After three years on Garland road and four years on Northwest Highway, we’ve left the world of brick and mortar retail. Hoping to pop up as shows and events in the near future. We genuinely appreciate the support and love of our community, makers, vendors, and instructors.
Hey everyone – we hope you’ll stop looking at this old thing and hop on
over to our new, improved website. Links to classes are displayed under
the UPCOMING CLASSES page.
Sorry this is a bit late in landing here on the site. My only reason is that my mom has been consuming alot of mental, physical, and emotional energy lately. Not complaining, just explaining. After breaking two bones at a delicate age, it’s been rough finding the help she needs and deserves. Elderly have a harder time accessing services it seems. In our litigious day and time, many doctors aren’t willing to take on the greater risks. Please send any white light or love or prayers that you have for her. She’s been a special part of our community at Makers Connect from the very beginning – and has lifted up Steve and I in our work to create the first store back in 2014. Many of you know she also worked there full time, till 2019. At the new shop, she worked two days a week. I really miss having her at the shop. Her smile and gentle nature were appreciated by shoppers and vendors of all ages.
Mom modeling one of Robin Ayres’ wonderful necklaces last year
This week we reached out to all of our makers and many of them agreed to ‘let it go…let it fly!” and so a sale was born. We are sharing their discounts so they don’t bear the burden too deeply. Come in and pick out something you had your eye on! Sale won’t last. Starts Tuesday at 11:00 am Jan 3rd and ends Saturday at 5:00 pm. See you soon!
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Andrea Smith – Jewelry, boxes, headbands 20% off
Ann Huey – Christmas cards, some paintings 20% off
Brad Abrams – All work (except glass ball) is 50% off
Carla Arimes – Hangtags and collage cards 10% off
Christine Miller – All scarves (but not woven towels) 20% off
Christine Unruh / Truly Unruhly Jewelry – all 20% off
Cindy Bagwell – all Jewelry 20% off
Deb Campbell – All cards and small artwork 20% off
Darleen Dominguez /ChocaLoca Designs – All work 20% off
Jillian Maifert / Our Nest in Progress – Ice dyed garments, robes, bags 20% off
Keith Miller – Flow Paintings 20% off
Kimberley Morris – Jewelry 20% off
Janice Somerville – All glass, pottery and bots 20% off
Jill Brooks – Art cards 20% off
Mark Bennett – Wood and Resin Boxes 20% off
Molly Lam / Tokodots – Christmas cards and ornaments 20% off
Nicole Bernard – Clay and metal jewelry 20% off
Pam Skersick / CroneArt – All jewelry 20% off
Sandra Freeman – Embroidered pillows and framed artwork, and artful cards
Sharon Ashby – Blown glass barware 20% off
Sharon Zigrossi – Painted hubcaps 20% off
Selena Dixon – Handmade cards and fine art paintings / collages 20% off
Valery Guignon – 20% off all garments and artwork
Wendy Moore + Crone Art!
December 10th and 11th at the Shop.
Come shop Wendy Moore’s incredible tiny ceramic masterpieces – start or continue your collection!
Also check out the polymer clay stylings of Crone Art, a duo of sisters from Fort Worth and Denver who make creatively abundant, lightweight jewelry and wow-factor home decor.
We will have extended hours and extra fun shopping experiences in store for you. We are open Tuesday and Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving and then open again Friday and Saturday (Small Business Saturday no less!) and then extending into Sunday. We’re having two artists doing trunk shows Friday and Saturday as well, along with snacks and drinks to enjoy while you shop.
Come out to our fall Block Party / Craft Pop Up taking place at White Rock Shopping Center Sunday October 23 from 1:00 – 6:00 pm
We are hosting over two dozen hand makers from east Dallas, ya’ll! Add in some live music, pet adoptions, beauty demos, and food vendors and it adds up to a party! Look for the signs and balloons along Garland Road (north side)!
