Sixty Inches From Center Sixty Search Dropdown Menu Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Twitter Vimeo Youtube
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Sixty Offline + Events
    • Sixty News
    • Past Newsletters
    • Bylaws
  • Editorial
    • On Archives
    • Art Picks
    • Bilingual
    • Columns + Series
    • Essays + Reviews
    • Interviews
    • Poetry + Short Stories
    • Sound, Film + Video
  • Projects
    • Art Design Chicago
    • The Blackivists
    • Chicago Archives + Artists Project
    • Chicago Archives + Artists Festival
    • Chicago Arts Census
    • Close to There <> Perto de Lá
    • Diamond in the Back
    • Envisioning Justice
    • Exhibitions on the Cusp
    • Get Archived
    • Loss/Capture Project
    • Sixty Regional
    • Something to look forward to
    • TRACE
    • Transition To Power
  • Get Involved
    • Write for Sixty
    • Work with Sixty
    • Partner with Sixty
    • Hire Sixty Talent
    • Donate to Sixty
  • Sixty Newsletter
  • Donate
Search Menu
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Sixty Offline + Events
    • Sixty News
    • Past Newsletters
    • Bylaws
  • Editorial
    • On Archives
    • Art Picks
    • Bilingual
    • Columns + Series
    • Essays + Reviews
    • Interviews
    • Poetry + Short Stories
    • Sound, Film + Video
  • Projects
    • Art Design Chicago
    • The Blackivists
    • Chicago Archives + Artists Project
    • Chicago Archives + Artists Festival
    • Chicago Arts Census
    • Close to There <> Perto de Lá
    • Diamond in the Back
    • Envisioning Justice
    • Exhibitions on the Cusp
    • Get Archived
    • Loss/Capture Project
    • Sixty Regional
    • Something to look forward to
    • TRACE
    • Transition To Power
  • Get Involved
    • Write for Sixty
    • Work with Sixty
    • Partner with Sixty
    • Hire Sixty Talent
    • Donate to Sixty
Newsletter
* indicates required
Donate
Archives
Published on January 22, 2011

Craft Up Chicago

written by Zachary Johnson

Image Credit: Zachary Johnson.

On Friday January 14th, eight people made it over to Inkling, an arts and crafts gift shop in Lakeview, for the first Craft Up Chicago of 2011. Organized by Columbia senior Casey Champion and yours truly, Craft Up Chicago aims to inspire everyday creativity and to create a greater sense of community within the Chicago craft world. From seven to nine pm, participants snacked and chatted while knitting, needlepointing, sewing, and working on paper snowflakes. The latter served as the craft of the night. Though at first everyone marveled at the apparent complexity of the three dimensional snowflakes, after a short tutorial, they soon dove in and began creating their own. The motivations in the room were varied: some worked on gifts for friends, others planned to sell their work, and some just came to socialize.

Stephanie Keller (the owner of Inkling), Casey Champion, and I, on the other hand, had similar intentions. Stephanie had previously hosted craft get-togethers in her home, but after opening Inkling in June had not been able to find the time, though she still desired to do so. At the same time, Casey and I, both art history students at Columbia, had started to become friends over a shared interest in DIY craft and craft history. Inspired by the Church of Craft, a non-profit craft get-together with chapters in cities throughout the US (though not in Chicago), we set out to create a craft up for the Windy City. With the success of the first Craft Up Chicago held at Inkling, the three of us ended the night excited for the future of the event.

Filed under: Archives
Tagged with: casey champion, Craft, Craft Up Chicago, Inkling, spaces, Stephanie Keller, Zachary Johnson
Previous PostTake Five: Memorable Art of 2010
Next PostSeeing The Invisible

Get Sixty in Your Inbox

* indicates required

Follow us

Donate
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Get Involved
  • Get Archived
  • Write for Sixty
  • Home
  • Copyright © 2022 Sixty Inches From Center.
  • Privacy Policy