We will be offering Free Workshops in Holiday Kitsch! Join us and over 150 local artisans for a wonderful weekend!

Lil’ Craft Camp
Level: Beginners ages 4-7
Monday, December 20th – Thursday, December 23rd, 11am-2pm
Four session class, materials included.
$245 for the week

Monday: Hand-crafted Nature Wands, Pressed Flower Necklaces, & Finger-knitting
Using slender sticks of sycamore and willow we will create our own bubble-making wands from copper wire wrapped with beautiful yarns. (Includes making your own bubble solution and decorating it’s container)
We will also read the beautifully illustrated children’s story “The Willow Maiden” and then create necklaces from willow wood, pressed flowers, ferns, and hemp string. Children will take home their wands and necklaces in beautiful handmade linen bags which they will finger knit straps for.

Tuesday: Candle-making and Children’s Tibetan Prayer Flags
Using sheets of beeswax in natural shades made from plant-based colorants, children will create a set of their own candles embellished with beautiful designs. (*No flame, heat, or melting is involved.)
Then using merino wool felt wool, children will design, sew, and embellish their own “prayer flags”. This activity is loosely based on elements found in traditional Tibetan prayer flags, touching upon the idea that the “Wind Horse” will carry the images and messages on the flags (centered around peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom) into the surrounding space and to all beings. Thich Nat Hanh’s beautiful children’s book “Hermit and the Well” will accompany this activity.

Wednesday: Soap & Mold Making
Children will experience the excitement, joy, and satisfaction of making their own soaps! First we will create our own molds by pressing an array of materials into a flexible re-usable putty. Then using a melt and pour goat’s milk base, we will create all-natural delicious smelling soaps using organic herbs and spices, cosmetic grade french clays, and plant-based colorants. Each child will create one mold and 2-3 bars of soap, as well as wrapping and labeling their soaps. (*As the soap base is a melt and pour one, no lye or other harsh chemicals are being used or handled and there will be adult assistance in pouring the melted soap base into molds.)

Thursday: Vietnamese Spring Rolls
Using Vietnamese rice paper, and an array of colorful vegetables and herbs, we will make our own Vietnamese spring rolls, complete with dipping sauce. Children will enjoy the sculptural feel of the rice paper as it soaks in warm water, smelling the aromatic herbs, tearing and cutting the brightly-colored veggies, and tasting the fruits of their labor! They will also decorate a set of reusable chopsticks, and a carrying container for their finished spring rolls. (*No cooking is involved and the ingredients are all vegetarian. There is an option for sweet and sour sauce in case of peanut allergies. The children will use butter knives to cut the veggies.)

Meet the Instructor: Nicole Ichtertz
Nicole was trained as an artist and has been teaching art to children for the past 3 years. She lives in Redondo Beach, and is a volunteer handwork assistant at two local Waldorf schools. She currently teaches knitting, weaving, and embroidery to children ages 4-11. Through a friend, she discovered the art of soap making and has taught workshops to children and adults to create uniquely beautiful molds and soaps using objects from nature.

ANNIVERSARY SALE: Saturday and Sunday, December 4th and 5th
MINI CRAFT FAIR: Saturday December 4th, 6-9pm

We are turning 2 at the end of this month! To celebrate, we will be having an anniversary sale December 4th-5th and a mini holiday craft fair the evening of December 4th! Local artists and U.C.C instructors such as; Christine Haynes, Cheryl Cambras, Lilikoi Letterpress, Champoy and more will be selling their handmade goods, plus we’ll be doing free screen printing if you bring your own t-shirt!

For our Anniversary Sale, all merchandise in the store will be marked down 25%, with some discounts as much as 50%. We have a variety of new solid fabrics, tons of new books and hand dyed yarn, perfect for scarves and fingerless mittens.

Hosted by the Santa Monica leader Lori Pettiti. Here’s a note from Lori about this month’s meeting

“We will have our last meeting of 2010 next Thursday, November 11 at The Urban Craft Center from 6:30 – 8pm. Donna Barger will be our host and we will be creating teacup pincushions. It’s an adorable project. If you have a favorite teacup (or want to go the Salvation Army and find a groovy one) please bring it. Donna will have a supply as well. The project uses small fabric scraps, needle and thread so raid your stash for your favorite pieces and bring a needle with thread. Donna will have stuffing.
This is the last meeting of the year. I hope you are creating all kinds of Holiday gifts for family, friends and yourselves. It’s been a gift to have you all share these meetings and I look forward to the New Year. Sarah will be restyling tshirts for us in January! Come forward with your ideas. I will be at the ASG annual meeting this Saturday so if you plan on being there too, say hello.”

Handmade Nation chronicles the new wave of art, craft and design that is capturing the attention of the nation. It is the feature film debut of director, author, artist and curator Faythe Levine. Levine traveled to 15 cities and covered more than 19,000 miles to interview artists, crafters, makers, curators and community members. We’ll be screening it free in our studio – you dont want to miss it!

