nerd JERK at Maker Faire!

We've been busy here at nerd JERK. Between the Cherry Blossom Festival, the MOCFA Craft Bar, and showing our amigurumi at the STUDIO Gallery, we can hardly stand the awesomeness!


But the awesome is just going to keep coming, because May 19th and 20th, we're going to be under the Bazzaar Bizarre tent at Maker Faire Bay Area!

Kirby is so excited for Marker Faire, he can hardly contain himself!

What's Maker Faire? You mean other than being super rad? ;D  It's a two-day event that celebrates creative DIY endeavors. It's a family-friendly affair, with lots of fun stuff for humans of all ages!  Seriously, the list of topics covered ranges from food to electronics to music to sustainability to arts and crafts, including of course all of the schweeeet stuff nerd JERK is going to be bringing!

You can get some awesome nerd JERK geekery hot-off-the-presses! We'll be debuting some new designs for our Handmade Felt Brooches & Journals, as well as introducing a "Make Your Own Gift Set!" station! Mini Adorableness will be available in a customizable way! We've even got some BRAND NEW Cross-Stitch Necklaces that you're gonna LOVE!

And you never know - There may even be a surprise or two!

WANNA COME? Here's the DEETS

WHEN: May 19th 10am-8pm & May 20th 10am-6pm
WHERE: San Mateo Event Center (2495 South Delaware Street, San Mateo, CA 94403)
COST: Ticket prices vary.  Check out the Maker Faire Ticket Page for pricing.  There are discounts for children, students, families, and for purchasing your tickets early (hint hint!)

This will be the last weekend Steph will be 28 years old (her 29th birthday is on Monday) so come on by and help her celebrate! We hope to see you there!

The Life Geektastic: Cherry Blossom Round 1!

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Self-pixelated portrait taken at 3:30 AM:
when stitching tiny necklace art & wearing HUGE glasses makes sense

I've had an obsession with glasses for as long as I can remember. Although I have 20/20-ish vision, I own several pairs of awesome frames for various occassions. You never know when you  need to blend in with a four-eyed posse. In my case, I'm like a "NERD SCOUT" - I'm always prepared.

Thank you for all the rad humans that came out to see me & my wares during Round One of the Cherry Blossom Festival on the 14th & 15th. You could have been doing your taxes. You could have been eating sushi instead. You probably were even tempted to go watch some awesome movies at the Kabuki Theatre. But you came out to see me.

And those of you who didn't come out to see me, I know you wanted to. I received so many lovely emails & updates via Facebook, Twitter & Instagram about how much you wanted to hang out last weekend. No worries, y'all! I've got news...

I'll still be vending this weekend - April 21 & 22!

Right now my lovely intern, Christel, and I are working our little insomniatic fingers like it's goin' outta style in the name of Cherry Blossom - Round Two. If you happened to miss the amazing spread of cuddles & colours, you're in luck! We're doing our best to get all the items we sold restocked this week, along with some fan faves that didn't make the cut last week: Shy Boo, Goomba & Chain Chomp!

One of the things I'm most proud of was how much we connected with customers at Cherry Blossom. Whether it was over our mutual love of adorable plushies or the fact that everyone was constantly quoting "Don't Be Poopy" from the kit (no matter what their age!) - we had a blast!

Something I talked about with my Epic Friends last week was about my special deal for preordering my Handmade Felt Brooches. Some of my Rad Blog Readers don't get a chance to come to SF & rock out with us, so why not bring the party to them?! I'm offering the same deal to my online homies as I am the in-person humans: Grab your 2 Fave Brooches for only $25! (reg $32)

The kinds of pics I post on Instagram. You should totally follow me.

So, there's a much more awesome wrap up-date coming up next week about the WHOLE AWESOMENESS of Cherry Blossom - but in the meantime, feel free to drop by the NEW PEOPLE building (1746 Post Street, SF, CA 94115) from 11 AM to 6 PM both Saturday the 21st & Sunday the 22nd. :) 

And if you could spread the news on Twitter, Facebook, anywhere you think someone who'd be in the mood for my plush items would be hangin' out, I'd super-adore you for, like, ever!

I mean that, you know.

