PLEASE POST TO THE COMMENTS SECTION IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND.
Join us for a fun and unique event geared toward the holiday shopping season on ’Green Saturday’, the day after ‘Black Friday’. This unique event will be held in an equally unique setting – The Lodge at Camp Long.
The object of “Money Free Shopping Spree” is to promote more meaningful gifting of products made from raw materials or crafting of various sustainable categories. The “Money Free Shopping Spree” is gift trading.
Categories include:
- Services: This is a wide open category usually traded with gift cards or certificates. Examples include garden consulting, household energy audits, childcare, bicycle repair, household item repair, massage, dietary consultation, clutter reduction, pantry clinic.
- Art Crafts: All varieties of art including photography, paintings, stained glass, glass blown items, pottery, basketry, salvaged art designs, metal or wood sculptures, clay sculptures, music CDs, journalistic compilations, wall hangings.
- Home Crafts: Soap making, candles, glass blowing, pottery, refinished wood furniture, stained glass, knitted goods, holiday center pieces, herbal medicines, herbal oils and scents, holiday wreaths, holiday decorations, doll houses.
- Food Crafts: Dried fruits, canned foods, cakes and cookies, jams, preserves, honey, prepared dinners, wines, beer, ethnic meals, cheese making.
- Salvaged/Refurbished Items: Children’s toys, children’s furniture, bicycles, wooden chairs/rockers, sporting goods.
All the exchanges would be for the purpose of holiday gift giving but not limited to that end.
The photograph illustrating last year’s Money Free Shopping Spree at Camp Long’s Lodge, is courtesy of the WestSeattleBlog.
What are you bringing to the Money Free Shopping Spree? If you plan to participate, please leave a comment attached to this post with what you plan to bring to trade. Include your name, description of item, number of items and estimated value. We will compile a list to advertise as the event draws closer.
This is a fabulous idea!
My name is Brett Mathewson and I am a Seattle-based jewelry artist. I will be bringing my hand-formed sterling silver earrings made with semi-precious stones and fine metals. I can bring as many as 50 pairs with an average value of $40 each.
I am looking forward to this more traditional gifting event! I will be offering bicycle repair services, scented candles and hand made soaps. I will post more items when the inspiration comes. I will also be bringing a winter greens egg souffle for the potluck and possibly a garden green salad.
I’ll be trading West Seattle honey from my bees. Will probably bring Lasagna or a Bean Stew for the potluck.
If I can make it (not sure, will be visiting family up north on Thanksgiving weekend) I will bring some prints to trade. If I bring food it will be corn/green chili casarole.
The local honey is awesome, wish I were going to be able to make it to trade for some.
How to participate in the “Money Free Shopping Spree”
The “Money Free Shopping Spree” is a Holiday celebration of gifting without money as currency. There are many things that can be more meaningful in gift giving than what has become the consumer driven form of gifting.
The “Money Free Shopping Spree” has suggested trading categories:
Food Crafts: Items that you have expertise in or have done many times at home
Art Crafts: Items to cheer up the holidays as well as enjoyed any time of the year
Services: This is a very popular gift item that can incorporate resourcefulness and imagination; please create smaller paper sized gift certificates.
Use your imagination and remember to use a sustainable/holiday theme. Don’t worry about being able to trade. Your first trade will be prearranged.
Money Free Shopping Spree Potluck..
You are invited to participate in the potluck dinner preceding the Money Free Shopping Spree, 4:00pm.
We please ask that you bring reusable eating utensils and plates for yourself and company. We also ask that you would take the utensils and plates home with you after the evening’s event for cleaning at home.
If you have garden supplies to offer feel free to provide what you have in abundance. If you are preparing an item from local stores and markets last names beginning with A-L bring salads and deserts, last names starting with M-Z bring entrees.
Looking forward to seeing you at the 3rd annual “Money Free Shopping Spree” where you are only as wealthy as you are resourceful.
I will bring a set of hand-felted, recycled material decorative dolls. These sort of resemble Kachina dolls – but not really — they are very clever and have to be seen to be appreciated. These are worth about $25 apiece and I have about 6.
I would like to offer a session of Lactation Consulting. This is worth $70/hour and I would donate 1.5 hours worth. It makes a wonderful gift to a new or expecting family.
Hello,
I am the owner of Pigeon Point PC a local computer repair business. I will be bringing gift cards for in-home (Local to W. Seattle) PC Tune-Ups ($60 Value). This service include removal of spyware and viruses, removal of unnecessary programs and start-up items and a complete dusting of the internal components. This is a great idea and look forward to making some trades =)
Lots of great stuff! I’ll definitely be there!
I’m going to bring some homemade handkerchiefs, and a green salad for the potluck.
I have Children’s books, Children’s DVD’s, and a limited amount of Children’s (girl) toys. I will sit this potluck out though.
I am planning on bringing some of my handmade trivets, made from recycled aluminum, melted and recast into trivets(see some picts here: http://pweb.jps.net/~stracy/Project/MetalCastings.html); & Quince jam from local trees in South Park (see picts here: http://picasaweb.google.com/geodesic.steve/QuinceJamMarraFam#); & Services: Have truck, will haul your recycled item from 2ndUse to anywhere in West Seattle, White Center or Burien;(or from the WS Tool library) & Custom made worm bin from recycled lumber, to you size specs and sheathed in black bamboo (similar to this one: http://pweb.jps.net/~stracy/Project/BambooWormBin.html): & Custom made cold frame from recycled windows.
Steve
Hope to make the potluck with some store bought artisan bread.
Looks like I won’t be able to pull things together in time. I’m sorry. I won’t be there after all. Have a fantastic time tonight!
I’ll be offering kitty toys (fortune cookies w/ organic catnit), holiday quilted wall hanging, quiltmaking lessons (beginning basic quiltmaking, free motion quilting, finishing (binding), art quiltmaking/embellishing), and database design/development coaching (using MS Access). I will bring sample basic, intermediate, art quilt samples to show the quality/type of skills I can teach. I’m bringing mini choc/raspberry muffins to share.
I enjoyed a very relaxing and interesting evening with creative company. There were three other crafts fairs happening the same day. Ours was the only one that was Money Free. The attendance was less than we had hoped for, possibly due to the other crafts fairs. This spurred some conversation and ideas about connecting the different holiday crafts events under one publicity outlet, similar to the community garage sale. Also we discussed offering craft nights at the West Seattle Tool Library in the months of September and October preceding the Money Free Shopping Spree. One thing to be appreciated was the efforts and the personal attachment to the crafts we saw at this years “Money Free Shopping Spree”. I also would like to thank once again Kathy Wilmering and her wonderful harp for providing the sound for a relaxing evening. BTW. The food was great.