Since the launch of Etsy in 2005, the crafting world has been totally reinvented. Gone are the days of the glitter-and-glue extravaganzas one might expect to find at a craft show. We are now seeing the most innovative, creative, and on-trend items, guaranteed to give anything at West Elm a run for its money.

Lucky for us, the largest craft show in the country returns to Baltimore this month, as the American Craft Show comes to the Baltimore Convention Center from February 22-24 with handcrafted items from more than 600 of the best contemporary makers in the country. “Baltimore has always been so welcoming,” says Pam Diamond, director of marketing and communications for the American Craft Council (ACC). “The appreciation for handmade goods has always been prevalent here, and we are thrilled to have so many new artists and selections this year.”

As the DIY movement has expanded, the technology has grown with it, allowing artists and makers to use things such as 3D printing and newfangled resins, plastics, and polymers to create one-of-a-kind pieces. And the ACC is all about sharing that knowledge. “We aren’t just about shopping,” says Diamond. “We want to educate people and, through doing that, we are supporting artists.”

This year, the ACC will feature two specialty programs to offer attendees even more opportunities to be hands on. “Let’s Make” is an interactive session designed to help the next generation of crafters discern between handmade and mass manufactured goods. And “Hip Pop” is a specialty booth where six emerging artists are able to display their work and get in front of an audience.

No matter which booth you end up browsing, the ACC show will have enough options to go around. And be sure to heed Diamond’s advice: “Put on your comfiest walking shoes, come inside, and just get totally inspired.”

If you’ve ever spent 15 minutes browsing on Pinterest, you’ve seen at least one image of an airy, aspirational room with a perfectly designed gallery wall. You know the type—the “Oh, I just threw some things up there that I liked, and it all worked out,” gallery wall.

If only it were so easy.

The “effortless” gallery wall may be the biggest lie in home décor.

In reality, the gallery wall is where those of us who are interior design beginners encounter the perfect storm of frustration—where spatial reasoning (or lack thereof) meets precise measurements.

But we weren’t about to let that stop us. We went to the experts at Framin’ Place in Mt. Washington for insights on how to pull off hanging a gallery wall that has it all—beauty, style, and longevity.

Mark Thompson has been managing Framin’ Place for nearly 25 years—almost the entire time the business has been serving Baltimore’s art lovers. The shop’s pros specialize in helping Baltimoreans bring more beauty into their homes via their custom framing services.

Here, along with Thompson’s insights, we share some of the most useful tips and tricks for anyone looking to spruce up their space with their very own gallery wall.

Gather your artwork

The first, and most important step, is deciding what pieces to include in your gallery wall. Whether you want to stick to family photos or create a mishmash of artwork, photos, sculpture, and more, the beauty of the gallery wall is that there are no hard and fast rules about what can be included.

Select your frames

As with the artworks themselves, there are no strict rules about what types of frames to include in a gallery wall. The most important thing to take into consideration is how the grouping will look as a whole. “To mix it up can be really sharp, but you wouldn’t want to insert something that’s going to draw attention away from everything else on the wall,” says Thompson. “Using neutral mattes is important for a unified look. As far as frames go, you want to be sure they relate to each other style-wise. Staying within a color family, like all black finishes for a black and white photo wall, looks really great.”

If you’re looking to create a gallery wall with a modern feel, but with staying power, Thompson recommends sticking with something classic. “Throughout the years, we’ve seen trends come and go, but there are some timeless options, like natural hardwoods, or an all-black or all-white minimalist look.”

Protect your pieces
Chances are, you care about the artwork and photographs in your gallery wall. To guard against the damage UV light and acidic materials can cause over time, make sure your pieces are protected. At Framin’ Place, every project uses UV blocking glass and all acid-free materials. “Everything we do is to extend the life of the artwork,” says Thompson. “Often, people don’t realize how faded their artworks have become, since it happens over time.”

Choose a focal point
The eye will naturally go first to the largest piece on the wall, so make sure it’s something you really love. Whether it’s a wedding photo or a print of your favorite Matisse from the BMA’s Cone Collection, this will be the piece that you build the rest of your arrangement around. If you’re looking to make that piece stand out even more, consider using a special frame as an added highlight. “There are certainly ways to elevate a focal point piece. A more ornate frame than the rest of the wall, or a hand applied finish can really let people know that that’s a special piece,” says Thompson. “Look for something you can’t just find anywhere.”

Use stencils to create a layout
Rather than trying to decide on your final arrangement by holding your pieces directly up on the wall, you can make it easier on yourself with stencils. Thompson recommends laying out all your pieces on newspaper or brown craft paper, tracing each one, then cutting them out to create stencils. With a bit of patience and painters’ tape, you can shuffle your stencils around in the space where you want your gallery wall. Keep adjusting until the layout feels right and the spacing between elements is correct. You know what they say, measure twice, hammer once—especially if you rent!

Use the right hardware
If you’re a beginner, do some research into what the proper hanging hardware is for your wall. Brick, plaster, and drywall require different hardware, and the weight of the pieces you’re hanging is a factor as well. (For example, an expansion type screw with a plastic sleeve is best for hanging on brick walls, but drywall calls for a drywall screw.) “You want stability, and to make sure you’re not constantly moving your pictures to straighten them,” says Thompson. “Whether the proper hanging mechanism for the piece is wire or something else, we always put the appropriate hanging mechanism on each piece to make it a little easier for people once they bring the artwork home.”

Let your iPhone do some work
The compass app on your iPhone is hiding a super useful secret—a level! Open the compass, swipe right, and the screen of your phone will become a level. Hold that bad boy up on the top of each frame as you’re hanging, and it’ll show you if you need to scooch the piece a bit this way or that for it to hang straight.

Don’t be afraid to keep adding
You’ve hung the final piece and taken a step back to gaze upon the fruits of your labors, but that doesn’t have to mean your brand-new gallery wall is finished finished. A gallery wall’s organic, irregular borders lend themselves to future additions, or even swapping out artworks and frames as you wish. When you take that next perfect picture, simply grab a frame and add it on.

With a weekend, some tools, and a little know-how, many homeowners can tackle a basic repair or remodeling project. As any seasoned do-it-yourselfer understands, working in your own home can be as empowering as it can be cost-efficient. There’s a point, though, when it can also be a little dangerous. 

“I had a customer once who told me that her husband was working in the attic and the roof was sagging, and asked me to come take a look,” recalls Joseph Smith, a principal at Owings Homes Services. Smith figured it couldn’t be that bad, but as soon as he arrived, he saw more than a foot of sagging in the roof.

