Heartful Handmade Blog

san francisco open studios

The San Francisco Open Studios is a four weekend citywide event with hundreds of artists opening their studios to the public.  When I was down the coast from San Francisco, I made it up for the tour several times, but only went to those at Hunter's Point.  That's because I'm a first-class wimp when it comes to navigating the City by the Bay.  It's a one-way town and I get dizzy when I go around in circles.  

santa cruz open studios art tour

The Santa Cruz Open Studios Art Tour is a diverse and always top quality tour featuring artist's open studios throughout Santa Cruz County, a wide geographic area in one of the most beautful regions of California.  There are 300 participating artists opening their studios across three consecutive weekends in October:

mill valley arts festival

This festival began in 1957 with a group of artists showing their work in downtown store windows. As it matured over the years, the festival changed names and locations several times before finally settling in the historic Old Mill Park. 

smithsonian trunk show

This show features jewelry and wearable art made by 30 artists previously juried into Smithsonian Craft Shows.  It's produced by the Smithsonian Women's Committee "to benefit education, outreach and research programs within The Smithsonian Institution", and there is no question it's a top quality show.