Thank You For Making Our Opening A Big Success!

Wow! What a great start to our new venture in Tulsa.

"Grand Opening Weekend" at Owl & Drum - Oklahoma's new one-stop shop for fabrics, craft supplies and homemade gifts - was a real whirlwind of smiling faces and in-store excitement.

Thanks to all the many people who visited us to help celebrate our big opening at 2810 E. 15th St.

We had a lovely mix of children, parents and grandparents stroll around the store, taking in the wide variety of cotton fabrics, products and wares.

And quite a few people of all ages (but, especially, kids!) enjoyed making Kanzashi flowers out of 5-inch colorful fabric squares at our large craft table.

We are very grateful for all the kind words and support expressed by customers and visitors for our new enterprise. It's a real thrill to be in business in such a supportive environment.

"I love to see that crafting is alive and well in Tulsa," said Bianca Howell, the co-owner of Owl & Drum.

"It was great to meet so people who are enthusiastic about do-it-yourself crafts and who appreciate interesting, unique homemade gifts. We are really happy to be with so many creative, like-minded people."

Many "Craft Night" and special events will be held at Owl & Drum in the weeks and months to come.

And the first one is just around the corner!

Next Tuesday, will see Owl & Drum's first "Craft Night" staged. The debut craft will be needle felting, in which attendees will tease wool rovings with a needle-felting tool to create three-dimensional shapes.

The first project - which begins at 6.30 p.m. Sept. 18 - will see participants making needle-felted acorns to get ready for the fall season and all its wonderful colors. Anybody is welcome to join in, but please sign up in advance.

People are asked to pay $5 for the class, and all supplies are included. Interested people need to RSVP on Owl & Drum's Facebook page. Please click here to sign up.

Future "Craft Nights" at the store will focus on crewel embroidery, sewing classes and (possibly) a tatting class.

Owl & Drum carries about 100 fabrics made by seven designers and manufacturers. More fabrics are being added each week, and they can be bought in the Tulsa store or on its website at www.owlanddrum.com.

The 2810 E. 15th St. store also sells unique jewelry and other items made by Tulsans, Oklahomans and artisans from Portland, Oregon. It also sells a variety of craft books, equipment and supplies.

Owl & Drum is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday, and from 12-4 p.m. Sundays. It is closed on Mondays.

For more information, call Bianca at 918-742-1404, visit www.owlanddrum.com, send an email to owlanddrum@gmail.com or follow us on Facebook, Blogger.com, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Fun Fabric Features Fairly Frightening Family

One of the many fun new fabrics for sale at Owl & Drum is "The Ghastlies," a quirky family full of eccentric characters.

The quilting cotton fabric - made by trail-blazing California textile design company Alexander Henry - features a cast of beautifully hand-painted figures each in their own picture frame.

"The Matriach" of the family is a stern-looking woman with crazy hair named Mathilde Ghastlie, and her sisters are called Mildred, Magda and Minerva Grislie, who look like a trio of very scary spinsters.
Mathilde's "Devoted Husband" is Gaspar Ghastlie, and their children are Sebastian (a mischievous cat?!?) and Garrick, a balding hen-pecked man.

Gaspar's "Beloved Mother" is a veiled and mean-looking woman known simply as "The Widow Ghastlie." Her top-hatted father, Gunnar Grislie, is pictured with an old-fashioned lantern.

Also featured are Sebastian and his "Errant Wife" Daria (a socialite who looks like a "flapper" from the 1920s) and their two precocious young children - the red-cheeked twins Cordelia and Cassius Ghastlie.
The fabric paints a scene that is a little reminiscent of The Addams Family, that much-loved old TV show.

Alexander Henry is a textile design house based in Burbank, Calif., that specializes in cutting-edge, original cotton prints. The company offers a wide-ranging collection with themes inspired by art history, runway fashion and culture at large.

