Jen Corace Opening + Our 10 Year Anniversary Party THIS SATURDAY!

Posted on October 5, 2014 by artstar-artstar

We will be celebrating our 10 Year Anniversary and the opening of Jen Corace’s solo exhibition, Within, with a party at Art Star this Saturday from 6-9pm + you are all invited!

There will be beer, booze and food aplenty – including snacks donated by Soy Cafe + Honeygrow!

Nick + Danielle of All Boy / All Girl will be playing an acoustic set throughout the evening.

Cut and Paste Photobooth will be here with her fun props and backdrops. Cram in with all your friends and take some fun pics!

Jen Corace will be exhibiting new, original paintings all done in gouache, ink and pencil on Rives BFK.  Corace states, “Within explores the practice of bringing the outside indoors.  I’m interested in representation of nature through home decor, the restraint, patterning and control that occurs within a space, what it means to internalize the external and the private world of quiet reflection and imagination.”  This will be Jen’s 3rd solo exhibition at Art Star.

Please contact us  if you are interested in being on our collector’s preview list for the show. We will be sending out a email preview of the work on Thursday before the opening.

ABOUT JEN CORACE
Jen Corace was born and raised in the not so wild wilds of suburban South Jersey.  She attended RISD from 1992-1996, graduating with a BFA in Illustration.  For the past few years Jen has been focused on children’s book illustration. She’s worked with Amy Krause Rosenthal on the Little series, with Cynthia Rylant for Hansel and Gretal and The Steadfast Tin Soldier and most recently Mac Barnett for Telephone.

Jen currently resides in Providence, RI.  When she’s not children’s-booking-it-up she’s doing something else in her studio … like drawing for fun or working on projects with her brother.  Or she’s gardening … or wrangling a dog named Leonard … or eating too much toast … or laying on the floor and staring at the ceiling.

Thank you to our Partners:

 

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Off to Renegade!

Posted on September 12, 2014 by artstar-artstar

We are off to Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn this weekend! If you plan to come check out this awesome indie craft explosion, please come say hi!  We will be at booth #167. Our booth will be chock full of handmade goodies by a variety of artists from our shop, including some favorites like Horrible Adorables, New Academy Press, Noosed Kitty, Kristin Tercek, Paper Sparrow, and Julie Moon!

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Crafty Bastards 2014

Posted on September 7, 2014 by artstar-artstar

 We participated in our first ever Crafty Bastards in Washington DC last year and it was such a great experience!  This is one of the best indie craft fairs in the country.  It is extremely well curated and well attended!  We were honored when the organizers invited us to sit on the jury this year.  The talent that applied to this show was top notch and it was so much fun for us to look through all the applications!  We will be set up at the show, selling a selection of goods from our store, so come say hi if you plan to go.

Local philly favorite + Art Star Craft Bazaar regular Diane Koss of Cutesy but not Cutesy will be at the show selling her goods along with over 150 top indie crafters from the east coast and beyond! Check out the full line-up.

And because we love you, here are some little insider bits if you plan to come to the show!

– Living Social is running a ticket deal for a weekend pass + two craft beers that is available for purchase here

– In addition to food trucks and New Belgium’s Beer Garden, they have also added craft food vendors that will be selling locally-made baked goods, chocolate, cold brew coffee, root beer, maple syrup, pickles and more. Full line-up can be found here

– DC Public Library will host several hands-on projects at their booth, including a 3D printer.  And, there will be a special tent dedicated to DIY projects for kids!

– Check out Crafty Bastards’ Pinterest Page for Shopping Guides!

Lastly, I ate one of the best sandwiches of my life at Crafty Bastards last year! It was the Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi from the Lemongrass Food Truck.  I was so excited to see that they would be back again. Get it – you won’t be disappointed.

We hope to see you at Crafty Bastards in DC in a couple weeks!

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Get Crafty with Art Star at The PMA!

Posted on August 24, 2014 by artstar-artstar

claymation with The Clay Studio

We were invited by the Philadelphia Museum of Art to bring you an evening of Crafty Fun! We hope you will join us!

