief will be too pretty for nose-blowing, but it's still an easy and gratifying little project to make.