Craft For A Cause: help North Korean refugees

Northside Maker Sandra of Pepperberry & Co is jetting off to spend some time working with the LiNK Nomad team in the US. Amazing!

Liberty in North Korea (LiNK) is a non-profit organisation that raises awareness about the human rights abuses and humanitarian crisis in North Kora. You can read more about this crucial project at www.linkglobal.org and www.thatLiNKproject.blogspot.com.

Before Sandra heads off she is hosting two fundraising events to support LiNK Nomad.

If you're feeling creative sign up for Light Up For Link, a craft class with a difference. Come along to craft, giggle, chat, be inspired and create your very own paper lampshade, all whilst making a difference to the people of North Korea.

Light Up For Link
Thursday 27th May 6:30 - 8:30pm
Kaye Coghlan Theatre, Thornbury High School
238 Collins St Thornbury
$30 ($20 conc)

Bookings are essential as places are limited. Call 0401 766 348 or email thatLiNKproject [at] gmail.com to reserve your spot.

If you've got a brown creative thumb you can make a difference by watching a film. Enjoy a night out watching one of the most powerful movies ever made, whilst raising much needed funds to help end the human rights abuses and humanitarian crisis in North Korea.

Based on a real-life story, Kim Tae-kyun' Crossing tells the tale of a North Korean defector and his desperate fight to save his family. An uncompromising, touching and inspiring movie, its depiction os the harsh reality of life in North Korea will touch your heart and move your soul.

Crossing
Thursday 3rd June 7pm
Kaye Coghlan Theatre, Thornbury High School
238 Collins St Thornbury
$15 ($10 conc), $120 group of 10

Bookings are essential as places are limited. Call 0401 766 348 or email thatLiNKproject [at] gmail.com to reserve your spot.

Even if you can't make it along to these events please visit the blog and download some flyers to put up on your work noticeboard and hand out to friends.

Stitches & Craft weekend!

Have you been to the Stitches & Craft Show yet? If you've been doing your nine-to-five all week this weekend is your chance to check it out!

If you can get there early Saturday come meet up in the Incubator section (I'm told it's upstairs) at 10:15 and introduce yourself. You can then pop into the free screening of The September Issue at 10:30, if you can drag yourself away from the indie craft goodness. Plus, every second blogger we know is helping out on an Incubator stall this weekend so you'll have plenty of friends to catch up with, or friends to make.

If you'd like to stand out as a craft blogger, the show organisers are handing out I LOVE STITCHES badges so bloggers can identify themselves to each other. It's totally free, coz Stitches & Craft lurve bloggers.

One warning - camera use is restricted at the Show. It's all about protecting intellectual property and respecting how craftspeople want images of their work reproduced. If you'd like to bring your camera along go ahead - it's not going to be confiscated - but be sure to ask permission before whipping it out. Plenty of stallholders (in the Incubator at least) will be happy to have you promote their businesses on your blog.

If you need any more convincing check out some photos from the Show so far at Jodie Ric Rac's blog. She's the one who made the famous selvedge frock and her softie patterns are to-die-for. Earlier this week she wrote a passionate testimony of why each and every one of you should come check out the Show:

In the craft world, the guys behind Stitches and Craft are the ones out there offering support to little indie businesses. They give us the chance to take part in a HUGE event and gain exposure that most of us couldn't normally afford to do (like not even close)...
I think it's fair to ask people to support Stitches and Craft because they are out there promoting and sharing and getting the word out about craft. Their show helps raise the profile of craft and handmade and that has to be a good thing right? Surely getting craft out there in the world has to have a trickle down effect, more people know about craft, think it's great, are more likely to look for handmade when the need arises. More people get excited by craft and go home and take up knitting or sewing or raffia hat making or whatever fuels them....so our community grows and new exciting stuff happens...
And apart from all that? Maybe one day YOU will want to get a teeny stall in the Incubator and spend five days meeting people and showing off your stuff and having a great time, or maybe your mum will, or one of your blog friends. How sad would it be to say "oh there used to be this great place for little businesses at a craft show- I never went though, I wonder what happened to it?"

Jodie will be at her Incubator stall all week so be sure to say hi, and thank her for taking one giant leap for craftkind. (Photo from Jodie's blog, if you hadn't guessed.)

P.S. On your way to Caulfield Race Course drop in at Malvern Town Hall to check out the first ever Modish Makers Market. Northside Maker organiser Margaret Konstant Kaos has a stall!