This is a very exciting week for us at Homespun! In case you didn’t know, we’re the team behind the INDIEana Handicraft Exchange contemporary craft show series and our biggest show of the year is this weekend!

Enjoy over 100 craft vendors this Saturday, June 14th from 12-8pm at the Harrison Center for the Arts. This is your chance to meet some of the artists behind your favorite Homespun products. Ask them questions, see their latest creations and discover new favorites. You can check out the complete vendor list here.

The INDIEana Handicraft Exchange is presented in conjunction with the Independent Music and Arts Festival. Be prepared for live music, gallery shows, local food, local craft beer from Sun King Brewery and cider from New Day Craft , ice cream, raffle prizes, and more. And if you are one of the first 100 attendees, check out the Yelp table at the main entrance of Harrison Center for your free swag bag!

We would like to thank this year’s generous presenting sponsors: Sun King Brewery, Just Pop In! and New Day Craft. You’re the best! And we can’t forget our supporting sponsors, too; jakprints, Foundry Provisions, Ronlewhorn Industries , Amy McAdams Design, little robot photography, Forum Credit Union, Yelp, and Harrison Center for the Arts: we’re all working together to put on the best event yet!

Stay connected with Handicraft events throughout the year, like our Facebook page INDIEana Handicraft Exchange

Thanks and hope to see you there!

It would seem that we like to tackle big projects in pairs. We opened Homespun in Irvington in July of 2010 and two months later, our son was born. Our daughter was born this October, and three months from now we’ll move to a new, larger location downtown on the east end of Mass Ave.

The decision to move the shop was one of the most difficult and most complex we’ve ever made. As a family and as business partners, we’re rooted in Irvington. When we opened the doors of Homespun we set out to help make East Washington Street a shopping destination and to help strengthen the eastside business community. We’ve been well-supported by fellow business owners and neighborhood residents alike, and we are very appreciative of that. It is not something we will forget. However, as we’ve grown, we’ve run out of space: for in-store events, for sales floor display, for product overstock, even for employees’ coats.

As much as we wanted to continue to grow our business in Irvington, we couldn’t find a suitable space to accommodate all of our needs. So, after many months of debate, we finally made the decision to relocate to 869 Massachusetts Avenue in February 2014. We’ll be just off of 10th Street, in the Trailside building, where Yats recently reopened, and a stone’s throw from Black Market, R Bistro, Indy Reads Books, The Best Chocolate In Town, Mass Ave Wine Shoppe, Crimson Tate and a number of other awesome businesses. (In early 2014, Natural Born Juicers will also join the block!) Homespun will double in size, allowing us to stock more of the best contemporary handmade goods and display them the way they deserve to be seen. The space will be more accessible for shoppers in wheel chairs and those pushing strollers, and our employees will finally have a designated space to eat their lunches and take proper – and much deserved – breaks! We’ll also be able to host workshops and maker demonstrations in the same space once again.

We will be open for business seven days a week in Irvington through the holidays. We will simultaneously operate a preview shop on Mass Ave. on Fridays and Saturdays from Thanksgiving through the end of the year. The Washington Street location will close the final week of January and we’ll reopen on Mass Ave. in early February.

Here’s where you can find us this holiday season:

• Homespun: Modern Handmade (5624 East Washington Street)
  Sunday through Thursday 11am – 7pm, Friday & Saturday 10am – 8pm
• Homespun: Modern Handmade Preview Shop (869 Massachusetts Avenue)
  Friday & Saturday (Nov. 29 & 30, Dec. 7, 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, & 28) 11am – 7pm
• Mass Ave Midnight Shopper (869 Massachusetts Avenue)
  Friday, Nov. 22, 5pm – midnight
• INDIEana Handicraft Exchange Holiday Mini (Harrison Center for the Arts)
  Friday, Dec. 6, 5pm – 10pm
• Irvington Merchants Holiday Open House (5624 East Washington Street)
  Friday, Dec. 6, 6pm-9pm
• Yelp Totally Bazaar (Old City Hall, 200 North Alabama)
  Thursday, Dec. 12, 6pm – 10pm

This Saturday, June 8th, we’ll be hosting our biggest event of the year. The INDIEana Handicraft Exchange summer show is held annually in conjunction with the Independent Music + Art Festival at the Harrison Center for the Arts. The staff and interns of the HCA organize IMAF and are responsible for providing live music on two stages all day long. This year, the twelve bands performing will be Lord of the Yum-Yum (also acting as emcee), Rusty Redenbacher, Five Year Mission, Sleeping Bag, Shivering Timbers, Sweet Poison Victim, End Times Spasm Band, Luke Austin Daugherty & iLL Holiday, The Bears of Blue River, The Bonesetters, Pravada and The Pinstripes.

While they’re busy organizing the entertainment, we here at Homespun (plus a team of local Indy creatives) are responsible for the jurying in of 100+ artists and makers who will be on site selling their contemporary handmade goods. The vendors will be spread out over the HCA grounds, both indoors in two rooms (the gymnasium & Gallery No. 2), and outside along Delaware Street, 16th Street and wrapped around the building into the back parking lot.

Sun King Brewing Company and New Day Meadery will be there in the courtyard selling beverages to those 21+, while Duos Indy and Judge’s Tip of the Rib BBQ will have complete meal options available. Sweet treats will be for sale at the VSA tent for their annual ice cream fundraiser, as well as inside the building by Just Pop In!, Frittle Candy, Lick Ice Cream, Chocolate for the Spirit and Xchocol’Art.

The event runs from noon to 8pm and is FREE and family-friendly. Gather a gang and come on down to join in the fun. It’s guaranteed to be a rip-roarin’ good time!

Thinking of starting your own handmade business? Already started one, but haven’t yet seen the success you anticipated? We’ve got a workshop coming up soon that just might help you out!

On Saturday, September 29, author Grace Dobush will be giving a lecture and book signing at the Homespun: Workshops & Gallery space at 206 South Audubon Road in Irvington. Her book tour coincides with the release of the second edition of her book “The Crafty Superstar Survival Guide.” Dobush will be speaking on the topic of the best uses of social media for your small business (Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Pinterest, etc.), as well as how to get your work published on a blog or in a craft magazine. The workshop cost is $30 and has limited seating available. Call the store soon to sign up if you are interested. 317-351-0280

When: Saturday, September 29 from 2:30pm to 4:30pm

Where: Homespun: Workshops & Gallery at 206 South Audubon Road, Indianapolis, IN 46219

Workshop Fee: $30