Hello Wisconsin!

 

We have had a busy year creating our handmade bookish goodies of all sorts. As usual, we have particularly enjoyed our Saturdays selling them at the Dane County Farmers’ Market. Autumn is around the corner, and with it comes our last couple of months of farmers’ markets. I can hardly believe how quickly this season has passed!

We hope you are enjoying the last gasp of summer and cherish the beautiful fall days ahead. As we look forward to fall craft shows and the busy holiday season, we would like to take a moment to thank all of our amazing local customers who visit us year after year and make this job so great. Your kind words, encouragement and repeat business is appreciated more than we can express!

We will be down at the market Saturdays through early November and hope you will stop by to visit our booth whether it’s for the first time or the tenth time.

For our bookish friends who are not in the Madison area, please feel free to visit our etsy shop or check our event schedule for more upcoming shows!

 

Madison Fall Gallery Night

Tonight is Madison Museum of Contemporary Art’s Fall Gallery night! Artists throughout the city will be showcasing their work, and we are excited to be participating.

Chad will be at the Goodman Community Center showing some of his newest artwork inspired by literature along with some of my bookish jewelry. There will be several other artists at the Goodman Center along with live music and complimentary refreshments. Stop by to visit if you’re in the Madison area!

Book Plaques

Although I have been taking my sweet time, I really have been creating some fun new things over the long winter. Here are a few little collages that I finished recently. These wooden wall plaques combine pieces of book covers combined with snippets of book text. I made a few with hooks this year in case you need a special place to hang your book bag!  

I made a some of these last year just before the farmers’ market started and didn’t have time to make more through the season. These are all one of a kind! The pictured plaques along with several others will be available at our farmers’ market booth beginning April 18. Hope to see you there!

10th Annual Holiday Craftacular

It’s hard to believe it, but our final show of 2014 is coming up this weekend! Please stop out for this wonderful show at the Masonic Center in Madison, Wisconsin on Saturday, Nov. 29th. If you’re looking for unique, handmade gifts made by artists and crafters in your community and beyond, this is the place to visit. There will also be free goody bags for the first 50 shoppers! Hope to see you this weekend. Have a lovely holiday season, friends!

The Crafty Fair

We are done vending at the farmers’ market for the year. There is technically one date left, but friends, it is just too darn cold to be peddling necklaces and artwork on the street. We are taking it inside! You can find The Bookish Life at a few area shows through November. Our first holiday show will be The Crafty Fair on Sunday, November 16 at the Goodman Center in Madison, Wisconsin.

This event is organized by Rosy Hawbaker, AKA Rosymade Designs. She does an amazing job making this a super fun event full of the best assortment of handmade gifts around!

Check out our events page to see where you can find us the rest of the year. Hope to see you at a show! If you can’t make it to one of our events but want to see what fun new things we’ve been making,  you can always visit our etsy shop. We will be adding lots of new items as the holidays approach.

Summertime & New Bookish Things

Summer is here! Our family has been keeping busy with long walks, drive-in movies, s’mores, the beach, reading new books and of course the Dane County Farmers’ Market on Saturdays! We hope that you are enjoying the nicer weather and all of the good things that summer brings.

We’ve also been keeping busy with making lots of new goodies for The Bookish Life. Here are a few of the newest creations you can find at the market on Saturdays (downtown Madison, on State St. in front of the bus shelter near Teddy Wedgers.) We also started vending at the Verona, WI farmers’ market on Tuesdays from 4-7 p.m. We will not be there every week, but plan to vend at least a couple of times each month. You can follow our facebook page to get the most up-to-date information!

O Captain! My Captain! Pinback button or magnet. This comes in a bold 3″ size or the smaller 1″ size pictured. A great way to declare your love for Whitman, Lincoln, or Dead Poet’s Society!

Heart Shaped Atlas Necklaces. Each is made with an actual snippet from an old atlas page. These can be customized to feature any city you are looking for (as long as we can find it on a map!)
“Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost” quote shirt. This is a limited run! We have sizes small through XL in ladies and unisex sizes on light and dark brown. We also printed a handful of kids sizes in various colors. 

Book Quote Necklaces. I have been making more of these this season, with some of my favorite book quotes (saved from the actual book pages!) Here are some from the last couple of weeks I am trying to keep up on making some new ones each week. If you are looking for something special, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

Book Page Collage Plaques. These are made with a combination of book covers and snippets of book page text on a painted wooden plaque that is ready to hang. I am having so much fun making these! Here is a sampling of some that I have made recently.

These are just a few of the newest goodies we have been working on. If you are in the Madison area, drop by the market to see all of the fun things we have to offer! And if you are interested in purchasing any of these items online and having them shipped, we can do that! You can visit our etsy store or email us at thebookishlife@gmail.com. We truly have so much fun creating every piece and are so happy to share them with you!

Dane County Farmers’ Market & Verona Farmers’ Market

We have been keeping busy on Saturdays at the farmers market! We are once again located on State street, in front of the bus shelter near Teddy Wedgers. You can find us every Saturday from around 8-2 as long as the weather is decent. We are working hard to offer lots of new items every week. Thank you to everyone who has already stopped out to say hello or make a purchase this season! We’ve had a great season so far. The weather has been gorgeous, and it’s been wonderful to see so many familiar faces as well as lots of new ones!

Starting Tuesday, June 17, we will also be selling our bookish goodies at our local farmers’ market in Verona Wisconsin. This market is located on Main Street in Verona at Hometown Junction, which is right off of the bike path and just up the block from Millers and Tuvalu. Our market is small, but full of great things! Veggies, eggs, popcorn, and amazing wood-fired pizza made by La Fortuna, to name a few! Stop by on Tuesdays from 4-7 to see our newest creations starting on June 17!

Well Read State

A little tribute to my home state. I sincerely love living here. We have some pretty amazing libraries and book shops. I love my children’s school and teachers. And I especially love vending at the Dane County Farmers market where we get to share our bookish creations, meet fun people and chat about our favorite books every week!

Last minute handmade gift shopping in Madison!

We have been busy elves at The Bookish Life headquarters this month! We’re so grateful for all of our awesome customers and are happy to know that lots of people will be receiving special bookish gifts this season.

If you are still looking for a special gift, there is a great opportunity at Bright Red Studios in Madison this weekend. I will be there selling my work at a Holiday Bazaar along with several other artists who make clothing, jewelry, accessories and lots of other goodies. Click the photo link for more info! The show is on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 21 & 22. Pop in if you are in the area!

Mystery to Me

I’m excited to tell you that you can now find some of our bookish gifts at Mystery to Me bookstore in Madison, Wisconsin! We love independent bookstores and are so happy to be a small part of this one. They just opened in June 2012, and have a great selection of mystery and other book genres, gifts perfect for bookworms and lots of exciting events scheduled. If you are near Madison, please take the time to check out this fabulous bookstore!