Mary Jane's Handmade http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/ en Copyright 2008 Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:34:00 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Farewell, Mary Jane. You Will Be Missed. Thank you for supporting Mary Jane's Handmade over the past year. Mary Jane had been quietly fighting liver cancer for the past several months, and passed away peacefully in her home on Wednesday, October 15. She will be dearly missed.

Mary Jane!

If you are in the Twin Cities and would like to pay your respects, please email me (her granddaughter, Meghan) at: maryjaneshandmade [at] gmail [dot] com, and I will send you the details.

Thanks again for all your support. Whenever you wear your apron, take an extra sip of wine and toast Mary Jane!



Cheers!]]> http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/10/farewell-mary-jane-you-will-be.html http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/10/farewell-mary-jane-you-will-be.html Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:34:00 -0600 No Coast, Here We Come! HOLLER! We just got the official word today that we are IN! Mark your calendar for December 5 + 6 and meet us over at Midtown Global Market for the most awesome craft fair in Minneapolis: No Coast Craft-O-Rama.

Hope to see you there!

]]> http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/09/no-coast-here-we-come.html http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/09/no-coast-here-we-come.html News Shows and Shops Thu, 04 Sep 2008 21:26:07 -0600 Never Too Late Never Too Late

As you may know, the Weisman Art Museum Store (at the University of Minnesota), carries Mary Jane's Handmade aprons. The U of M is Mary Jane's alma mater, and they have written an awesome piece about her and our little online apron empire.

Read the article here, and stop by the Weisman to see our aprons (or check out our online store and shop, yo!)

]]> http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/08/never-too-late.html http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/08/never-too-late.html News Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:14:06 -0600 Renegade Recap Renegade San Francisco Booth

Renegade was a big success, thanks to Jennifer (Mary Jane's daughter-in-law) and Lilly (MJ's granddaughter) and their friends. Jen put together an awesome booth and the ladies even passed out cookies at the booth (we are TOTALLY stealing that idea if we get into No Coast this year!).

Now that we're back, Mary Jane is focused on making tons of fantastic new aprons so you will all have lots to choose from for holiday gifts this year. I've restocked the Etsy shop with tons of goodies -- including aprons made from some of the fabric we picked up in Italy. We already sold one of the Italian beauties and got the following lovely note from Cathleen in Illinois:

"I loved my other apron so much, I need to add another!! Your aprons are creative, fun, and beautiful.  I love that this material comes from Italy...also one of my favorite places to visit.  Thanks for the lovely work!"

So, check out the store and stock up on aprons. If you're in Minneapolis, you can also see our wares at the Weisman Art Museum Store.

Ciao!

]]> http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/08/renegade-recap-2.html http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/08/renegade-recap-2.html Happy Customers News Shows and Shops Fri, 22 Aug 2008 22:50:31 -0600 We're back, and we're gone again! sfwebbanner.gifWe are back from our trip to France and Italy. What fun! We had a great time hanging out with our friends Doris and Doug (photos will be posted soon!) and we scored some fantastic Italian fabrics in Lucca.

Our Etsy store is still bare while Mary Jane slaves away in preparation for Renegade San Francisco on July 12-13! Come visit us in booth #29! (Our pal Rebecca of Hazel and Melvin's Room will be in booth #106, be sure to visit her, too.)

Big thanks to MJH helpers Jen and Lilly; please stop and say hello to them. (And maybe bring them a snack or a cup of coffee. Selling aprons is hard work!) Chances are good that you'll see Mary Jane herself at the show, too. But you'll just have to head over to Fort Mason to find out.
]]> http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/06/were-back-and-were-gone-again.html http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/06/were-back-and-were-gone-again.html News Shows and Shops Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:10:43 -0600 Ciao, Bella! Sweet Tweets ApronThings are rocking at MJH Headquarters! First, we were accepted into the San Francisco Renegade Craft Fair on July 12-13. That's right, in mid-July you West coasters will be able to see Mary Jane's aprons in real life. You'll also get to meet MJ's daughter-in-law, Jen, and another one of her many granddaughters, Lilly. (If you're lucky, Mary Jane herself may make an appearance, but we're not sure yet.) We heard that our friend Rebecca will be at Renegade, too. So that's two Minnesota-licious reasons to visit.

