No More Boring Gifts!

One of the great things about the internet is that artist made products are literally EVERYWHERE, both original items and printed or graphically designed wares. I actually have a couple shirts I ordered from Threadless in college that I’ve kept for 8 years and can’t part with, though they are now either disintegrating or have super attractive sweat stained armpits. I’m planning to do fabric wrap canvases with them and use them for cool wall art because the designs are so gorgeous, I just can’t abide by throwing them in the trash.

Plenty of artists are out there on ebay and etsy and multitudes of similar platforms willing to customize their work to that special someone you may have in mind. I myself have just finished up an eclectic variety of custom requests, from hand drawn pendants to dolls to an artsy floral arrangement, which was definitely a first.

Basically, there is no excuse for giving a boring gift.

My day job (a pretty cool day job, if I do say so myself :)) is working as Program Coordinator for Express Yourself Artshop, an inclusive arts program geared towards serving all adult students, including those with disabilities. Many of the students are learning how to sell and market their work, and with Spring here we are beginning to prepare for multiple art and craft fairs.

With Mother’s and Father’s day coming up, it’s always best to start early. Creative gift guides are awesome, but oftentimes everything listed is in the 3 figure range … I’ve put together some affordable guides that are a little bit of what I have to offer, a little bit from some of my amazingly artsy aquaintances, and a little bit from artisans I admire throughout the web.