The weather is so fine, why not come shop some handmade goodness this week?

New in the Shop

New stacking rings from Mark Lisota Designs in Indianapolis, beard combs from Burton & Levy handmade in Detroit, log books by Yonder Bound in Indianapolis, Circle City tee from Terz ink in Indianapolis, and Indianapolis grid earrings from Brooklyn based Aminimal.

Custom Gifts

We here at Homespun pride ourselves on our ability to shop… at Homespun. We do it for ourselves, and we do it for our customers! In our new display you’ll find lots of great gift groupings; whether your shopping for a food lover, Indianapolis native, or someone who loves to be pampered you’ll find the perfect gift ready to go.

Upcoming Workshops

Candle Maker Pop-Up Bar with The Onyx Exchange, Saturday, August 29th, 11am-6pm: Join the Onyx Exchange for an afternoon of candle making at Homespun! Mark your calendars and stop in to make your very own 7oz. Lux candle or 10oz. Wine Bottle Candle. Mix your own scents (36 to choose from!) and create a one-of-a-kind candle!

Jewelry Making: Wire Wrapping Basics, Saturday, August 29th, 4-7pm: Have you ever wanted to go on a gem hunt? Well, here is your chance! Rana Salame Striedinger of Salame Jewelry Designs is opening her treasure chest of gemstones for you to peruse and select from to create your own one-of-a-kind jewelry. Students will learn several wire wrapping and jewelry assembly techniques to create two unique items – students can choose to make a pair of earrings and a necklace, two pairs of earrings, or two necklaces.

Southern Hospitality Trunk Show: Thursday, September 3rd, 4-8pm: Participating in Run(317): Mass Ave.? Southern Hospitality, a brand new vendor with a lovely line of foot care products, will be hosting a trunk show in front of our store with tips for treating your post-run toes. Stop by, chat, and check out their all-natural, preventative foot care products, wrapped in a delightful southern charm.

Hand-Felted Soap: Saturday, September 5th, 11-12:30: Yummy-smelling soaps with a soft, built-in washcloth – how’s that for practical? Hand-felted soaps look beautiful, smell good enough to eat, and will take your bathtime rituals up a notch. Wrapped in soft – not scratchy! – naturally anti-fungal wool, these soaps lather fragantly, last longer than regular soaps, and provide added exfoliation to leave your skin feeling extra pampered. Over time, the wool will shrink around the soap, leaving you with a small pouch that you can cut open and use with another bar of soap. Makes a great gift!

Book Signing and Knit-In with Joan of Dark: Thursday, September 10th, 6-8pm: If you’re a Game of Thrones fan, surely you’ve daydreamed about having your own Direwolf. Joan of Dark, local knitter and author, can make that happen! Join us this evening and knit along with the author as she signs copies of her newest book, “Geek Knits.”

Coming Up in Indianapolis

Dig IN- A Taste of Indiana: August 30th: Indiana’s premier farm-to-fork food festival. High-quality, locally produced products are the hallmark of Indiana’s favorite food festival, Dig IN, a Taste of Indiana 2015.

Run317: Mass. Ave. edition, Thursday, September 3rd

Indy Jazz Fest: September 10th-19th

INDIEana Handicraft Exchange Mini: September 19th: 11am-7pm Located on monument circle downtown in collaboration with Big Car. Follow our IHE Facebook page for the latest.

See ya next week, friends!

Pronounced RON-LEW-HORN, Aaron Scamihorn is the artist behind screen-printing and design business RONLEWHORN. He works out of his new studio in Plainfield, IN creating print work for some of the coolest bands including Cake, Motion City Soundtrack, and Tokyo Police Club not to mention the coolest craft show (if we do say so ourselves) the INDIEana Handicraft Exchange. Find out more about him and his work at www.ronlewhorn.com or on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @RONLEWHORN.

How do you describe your work to people who don’t know anything about crafting/art? 

I hand screen print gig posters and art prints.

Why?

I have been a designer for a long time and after about 5 years of working in a cubicle I had an itch to get back to creating with my hands. I grew up with parents who were potters and mom was an art teacher, so creating with my hands was a huge part of my upbringing. Getting back to tactile creation has been instrumental to my success and satisfaction in the design world.

Was being a working artist always your plan or was there an “aha” moment?

I originally went to college to become an art teacher. My mom was one and I loved the idea of having summer vacation the rest of my life! After finishing that degree and doing my semester of student teaching, I had a realization that I never wanted to work with middle school kids again! I went back to school and finished up a graphics degree and never looked back!

What do you love about your job?

