Yesterday's The Rose Apothecary workshop was a full rose immersion! We surrounded ourselves with fresh rose petals, drank cold infused rose tea; and made rose honey, rose tea blends, rose infused oil and lip balm. We explored all parts of the rose, its petals, hips and thorns. We talked about how information about plants was passed down through generations via the oral tradition in fairytales and folktales. Rose is featured prominently in Sleeping Beauty (aka. Little Brier Rose, first...
8 days ago • 3 min read
This month I'm trying to revive my home garden, which I have neglected as I've been getting Craftfolk off the ground. In between weeding sessions, I'm enjoying the last flush of spring roses and have been harvesting and drying fresh petals each week to save for tea and other uses through the summer and fall. I am expecting a shipment of fresh rose petals from the Sonoma County Herb Exchange (an amazing resource for fresh organic herbs) this week in preparation for The Rose Apothecary workshop...
15 days ago • 4 min read
Last week we enjoyed the first outdoor Craft Club of the season at the Colfax Farmer's Market. The group convened under the shade of a nearby tree and enjoyed chatting with the market patrons who stopped by the see what we were up to this week: painting, wire wrapping, scrap booking, knitting, and temari thread wrapping. It was a perfect spring evening to spend out and about in Colfax and we hope you will join us this week on Thursday. We will have tables set up at the end of the market near...
22 days ago • 2 min read
While attending the California Preservation Foundation conference last week, I had the privilege of touring the Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation. Maloof was an influential furniture designer in the mid- to late- 20th century and the home that he shared with his wife and business partner, Alfreda, contains a remarkable collection spanning his entire career. The Maloofs were devoted supporters of the arts and their collection of pottery, stained glass, painting, sculpture, and other works are...
29 days ago • 3 min read
It's a quiet week at Craftfolk as I prepare to head to Riverside for the annual California Preservation Foundation conference (part of my day job as a historic preservation consultant). It's a fun way to reconnect with colleagues across the state, but I'll miss our weekly Craft Club gathering and classes. A reminder to everyone that Craft Club is cancelled this week, and will resume next week (May 14th) at our new location at the Colfax Farmacy Farmer's Market (Thursdays, South Main Street,...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Beginners mind... As we wrap up our third month of classes at Craftfolk, I find myself reflecting on not just the breadth and variety of the class content, but also how much I've enjoyed learning along side you all. From painting and mixed media to knitting, leather craft, and botanicals, our hands-on classes bring people from all over the community to create together. I also continue to be inspired by everyone who shows up for Craft Club each week, bringing new ideas and examples of their...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
There are so many artists in our community! Thank you to everyone who came out to our Fork & Palette event with Snapdragon Provisions this past Saturday. Everyone painted the most beautiful and unique plates and I can't wait to see them fully fired and glazed. I continue to be blown away by the creativity in our community and we plan to have more pottery painting nights this year! We also have several evening events planned with Snapdragon, including a summer soiree on June 13th (save the...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
No Kidding! Spring Classes are Here This past Saturday, a group of us learned how to make soap from Sergio and Rebecca Navarro of The Astral Farm in Grass Valley. Rebecca and Sergio brought raw goats milk from their small herd of goats and a variety of organic oils and butters for us to use and we each crafted a custom-scented batch to take home to cure. The group had a wonderful time blending and stirring as Sergio and Rebecca took us step-by-step through the process of creating our own...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Happy Spring Crafting Spring has officially sprung here in Colfax! We enjoyed a weekend of beautiful weather and a fun and informative class by Hannah Stephens of Dirty Boots Floral. Hannah taught us how to make calendula infused facial oil and salve and we each created a custom scent by adding essential oils. I took the class as a student, and was so engrossed in the instruction I almost forgot to take pictures! I did snap a shot of the Easter themed cupcakes baked by my husband Chris, who...
2 months ago • 4 min read