“I took a peek in the attic and the husband had cut away all the roof trusses to make the attic into livable space,” Smith recalls. “I told them they needed to leave the house immediately and call a structural engineer.” 

Ask any electrician, contractor, or plumber, and they’re full of similar stories of project gone awry, from the guy who invited injury, death, or a house fire by splicing an extension cord and wiring it up to power his garage-door opener (he was lucky), to the homeowner who tried to fix his own roof but installed the shingles upside down and backward. And sometimes, the outcome is more than just embarrassing: A homeowner in Montgomery County died after being electrocuted while installing a ceiling fan.

Sure, sometimes a simple home update is just that—simple. But it can also turn into a monster project that sucks the lifeblood out of your wallet and schedule. We checked with Baltimore’s experts for guidelines on when the average homeowner can go it alone and when to call in a professional.

Be Honest

If you’re handy and have some free time, handling something like swapping out kitchen hardware or refinishing wood floors might be within your wheelhouse. In today’s shared economy, it’s more convenient than ever to rent tools or Home Depot pickup trucks to carry wallboard, but just because that part is easy doesn’t mean you should do it. Before you touch a tool, you need to ask yourself how far-ranging your skill set is and how capable you really are. The answer will vary from homeowner to homeowner and project to project. Installing a chair rail could safely fall into the DIY realm, for example, but if you have an old house where the walls aren’t plumb, or you just don’t have much experience with a miter saw, you could end up with a mess.

“It’s a little like cooking,” explains Dave MacLean, senior vice president at Hampstead-based Brothers Services Corporation. “We all go out to dinner and get a professional product and then you try to recreate it at home and it’s just not as good.

“There’s a learned craftsmanship that goes into properly installing trim and moulding. Does that mean only someone with years of experience can do it? No, but the nuances of dealing with uneven wall dimensions or drywall with an imperfect finish—that’s where the magic of experience comes in.”

He adds, “A lot will depend on the homeowner’s tolerance for imperfection.”

If you have a modicum of skill but need a bit of direction, reputable sites on the internet (like thisoldhouse.com) provide useful how-to videos. “YouTube has really changed the ability of homeowners to troubleshoot and fix things,” says MacLean. 

Safety First

Before you begin any project, it’s wise to know where your emergency shut-offs are—you never know when you might need them. The simple project of hanging a shelf can quickly go awry if you screw through a plumbing pipe and are suddenly rushing to figure out how to turn off the water to the whole house.

Doing something capably on your own also means following the rules of law and safety. Old homes can contain lead paint and asbestos, which must be remediated. A condominium will have different liabilities than a single-family home. And ignorance of building permits and codes isn’t a plausible defense against improper craftsmanship. If you are moving electrical lines or plumbing or adding a structure, such as a deck, it’s safe to assume you need a permit (possibly some drawings, too) and an inspector will need to sign off on the work. However, every jurisdiction has its own regulations, so contact your municipality if you’re uncertain about a permit. 

Do DIY

“There’s a certain satisfaction in doing something yourself and doing something with your hands,” says Jeff Rubin, owner of The Baltimore Handyman Company. He recommends starting simple with cosmetic projects like painting, picture-hanging, and easy, self-assembly furniture. Hanging shelves is a nice weekend project, too.

“There are also a lot of self-stick products available, like vinyl tiles and carpet squares, that are not hard to put down with proper surface preparation,” Rubin adds.

With a screwdriver, most homeowners can quickly give a kitchen or bathroom a new look simply by swapping out hardware like drawer pulls and cabinet knobs.

“Assuming some base of knowledge of tools, trim work, like wainscoting and moulding, is an impactful thing a homeowner can do with a saw, a nail gun, and some basic skill,” says Smith. “On kitchen cabinets, you can prime and paint and swap out the hardware and dramatically change your entire kitchen’s look.”

Think Before You Demolish

Who doesn’t love an open floor plan? No one, apparently. 

“Everyone wants to take down a wall to create the open floor plan that’s popular now,” says Smith. 

While this is not completely out of the realm of the DIYer, it is an area that must be approached with extreme care. If the wall is load-bearing—in other words, holding up part of the house, like an upper story—a professional is required. If it’s not a load-bearing wall, it’s possible a homeowner can take the wall down after verifying there’s nothing else important inside the wall, like duct work, electrical conduit, or plumbing.

“In my experience, there’s always a greater chance that there’s something in the wall than not,” cautions MacLean.

Don’t Go There

When it comes to areas that are for experts only, the pros are unanimous: plumbing, electrical, and roofing—and pretty much anything that involves getting on a ladder.

“Electrical is a life-safety issue, as is plumbing, if you’re dealing with a gas pipe,” says Rubin. “The downside of other plumbing work—having a leak or a pipe burst—to me the risk is not worth it.”

Even something that seams innocuous, like swapping out a faucet, could end up with a call to a professional if outdated supply lines need to be cut and the whole house water supply has to be shut down. Similarly, changing a dated chandelier for one that’s more current can seem easy, but end up downright dangerous. Fixtures that are improperly grounded are a fire hazard, as are those that overload the capacity of the electrical line. Of course, there’s also the chance of electrocuting oneself, which is a pretty good reason to call an electrician.

“It’s okay to stretch yourself a little on something that isn’t hazardous,” says Smith. “Homeowners just need to be aware of what they’re tackling and know their skills—and to get help when they no longer feel comfortable.”   

Sure, a quick trip to Home Depot can solve all your holiday decorating problems, but where’s the seasonal spirit in that? We’ve gathered plenty of local ways to embrace your inner-Martha Stewart with DIY wreaths, wine glasses, ornaments, gingerbread houses, and more.

12/3: Holiday Wreath Class
Using locally available materials like burlap, branches, and berries, craft your own personalized holiday wreath with everything from succulents to to dried flowers. Local Color Flowers, 3100 Brentwood Ave. 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m, $125. 

12/3-4: Wreath Making
Make your own wreath with holiday music and hot cocoa. Lake Roland Nature Center, 1000 Lakeside Dr. Sat. 2-4 p.m., Sun. 12-2 p.m. $13-15. 410-887-4156

12/4: Deck the Halls
Decorate the library walls with festive trinkets and craft your own ornament. Enoch Pratt Free Library, 158 N. Linwood Ave. 3:30 p.m. 410-396-5430.