Get crafty with Art Star

Wednesday, September 3, 2014
5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Location: Great Stair Hall
 Free after admission (Wednesdays are Pay What You Wish at the Museum)

Join Art Star founders Erin Waxman and Megan Brewster and leading members of Philly’s craft community for a night of crafty fun! Stations will include screen printing with Candy Coated, paper crafts with Kayte Terry, sculpture with the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym, ceramics with the Clay Studio, jewelry making with Maureen Duffy, weaving with Janell Wysock, cross-stitch with chez sucre chez, and heat press with Little Chair Printing. A selection of Art Star’s affordable, handmade goods will be available for purchase and Cut + Paste Photobooth will be on-site offering free prints.

Paper Crafting with Kayte Terry

Guests will be able to try their hands at a bunch of crafting techniques and get to take home what they make!  Below is a full list of the craft projects that we will be hosting:

Chez-sucre-chez
Learn (or practice) the basics of counted cross-stitch while making a quick and easy project that you can wear. Choose from a variety of motifs, stitch it onto fabric, and turn your small stitched masterpiece into a covered button that can be sewn onto clothing or turned into a pin.   http://chezsucrechez.com/

Janell Wysock
Textile Artist and Designer Janell Wysock will demonstrate and invite participants to create their own small broach using remnants from her many processes in her daily studio practice.  http://janellwysock.com/

 Kayte Terry
The shift from summer to fall brings cooler nights, a crispness in the air and the turning of leaves from green to russet, red and orange. It’s a fleeting moment, one that we always wish we could hang onto for just a moment longer. Philadelphia crafter and author Kayte Terry shows you how to preserve the beauty of autumnal leaves with a mixed media project, a Falling Leaves Garland. We’ll use paper, fabric and felt to make a beautiful Autumnal garland that you can display for many years to come!  http://www.thisisloveforever.com/

 Philadelphia Sculpture Gym
The PSG Make + Take will be a plaster casting of press molded objects. Participants will be able to create small medallions by pressing forms into clay to create a negative and casting the finished piece in plaster.
http://philadelphiasculpturegym.com/

 Candy Coated
Make your own thank you note or small art print for the fridge with expert screen printer, Candy Coated.
http://www.candycoated.org/

Little Chair Printing will bring her heat press and huge collection of iron on designs from the 80s. Design and heat press your own T-shirt! Tees will be for sale or bring your own!  http://littlechairprinting.com/home.html 

Maureen Duffy will be demonstrating how to pierce out a pendant using a jeweler’s saw and bench pin.  After the demonstration there will be silhouettes and copper sheet provided for you to create your own piece.  After sawing and sanding your copper pendant there will be letter stamps provided to use for an added personal touch.  When your pendant is complete you will be given a chord to show off your one of a kind work!
www.maureenduffy215.com

Claymation with The Clay Studio
Try your hand at clay and learn how to create stop-motion animation with your ipad!  See your clay creations transformed into animated stories, then upload and share with your friends!  www.theclaystudio.org

Cut + Paste Photo Booth is an open air booth that offers a curated collection of fun props and backdrops – no clown glasses here! This is the perfect excuse to squeeze in with some of your favorite people and take a picture!  http://cutandpastephotobooth.com/

Learn More about the PMA’s Wednesday Night Series HERE

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Announcing Jen Corace Exhibition + Our 10 Year Anniversary Party!

Posted on August 20, 2014 by artstar-artstar

Art Star Gallery + Boutique is turning 10 years old this Fall!  This has been such an incredible, crazy ride!  We are both living our dream and we can’t thank our customers and artists enough for making it all possible.  We have worked so hard to make Art Star a reality and though we’ve seen our share of success, we’ve also encountered our share of stumbling blocks.  But what doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger, right? We have learned alot along the way, but the #1 thing that we’ve learned is that our passion for what we do and a little bit of hustle can get us through anything. Now that we have 10 years under our belt, we feel stronger than ever and are looking forward to many more years of bringing you the very best in Art, Craft and Handmade!

