by
Jan
You enter the
familiar space of your favorite funky bar. Eyes adjusting to the
dimly lit room, you survey the scene. Friends and regulars are seated
at tables or perched on barstools, sipping on draft beer specials.
Animated conversations
abound in every corner. A group of college students sketches caricatures
at the bar. Two girls at a table in the back are gluing together
dainty paper lanterns.
A local artist sits next to a small display of his hand-made jewelry
as he crafts a new piece. You join your group of friends at a table
piled high with supplies for making silly spoon dolls. A pompadour-wearing
rock-a-billy boy is making flirtatious eye contact with you. He
strides up to your table and gazes deep into your eyes. "Hey,
do you have the stapler?"
"No,"
you respond breathily, "but if you need any scissors, we’ve
got an extra pair."
"What are
you making?" you ask each other in unison, as only true soul
mates will.
Is this just
a craftygal fantasy? Can beer, romance, and paper plate animals
mix?
Oh yes, my friends,
you can have it all at craft night! Rochester NY’s own Bug
Jar started hosting this Monday night event in June of this year,
and its popularity continues to grow.
"I
realized that people needed something else to do in a bar besides
drinking and talking about stupid stuff."
Photographer,
Karrie Laughton, came up with the idea as she and a group of friends
whiled away an evening making paper silhouettes. "Everyone
had fun and fed off each other. The conversation was great —
better than sitting around talking about the same old B.S.
[I realized that] people needed something else to do in a
bar besides drinking and talking about stupid stuff."
So, Karrie brought
up the idea of hosting a weekly craft night with the Bug Jar owners.
"At first I didn’t think people would be interested, but
it’s all been very positive. Not everyone does the crafts.
Sometimes people just come to see what other people are doing. The
owners were really surprised [with the turnout]."
Each week, Karrie
makes flyers with instructions for the evening’s craft and
spreads out a buffet of crafting supplies like felt, construction
paper, glue, scissors, pipe cleaners, and all kinds of sequins,
spangles, and googly eyes. The instruction flyers vary each week
and have included steps for making simple masks, jointed paper dolls,
paper plate animals, and silly spoons. Patterns and instructions
for the ever-popular paper lanterns are always available. In the
midst of all the crafting, Karrie tends bar and offers encouragement.
The Bug Jar has even made a little space available to serve as a
craft night gallery.
Reaction to
craft night ranges from folks who can’t believe alcohol and
school glue can mix, to those who relish the idea of tossing back
a mixed drink with a Popsicle stick stirrer. "It is
wacky," proclaims first-time attendee Amber, 29. "Wacky’s
good!"
Just what is
it that’s so appealing about craft night? Well, one thing craft
night has going for it is the fact that many bars are closed on
Monday nights. So, even people who are more interested in drinking
than in crafting end up discovering this gathering. Another plus
is the ease of conversation with other attendees. "I think
it’s kind of nice because you end up talking to people while
you’re looking for crafting stuff," says Uschi, 29. Conversation
flows easily while pawing through the supplies for ingredients or
inspiration. Plus, it’s pretty easy to start a conversation
with someone who’s creating a pair of goofy glasses that catch
your eye.
So, the craftygal
gang gathered on a recent evening to see what all the craft night
buzz was about. We settled into a table and took a look at the project
of the night: Paper Plate Animals. Karrie’s cute illustration
showed a paper plate frog. "But what other kind of animal can
you even make out of a paper plate?" Taryn worried. "Well,"
I offered, "you could make a clam…" We decided to
browse the crafting supplies for some inspiration. Charles was more
intrigued with the paper lantern option, but Christy, Taryn, and
I decided to give the animals a try.
Christy immediately
set to work giving her creature a tongue long before its species
was determined. I began cutting up felt with a distinct lack of
pre-planning, and Taryn bent and twisted pipe cleaners into a complicated
outline. As we listened to some vintage David Bowie, Charles bent
over his lantern creating a lovely pattern with glitter glue. "Charles,"
Taryn warned, "You’ve got glitter in your beard."
"I’m
getting all glammed up," replied our intrepid Web master as
he continued to craft.
After a few
fits and starts, Taryn had fashioned a whimsical three-dimensional
cat complete with a jeweled collar, while my own cat took on the
affect of a flattened Boo Boo Kitty. Christy had turned her plate
into a cute little alien, and Charles had changed his glam-shade
into leopard print with raffia fringe. "He’s always doing
that!" exclaimed Christy. "He makes a mistake and then
ends up making the best thing! There’s usually no salvaging
my crappy crafts!"
So what did
we enjoy about craft night? I think Taryn summed it up best: "Personally,
I always feel that I’m very uninspired and I then I end up
surprising myself. I go in thinking ‘Mine is gonna be stupid’
and then it turns out to be cool." And there’s something
very satisfying in that.
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Craft
Night founder and craftygal extraordinaire, Karrie Laughton.
How
to Host a Craft Night
Talk
to local club owners to see if they have a slow night they’d
be willing to turn into a craft night.
Gather
up a variety of craft supplies: glue, pipe cleaners, construction
paper, markers, crayons, felt, and scissors are a must.
Make
up a Craft Supplies donation box so folks can help defray the supply
costs.
Find
simple craft ideas in books at the library or bookstore. Keep away
from anything too messy. Something simple that people can be innovative
with is best.
Make
up instruction flyers — a new craft each week keeps people
interested.
Make
advertising flyers for the bar and to pass out at crafty locales.
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