12/4: Glass Painting Party
Whether you’re hoping to give a unique gift—or keep the vessels for yourself—make your way to this Fells Point favorite to decorate holiday-themed wine and pint glasses. The best designer will win a $100 gift card that can be redeemed at Alexander’s, or any of its sister spots (Wicked Sisters, Papi’s Tacos, and Huck’s American Craft). The $20 price of admission includes two draft beers or glasses of wine, as well as an on-the-house shooter. Alexander’s Tavern, 710 S. Broadway, 7-9 p.m., $20, 410-522-0000

12/6: Gingerbread House Making Contest
Head to the Fells Point location of Abbey Burger Bistro to throw your hat into the ring for this gingerbread-making contest. Aside from a personalized gingerbread kit, the price of admission includes a complimentary draft beer or glass of wine. Abbey Fells, 811 S. Broadway, 7:30-9:30 p.m., $30, 410-522-1428

12/6 & 12/13: Ornament Painting Palooza at Delia Foley’s
Grab your crew and unwind at this ornament-painting party in Federal Hill. The price of admission includes four ornaments, painting materials, and your first winter beer. Delia Foley’s Pub, 1439 S. Charles St., 7-10 p.m., $25. 

12/9: Holiday Cards & Cheer
Enjoy cookies, theater, and music while making your own customized holiday cards. Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 E. Pratt St. 12-4 p.m. $1. 443-263-1800.

12/13: Gingerbread Haus Party
Reserve your spot for this gingerbread-making party at Das Bier Haus in Federal Hill, which includes all-you-can-drink drafts, call drinks, and seasonal cocktails. Das Bier Haus, 1542 Light St., 8-10 p.m., 443-708-8854, $30-35.

12/5, 12/12, & 12/19: Gingerbread Palooza at Smaltimore
Choose from three dates to get creative with cookies and confections at this Canton haunt. Guests are invited to sip Christmas beers while perfecting their houses with various candies and sweets. Smaltimore, 2522 Fait Ave., 8-10 p.m., $30, 410-522-1421.

For Adrienne Shevchuk, her amateur carpentry career began with an ambitious goal.

“I had this idea that I wanted to make my own dining room table,” she remembers with a laugh.

A 31-year-old executive assistant at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Shevchuk doesn’t come from a design or woodworking background. But six months after signing up for her first class at the Station North Tool Library, she had built an entire kitchen island for her Hampden home—right down to the tapered legs and butcher-block top milled from wood that she picked up from a salvage yard in East Baltimore.

Although woodworking was new to her, Shevchuk tends a raised-bed garden in her backyard, and has been canning and pickling produce from local farms for the past three years. Outgoing and spunky, with dark, shoulder-length hair shaved on the right side of her head, she also has taken ceramics courses at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) for fun, as well as a sense of purpose and individuality.

“Even if my mugs look like crap, which my first semester’s did, they are way better to me than going to Target and buying mass-produced mugs that thousands of other people have. I’ve always liked the idea of doing things myself,” continues Shevchuk, who now has a number of the tool lending library’s workshops under her belt, from cutting boards and coffee tables to a chef’s knife class, where she walked away with a beautiful—and utilitarian—blade forged from a rectangular piece of steel and a block of wood. “Making that knife was pretty much the most empowering thing I’ve ever done.”

Aside from the satisfaction of creating something by hand, Shevchuk says the time spent working with wood remains a welcome escape from the stress of modern life and the tedium of staring at a computer screen all day. “It’s an outlet for me, after sitting in the cube during the week, to go on a Tuesday night and spend three hours building something,” she says. “It kind of wakes you up. I also think there’s some draw to returning to the idea of being an expert in a trade.”

Shevchuk may have become an unexpected woodworker, but her experience is not unique. She’s actually part of a burgeoning collective of hobbyists, craftsmen, and amateur and professional artisans in Baltimore who are coming together with a desire to learn and share both new and bygone skills in the Internet age via workshops, apprenticeships, and “makerspaces.” (Makerspace: a community studio where people share their do-it-yourself processes, equipment, and ethos.)

Still somewhat under the radar, the city’s DIY community has grown significantly in the past five years, with the opening of hands-on working and teaching spaces across the city. Before the Tool Library opened in 2013, for example, Baltimore Print Studios launched its letterpress and screenprinting studio in Station North. Two years ago, Boomspace, a tech and workforce development center, got its start in McElderry Park, and when MICA discontinued its jewelry center, several artists banded together and launched the Baltimore Jewelry Center, now at the renovated Center Theatre on North Avenue.

Earlier this year, The Foundery, a tools, training, and metalworking makerspace, moved into its new 20,000-square-foot space at the City Garage innovation hub in Port Covington. And finally, this fall, Open Works, the highly anticipated, creative studio space developed by the nonprofit Baltimore Arts Realty Corporation (BARCO) will launch in a 34,000-square-foot warehouse across from Greenmount Cemetery.

“People [my age] are trying to bring production down to a smaller scale.”

Although the boom in DIY enterprises and makerspacers may feel new, the ideas and values driving the phenomenon have been bubbling for a while. They’re part of a broader cultural movement related to the renewed interest in urban farming ushered in by millennials moving back to cities, industry experts say.

“Maybe 10 to 15 years ago, when the term DIY got really popular, we saw a resurgence of urban farming and things that are associated with people of my age group who are interested in trying to bring production down to a smaller scale that someone can do on their own,” says 33-year-old Andy Cook, a planner with Baltimore City’s Office of Sustainability. “I would hesitate to say it’s a return to something necessarily old—some of these enterprises are technologically advanced—although some things are definitely [a throwback]. We talk about makerspaces like they are new, but I’m sure they were called workshops a hundred years ago.”

Ultimately there’s a limit to the number of people interested in these things, Cook continues, but he adds that he doesn’t believe that ceiling has been reached. “I don’t think everyone realizes they can be empowered in this way, and that’s something the makerspaces in town are especially good for—showing people it’s within their reach. I hope it helps us get to a point where, yeah, more people are making their own stuff instead of ordering it from Amazon.”

Letta Moore, 37, of Knits, Soy & Metal, says that before she quit her job as a marketing director for a real-estate company in September to go full-time with her handmade scarf, candle, and jewelry brand, she didn’t realize the extent of the DIY culture in the city. But in just the past few months, she has been embraced by the colony of craft-oriented entrepreneurs like her in Baltimore, who she says are all about building each other up. “I didn’t even know this huge community existed prior to becoming a ‘maker,’” Moore says. “I’ve worked with so many amazing people, either through vending or using their products myself, and they’re all very supportive.”

