D-I-Why? I'll Tell You Why

Our workshop was founded in 2008 with the simple purpose of creating a comfortable, inspiring, inclusive and welcoming space in which kids could develop confidence and celebrate their creativity by offering open-ended projects that we've designed for ready-success, that scale with the artist's capabilities and that are fun and relevant. And do we do it in a way that was respectful of our planet? Yes, we do! Using the Founder's creative expertise honed in the fashion and entertainment industries and the skills, smiles and creative genius of a fantastic team, we've created a special-little-local place in which kids seem to relax, settle in and often complain about having to leave. (One family recently called us their "community center"-- aw.) It's the work-place, the hang-out-place, the fun-place of our dreams. Or wishes. Granted.

(Want to read more about our philosophy and a recipe for a "wow" project....?)

Ew! A Social-Media Year in Review

Marketing with social media is exciting with its pace and potential. The speed at which we think and "speak" is astounding, and with that velocity comes some....atrocity. I like to tell myself that I do my best work under pressure (and I like to instruct my teenaged daughter to do the opposite despite her realization of the same), but upon a year-of-social-media-in-review, I could be, gasp, wrong. I found some gems on this memory lane of Facebook and Twitter snippets. And also laughed out loud at some of the silliness. What lives lovingly behind every single post is a sincere desire to share an incredible confidence-building creative experience with every child and adult we are fortunate enough to meet, but......

Wisdom

• I bet for a kid it feels neat to be your own curator, with no grown-up to tell you if your art is wall-worthy. It's why our walls are busy busy.
• Libraries=Knowledge=Progress=Peace.
• WISH is a 4-letter word. So are RISK, TIME, CASH. And so are GLEE, HOPE, LOVE...
• I ♥ giraffes- looks like they move slowly while they're actually making tremendous progress with an eye to the long-view...
• Typing an email and iPhone auto-correct changed "join our mailing list?" to "smiling list". Smart phone.
• Learned a great phrase yesterday that resonates with how we approach being an inclusive studio: "presume competence".
• It's really cool when a camper with special needs has a special day. Don't we all have a need that makes us special?
• Did you know that we grow artists? Not train. Not make. Not test. Grow.
• Hi Planet. Keep up the good work and we'll be better about doing the same. Love, Wishcraft.
• Who needs a coloring book?
• There is big wisdom in this hand-written note by one of our after-school students: "You can draw anything. You can paint anything. You can make anything. You can play anything. You can make projects. We have snack at 3:00."

Fun

• A sewing camper sang our safety instructions. Someone finally took us up on the offer. ♥ ♥ ♥
• How fun is it to have a barefoot dance party ON paint? Like grape
stomping for kids.
• Overheard today: "we're messy, like artists are supposed to be".
• Overheard today: "this girl? I never met her before but we're already friends".
• So much fun to work somewhere in which sparkly things like sequins show up in places like the inside of the radiator. I left it there, by the way.
• Sweetest question from a 1st grader- "how many pounds of fabric do I need for my pajama pants project?"
• Such a happy-house of fun at the workshop today. Giggles galore. We're lucky to do what we do each day, so thank you.
• Seriously? The "Google Punks Me" show goes on with a call today asking if we are wiccan or...just pagan? We didn't realize that allowing children to create spontaneous dances of joy would go so far. I wonder what channel this show will be on once the cameras are revealed.
• Ok fine. The jeweled moustaches are much classier.

Humility

• My laptop case is humiliating.
• Rob told me he was moving one of my books to the "read" (past tense)
 section. I thought he said "red", which was thrilling.
• Have you ever had a thought-bubble hovering over your head, ready to take flight, only to have it ruptured by .....nothing at all? Just. Gone.
• Someone faux-vampire-hissed at me today. Hilarious. Kids today.
• ps- who else feels powerful when they change the huge water cooler bottle? I do.
• OK seamsters, where's the silliest place you've found an errant thread clipping? Today I found one in my coffee cup..but not in the sewing room or even sewing yet today.
• Can you help us rename the Project Hall of Shame? Hall of Try? Hall of Why? Hall of _________?
• I just heard a bird chirp and I'm not even meditating. This is big.

Gratitude

• So neat when students come in for a class and another student tells them how cool their class will be based on their previous experience. Love.
• Student: "Wishcraft should have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame." Me: 'Why?" Student: "Because you deserve it."
• "Oh Mom! Already?" Glad to hear this all afternoon as students were picked up from Crafter-School. Even when it was closing time.
• One of our campers is so giddy to be with us for another camp next week that she suggested we name it "Sew Excited" instead.
• Ha! We were just called the "hardest working women in sew business". Guess I'm not the only one with a silly turn of phrase.
• And for service above and beyond the call of duty, the award goes to Rob, who delivered not just emergency clean underwear, but rockin' cool skull undies, too. You know you're getting crafty Candice when you sign up for CrAfter School, but did you know you also get 3 other kind and silly Cumminseseses too? My boys ♥ every cotton-pickin' Cummins in that joint.
• This morning a Dad that was dropping off his 3 kids to FUNordinary Art Camp pulled me aside to tell me-- "You do really good work. I mean it." Wow. Happy Friday.
• Another fun note from an after-schooler found while cleaning my office. My fave: "They have createful minds (that temt you)".

