Summer Events

Folks, it’s June, and I’ve been busy planning a season of fun activities in the Hands Occupied Studio, online, and beyond! There’s so much to tell you about today – Worldwide Knit in Public Day, The Handmade Business Summit, craft meetups – let’s get to it! 😊

Worldwide Knit in Public Day – June 8

Instead of hosting my own thing this year, I decided it would be fun to attend the Worldwide Knit in Public Day event at the main branch of Chicago Public Library (Harold Washington Library Center) just as a regular patron. My friend and former colleague put together a SUPER fun event in the library’s Maker Lab, so consider this blurb my way of elevating it! Here’s what you need to know:

Join us on our first annual World Wide Knit in Public Day celebration! Seating will be available throughout the library for knitters and other fiber artists as well as a special drop-in DIY stitch marker program and raffle in the Art & Music department on the 8th floor. Full details available here.

The Handmade Business Summit – June 8 & 9

Coming up this weekend is something fun and new for me – I’m a panelist for The Handmade Business Summit! (Affiliate link – see policy here.) Over the years, I’ve been somewhat open about my struggles with anxiety, particularly how it made me into the crafter I am today. For those of you reading this who are also professional crafters or are thinking of starting your own handmade business, anxiety – and Imposter Syndrome – are very real. In my section of The Handmade Business Summit (affiliate link), I dig into strategies I use to cope with anxiety as a professional Craft Designer, particularly how I challenge myself to grow when my brain is my own worst enemy. If you sign up on this page (again, affiliate link), you can attend the Summit for free. In addition to my insights about mental health and business, there are 12 other handmade businesspeople sharing lots of tips on social media marketing, securing sponsors, Etsy, blogging, productivity and more.

I try not to be too pluggy around here, but sharing this is me trying to not self-sabotage and share a cool project that I can hardly believe I’m a part of (imposter syndrome, ahem)! This really is a pretty amazing collection of folks, most of whom are in the yarn world, and if you’ve considered what it might be like to run your own business, there’s a lot of good information to be learned. Sign up here. (Affiliate link.)

Craft Nights Continue

Since it’s proven to be one of my favorite chill nights of the week, Wednesdays from 6 to 9 p.m. will continue to be our regular Craft Night in the Hands Occupied Studio. Bring your own snacks & bring your own crafts (so far we’ve had knitting, sewing, crochet, & quilting represented!). Events are posted to Facebook in case you like to see reminders on that platform. RSVP here.

By popular demand – Weekend Crafternoons in the Hands Occupied Studio!

Last but not least, I’m finally making good on my promise to the many folks who have reached out about being unable to attend our Wednesday Craft Nights. Whether your a suburbanite, out-of-towner, student attending classes or work nights, I’m hoping you can make it to our Sunday Crafternoons!

Unlike Craft Night, which is a weekly event, Crafternoons are going to be four hours instead of three, and they’ll take place the last Sunday of the month. The first Crafternoon is Sunday, June 30 from noon to 4 p.m. in the Hands Occupied Studio, 3323 W Diversey Ave. # 1. You can RSVP for the June Crafternoon on Facebook, and drop-ins are welcome!

Feel free to bring any craft you want to work on, and if you want to bring your sewing machine or other special equipment, feel free! If your craft is especially messy, just email/message me a heads up (heidi-at-handsoccupied-dot-com), and we’ll come up with a plan. And by plan, I probably mean tarp. 😉 Can’t wait to see you all there!