Moore feels the physical act of creation is a basic human instinct that has been somewhat lost because of the convenience of modern technology. She adds it’s both an appreciation of that process and a set of skills that she wants to instill in her 16-year-old daughter. “This is going to sound absolutely absurd,” she says, “but knowing that I actually have created something—it’s almost like giving birth. It’s like I’ve brought something into this world that is a reflection of me. I [also] think it’s important that people know how to do things with their hands, because what if at some point technology isn’t available anymore?”

To better connect the city’s growing DIY community and help develop commercial opportunities for startup enterprises, Piper Watson of the Station North Tool Library and Mark Huson of Baltimore Node—a diverse maker group that includes electronics, digital fabrication, wood and metalworking members—discussed the idea of a maker “congress.” With help from several leaders in the local community, including Cook and Will Holman from BARCO, the broad-based Industrial Arts Collective (IAC) formed in the summer of 2014.

Cook attended one of the first IAC meetings to recruit for a city project to reuse vacant industrial buildings; he was looking to identify small businesses in need of warehouse space. “While people definitely felt like they needed more space for production, the more immediate concern for most was retail,” he says. Cook worked with Holman to apply for a grant to hold a pop-up shop where sprouting artisans could sell their goods. “And that became the first real IAC project.”

Following that initial IAC pop-up event in Station North, membership in the collective doubled. Today, the IAC has more than 130 members and holds several pop-up shops throughout the year. At its holiday 2015 event, more than 80 city businesses participated and sold goods.

At North Avenue’s Baltimore Print Studios, husband-and-wife founders Kyle Van Horn and Kim Bentley manage a screenprinting and letterpress studio and teach monthly workshops, all on machinery dating from the 1880s to 1980s. “Not much of the equipment or tools for it are being made new today, so new people are using old equipment to make new stuff,” says Van Horn. “People are excited to get back to the roots of design.”

“Especially designers who have grown up in the digital era,” adds Bentley, explaining that the terminology used in computer programs is based off of physical objects that designers can hold in their hands at the shop. “People who understand what ‘leading’ is, which is the space between lines of type, their eyes bug out a little bit when they see the leading is made of lead, and it’s measured in points and picas, and it’s a real thing,” says Bentley. “And the name has meaning suddenly.”

In addition to designers who yearn for a pre-Photoshop way of doing things, Bentley and Van Horn say the shop’s goal is to enable people to become their own producers. When a couple called asking for their wedding invitations to be printed, Van Horn offered to teach the bride-to-be how to make them herself. “I think it’s surprising to them how achievable that is with just a bit of training and access to the right equipment,” Van Horn says. “We’re teaching a craft and we’re teaching people they can do the task themselves.”

“It’s the tangible object at the end of the day . . . the fruits of your labor.”

Make Tribe, which plans pop-up workshops and skill suppers, takes the concept of maker culture and turns it into a comprehensive entertainment experience. Attendees learn a skill and meet new people, venues are able to attract new audiences, and makers can test the waters by hosting their first workshop. After the first pop-up—a sold-out 30-person terrarium-building workshop in 2013—word about the events quickly spread.

“It was when the workshop movement was first starting to get underway—people were really excited about it and it felt like something new,” says owner and co-founder Jessica D’Argenio Waller, 30.

At a Make Tribe event last fall at Church & Company in Hampden, Jess Schreibstein, known as “The Kitchen Witch,” instructed some 15 guests in the basics of herbalism while they sipped on drinks by Artifact Coffee in a room lit by candles and string lights. In addition to the one-time events, Make Tribe hosts a twice-monthly knitting meetup, known as K1P1. “I think people have an inherent desire to work with their hands and get back to their roots a little bit, especially with all the technology surrounding us these days and the sort of go-go-go attitude that’s very prevalent,” Waller reflects. “It’s nice to take time out for something like making a scarf or even gardening and cooking.”

While she doesn’t eschew technology—in fact, Waller credits social media apps like Instagram for connecting makers with common interests—she still prefers some analog ways of doing things, like reading a hardcover book or cooking by candlelight. “It’s the tangible object at the end of the day where you can really see the fruits of your labor, and see the skill and the process that went into it,” she says. “Whether it’s exactly what you intended to make or not, just having the final product in your hands is such a rewarding experience.”

From the lending desk at the entrance of the Station North Tool Library, where more than 15,000 loans have been completed in its three years, sculptor and woodworking instructor Hannah Wides reflects on the human inclination to build and create physical objects, a yearning the library is finally able to fulfill for so many.

The process of creation itself can be meditative, says the soft-spoken Wides, a petite 26-year-old, wearing a knit cap and canvas work jacket. “It’s a form of self-discipline. It definitely has changed the way I think and work,” she says. “With woodworking, you have to be all in, all the time. You can’t just phase out. I think people like that.”

The Tool Library also prides itself on making its classes approachable, and more than half of Wides’s workshop students are women. It’s something she can relate to as a young woman in an often male-dominated industry. “Here it’s super woman-positive, queer friendly, and just really open. Nobody is trying to tell anyone how to do it right,” she explains.

“When I talk to people, they’re like, ‘Can you show me how to do this? I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time.’ Maybe it’s always been in people’s brains but they’ve never had the resources. They come in, and their eyes light up.

“I’ve never seen people so excited to see tools,” she continues, gesturing to the shelves and racks of handsaws, hammers, ladders, and generators, as the sound of a table saw whirs in the background. “You don’t see that excitement in Lowe’s or Home Depot. There’s a kid in a candy shop delight when they come in for the first time.”

The craft scene in Baltimore has exploded and we’re all too happy to pick up the pieces—in the form of jewelry, ceramics, soaps, pillows, tees, and stationery. We rounded up 50 locals who create—many in their spare time—some pretty astonishing work. They’re a super prolific bunch—quite a few are experts at jewelry and soap making or weaving and painting. (With MICA in the heart of Baltimore—we shouldn’t be too surprised.) We’ve also got five featured profiles of crafters—including a married couple—where we learn even more about their methods and daily juggling of family, work, and art. We delve into the craft wars—the battle between the classically trained and the self-taught artists and weekend crafters. And we offer some suggestions about launching a DIY craft business of your own from those who have found success. One of the most charming things about Charm City crafters is the assistance and advice they offer to each other—often traveling together to shows and promoting each other’s work. What’s more, there are many area shops that stock local goods—generously offering crafters another platform to showcase their work. And that’s where you come in. If you’re anything like us, you’ll spend the next several days visiting these artists’ websites and checking out the stores that carry their work. Sure, malls are fun, but there’s no better feeling than shopping local.

