diane zerr, of faye + co, with a memo board by vintage jane
it’s a small, small world.
i can’t ever forget that when i’m with a group of “internet” friends in real life. stephanie corfee arranged a little face-to-face crafty social at hello bluebird this weekend.
twenty-some crafty ladies all gathered together to put faces to twitter avatars, chit chat, brainstorm, and – maybe – network. there were brunchy snacks, crafty items to be traded, and lots of smiles.
just fifteen months ago, i didn’t know any of these women and now they’re friends that i talk to on a daily basis. we’ve been living down the road & around the corner from each other – or in their backyard, i’m looking at you jan! – and we came together on the internet! they support my dreams and i support theirs. we’re a little crafty family! these women are also my greatest cheerleaders. when i have a victory, they help me shout it from the mountaintops. they’re my base.
there have been few times in my life when i felt the sense of community i do now. this group is a real, tangible representation of the greater community that i have here on the ‘net. thanks, ladies, for an awesome get-together. i’m so honored to be a part of your lives and so glad to have you in mine!
Tara Gentile is a business coach and blogger serving passion-driven entrepreneurs with fresh ideas about 
how wonderful! I dream of this happening at some point where I live! yea you guys!!
hi nicole! if you dream it, build it! without taking too much credit (cause i really can’t), many of us met through my first blog: handmade in pa.net. once we were together on the ‘net, it was a no brainer to start getting together – whether at shows or socials or random coffee dates – in real life!
Aw, this looks fun! I’m in Lancaster, Pa. and would love to participate in something like this!
hi christie! definitely connect with handmade in pa on facebook: http://facebook.com/handmadeinpa as that’s the best way to get in touch with everyone all in one place. and feel free to friend me, as well: http://facebook.com/tara.gentile as i try to pass on the info whenever i can, as well!
It was alot of fun! wish I could have chatted more, but it was nice getting together with all of you wonderful ladies:)
hey michelle! so glad you could come & greet meeting your little one.
oh i’m jealous!! i’ll just have to be satisfied with the digital here in oz.
thea.
xx
(Spoonful zine)
hey thea! digital is good too
real good for wallflowers like me 
that is awesome! it is a great experience when you can meet your “virtual friends” in real life. hope you guys are able to do that again. looked like a lot of fun
hi prasti! with the spring show season hurdling towards us, i’m sure we’ll be together a lot more soon! thanks for stopping by today!
I’m with Nicole — I dream of the day I can build a local crafty family (hey, Ohioans, I’m looking at you!) This was such a happy read this morning. Thanks for sharing your experience and joy in friendship with us all. Just makes me smile
evelyn – like i told nicole, if you can dream it, you can build it. i think we talked about building your local crafty community when we chatted – it’s such a great way to meet driven, engaged women!
It was so good to meet everyone in person! I hope we can do it again soon.
definitely, lisa! i’d love to pick a more eastern spot next time and get even more philly peeps involved. thanks for coming!
Oh my, what a way to start the day by seeing my grinning mug at the top of your post (thanks Tara…). It was a lot of fun and so nice to meet people who want to share and be part of a creative community.
Christie, we had people from Philadelphia and Harrisburg – it was open to anyone and hopefully we’ll have another one real soon. I hear rumors of a summer bbq. Tara, I know you’ll love this from yesterday’s conversation. We just need Janelle’s recipe for the meat-free bbq and we’re set!
lol! it was the best picture i took so i had to lead off with it…
i was following the bbq chit chat on twitter last night. you know i’m in! so glad you could come yesterday, diane!
first – praise to tara for not using any pics of me!! that made my day : ) haha!
second- i had so much fun chatting with everyone and volunteer to host a summer BBQ meetup at my house which is perfectly between philly and reading in malvern, pa
third – i KNEW tara would beat me to posting a re-cap. YOU ARE SO EFFICIENT! but i am going to post one too and just be content to be sloppy seconds : ) heehee
first – blagh! i know, most of mine weren’t really post-worthy… but plenty were facebook worthy
second – yay for summer bbq! let me know what you need from me
thrid – i’m not efficient. i’m lazy!! this killed a whole lot of proverbial birds with one proverbial stone. can’t wait to see your sloppy seconds! feel free to pull any of my crappy pics
Thanks for the recap, Tara! This was so much fun and I hope we can do it again. Maybe we could add in a fun little workshop of some sort next time.
ooh! a workshop sounds divine! good idea, carrie! i think diane might need to get on that
Sounds like y’all had lots of fun! You are all lucky to have found kindred spirits you can connect with in the flesh!
we did, candy! do you have a group out there in sunny ca? if not, you should start one!
Holy cow – that was a great idea/event/good time!! Thank you Stephanie for ringleading!!
Wonderful sentiments, Tara, on the spirit and importance of community. dittos and kudos and hi-fiveos! Even tho I’ve been at this for a long time, I feel like I’m finally building meaningful relationships – ahhhh!
And holy cow p.s. – darn it to hell if i don’t look like my grandma in that pic…when she was older. ack!
if you look like your grandma, she must’ve been one pretty lady!
or must be! i shouldn’t assume the worst!!!!
wow, that looks like a lot of fun. i know there are a lot of crafty ladies who get together here in vancouver, i’ve just got to join them
someday, i’d love to meet a few of you ladies in person, too! love that community.
yes, lesley!! you really should join them
it’s been such a bright spot in my life the last year.
i would love to meet you in person too – and love to visit vancouver. need to convince my husband that the beach isn’t the only good place for a vacation
This sounds awesome! So glad you gals found each other.
Wow- this looks wonderful! I’m pretty new to the craft-scene and would love to hang out with some local crafters. I live west of Philly about 30 miles… would love to join in next time if this is open to all. Thanks for sharing!
Hi there my Friends in Pennsylvania–I stumbled upon Scoutie Girl on FB today and wound up here. I’m so jealous of your F2F gathering and time to craft! I grew up in Chester County but live in eastern MA now. I wanted to tell you of a wonderful new quilt shop in Unionville that my *best* childhood friend opened last fall: Roundabout Quilting http://www.roundaboutquilting.com/. Andra Rudershausen, the owner, is a wonderful fabric artist and the shop is lovely, with plenty of sunny classroom space and clever ideas to inspire you. She doesn’t sell online (yet!) so you’ll have to take the trip: she’s at the crossroads of 842 and 82. Happy crafting!
Thanks for the link, Emily!
Emily- that is just down the road from me. Thanks!
That sounds amazing. I would love to be apart of something like that sometime. Soon, I’m just figuring all this stuff out still.
It truly is amazing how we connect to people all around the world in just the click of a button.
Thanks for sharing!
Angela, I think the one of the easiest ways to figure it out is to connect with some locals online. You’ve already got a connection and stiff in common.
Thanks for stopping by today!
So cool, Tara! It must have been so fun to see each other in “real life!” I’m envious of the community you’ve built. I’ve just moved to Sammamish, WA from Portland, OR and I’m still trying to find some local crafty peeps!
Keep trying, Haley! It’s soooo worth it!
How fun! When I move back to New Zealand later this year, I’m going to try and create this kind of crafty community (if it’s not already there). After spending half my 20s living in L.A., goodness knows I’m going to need the friends!