Hey Kessy at the 10a Alabama Fair in April

I always look forward to joining 10a Alabama Fair. It's the first ever arts and crafts fair we joined back in 2011 when Hey Kessy was just starting. The Alabamers here are like family and so it's like a reunion of some sort every time.

Another good thing about this community of makers and crafters is that everyone encourages everyone. Even the folks who visit know the value of that things which is handmade and take time to chat with the sellers :)

 

With Mawsy

 

The first 10a Fair of the year was held last April 13 and 14. As expected, I had a great time catching up with my fellow art and craft sellers and meeting other Handmade Movement supporters.

 Book clutches by Patricia Santos

 Paper wallets by Krafty Pirate

 Siklo Upcycled Tire Tube

 Notebooks by 23060

Jac of Dolldalita

 Denver Garza

Kris of Thingamabobs


Mary of Takatak Project

Jamie Bauza's artworks

 Mansilliana Sunday's papercut pieces

I was also happily surprised because a lot of friends dropped by and seemed to really enjoy the craftiness of the whole event.

 

Des and Trix

Darryl and Dina



Monch and Tessa

Macy and Mikko

Pong and Tippy

Ditch

Jico and Maita

I think the next 10a Alabama Fair is some time in June or July. So excited for that! :)

PS There'll be a Mochiko x Hey Kessy Washi Workshop on May 5. For more details, go here.

Hey Kessy Workshop at the Balik Bukid Fair on April 28

Hello fellow handmade lovers! :)

Our products will be available at the Balik Bukid Fair on Sunday, April 28. Just look for My Marquee's booth. Handmade items by Filipino crafters and makers like I Try DIY, Bahia Accessories, and Bite - Size Accessories.

Another good thing about this Sunday's fair is that we, together with our friend Mikko of I Try DIY, are going to hold a mini workshop from 10am to 12nn.  

For the jewelry workshop, we will teach you two styles of making washi jewelry like these:

But not only that! We'll also sell other craft kits to make washi coasters and other paper projects at the workshop! :)

Since slots are limited, we recommend that you pre-register by emailing us your name and contact details at contact@heykessy.com. The fee for the workshop is P1,350, which includes 2 rolls of Hey Kessy Washi, jewelry bases, strings, and other things you need to make washi jewelry. If there are still slots available come Sunday morning, we'll accept walk-ins.

What are you waiting for? Have a roadtrip to Sta. Elena and have a crafty Sunday with the whole family or barkada! :)

Hey Kessy in Candy Magazine

We're featured in Candy Mag's April issue! In their Lifestyle: Life Peg section, I talk about how creating things for yourself is another whole story from creating for other people, as well as the challenges and rewards of having a business that's built around your passion :)

Grab a copy now!

10a Alabama Arts and Crafts Fair on April 13-14

Hello folks! :)

Hey Kessy will be joining the 10a Alabama Arts and Crafts Fair on April 13-14, Saturday to Sunday. Along with washi tapes, we are also going to sell stoneware plates, brass rings, art prints, and hand-carved stamps by Mansilliana Sunday.

Hope you could drop by as there'll be a lot of crafters, makers, and artists who are joining. They're the ones who man their booths so you can talk to them about their works. We always make sure to go around the fair and get to know the sellers individually. They're really accommodating and inspiring :)

 

By the way, here's a map to 10a Alabama: 

Three things you didn't know about the Sun

With the heat taking center stage in the weather report these days, we thought it might be a good idea to talk about the sun for a while to better understand it and how it affects our lives. We had to do a bit of research for this, and so, after eight minutes of googling, the result are these three things you surely didn't know about the sun.

First of, its name. Have you ever wondered why it's called "sun"? We're sure you never knew this, but the sun is actually a Korean national and his full name is Min-jun Sun.

Second, you probably didn't know that Mr. Sun, as he's often called, used to be part of an acoustic band by the name of Mr. Sun and the Cloudy Men. With Mr. Sun on lead vocals and guitar, three other members - the Cloud Men - played back-up singers. Trivia time: the process of forming the band also led to the invention of shades, which the Cloudy Men had to wear all the time to keep themselves from getting blinded by Mr. Sun's intense light and talent.

Their invention actually gave inspiration to the name of the popular brand Ray-ban. As a protection against intense light, shades bans the harmful rays of from the sun from reaching the eyes, so to speak. (There may actually be some truth to this etymology.)

Finally, not a lot of people are aware that Mr. Sun had dread locks. In illustrations of him, his circular form is often surrounded in all directions by straight lines thought to be rays of light. This is false. Light has no shape, so nobody really knows what it looks like, more so draw it. In reality, those are dread locks. He just cuts them short at times because if it gets too long, they start to droop down and he doesn't like that kind of look very much.

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Everyone gets a free postcard of Mr. Sun and the Cloudy Men in their packages for the entire month of April! You can thank Paul for this whimsy work of illustration, as well as most of the "research" done for this post.