Grad Gathering for Design Party!

Next Saturday, the 11th, after all the hullabaloo from July 4th wanes, the Make Piece crew (students, grads, staff, Board Members, etc) will be gathering for the annual Make Piece Design Party!  The Executive Director, Maureen Ward, is graciously opening her home for an afternoon of delicious food, friends, and creativity.  The goal of the party will be to have all of our talented artisans collaborate and agree upon a “Make Piece line” to be used in our upcoming (and exciting!) new initiatives, including producing our very first catalogue.  Producing a catalogue is a big step for Make Piece as we have always encouraged each of the artisans create one-of-a-kind pieces using Make Piece materials to sell online or at shows under the Make Piece name.  We absolutely love the diversity and originality of the pieces, and will still ask the women to produce such incredible work, but we’d also like to start a Make Piece “look” that we can market to an extended network of people.  By producing a catalogue, we are also ensuring more work for our graduates as the pieces will be produced on a made-to-order basis.

At the party the graduates and students will be scheming with our recently acquired goodies along with tried-and-true favorites including: horn, bone, wood, obsidian, pyrite, pearls, Swarovski crystal, and the list goes on…  Some hints on what we’re thinking:  longer sterling chain pieces and chunkier earthy beauties, along with a line aimed at the young professional crowd with a reduced price point.

The artisans are looking forward to gathering as most of them have become good friends through the course and over the years that have followed.  Not to worry, this blog will certainly leak a few of the secrets and pictures from next weekend’s pow wow!  In the meantime, have a Happy July 4th!

What A Party!

We had SUCH a blast on Saturday night!  We think our friends and supporters did, too!  Over the past couple of days we’ve received quite a few phone calls and emails thanks us for such a great time–well, we guess we’ll have to do another one soon!!  But we should really be thanking all of our guests, because they were the reason we all had such a great time!

This party–with tons of friends, food, drinks, Make Piece Pretties, raffle prizes and other goodies–was unlike any other we’ve ever thrown here at Make Piece.  We couldn’t have done it without the help and generous contributions of all of our volunteers and sponsors (see posts below)–thank you for everything!!

Now, on to the good stuff: the pictures!

Make Piece pretties galore

Artisans displayed their beautiful jewels.

Party People

The food was delicious!  Homemade veggie & bean sliders, sandwiches, salads, handmade hummus, fruit, veggies, cookies…the list goes on!

Schmoozing

Great food, friends, and conversations.

Happy Winner of a Green Pets Gift Basket

Lots of fun prizes!

Another Happy Raffle Winner!

Original pottery from Mexico!

Thank You, Magic Hat!

Lots of tasty Magic Hat #9! Thank you!

Announcing a Winner!

Board Members announced the winners!

Excited Winner!

Enjoying the Music

Great music from some fantastic DJs in our neighborhood!

Guests!

Thank you to everyone that came and had a good time!  We hope to see you all again at our next party!

Tomorrow’s the Big Day!

The big day is upon us: tomorrow evening, at 7pm, we will open the Yoga District in Bloomingdale’s doors to [hopefully] a gathering crowd to help us celebrate our students’ accomplishments and to support the Make Piece mission.

Celebrate with our Artisans!

We’re excited for a great evening and crossing our fingers for good weather!  It’s been a bit like monsoon season around here, and we don’t want our friends and supporters to be deterred by a bout of bad weather.

Things to look forward to:

GREAT music from DJ’s in the neighborhood who promise a dance party!

Groceries donated from Harris Teeter and whipped into something delectable by one of our wonderful Board Members!

Food graciously donated from Colonel Brooks’ Tavern.  A pub with a fun atmosphere and delicious food right off the Brookland Metro at 901 Monroe St NE.

Hope to see you all tomorrow night, rain or shine!  It’s bound to be a good time–mingle with the artisans and new graduates, relax with wine and Magic Hat beer, please the palette with tasty treats,  peruse Make Piece pretties, and groove to the music!  You don’t want to miss this event!

Remember:

WHEN: Saturday, June 13th 7pm-9:30pm
WHERE: Yoga District Bloomingdale Studio
1830 1st Street NW, 20001
DETAILS: $20 Cover–includes free food, Magic Hat beer, DJ, and loads of fun!

More Raffle Goodies!

Saturday evening is drawing near and, here in the office, we’re busy getting everything ready to have a great time!  We’ve been in touch with our DJs and picked up some more of our raffle prizes today.