Kathy Beachler
illegibleink.com

Kathy Beachler’s fourth grade teacher in Connecticut did not appreciate her young student’s sense of style. “We were learning cursive, and I was a really good student, but I had this different spin on how to do cursive, and she gave me a C plus!” recalls Beachler with a laugh. “She wrote a note on the report card that said, ‘The cursive is too illegible. You took too many creative liberties.'”

These days, Beachler has that teacher to thank for inspiring illegible ink, the fledgling printmaking business she runs out of her Patterson Park brick rowhouse on weekends, evenings, and whenever she’s not working with Arts Every Day (a nonprofit that strengthens arts education and cultural experiences in Baltimore City schools).

Beachler’s delicately lined, whimsical “linocuts” (in which an original design is transferred from paper to a linoleum surface and hand-carved to create a raised relief that gets inked and impressed back onto paper) with owls, onions, and snapdragons are a nod to her love of nature. Her inspirations come from a variety of places including produce stands at the Baltimore Farmers’ Market under the JFX, the wild beauty of her neighborhood Patterson Park, books on ornithology, and historical botanical prints.

When Beachler entered Ohio’s College of Wooster, she actually had her sights set on geology or anthropology, but everything changed after a sophomore art class, and she graduated with a degree in studio art. “I took this 8 a.m. introduction to drawing class, and I called my parents and said, ‘This is the only class I can get up at eight in the morning for!'” she recalls. She told her parents, “I’m sure it’s what I want to do.”

The 32-year-old printmaker, who is a member of the Charm City Craft Mafia, a local support group for independent craft artists, will never forget the heady feeling after her first sale. “I do what makes me happy,” says Beachler, “and it’s an extra bonus when people like it enough to buy it. When I did my first craft show in Baltimore and someone came up to me and said, ‘I really like this,’ I was like ‘This is really cool. This is not my family or friends, and they are not just trying to make me feel better.’ I e-mailed a good friend that I had sold my work, and she’s like, ‘I don’t know what your problem is. I’ve been telling you you have talent for years.'” —Jane Marion

Danamarie Hosler
greenstarstudio.com

Danamarie Hosler thought she needed to move to New York to become a real artist. She departed shortly after graduating the Maryland Institute College of Art thinking she’d live “the dream.” A mere three months later, the enterprising twentysomething was running back to the eccentric embrace of Baltimore, which was cheaper, friendlier, and a whole lot quirkier.

“Baltimore’s a weird city,” she says with pride. “We’re weird people. We like things that are quirky and unique. It’s a very [inter] connected, very approachable little city that I think is a good place to be an artist. New York was too big, too separate, and competitive.”

The 30-year-old artisan, muralist, illustrator, and teacher certainly hasn’t wasted any time here. There’s evidence of her everywhere: She’s done murals on parking garages (the Baltimore City Health Department), underpasses (columns under Jones Falls Expressway, home of the long-running Baltimore Farmers’ Market), and supermarkets (the Waverly Crossroads Giant); her popular Knitimals don the shelves of area toy stores and tables at local craft fairs; and she’s inspired many a happy drawing by the children and adults she teaches at The Walters Art Museum, School 33 Art Center, and her alma mater.

Growing up in Miami, it never occurred to Hosler that she’d ever be anything but an artist. She attended the city’s famous New World School of the Arts, and started doing murals around the city by the tender age of 12, completing nearly 50 by the time she for left for MICA.

The Charles Village resident’s energy to create seems limitless, as evidenced by the sheer volume of what’s for sale on her online gallery, greenstarstudio.com (not to mention the fact that she brings yarn—always produced locally, she adds—into movie theaters and, yes, knits in the dark).

Perhaps best known for her lumpy, lovable Knitimals (which look like a cross between cartoon animals and kids’ doodles), Hosler believes that art’s true place is not framed on a museum or condo wall, but with the people who need it most—a homeless person passing one of her murals, she explains, or a child hugging one of her hand-knit creations.

“I can get you to look at art and you don’t even know you’re looking at art,” she quips with delight. “Art is bigger than a gallery. I don’t necessarily think that something has to be in a frame to have value.”

Craft-Friendly Shops

Want to shop locally for these local crafts? Check out some of the brick and mortars doing their part, plus websites dedicated to the craft scene.

Hampden

doubledutch Boutique
3616 Falls Rd., 410-554-0055

Earth Alley
3602 Elm Ave., 410-366-2110

Lovely Yarns
846 W. 36th St., 410-662-YARN

Mud and Metal
1121 W. 36th St., 410-467-8698

Red Tree
921 W. 36th St., 410-366-3456

Shine Collective
1007 W. 36th St., 410-366-6100

Belvedere Square

Lilac Bijoux
511 E. Belvedere Ave., 410-323-4333

Fells Point

aMuse
1623 Thames St., 410-342-5000

Cupcake
813 S. Broadway, 410-522-0941

Trixies Palace
1704 Thames St., 410-558-2195

Zen at Zoe’s Garden Wellness Center
1924 Fleet St., 410-342-7255

Federal Hill

American Visionary Art Museum Sideshow
800 Key Hwy., 443-872-4926

Funky Beehive
906 S. Charles St., 410-685-4483

Mt. Washington

Baltimore Clayworks
5707 Smith Ave., 410-578-1919

Timonium

Hopscotch
2 Oakway Rd., Timonium, 410-252-7801

Ellicott City

Art & Artisan
8020 Main St., 410-203-9370

Original Souls
8120 Main St., 410-461-2300

Downtown

Amaryllis
200 E. Pratt St., #1100, 410-576-7622

The Baltimore Woman’s Industrial Exchange
333 N. Charles St., 410-685-4388

Websites

American Craft Council

Baltimore by Hand

Baltimore Etsy Street Team

Charm City Craft Mafia

Michael Bracco & Shawna Pincus
spaghettikiss.com and pinkkiss.etsy.com

The couple that crafts together stays together? Hey, the formula works for Michael Bracco and Shawna Pincus who create a line of shirts, ceramics, comics, and prints out of the basement of their Hamilton home. They also both spend their days as full-time art teachers in Howard County. “Neither of us is happy unless we’re productive,” Pincus says. “The real foundation of us is our artwork.”