I used to play bass and guitar in bands in high school and college. I love how my work now still keeps me plugged into the music industry by getting to design for bands that I love.

How do you work, and where?

I work as an art Director for TourDesign Creative / Live Nation by day creating print and digital artwork for touring bands. By night I work in my basement office at home designing for more indie bands and other freelance clients like breweries and distilleries, etc. I do a bulk of my screen printing on the weekends with my wife working as quality control in my studio in Plainfield. We have a big two-story building there that we recently moved in to.

How do you begin creating your work, specifically portraits? It looks like cut paper, but I know it’s screen-printed. Tell us about your process.

I work in layers. Whether that is with a light box and tracing paper or in Adobe Illustrator, I have a reference sketch or image that I work on top of to layer the shapes for the line art and then the fill color and shading. When these go to be screen printed, they are separated out and printed as separate layers again but in the reverse order starting with the lightest fill color, then the shading and then the line art.

Who have you designed posters for?

One of my favorite projects was a campaign for Dollar Shave Club. It was a fake political campaign where we did posters for presidents from the past as if they were campaigning today. We pulled facts about them and their lives and made them campaign platforms for the 2012 election. You can see all of them here: http://oldglory2012.org/

Describe your aesthetic in three words.

Nostalgic, Iconic & Illustrative

What elements make a good gig poster stand out?

The best gig posters in my opinion have a strong illustration with effective typography blended into the scene while at the same time telling some sort of story or visual pun.

If you could swap lives with another artist and live as them without anyone knowing that you were really you and not the other person, who would that person be?

Shepard Fairey.

What makes a handmade object valuable?

There is something about a tactile print that is so much more authentic than a digital reproduction. When you can feel the texture of the ink on the paper, you know a person intentionally put it there and didn’t just hit CMD-P on a machine. Every time I consider buying something to hang on my wall, I make sure it is something unique and cherished in its creation.

Using that definition, what’s the most valuable object you own? 

A gig poster for Gaslight Anthem designed and printed by Clinton Reno. And some small lithograph prints from Italy and Germany vacations.

Tell us one true thing about yourself that people don’t believe when you tell them.

I’m a lot more friendly than I look at first glance!

Give us three more non-crafting-related details about you or your life.

At my day job I have designed art for musical legends Madonna, KISS & Neil Diamond. I founded a group called the Craft Brew Doodle Crew that meets once a month and creates collaborative art in a musical-chairs style format. I used to play and sing in punk bands such as The Parliament, Dietrich & Tourists From Canada.

Describe your dream commission.

I love illustrating faces with character. I would be honored to do a cover illustration for a prominent magazine that features the portrait of a person with lots of wrinkles and facial hair. Doesn’t matter who it is. I am passionate about faces and would love to have the opportunity to see it on news stands.

Lots of new product to share with you this week! Keep scrolling for an exciting announcement, too. Oh, boy!

New in the Shop

Prints from Arsenal Handicraft.

Just a sampling of the vinyl decals made in Terre Haute, IN by Husband & Wife Press.

Prints and temporary tattoos from new vendor Lisa Chow.

Re-stock on Aromi products, new planters from Re by Katherine Scott, and re-stock on the delicious Mile Square Coffee Roastery blends!

INDIEana Handicraft Exchange Mini

Just announced! We’ll be hosting an IHE event on monument circle downtown in collaboration with Big Car. Stay tuned for more information, and follow our IHE Facebook page for the latest.

Upcoming Workshops

Candle Maker Pop-Up Bar with The Onyx Exchange, Saturday, August 29th, 11am-6pm: Join the Onyx Exchange for an afternoon of candle making at Homespun! Mark your calendars and stop in to make your very own 7oz. Lux candle or 10oz. Wine Bottle Candle. Mix your own scents (36 to choose from!) and create a one-of-a-kind candle!

Jewelry Making: Wire Wrapping Basics, Saturday, August 29th, 4-7pm: Have you ever wanted to go on a gem hunt? Well, here is your chance! Rana Salame Striedinger of Salame Jewelry Designs is opening her treasure chest of gemstones for you to peruse and select from to create your own one-of-a-kind jewelry. Students will learn several wire wrapping and jewelry assembly techniques to create two unique items – students can choose to make a pair of earrings and a necklace, two pairs of earrings, or two necklaces.

Southern Hospitality Trunk Show: Thursday, September 3rd, 4-8pm: Participating in Run(317): Mass Ave.? Southern Hospitality, a brand new vendor with a lovely line of foot care products, will be hosting a trunk show in front of our store with tips for treating your post-run toes. Stop by, chat, and check out their all-natural, preventative foot care products, wrapped in a delightful southern charm.

