If you ever wonder what's up with the tomatoes in East Nashville, here's a super short history of the Tomato Art Festival! See our snapshot of the 2026 Fest!
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This spring I went to my 3rd Craftcation in Ventura, California. It's a life-giving 5 days of crafty classes right by the beach, including sewing, stamp carving, paper making - you name it! It happens once a year and it's one of my favorite things ever.
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In April of 2006, younger me legally registered Freshie & Zero as a business. I had been making jewelry for many years, but 2006 was the year I decided to really go for it. As a life-long fan of craft shows, I was ready to set up a tent and some tables and sell some jewelry! More on how that went later...
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Wondering how and where I source products for the shop? One answer is the Atlanta Gift Market! Here are some highlights!
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This is my first tutorial video, so set your expectations low! 😛
I have been using the Japanese sashiko method to mend holes in my favorite jeans lately, so I decided to share how satisfying (and easy) it is to do! This hole is very small, but you can repair a much larger hole with this method, too. We don't sell sashiko kits in the store - do you think we should? They are readily available online in the meantime. I actually bought one at Craftcation!
You will need:
I used a template that I 3D printed (https://makerworld.com/en/models/1501211-sashiko-templates#profileId-1570450). I've been collecting quilting fabric for miscellaneous crafts, so I dug into my stash for that. You can go as neutral or as colorful as you want!
If you try this, make sure you tell everyone you know how industrious you are. Show off your handiwork to anyone within earshot. Mending your clothes with a little artistic stitching instantly makes you cooler. It's just science!
xo,
Freshie
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When I first started out making jewelry, the path to success was... craft fairs! So many craft fairs. I don't know how many I did, but it was a LOT. A lot of traveling, setting up, selling jewelry in the heat, the rain, the wind... all over the country! I sold at shows in Brooklyn, San Francisco, Austin, TX, and so many cities in between.
Most of the craft shows I did now blur together in my memory, but there is always one standout: the RENEGADE CRAFT FAIR in Chicago. It always had the MOST shoppers, the BEST weather (usually), the COOLEST vendors, and it's in Chicago! It's the city of endless awesome restaurants, AND they serve Bloody Marys with beer chasers! What's not to love? 🍺
With my craft show days long behind me, I have not been to Renegade Chicago in many years. I do miss the show, and I miss the city!
Fast forward to my recent interest in embroidery (thank you, Craftcation!), I am now following some incredible embroidery artists on Instagram. One of those artists is Sarah K. Benning. She wrote an entire book called Embroidered Life, and it's so full of inspiration!
Well, lo and behold, Sarah posted to Instagram that she would be exhibiting at Renegade this year. "SIGH," I thought. "I would love to go and see her booth."
Then I remembered I am a grown ass lady and I can go to Chicago for a couple of days if I want to! So I booked a flight, grabbed a friend, and we went to Chicago for a whirlwind 36 hours of amazing fall weather and indie shopping!!
It. Was. Everything.
My first stop right when it opened was Sarah K. Benning's booth, obviously, and I bought an original coffee-themed piece she made, plus a plant-themed "stick & stitch" kit that I can't wait to use.
After my mission was accomplished, we spent the next few hours exploring the other booths. My friend Lindsay and I both fell for the artwork of Jill Kittock, and we each bought a print. I can't wait to get more of her work in the future!
I also bought some soap, incense, an ornament by an old craft show buddy Paper Parasol Press, and a bracelet (shhh it's a birthday gift for my mom). I took a ton of business cards, and I will be bringing some of these amazing artists into the shop, so stay tuned!
My name is "Freshie" Beth, and I'm a lifelong crafter.
My favorite book from my childhood is a massive paperback called I Can Make a Rainbow - a book I believe is out of print. I checked it out from my elementary school library as often as possible when I was young. It was SO FULL of craft projects - some super simple and some quite complicated. AND the pages - they were RAINBOW COLORS. Rainbow I tell you!
I bought this most treasured book on ebay for my kids several years ago, waiting with excitement to see their wonder at the 300+ different crafts they could make, only to see they had less than zero interest in it. Crafting... with a book? How old school of me! SIGH.
Now that I'm a capital A Adult and running a business or two, I have precious little time for crafting just for crafting's sake. Enter: CRAFTCATION. Yes. It's literally a craft-centered vacation.
Once a year, a team of self-proclaimed "crafty weirdos" take over a hotel in Ventura Beach, California and turn it into a maker's paradise. For 5 magical days, 600 crafters roam the hotel, choosing between about 200 different classes and endless casual crafting opportunities. Did I mention it's at the beach?
You can take sewing classes, painting classes, wood burning, sticker making or just playing with stickers (yes really), embroidery, watercolor, knitting, crocheting, ice dying, and on and on! You can also take business classes for your crafty business or personal brand. You could even just hang out in the lobby and craft with others the entire time because there are always people in the lobby making stuff!
I went for the first time last year and I walked around with a smile on my face pretty much the entire week. I took a couple of embroidery classes and guess what - I now love embroidering. (This is easy to tell because there is now a little embroidery crafts section in our store.) I also took a wood burning class and almost bought a complete wood burning kit when I returned home but I refrained because I only have so much space. I learned to punch needle which I'm terrible at, but I can't wait to do it again!
One of the classes I took was called "How to Teach your Craft". I was mildly interested in teaching, but I really had no idea where to start. People have asked me for years to teach jewelry classes but I've been resistant because like, I'm not a professional! Did you read that right? What even was this lie I was telling myself? How many years of jewelry making would qualify one as a professional, because at that time I had been doing it 17 years...?
After taking so many classes at Craftcation from all different kinds of teachers, I realized the only thing that makes you a teacher is TEACHING. The end. When I left Craftcation last year filled with creative magic, I made it my goal to return the following year as a teacher. And guess what - I did! ✨✨ My lying inner voice can go take a hike, thank you very much.
I taught 2 classes to a total of almost 100 people at Craftcation 2025. One was a Wire Bow Necklace and the other was Hammered Hoop Earrings. On the morning of my first class, I woke up SO excited! I couldn't wait to teach. What an affirming moment - I knew that YES I made a good decision; I wasn't nervous at all!
And the actual teaching part? AMAZING. Loved it. Can't wait to do it again.
It was literally a dream vacation. I walked by the beach, took sketching and watercolor classes, ate lots of fish, and shopped. Ventura has a very big thrift store scene; I found some very cool vintage beads for a future jewelry collection.
I learned to knit! I'm really bad at it!
I walked by the beach, I drank pink lattes, mojitos, old fashioneds. I took a million pictures of California flowers and critters. Ground squirrels? What?? Adorable!!
Plus, my sister came with me so we got to have some rare sister time! She likes to make quilts so she took some sewing classes, including one where she made a zipper pouch and one that taught basic garment construction.
If this sounds like something your creative soul craves, I highly recommend that you make it happen! Fill your crafty cup with a beautiful, life giving week.
link: Craftcation Conference