Both graduated from Maryland Institute College of Art—he with a B.F.A. in illustration and she with a B.F.A. in sculptural studies.

The couple met when Pincus attended one of Bracco’s art openings at Blue Moon Café in 2001 and were married five years later.

Immediately before the couple got married, they started making jewelry and T-shirts with iron-on transfers as wedding gifts. They founded Spaghetti Kiss in August of 2006.

“I really wanted a name that sounds pretty and feminine, but when you look closer, it’s absolutely grotesque,” Bracco says of the science-fiction logo.

Eventually, Pincus branched out with her own project, Pink Kiss—an homage to her last name—and they now run two distinct businesses. He screen-prints mythical illustrations onto T-shirts and hoodies using a tabletop press. She hand-builds bowls, mugs, and other dishes, paints them with an underglaze, and screen-prints images on them for a worn, layered look.

“I try to use romantic and nostalgic images,” she says. “I hope they get people to take a break from their day to stop and think.”

Bracco’s other passion is comic books. Birth—published in 2008 by Alterna Comics—is about two alien species with evolutionary differences that destroy each other’s populations. The Birth of Novo, which follows the last survivor of these two cultures, was awarded “Best Comic Book” by City Paper. And his latest volume, Novo the Pride, hits bookstores this month.

“The books are me trying to do a simple and objective take on the war,” he says.

While they both love teaching, their dream is to make a living solely off their art. “There are so many stores like Red Tree that give us a huge amount of support,” Pincus says. (The couple also sell their goods at local craft shows.)

In the mean time, they are encouraged by the fact that more consumers are appreciating the value of local craftsmanship.

“A lot of great people want to see this city reach its potential,” says Pincus.—Jess Blumberg

Juliet Ames
ibreakplates.com

The craft world should have seen her coming. In high school, Juliet Ames won “most likely to be a millionaire” for making and selling original hemp jewelry. It’s no wonder that she now runs her own successful craft business, The Broken Plate Pendant Company.

As the name suggests, Ames smashes vintage plates and turns the remaining shards into bold and modern jewelry. A former craft major at Towson University, she turns discarded plates into necklaces, rings, pendants, earrings, belt buckles, and even cufflinks.

“I had no idea people held such sentimental value for plates,” she says. “People say they didn’t know what to do with their broken plates and now they do.”

While working at the Howard County Arts Council, Ames was inspired by mosaic artist Ginger Peloquin and decided to make a new mailbox (one that still hangs outside of Ames’ Lake Walker home). After completing the project, she had a bunch of leftover plate shards, which she soldered and made into necklaces. She sold some pieces at the council’s gallery store and says she was hooked after her first craft show.

She opened her Etsy store in August 2006 and quit her day job five months later. Driving home on her last day of work, she picked up a pregnancy test—it came back positive. “That threw a little wrench into my plan,” she says.

Now, even while juggling her 15-month-old and work load, business is good. Ames says that during his naptimes she has a chance to make about 30 pieces a week. In her basement studio, she breaks the plates with a hammer, grinds the edges until smooth, wraps the pieces in copper tape, and then solders them. And she’s constantly coming up with original ideas—like her recent line of belt buckles and custom jewelry.

“I call it an ‘artgasm’ when I come up with something totally new,” she says. “I’m always seeking that.”

One day, the full-time crafter and mom wants to have a studio outside of her home and eventually a shop that houses multiple local artisans.

“Trends will change, but hopefully the handmade part of it will remain,” she says. “I hope it’s just getting started.” —JB

Craft WarsA rivalry within the craft movement? Can’t we all just get along?

While craft in Baltimore has long been associated with the annual American Craft Council’s highly regarded juried show featuring the works of national (as well as local) classically trained, high-end furniture makers, sculptors, and metalsmiths, an independent, progressive craft movement has been born in Baltimore. A younger group of self-taught artists and weekend crafters, as well as some with degrees in fine art, have given rise to a new kind of design featuring handmade soaps, jewelry fashioned from broken plates, and soy ink note cards.

“Is there a rivalry?” asks Jen Menkhaus, who founded a team of local Etsy artists, a national coop/virtual store for buying and selling handmade items. “In some ways yes, but rightfully so. These fine crafters have done their time—Baltimore has a lot of very fine jewelers out there—they make their own clasps and chains and when you looked at someone who made a bead and put it on a piece of string, it’s hard not to feel a bit of snobbery and, on some level, some resentment.”

The new craft movement has sparked debate between “old school” and “new school” crafters. Baltimore artist Annie Chau (pictured), a metalsmith who makes handmade jewelry out of her Mt. Washington studio, attended the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) symposium last spring at which widely regarded metalsmith Bruce Metcalf discussed “The New Alternative Craft” and ended up having a public disagreement with one of her mentors. “I was so excited to hear him speak,” says Chau. “But when he talked about old craft versus new indie craft he used price point differences as a discussion, [suggesting that] less expensive equals not so good, and he said something like ‘the average level of craftsmanship is low.’ He said he considered us all hobbyists, but this is my full time job, and I feel very successful. I just sat there with steam coming out of my ears then went up and told him he had had hurt my feelings and that I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.” (She later confronted him again through a series of emails and eventually concluded, “I didn’t need him for validation.”)

But many “old school” artisans have a more egalitarian view of their fellow artists. “Is being the best soapmaker in the country as valid as what I’m doing?” asks David Bacharach, who has been a metalsmith for 45 years. “Of course it is. As long as the job you’re doing is the best there is, there’s room for everyone.”—JM

Jen Menkhaus
littlestbean.com

“I’ve always been making stuff,” says Jen Menkhaus, 34, who spent the first 11 years of her life in Baltimore City before her parents moved to Howard County. In the early ’80s, there were lots of “little hand painted ornaments, goofy things—with googly eyes.” She wasn’t sure what exactly she wanted to do—she just knew that she wanted to be an artist. After college—where she received a degree in English with a concentration on writing and art (the perfect combination to never get a job, she jokes)—she landed at retail store Anthropologie in Rockville and spent the next three years creating their displays: wiring lighting displays, making chairs out of straws, and fashioning lamps out of gumdrops. “It was intense,” says Menkhaus, now a Baltimore county resident. After Anthropologie, she worked for Nouveau Contemporary Goods at their old Charles Street shop as a store designer and then became the assistant director of the Buyers Market of American Craft. She left when her daughter, now 3, was a year old. “That’s when I decided to do my own thing.”