LIST OF ARTISTS:
Andrea Smith – Becky Phillips – Brad Abrams – Cindy Bagwell – Deana Hinchcliff – Eryn Rosenbaum – Henry Biber – Janis Garrett – Jennifer Christy – Jillian Maifert – Katrina Rasmussen – Kathleen Seacat – Kelley Vaughan – Kelley Parks – Lawrence Westby – Lori and Dan Dudley – Makers Connect – Nancy Robbins – Nicole Bernard – Sharon Ashby & Gabby Lewis – Traci Hutton and Jim Shaw – Tori Solis – Valery Guignon – Wendy Moore
Music: Woodrow Wilson Choir, Lake Highlands School of Music (small band), Harrisen Viator (singer / songwriter/ guitarist)
Food: Mark Clark, Garland Road VFW – Brats and Burgers: Crestridge Farms Baked Goods: Humble Pie Pies: Gourmet Cookies by Kathleen Seacat: Free snacks, beer and drinks inside Makers Connect
Face Painters: Becky Berry Phillips – Arabella Brindley
Animal Adoptions: Angie’s Friends & Texas Paw Prints
Pet Communicator: Kathy Thompson
Mattison Salons Aestheticians: Josie Bundy, Uni Mendoza, and others
Businesses at White Rock Shopping Center: A & B Animal Clinic , Aquarium Boutique, State Farm Insurance
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Hosting Month-long pop up for local fiber artists
Founded in 1970, DAFA has enjoyed a large following who meet once a month and share projects, techniques, stories; swap items, and enjoy lectures from professional fiber artisans. Find out more here!
We are so thrilled to give ten of their members space to showcase their work right in the front of our shop from now till the end of May! You can find beautiful woven, crocheted, dyed, painted, and stamped gifts for mother’s day (May 8). And please come to our opening party on May 7, where you will be able to meet a number of the artists and members of the group. Drinks and bites, of course! For more Info!
Thinking about the difficulty of pricing handmade art and craft:
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Elephants. They are so lovely and smart. But they do like to sit down sometimes. It’s alot of weight to haul around.
I’ve been thinking about something that makes us ALL uncomfortable; something that is so verbotin in the art world that you don’t even hear it discussed much among artists themselves. It’s huge, it’s weird, it makes you queasy, and can often lead to tears and reprisals. It’s almost always the elephant in the room when a gallery representative meets with an artist. I am talking about money and art.
For some reason, maybe because folks think that owning a gallery makes someone a kind of prophet about pricing, I get to have this queasy sensation almost on the daily. It’s one of the reasons I always say, ‘Here’s our policy for pricing; please think it through and work it out and see if your work can sell for that price and you will still be happy with results if it sells.” Or will you miss that piece and consider it the one that got away, or worse, that the gallery owner talked you into selling it. Oh no!
Let me put this observation out for your consideration:
The reason it hurts to discuss pricing of art is because we are being asked to put a value on something beyond value; a creation that you brought into the world – essentially, your offspring. It seems course and cruel to do such a thing to something so lovely. (and yet, there might be a number of other lovelies growing in your closets or garage that your sig. other is asking you to thin!)
Also: To put a value on something we create seems like a judgement of our very selves. It hits onto so many ego points. Think about our sense of smell. Scientists say it was most likely one of our most reptilian senses – something that we developed early on as a species and which is still so directly linked to our brains that we collect clues via our nose that tell us things before our brain is even fully aware or has time to respond. It is kind of like that with the relationship of art/ego/pricing. We get a kneejerk reaction, or a gut punch if you will, when someone criticizes our work. And to have someone think it should sell for less than we think is an extension of that criticism. So, it’s really a sticky subject.
Maybe just by understanding our own motivations for making art will help us come to terms with the reality of pricing, should it become something you want to do. Not all art is made to sell – it’s for the maker to enjoy, share, and even offer a window to their souls that might be a delicate offering only to the special ones in their lives. I really do get that. But when you start to want to sell things, please realize it might take some time to journey into your own ego needs and find out where art resides in your needs spectrum. Maybe you need money more than a full closet of art – that will inform your pricing. Or maybe you just want to show the world what you are capable of doing, and have a way to put it out to the masses and don’t care if it sells. That’s okay too. It’s really all okay – but it also doesn’t hurt to do a little soul searching. Thanks for reading. Now, go back to creating! : )
Come out today if you live in or near LFH!
