March 5th, 2009

We are taking our scrapbooking goodies off the studio shelves and asking you to get your photos out of their boxes, off of your computer – and into something memorable and fun! Whether you are a traditional scrapbooker, an altered art collage maker, or a total newbie, it’s time to come out and play!

We have tons of equipment to use and plenty of goodies in the store to buy. The Cricut die cutter in our studio is a well known favorite of mine. It’s a great little machine that cuts thousands of images through paper, fabric and even felt! We have bins filled with rubber and acrylic stamps – everything from typewriter font letters to Alice and Wonderland designs. We have some great new products in the store as well like; chipboard albums, elegant rub on images, glittery goodness and plenty of papers and paints. I’d suggest coming in a bit early to explore!

Our Scrapbook Club takes place on the last Wednesday of every month, from 4pm-6pm. The next session will be on March 25th. The cost is $15 for non-members and Free to anyone with a membership. It’s a great opportunity to introduce yourself to the limitless possibilities our studio has to offer. The greatest part to me, is meeting people from all different backgrounds, who want to make things and be inspired!

The crafting community is here for you! Hurray for handmade!

March 3rd, 2009

The greatly anticipated Random Woven Sphere class, taught by local artist Aaron Kramer, took place this past weekend – and it drew a lot of attention! For 8 hours, dedicated students learned to weave hundreds of wooden coffee stirrers onto a metal wire frame. What they left with was an amazing lamp that hangs from a pendant cord set (one example hangs in our studio)!

Aaron incorporates recycled materials into the majority of his classes. Aaron’s website, Urban Objects, greets viewers with his signature motto: “Trash is the Failure of Imagination.” In fact, we sell miniature woven spheres, handmade from street sweeper bristles, created by Aaron himself.

Fingertips may have been a little sore by the end of the afternoon, but the results were astonishing. Everyone finished their project and was able to take home a completed, hand-woven lamp that evening. This was Aaron’s first class at The U.C.C and we are very excited that he is a part of our crafting community!

Aaron will be teaching another class in our studio called, Cold Connections: Binding materials without heat, Saturday March 21st from 10am-6pm. The class costs $125 non-member/$120 member.
Space is limited so please call us or drop by the studio to get the last remaining spots!

For more information about Aaron Kramer, please visit http://www.urban-objects.com/

February 20th, 2009

UPDATE 5/6/09: We have changed the date of the workshop to December 5 & 6 2009 10-5pm. The book signing and gallery show will be December 4th from 6-9pm. This amazing two day workshop at our studio will take place Saturday May 30th and Sunday May 31st from 10am-5pm. The price for the two day camp is $230. You must have basic spinning experience and will learn new techniques to create personalized art yarn like the ones shown here! On Friday May 29th there will be a Free, very special Gallery show, lecture & book signing from 6-9pm. Come to the Gallery show but trust us, you’ll want to sign up for the class now to ensure a spot! :-)

Lexi’s book, Intertwined, The Art of Handspun Yarn, Modern Patterns, and Creative Spinning (Quarry Books, 2008) is filled with patterns, techniques and stories that reveal spinning as an art as deeply connected to the human spirit as it is to the spirit of D.I.Y. Crack open her book and you’ll see an amazing assortment of styles and stories – all told through handspun yarns. Flipping through the pages you’ll see skeins filled with doll parts, candy wrappers, fabric scraps and more. You’ve just got to see it!

We are already counting down the days until Lexi Boeger waves her plucky, fluffy wand over The U.C.C and transforms the studio into a world of truly one of a kind yarns filled with; sparkles, nubbles, crescents and coils. Lexi’s Camp Plucky Fluff workshops are world renowned – she is scheduled to teach her Camp in Japan and Norway in the next year!
To sign up for the class now, please call us at 310-392-0139, visit us in person, or download the class schedule here to print out the sign up form to send it via mail.

Find out more about Lexi Boeger and Pluckyfluff here, and the class materials list here
Feel free to call us with any questions or concerns!