In the meantime, MJH headquarters will be closing down for a summer break while we jet off to Europe. You heard me! We're off to Paris, France and Lucca, Italy for good food, good wine and good times. We'll be visiting our friend Doris*, and checking out Uncle Matt's new Italian house. As a result, our Etsy shop will be closed until mid-June. However, you can still buy our aprons at the Weisman Art Museum Store in Minneapolis, and once we return we'll get the shop opened up again for all your summer apron needs.

Enjoy the lovely month of June. MJ is working on more aprons for you to enjoy when we return!



*Shameless plug: if you are looking to go to Italy this summer, or know anyone who is -- our friend Doris rents out the most amazing properties. They really can't be beat! ]]> http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/05/ciao-bella.html http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/05/ciao-bella.html News Shows and Shops Wed, 21 May 2008 11:44:03 -0600 Mary Jane, Media Darling Mary Jane! Whew, sorry it's been a while since we updated!

Craftstravaganza was a big success (COLD, but a big success!) and we were featured on Kare11 Saturday morning! One of our elves dropped off a couple of aprons for Belinda Jensen and Eric Perkins; we're told they wore them on air but haven't had a chance to see a clip yet. We're hoping that Mary Jane's granddaughter and PR whiz Nora can get us a copy so we can post it here. For now, we just have this short summary from the Kare11 web site. Mary Jane: supercrafter!

And -- exciting news -- the Weisman Art Museum Store is now carrying our aprons (we're even in their window display -- photos coming soon!). So, stop over to the Weisman, see some great art, and then buy an apron! The U of M is also planning on doing a story about Mary Jane (she is a U of M alumnus); we'll let you know where and when you can see that once we know more.

Keep in touch and we hope to see you this Summer! Sign up for our mailing list and we'll let you know where to come and find us. Oh -- and sorry our Etsy shop is bare; we hope to have it re-stocked later this week.
]]> http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/05/mary-jane-media-darling.html http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/05/mary-jane-media-darling.html News Shows and Shops Mon, 05 May 2008 20:47:41 -0600 The Buzz @ MJs PincushionOnce in a while, I troll around Google just to see if we're getting any attention anywhere that I don't know about. Turns out that back in November, there was a very flattering thread about Mary Jane's Handmade on MNSpeak (thanks to the talented Leigha Horton!). Glad to see everyone liked the look of our aprons and their retro-coolness. We certainly had a great experience at No Coast this year (despite the snowstorm).

Looking toward Spring, the workshop is chock full of aprons as we continue to prepare for Craftstravaganza on April 26th. We've got about 50 full aprons ready and are working on about 30 half aprons. There are tons of super-cute items on the rack right now: lots of polka dots (a perennial favorite), sushi, tattoos, flowers, some great '40s-looking fabrics...something for everyone! Sorry, no photos yet -- you'll just have to come see our booth!

We also started a Facebook page for all you crazy kids on FB. Become a fan (and hopefully we'll remember to post updates there regularly).

In other news, we're planning to apply for the Renegade Craft Fair in San Francisco this July 12. Applications open up on March 14th; wish us luck!
]]> http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/03/the-buzz-mjs.html http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/03/the-buzz-mjs.html News Shows and Shops Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:00:28 -0600 Keeping up with Mary Jane's subscribing to our RSS feed, you could also sign up for the Mary Jane's Handmade mailing list. It's a very low-volume email list, we'll only send out notices a couple of times per year. And of course, you can unsubscribe at any time and we will never share your email address with anyone.

Another way to be a part of the growing MJH community is to either send us a photo of you enjoying your Mary Jane's Handmade apron or tote bag (so we can make you a part of our Happy Customers section), or tag your Flickr photos with "maryjaneshandmade" and you'll show up in our site sidebar.

