In which I gush, and for good reason.

Lo, I have travelled into the belly of the craft Establishment and managed to keep body and self-taught-soul together. Lived to gush about it, even.... May I tell you all about the rag-tag bunch of super-talented geniuses with whom I shared AltCraft?

First - there's Don Becker, who makes marionettes that children are not afraid of. They're not. Seriously. All of the parents say they will be, but they're not. And, Don's fabulous girlfriend, Janice made sure I ate lunch.

Lisa Neimeth's work is stunning - plus she can hold her own in an argument with The Man.

Wouldn't you imagine that the girl who made this necklace was an industrial designer who kicks ass and drinks dirty martinis? She is. See more of Melissa's work here.

Juleann of Wearable Jules makes jewelry that is somehow sophisticated and silly at the same time. I wish I'd had her confidence when I was her age. Or, now.

Anyone who makes stuff out of broken stuff has a place in my heart, and Juliet's stuff is amazing. I could spend all day at the Broken Plate Pendant Company.

There's River (in the doorway) of River Basin Outfitters, with whom I will never go thrifting, because we'll just fight over the good stuff. She's got skills. In abundance.

I could go on for hours - if I had a superlative thesaurus and didn't have to do my bookkeeping and clean my disgusting workroom. Not sure which of those things I'd less rather do. Better have a snack first.