“Root” by Jen Corace / 2014 / gouache, ink and pencil on Rives BFK

As a way to say thank you + to celebrate 10 years in business, we’ve decided to host an exhibition with one of our favorite Art Star artists – the incredibly talented, Jen Corace! The show will open on October 11th as part of the DesignPhiladelphia Festival.  We will also be hosting our 10 year anniversary party that evening.  Mark your calendars for a really fun party with the Art Star gang and our exhibiting artist, Jen Corace.  And as a very extra special treat, we will have our INSANELY talented friends, Danielle Lovier + Nicholas Rahn from one of our favorite bands, All Boy/All Girl  playing a live acoustic set during our party! We hope to see you there!  If you are interested in getting first dibs on a Jen Corace original, please email us at info(at)artstarphilly(dot)com and we will add you to our Preview List.

Below is our press release with all the nitty gritty details:

For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Megan Brewster
Email: info(at)artstarphilly(dot)com or Call: 215.238.1557

Within
a solo exhibition by Jen Corace
October 11th – November 16th, 2014

Opening Reception + Art Star 10 Year Anniversary Party
as part of the DesignPhiladelphia Festival
October 11th from 6-9PM at Art Star
Live Music by Danielle Lovier + Nicholas Rahn (of All Boy/All Girl)
Food, Drinks, Cut + Paste Photobooth, + more fun TBA
Free To Attend / Open To The Public 

Art Star is pleased to announce a solo exhibition, titled Within, by Rhode Island based illustrator, Jen Corace.  The show will be on view from October 11th through November 16th, 2014 at Art Star Gallery + Boutique.  There will be an opening reception held in conjunction with the 2014 DesignPhiladelphia Festival on Saturday, October 11th from 6-9pm.  Meet the artist, enjoy live music, snacks, drinks and celebrate Art Star’s 10 Year Anniversary!

Jen Corace will be exhibiting new, original paintings all done in gouache, ink and pencil on Rives BFK.  Corace states, “Within explores the practice of bringing the outside indoors.  I’m interested in representation of nature through home decor, the restraint, patterning and control that occurs within a space, what it means to internalize the external and the private world of quiet reflection and imagination.”  This will be Jen’s 3rd solo exhibition at Art Star.

ABOUT JEN CORACE
Jen Corace was born and raised in the not so wild wilds of suburban South Jersey.  She attended RISD from 1992-1996, graduating with a BFA in Illustration.  For the past few years Jen has been focused on children’s book illustration. She’s worked with Amy Krause Rosenthal on the Little series, with Cynthia Rylant for Hansel and Gretal and The Steadfast Tin Soldier and most recently Mac Barnett for Telephone.

Jen currently resides in Providence, RI.  When she’s not children’s-booking-it-up she’s doing something else in her studio … like drawing for fun or working on projects with her brother.  Or she’s gardening … or wrangling a dog named Leonard … or eating too much toast … or laying on the floor and staring at the ceiling.

ABOUT ART STAR
Art Star is a gallery & boutique located in Northern Liberties, Philadelphia. We carry handmade items & products by artists from across the country and many local too. We also work closely with select artists to design & develop limited edition products for our brand and wholesale line. Our goal is to offer quality handcrafted goods at a full range of prices to accommodate all budgets. We currently work w/ 50+ artists & stock everything from one-of-a-kind pieces to housewares, prints, jewelry, greeting cards, baby items, clothing & more. In addition to our brick-and-mortar shop, we also put on Philadelphia’s largest outdoor craft fair – the Art Star Craft Bazaar, which won Philadelphia Magazine’s Best of Philly Award for Best Shopping Event in 2010 + again in 2012. Additionally, our shop won the title for Best Homemade Gift Shop in 2011.

