Tag: bloomington

gather, indie craft store, bloomington indiana The Crafty Guide to Bloomington, Indiana
City Guides · Resources

The Crafty Guide to Bloomington, Indiana

Megan Green1 Comment

Hoosiers know that Indiana is more than just Indianapolis. A little city just to the south of the capital has quite a crafty reputation, and we asked fellow conner and all around crafty badass Talia Halliday to create this crafty city guide to Bloomington, IN.

Public service announcement: The next Midwest Craft Con is Feb, 16-18, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio, and tickets are on sale now!

I’ve been lucky enough to call Bloomington home now for (omigoodness) almost 20 years and, honestly, around every corner just about every day there’s a new public art piece being installed or a new art co-op being founded. It’s amazing to live in such a small town with a heart and public hand in the arts. Our little town is so supportive of everything we do, be it an art fair, a handmade store or a mural spanning a city block. It’s a pleasure to call this artsy city home. — Talia Halliday

gather, indie craft store, bloomington indiana

Crafty Stores

Gather
116 N Walnut St, Bloomington, IN 47404
Gather is located in the heart of downtown Bloomington and carries the handmade work of over 300 makers from the Midwest and beyond, focusing on modern and independent handmade designers. Gather also hosts bi-monthly craft nights and is home to a monthly changing gallery as part of Gallery Walk Bloomington.

The Venue
114 S. Grant St., Bloomington, IN 47408
The Venue is located in a quaint Victorian house just off Kirkwood Avenue, close to Indiana University, focusing on “the finest in artistic and functional, handcrafted works of art.” They also host weekly events spanning from art talks to music.

By Hand Gallery
101 W. Kirkwood Ave. Suite #109, Bloomington, IN 47404
A handmade art gallery co-operative featuring ceramics, textiles, paintings, drawings and woodworking, as well as an extensive jewelry selection.

Made at Artisan Alley
222 W. Second St., Bloomington, IN 47403
Made focuses on selling the artwork of emerging makers in the Bloomington area. Artisan Alley is also the home of businesses including venue rental, artist studios, art galleries, co-working space, music studios, a cidery and so much more.

Honorable mentions: Global Gifts, In a Yarn Basket, Pygmalion’s Art Supplies, Kleindorfer’s Hardware, Friends of Art Bookshop

Places for Makers

Bloominglabs
1609 S Rogers St., Building 4, Bloomington, IN
Bloomington’s very own hacker space! A space for sharing tools and knowledge to make stuff! Bloominglabs is Indiana’s first maker space.

Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center
122 S Walnut St., Bloomington, IN
The John Waldron Arts Center houses a unique blend of artists, performers and educators. They host many stage performances, four galleries and art classes for all ages.

I-Fell Building
415 W. Fourth St., Bloomington, IN
Located on the near-west side of downtown Bloomington, the Fell houses working artists’ studios, small businesses and a bakery.

FAR Center for Contemporary Arts
505 W. Fourth St., Bloomington, IN, 47403
Opening in 2018, FAR will be host to a gallery, library, venue rental space and so much more.

Honorable mentions: Artisan Alley and the Monroe County Public Library

Craft Shows

  • Bloomington Handmade Market: Organized by Gather, BHM will be celebrating 10 years in 2018. BHM has a holiday show the second Saturday in November featuring 80+ indie makers at the Monroe Convention Center. And in 2018, BHM will be rolling out its first outdoor summer fair on the first Saturday in June.
  • Fourth Street Art Fair: Created in 1977 and held over Labor Day Weekend, Fourth Street Art Fair is one of the premier fine art fairs in the Midwest, featuring artists and craftspeople from all over the country.
  • Honorable mentions: Art Market at the Fell Building and Weekends at Artisan Alley

Best Vintage

Cherry Canary
214 W. Fourth St., Bloomington, IN 47404
The best place to find in vintage clothing in downtown Bloomington. Nuff said.

Bloomington Antique Mall
311 W. Seventh St., Bloomington, IN 47404
Located in one of Indiana’s most vibrant downtown districts, the Historic Bloomington Antique Mall features quality antiques merchants, artists, and artisans, in 50 showcases and 120 booths.

Jeff’s Warehouse
424 S. College Ave., Bloomington, IN 47403
The place to go for mid-century modern furniture and fixtures — also home to a funky fun mix of industrial fixings and decorative arts.

Crafty Hangouts

Cup & Kettle
208 N. Walnut St. #100, Bloomington, IN 47404
This tea shop downtown makes their own loose-leaf teas and serves local coffee and pastries. Locally owned (of course) by two strong lady bosses and makers, the shop hosts monthly craft nights, knit nights, games nights and more!

Hopscotch
235 W. Dodds and 212 N. Madison, Bloomington, IN
Best coffee shop in town owned by the best people. Hop has two convenient locations, the best modern style and the tastiest coffee.

Rainbow Bakery
201 S. Rogers St., Bloomington, IN
Also in the Fell Building and owned by the family behind Hop, Rainbow is a vegan bakery that has amazing pasties, donuts, muffins and cookies. The Twin Peaks references and the plant wall make this my favorite!

Talia Halliday is the owner of Conduit Press, an arts business specializing in hollow books and leather goods. She also organizes the Bloomington Handmade Market with the help of a few very opinionated minions and runs her own brick-and-mortar shop called Gather in downtown Bloomington, IN. 

