Rec Room Craft Co!

 You may remember Kri-STAR-iffic from the Kitshickers kickball team and GLOK (Gorgeous Ladies of Kickball) Vintage Vantage modelfests. 

She (real name - Krista Bach) took her talents from San Diego to her home state of Wisconsin and started a family and last year opened her very own DIY studio and crafting bar - Rec Room Craft Co! 

 

And 4 months later COVID hit and she had to pivot or lose everything. 

 

 

So she thought of ways to keep a DIY Craft business going in a contagious pandemic and what did she find? 

Kits! Do it yourself AT HOME Craft Kits! 

 

I ordered a small String Art kit!

 

The instructions were so easy to follow. 

 

I had a blast hammering nails into a dog shape.

 

Tying knots from nail to nail, suddenly a dog appeared!

Twins! 

 

Beautiful and fun new dog crafts!

These are great for older kids and adults. All the kids on my holiday shopping list are getting something from Rec Room Craft Co. this year.

It's not just string art! Check out the Indigo Dye Kit! 

And the Paint Pour Kits!

Order something for yourself, or someone you love who's crafty and creative, support a small business, and everyone will be so happy! 

 

Rec Room Craft Co! 

 

Friend Promotion Friday: Artist Jess Pfohl of JessMessin'

Hello and welcome to Friend Promotion Friday!

Self-promotion may be hard and awkward, but friend promotion is easy and fun.    

Feast your eyes on the art of Jess Pfohl, aka JessMessin'! 

Jess is an amazing artist based in the Baltimore area. Her works are bold and fun!

They are available on a wide variety of media including: signed prints, stickers, tote bags, cups, magnets, and pillows.

Pop art portrait illustration magnets!

Crab pillows!

Lobster prints!

She also does major art installations for festivals and other structures, such as Flower Farm: 

 She is legit, check out her resume: 

Check out her website: http://jessmessin.com/

Check out her current works: http://jessmessin.com/work-in-progress/

Check out her store: http://jessmessin.com/jessmessin-store-merch-gifts/

Check her out wearing a t-shirt I made specially for her which says "Happy Birthday" on the front, and "Sorry for Your Loss" on the back.  She was attending a birthday party in the afternoon, and a memorial concert in the evening and needed something suitable.

All in all, she is a wildly creative person who makes vibrant, fun, and functional art for a living, so show her some love!

Please keep in mind the vast majority of these friends are hustling to pay for their own health insurance. Supporting their businesses helps in many far-reaching positive ways.

Friend Promotion Friday: Fresh to Death Vintage

Hello and welcome to Friend Promotion Friday!

Self-promotion may be hard and awkward, but friend promotion is easy and fun.  

It is with great confidence and joy that I recommend my friend Stephanie Biagioni and her vintage shop Fresh to Death Vintage. 

Imagine Jerry and Elaine had a baby and raised her on Salt n Pepa videos - that would be Stephanie. She is hilarious and whip smart and has excellent taste in clothing and housewares and music.

Go Trailer, Go First Class vintage patch, anyone? 

Future Harley Rider Maternity tee?

Stephanie cares and hustles and will do everything possible to ensure customer satisfaction. She will probably wrap your purchase in some cute vintage thing and may even put surprises in the box.

Check out her reviews on Etsy:  Fresh to Death Vintage reviews.

Check her out all over the interwebs: 
                         Etsy shop: Fresh to Death Vintage
                    Wanelo shop: Fresh to Death Vintage 
                        Instagram: Fresh to Death Vintage
                           Pinterest: Fresh to Death Vintage

Check her out in a couple of SHV original What the Flock t-shirts (which she commissioned): 

I love peanut butter. 

And garbage!

I told you she was cool! Now head over to her shop and buy something(s) equally cool!

Please keep in mind the vast majority of these friends are hustling to pay for their own health insurance. Supporting their businesses helps in many far-reaching positive ways! 

Friend Promotion Friday: Up the Ladder Painting & Power Washing

Hello and welcome to Friend Promotion Friday!

