BLOG — A CREATIVE DC

We've had our tickets for this weekend's May The Art Be With You: A Tribute to a Galaxy Far, Far Away for a while now; the Star Wars-themed group show opens at Studio Sohy on Saturday, and it sounds like a WHOLE LOT OF FUN. We caught up with the Bronwyn King, one of Studio Sohy's co-founders, for a little background on the show (and the goods on why we should all be spending more time in Hyattsville):

Martin Swift "Midnight Raid," ink on board

Can we get a brief "about" for Studio SoHy? Yes! We are an art and performance space located inside of Vigilante Roastery in Hyattsville. Our goal is to bring a diverse variety of art, artists and experiences to this community and to greater Prince George’s County. So far, our events have blended visual arts, music and great food to give folks an overall “experience”. In between the larger events, we also want to offer more intimate shows that are focused solely on the art and in giving people free access to new and interesting artists.

The shows you have always sound so fun! And in large part because of the group dynamic, but also because there always seems to be an element of additional programming, whether it be live art or food + drink. What does a "typical" Studio SoHy event look like? To date, the events have looked pretty wet. We had flash flooding at one and a hurricane threat at another. Yet, the weather doesn’t seem to dampen the mood. While Black Masala played to the crowd at the last event, the artist Howard Connelly cleared the space and rode his Big Trike sculpture around with 10 kids hollering off the back. Yes, kids, not only can you touch the art, you can ride it, too! I may come to regret that statement. In all seriousness, we could not be better situated to do these shows. The Hyattsville community is truly the best! Super supportive and always the last on the dance floor.

MAY THE ART BE WITH YOU. Talk a little bit about how this show came together, from concept to curation? Star Wars is one of those cultural touchstones that almost everyone enjoys, or, at the very least, can reference. I think artists really enjoy creating within the framework of the Star Wars universe and putting their own spin on it. With the new film coming out, we thought, why not? Not only will artists enjoy the theme, but the audience will have so much fun. What better way to say “happy holidays” than gifting your loved one with a one of a kind piece of Star Wars art.

"Head Space Case," collage by Cobra Wu

We're digging the artist lineup - any pieces we should keep an eye out for? Tough one. The artwork really is so diverse that it would be hard to pick just one! We have everything from a Star Wars book to Chewbacca VANS (mens 9.5 fyi…) For the hardcore fans, we do have four original Star Wars cast photos from the photographer Brian Griffin. Definite collectors’ items.

And if people aren't able to score tickets for Saturday, how long will the show be up for? The show will run through the end of January, but we are trying something new this time around. Our web guru, Chris Suspect, has built an online store that will open when the show opens. If you are stuck at a holiday party, but want to buy some Star Wars art, just log-in and create an account. Taking it a step further, each piece of art will have a QR code located directly on the artist’s label. Just scan the QR code with your smart phone and purchase that one of a kind piece before someone else gets it!

"Optimist," photo by Serli Lala

If someone wanted to make a whole Saturday out of the greater Hyattsville area, what are your recommendations? Love it!! Get things started with a pour over at Vigilante. The vibe at Vigilante can’t be beat. After that, stroll over to Franklin's and check out their General Store. Fill up a candy bag and pick out some craft beer from their diverse selection. Grab a quick bite and head over to Community Forklift where treasures abound. Don’t forget to check out all of the artists working in the area. From the Washington Glass School and Red Dirt Studios to the Brentwood Arts Exchange…there is a ton of art! Finish off your day just across the line at one of my fave spots, Nido. The food is delicious and the space is beautiful.

Thank you Bronwyn!
Tickets are $12-$15, and available here
artwork courtesy Studio Sohy
by Brian Griffin | Martin Swift | Cobra Wu | Serli Lala

We can't WAIT for this weekend's PARCEL Market at Canal Park! Now in its second year, the two day, SE DC Holiday Market has something for everyone, and we're so glad to be taking part alongside an all-star lineup of food, retail, and art vendors. C'mon down and get hands-on: we've partnered with some seriously amazing makers, doers, and teachers from across the city on a series of six #aCreativeDC-curated DIY workshops, and they're ALL FREE.