Advertisement
talia halliday Meet a Speaker: Talia Halliday
News

Meet a Speaker: Talia Halliday

Megan GreenLeave a comment

talia halliday

Talia Halliday is the owner of Conduit Press, an arts business specializing in hollow books and leather goods. Her hollow books can be found exclusively through Uncommon Goods and her leatherwork can be found at over 50 stores in nearly all 50 states. Halliday also organizes the Bloomington Handmade Market, an indie craft show in its eighth year in Bloomington, IN, with the help of a few very entitled and opinionated minions. She opened up her own brick and mortar shop called Gather in downtown Bloomington in fall 2014. Gather is home to nearly 200 makers from across the Midwest and beyond and continues to grow by the day. In her spare time (oh yes, there is spare time), Talia enjoys hanging out with her crafty cohorts, spending time with her loving and adorable family, and making plans to take over the world — or at least Bloomington.

At Midwest Craft Con, Talia is teaching The Organization of a Wholesale Crafts Business.

How would you describe yourself in 10 words or less?

Intense. Motivated. Creative. Mother artist.

What is your earliest crafty memory?

My gramma was super crafty in the gramma craft kinda way. We often sat around her table (which was a round upturned giant spool from some factory) and mostly painted little ceramic things, or glued popsicle sticks together. We made a lot of birdhouses together, and later, yup, you guessed it, lawn duck clothing. Classy!

What is your favorite thing about the Midwest?

Our love for the Midwest is probably the best, but also being able to get almost anywhere in a day. I mean, aside from the far West Coast, almost anywhere is a mere day drive away. I love that we have four seasons, that we have lakes and hills and cities and really small towns. It’s almost the best of every world. 😉

What would you be if you weren’t an artist/creative?

This is all I could ever be.

What three things would you recommend to makers?

  • Community. I think finding your tribe, your community, whatever you want to call it, is PARAMOUNT to surviving this life (any life really), but especially a creative life.
  • A journal/notebook. You always need SOMETHING to write down all your crazy in. Maybe it’s your phone, maybe it’s a stack of Post-it notes, or maybe it’s a Moleskine. Whatever it is, use it and carry it with you everywhere.
  • Spotify or Pandora. I’m a horrible person when it comes to reading or listening to podcasts, but for me, listening to music (all kinds), ad free, is so stimulating and inspiring.

What are your resolutions for 2017?

Follow up. That pretty much wraps up everything I need to do in 2017 from my family and personal life to all my business personas. FOLLOW UP.

Talia Halliday on Finding Your Tribe
News

Talia Halliday on Finding Your Tribe

Megan GreenLeave a comment

Talia Halliday is the owner of Conduit Press, an arts business specializing in hollow books and leather goods. Her hollow books can be found exclusively through Uncommon Goods and her leatherwork can be found at over 50 stores in nearly all 50 states. Halliday also organizes the Bloomington Handmade Market, an indie craft show in its seventh year in Bloomington, IN, with the help of a few very entitled and opinionated minions. Beyond that, most recently Talia decided she wasn’t being quite masochistic enough and opened up her own brick and mortar shop called Gather in downtown Bloomington in fall 2014. Gather is home to nearly 200 makers from across the Midwest and beyond and continues to grow by the day. In her spare time (oh, yes, there is spare time), Talia enjoys hanging out with her crafty cohorts, spending time with her loving and adorable family, and making plans to take over the world — or at least Bloomington.

At Midwest Craft Con, she’ll be teaching: Wholesale Like a Pro, and Packaging for Retail.

Why do you do what you do?

Ha! That’s a great question! Because I’m crazy and have to be my own boss. Because I’m a control-freak and have to be my own boss. Because I Love to make things and if I can make money doing that, then great. Because I need the freedom to stay home with my family when I want to, and the consistency of having a “day job” to remain sane (thus, a shop). I’m not very good at answering this question. Let’s try again. I do what I do because I want to. There.

What’s your earliest crafty memory?

Making “rule” books during my elementary school years with the various secret clubs the neighborhood kids and myself were involved in. These mostly involved stapled together pieces of paper with badly drawn Crayola marker illustrations paired with bullet lists of rules we made up on the fly. Because we were cool. I also made a lot of “things” with my gramma, who was known for her cement ducks wearing awesome outfits in her front yard each season.

What crafty personality would you most like to get a drink with?

I’m pretty down with getting a drink with any crafty personality.

What advice would you go back and give your younger self?

Don’t question yourself, just do it. When I first started my craft business, I worked (likely too) hard trying to make a cohesive line of work that made sense together — and I think that stifled my creativity rather than helped it to blossom. When I was trying to fill my Etsy shop, I waited until I had loads of things to list, instead of just listing them as I made them. Which was just silly. I also tend toward one-off items, and I think if I had it to do over again, I would have worked at creating items that could be (more easily) recreated, instead of creating one of a kind items each and every time.

What’s your favorite craft business book?

The Handmade Marketplace by Kari Chapin — it really pushed me toward cultivating our own creative tribe, so to speak. Reading about all these cool people who sort of knew each other made me envious and motivated to create our own. Which we did.

How did you get where you are today, in 10 words or less? 

Hard work. No fear. Jumping in. Not looking back.

What are your goals for 2016?

For Conduit Press, I’d like for my craft business to grow into at least 50 new stores and get an online presence more than just Etsy. For Gather, I’d like to see our sales increase by another 25 percent, our offerings for classes to become more diverse, and for us to be more involved in our community.