About this project
Background
The Sweetie Pie Press has been running self-produced multi-month craft tours of North America since 2006. In this undertaking, we are pretty unique - subletting our home, packing up a car, living modestly, giving over the chaos of the world and experiencing the independent art and craft world of North America for four to six straight months.
And we don't even hoard all this experience for ourselves. Nope. The Sweetie Pie Press blog has been documenting and sharing our touring encounters since 2008. Over these years, the blog has become a great and free resource for others seeking a life in the indie world to connect with independent retailers, to learn about artists and to plan outlandish outings of their own. It has become a repository of makers and doers and serves as proof that the unlikely is still possible.
The Tour
The 2011 tour will take us from coast to coast, as per usual, and will span just shy of four months. Tentative plans already include stops in Austin, Atlanta, New Orleans, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Providence, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Denver, Eureka, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Bisbee, Albuquerque, Lawrence, Des Moines, Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit and, of course, Toronto.
Stops on the tour are as varied as the places, towns and cities that house them. While straight-up craft fairs form the skeleton of our itinerary, they are usually peppered with other happenings like interactive skill demonstrations in independent shops and galleries, sitting in windows, sitting on sidewalks, drawing on walls, installing gallery shows and generally interacting with the world. All this with dispatches back to the internet via our blog and other guest blogging stints.
The 2011 tour will also include a stop at the Midwest Craft Caucus, a brand-new initiative hosted by some brilliant craft folks in Columbus, Ohio. At the caucus, I (Becky) will be speaking on topics of craft sustainability, sitting on public panels, running public workshops and participating in open skill and resource sharing with other craft event organizers from throughout middle America.
The Budget
Frugal travel is a source of pride for us. In fact, these tours would not operate without frugality. We travel with a percolator. We shop in bulk. We try our very best to avoid the trappings of the road (it is hard).
Our tour-launching costs go mostly to mechanical updates to ensure safe and healthy vehicular travel and event submission fees. This year, our start-up costs are larger than ever as we need to make some major improvements when it comes to road safety. These costs will also go towards reducing the emission of travel, which is a huge relief!
Rewards
Postcards. These will come from the road and from my collection from past travels.
Commissioned Artist Pinback Button Sets. Note: requests accepted but a few of these may become out of print over the course of pledging.
Zines. The 'a cette dame' trilogy, works of dark humour and micro-fiction.
Tour Zine. This zine is, clearly, not made yet but will include photographs, stories and found materials from the road. It will also include appendices of indie boutiques, shops and galleries I have visited as well as a list of North American craft fairs. Part auto-documentary zine, part resource zine!
Worksite Accidents. Diptych print.
Banners. They will go on the blog here. Banners can be shorter than the listed heights as long as they are 150px wide. I can also help you make your cyber love banner.
Crocheted Triangle/ From Hive Series.
Installation. From the Security Envelope Project
Big Note: If you want to pledge for multiple rewards, just pledge the total amount, choose a reward (if you want a limited one, choose that), send me a message and I can add a note to your pledge to include the other goodies. Easy peasy.
Delivery
Postcards will arrive as a surprise to you at some point before the end of the 2011 calendar year.
All craft package rewards (button sets, prints, zines and combo packs) will be shipped by the end of June 2011.
All bulk orders (large packs of loose buttons) will ship by the end of May 2011.
All digital rewards (your name or message) will be delivered electronically by the end of the 2011 calendar year.
2011 tour zines will be made after the tour and shipped by the end of the 2011 calendar year.
Blog banners will be posted May 1, 2011 (or when they are received, if after that date) and will remain online through the end of September 2011.
Large scale installation and crochet works will, likewise, be delivered by the end of 2011. These pieces will be custom made.
And...
If you can think of a reward that you would like that I have not listed here (no indecent proposals, please), just email me.
Likewise, comments and questions can all be emailed as well.
I thank you all very much for reading all of this and to Kickstarter for offering even the possibility of making this dream a reality.
FAQ
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
163
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$6,800
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Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on April 27, 2011.
Pledge $1 or more Pledge $1 or more
A thank-you via our website and blog, the wonderful knowledge that you kept us rolling, free access to all the summer's blog articles (which the whole world gets), and access to special updates here on Kickstarter.
Pledge $5 or more Pledge $5 or more
A thank-you via the sweetie pie press blog and website as well as a postcard from the road.
Pledge $7 or more Pledge $7 or more
Three random loose buttons from our archive, a thank-you via the sweetie pie press blog and website as well as a postcard from the road.
Pledge $7 or more Pledge $7 or more
Zinesters delight: The 'a cette dame' zine trilogy, a thank-you via the sweetie pie press blog and website as well as a postcard from the road.
Pledge $10 or more Pledge $10 or more
One Sweetie Pie Press Commissioned Artist Button set of three (requests welcome). Also, thank-you via the sweetie pie press blog and website as well as a postcard from the road.
Pledge $10 or more Pledge $10 or more
The non-postal, lower-emissions option: I will draw or create your name (or a message of your choosing) in some manner while on the road. I will then photograph it and send you high resolution and web resolution versions of the image. This also comes with a thank-you via the website and blog.
