Out of Our Hands Gallery - fine handcrafted creations

The latest edition of Lehigh Valley Style, a gorgeous and always beautifully designed magazine, has given props to our little town of Emmaus. Though there have been numerous blurbs in the past mentioning us in the past (usually highlighting a specialty shop in town), this time we’ve got a FULL ARTICLE! My heart swells with pride like a proud parent. Give it a quick read, go ahead (starts on page 45 on the Ezine)!

Though written to be informational and to comment on the town as a whole, I wish they would have gone into all the wonderful businesses we have to offer. People JUST. DON’T. KNOW. It boggles my mind when a customer comes in and says, “I’ve lived in Emmaus for X-amount of years, and never stepped foot in any of the shops.” Sometimes they live a block away! It makes me cry at night. Okay, that’s a little dramatic.

But still…residents of the Valley often go to Bethlehem for the specialty shops they love to browse and purchase in, when really what they are looking for may be right in their backyard (literally). Even if a store doesn’t carry the things you need and just gotta have at that very moment, please do yourself a favor and just go to look. Meet the owners and sales associates. You probably know them. Or if you don’t actually know them, you’ll leave the store feeling like you just chatted with a friend. We’re very welcoming here in this little charming town.

Thank you, Lehigh Valley Style, for giving us that shout-out. We really appreciate your kind words encouraging readers to check it out!

And please keep ALL of our businesses in mind when you’re gearing up for the holidays. I promise you’ll enjoy discovering what we have to offer.

Continuing with my themed blog idea, Bloggin ‘Bout Blogs, which I last wrote one back in August (sheesh, has it really been THAT long?!?!)…I would like to add to my amazing-blogs-that-you-must-read list: IndiePA.com!

I was actually embarrassed that I had never heard of it before. Then I realized it’s somewhat new, and then I gave myself a pat on the back for being so up-and-coming. {I like to think I know a few things about handmade crafts in Pennsylvania, although it’s a continuously growing beast of information that I will never fully conquer.} I actually happened upon it on one of my clicking adventures while catching up on another of my faves: HandmadeinPA.

What you’ll find on IndiePA, aside from their blog articles, is a directory of independent artists from all over PA. It organizes them by area or medium, and they even throw in a category for Indie Markets (one of my favorites in the Lehigh Valley is Indiemade Craft Market, which takes place in June and December each year). Because the directory/blog is still in the building stages, some of the information is not complete…but we totally see the potential for an explosion of information and exciting things in the near future!

If you’re an independent artist from PA, then submit your work and bio…NOW!!! It’s free, and who knows what doors it will open for you!

We are also honored to be one of IndiePA’s newest sponsors. Check out our new ad on their sidebar!

As a gallery manager I have many hats each day…the “face” of the store, the customer service expert, the display and decorating whiz, the engaging and charming blogger *sarcasm*…but many of our customers do not know a huge perk to my job description, and that is to build wonderful relationships with the artisans.  I must say that our group of talent continually surprises me with their inventiveness, but it’s astounding how humble they truly are.  Truly.  And it’s so surprising to find that because they are literally oozing with creativity…they have every right to have big-head syndrome.  I am always in awe.

We have lots of artisans that have been working with their craft for many years, but we have some that do it as a side-passion or have less experience.  Many times pricing comes up as a HUGE question…”Just what do I charge an interested customer for something I put my blood, sweat, and tears into?”  It can be daunting to overcharge for your work…but even scarier to UNDERcharge. (more…)

Since one of my newest web obsessions (besides of course Etsy, which provides me that inspirational boost every single day) is the wonderful blogs that I keep uncovering, and so I figured that I should be nice and share the great ones I happen upon.  Though blogs have been around for quite a while, I’ve just noticed the quality increasing and the amount of ideas out there is absolutely incredible.  This first one is in my top five:  Handmade in PA (HIP). (more…)

We thought we’d start to share some of the websites, magazines, articles, and other findings that give us inspiration, and what better to begin with than NICHE magazine, one of our go-to resources for craft retailers.  The magazine (which we have a subscription to) offers advice for the seasons, looks at recent trends in retail, shows popular wholesale craft companies, and even interviews small brick and mortar shop owners.  (more…)