Introducing Becket Hitch

Becket Hitch, a handmade market, at Woodberry Kitchen is a boutique pop up shop in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the collaborative effort of myself, and my very talented friend Katie McDonough Kutil. We have both been avid makers for years, and after attending, and participating in craft shows around the country we saw a need for a different kind of show. We developed Becket Hitch to be an intimate curated market of artisans offering handcrafted products with an emphasis on high quality and great design. The mission was to redefine the current perception of craft by aiming to bring back the craftsman, the designer, the maker. 


The market will be Saturday, November 13th from 10am - 3pm at Woodberry Kitchen. We hope that you will be able to join us.  


For more information visit BecketHitch.com

a little *how to*

I have been busy making pennants for store displays this summer and shared a quick * how to* with an email group earlier this year. Finally I am getting around to sharing it with you!  

Red Tree Summer Window

You will need the following...

      * card-stock (or cardboard)

      * 8 feet of twine or cotton rope

      * 3 to 4 different fabrics, 1/2 yard of each

      * thread, or iron on fusing tape

      * a pair of really sharp scissors

First...

On card-stock, draw a triangle of whatever size you want your pennants to be, and cut it out. Trace your template onto the back of your fabrics.  How many pennants you need is determined by the size of your triangles, and how long you would like the finished piece to be.  

 
Second...
Fold the top of the pennants over the twine, or rope.   

Third...
You can hand sew the pennants together, run them through a sewing machine, or follow the instructions on a package of iron-on fusing tape. 

  
Ta-Da! Hang and enjoy!


Here is anther smaller version...

Grab and go...

One of my newest obsessions when it comes to entertaining is disposable silverware. Less clean up, and my husband and I don't have to re-visit the fights we had when we were registering over how many place settings we need. {please let the record state that I was correct}

I am obviously not the first, and I am sure will not the be last to package disposable wooden utensils in a little bag, but none the less I have done it! They are currently for sale at Red Tree for $2.95.

Here they come!

I'm not sure if anyone else is experiencing this, but it seems like everyone is pregnant right now. I know about 15 people who are expecting between this week and late December. It seemed like every week I was getting exciting news from another friend. I can't wait to start meeting all the little ones, and see my friends families grow.

Last week I was lucky enough to travel down to Miami and co-host my first baby

shower of this baby boom! The shower was for my best friend Alexis who is due in just a few weeks. She has spent the past 8 months preparing her house, and researching everything that she might ever need to know. Fortunately she has been sharing some of this knowledge on her amazing blog.

We had an early afternoon brunch shower with an intimate group and it was such a fun and relaxing event. Here are a few shots of the food... I forgot to take some of the people!

Sea LIfe

It seems as though the world has become completely nautically obsessed. I cheer this movement on, and hope that it is the demise of the bird which has been flitting around for quite a few years now.

A few years ago I stumbled across the artist, Tamara Mogendorff and have been in love with her work ever since.

I was updating my blog today, and going through links that I have saved under bookmarks. This area seems more like a black hole than a way of keeping track of things for me! At any rate, I came across her web site again and was thrilled to see these amazing soft sculptures.

There are more where these came from and for sure worth a look. Also very cute for baby, for all my pregnant friends out there!

When I first started writing this post I had a very specific idea of where I wanted it to go, then I logged onto polyvore and lost an hour of my life, and all direction for this post. So please forgive my for the completely opposed aesthetics.

stripe full skirt, 19 GBP

Multi nautical toepost, 22 GBP

Fred Perry B5134W-266 Palm Canvas Boat Slip-on Nautical Styled Flat, 75 CAD

Halsea Kona Koi Large Tote, $135

Halsea Kona Koi Make Up Bag, $40

I did also want to share this awesome bag form Jack & Lulu that I fell in love with at the Stationary Show and just had to have for myself!

Off to read more of The Girl Who Played With Fire, by Stieg Larsson...

Big Boy Dinner

So my husband turned 30 and jumped out of a plane. In honor of being such a big boy I thought that it would be super cute to do a candy themed birthday dinner. It turned out to be a great way to inexpensively add color to the table and send everyone home with a little something.

The table was set with some great linen homespun, I am obsessed with this and can't seem to pass it by when I see it nicely priced while antiquing. It provided a neutral background for all the colors and food. The plastic army men were a great find a Target. Perfect for the color story and the previous day's events! It took the man a bit to figure it out, but his little brother, who is 7, got it right away.

I used a combination on vintage ball jars, I have them on hand from our wedding, another obsession, and new mason jars. (I love to have these on hand to give gifts, and store food. We are trying to move away from storing in plastic and these are a great and more economical alternative) The flowers were a steal at Wegmans. My first choice would normally not have been roses but the price was right and they played nicely into my color story.

I love it when I arrive at a party and find a little something at my place. But let's face it that really never happens, at least not outside of my dreams. So in honor of this big occasion I decided to go the extra step and make a little goody bag for every guest. Inside they found childhood favorites like candy necklaces, dot candy, lemon heads, and bubble gum. I printed a black and white picture of the birthday boy on packaging labels and tied them to each bag. It was a nice touch that everyone really enjoyed.

We had a great night with friends and family, and the man has enjoyed eating the left overs since his big day.

Jumping from a Plane

My husband decided that for his 30th birthday he wanted to go skydiving. He invited our friend Ben, of Make Things Studio to join him in the adventure. We all piled in the car on Sunday morning and set out on the two hour drive to Skydive Delmarva in Laurel, Delaware.

After waiting for a few hours, the boys finally loaded in the plane without even a wave goodbye... We only had to wait a few minutes before everyone came floating down. It was so nice to see that everyone was making it down safely and such a site to see all the multi colored parachutes fluttering down.

The boys had a great time and each earned their first time jumper certificate. We then all piled back in the card for the long drive home. Fortunately I offered to drive because the boys fell asleep about 5 minutes after we hit the road. It was an exhausting, but great day.

Getting Ready

Now that I have been accepted, with my amazing friends, to all of these prestigious shows I am trying to get all my ducks in a row. Last year, and this winter were great learning experiences. Taking what I learned and being organized enough to implement it might be two different things.

For my wedding I purchased a mini Russell and Hazel, my absolute favorite, binder. It was my center point for everything wedding and small enough to carry around. So I have decided to take the same strategy with my business. I am using the same binder, ordering a few new inserts and making it my information center once again.

Today I'm off to a new jewelry resource in Baltimore, and then home to organize, organize, organize!

Spring has Sprung

It is still early in the Spring but I am so excited that it is finally here. I have already purchased a new pair of flip flops and been able to wear them a few times! This Spring is shaping up to be packed full. I applied to three different craft shows with two of my great friends. We were honored to be accepted at all three and are beginning to build up our inventory.

The first show will be Art Star Craft Bazaar in Philadelphia. This will be May 15th and 16th from 11-6 both days. This will be my second year at the show with Melissa of PaperSatchel.

A week later is Handmade Mart in DC. Sunday, May 23rd from 10am-5pm. Katie, of Churchtown Chapeau Co, and I participated in the holiday version of the show which had some weather challenges. We are hoping that this round is better!

Melissa and I applied to the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn because many of our friends who we met at Art Star last year recommended it to us. We were thrilled beyond belief when we were accepted. This years fair is June 5th & 6th from 11am-7pm.

I will be updating information as I get more.

Happy Spring!