Ew

• I'm blue for you. Or for whomever you gift me to. I can be whatever you want me to be.
• I wanna be Like(d) by you, just you, and nobody else but you. I wanna be Like(d) by you alo-oh-one. Boop boop be-do.
• Does your expired workshop voucher have legs?
• Recess is still the only good thing about "recession"- we've kept class prices flat for 3 years.
• Dear Soccer Coaches, please advise practice schedules asap so families can choose their creative Wishcraft class. Love, Us.
• 5 spots remain and only 1 one of them will go on to become America's Next Top Camper for Friday 11/18.
• Feed your child's creative confidence and feed someone that needs it. Turn Cyber Monday into food for Common Pantry with our Fiber Funday.
• How convenient for 7/11! Give your kid a big gulp of summer fun with 64 fluid dollar savings off Camp.
• WANTED- shady quick-change artists for recycling magic. Starts tomorrow. Shade of green preferred.
• What has stripes, loves the planet, is fun to be around and isn't a zebra?
• We know a Viking (sewing machine) interested in meeting young fashion designers. The needles, thread and scissors are lonely, too.

Ew, right? 2012 promises to be even more amazing. She told me so this morning.

From your friends at the Wishcraft workshop, our wishes for the happiest and healthiest year yet for you, your friends and your family. Cheers.

My 4-Letter Words

WISH is a 4-letter word. So is FEAR. And you probably have your own favorites for moments of frustration and moments of joy. Being an entrepreneur* brings with it a roller-coaster of 4-letter words, starting with RISK, TIME, and CASH on their one-way streets.  But when I STOP and allow myself the moments to GIVE back to the community that has supported us through our first 3 years (Yes! We just celebrated our 3rd Birthday!), it feels GOOD.
(Thanks to those of you that ask and remind us of the opportunity to help your school or your non-for-profit. The gift-certificates are on their way!)

At the workshop we have been preparing for a craft event next weekend (which involves a lot of MAKE) that pays us nothing but the opportunity to MEET like-minded artisans, crafticionados and their kids and KNOW, if for even just a few moments with each, the child-like excitement that comes with the experience of making something by HAND. That's RICH. We hope to see you there, where "Wish is a 4-Letter Word" will be the project we bring to the KIDS' area. You'll have to come visit to see what we mean. Have your kids start thinking about their list of 4-letter words and get there early to sign-up for a good time-slot to MEET us. 

Until then, I'll be focusing on the better half of my 4-letter word mind-stock, reminding myself that even when the entrepreneurial roller-coaster dips into places that are DARK, tomorrow there is always the GLEE, the HOPE, the LOVE (and in the case of the upcoming few months, CAMP and hopefully some LUCK) that comes with my WISH of crafting a space in which anyone can learn to feel powerfully and playfully creative, solving problems aesthetic, functional and practical. ONCE we HAVE THAT, WHAT CAN'T be DONE?  

Thanks to my daughter Lulu for the following list to help anyone that gets stuck with their list.  We probably don't want my son's list this afternoon as he does his homework.

Wish   Love   Hope   Make   Good   Food   Bake   Live   Give   Life   Know   Glad   Glue (ha!)   Play   Home   Book   Band   Rock   Baby   Felt   Yarn   Time   Knit   Draw   Cozy   Fame

*see Crain's Chicago Business blog to find a great article by Carol Roth about the 5 myths (and one truth) of entrepreneurship. My blog's inability to successfully link to it is beyond the luddite lurking within.

Yo Grabba Grabba

I promised it would be more fun. How many of you grown-ups have been entranced by the show "Yo Gabba Gabba!" on Nick Jr.? Anyone that loved Deee-Lite back in the day will know what I mean when I say that this show is fabulous. But this isn't about the TV show- it's about a young friend that we made at the workshop over the summer and to whom we refer as "Yo Grabba Grabba". Yo Grab reminded me of something important, and it's something about which all parents might want to remind themselves. You see, Yo Grab had a little "collecting habit" at the workshop. It started out with a little sequin here, a small ball of clay there. Some days it was something sparkly and new looking. Other days it was a peculiar piece of plastic packaging, or even just a twist-tie. Nothing too significant. But what this child was doing was building her own workshop full of little inspiring supplies that cost her nothing.

Sure, we kept our eye on Yo Grabba Grabba. And with every little glance her way there was a subconscious reminder being sent up to the big mommy-headquarters above my shoulders- not all junk is junk, not every mess is a mess and the best art supplies are everywhere to be found for free. Yo Grab reminded me of the power and the beauty of creating something from nothing. At the workshop we teach lessons about reuse and of using less. But because it is what we do every day, we have to keep our adult eyes out for those special moments of random inspiration that come from the least likely of places.

Luckily it does still happen to me like it happened to Yo Grab this summer- an irresistible flash of creativity. (Most recently it was the small clear plastic cover on a new stick of deodorant- two of those and what a magnificent pair of eyes for some creature.) But what if you're not wired like Yo Grab? You might see junk and you might see a mess. Can you learn to be randomly inspired? Can you learn to see beyond what is visible and evident? And then can that skill be applied in areas of your life other than craft-time with the little ones? I think you can and I think it's good for all of us. Next time you move to throw something away, or even to throw it in the blue bin or bag, give it a second glance through Yo Grabba Grabba's eyes. See what spark a little junk can generate, and if it's not in that moment (this might take some practice), squirrel it away in a random little collection of small, silly (but clean) stuff for that cold day, that we know is not so far off, when you can practice. Maybe throw a little Deee-Lite on for good measure.