ABOUT DESIGNPHILADELPHIA
DesignPhiladelphia, a signature event of the Philadelphia Center for Architecture, is the oldest and largest design event of its kind in the country and annually showcases the work of over 400 practicing architects, designers, and creative professionals.  Experience design in unexpected ways through more than 120 exhibitions, workshops, demonstrations, tours, talks, and events held in venues across the city.  Learn about wide-ranging topics, including architecture, urban planning, landscape, graphic, multi-media, product, furniture design, fashion, and the like.  This year’s festival kicks off on the evening of October 8 and events run from October 9-17.

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Our first Pop Up Market at SSHP

Posted on July 2, 2014 by artstar-artstar

This past weekend marked the opening of Spruce Street Harbor Park and our first Art Star Pop Up Market of the season!  People came out in droves to check out the park, lay in the hammocks, play the boardwalk games, and shop our market.  The weather was perfect and the energy was amazing!  On market wasn’t the only thing happening at the park. Candy Coated was set up providing hands on screenprinting, there were face painters and craft tables for kids, performers, a DJ, and our friends over at Inliquid brought in knitter Melissa Maddonni Haims to yarn bomb the flagpoles (amongst a handful of artists scheduled to create on site installations throughout the season).  Also on view are murals by 8 Philadelphia artists (more on that soon, we are waiting on final placement of two important murals) It really felt like a celebration of how awesome our city can be!  Please come check out our next Pop Up Market this Saturday from 11-3.  Our full vendor line-up can be found here.

Here are some photos from the day – please check out our Flickr set for more.

Anthropolis Designs at Art Star Pop Up Market

As The Crow Flies and Co at the Art Star Pop Up Market

Bonnie Kaye set up a little picnic to display her hand printed textiles and accessories at our first Art Star Pop Up Market!

Candy Coated busy providing hands on screen printing for SSHP visitors

Kasie Strohm was selling her super cute sterling silver animal “ear” rings

Tadpole Creations – We captured this adorable moment with Renee and her daughter. SO CUTE!

Wear Liberty’s was set up and selling his awesome silkscreened tees

Yarn Bombed poles at SSHP

Our friend + neighbor, John with his pup in the #visitphilly chair

This is why WE LOVE PHILLY!!!

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Art Star Pop Up Market Extended!

Posted on June 22, 2014 by artstar-artstar

EXTENDED THROUGH SEPTEMBER!

The Art Star Pop Up Market is a small, open air market featuring the work of up to 20 of the finest makers from Philadelphia and the surrounding region. (please note: due to just finding out that the pop up market is extended, we will most likely just have a handful of vendors participating each week due to time restraints) The Pop Up Market will be held on Saturdays from June 28th – September 27th along a tree lined walkway within the Spruce Street Harbor Park.  Customers can expect a variety of handmade goods all priced affordably with most items priced under $50.  Come shop our curated group of vendors between 11am-3pm every Saturday, weather permitting.  In case of poor weather, we may cancel.  Please visit this page and we will update it with any cancellations due to weather.

September 6th 11-3

 As the Crow Flies & Co. Old Blood Bret Pendlebury
bebe de botas Doitgal Bee Vintage Redux

 

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Call for Artists: Art Star Pop Up Market at Spruce Street Harbor Park

Posted on June 10, 2014 by artstar-artstar

We are so excited to be partnering again with our Waterfront Winterfest collaborators to bring you an Art Star Pop Up Market at the new Spruce Street Harbor Park this Summer!
The Spruce Street Harbor Park will be THE destination for summer fun and relaxation in Philadelphia.  It is situated at the Penn’s Landing Marina, right at Spruce Street and Columbus Blvd.

From Delaware River Waterfront Corporation’s Press Release: This two-month summer program throughout July and August will bring a boardwalk, urban beach, fountains, and misting areas to the Delaware River Waterfront. The centerpiece of the project is a series of floating barges complete with lily pad water gardens, a pop-up restaurant and bar, and nets that will suspend visitors over the water. The full design of the project including the landscaping and programming will help evoke the maritime history of the area, and will celebrate the River’s industrial past and the bright future ahead for Philadelphia’s waterfront.  Learn more about this exciting new park here.