Okay, back to making teeny, tiny stitches at 6 AM. Maybe this time I'll really need the huge glasses. ;)

<3 - Steph

nerd JERK rocks the Cherry Blossom Festival!

=NEW= Pink Boo Amigurumi Plush by nerd JERK - $54 USD

It's exciting announcement time! nerd JERK will be at the Artist's Village hosted by New People and Bazaar Bizarre at the Cherry Blossom Festival in April! It's going to be completely awesome! I'm going to have lots of new items at my booth, including a new Pink Boo Amigurumi Plush, inspired by Mario Party.

And if that wasn't enough to get you all excited for geeky goodness, I'll be selling everything for special craft show prices. You can save up to 15% off the listed price in my Etsy shop, so you don't want to miss it. And for you, loyal readers, I have an extra special deal:

Come to my booth and say the word of the day, "WarioWare" for an ADDED savings of 10% on your purchase of $40 or more! WarioWare was my favourite game ever when it first came out on the Gameboy Advance!!! It's made for people with short attention spans (which means it's fast enough for me to play between switching tasks throughout the day) & is made up ridiculously quirky content. See screen shot below if you don't believe me.

Nope, that's not a tear. Major case of the sniffles must be cured in less than 3 seconds.
Screen shot from Wario Ware, Inc by Nintendo

You may say, "But Steph, I'm not going to be able to make it to the Cherry Blossom Festival!"

I don't want you to feel poopy about it, so...

And if you're a nerd JERK fan who can't get to the Cherry Blossom Festival (but seriously, you should try to go because it's going to be awesome!), never fear! I don't want to leave you guys out, so I'm running an online special during the Cherry Blossom Festival.

Enter Coupon Code "WARIOWARE20" at my Etsy shop & you'll get 20% off your online purchase over $40, too!

The Cherry Blossom Festival runs for two weekends, April 14th & 15th and April 21st & 22nd, in Japantown, at Post & Buchanan. I'll have a booth in the NEW PEOPLE building for both weekends, so seriously you guys come down and check me out. You can even RSVP here!

Balls, guys - I'm so excited to see your faces! Let's rock out next weekend in Japantown.

Awesome Artist Feature: mr. deadfish GIVEAWAY!

When I stepped over to the mr. deadfish booth at Bazaar Bizarre this holiday, I knew I was in trouble. Scarves in the shapes of dead animals made out the upcycled sweaters? Yes, please!!!

So when I got to know this gal a little better, I knew I had to share her stuff with the rest of the world.

Introducing the founder & designer of mr. deadfish for our latest "Awesome Artist Feature": Amy Ng!

mr. deadfish

Amy wearing mr. deadfish in shirt form. :)
[Photo courtesy of Amy Ng]

Who are you? And what drives to you create!?

I am a San Francisco native that is inspired by everything around me. Generic as it may sound, I've been drawing ever since I could hold a pencil and once I discovered new media, I went bananas. Not only am I a full time video editor and animator, but on the side, I'm making daily scarves (for my 2011 challenge) and working on a children's book with a very talented friend Mr. Mito. Such inspirations can come from talented people like Camilla d'Errico and Marina Bychkova. Their choices of mediums are simply amazing and they've definitely mastered their artwork. Also, creating really keeps me out of trouble and lowers my cost of living, since I'm not going out buying drinks or karaoke-ing (though not dancing and eating lots of sweets is not reducing the thunder in my thighs)!

Alligator Scarf by mr. deadfish

When & why did you start your Etsy shop?

I started my Etsy shop in November 2008 because I just had a million things in my house that I've created. My friends always told me that I should sell my stuff and that people would buy it, but it's really hard to keep up with all the stuff that I make. I love illustrating, which got me into hand-drawing cards, but I think I just wasn't getting enough exposure to sell any. Then I started making hair clips, little squirrel magnets, modifying My Little Pony dolls, clay figures, stuffed animals, and now I'm trying to get this dead animal scarf going. Who knows what it'll be next month!

Top 5 fave books, movies, music, artists... 

I don't find myself having too much time to read nowadays, but I definitely have a few favorite movies in mind starting with a few childhood favorites. 