Twinkie Chan will be hosting our Club Etsy night on November 10th from 6-8pm, sharing with everyone how she went from an avid crocheter of adorable fashion foods, to a published book and an apparel line of crocheted accessories called “Yummy You!” We’ll also be celebrating the release of her new book “Twinkie Chan’s Crochet Goodies For Fashion Foodies”. Twinkie often frequents Renegade San Francisco, where she resides, and I’ve heard she is just as fun and sweet as her projects look. Come out with your questions, meet other crafters, and get inspired!

As always, these club nights are FREE and open to everyone. :-)

Special October event! FREE!

Come craft up some Halloween fun! Instead of our usual themed club nights, we’re opening up the studio on Wednesday evenings in October between 6-8pm to any crafters hoping to bring some handmade fun to their Halloween celebrations. Come in for inspiration and support while working on your holiday costumes, decorations or other spooky projects! (Normal Club meetups will resume in November.)

Prepare for the throngs of seamstresses ready to take LA by storm! Between Christine Haynes’ Intro to Sewing classes and Shannon Richards’ Pleated Clutch and Cosmetic Bag classes, dozens of crafters are now roaming the streets with handmade accessories and pillows for their homes!

Last week, Victoria and I had the amazing opportunity to teach Zine and Screenprinting workshops at the first annual Rock ‘N Roll Camp For Girls Los Angeles.

Over 50 girls ages 8-17 formed bands, wrote their own songs, learned how to and played all their own instruments and had a finale performance at the Troubador this past Saturday. Camp directors Mona and Becky were amazing leaders, along with a group of talented and accomplished female volunteers. One volunteer instructor was Allison Wolfe of Bratmobile, a Riot Grrrl whose music, zines and presence in Olympia was super influential to me and my growth as an artist.

The girls were split into two groups depending on their ages. In our zine workshop they created a collaborative zine that was passed out to each girl at the end of camp. In our screenprinting workshop, each band designed their own logo and we created contact paper stencils that we then attached to screens and printed in their favorite colors. Lucky for you, the entire week was documented and you can watch the wrap up video by clicking on the link below!

Rock and Roll Camp For Girls Los Angeles

On the second Thursday of every month the UCC hosts the American Sewing Guild, a meeting of the creative minds of several seamstresses in the Los Angeles area. At this month’s meeting on August 12th, we’re lucky enough to have Stefanie Girard, a local author/blogger and crafter extraordinaire come and be our special guest speaker. Armed with her die cutter and a few recycled wool sweaters, Stefanie is prepared to demo some of the techniques from her book Sweater Surgery that have made her such a dynamic part of the LA crafting community.

Current and past teachers and members are invited to bring a guest and join us in our studio on Friday June 11th from 7-9pm.
Get to know your fellow crafters and enjoy complementry….

-Pizza and drinks

-A special goody bag of crafting supplies from the store

-Watch a demonstration of the Yudu silkscreening machine, then screenprint something for yourself! Choose from a number of images here in the studio.

-FABRIC SALE PREVIEW: On this night, get first dibs on our Fabric Sale (which officially starts June 13th-20th for the general public.) Fabric is up to 60% off!

Please RSVP by calling or sending us an email! :-)

Starts Sunday June 13th through the 20th!

Come visit us at the Silverlake Jubilee this weekend! We are participating in some great zine workshops. Plus, there are lots of local bands, artists and food to enjoy. $5 admission for it all!

Come out and support! We will have a booth here, see you there!

We hope to see you at the Santa Monica Festival this Saturday, May 8th from 11am-6pm. We will be offering free craft workshops and demonstrations throughout
the day. There are a lot of great performances, artists, and a handmade marketplace to explore as well. For more information and a complete schedule of events click HERE.

This May we are offering, for the first time, 2 for 1 memberships to our studio! This means you and a friend can split the cost of a $45 Worsted Weight Membership and craft all month long. This offer lasts for one week only – between April 24th and April 30th. Memberships are valid during the month of May and cannot be transfered to a later date.

Not only do you get unlimited access to our workspace and equipment with a membership, you also get studio friend passes, discounts on classes, free admission to Movie Night and this month, an invitation to Member Appreciation Night – a special potluck event for members and teachers with goody bags, raffle drawings and a special craft demo (to be announced).
For a complete list of studio and membership info click here.

Join us Mother’s Day weekend and treat mom to one (or all!) or these specially priced classes. Spa Goodies, Scrapbook 101 or Needlefelting. We will have refreshments and snacks to help celebrate.
JUST ADDED – Due to popular demand, we’ve added a second session of Spa Goodies on Saturday May 8th from 4-7pm

We will have a booth at the upcoming Silverlake Art Craft and Vintage on Sunday, April 25th from 10am-4pm. We will be doing free craft workshops throughout the day, so drop by and say hello! This is a monthly fundraiser on the last Saturday & Sunday of each month, created by the community to support the student program development. They have raised over $30,000 for the Micheltorena Street Elementary School and LAUSD, plus they support local makers, which is why we are so excited they asked us to take part! If you are interested in becoming a vendor, visit their website at http://www.silverlakeartcraftvintage.com/index.html

Come visit us and lots of other wonderful handmade vendors at:
MICHELTORENA STREET ELEMENTARY STREET SCHOOL
1511 MICHELTORENA STREET (CROSS ST. SUNSET BLVD.)
LA CA 90026