While pre-registration for workshop seats went f a s t , we've reserved space for PARCEL-goers on both Saturday and Sunday: come see the A Creative DC team in the vendor tent starting at 12:30 each day (Saturday workshop? Come Saturday! Sunday? See you then!) to get signed up, first come/first serve style. Until then? Get to know this weekend's workshop + instructor lineup – each team is sharing awesome DC holiday perspective, and take note of their PARCEL recommendations! With so much to see and do this weekend at Canal Park, you won't want to miss a thing.

For more than twenty years, Project Create has provided creative youth development through accessible arts education to over 2,000 homeless and low-income children and teens in Washington, DC by working in partnership with with after-school programs in underserved neighborhoods, as well as with social service organizations that offer emergency, transitional, and long-term housing to homeless families. We're so glad to have them on board for PARCEL!

Aidah Fontenot: Community Partnership Program Manager

What can we look forward to during the workshop? Project Create is hosting a family workshop of Crafts and Storytelling on Saturday, 12/5 with dynamic teaching artist Ceci Aikens. The workshop begins with interactive book reading, followed by a fun and easy holiday ornament craft activity.

What do you love about the Holidays in DC? At Project Create, we believe that a creative community can instill a sense of belonging and positive cultural identity. The holidays in DC are a time when people come together to celebrate family, community and history. We also love seeing the festive decorations on the historic Big Chair from our studio window!

Anything else coming up? Join us on Saturday, December 19th, 1pm - 4pm for FAMILY ART DAY. This all-ages monthly event is free and open to the public. Stop by to enjoy community, refreshments and Holiday Card Making. The Project Create Studio is located at 2028 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SE in Anacostia (across from the Big Chair, second floor above Mama's Pizza Kitchen, entrance on V Street SE).

Project Create's workshop is at capacity for pre-registration, but we've reserved 12 additional seats for your little ones. Sign ups begin at 12:30PM on Saturday, 12/5. For sponsorship and volunteer opportunities with Project Create, visit www.projectcreatedc.org.

Bree Ryback is founder of Capitol Romance and Capitol Romance Workshops, a DIY series focused on learning local. We've been following along with her non-traditional wedding blog (and wedding-coordination biz) for the last few years, and we're excited to loop Bree into PARCEL in a very non-wedding manner: Bree's leading a HOLIDAY TOTES workshop on Saturday!

What will we be making at your workshop? Attendees can look forward to creating a simple yet custom project that is perfect for the holiday season. You can use your holiday tote bag to shop for ALL the gifts at Parcel market, or give your tote as handmade gift! Attendees will be given all materials needed to make a holiday tote and will also have a few extra "goodies" on hand (stop by to find out what those are!).

Who/what else are you excited to check out at the Market? EVERYTHING. I am totally pumped to get all my holiday shopping done at PARCEL. The plan for me is some workshop fun, shopping til I drop (or you know, my wallet runs out), and then enjoying the Christmas Tree Lighting with my husband and daughter!! Really excited to kick off my holiday season with PARCEL and all the local DC small businesses/owners involved. I can't think of a better way to get excited about the holidays to be honest.

Your DC holiday highlights? I love seeing all my favorite parts of the city decorated for the Holidays (the lights on houses in Trinidad, the wreaths at Union Station, the fun signage at businesses on H Street). I also love bragging about the awesome local businesses here by buying gifts for my family & friends outside of DC. My family & friends have grown to love DC businesses through extension of me and are always happy when I bring them things like Compass Coffee or treats from Frenchie's. This is actually the first year since living in DC that we will be hosting our family (we usually drive up to NJ for Christmas) and we cannot wait to show them how DC does the Holidays.

What's up for 2016? Next year I am launching an online shop where I am going to be selling wedding planning resources (online downloads both for purchase and some freebies) and Capitol Romance branded accessories (both wedding and home related). I've also been hard at work collaborating with Typecase Industries to create a Wedding Planner that couples can buy to help them stay organized (and sane!) in planning their DC wedding. I am going to be teaming up with other local DC businesses on more collaborations in 2016 as well, and all of those things will be available via the new online shop.

Capitol Romance's workshop is at capacity for pre-registration, but we've reserved 12 additional seats for Holiday tote-making. Sign ups begin at 12:30PM on Saturday, 12/5 in the vendor tent.