Pledge $12 or more Pledge $12 or more
Shannon Gerard will draw your face and I will turn it into a top-notch 3" button. You also get a digital file of the drawing, a thank you on the blog and website and a postcard from the road.
Pledge $15 or more Pledge $15 or more
One Sweetie Pie Press Commissioned Artist Button set of six or two sets of three (requests welcome). Also, thank-you via the sweetie pie press blog and website as well as a postcard from the road.
Pledge $20 or more Pledge $20 or more
A limited edition, full-colour zine that documents the 2011 tour. This zine will include photographs, stories and resources from the road. You also get three pinback buttons and a thank-you via the sweetie pie press blog and website as well as a postcard from the road.
Pledge $24 or more Pledge $24 or more
"Rust in Pieces, Boris Carloff" Limited edition print of ink and guache artwork by the men and women of the Misanthrope Specialty Company (see updates for details and image). Issued in a limited run of 24, all signed and numbered. Prints will be on heavy rag cotton with a small border for signing, numbering and framing (8.5"x11" or 8"x10" - exact size still forthcoming). Also, online thanks and a postcard from the road.
Pledge $25 or more Pledge $25 or more
A pair of limited edition 'Worksite Accidents' prints on vintage cathode tube manual pages, a thank-you via the sweetie pie press blog and website as well as a postcard from the road.
Pledge $50 or more Pledge $50 or more
A single 8 x 10" unflattering portrait by the fine folks at the Misanthrope Specialty Co. (see updates for more details).
Pledge $50 or more Pledge $50 or more
The cyber love option (paper free!): your digital banner (150px square) on the sweetie pie press blog sidebar for five months. Cyber love banners will run May through September (inclusive) and also come with a thank-you via the website and blog.
Pledge $50 or more Pledge $50 or more
The sweetie pie mega pack - a set of worksite accidents prints, the 'a cette dame' zine trilogy, two sets of six commissioned artist sets (or four sets of three, or two set of three and one set of six) and other surprises plus thank-you via the sweetie pie press blog and website as well as a postcard from the road.
Pledge $89 or more Pledge $89 or more
"Rust in Pieces, Boris Carloff" Original ink and guache artwork (8.5" x 11") on cardstock by the men and women of the Misanthrope Specialty Company (see updates for details and image). Also, online thank yous and a postcard from the road.
Pledge $89 or more Pledge $89 or more
"3 151 445km" Original ink and guache artwork (8.5" x 11") on cardstock by the men and women of the Misanthrope Specialty Company (see updates for details and image). Also, online thank yous and a postcard from the road.
Pledge $100 or more Pledge $100 or more
One 8 x 10" couples unflattering portrait by the fine folks at the Misanthrope Specialty Co. (see updates for more details).
Pledge $100 or more Pledge $100 or more
The super cyber love option (paper free!): your digital banner (150px wide by 300px tall) on the sweetie pie press blog sidebar for five months. Cyber love banners will run May through September (inclusive) and also come with a thank-you via the website and blog.
Pledge $125 or more Pledge $125 or more
250 assorted loose buttons from the archive of sweetie pie press designs. A thank-you via the sweetie pie press blog and website as well as a postcard from the road.
Pledge $250 or more Pledge $250 or more
500 assorted loose buttons from the archive of sweetie pie press designs. A thank-you via the sweetie pie press blog and website as well as a postcard from the road.
Pledge $500 or more Pledge $500 or more
1000 assorted loose buttons from the archive of sweetie pie press designs. A thank-you via the sweetie pie press blog and website as well as a postcard from the road.
Pledge $1,000 or more Pledge $1,000 or more
2000 assorted loose buttons from the archive of sweetie pie press designs. A thank-you via the sweetie pie press blog and website as well as a postcard from the road.
Pledge $3,000 or more Pledge $3,000 or more
Crocheted wall hanging from "Hive Series' - a six foot tall isosceles triangles comprised of 100 smaller multi-coloured crocheted triangles. This item will be made when you pledge and takes a few months to make.
Pledge $5,000 or more Pledge $5,000 or more
A custom made and installed square of 289 pinback buttons from the security envelope project on a grid of magnetized nails. I will travel to your home (or wherever you would like it installed) and do the installation myself. I can only do this if it will cost me less that $5000 to get there.
Project By
Has not connected their Facebook account.
The Sweetie Pie Press is an independently owned and operated art and craft operation that is run out of a modest and warm apartment in Toronto. We also plan annual tours and sometimes act as a completely organic connective tissue between artists and makers the world over.
The Sweetie Pie Press is run entirely by Becky Johnson. Becky also helms City of Craft, an indie craft organization in Toronto that presents a major holiday craft fair, gallery events, trunk shows and other craft-based programming. Becky is a contributor to the Toronto Craft Alert, too - an online source for critical thinking and news about craft happenings in and around Toronto. She teaches skill-based workshops, shares ideas for free and sometimes lectures about topics from the indie craft world. She also crochets just about every day.