February 4th, 2009

This Sunday February 8th, the studio will be closed until 2:00 P.M and Monday February 9th from 3-8 p.m for filming! OIC Productions will be filming our studio as a children’s arts class for the independent feature “Hit List.”

We won’t get to put on the costumes or say the fancy lines, but we consider ourselves moviestars regardless. :-)

Today, we started a papermaking project! Soon enough, there will be kits ready to go in the studio with project instructions to make your own handmade paper. It only took us about two hours to complete the project, so why not come try it yourself?!

Now we’re just anxious for it to dry. Create! Create! Create!

November 28th, 2008

There’s nothing like a truly inspiring idea to light the spark in your belly that helps you create. When we saw that Maura Madden’s new book, Crafternoon: A Guide to Getting Artsy and Crafty With Your Friends All Year Long has an entire year’s worth of inspiration, we just had to plan an event to celebrate. Not only does she offer project instructions, but ideas to make your craft parties and get togethers a success as well. Now that’s bringing community and creativity together!

Maura will be reading from and signing her book at our studio and we will be giving away two signed copies at the end of the evening!

Maura Madden presents……
Crafternoon: A Guide to Getting Artsy and Crafty With Your Friends All Year Long.
Date: Monday December 8th
Time: 7:30 p.m. – 9 p.m.

We love all of her ideas. The only addition we would have made is a special section about planning your craft parties at The U.C.C!

We hope to see a lot of you on the 8th. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to bring those unfinished projects out of your home and into our studio. We have plenty of space to work in, books to explore and equipment to utilize.
Gobble Gobble!

November 26th, 2008

We are excited to announce that our Grand Opening will take place this Sunday November 23rd from 10-4. If you haven’t already dropped in to craft, take a class or just say hello, we are located on 2433 Main St. in the Edgemar building. Stop by the Farmers Market on your way to the celebration. The creators of an amazing shopping cart christmas tree sculpture (yes, really!) are putting the finishing touches in the courtyard today and we’re all getting ready for the holiday crafts to roll on in!

Join us by the tree tomorrow for free kids craft demos outside and adult craft demos in our studio. We will have raffles throughout the day so come early :-)

Bring your craft projects along with you, because we are also offering
FREE STUDIO TIME all day! Use one of our brand new sewing machines or get to work on your holiday scrapbooks. We are excited to debut our updated winter class list and holiday class specials as well.

Finally, we know that a lot of you have been patiently awaiting our website.
Well, it is coming soon….very soon….we promise…. :-)

Thank you to everyone in the craft community for your support of the U.C.C. We are enthusiastic to watch your ideas grow into projects and for us all to share and support each other as we create! create! create!

See You Soon :-)

November 25th, 2008

Yes Friends, the wait is finally over! We are thrilled to announce that both the studio and shop are open!!!! (There just aren’t enough exclamation points in the world for how overjoyed we are)! The journey she has been long, she has been tough, she has been tedious and tear-jerking at times. But doesn’t that make it all the more wonderful that we are finally open? Sure does.

Come visit us- our giant orange sofa is soo lonely! Our new sewing machines sit, waiting to be used, and our tables lay wide open, screaming “COME CRAFT WITH US!!”

Shop the most fantastic assortment of crafty goods in L.A. and take some fun classes with our awesome in-house teachers!

November 25th, 2008

….to our soft opening next week and our GRAND OPENING November 23rd!!! The shelves are filling up with colorful balls of yarn, luscious bolts of fabric and all kinds of goodies to complete the simplest to the most ambitious crafting adventures.
Here are a few sneak peak photos of what you will be able to see at the U.C.C next week:

prints! prints! prints!

books and kits and supplies, oh my!

worsted! bulky! soft and silky!

Sign up for our newsletter to get more details about our November 8th celebration, or better yet, stop in and say hello. We are excited for the crafting community to have a place to come together, build friendships, inspire one another and of course…CREATE!
See you soon!