Makers Connect will have a table set up, with Nancy Robbins representing along with her Gypsy Bells!
Come dig in the Jar of Discounts and then come USE it Today!
The weather will be so fine, you’ll want to come breath the air and meet your neighbors.
Just show up. Bring a snack or drink to share too if you like. We will provide refreshments, materials, and a half dozen sets of scissors. See you Thursday.
From now till Christmas we are going to make it our mission to keep you amused, entertained, and intrigued… how?
Through some incredible classes, events, and new vendors!
Just check out our Class Schedule over HERE
And check out our Events / PopUps / Trunk shows on this page:
Finally, come in and see the new vendors. It’s way more fun than telling you online!
Here are a few of them:
Vanessa Camara – Painstakingly dot painted earrings, boxes, and candle cozies
Cindee Kueny – Adorable crocheted succulents and cactii, all OOAK
Celia Gerchario – Beautifully crafted sewn pumpkins & pachyderms to adorn your home
Ginny Belcer – Gorgeous fused glass hearts mounted in clean white shadowboxes
Katie Rose – Delicate, dainty silver and gold filled jewelry featuring powerful (tiny) stones
Nancy LaChapelle – Fused glass panels and lightcatcher starbursts
Traci Hutton – Halloween gourd creatures, wood pumpkin sets, and plush tooth fairies
Nicole Bernard – Clay and metal component jewelry, all unique in texture and color
THIS WEEKEND ONLY!
Saturday and Sunday we’ll be trading our under-loved beads, charms, jewelry parts, tools and more for you to add to your stash. Regular store hours – just come to the back room and find us with alllll the goodies!
Saturday 8/28 11 – 6:30
Sunday 8/29 Noon – 5:00
What’s new at MC2? Just go to our listings over at Facebook and find out!
Here’s a teaser:
Nature + Glass + Drawing + Wire + Sculpture + Drinks + Friends + Fun!
Here’s why:
After a three year (give or take a few months) haitus wherein alot of stuff happened, we have decided to REOPEN the store formerly known as Makers Connect.
We have heard some of you say, “Location is key!” Yes, we agree. So when this one became available, we did our best to snag it. Very long story short, there was a happy ending and the princess got her prince, the evil stepsisters learned a lesson, and the mean old stepmother grew wings and became a gorgeous hollywood star. But in reality – we moved into 9047 Garland Road, which was the home of Beads of Splendor, a truly gorgeous bead shop that offered not only beads but fantastic classes and knowledgeable and friendly staff to help you with almost any project.
Our landlord was of the mind to keep the space programmed in a similarly local, crafty fashion – and things clicked. Alot of things, involving alot of generous donations and helpful vendors. So despite the straight-forward planning I had hoped for using alot of sleek IKEA furnishings, it’s going to be a more hand-hewn, artfully upcycled situation. Which will be, I am sure, way more interesting than a room full of all IKEA fixtures!
We will be offering So many amazing classes… the list will include painting for adults and for kids, clay and ceramics, enamelling, stamping, resin, concrete casting, hand dying, candle making, soap making, print making, stamp and collage making, and hopefully sewing as well. The class schedule will be available after we open in May.
We look forward to seeing old and new faces in our gorgeous new space at 9047 Garland Road at White Rock Shopping Center, Dallas 75218!
Come see us soon….
Yours truly,
Chris Unruh + Steve Dickson
Well, it’s hard to believe but we’ve reached the final curtain. So many of you have already stopped in and showered us with kind, appreciative kudos of all kinds that we’re still a bit glowy and big headed. It’s been such an overwhelming and emotional time…we are truly going to miss seeing so many of you as customers, vendors, and friends.
Just in case you couldn’t make it last week you will have exactly two more days to enter 10242 E. Northwest Highway while it is still called Makers Connect. One more hug around the neck and then we hit the road, soon to be transformed as…. The Art Annex!