Movies:

The Neverending Story, The Secret of Nimh, and such tv shows like Out of This World, Small Wonder, David the Gnome, Looney Tunes, The Snorks, Jem and the Holograms and many more. Other movies I've enjoyed are Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Zombieland, Lovely, Still, Delicatessen, Moon, The Host and many others that I really can't think of right now.

Music:

• I love eighties music, so Hall & Oates is definitely ranked up there.
• Stevie Wonder is oh-so-delightful when I feel like I need a faster pace and pick me up.
• With the sultry voice of Bitter:Sweet, sometimes this is exactly what I need for snazziness.
• If I'm feeling a bit epic, bumping up Muse will always do the trick.
• And last, but not least, The Spinto Band really knocks my socks off and gets me groovin to the tunes.

Artists:
As I strive to work with different mediums, here's a few people that drive me to love creating:

• Camilla d'Errico is awesome with her creepy sweet characters. So innocent and lovely.
• Marina Bychkova with her beautiful and sometimes twisted creations. I can't help but love and admire her work.
• Audrey Kawasaki can get rather magical with wood and paints. Her works just seems so dreamy and innocent.
• I can't forget about Scott Radke with his eerie and twisted painted sculptures. How could you not love that face?
• Christopher Conte is definitely amazing with his use of materials. I would never be able to create such wonders of art, but just looking at them makes my jaw drop every time.

The original mr. deadfish drawing
[Photo courtesy of Amy Ng]

How did you come up with your business name?
This is actually a really random story. Long, long time ago around the turn of the century, working in the photo department of a drugstore in Davis, CA., I was running a pretty high fever. Feeling as though it would be unacceptable to call in sick, I stood in that little corner of a lab and spent most of the day sweating. Those photo lab machines used to spit out a few blank cuts before and after every batch print and since I was feeling a bit delusional, I decided to draw a bunch of dead animals with taglines to them. "I am mr. deadfish. I smell bad." and it was a drawing of mr. deadfish (which a friend of mine has the original copy). Of all the animals, mr. deadfish was the one that everybody loved, so it seemed only natural to have that be my business name.

Amy working late into the night on her newest scarf
[Photo courtesy of Amy Ng]

What does a day in your life look like? 

*Beep Beep Beep* It's six am. She shuts off the phone and pushes the blankets off the bed, allowing the chill to fully wake her. Fast forward. Six twenty, looking for all day parking in the SOMA. Video editing, animating, awesomeness. Three thirty, go home. Four pm. Spread out the colorful cut up upcycled sweaters and think about what to make for the day. Sometimes ideas are given by friends, but mostly, it's random. *snip snip snip* Cutting out the pieces. Six thirty, make the best dinner ever consisting of meat, veggies and carb. Seven thirty, finish working on scarf until the hours between eleven pm and one am. Rinse, repeat. What messes up the mix is when there's some action happening like going out. Evenings are condensed, then.

Social Squittens
[Photo courtesy of Amy Ng]

What other favourite hobbies/activities do you enjoy?
I'm trying to have this monthly thing again called Social Squittens (A squitten is a cross between a kitten and a squid, demonstrated above, where I organize events such as rock climbing, archery, hiking, or various activities around the bay. I think one of them is definitely going to involve that new trampoline park that opened up in the Presidio. Social Squittens were created to meet cool new people. I have so many awesome friends and they all wanted to meet each other and meet more new friends, so I asked my friends to invite their friends. It usually ends up just being one large hangout session, but it's fun.
I also love animating and video editing. I'm a producer for my friend Marlon Torres of Torres Studios and he's one of the most talented people I know. He's simply amazing and I love working with him. You can see our WWII short film at papernautilusfilms.com.


To find out more about mr. deadfish and what Amy's up to, check out the links below:

BLOG // ETSY // TWITTER // FB

Now, for the GIVEAWAY:

Head on over to the mr. deadfish blog to find out how to win a FREE SCARF of your own!

Tutorial: Nerdtastic Felt Ornaments

As promised to the awesome people who showed up to check my tutorial out at Bazaar Bizarre's "Cocktails & Crafts," here's the full instructions on how to make one of my Nerdtastic Felt Ornaments! Based on how well this tutorial is received, you might find more of these little nerdy how-to's coming your way real soon.