Under the direction of the De Leon Design Group - namely Marc, Philip and Nicole de Leon - the company's in-house artists paint each fabric pattern by hand. And Alexander Henry, which was established more than 30 years ago, work with a diverse group of manufacturers in the accessories, garment and home furnishings industries.

Owl & Drum, a new fabric, homemade gifts and craft supplies store, stocks "The Ghastlies" and two other popular Alexander Henry fabrics - "Where Is My 'Stache" and "Spotted Owl."

Owl & Drum - which is located at 2810 E. 15th St. in Tulsa, OK - also carries about 100 other fabrics made by seven other designers and manufacturers. More fabrics are being added each week, and they can be bought in the store or on its website.

For more information, call Bianca at 918-742-1404, visit www.owlanddrum.com, send an email to owlanddrum@gmail.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Join Us For Owl & Drum's "Grand Opening Weekend"

To celebrate our new store opening, Owl & Drum is excited to host its "Grand Opening Weekend" this Saturday and Sunday in Tulsa, OK. The special event - featuring craft demonstrations, giveaways and light refreshments - runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 8 and from 12-4 p.m. Sept. 9.

Please come and join us at 2810 E. 15th St. and check out our wide variety of rich and colorful fabrics, including Moda, Dear Stella Designs, Alexander Henry, Monaluna, Birch Fabric, Kokka, and Echino.

There will be a 20 percent discount on all craft books and sewing patterns to encourage people to increase, renew or start their interest in these wonderfully therapeutic pastimes. 

Making intricate items by hand can be so very rewarding. And anyone who receives a handmade gift is sure to appreciate the time, effort and love that goes into making something unique. For many families, it's a tradition that goes from generation to generation.  

As well as numerous bolts of fabric, our store features gifts made by local and national artisans - including Yellowbrick, For Keeps Designs, Amity Treasures, and Meekly Made of Oklahoma, plus Urban Creatures, Oh, Little Rabbit, and Maple XO of Portland, OR.

We have attended trade shows in Portland, Oregon, and Kansas City, Missouri, to source the most interesting and talented artisans in the USA. This fall, we will attend the International Quilt Market in Houston, Texas, to bring the latest designs to our customers.

Owl & Drum is also very happy to announce that we will be featuring a trunk sale from top designer Anna Maria Horner, which will include her sewing patterns such as the "multi-tasker tote" and the "painted portrait blouse".

In addition, customers who spend $50 or more in the store during our "Grand Opening Weekend" will receive a free $10 iTunes gift card to spend on their favorite music and/or phone apps.

The brand-new store is located on East 15th Avenue, between Lewis and Harvard streets, close to the University of Tulsa campus.

In the not-to-distant future, Owl & Drum will begin hosting crafting classes on select evenings. Also, local quilting and sewing groups will hold weekly or monthly workshops, utilizing our large space and comfortable, modern store.

We hope to make Owl & Drum a one-stop shop for Tulsa-area craft lovers, as well as a community resource for all the talented local artisans and gift-makers.

Our up-to-date website is easy to navigate and we will speedily ship out any orders, both near and far. Since opening we have shipped dozens of yards of fabrics and other products to happy customers across the USA, Canada, Europe and Australia.

For more information, call Bianca at 918-742-1404, visit www.owlanddrum.com, send an email to owlanddrum@gmail.com or follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

So, put our "Grand Opening Weekend" dates in your calendar. Spread the word. Tell your friends. 

Bring a family member. And we very much hope to see you this weekend at Owl & Drum.

It should be quite a hoot!

Q&A with Jackie from Amity Treasures

    Jackie Porter has been making jewelry under the name Amity Treasures since 2005. She attended the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, where she majored in art history. 

    Porter recently started teaching art at an Oklahoma City metro area public school. "I'm super stoked" to be teaching, she said. "I really love how every aspect of history can can relate with art, artists or artistic movements. My favorite period is prehistoric art. I love the uncertainty, the unknown, and the hypotheses formed around art of that time. 