We sure hope you go and check them out when they open. Caleb and Lynda make cool stuff, and have a lot of different artists waiting in the wings to show their creations.
Cheers to you, one and all! Mwaaa! xox, Chris (trulyunruhly@yahoo.com)
We’re already pretty colorful and fun around Makers Connect, but just to amp up the volume, we’re bringing in two SUPER colorful folks this weekend to help you gather gifts for the discriminating artsy people in your life.
All day from 11: 00 till 5:00 we host Brad Abrams, a south-east Dallas local phenom known for his sprawling studio compound, where he blows and casts glass. Color and forms are forever trapped in his giant witch balls! Janice Somerville, resident of Old Lake Highlands, brings her one of a kind metal ‘Bots, clay heads, and Jetsons-inspired jewelry! We’ll offer finger snacks and bubbly to enjoy as you browse!
Well we’ve done it again; landed back at the Holidays! It might be time to get our minds off the news of the day and try to really get into the season. And, as we’re come to discover, perfect gifts don’t find themselves. But we can definitely help YOU find them!
Some of the ways we’re doing this is to stock our store up with amazing goods by scads of local artists and crafters…. and then going the extra miles to host parties and trunk shows where they bring even MORE of their amazing creations for you to purchase!
The first show will be on Saturday, November 18 with Janice Somerville and Andrea Smith. Then the following week, we have yet *another* amazing show with three artists; Kim Morris, Kelley Vaughan and Jason from Recovered Cycling!
A little bit about what you can expect:
Janice makes adorable robot critters using cast-off metal parts, aluminum space-inspired jewelry, drilled rock necklaces, and brightly painted masks and crazy heads out of colorful ceramics.
Andrea makes amazing tiny beaded trees set onto geodes, as well as beaded jewelry using her great color sense. She will probably be demonstrating her technique during the show!
Kim will be de-stashing many year’s worth of jewelry findings, beads, and gemstones, plus her own incredible jewelry.
Kelley is bringing her amazing Mid Century Modern styled pottery; from tiny vases with crystal-enhanced lids to her signature round white airplant holders.
Jason is a cyclist with passion for quality leather goods and customization of your ride.
Please come out, enjoy some drinks and bites with us, and delight your family and friends this year with handmade goodies from your friends and neighbors right here in super cool East Dallas!
Saturday, November 25 has become regarded as the Alternative to Black Friday, a day when folks are encouraged to shop small and local… keep their dollars closer to home while supporting small cottage industries and mom and pops. We have a number of such businesses here in LH, and are so tickled to be involved in this super fun party!
This year the Lake Highlands Chamber of Commerce, of which we’re a member, has taken an interest in promoting our local businesses by elevating this day with celebrations in our Lake Center parking lot and environs.
All the small shops will be taking part by hosting musicians, artisans, amazing vintage cars, food, and drinks all day! We at MC will play host to a number of our own in-house vendors in addition to some new friends; plus we’ll have live music and even demonstrations of art in the making! You won’t want to miss this family-friendly event.
Celebration of Cats at Makers Connect. All day long cat-centered party, featuring local Purrr-sonalities like Instagram Cat Mom, Patti Haskins Critters, Kris Hundt Photography, CatLadyDallas, Kelley Cheek, and work by Robin Ayers, Carlos Zuniga, Beverly Ann Moore (BAM!), Jane Corley, and others!
Okay, the cat is out of the bag…. the truth is, we LOVE cats. We’ve had them in the store, at our homes, and in our hearts for many years. Yes, we love dogs and other animals too. But cats are so quietly unassuming as to not get their fair share of adulation and adoration. We decided it’s time to rectify that.
So we’re having a one day all out festivus del gatos; a celebration des chats – a cat house extraordinaire!
Patti Haskins Critter Central creations
To help us celebrate, we are having these visitors and activities throughout the day:
“Cats on Film” with Kris Hundt:
Time slots are available here for having your cat photographed. You can opt to pose with your cat too! Please bring your cat in a carrier and bring along anything that will help it feel more comfortable. Kris has had lots of experience both with humans and pets, and has a knack of putting everyone at ease.