Her company—The Littlest Bean, which sells mostly vintage-inspired jewelry—was a natural progression. “I’ve always been a fabric and textile addict,” she says. And “if you see my house it’s about 300 different colors.” The combination of the two—plus a desire to create something she could do safely around her daughter (no chemicals, no easels)—led her to felt. Her broach collection is made from wool felt and vintage plastic. Her site now includes rings, earrings, barrettes, necklaces, and even the occasional mobile and wall hanging. She’s had more than 200 sales on her Etsy site. Last January, Menkhaus helped start the Baltimore Street Team—a group of 60-plus crafters who have a presence on Etsy. The site is still evolving as they’ve come to realize that their main focus shouldn’t just be on the online marketplace but area craft shows, service projects for local charities, and skill sharing as well.

Menkhaus recently quit her nonprofit job at Maryland Citizens for the Arts and is making a go as a full-time crafter. “I don’t know what the future holds,” she says, citing the economy and a second baby due this spring. One recent highlight—her Etsy site has been marked as a “favorite” by viewers over 2,500 times this past year. She puts on her best Sally Field voice, “They like me, they really like me!”—JED

D.I.Y. D.I.Y.Becoming a creative entrepreneur takes more than creativity.

Four years ago, Jean-Baptiste Regnard stuffed his old Cadillac full of T-shirts, and, with business partner Kevin Sherry, set off for a city-by-city marketing campaign for their then-fledging clothing company, Squidfire (pictured).

“I literally packed up every piece of inventory that we had and put them in the car,” he recalls with a chuckle.

Regnard never had a doubt that shop owners would fall in love with their quirky t-shirts, some populated with dancing veggies, others with squids, whales, and squirrels.

Now the Baltimore-based brand is sold in 100 stores around the world, and the duo—Regnard is the businessman, Sherry is the artist—recently opened their first storefront in Hampden.

Squidfire’s story is the ultimate DIY—do-it-yourself— victory. And while it’s inspirational, no success story can ease the confusion, trepidation, and overall overwhelming-ness of launching a DIY craft business.

Artists are hungry for knowledge of the basics of launching a business to sell their work but can often feel clueless or intimidated about how to get started or take things to the next level, says local crafter Jen Menkhaus, founder of baltimore-etsy.blogspot.com.

To meet that need, Menkhaus will be leading a seminar on how to be a creative entrepreneur at the Patterson Park Creative Alliance on January 25 that will feature a lawyer, an accountant, a marketing specialist, and a photographer, all chiming in on the best ways to be your own one-man-band craft company.

“It can be tricky and there’s no easy answer,” says Menkhaus, of starting a craft business. “Most people ease into this world, they don’t just quit their job.” She offers some pointers. First, do your research. Find out who else, if anyone, is making items similar to yours before you buy boxes of materials and launch a website. Then test the waters at local craft fairs to gauge potential interest and marketability. And find a community of like-minded artists to toss ideas around with and even set up group shows.

As for advertising, both Menkhaus and Regnard agree that street and craft festivals rank as one of the very best—and cheapest—ways to market and promote your merchandise. The best part? Instant customer feedback.

As for the whole number-crunching, when-can-I-quit-my-day-job thing? Just be patient, says Menkhaus. “It’s a pretty big learning process.

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Accessories

12 Linden Eliza Mundy borrows ideas from Mother Nature. Using metal to imitate what she sees, she creates earthy, serene pieces, which pick up on the world’s natural textures and patterns.

Bake Sale Designs She does it all, that Rebecca McCoy—from fabric pinwheel hairpins, to bangle bags, to necktie chokers (exactly how they sound), to vintage fabric pins and very cool one-of-a-kind felted scarves: a mishmash of recycled felted wool sweaters, cable knit, and funky buttons. All very playfully retro and handmade.

Beth Pohlman Beth Pohlman draws directly from nature when making her metal jewelry. Her sterling silver earrings, necklaces, and brooches take their shape and inspiration from pine needles, petals, and pebbles. Her pieces range from delicate to bold, just as nature intended.

Block Party Press Colorful and whimsical, Tamara Shea’s rings, necklaces, cufflinks, and pendants are not for wallflowers. She uses hand carved stamps to create textures on polymer clay and adds bold hues with acrylic paints—so pieces like her poppy ring and patchwork tree necklace really pop.

Carlybird Weaves Just looking at Carly Goss’s work makes us feel warm and cuddly. She hand weaves cloth the old-fashioned way—laboring over a loom—to make patterned wrist cuffs, scarves, baby blankets, and other works.

Dandelion Blu Working mostly with enamel, Sherry Insley designs necklaces, earrings, rings, and brooches that are hauntingly beautiful with strong colors and interesting shapes. Enamel doesn’t always mean heavy: Insley’s lace collar necklaces— traced from a vintage pattern onto copper and then pierced and sawed by hand—are delicate and lovely.

Elisa Shere Jewelry Crafter Elisa Shere’s original passion was pottery and after turning to metal, she never lost that inspiration. She constantly plays with shapes in her sterling silver and bronze jewelry, making each piece three-dimensional and unique—like the pop of her “littlest flower” necklace.

For Queen Victoria Christy Zuccarini is positively polycraftic (okay, we just made that word up). She knits and crochets neck warmers and scarves, shoots beautiful still life photography, and creates uniquely striking jewelry—inspired by vintage beads—all while blogging about the indie craft scene at her popular Baltimore by Hand site.

Gnomegarden Dawn Doran’s passions are fiber, knitting, and spinning. Her site is filled with handspun yarn, stitch markers (vital little knitting accessories that help you keep track of where you are on your row), and some really unique felted jewelry. Her Frida Kahlo necklace combines felted beads, Swarovski crystals, Milagros, and a mini framed portrait of the Mexican painter.

Hilary Hachey Her unique metal pieces are showstoppers. Earrings, necklaces, cufflinks, pins, and rings manipulated into wondrous shapes, some playing house with coral, turquoise, lapis, and onyx in an unexpected way. Like something you’d see in a New York gallery.

Imogene It’s hard to see Annie Chau’s work and not whip out our credit card. Her playful silver sterling jewelry is shaped into seahorses, insect wings, and birds, and manages to be delicate but ultra-hip. Her signature “pretty in pink” ring with a coral, plastic flower adds punch to anything.