Some more of the goodies (and hearty thank you’s to) :

Green Pets–Washington D.C.’s favorite all-natural pet food and supply store is donating a gift basket of natural pet food, toys, information, and other goodies for your pet!  This basket is packed full, so get your pet ready to win big!

SweetGreen–A fresh salad and frozen yogurt restaurant is donating a delicious salad for the event.

ACKC Cocoa Bar–is a delicious chocolate bar and eatery.  One lucky raffle winner will take home a $30 gift certificate!!
Can’t wait to see you all there!  To RSVP, email us at outreach[at]makepiece[dot]org!  For more information about the event, click here!

Even More Goodies!

Let the countdown officially begin for our FUN-Raiser!  In a mere 6 days, we will be partying with students, graduates, and hopefully YOU at the Yoga District Bloomingdale Studio for a night of delicious food and drinks, great tunes, a fashion show, and fun raffle prizes!  We’re working hard in the office getting everything squared away–all you have to do is mark your calendars: Saturday, June 13th, 7pm, 1830 1st Street NW, 20001

To tickle you into your dancing shoes, here are more of our exciting sponsors for the event:

Trader Joe’s– your “neighborhood grocery store” that provides great food at an even greater value, delicious tasters, and a fun shopping experience.  Trader Joe’s is generously contributing  soda and cookies for the event!  Boy do we love their ginger snaps…

Cabot Cheese– farm families who own Cabot Creamery Cooperative are donating their delectable cheese for the event, and a gift basket of their private stock and vintage cheeses, along with a wooden cutting board and an embroidered apron! Cabot is based in Vermont and their cheddar is absolutely divine.  Extra thanks to Cabot as one of their representatives called in asking to donate cheese for our event!

Beadazzled–a local bead store with an eclectic selection of beads, stones, and other fine items has graciously donated a gorgeous batik cloth that we will be raffling.  They have stores in Dupont Circle, Tysons Corner, and Baltimore.

Zaytinya–a fine mezze eatery in downtown DC offering Lebanese, Greek, and Turkish cuisine  has donated a delightful dinner for two valued at $75 for our raffle.  Great ambiance, perfect location, and delicious food–you’ll want to win this one!

More Goodies for our FUN-Raiser!

We’re getting more excited by the day for our big FUN-Raiser on Saturday, June 13th where we’ll be celebrating our students’ hard work and dedication to their studies, among many other things.  Today, our surprise souvenir came in the mail!  They look great–we hope you’ll like them, too!

More thank yous go out to:

Windows Cafe–just across the street from the event, a cute local eatery with a convenience store.  I visited this morning and they are are excited to be giving us fresh veggies for the event!

The Kennedy Center–We just received in the mail today posters from past shows we will be raffling! The Kennedy Center is a nonprofit organization as well, and we are grateful for the donation of these beautiful posters.

Flor Escapes–a travel organization that provides holistic wellness retreats while actively supporting local communities and the environment is donating a gift basket of their new Half Moon logo gear.  Flor Escapes is a new neighbor and friend and we look forward to collaborating with them more in the future!

We’ll have more in the next few days, stay tuned!

Getting Ready to Party, Make Piece Style

We hope you’ll forgive us for being quiet on the blogging front as of late due to allocating our energies elsewhere: our very first FUN-Raiser!  Over the past 10 or so years of Make Piece’s existence, we’ve certainly had our fair share of parties, but never one quite like this.  Our FUN-Raiser is going to be our first party aimed at garnering support and bringing awareness to our fans, friends, neighbors, families, and the greater DC community all while having a great time.  We’ve planned what we hope will be a tons of fun!

In preparation for this exciting event, we’ve been all over DC asking local businesses and restaurants for help in the form of food, drinks, and contributions to our raffle.  Over the next few days we’ll showcase and thank the organizations, businesses, and restaurants that are contributing generous things to drink, nosh on, and win next Saturday…

Our first set of lovely sponsors include::

Yoga District–a HUGE thanks goes out to the Yoga District who is providing the space for the event! The Yoga District is a nonprofit yoga studio that offers affordable or by-donation yoga classes in community-run yoga centers committed to eco-friendly practices.  They have 3 studios in DC with a large variety of classes in a warm and friendly environment.

Magic Hat Beer–  Magic Hat, a brewing company based in Vermont that makes world-class beers with a distinctive and delicious flavor, is sponsoring beer for the event.  Come and enjoy!

New Course Catering– a local nonprofit that trains homeless and chronically unemployed men and women in the culinary arts will be providing tasty sandwiches!

