Athens, OH / OU crafters?

[KTsLaLaLand]

I'm going to be making a move from Columbus to Athens county, not as an OU student, but I'll be at Hocking College come January and I will know absolutely NOBODY. So in between times spent at the theatre I'm going to need to find me some craftsters. Luckily Nelsonville's sort of an artsy town, so I might not have that difficult a time, but it'd still be nice to meet some people.

How far exactly is OU from HC? It's pretty much a straight shot up 33, no?

[craftaclysm]

I know it's a bit delayed, but I just ran across this thread, and I live in Athens!

There's not a ton of crafty stuff here, there are definitely no craft stores in town and the yarn shop in Nelsonville is kind of small, but there are some pretty crafty people, and there's a craft store in parkersburg, WV, which is only about half an hour away.  My friends and I have been trying to get together a knitting/crafting club, both to just hang out and to give each other lessons.  I'll post more details on here once we get some stuff worked out!

[ohiomom]

all the talk about the donkey..you forgot about Village Bakery and Cafe.. another icon in Athens. Excellent folks there...my husband and I have both worked there at some point since moving to athens 2 years ago.

[theghostfactory]

Who:  ACRN's Lobsterfest + Craft Bazaar!
What:  Lobsterfest Craft Bazaar
When:  June 7, 2008
Where:  Ohio University in Athens, OH (southeast OH, 1.5 hours from Columbus)

For more information on ACRN and Lobsterfest,
visit http://www.acrn.com

For more information on the Lobsterfest Craft Bazaar,
visit http://www.acrn.com/lobsterfest.


Lobsterfest Craft Bazaar Applications!
 ACRN (the All Campus Radio Network of Ohio University) loves DIY, so we are very excited to have a craft fair this year during Lobsterfest!

 The Lobsterfest Craft Bazaar will take place during the
 afternoon/evening of DAY 3 of Lobsterfest (you know, the outdoor
 festival day with ANDREW WK) on Saturday, June 7.  If you're
 interested in getting your craft on and showing/selling your work
 during this event, head on over to http://www.acrn.com/lobsterfest and
 fill out an application.

 Application deadline is: Friday, May 23, 2008.
 All applicants will be notified of their acceptance status by:
 Tuesday, May 27, 2008.

 The only stipulation is that your items must be HANDMADE.  If you have
 any questions, feel free to email us at lobsterfestcraftbaz aar[at]gmail[dot]com.

 HANDMADE + DIY 4 LIFE
 http://www.acrn.com
 Lobsterfest Craft Bazaar

[randomizer41]

not sure if this will go unnoticed for quite some time or not, but it's worth a shot.  i live in marietta, ohio and love crafting.  i just recently came across this website, so thought i'd try to find other crafters in the area (as this website always appears to have tons of people using it).  pm me if you're near. 

[CalamityShop]

I live in Athens! Well, in Millfield, which is only about 10 minutes away. I would love to get involved in some group craftiness. Any suggestions? I, like everyone else, will shamelessly plug The Donkey, because the Donkey rocks!

[maram]

I'm an OU alum, living in Columbus now, but I try to get back down at least twice a year.  It was such a good 4 years - at the end I couldn't figure out why I'd been in such a hurry to graduate.
I still miss Casa . . . and Burrito Buggy . . mmmm, now I'm hungry.


http://www.maram.etsy.com/
http://www.ecomaram.blogspot.com/

[guh-nome]

I live in Albany, which is only 15 minutes away from Athens. I'm a student at OU. Hello other Athenians!

[KitsuneKrafter]

Hi--I'm new to Craftster, but have lived in Athens for well over a decade, though there was a break in between after about seven years. But we are back and here to stay!

I wanted to list a few of the local stores here where we can get crafty supplies that are not Walmart!

Beads and Things, on North Congress Street is the first store I visited in Athens back in 1992 when I first arrived to finish my BA at OU. Joey and Phil have the greatest selection of beads and jewelry findings, rocks, crystals and other cool stuff of any shop I have ever visited since--they spoiled me completely. They are also really cool folks, too, and their prices are great.

For fabric, ten minutes west of Athens in Nelsonville, is The Nelsonville Quilt Company. Susan, the owner, does gorgeous long arm quilting on her Gammill and the selection of fabric is very diverse and fun. From Depression era repros, to country to Asian to Batiks to florals and funky fruits and vegetables, Susan has it all, as well as a selection of great tools and notions, thread and patterns and books. She also is an authorized Janome dealer and offers classes, service and all that other good stuff that authorized dealers do.

Here in town is The Tatted Corner down in the old train station on Union Street. A sort of general purpose small craft store, the Tatted Corner carries general sewing fabrics, notions, tools and patterns along with a full selection of DMC embroidery floss (which Walmart does not carry), as well as a lot of Pearl Cotton, a few yarns, some candle-making supplies, a small, but nice selection of quilter's cottons and a few beads. I have found lots of nice stuff there, so I visit about every other week or so, especially if I need something like a zipper or a new measuring tape because my three-year old has made off with yet another one!

I mentioned yarn, didn't I? There is a great yarn shop in Nelsonville, across the square and down the way from The Nelsonville Quilt Company. Named The Spinning Turtle, it shares a space with The Starbrick Clay Company, and let me tell you, there is enough yarn of all sorts as well as unspun wool roving and other such fun stuff to satisfy even the most cosmopolitan of knitter, weaver or crocheter. They also have spinning equipment and give lessons on all of the fiber arts, including spinning, and they have stuff for needle-felting. That's where I get my goodies for needle-felting and their roving is priced way lower than you'd think it should be, because it is priced for spinners, who use a good bit more than we needle-felt sculptors do!

Speaking of clay, also in Nelsonville, right next to the Quilt Company is Nelsonville Pottery and Arts. Not only do they carry finished pottery and other art and crafts from over 60 local artists, they carry all the stuff you need to make ceramics and pottery, as well as having on site wheels and kilns. They teach classes and the lady who owns the place is so nice--her name escapes me, but really, she is nice. In fact, all of the folks who own these local businesses are amazing artists and craftspeople and are so free with their knowledge and expertise. They are all generous and wonderful and really fun to hang around with!

For fine art supplies, The College Bookstore down on Court Street in Athens, carries a full range of paints, brushes, drawing materials, canvas, stretchers, easels, papers, and all kinds of other great stuff down in their basement. Everything that the fine art student would need, really, is to be found there.

Cross Court, which is across from the College Bookstore, has a full range of stuff for the scrapbook crafter--papers, punches, embossers, glitter, powders, pens, stickers and bunches of other stuff. They also have a large range of rubber stamps and stamp inks and pads, as well as a bunch of gifts and greeting cards. (They have really cute little stuffed animal critters, too.)

What we don't have is a large craft store, like a JoAnn's or Micheal's or even a Hobby Lobby, but you can still find most of what you need provided by local businesses, just not under one roof. Walmart here does have a very small, and now, even smaller craft section, which is inexplicably split into two different locations in the store, but I do try to avoid shopping there when I can.

The nearest big craft stores are forty-five minutes away--there is a JoAnn's in Parkersburg, WV as well as a Crafts 2000 store. That is toward the east--if you go forty-five minutes west, you get to the JoAnn's and the Hobby Lobby in Lancaster, Ohio.

There are also quite a few quilt stores within an hour's drive of Athens, but I haven't visited all of them, so I will leave off talking about them for another post after I know more about them!