Michelle Samson is Taffy Floral: thoughtfully styled flowers for photos shoots, events, and custom work – in the DC area and beyond. Not only is she providing floral backdrops for PARCEL Market at large, but she's also closing out day one of the A Creative DC x PARCEL Market workshops lineup with a Taffy Floral Holiday Wreathmaking Workshop!

What can we look forward to at your PARCEL Market workshop? Wreaths are a sign of changes in season, [they] help us celebrate not only special occasions like Christmas but also day-to-day living. They also bring the outdoors into our homes. Traditionally, evergreens are used on circular wreaths. In this workshop I want to show attendees that you really don't need a reason to hang a wreath on your door or in your home, and that you don't need fancy materials either. I will have a couple of examples on-site. Attendees will then use fresh foliage (some foraged) and florals to create a non-traditional, asymmetrical wreath.

Who else are you excited to check out at PARCEL? I am excited to check out the different food vendors! I am usually either at a work meeting, working on a project, really anything work-related, so I have not had a chance to try a lot of the newer restaurants or food trucks. Kicheko is one vendor I have wanted to check out for awhile. Most of my clothing is pretty basic and simple so I am always looking for beautiful, unique jewelry pieces which add interest to an outfit. I also noticed another florist will be working this market, Urban Jungle. They specialize in orchid plants and ikebana (Japanese-style) arrangements. It's always great meeting other floral enthusiasts!

What do you LOVE about the Holidays in DC? In general I really love strolling outside, especially at night. I also like checking out the Swedish Christmas Bazaar at House of Sweden which usually ends with a Santa Lucia procession and caroling.

What else do you have coming up? Holidays are quickly approaching, meaning dinner parties! I can create a custom tablescapes for parties, and I can be contacted via email for details and pricing! I am also partnering with Madewell at Tyson’s Corner again for their Hometown Heroes event on Thursday, December 10, from 6 pm to 8 pm. Come in, shop the new collection. First 20 customers to spend $125 can either make their own wreath or take a pre-made wreath home!

Taffy Floral's workshop is at capacity for pre-registration, but we've reserved 12 additional seats for wreathmaking. Sign ups begin at 12:30PM on Saturday, 12/5 in the vendor tent.

Soul & Ink Crew is kicking off Sunday's workshop lineup – the live screenprinting duo of Frank + Sherry Meneses (husband/wife team extraordinaire) are community-minded in a way that we're all about, and the family-friendly aspect of their workshops + demos are right up our (and PARCEL's) alley. Currently at work on bringing the first live screenprinting studio ON WHEELS to the DC area, Soul & Ink Crew is joining us at PARCEL for a family-friendly poster workshop.

Sherry Meneses, Co-Founder, Soul & Ink.

What will attendees be getting into on Sunday? Soul & Ink will create four signature original designs prior to the event and have these on screens ready for guests to choose from. On-site guests will get to experience the fun of live screen printing by choosing 2 out of 4 designs plus design placement on a 12x18 archival quality French poster paper. Within minutes folks will be able to take home their very own holiday themed poster that they designed to hang or gift this season!

And what else will you be checking out at PARCEL? I am really excited to check out DeNada. I love Virginia's style and admire her controlled color palette, minimalistic design aesthetic and warm, rich textures. I have admired her work since way back when I first discovered [it] at Eastern Market. I remember DeNada started out as screen printed bags and apparel. It has been a joy & inspiration watching her brand and style evolve, while balancing it with a family too. That is something I can relate to. I'm looking forward to purchasing my very first DeNada piece!

What else do you guys have going on? We are crowdfunding for a truck & need your help! PARCEL Market is part of a series of holiday fundraising events we have curated to bring awareness to our cause. We launched an indie gogo and have until January 5th to reach our goal of funding the first mobile screen printing truck in the DC area! We want to bring something new & fun to DC. Think of it like a food truck, only we're slingin' fresh ink and flavor on swag, while sharing art education on the road. We are offering awesome perks for all contributors, including some with small business owners and corporate companies in mind. Click here to donate & learn more. Go go go! Tell a friend, too.

Soul & Ink's workshop is at capacity for pre-registration, but we've reserved 12 additional seats for Holiday poster-making. Sign ups begin at 12:30PM on Sunday, 12/6 in the vendor tent.