Thank you thank you!  Keep checking back over the next week for profiles on the other wonderful sponsors of our FUN-Raiser! Remember to mark those calendars: Saturday, June 13th, 7pm at the Yoga District–1830 First St NW

Can’t wait to see you all there!

Make Piece Makes the Small Screen!

MAKE PEACE FINAL PSA 4.25.09

Tune your TVs to your local ABC channel and watch for the Public Service Announcements– you may see Make Piece! A few weeks ago, the nonprofit Women in Film & Video (www.wifv.org) selected Make Piece as one of two nonprofits to make a PSA about for their Teen Image Makers program. The program is for local teen students to get exposed to film by creating the storyline and images, conducting interviews, and completing the editing process. One Saturday in March, Make Piece students and graduates gathered together to participate in the filming and interviews. The final product is viewable right here! Please, watch, enjoy, and tell us what you think!
Thank you to Women in Film & Video for this generous honor, and to the teens with the creative story line and great editing!

Student Updates!

We apologize for our blog hiatus!  Make Piece has been extra busy over the past two weeks, and haven’t had a chance to update.  So before we all head off for a wonderfully warm and sunny weekend here in DC, we’ll give you our updates!

The students have passed their jewelry exams!  We’re so proud of them!  They passed with flying colors.  As you saw in an earlier post, the test was not easy (we are slightly disappointed that no one even attempted! There were prizes!). The students worked very hard over the past few months to gain all of that knowledge.  They are quickly becoming jewelry connoisseurs!

Currently, the students are putting together portfolios of their work and some words about what the Make Piece program means to them.  We’ll be sharing those words and pictures soon!

In student news, James (creator of “Unchain My Heart,” “Purple Rain,” etc) spent a weekend in Delaware selling his creations and completely sold out! Congrats, James! Hopefully you got enough time to name all of those pieces!

Denise has created her piece that honors her daughter and granddaughter.  We’ll post those photos next week.

The students are gearing up for Graduation!  It’s scheduled for the beginning of May.  More news on that coming soon.

We didn’t want to leak this information just yet, but we’ll give you a taste: we had a PSA shot about us and it is so great!!  We’ll post the 30 second PSA and more information about the event and the organization who made it, Women in Film & Video next week.  Tomorrow morning we’re having a reception and a debut at the TV studio!

We’ve also got a show on Sunday in Rockville, Maryland at the B’nai Israel Women’s Boutique & Expo. Wdnesday evening, we’re teaming up with Nellie’s, a local sports bar, for an evening of Trivia and Make Piece pretties!

As you can see, we’ve got great things going on.  Thanks for staying touch with us and have a lovely weekend!  Until next week…

Mastering Elegance

Pearl knotting is an elegant skill that is arguably one of the hardest to master within the jewelry craft.  You may be thinking, “what, making knots around a bead? Simple!”

Not true.  The art of pearl knotting starts with matching sizes of silk thread and bead size.  If the thread is too thin for the pearl’s hole, the pearl will slide right over the knot and into the next bead, which does not make for pretty jewelry.  If the knot is too large, it risks taking away the focus of the piece: the pearl.  Knots should serve a purpose yet be discreet.  They should also hug the pearl, and not allow it to slide around too much.  Miss Lisa caught Denise with a knot far, far away from the bead and asked Denise if “the pearl was around the corner” from the knot.

Special tools are also helpful in the knotting endeavor.  Bent nose pliers help steady the knot while the thread is pulled taught.  Making pearl knots is certainly harder than getting those two knots at the end of your sewing needle to match.

James, Denise, Toni, and Lillian–who brought her cousin who cannot wait for the next class to start up so she can join–all gave pearl knotting a go.  Miss Lisa reports no mastery from the first try (unlike the sinew where the students caught on very quickly and have even brought pieces to share from home), but gave them all some thread to take home and practice over the weekend.  Our students are so determined to excel that we’re confident they will be pearl-knotting masters soon!  Since the entrepreneurship and financial literacy portions have both been completed now, the students will be focusing predominantly on further mastery of skills and elevation of their designs.  They also have a special project, but make sure to keep quiet about it: to design as a class some jewelry for the women who are letting us borrow their large classroom in the evenings!  We’ve seen how lovely and refined the students’ tastes are, and we can’t wait to see what they come up with as a thank you!

In other good news, the students took the final test last night (not the practice one they took last week) and they all passed with flying colors!  Two of the students got every single question right!  We’re so proud of our students and how hard they’ve been working over the past few months.

Next week we have some very exciting announcements, but we’ll hold off until after the weekend.  Happy Passover, Easter, and Spring to everyone!