Hand-Felted Soap: Saturday, September 5th, 11-12:30: Yummy-smelling soaps with a soft, built-in washcloth – how’s that for practical? Hand-felted soaps look beautiful, smell good enough to eat, and will take your bathtime rituals up a notch. Wrapped in soft – not scratchy! – naturally anti-fungal wool, these soaps lather fragantly, last longer than regular soaps, and provide added exfoliation to leave your skin feeling extra pampered. Over time, the wool will shrink around the soap, leaving you with a small pouch that you can cut open and use with another bar of soap. Makes a great gift!

Book Signing and Knit-In with Joan of Dark: Thursday, September 10th, 6-8pm: If you’re a Game of Thrones fan, surely you’ve daydreamed about having your own Direwolf. Joan of Dark, local knitter and author, can make that happen! Join us this evening and knit along with the author as she signs copies of her newest book, “Geek Knits.”

Coming Up in Indianapolis

Indiana State Fair: August 7th-23rd: Have you gone yet?!

IndyFringe Theatre Festival: August 13th-23rd

Dig IN- A Taste of Indiana: August 30th: Indiana’s premier farm-to-fork food festival. High-quality, locally produced products are the hallmark of Indiana’s favorite food festival, Dig IN, a Taste of Indiana 2015.

Run317: Mass. Ave. edition, Thursday, September 3rd

Indy Jazz Fest: September 10th-19th

See ya next week, friends!

It’s all about the cards this week! We have a huge selection already, you’ll find the perfect card for that unique and special person in your life. Now if only you could mail cards to yourself…

New in the Shop

We have a couple new vendors; Design with Heart Studio of Worthington, OH and BoxBerry of Chicago, IL; as well as brand new designs from Chicago based Pearl & Marmalade.

Also we have brand new tee’s and flasks from Decorative Design Works as well as a nice restock on Tinker Coffee.

Sale

Thank you to everyone who came by our fabulous Sidewalk Sale this past weekend! We had a great time! If you’re still interested in checking out some of our discounted, still fabulous, handmade items, our sale section is ready and waiting.

Upcoming Workshops

Green Laundry, Saturday, August 15th, 11am-12:30pm: Want to clean green while saving some green? Making your own laundry supplies is not only cheaper and better for the environment, but healthier for you and your skin. Many store-bought brands are loaded with chemicals and toxins, some of which have nothing to do with the cleansing process. Besides saving sensitive skin, many DIY laundry recipes actually clean clothes better!

Candle Maker Pop-Up Bar with The Onyx Exchange, Saturday, August 29th, 11am-6pm: Join the Onyx Exchange for an afternoon of candle making at Homespun! Mark your calendars and stop in to make your very own 7oz. Lux candle or 10oz. Wine Bottle Candle. Mix your own scents (36 to choose from!) and create a one-of-a-kind candle!

Jewelry Making: Wire Wrapping Basics, Saturday, August 29th, 4-7pm: Have you ever wanted to go on a gem hunt? Well, here is your chance! Rana Salame Striedinger of Salame Jewelry Designs is opening her treasure chest of gemstones for you to peruse and select from to create your own one-of-a-kind jewelry. Students will learn several wire wrapping and jewelry assembly techniques to create two unique items – students can choose to make a pair of earrings and a necklace, two pairs of earrings, or two necklaces.

Coming Up in Indianapolis

Indiana State Fair, August 7th-23rd

IndyFringe Theatre Festival, August 13th-23rd

Dig IN- A Taste of Indiana, August 30th, Indiana’s premier farm-to-fork food festival. High-quality, locally produced products are the hallmark of Indiana’s favorite food festival, Dig IN, a Taste of Indiana 2015.

See ya next week, friends!

Whether you’re feeling happy, sad, or a little bit of both, it’s that time again. Take your last weekend trips, get in one last pool dip, and get a grip ’cause it’s time to go back to school! There is a special place in my heart for school supplies, especially if they’ve been handmade with love. And parents, I think you deserve a little something for making it through another summer, amiright? Here are some of our favorite back to school picks this year.

Pencil pouch by Pine Street Makery, Alphabet Blocks by Jean Elise, “Animal Air Force” print by Sloe Gin Fizz, Vintage Flashcard Notebooks by Read Write Books.

ABCs and Numbers prints by Iron Leaf Press, “School Supplies” print by Sloe Gin Fizz, beautiful leather backpack by ReFind Originals, children’s belts by bobaloo! and Fosterweld.

Re-usable 100% cotton lunch bags by Girls Can Tell, ruler coat hanger by Indyardart.

How do you feel about back to school time?