Typecase Industries is a full service design and letter press print shop based in North End Shaw – you know them even if you think you don't; they've created amazing work for everyone from Maketto to Shinola, and they're regulars at events like Crafty Bastards, Emporiyum, and – you got it – PARCEL Market. With a studio full of incredible vintage type and a small proof press that often accompanies them to events and pop-ups, the team at Typecase is joining us for a Holiday Card Workshop on Sunday, 12/6! They've got workshops going on in their studio throughout the holiday season, too – be sure to catch the full lineup on their site.

Stephanie Hess, Co-Owner, Typecase Industries

What will you guys be workshopping on Sunday? Our workshop is a hands-on printmaking experience! You will get to customize your own holiday cards and print them yourself on one of our antique presses.

And after your workshop? We love everyone at PARCEL, but especially can't wait to check out Capitol Romance and Soul & Ink's workshops. We're also pretty sure that Thunderbeast root beer is actually the best root beer we've ever had. I plan on getting a lot of my holiday shopping done there!

Favorite part of DC during the holidays...go! I love the giant wreaths at Union Station! They're so festive and just make me excited for the holidays. I also love how many local markets there are - you should be able to get something for everyone, all made right here in the District.

Typecase's workshop is at capacity for pre-registration, but we've reserved 4 additional seats for Holiday card-making. Sign ups begin at 12:30PM on Sunday, 12/6 in the vendor tent.

Susannah Compton is the maker behind Florescent, a line of blended and harmonized botanical perfume that's all natural, and made of real plants, herbs, and flowers. Susannah regularly writes about clean beauty for publications including Thoughtfully Magazine, and lends her expertise and opinions regularly at Integrity Botanicals and Follain DC. So who better to lead a Holiday Aromatherapy Workshop at PARCEL? We're excited for Florescent to close out the series on Sunday afternoon.

What can we expect at your Aromatherapy workshop? Attendees can look forward to learning about the therapeutic qualities of botanical oils and aromatics, plus how to incorporate them into the daily grind in beneficial way. Your sense of smell has the power to change your mood and frame of mind, but there are physical benefits to inhaling botanical aromas, too—like an instant release of muscle tension or jaw clenching, for example. Florescent's workshop will give attendees some simple tools to improve your health and quality of life, especially during the busy holiday season!

And who else at PARCEL are you excited to see? PARCEL is like the creme de la creme of DC's creative & small business scene. I'll be filling my belly with Maketto's pork buns and Blue Jacket beers while shopping some of my favorites like Be Clean, AKAE, Mallory Shelter and Kichecko. I've long wanted to pick up a piece by DeNada, and I'm interested in niko+ava for my baby niece. Cloud Terre also makes gorgeous tableware... so much to choose from!

Anything else you're looking forward to with Florescent this holiday season? My goal with Florescent is to change the way people think about and experience perfume, to reawaken our relationship to smell and to offer something that feels more intimate and elevated than the perfumes I grew up around. Forget those bottles of cold synthetic fragrance you're accustomed to—a poor substitute for REAL flowers, herbs and spices. Florescent offers the kind of complexity and nuance that exists in nature, not a chemistry lab. For any followers of aCreativeDC interested in giving or receiving botanical perfumes this Christmas, Florescent has a special discount code just for you. Shop with us at Florescent.co and receive 20% off orders over $75 with the code ACREATIVEDC.

DC in December - what do you dig? What I love most about the holidays in DC is that everything slows way down, which is a welcome break in a city that is all go-go-go and frenetic energy most of the year. I also love all of the holiday inspired goodies from local shops and restaurants. (ALL the eggnog, please!) And of course, the holiday lights about town really do dazzle me. There's just something so cheery about lighting everything up during the darkest time of the year. DC is cozy like that.

Florescent's workshop is at capacity for pre-registration, but we've reserved 3 additional seats for Holiday Aromatherapy. Sign ups begin at 12:30PM on Sunday, 12/6 in the vendor tent.

We can't wait to see you at PARCEL! For the full lineup head to www.ParcelMarketDC.com, and follow along on Instagram, @ParcelMarket and Twitter @ParcelMarketDC.

MAY THE ART BE WITH YOU

A Creative DC at PARCEL Market 2015

DISTRICT IRL: Framebridge x A CreativeDC