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January 30, 2005

Church of Craft

If, in art class in the fifth grade, you took a Valentine's Day project a little too far and made a card that could sell for $12 at Kate's Paperie, Church of Craft is for you.

For people with crafty tendencies and a habit of collecting bits of fabric or fancy paper for future use, Church of Craft is like a candy store. It's not so much a church as an organization that gives crafty types the materials and the space to entertain themselves. It's founded on the belief that making things and indulging your love of yarn or fabric or beading is spiritually healthy.

Church of Craft in New York consists of a loft-like space in downtown Brooklyn which is shared with a similarly crafty store: Yarnivore. The Yarnivore side has a counter and stacks of yarn and knitting books, and Rose, the owner, is always on hand to help with knitting projects. The other half of the store is packed with art supplies but was somewhat of a mystery to me until yesterday, when Church of Craft had an open house and party to raise funds.

When I walked through the door and into the Church of Craft space, I felt like I was back in art class. There was a table stacked with construction paper, glitter glue, scissors, origami paper, stamps and ink, and various other art store paraphernalia. True to their nature, several creative types were taking name tag-making to new heights, incorporating everything on the table.

A little left-brained disorganization made it hard to figure out what was going on, but there was wine and beer and baked goods for sale, a raffle for artsy prizes, and someone was conducting a session on making popup books. When I figured out how things worked I dug out some white ribbon and three different kinds of paper and put together a wedding card for a cousin.

Shelves line one wall and are stacked with bins full of fabric, quilting supplies, felt, paper, sewing supplies, and similar items, all available for use by members. A bookcase had stacks of old sewing patterns and magazines. A knitting machine and sewing machine can be used by those who know what to do with them, and for people like me who like all of these things but don't know where to start, there are classes.

The best part is that, with the exception of the classes, it's all free. Donations of time, supplies, or money are encouraged. You can come in, sit down, and make Valentine's cards all day if you want to and you might even find someone to chat with who's doing the same thing. If you have a sudden need to make a patchwork skirt, you can take the train to Jay Street and find everything you need to do so.

Posted by csageday at January 30, 2005 06:44 PM

Comments

Posted by: Amber at February 6, 2005 10:20 PM