We'd love to hear from you!
]]> http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/02/keeping-up-with-mary-janes.html http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/02/keeping-up-with-mary-janes.html News Tue, 26 Feb 2008 22:33:42 -0600 Love from Baltimore Soda Pop ApronWe received this nice note from Mary in Baltimore:

"I loooooooooove my aprons!  You have to make more poka-dot ones.  I love the Soda Pop and Necco Wafer patterns!  They are fun to wear, light weight, and have pockets.  All my requirements! Thank-you, Mary Jane. They are beautiful..."

We love happy customers!

(Oh, and Meghan finally got all the new aprons posted on Etsy. Check 'em out!)
]]> http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/02/love-from-baltimore.html http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/02/love-from-baltimore.html Happy Customers Sun, 03 Feb 2008 21:11:33 -0600 Mary Jane's Around the World Apron RackWow, cool -- we didn't realize until today that we were featured in the No Coast Craft-o-Rama's blog in December. Thanks, guys!

In other news, Meghan has been playing around with creating a Google map showing all the fabulous places we've sent aprons. Hopefully, this will be on the site someday, but until then check it out at Google.

There will be TWELVE new aprons posted to Etsy as soon as Meghan has time (we're shooting for Sunday at the latest, but work has been nuts!).

Meanwhile, Mary Jane is busy cutting out new aprons while her sewing machine is in the shop for a tune-up. Gotta make sure things are in tip-top condition as we gear up for Craftstravaganza on April 26.
]]> http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/01/mary-janes-around-the-world.html http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/01/mary-janes-around-the-world.html News Wed, 30 Jan 2008 23:32:45 -0600 Old and New News Old news: On November 30, 2007 -- during No Coast Craft-O-Rama, Molly Priesmeyer of MinnPost wrote this great piece about Mary Jane's Handmade. At the time, we didn't have our web site up, but now that we do we wanted to share this with everyone.

New news: We were accepted into the Craftstravaganza! This year's show is on April 26 at the State Fairgrounds in St. Paul, MN. Mark your calendars, we hope to see you there. Mary Jane's workshop is going to be in overdrive as we stock up for the big show.
]]> http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/01/old-and-new-news.html http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/01/old-and-new-news.html News Shows and Shops Fri, 18 Jan 2008 09:46:00 -0600 Feeling Owl-y Thumbnail image for owlySome new fabric arrived at the Mary Jane's workshop this weekend courtesy of Mary Jane's daughter, Margaret. (Thanks, Madge!) Keep an eye on our Etsy shop to see what this fabric becomes when it grows up. Will it be an apron or a tote? You never can tell; no one but Mary Jane herself knows for sure!

This weekend, we also posted several new aprons on Etsy, including a super-cute heart apron (just in time for St. Valentine's day!) and several amazingly cute polka-dotties. Check 'em out!


]]> http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/01/feeling-owly.html http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/01/feeling-owly.html News Mon, 14 Jan 2008 21:49:42 -0600 Aprons in Australia!
Thumbnail image for polkadottie1.jpegShe had such nice things to say about us, we wanted to share them:

"I know you told me they are to be worn but I love them both and I don't know how I can bring myself to get them dirty!"

"I'm so happy to be able to buy these lovely aprons. Nobody does work like this anymore. Apart from the fact they are so beautifully made and designed, it gives me great pleasure to have made contact with an artist on the other side of the world too."

Suzie is a folk singer near Melbourne, Australia. Check her out on MySpace.

We're so glad she found us on Etsy!


]]> http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/01/aprons-in-australia.html http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/01/aprons-in-australia.html Happy Customers Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:25:08 -0600 Welcome
In the meantime, you can purchase items online at our Etsy shop, or browse a gallery of aprons and bags on Flickr.

All items are made by Mary Jane, a 90-year-old artist in Minneapolis. We love custom orders, so contact us if you're interested.
]]> http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/01/welcome.html http://www.maryjaneshandmade.com/2008/01/welcome.html News Sat, 05 Jan 2008 13:22:42 -0600