    "I like fossils and dinosaurs, too. When I have free time, I really like to spend time with my wonderful boyfriend, ride bikes, discover new eateries, go on road trips, and play with my lomography cameras."  

When were you first inspired to create/develop Amity Treasures?

In early high school, I began making jewelry with seed beads and stretchy string. It was a hobby that i just picked up. I had a lot of fun. One day I realized I could incorporate old or vintage pieces into these pieces to make them super cool. Ever since then, I have been selling in stores in the USA and Australia. I've participated in shows in Oklahoma and California, and have had pieces worn by celebrities - thanks to social networks.
Oh, and the name Amity Treasures has a hidden meaning: "Amity" means friendship, according to the dictionary, and it is also the name of the town in the movie "Jaws". I chose "Treasures" because, well, I use only the finest baubles and treasures in my pieces.

What are your favorite materials to work with?

Anything old! Anything owned by grandmothers and, especially, anything super kitschy and quirky - the crazier the better. Sometimes my customers aren't always on the same page as me, so I often have to tame it down. But it's all so much fun to make.

What is your favorite craft besides jewelry-making?
I really don't think I have a favorite other craft, which I'm kind of ashamed to say. Jewelry may be my only niche, but I enjoy supporting local crafters by shopping at their booths at local events and in local boutiques.

Recommend one craft tool that you cannot live without

Pliers - any type/kind. I've used anything from fishing pliers to heavy-duty wire pliers, and they all get the job done. I actually didn't own my first pair of "jewelry" pliers until last Christmas.

What do you like best about living in Oklahoma?

Route 66! It is so close to where I live, and there are so many spectacular sights to see on the "Mother Road." I may just be a sucker for cobblestone, peeling paint, and over-proportioned whales, but the nostalgia and the history are so intriguing to me.

Come and see Amity Treasures' jewelry and other artisans at Owl & Drum, now open in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at 2810 E. 15th St. For more details, visit www.owlanddrum.com or call 918-742-1404.

Owl & Drum Opens in Tulsa, Oklahoma!

Ladies and gentlemen, it has finally happened: Owl & Drum is now open for business in Tulsa, OK! 

Our soft opening was last Friday and we were pleasantly surprised at how many new faces popped in to see our new shop. It was a great start to our new venture. We are very excited.

Owl & Drum features a blend of designer sewing fabrics, craft and sewing supplies, plus handcrafted gifts. Some of the fabric designers we are currently stocking in the shop are Anna Maria Horner, Tula Pink, Kokka, Echino, and Monaluna. 

Our gift gallery has a bit everything. From baby to pets, there is bound to be something that strikes your fancy. Some of our vendors are local but we have not stopped there. We have pieces coming from as far away as Portland, OR.

So, if you are in the Tulsa area, come check us out! We are located at 15th & Delaware. Otherwise, you can find a lot of our lovely items in our online store at www.owlanddrum.com. Just click here.

We look forward to creating with all of you!

Bianca and Dani

Must Sew Elephant Pillow

Introducing the Eloise Elephant Pillow. Good news! You can download this free pattern here, courtesy of Dear Stella Designs.

We at Owl & Drum have not attempted this pattern just yet. But when we do, we will be using these fun prints pictured below.

Flame Stitch in Brown

Stella Dot in Cherry

These prints are a part of Dear Stella Design's Petal Pusher collection. 

Oh how we love Dear Stella!

The Birds and the Bees

We are happy to unveil the latest fabric collection to hit Owl & Drum, Tula Pink's The Birds and the Bees. 

Rooted Trees and Birds in Pool

Squirrels in Pool

Lady Bugs in Apple

With the blue and green color combination and the nature theme, these prints work for both boys and girls.

It doesn't stop here. There is more to come from The Birds and the Bees. Here's a sneak peek!

Be rest assured, we will let you know when these come in!

Bianca and Dani