Looky Looky! It's Craftville at Lockeland Design
Friday, October 28, 2011 Craftville is just a little bit in love with Lockeland Design Center elementary school in East Nashville. It's the elementary school a lot of Craftvillians wish they had attended as crafty kids. It sits in a beautiful 1939 building tucked away in Lockeland Springs with a focus on literature, art and an increasingly green theme.
We also agree that Camilla Spadafino is an art teacher we would have LOVED when we were kids! Not only is she super crafty and creative and is an awesome teacher- she believes in giving her K-4th students not only the opportunity to create, but the opportunity to showcase their work in the community. They are artists and deserve a platform to be so just as much as the grown ups.
For a few years running, she has oragnized a whimsical student art show at Riverside Village in Inglewood, showcasing student art work in each of the local businesses and through out the courtyard (a place we love and thank for being the site of many meetings). This great project caught our eye, along with all those creative kids! We really wanted to buy some of the fabulous pieces from these young artists. But, alas, the kids' pieces weren't for sale. Which gave us an idea. We wanted a craft market for kids. No, wait...we wanted a craft market BY kids. Made by kids, marketed by kids, staffed by kids. So we went to Camilla and she gave us some kids!
More specifically, she gave us the Lockeland 4th grade Art Club. We have met with them several times to develop product ideas and discuss the project. Today...oh, today...we got to the crafty stuff! Over the next 2 months they will be making their items. In January we will have some guests coming in to help them with developing a business brand. After that, we will be planning their February martket event! Each business will have items for sale, staff their own vendor booths and keep their own profits! There are some mighty things that are going to happen with this group! A fantastic group of crafty entrepreneurs! Stay tuned for more about this partnership!
