Category: Events

Mochimochi Installation at Vogue Knitting Live

Posted on by Anna

Great news! I will be exhibiting an installation at Vogue Knitting Live in NYC later this month.

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The installation will be comprised of a big chunk of my 2010 show at gallery hanahou, but a bit reconfigured and with a few new surprises. I’m excited to have this opportunity to share this crazy knitted world with a crowd exclusively made up of knitters.

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You’ll be able to find me along with some other exciting fiber artists (including Hannah Haworth and Ben Cuevas) in the gallery area of VK Live, which will be located in the Americas Hall II on the 4th Floor of the the New York Hilton.

I’ll also be doing a book signing at the Knitty City booth on Sunday, January 23rd, at 1 pm.

Hope to see some of you there!

Craftaculiciousness!

Posted on by Anna

Two craft fairs in two weekends on two coasts! An exhausting but fabulous way to wrap up the year.

The BUST Craftacular in NYC on Sunday was insane and a little intimidating (nearly 300 vendors were there, and I only had half a table), but totally worth it. It was so great to see some familiar faces, to meet some of of you blog readers for the first time, and to hang out with the awesome Toasty Time crew with whom I shared a table. Sadly I didn’t take any pictures there—I was just too busy!

But as promised, I have more pics from Urban Craft Uprising in Seattle from the previous weekend. Here I am on the first day, feeling awkward about having my picture taken right before my first-ever craft show.

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My sister-in-law Jenna took the following shots. She’s a professional photographer (check out her amazing work on her website), so really I should be trying to trick her into helping out with all the events I’m involved with.

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(Yes, that is a naked brown Santa that you see there on the tree.)

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I was definitely more relaxed by the second day of UCU, and just had fun knitting a little and hanging out with Jenna and my mother-in-law and all other other cool crafters and Seattlites.

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So my first two experiences with craft fairs were very good! I think they will be great to do as special events once or twice a year going forward.

“Luv-able + Hug-able” Plush Pre-sale!

Posted on by Anna

Oh my gosh! Luv-able + Hug-able opens this Thursday! There are soo many delightful plushes in this year’s show, and the setup is well underway at gallery hanahou. Gabriel let me take a couple pics of him hard at work with my cell phone:

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(Can you spot my little wearable guys on the table?)

And guess what? A special pre-sale just started for VIPs like you, my blog readers! That means you get to see all the plushes before anyone else and even buy them before the general public. Download the PDF catalog to see it all. (The ordering info is on the last page of the PDF.)

There are many to choose from, but are a few of my favorites in this year’s show…

“Funnel Cake Wearing his Tattoo” by ChrisCreatures:

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“Little Audrey” by Evangelione:

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And “Octowreath” by Hine Mizushima:

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If you’re in NYC, please join us this Thursday evening 7-9 pm at gallery hanahou for the opening!

Mochimochi at BUST Craftacular

Posted on by Anna

This is a big month for Mochimochi “Real World” edition—on December 12th (Sunday) I’ll be bringing Mochimochi Land to the BUST Craftacular in NYC!

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It’s being held at New York City’s Metropolitan Pavilion (125 West 18th Street, NYC) on December 12, 2010 from 10:00am – 8:00pm. Entrance is $2 at the door.

As you know if you’ve spent much time on my website, most of what I do involves designing a sample and then concentrating on taking photos and creating PDFs, but for this event, I’ve been getting really hands-on with small batches of knited tiny creatures that I’ll be selling in person. Because contrary to my hopes for the world, most people do not knit, but some still might like to have a Tiny Bee of their own. I’ve also been putting together some tiny knit kits, and I’m excited to see knitters’ reactions to them.

So if you’re in New York this weekend, please come find me and say hi! (I’ll be sharing a booth with Toasty Time!)

Mochimochi at Urban Craft Uprising

Posted on by Anna

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be in Seattle next month at Urban Craft Uprising!

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The big craft show will happen at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall on December 4th and 5th with more than 100 vendors selling everything handmade and awesome.

You’ll be able to find me near the entrance with copies of Knitting Mochimochi—there are official signings scheduled for Saturday at 2 pm and Sunday at 1 pm. I’ll also have some hand-knitted tiny things for sale AND I’ll be debuting knitting kits for some of my newest Tiny patterns too!

By the way, if that image above looks slightly “Mochimochi” to you, it’s because I’m responsible for it! Kristen Rask, one of the organizers of UCU, invited me to create the image for this year’s show to go on postcards and t-shirts. This was my first “real” illustration project, so I was a little unsure about the whole thing, and I was thrilled and relieved when my design was approved. I think I’m gradually getting better at using Adobe Illustrator, and I loved this opportunity. Thank you Kristen!

OK, I hope to see those of you in the Seattle area at this awesome event on December 4th and 5th!

Urban Craft Uprising
December 4th & 5th, 11 am – 5 pm
Seattle Center Exhibition Hall

Coming Home to Loops

Posted on by Anna

I was so happy to be at Loops in Tulsa on Thursday evening! Owner Shelley invited me to give a talk about Knitting Mochimochi—we had a great turnout, and this was a very special event because my family and hometown friends could be there too.

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I was joined by Brandi Simons, the local photographer who was responsible for all the beautiful photos in the book. It was so much fun to reminisce about our shoots from the spring of last year. Together we talked about our most difficult shoot (for the Cuter Polluters, involving locating the perfect oil drum and then dealing with a windy day and allergies) and how we involved many of our families and friends for the different images.

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(By the way, these great photos were taken by Brandi’s husband Mike Simons. They are quite the power-photojournalist couple.)

One fabulous touch that Shelley dreamed up was these fantastic Feet Eater cupcakes! They were custom ordered from Merritt’s in Tulsa.

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Amazingly, those weren’t the only Mochimochi-themed desserts of my weekend in Tulsa. My friends Brianna and Michelle baked these awesome cookies for a party the following night!

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It was a very nice trip home. Thank you to everyone who made it so special!

Mochimochi Tea Party Pics

Posted on by Anna

Update!: Check out more photos from the Tea Party/ Trunk Show at the gallery hanahou Flickr page.

Thank you to everyone who came out to on Saturday for the Mochimochi tea party and trunk show!

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It was really cool to have a crowd see the show one last time before it was dismantled. (I was busy with that this morning—not as much fun as setting it up, but it certainly was much faster!)

After everyone enjoyed delicious cupcakes from Made Fresh Daily, I gave an unplanned talk and did a little Q&A about knitting toys, writing my book, and how the installation came about. It was a lovely gathering!

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Because it was the last day of the show, people who purchased creatures from the installation were able to take them home right then. It was bittersweet moment when I snipped off a little “mochi” riding a cow for a visitor.

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(You can also still order many of the little guys from the gallery online shop.)

This was the perfect way to wrap up the show. It’s now all packed away in bags, but it will all hopefully get unpacked again sometime soon in a different place!

Reminder: Trunk Show and Cupcakes this Saturday!

Posted on by Anna

Just a reminder that this Saturday is your last chance to See “Greetings from Mochimochi,” My knitted installation at gallery hanahou in NYC!

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Join me at the gallery for a trunk show and tea party on October 30th, from 2 to 4 pm: enjoy tea and cupcakes and the chance to buy little creatures right off the installation!

There will also be a selection of my other pieces on display (just for viewing).

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Please RSVP to info@galleryhanahou.com so that we know how many cupcakes to get. See you there!