Why I haven't been able to wrap up the Portland Weekend

It's been two weeks since I left for Portland* for the Handmade Nation premiere and the PDXCraftgasm weekend. And though Diane, Lee, Susan, Pam, Kim, and more have written beautiful roundups of the weekend, I haven't been able to bring myself to.

Why?

Because then I just have to admit that it's all over, and that makes me crazy kinds of sad.

So here's my basic summary:

FUN!
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INSPIRING!
people-crafternoons-letterpress-film-tiki drinks

AMAZING!
people-crafternoons-letterpress-film-thai food-french toast-tiki bowl drinks

Clearly, the things that made the biggest impression on me over the weekend were the people - just some downright amazing folks. I got to see old friends, make new ones, and was constantly inspired. It was fun and exhausting and I need it to happen again. Very soon.

Since the people were so awesome on the trip, I'm going to do a few posts about them. I met the coolest people from across the country (literally!) and across the craft spectrum. All were kind, generous, creative and supportive, and they were all doing some really cool things. I think sharing some of that with you all will help you understand why I'm still - after two weeks - having a hard time adjusting back to reality. Stay tuned ....

* For once in my life, I was not camera happy and took very few pictures. I think that's a sure sign that I was too much in the moment to record the moments. I'm kicking myself now, though, so I'm borrowing pictures from the PDX Craftgasm Flickr pool. Thanks, lovelies. :)

Letterpress dream come true

I've just returned from an awesome weekend in Portland, Oregon where I attended the northwest premier of Handmade Nation and cavorted with some of the most awesome crafters for three days. It was heaven. I'll have a full report on the Craftgasm (as it was called) weekend, but for now I have to share one of the most special things that happened while I was in Portland.

On Saturday, my friend, Sarah, took me up to the Pacific Northwest College of Art where she's taking a continuing education class on letterpress. You see, I've had an obsession with letterpress for almost 20 years, yet I've never been able to actually get my hands on type and a press to try it myself. Sarah was kind enough to take me up to the print studio and I was able to watch her work on her awesome project, and then got to create my own very first letterpress project.

Wowza. I have to say that digging through drawers of wood and lead type, going through ideas of what to print and managing the logistics of actually getting the typeset was .... amazing. It felt like something I've been meant to do my whole life. Not to sound to profound about it, but it was just an incredibly zen experience.

I have to give huge thanks to Sarah for helping me fulfill this big dream of mine. I can't wait to get my hands on more type and a press very.very.soon.