Edible books: wonderful or just plain weird?  You decide.  Wordsmith Books in Decatur is hosting the 5th Annual Edible Book Festival next weekend, Saturday March 29^th.  The Literacy Volunteers of Atlanta and the Southeast Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers invites you to “unleash your imagination as you cook up a culinary creation with literary inspiration.”  Participants are asked to make edible art that has something to do with books, shapes or content.  Entries will be exhibited to the public at Wordsmith Books and judged base on relevance and creativity.  Prizes will be awarded to winners and (best of all?) after judging all “suitable entries” will be eaten.  Entry fees are $5 for amateurs and $25 for professionals (what qualifies as a professional edible bookmaker I leave you to ponder), and all proceeds benefit Literacy Volunteers of Atlanta in its effort to increase adult literacy.  I’m cooking up an entry (pardon the pun) and am looking forward to deciding where the event falls on the wonderful/ weird divide in person.  To find out more or to register check out the Wordsmith Books website.  And if you’re not in the Atlanta area do yourself a favor and Google “Edible Book;” you may be surprised how many festivals of this bent (Edible Book Festivals, Edible Book Teas, etc.) pop up around the country every Spring!

festivals, hackbooking, odds and ends | No Comments »

You may have noticed from my nifty new web-badge, I’ve been “made” as a member of the newly reformed Atlanta Craft Mafia.  If you are a local crafter/ artist running (or looking to run) your own business I HIGHLY recommend you get wise to the Mafia.  Members have access to a variety resources including crafting and business-development events, networking opportunities, local show alerts, collaborative marketing and (best of all) the support of fellow Atlanta crafters.  No worries if your not a full on Craft Warrior, the Mafia accepts “Associates” as well who are looking to get plugged into the scene without necessarily all of the nitty-gritty details a business owner craves.  The blog alone is a substantial resource worth book marking. 

Mafia nicknames have not been assigned, but I’d like to put my claim on Sara “Bone Folder” Hindmarch if I may. Or maybe “stab-bound,” that has a nice ring to it too (and is such a lovely binding).  Come to think of it. Bookbinding is inherently violent sounding, what with all of the tools that sound like (and could probably double as) torture devices: stab-punch, bone folder, brass rule, awl, punching cradle, screw post. . .  the list goes on! 

memberships, resouces | No Comments »