Shop local and give the gift of art this holiday season!
This year’s annual Holiday Sale will continue online! Featuring hundreds of handmade items by MECA students, staff, faculty, alumni, and friends of the college, this always popular annual sale will continue to bring the Portland community and beyond together.
The Holiday Sale website - mecashop.meca.edu - will open on Friday, November 20, at 6 pm!
2020 Holiday Sale
Holiday Sale Online Shop: Friday, November 20th, 6pm - Friday, December 11th, 6pm
Shop local and give the gift of art this holiday season! This year’s annual Holiday Sale will continue online! Featuring hundreds of handmade items by MECA students, staff, faculty, alumni, and friends of the college, this always popular annual sale will continue to bring the Portland community and beyond together.
2020 Holiday Sale Pre-Sale Party
Ready to shop? Wondering what gifts to buy? Register Now for MECA’s Virtual Holiday Sale Pre-Sale Party!
Join us for a festive, kick-off community event to celebrate the Holiday Sale. The Pre-Sale Party will include:
A chance to “Meet the Makers” - Select Holiday Sale artists will talk about their studio practice and showcase their featured items for sale!
Maine Magazine’s Executive Digital Editor Alexandra Polkinghorn share her recommended Holiday Sale gift picks
Attendees will receive a password to start pre-sale online shopping before the sale publicly opens
We are excited to start the festivities and celebrate makers together with our community and supporters from all over the country. Proceeds from sales will directly benefit participating artists, while funds from raffle ticket sales will support MECA’s Student Scholarship Fund to help our students during this crisis year.
Vendor Details
Featured work at the Holiday Sale will be created by artists throughout the MECA community, including faculty, staff, alumni, students, and friends and will be featured on an online sale platform hosted by the college.
While the sale has moved online, we will still have our Featured Artists Raffle. The raffle showcases pieces by seven MECA alumni who are selected by the jury. Raffle tickets are $5 for 1 ticket or $25 for 6 tickets, and all proceeds benefit the MECA Student Scholarship Fund.
I design my pieces from the ground up, from the cordage and clasps, to the method of manufacture. They are tough; wear them constantly if you care to. Rely on them. Use compounds their beauty. If you wear one of my pieces, take pleasure in knowing that you are part of what makes it beautiful.
Raffle Item: Pelican Clip bracelet, brass with cotton cord, available in small, medium, or large.
I am a Maine artist and enjoy making fun and colorful art that makes people smile. I graduated from Maine College of Art with a BFA in Illustration. I work with mixed media making primarily cards and illustrations of animals and nature.
Raffle Items: Chicken Holiday Bundle: Original Edgar Chicken painting, holiday card, king chicken notebook.
I am drawn to the tangible nature of the process of hand fabricating jewelry. Wearing jewelry is personal, intimate, and tactile. When jewelry is worn, it travels through the adventures and lives of others, changing and evolving with their experiences. I lovingly handcrafted these objects to connect and evolve with others.
Raffle Item: Surfboard Post Earrings. Made from recycled sterling silver these earring are hand sawn. A high karat gold foil is heat bonded to the silver. The silver is then oxidized to provide contrast with the gold. .86" L x .4" W.
My work and aesthetic are derived from my daily landscape. Architectural details, discovered color stories and everyday objects are broken down, interwoven and translated into wearable pieces. A repetitious habit of sketching structures and lines has become a graphic body of work with the qualities of a drawing. I was born and raised in the small village of East Calais, Vermont. I graduated in 2013 with a BFA in Metalsmithing + Jewelry from Maine College of Art. After some traveling I moved to Penland School of Crafts for their two year Core Fellowship. Now a resident of Asheville, North Carolina I spend my time maintaining an inquisitive studio practice and enjoying the mountains.
I'm a graphic designer inspired by the vintage travel posters of the 1930s. I draw each design by hand from a photograph - either my own or from a local photographer. I redraw the design in the computer, simplifying each form to create the simplest composition. Typography and colors are carefully selected minimizing the palette and tone. Our shop includes vintage inspired prints and posters, as well stationary and holiday cards.
Raffle Item: Maine Print Set: Acadia National Park, Moosehead Lake, Casco Bay, Katahdin, heavy stock paper, ink, 11” x 8.5”.
Fireball Bookbindery came about as I began making notebooks, sketchbooks, jotters, and folios inspired by Asian book-bindings, designs, and materials. I combined my love and appreciation for tradition and culture with modern aesthetics and techniques, reflecting and celebrating my own heritage as an Asian American artist. Through Fireball Bookbindery, I create unique, handmade books that value a high level of craftsmanship, encouraging creativity from my patrons. I see these books as a sort of long-distance collaborative project between my patrons and me as I encourage them to share their voice and creativity on social media.
