House Party Swap n Shop

Swap O Rama is the lovechild of the classic clothing swap event combined with the hip modern craft circleintroducing age old practical arts from your grandparents’ day as the chic, radical trend for today. 

Bring all your underused and underappreciated clothes and accessories and let them mingle with others of their kind.  Come combine, rework, or recycle them intosomething totally new, surprising, and fun. …and LOOK MA, I did it myself!  

Well …with the help of the gracious knowledge and assistance of Swap O Rama volunteers whose master craft skills will help you put your creations together.

I took an oldT-shirt and skirt and - earnestly trying to act like I understood the instructions from the nice girl behind the sewing  …. I waited appreciatively as she transformed that old T & skirt into a new cute peasant top!  ….But, hey, I helped too! I took it to the screen printing station and picked out a cute design to put on the front of the top. I love that top!

This event was held last year at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, the FELT CLUB Craft Faire and SWAP-O-RAMA together under one roof. I went with my sister and a friend.

My friend grabbed an old, gaudy gold lame top and turned it into an adorable littlepurse, adding a green velvet ribbon and leather belt!  My sister had brought that gaudy, gold top(what was she thinking?), and was astonished to see it reborn and as an eye-catching evening bag!  Inspired, she grabbed an old velvet skirt and turned it into a Christmas stocking.

We had so much fun. Everyone around us had so much fun. It was contagious. You might come with a skeptical scowl but  you won’t leave with one. Swap-O-Rama draws you into the thrill of making something with your own two hands. It unleashes your creativity.

Women,children, even men…everyone was totally into it.

After we were finished with the swap we went down to the Felt Club Craft Faire to peruse the creations of our fellow crafters and artists. (Yah – I’m an artist. Did you see that top?)

This weekend the Swap O Rama on July 11, 2009 is happening in conjunction with the RENEGADE CRAFT FAIR at the California Market Center in Los Angeles. 

If you can make it – you HAVE to go.  There will be silk screen stations,a tote making station, and tons of wonderfully helpful and patient master crafters to help you.

Now, for my inside tips on how to navigate the Swap O Rama to get the most out of your experience:

Get there early. Wait in line if you must – the best time to be there is when it starts. 

There will not be a lot of clothes to look through at first – but that’s ok. What YOU need to do is go check out the crafting stations – see what is there and what appeals to you.Then decide on a few things you’d like to try. This swap is really more about re-crafting or recycling old clothes into something new and exciting, more than it is about exchanging clothes with others (of course, there is plenty of room for that too!).

If you want to make sure to get something in your size, or if you’d like to be really well prepared and make the MOST of your time, bring some items you’d like to restyle for yourself rather than just hoping to find items from the swap to use. This will not only ensure that you will have items with the right fit, but you can add to, embellish, or restyle them — transform them into that new one-of-a-kind masterpiece!  Bring a few T-shirts, some old faded jeans…whatever will work as your own personal blank canvas.

Another great way to prepare is to take a look at the designers who will be there and look at their web sites, reviews of past Swap O Ramas, or any info to see what kind of craft stations have been there before.  Look online for inspirations, and have a few ideas in mind for what you might want to craft there.  So, if you know there may be a tote making station, brainstorm some ideas on how to make a great tote! 

Get creative with your materials.  If you don’t like the style, or it’s the wrong size, but you LOVE the fabric, print or color --- see what you can restyle it into! Buttons, lace, and trim – even accessories can be used to make an amazing new item.

Make sure to also bring a bag of good stuff for others to go through. If you’re not getting some use out of it, I guarantee someone else will. Contribute whole items, or look at them as pieces that can be re-used in different ways. Don’t let anything go to waste.

So – show up with your ideas, have some items you can work with right away, and then scan the room to map out the craft stations to see what you want to do. Then --- jump right in!  Start making, crafting, reworking,and restyling stuff as soon as you can. That way you can get a lot done before the crowds come in.  Once the crowds arrive, you can take a break and go look through all of the clothes and items that have come in with them. You might be able to pick out some additional things to re-style. Then hit the craft stations again. Or maybe you can just treasure hunt through the stuff coming in and pick through the best of it. 

Wear comfortable clothes that allow you to easily to try on things over or under them. Unfortunately, there will be no dressing rooms or change areas. Dress coolly – it will probably get hot. Bring water and wear comfortable shoes. And bring a big bag that is easy to carry and can hold a lot.  You will need a bag to hold your items (the raw materials you will use to re-style with) while you’re crafting. You will need to hold the things you have created.  And you will need room to grab up that great new coat, pair of jeans, and funky t-shirt that you just might find and want to wear “as-is”.

THEN… go shop the Renegade Craft Fair and see how the pros do it. Support your fellow artists &crafters. Or just spy on the designs for inspiration and see YOU would like to do next…at the next Swap O Rama!

Go straight to the sourcefor the details. See the official website at : 

http://www.hiplinemedia.com/swaporamarama.html