Self-promotion may be hard and awkward, but friend promotion is easy and fun.

My friend Justin Kaiser does a fantastic job with indoor and outdoor painting at Up the Ladder Painting and Pressure Washing Co.  

After 4 years of dog claws and puddles, you could say our deck needed major attention. 

Nacho has been gone for 2 years now and look how bad it was already back then.

Justin is an excellent communicator who is honest, direct, and very reasonable about pricing and time.

We had some storms the first few days and he was able to continue sanding and painting through the rain by creating an ingenious "tarp city." 

Our deck was particularly challenging as its cracks were filled with pounds of dog fur. Justin removed all of this!

After a ton of sanding, two coats of paint, and a massive ladder and tarp operation, here is Justin applying the finishing touches.

It looks brand new, we can't believe it.  Our chipped, buckled, mildewy deck feels smooth and looks fantastic - our expectations were greatly exceeded!

Justin is also very friendly and tidy and wonderful with pets. If you are in the Asheville area and have a deck or house that needs some freshening, call Justin at Up the Ladder Painting and Power Washing!

wonderful with pets

Please keep in mind the vast majority of these friends are hustling to pay for their own health insurance. Supporting their businesses helps in many far-reaching positive ways. 

Friend Promotion Friday: Robin Egg Surprise Vintage

Hello and welcome to Second edition of Friend Promotion Friday!

Self-promotion may be hard and awkward, but friend promotion is easy and fun. 

My friend Allison Griswold sells vintage clothing, toys, and paper ephemera on Etsy at Robin Egg Surprise. 

It's easy to recommend Allison's shop because I have known her for several years and she is extremely kind and thoughtful, and will work with any customer before or after the sale to make sure they are happy. 

She is based in Indiana, has a great eye for vintage, and finds some wonderfully fun things.

How cute is this toddler fire chief t-shirt? 

She has an amazing collection of (cheap) old photos. 

Check out her gushing reviews from customers. Nothing but 5 stars all day long!

I do not have any photos of Allison in my t-shirts, but her 4 year old son wears t-shirts and hoodies from me, and I do have a photo of her with Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings after she gave them a bunch of vintage clothing, which they loved and immediately wore on stage for the rest of the tour. 

So if you like vintage things, head on over to Robin Egg Surprise on Etsy and buy something, or buy two things from Allison, you will not be disappointed! 

She also has a twitter if you're into that: Robin Egg Surprise twitter. 

Friend Promotion Friday: WNC Debt Law

Hello and welcome to the inaugural edition of Friend Promotion Friday!

Self-promotion may be hard and awkward, but friend promotion is easy and fun. 

The first friend(s) I'd like to promote are Asheville bankruptcy lawyer - WNC Debt Law - The Law Offices of Kevin J Radey. 

If you are in Western North Carolina and are having trouble paying your bills, WNC Debt Law can help. 

Kevin Radey has been my live-in boyfriend and joint tenant with right of survivorship for the past 8 years, and I can guarantee there is nobody out there more dedicated to protecting the rights of consumer debtors in the face of big banks.  The majority of his clients find themselves in his office after medical bills, job loss, and divorce.  He is hell bent on making sure debtors are treated fairly. Kevin has a huge heart, and is compassionate and relentless in his pursuit of achieving the best results for his clients.  He works with bankruptcy and student loan cases. 

Michelle Rogers is Kevin's assistant, and she has been a dear, dear friend to me for the past 9 years. She is extremely positive and friendly and and excellent communicator who helps clients collect their documents and makes sure their cases run smoothly.

You don't have to take it from me, check out their Google reviews. Keep in mind how uncomfortable it might be for clients to have their public Google accounts associated with a personal bankruptcy, and see how intent they are on expressing gratitude anyway. 

I am going to try to put photos in these Friend Promotion Friday posts of the friends wearing Skippy Haha Vintage t-shirts. Luckily, Kevin wears nothing but SHV t-shirts, and Michelle did some modeling for me back in the day. 

 

I sincerely hope nobody reading this needs their services, but if you do, there is no better office to call.