Raffle Item: Hand Bound Book Bundle: 1 Large 7" x 9" Handbound Brocade Journal (160 pages of dry media paper), 1 Pocket-Sized 4" x 5.5" Coptic-Bound Sketchbook (100 pages of dry media sketching paper), 1 Pocket-Sized 4" x 5.5" Handbound Jotter (40 pages of lined writing paper), 2 Mini Book Ornaments.
The mission of Portland Trading Co. is to provide a one-of-a-kind, well-curated, modernized, lifestyle-themed general store that at its core serves as a gateway to showcasing handmade products from the very best talents within New England and beyond. Featuring wares and a wide range of other fun and unique items, hence, our mantra: “Beyond Retail”, which means Accessibility, Community and Love.
Betsy Lewis is a silversmith, educator, and independent curator. Her work centers upon creating metal works that allude to grief and hope; pulling together objects that come together to realize a new form of telling the truth through our bodies. She currently exhibits work internationally and is the recent recipient of the One for the Future Award by New York City Jewelry Week. Curatorial projects include Dream Machine, an annual exhibit that gives platform to jewelry and metalwork in New York City.
In addition to her Brooklyn studio, Lewis contributes actively to the field - teaching at Brooklyn Metal Works, the 92Y Jewelry Center, Rhode Island School of Design and the State University of New York at New Paltz, the latter of which she received her Master in Fine Art. Lewis currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Amy Teh is a graphic designer and illustrator. Her art can be found on a wide range of products—including apparel, greeting cards, posters, drinkware, and textiles. Along with her husband, Noah DeFilippis, the couple run Pinecone+Chickadee, a unique shop in downtown Portland that offers a curated selection of handmade crafts, unusual gifts, vintage finds and oddities. The duo also co-founded and organize Picnic Craft Fair, a popular indie craft fair held twice yearly. When she is not working she can be found perusing 1970s decorating books, going to flea markets, watering her many plants, and snacking on green tea Kit Kats.
2020 Holiday Sale Window
The 2020 Holiday Sale Window was designed by Sarah Sawtelle '19 (@sarah_sawtelle). The window display is visible at 522 Congress Street, Portland ME.
Vendor Application Process
Applications are now closed.
All submissions will be reviewed by the team of jurors, and we will let you know by Wednesday, October 21st, 2020 what work we are accepting.
Please read all guidelines carefully before submitting.
Guidelines
The images you submit should show a range of what items/pieces you will have available in the Holiday Sale. If selected to participate in the Holiday Sale, you will be sent a form to register your pieces for the Holiday Sale Online Shop. At this point you will be able to submit a maximum of 10 item listings. You can however have an unlimited number of multiples for each item.
All items in the sale must be handmade, hand-altered, or designed by the applicant. All work submitted must be complete and available for purchase.
If selected, no changes or substitutions will be allowed after you submit the secondary form. This application form will specify all descriptions, quantities and pricing for pieces you are making available on the website.
Images should be sized at 72 dpi and approximately 1,500 pixels on the longest side. Submitted images will be used to display the work online, and must accurately and professionally represent the artwork.
Artists will be responsible for packaging and shipping all sold items within 3 - 5 business days. You will be notified of all sales by email and will be sent prepaid shipping labels to use for your sold works. Make sure to take into consideration packaging costs when pricing your items. Shipping costs will be calculated based on the dimensions and weights you submit so try and be as accurate as possible and take into consideration packaging when calculating weight.
As the sale has moved online this year, the college will take a commission from sold works/items instead of charging a booth fee as was done in the past. Current MECA Student (10% commission to MECA/90% to Student); MECA Degree Holding Alumni (25% commission to MECA/75% to Alumni); Faculty or Staff (25% commission to MECA/75% to Faculty/Staff); Non-Graduated Alumni/Friend of the College (30% commission to MECA/70% to Non-Graduated Alumni/Friend). The commission amounts were calculated based on previous year's booth fees and similar sale models.
If you are interested in being considered for this year’s Featured Artist Raffle, you may submit a work for consideration through the Vendor Application Form. The raffle showcases donated pieces by six MECA alumni who are selected by the jury. The raffle items will be featured on the homepage of the Holiday Sale shop site and direct viewers and buyers to the individual artist’s page. Leading up to the sale, the featured artists will also be individually publicized through MECA’s social media and Holiday Sale promotional materials. Raffle tickets will be $5 for 1 ticket or $25 for 6 tickets, and all proceeds benefit the MECA Student Scholarship Fund. The selected item or items should be valued at approximately $100-$200. This can be one item/piece that retails in around that price range, or a bundle or basket of lower priced items that combined are equal to that value. Must be a MECA graduate to qualify.
