Diehard do-it-yourselfers looking to tighten up their crochet stitches can now test their mettle at craft boot camp.
On October 5, the Brooklyn Craft Camp sets up shop at Greenpoint’s Messiah Church for how-tos on the latest trends in arts and crafts, guiding campers through such projects as making their own custom-stamped stationary and building a terrarium.
The day-long camp is the brainchild of Greenpoint resident Brett Bara, who is a bona fide Martha Stewart of Brooklyn. Bara is the former editor of Crochet Today magazine, current host of public television’s “Knit & Crochet Now!” and a life-long craftswoman. She launched the first Brooklyn Craft Camp last spring to address what she saw as a dearth of crafts eduction in the borough that is home to crochet graffiti installations and its own knitting festival.
“Brooklyn is the epicenter of the DIY craft movement now,” Bara said. “I know people really want to know more about crafting, but I noticed there wasn’t a go-to place for that.”
The inaugural camp sold out this past March and Bara sensed a demand for more. The upcoming October 5 session will run much like the first, offering plenty of goodies, including Peter Pan donuts, cocktails, and a gourmet lunch, as well as a variety of workshops taught by leading artisan bloggers and authors. Attendees can take four 90-minute classes, choosing from topics such as glass etching, suede tassels, nail art, framed papercut art, loom-knitted necklaces, needle felting, sequin bracelets, and more.
“We have come to think of craft camps as a tasting menu,” Bara said. “You can come and dabble in a lot of different things.”
There will be more to sample later this fall when Bara opens the Brooklyn Craft Company, a permanent offshoot of the camp in Greenpoint’s Pencil Factory at Franklin and Greenpoint avenues. Bara is aiming for a November opening and plans to use the space to host in-depth classes in sewing, printmaking, and knitting, and to provide outside crafters with the tools they need.
“We have 20 sewing machines coming in two weeks,” Bara said. “The idea is to really build the go-to place in Brooklyn for modern, DIY craft classes.”
Brooklyn Craft Camp at Messiah Church [129 Russell St., between Driggs and Nassau avenues in Greenpoint, www.brooklyncraftcamp.com]. Oct. 5, 10 am–7 pm, $285.
