Let’s Indigo Dye things this Saturday at the Artwalk with River!

In this (long) Newsletter:
-Upcoming Events- This weekend!
-Schedule a private lesson, books are closing soon!
-Workshop I Taught- Recaps
-Newsletter Coupon Code for product sale!
-Community Happenings
-A note from River Takada

*This message looks best if read on a desktop- otherwise texts is long and narrow!

Upcoming Events this weekend:

This Friday, 4/26- Sashiko at Durham Arts Council. 6-8pm. Start your weekend off strong with this informative introduction to Japanese Embroidery. Sign up here at the DAC (you’ll need to make an account).

*This photo is of student work from a workshop at Life is a Verb Camp in Hendersonville, NC where I will be teaching again this October.

Old North Durham Artwalk- Saturday, April 27th, 11-4pm (Artwalk), 12-4pm (dyeing fabric)- Bring items to dye from home!

For the 3rd year in a row, I’ll be set up in Mana’s front yard (315 Dacian Ave. Around the corner of Cocoa Cinnamon). This year we will be dyeing with indigo (maybe playing with cyanotype)! I won’t have many products for sale- it’s be a drop-in/upcycle Indigo dye workshop! I won’t have any Vulva Pillows with me so if you want to buy one and not pay for shipping- order online for pick-up!

This Sunday, April 28- It’s last minute to mention it, I’ll be set up at Corpse Reviver Bar on Sunday night! A new event I’ve never done- so I’m looking forward to it! 4-8pm

I mean…. Look at this beautiful drink! Sunday Night! Come shop JUST Mobiles and Sale Calendars!

Spring Sale! Use SWEET16 Code at check out for 16% off all orders!

Just for newsletter members: Use the code SWEET16 to get 16% off your total purchase to celebrate RIVTAK’s 16th anniversary with me! I love the idea of you having and gifting my handmade items! Thanks so much for your ongoing support!

2024 Calendars are on sale! Send them to a friend!

Shop Online

Attn: I won’t be bringing Vulva pillows to the 2 outdoor shows this weekend. It’s just lots of work and I don’t want the pillows to get dirty. So please Order online and pick up to save!

Observable Universe: No April Collage night this month- time has just gotten away from us! We’ll try again in May!

Want to get involved with more at Observable Universe?

Become a Patron on OU’s Pateron here, and get monthly updates from Heather starting at just $3/month.

Want to use the space, host workshops, etc. Please fill out this form so we can start the conversation and get you booked! We’d like to book things at least 4 weeks out for using the space for workshops!

Recent Recap of workshops:

I taught a Sashiko Workshop at Peel Gallery this past Sunday, it was very rainy and it felt so romantic hanging in a cool art gallery, sewing an ancient craft with 6 strangers in my hometown of Carrboro. I had a great time sharing the basics and history of Sashiko and Boro.

Peel Gallery also hosts a monthly Collage night and theirs happens to be THIS Thursday! 6-8pm. in Carrboro

Duke Arts workshop with the medical school- hosted at the Trent Semans building on Duke Hospital Campus. We had a mending workshop and these medical students sewed patches on their clothing for sewing practice.

Reminder: Duke Arts workshops are FREE to Duke Staff and students- be sure to get on the mailing list for next semesters workshops (released monthly).

Recent work: I’ve been taking creative workshops! It’s so fun to join a group of strangers for a few hours, learn from an expert and play with materials! This season I taken the time to just play, experiment and make for myself.

Another Sawtooth workshop- this time in the wood shop, learning from Josie- the head of the wood shop! We made bristle brushes, something I’ve wanted to learn and incorporate in my work for years! I love getting to basics and the possibilities are endless with scrap wood and found materials!

I made these 2 brushes out of one piece of maple- you can see how the long brush fits perfectly in the nook of the handled brush! I had a great time working in the wood shop- it was a real treat to have access to so many big tools and have the morning to play with machines.

SuperG Durham: I’m taking a screen printing continuing education workshop with Paige! This has helped me get over my freeze factor with screen printing and actually held me accountable to print some things and remind me why screen printing is awesome!

Remember…I compiled the most epic local directory/spreadsheet of places and people you can learn from- well, it’s always here! If you have interested to learn something I don’t teach, check out the 2nd spreadsheet in this file which has a bunch of local artists that teach!

Creative Workshops Resources

In Our Community coming up!:

This Saturday!

Free Sewing at Sew Crafty! I saw this flier at the Durham Public Library- if you want to just get started sewing on the machine, check out these Tote Bag sessions!

This Sunday! At Cocoa Cinnamon on Geer St. - Check out some of the best vintage vendors at Catalog Era! Come visit the Old North Durham Area- I’ll be down the black at Corpse Reviver after this event!

*I’ll be at the NEXT Market on May 11th!

This is a great resource! I don’t know about you, but I hadn’t had my prescription updated in 6 years and my eye sight actually got better! Go get your eyes looked at!

May is AAPI Month! Celebrate by supporting artisans and food vendors at Common Roots Festival.

Still looking for a home for this lovely loom that has been sitting in my studio/storage for way too long! Know anyone who wants to take their weaving to the next level??

This handcrafted wooden floor loom is perfect for scarves, runners and other panel weaving!

Thank you for reading all the way to the end!

Have you taken any workshops recently? Tell me about them! I’d love to hear about it, and if you found the resources spreadsheet useful?

Thank you so much for your support!

Cheers, River Takada

You are on this mailing list because at some point, you, I or someone you know has signed up thinking you’d enjoy updates about upcoming workshops and community happenings. You can unsubscribe at anytime with the link below. Join us again anytime! Thanks for reading!

R I V T A K