The Art Star Pop Up Market will be a small, open air market featuring the work of 10-20 of the finest makers from Philadelphia and the surrounding region.  The Pop Up Market will be held on Saturdays from June 28th – August 30th along a tree lined walkway within the Spruce Street Harbor Park.  Come shop our curated group of vendors between 11am and 3pm every sunny Saturday (we won’t set up if it rains!) Vendors will be selling a variety of handmade goods with most items priced affordably and under $50.

CALL FOR VENDORS!!
We are currently looking for artists/crafters who create affordable goods (items priced under $50) to participate in the the following Saturdays of the Art Star Pop Up Market – August 2nd, August 9th, August 16th, August 23rd and August 30th.  Because this is a completely new venture for us, we are offering vendor spaces for FREE!  Vendors will be set up along a walkway that is 12ft wide and long enough to fit up to 20 vendors (2,000 ft).  Because this is kind of a tight space, each vendor will receive 10ft of space wide and then 5 ft of space deep.  You may bring a 10×10 tent to protect you and your goods, but you must keep your work/displays within a 10′ x 5′ footprint, in order to give customers space to walk through.  All tents must be properly weighted, though tents are not required.  If you don’t feel like bringing a tent, bring a large beach umbrella instead – feel free to be creative! There is a parking lot on site for vendors to park for $25 a day, or you can try to find street parking.

If you are crafter/artist that is interested in vending at any (or all) of these days, simply email us at info@artstarphilly.com with a link to your website OR attach photos of the items you plan to sell AND the date(s) you are available to do.  Please put POP UP APPLICATION as the subject of your email. Deadline to apply is July 24th and we will let you know if you were chosen to participate by the the end of the day on July 25th.  Please email with questions – no phone calls please.

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Art Star Fun Times – This First Friday!

Posted on June 4, 2014 by artstar-artstar

This First Friday from 5-8pm we are having a fun little party in the shop!  Our first Artists in Residence, Kelly Kozma will have her studio doors open for you to peek in, meet her and check out her work in progress. We will also have some free beer and snacks from our neighbor, El Capitan.

PLUS!
Little Chair Printing will be set up with her heat press.  You will be able to choose from her huge collection of 80’s iron on transfers (think cute kittens, unicorns, etc) and heat press your own Tee.   We encourage you to grab a few, cut them up and create a fun collage.  If you bring your own T-shirt, you can heat press it for just $5.  If not, we’ll have some on hand for you to buy for an additional $5.  Here is a photo of what our customers created the last time Little Chair set up:

Click on the photo to check out all the pics from our last event with Little Chair Printing!

Our friends from Cut + Paste Photobooth will be set up with all her fun props for guests to jump in and get their photos taken. You will get one free photo to take home with you too!

Photo by Chris Kendig, taken at this year’s Art Star Craft Bazaar.

And there’s more! Our brand new, handmade games will be set up for you to play!  The Ring Toss was made by Cisco Griffin (bowling pins donated by our friends at North Bowl). Play as much as you want during the course of the evening, but each guest will get 1 game where you can rack up Art Star discounts to redeem this night ONLY!  Each large ring you get on will get you 5% off, and each smaller ring you get on will get you 10% off.  If you get all the rings on in one game, you will get 70% off – though it’s pretty hard to do that. Are you up for the challenge?

Photo by Chris Kendig. Kids playing our Ring Toss at our recent Art Star Craft Bazaar. Handmade by Cisco Griffin with Bowling Pins donated by North Bowl.

And just for fun… Play our Corn Hole game handmade by Andrew Zangerle!

Kids playing the Corn Hole game that was handmade by Andrew Zangerle. Photo by Chris Kendig.

We hope to see you this Friday for these Art Star Fun Times!  Please go to our Facebook Event to invite friends and let us know you are coming!  Free to attend but we hope you will do some shopping too 😉  We’ve got in lots of new goodies!

 

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Tyler Art Market Call for Vendors

Posted on May 27, 2014 by artstar-artstar

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