Next month in July I will be going down to Los Angeles to teach another spoon carving class! This time though it will be Coffee Scoops. I am so excited to be teaching it at Twig and Twine, who actually was the first store to carry my work! She is doing an Artisan Workshop Series and I was delighted to be asked to be the featured artisan in July. You can see the details and purchase the class here on my website. It will be July 12th, 5pm-8-pm. Hope to see you there!
Oh Canada: Merge an Artisan Collective, Tofino
As you know if you have been following along, we traveled up to Canada to teach Spoon Carving classes in Tofino and Victoria. I had the most amazing time in both cities, all of my students were so amazing and creative. The first class in Tofino was at Merge Collective, the owners Victoria and Laurie were so sweet! They just opened their shop and it is filled with amazing designers all over North America. I couldn't have been more impressed with their organization in putting the class together. Both ladies are makers as well and had the studio in the back, Victoria owns, Good Prospects a leather goods company and Laurie designs lingerie and jewelry.
We ate sandwiches from a local butcher who uses only sustainable meats. They were delicious!
I really enjoyed my class and had some awesome ladies who even traveled from neighboring cities a couple hours away to attend! Everyone did an amazing job and I was impressed with the level of detail of each spoon. Victoria had snacks and drinks available for everyone to have and even got sandwiches from the local butcher Picnic Charcuterie.
A student carving her spoon
My students showing off their spoons!
Oh Canada: Tofino
My first class was at Merge Artisan Collective in Tofino, BC! It was a small sleepy surf town filled with the most amazing people! I really think I fell in love guys, both Dan and I know we will visit again in the future! We stayed at an adorable B&B in the town called the Emerald Forest. She baked us fresh bed in the morning with fruit, jam and granola. By far some of the best meals I ate there! We only had time to go to the beach once but it was still such a treat to be there, we did a hike that one of the locals suggested which turned out to be harder than we thought!
Everyone in town though were so sweet! The service and people we met made us feel right at home. Not to mention they had an unusual foodie scene for such a small town, so the food and cafes were absolutely exceptional! You must try Kuma Tofino, Tacofino, Wolf in the Fog, Sobo Restaurant and Shelter Restaurant. For japanese comfort food, Kuma has you covered, their karage chicken and green tea brownies were out of this world! Either way Tofino stole my heart <3!
Oh Canada: Fisgard Lighthouse
Right outside of Victoria by about 20 mins by car, we stopped by the Fisgard Lighthouse. It really looked like it was straight out of a movie! Its used to be an old govt bunker and fort so we roamed around the park, checking out all the points. It was a windy day but very peaceful as well. I def must visit if you're in town.
I collected some drift wood from the beach which im hoping to make some special spoons with! I had never seen that much drift wood before and had fun picking through the piles for the most interesting pieces! Stay tuned...it will be on the shop soon enough :)
Oh Canada: Butchart Gardens
A couple weeks ago I traveled up to Canada to teach some spoon carving classes! What I didn't expect was to see how lush and green Vancouver Island really is! The weather was a little rainy at times, but over all it was a beautiful trip! We started our trip by traveling to Victoria, BC. It was a small to medium sized city with beautiful parliament buildings built in the 1800's and gorgeous gardens.
Butchart Gardens was absolutely beautiful. To me it seemed like the Disney Land version of Gardens. Founded in the early 1900's, these gardens are some of the oldest in Canada. Set up around a limestone quarry grounds, a wealthy wife of the cement company wanted to bring beauty to the area. She first started in the Sunken Gardens (above) and moved onto making an Italian Garden, Japanese Garden and more. It was certainly a breath taking view and we enjoyed walking around each garden taking in all of the different plants.
Walking around the Japanese Gardens. They had small ponds, bridges and of course tons of Ginko trees!
West Coast Craft! June 13-14
First show of the season is finally here! Join Melanie Abrantes Designs at West Coast Craft this June at the Fort Mason Center in SF! I will be teaching a spoon carving class on the first day with Ogaard, an independent gallery based in Oakland, at the show from 3pm -6pm! I will also be showing with my good friend Adrian Cluartio who will be selling furniture and leather jewelry.
I am debuting a couple of new products at the show, as well as a special collaboration with a ceramicist! Come and check it out to see what it is! It should be a fun show full of beautiful products, some really amazing independent designers and artists will be showing as well.
So, come check it out and catch some sun on the docks. I wanna see all of your beautiful faces!
West Coast Craft | June 13-14 | Fort Mason Center | 10am - 6pm
Cork Planters acting as fun fruit bowls!
Last Winters show with Adrian Clutario aka Adriana
Spoon Carving Classes in Canada!
Next week I will be traveling to Vancouver Island to teach classes in Victoria and Tofino! I am so excited to take my classes international! It will be a pretty quick trip to Canada with a lot of traveling and driving. Tofino is a sleepy beach town surrounded by dewy greenery and forests. It reminds me a lot of Lake Tahoe here in Califronia but with a beach instead of a Lake! Victoria is the capital of British Columbia and looks like its straight out of Europe, in all of the pictures I have seen they display there capitol building which is absolutely gorgeous! I am bringing along my good friend Dan and we will hopefully do some exploring and hiking in between the classes.
I will be teaching two classes in Tofino with Merge Collective on May 22nd at 6-9pm and May 23rd at 10am-1pm. Then I will be traveling down to Victoria and teaching a class with Moonrise Creative on May 24th at 2pm to 5pm. I hope to see you there! I am planning the trip now so please don't be shy on any recommendations for places to visit and eat :)
Mother's Day Gifts
Limited Edition Walnut Bud Vase Set
With Mother's day around the corner you must be thinking about how to show her you care. Treat mama right and send her a set of these beautiful bud vases for Mother's Day! This limited edition gift set is available at the special price of $130, but hurry, only limited quantities are available. In addition to being the perfect gift, you can even buy one for her and keep one for yourself! Each vase comes with a glass vial for fresh flowers and is specially gift wrapped for Mother's Day.
Let's celebrate earth!
In celebration of Earth Day I am donating a portion of the proceeds from today's sales to Oakland's Urban Releaf Program! A non-profit dedicated to building a healthy community one tree at a time! They are currently doing a tree drive that will help add trees and greenery to the East Oakland area.
Also save a little green and receive 10% off all sustainable cork products by using the code #gogreen. Now, go outside and enjoy the day!
Studio Tour
This month I am celebrating my one year anniversary in the Bay Area. It's been a year of ups and downs, celebrations and mistakes for my business and personal life. I am so happy I was able to make the move up from Los Angeles to Oakland, it has been such an adventure! The bay has treated me well and I have been able to build my business this past year with the thriving community of Oakland creatives.
I probably shouldn't have gotten my studio when I did, but boy am I glad I took that leap (where would all my product have gone?)! To celebrate, I finally was able to photograph my space with the amazing photographer Daniel Dent. I must have changed the layout of my studio at least a dozen times, making my studio mate Gabriel help me in the process (move this here, no over there!). I think I am happy with how everything turned out and I can say that I spent many late nights on Pinterest trying to get inspired! With the help of my good friend, Adrian Clutario, I was able to stick with a layout that would help keep me the most organized and productive. Thanks for following along on this journey and enjoy the tour!
