An afternooon of crafts and crafting on tap at library's Maker Fair

On Sunday, August 30, the Medford Public Library will be chock full of craft supplies for the taking, drop-in crafting sessions, and crafters showing their creations and hosting demonstrations.

“We are so excited,” said Library Director Sam Sednek.

From the lobbies to the cafe and Bonsignore Hall to the stacks themselves, crafters will fill the library that Sunday afternoon with one goal in mind – to share their passions.

“They will be hard to miss,” Sednek said. “They will be all over the place.”

What to expect: Noon - 1 p.m.

Assistant Library Director Jenna Barry said the first hour will be a craft supply swap where crafters and wannabe crafters are invited into Bonsignore Hall to stuff a bag with craft supplies, for free.

“Or if you just want to see what's there,” said Sednek. “But please take things or we’ll be drowning in craft stuff.” 

Where is it all coming from?

You.

Starting on Aug. 21, during library hours, residents are invited to drop off any unused craft supplies at any desk in the library, and those items will be added to swap. Anyone who has started a craft project and found it’s just not for them or has supplies left from a craft they no longer do, the library will take them, Sednek said. As long as they’re in good shape.

“If you wouldn’t give them to a friend, we don’t want them either,” she added. “And absolutely no equipment.”

Sednek said no matter how great it is, even if it’s brand new, they cannot accept equipment.

“And you don’t have to bring something to take something,” Barry said.

Children will be welcome at the craft swap, but Sednek said the fair itself, which follows, is largely for older teens and adults. That said, Sednek was quick to add that younger children can come but there might not be a lot for them to do since many of the offerings require a little more hand dexterity.

What to expect: 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Once the swap has ended, visitors are invited to roam the library where drop-in crafting and demonstrations will fill pretty much every nook and cranny, Sednek said. 

Drop-in projects include bead embroidery, print making, mosaics, community fiber crafts, beaded potted plants, zines, and a splatter paint workshop, to name a few. Sednek said she is leading the splatter paint workshop aimed at people like her, those who may not have the finesse for crafting but want to go all in.

Demonstrations include neon glass tube bending, card fiber, yarn spinning, bobbin lace and taxidermy mounting. 

“Feels like coming home again,” Barry said regarding the taxidermy demonstration.

Sednek said that many years ago, each library in the Minuteman network, including Medford, was charged with collecting all the books they could find on certain non-fiction subjects. When they were divvying up assignments, the librarian representing Medford stepped out to go to the restroom, and that is how Medford ended up with a cache of books on taxidermy, Sednek said.

“It is true,” she emphasized with a laugh. 

Sednek said the local artists stepping in to share their crafts are highly skilled, old-school crafters, and she is excited they have offerings on all levels.

“Many things feel very approachable, like collages and zines,” she said.

The afternoon will also include the TQNC Sew Gay Club, Medforge, and a Mini Fixit Clinic for clothing and jewelry repair. 

Are maker spaces important?

Last year, over 300 people came to the Maker Fair, and both Sednek and Barry said they hope to surpass that this year.

“We want to keep growing it,” Sednek said.

If anyone happens to miss the fair, Barry said they can always come and explore the library’s permanent maker space and all it has to offer. 

When asked why promoting maker crafts and having a maker space is important, Sednek pointed out that while the library is about reading, it’s also about information and recreation.

“I, the librarian, am an agonizingly slow reader,” she said. “We all come to information in different ways.”

Some people gather information by reading, for others it’s audio/listening, and for others, still, it’s kinetic, learning by doing, Sednek said. 

“A maker space is the way you get the people who need to do things by hand,” she said. “And it genuinely fits our mission statement … it says that this is a place to learn and to do some recreating.”

Sednek admits maintaining a maker space can be tricky for smaller libraries or libraries that don’t have a lot of crafty people on staff. 

“It’s a big ask,” she said. “But here in Medford we’re blessed to have a really creative staff and a supportive community.”

And a supportive library director.

“I’m not a skilled artist on any level but I’ll go all in on anything,” Sednek said, smiling broadly.

Many of the demonstrations and drop-in craft classes will be ongoing, Barry said. 

There is a tentative timeline, as follows, but she said it’s not completely set in stone: 

12- 1 p.m. – Craft Supply Swap

12:30 p.m. - 1 p.m. – General safety training

1 p.m. - 4 p.m. – Maker Fair
1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. – Drop in Craft: Bead embroidery
1 p.m. - 4 p.m. – Craft Demo: Neon sign glass tube bending
1 p.m. - 4 p.m. – Craft Demo: Glue Resist Fabric Painting 
1 p.m. - 4 p.m. – Drop-In Craft: Collage Postcards
1 p.m. - 4 p.m. – Drop-In Craft: Printmaking
1 p.m. - 4 p.m. – Drop-In Craft: Beaded Potted Plants
Time TBD – Drop-In Craft: Mosaic
Time TBD – Craft Demo: Clay Earrings
1 p.m. - 4 p.m. – Drop-In Craft: Community Fiber Craft
1 p.m. - 4 p.m. – Craft Demo: Bobbin Lace
1 p.m. - 4 p.m. –Drop-In Craft: Zines
1 p.m. - 4 p.m. – Craft Demo: Carding Fiber
1 p.m. - 4 p.m. – Craft Demo: Spinning Yarn
1 p.m. - 4 p.m. – Craft Demo: Taxidermy Mounting
1 p.m. - 4 p.m. – Splatter Painting Workshop (and DIY Merch)

1 p.m. - 4 p.m. Maker Expo
Knitting, TQNC Sew Gay Club, Graphic Design (plus make your own buttons), Tatting (plus demo), Pottery, Ceramics Medforge

1:30 p.m. - 4 p.m. – Mini Fixit Clinic: Clothing and Jewelry Repair