The fee includes a photo session, with one pose, of approximately 15 minutes and the final selection of one high resolution digital downloadable photo and the availability to purchase additional downloads, prints and much more. ($10.00 of each photo session will be donated to DallasCatLady.org operations to assist feral and homeless cats.)
Session: 12:00 – 12:15 Session: 12:15 – 12:30
Session: 12:30 – 12:45 Session: 12:45 – 1:00
Session: 1:00 – 1:15 Session: 1:15- 1:30
Session: 1:30 – 1:45 Session: 1:45 – 2:00 Session: 2:00 – 2:15
Session: 2:15 – 2:30 Session: 2:30 – 2:45 Session: 2:45 – 3:00
Session: 3:15 – 3:30 Session: 3:30 – 3:45 Session: 3:45 – 4:00
Session: 4:15- 4:30 Session: 4:30 – 4:45 Session: 4:45 – 5:00
We sent out this press release just last night. We hope our customers, vendors, and well-wishers will stop by often before and after the transition. It’s a very exciting time for us!
An Artful Transition – For Immediate Release
Makers Connect, a quirky family-run gift shop/gallery at Northwest Highway and Easton, has plans to hand over the reigns to another local East Dallas family in the new year, Lynda Sparks and Caleb Jack.
The shop, which has been open for nearly four years, brings in an eclectic blend of local artisan-made goods from over 80 North TX artisans, plus selected goods from other sources that relate to the whimsical and lighthearted vibe the store projects.
The new owners have plans to keep the ‘funky’ and ramp up the fine-art side, which only makes sense. Caleb has spent many years assisting the operation of Artisans Collective, one of Dallas’ most notable local-art galleries. Recently shuttered due to the gentrification of the Bishop Arts district, it’s his hope that many of those wonderful artists will find new space at “Makers Connect – the Art Annex,” while maintaining many of the current artisans in the mix.
Makers Connect, the First Edition, will run through Christmas with a number of unique events and classes! Come shop local and artistically in Dallas.
Location and information at www.makersconnect.org, https://www.facebook.com/MakersConnectDallas/ and on Instagram: chris_makers_connect.
We appreciate that many of you have taken time to return the love by sitting down and writing a short review or shout out on Yelp, or Facebook, or Square, or Instagram, or….wherever. Really it’s wonderful! Apparently I can share these reviews so I will try to do so here so everyone can be warmed as much as we are! FUZZIES ALL AROUND!
This one is most recent, by a customer, Lisa L.
This one is by a vendor/makers who also teaches classes at our store, https://www.yelp.com/embed/widgets.js</span>”>Kris Hundt.
Professional Headshot for under $50.00!? You must be kidding. Everyone knows they that good ones are *much* more expensive. Not really.
Everyone should have a recent professional headshot on their website or social media page. A Pop-Up session is a great way to own a quality headshot at the fraction of the price. For only $45, you can have your own mini-session with professional photographer, Kris Hundt.
She will be here at Makers Connect for half the day on Saturday, July 29, from 12:00 – 4:00 pm. All you need to do is walk in with your favorite solid color top on and your dazzling smile. She’ll make everything fun and easy.
The fee includes a photo session, with one look, of approximately 15 minutes and the final selection of one high resolution digital downloadable photo and the availablity to purchase additional downloads, prints and much more. The fee is payable cash, check or credit card; or prepay here and then forget about it till end of July.
Gorgeous, completely unique and one of a kind creations. You have not seen anything like these; they are so wonderful and wild. Lynda lets her inner child go free when she weilds a torch and does her magic.
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The World According to Lynda:
Making jewellery makes my heart smile.
I choose a stone and it tells me how it wishes to be dressed.
I absolutely love buying stones & metal.
I absolutely hate organizing materials.
My favorite color is whatever attracts me at the time.
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We’ll be serving cold cava (not to the kids!) so you can relax a bit about mother’s day and get inspired gifting ideas.
photo by Kris Hundt
MakersConnect 