TUTORIAL: Nerdtastic Felt Ornaments

by Steph Cortés @ nerd JERK

Small but freakin' rad!

DESCRIPTION:
Having been  a nerd most of my life, I've let this shine through as much as humanly possible. So why not share it with decorations this holiday season? Handmade gifts are often the ones we hold dearest to our hearts. Let your true self shine through with a new tradition: make some Nerdtastic Felt Ornaments to brighten your tree with awesomeness.

MATERIALS:
 - White Felt
 - Ruler
 - Scissors
 - Disappearing Ink Fabric Marker
 - Embroidery Needle
 - Red & Black embroidery floss
 - A spool of Red 1/8 in. ribbon
 - Small amout of Polyfill


STEP 1: Using your marker & ruler, draw out two 1.5" by 2.5" rectangles of white felt for your ornament. Cut these out & set side.

STEP 2: Cut 8" of red ribbon. Fold in half and tie off the end twice in a knot. Set aside.

STEP 3: Draw out a pair of horn-rimmed glasses and the word "nerd"  in marker on one of the small white felt rectangles. You can also write "geek" or "hipster" if you so desire.

STEP 4: Measure out about 1' of black embroidery floss. Divide your length of thread into two lengths with 3 strands of floss for each length of thread.
Thread the embroidery needle with 3 strands of embroidery floss and knot the end.
Stitch in the horn rimmed glasses with a back stitch (view this page to see an example of a back stitch). It doesn't have to be perfect, as all handmade items are unique and little imperfections add to their charm. Tie off knot when finished and cut off excess with scissors.

STEP 5: Measure out about 2' of red embroidery floss. Separate floss into 2 lengths of 3 strands each. Thread the embroidery needle with the 3 stranded- length of red floss and double knot the end. Stitch in the word "nerd" with small back stitches, tying off thread twice after completing each letter to ensure your stitches stay in place. When finished with word, tie off and cut off excess thread with scissors.

STEP 6: Tie another double knot at the end of your excess length of embroidery floss. Place knot of ribbon above the glasses between the felt rectangles and stitch into place.

STEP 7: Continue to stitch the perimeter of the white felt rectangles with a blanket stitch (view this page if you need help learning the blanket stitch) until you come to the last corner.

STEP 8: Grab a small amount of Polyfill and stuff into your ornament so that it looks like a small pillow. Push Polyfill into small corners with the cap of your marker.

STEP 9: Finish stitching the rest of the perimeter of the ornament with a blanket stitch. Tie a tight double knot close to the felt and cut off the excess thread with scissors.

STEP 10: Massage the Polyfill in your ornament until you feel it's evenly stuffed and enjoy!

SUGGESTIONS:
You can make an entire set of these awesome Nerdtastic Felt Ornaments with a variety of colors, phrases and graphics. Someone suggested doing a moustache or an owl. Others have said a ball of yarn with "craft nerd" would be pretty rad. Since you're the crafter, you control the amount of awesome. Have fun with it and see what you can come up with!

Feel free to post URLs to examples of what your finished ornaments look like here!

nerd JERK reaches 100 Sales!

HOLY CRAP!

We've finally done it! We reached 100 sales on Etsy!

When I got an order for #99 (Kirby - pictured above) at 2 AM from Erik in Bristol, UK, I had no idea I'd get another within a few hours! Our 100th sale was for a Mini Bob-Omb for Joan in IL, USA!

How freakin' exciting! :D

I can't wait to get these orders done and ready to ship, but I've got a deadline to make a ton of inventory for the Bazaar Bizarre show this weekend in San Francisco, CA. I'll also be teaching people how to make Nerdtastic Felt Ornaments at the Cocktails & Crafts Party on Saturday night! They look a little somethin' like this:

If you're in the San Francisco area, you should come drop by! I've got a special Coupon Code that gives you a 50% discount on tickets for the Cocktails & Crafts Party! If you buy one ticket for $10, you'll get the second for free! The event includes delicious drinks, DIY craft tutorials and even decadent cupcakes!!!

It'd be great to see a friendly face or two!

Thanks so much for supporting nerd JERK for the past 100 sales. Here's to 100 more!