Thank You to Our Corporate Partners and Media Sponsor
Roxanne Quimby, Honorary ’15- Fresh organic vegetables combined with cage free eggs and added to organic semolina flour to create nutritious, delicious, locally produced pasta
Mark Marchesi ’99 – Medium sized prints of a variety of imagery, matted, and framed in an assortment of vintage and handmade frames (floor 3, table 33)
Josh Brill is an artist and designer in Portland, Maine. His work focuses on the discovery and promotion of nature from the physical to the existential. His ongoing art series, the Flora Fauna collection, catalogues the design identities of plants and animals from around the world. It examines the visual character differences and similarities of life. This has extended into brand collaborations with Element skateboards, Lacoste, Petco, Habitat, Lowe's, and the Edinburgh International Book Festival developing product designs and brand experiences focusing on animals.
Raffle Item: Sonzai, Giclée art print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag paper, 36"x 20", 2019
My approach to making pottery stems from an intrigue for the process and materials that I use. I utilize atmospheric firing technique using wood and gas, that activate the surfaces with an earth-toned warmth. The firing process allows moments of uncertainty to happen. Bursts of color appear where licked by the flame and glaze wraps around a pot like water against rock. I want my pottery to bring comfort to our daily routine through tactile and visually stimulating surfaces that promote and encourage use.
Raffle Item: Canister Jar, Stoneware, various slip, clear glaze, Gas Fired, 2019
The Woodworker’s Wife is the partnership of Emily Green and furniture maker and MECA alumnus Joe Lendway. We make fun and fancy wooden wares right here in southern Maine. Elevate your entertaining game with these sophisticated designs featuring clean lines, pops of color, and specially carved curves for comfort and easy handling. Hand-crafted, high quality, and one-of-a-kind.
Raffle Item: Set of three black walnut boards: cheese board, 6” x 12”; charcuterie board, 6” x 17”; and bread board, 6” x 22"
Caren-Marie Sargent Michel was born in Portland, Maine and is a lifelong Maine resident. Michel earned her B.F.A. in painting from Portland School of Art (now Maine College of Art.) Michel’s work has been selected for juried shows throughout the US and Canada, she was in residence at MECA’s Stephen Pace House in Stonington and at Baie Ste. Marie in New Edinburg, Nova Scotia.
Michel’s work was selected for Art of Katahdin and Paintings of Portland by David Little and Carl Little. Michel is represented by Littlefield Gallery in Winter Harbor, Maine. She loves color.
Raffle Item: Golden Road Marsh 20 Acrylic on canvas, 6" x 12", 2017, value $275. Photo Credit, Jay York.
I came into metalsmithing while I was curiously thumbing through the craft section in a bookstore. I had no idea that it was possible to create such interesting and beautiful objects with some tools and my own hands. Originally from sunny California, I moved to the chilly East Coast to finish my degree at MECA. I believe that wearing jewelry is personal, intimate and tactile. When jewelry is worn, it travels through the adventures and lives of others, changing and evolving with their experiences. I lovingly handcrafted these objects to connect and evolve with others.
Raffle Item: Black and Gold Drop Post Earrings, 1.5" L x .5" W
Mali Mrozinski is a visual artist whose work is rooted in textiles, although not defined by material or process. Her current focus has been on customization in garment making and the conceived narratives that arise from such alterations. She holds a BFA in Painting from the Maine College of Art and an MFA in Textiles & Fashion Design with a Minor in Material Culture from the University of Wisconsin Madison. Mali currently has work in the Terrain Biennial in Portland and will be a winter artist in residence at the Monson Arts Center in 2020. Mali lives and works in Readfield with her son and partner.
Raffle Item: Tool Bucket, Linen and Stitching, 2018
The 2019 MECA Holiday Sale Window Display was designed by Hannah Rosengren ’13. Hannah graduated with a BFA in Illustration from MECA and has taught several classes in the Continuing Studies program. Photos of the window display can be found here.
Contact
For more information, email holidaysale@meca.edu or call Isabelle O'Donnell, Alumni Relations & Events Coordinator, at 207.699.5018.
Header Image: 2019 MECA Holiday Sale Window Display designed by Hannah Rosengren ’13; Photography by Kyle Dubay ’18