Jennifer King Designs Jennifer King’s pieces are bold, yet graceful. Some are gold with precious stones like London blue topaz, labradorite, iolote, and mystic topaz. Others are simple, like a sterling silver lotus blossom pendant or tree of life. King has an eye for detail and each piece—bracelet, necklace, earring, and ring—is perfectly crafted.

Jill Popowich Designs After traveling around the world with her work as an environmental graphic designer, Jill Popowich likes to pull from different cultures and her many experiences abroad. Each piece is an individual and takes on its own personality during the creative process, she says.

Liz Mathews A Towson University grad with a degree in metalsmithing and jewelry design, Liz Mathews’s pieces have an old-fashion flair with a modern twist. Most images are hand drawn or printed and colored on artist’s Lucite, including trains, butterflies, feathers, and ships.

Motobus Illustration Simple and delightful, Catherine Wang’s pins are inspired by Zakka—a Japanese design phenomenon that refers to anything that improves your home, life, and outlook. Find demon cats, ninjas, birds, spacemen, and monkeys tucked into one-inch buttons. Also, don’t miss her mini coloring books.

Pistol Designs Looking at Ali Dryer’s purses transports us to a different era. Her simple and geometric patterns evoke the mod-lover and her six different designs (from clutch to knitting bag) are practical for nearly every occasion. Plus, the hand-cut wood handles and vintage buttons make them truly one-of-a-kind.

Stephney Stephney Wallace works out of her home studio in Mt. Vernon, using her background as a silversmith to make jewelry out of new materials and recycled materials—like silver spoons and copper tubing from her plumbing. She prides herself on her re-fired colored glass jewelry set in silver—so beautifully crafted it’s two-sided.

Tigerlillyshop Allison Fomich, a Highlandtown resident, is a hunter. At least when it comes to her jewelry. She can be found scouring Patterson Park or the Baltimore Museum of Art Sculpture Garden for twigs, maple seeds, pinecones, acorns, and seedpods. She then uses electroforming to grow a thick layer of copper onto the organic object.

Which Goose Emily Zych loved playing dress-up as a little girl. Now, she creates gorgeous combs, headbands, and crowns inspired by nature, antiques, and fashion. Total fantasy, the pieces are made from various bits including woven wooden vines, dried leaves, acorns, and pinecones.

Beauty

Biggs & Featherbelle Sisters Kasey and Kelly Evick work out of a warehouse in Clipper Mill creating their handmade, health-conscious bodycare line of soaps, lip balms, bath soaks, belly balm, body scrubs, and body butter bars. They use botanicals, vitamins, vegetable and nut oils, and various herbs and spices. And it’s all packaged in recyclable paper.

Spa Therapy Works, LLC Abingdon’s Jussara Hurley, is a soap artisan—creating bath and shaving soaps, whipped body frostings, vegan deodorants, and hair treatments in scrumptious flavors like lemon meringue, sweet fig, pink cupcake, and vanilla ginger. Everything that promotes relaxation, pampering, and awareness of the environment inspires her.

Worn Dress Designs Maria Vashakidze, a current MICA student, started making soap and jewelry as inexpensive gifts for her friends. Her vegetable-based soaps are a blend of rich oils (ranging from olive to flax seed to avocado oil) and herbs (like sassafras, rose hips, and safflower) and come in scrumptious scents like Mexican hot chocolate. Her jewelry is hand drawn and painted with pen and ink on shrinkable plastic—and is both beautiful and affordable.

Clothing

Dennya Company Dyanne Marte believes every woman should look and feel good in her clothing. So she uses Modal/Spandex blended fabrics (machine washable and body friendly) to create handmade threads including wrap dresses and tunics in delicious colors like eggplant and bitter chocolate.

Nicolette Le Faye Yes, she’s the one with the weekly trapeze act at Club Charles. Now, onto her stuff. The Hampden resident has been studying fashion her entire life and started sketching when she was just 9 years old. Her collection—vintage inspired, a tad kooky, “attention grabbers,” she calls them—is displayed with great flourish on her site. Over the next few months, her style will include more recycled and environmentallyfriendly materials.

RayGun Robyn Robyn Anderson has a wicked sense of humor and it comes through in her goods and marketing. Her Etsy site proclaims: “Listen up, Citizens of Mars! No longer will you be forced into totalitarian Gap-wear! No longer shall you be drafted to serve in the Old Navy! . . . Don we now our raygun apparel!” Anderson’s site is loaded with retro/sci-fi felt hair clips (very large and very noticeable), fleece arm warmers, and T-shirts sporting everything from robots to squids.

Red Prairie Press Rachel Bone might just be one of Charm City’s most talented. Her hand printed tees, scarves, and totes are witty and smart—topped only by her gouache paintings that she sells individually or in a lovely calendar.

Squidfire A crafter success story. Two guys (Jean-Baptiste Regnard and Kevin Sherry) start making tees for men, women, and children. They expand to hoodies and jackets, messenger bags, and shoes. And just a few months ago they moved into their very own storefront in Hampden.

Paper

AlignwithDesign Yeona McEntire’s paper goods are incredibly charming. Each one is precisely perfect for the sentiment: elegant and contemporary for a “thinking of you” card, silly and retro for a birthday card. McEntire also produces gift tags so adorable they may actually one-up the gift.

Bowerbox Press MICA grad Val Lucas uses a 1901 Colt’s Armory Press rescued from a Baltimore basement. She does custom letterpress printing (announcements and invitations) and bookbinding by hand with found maps and charts. She’s inspired by patterns that occur naturally, especially the intricate details in maps of terrain and cities.

Miscelena At a young age, Anita Knight was taught the benefits of a hand-written note. Her simple and chic handmade cards—usually left blank inside for your own personal musings—will inspire you to put down the keyboard and pick up a pen.

Of Machines Kelly Laughlin’s site is filled with lovely wonders: beautiful card sets, journals, and the occasional earrings and necklaces. Items like her tiny leaves journal is made from a salvaged book board (headed for the trash) and recycled brown paper pages. Her greeting cards feature ink and watercolor designs printed on cardstock.

Phampersand Press Phuong X. Phan, a book conservator at the Smithsonian, carries that passion to her Etsy site. Phan creates interesting artist books and journals, one with Asian-inspired decorative paper, another with a Bush’s Baked Beans label—both bound with waxed thread. Plus, a beautiful embossed journal—perfect for slipping into your bag.

Sugar Paperie Monica Stroter creates beauty by embellishing her cards with found items: fabric, buttons, maps, trims, and lace. Her combinations are charming: vintage lace, floral paper, and a tiny shell or gingham ribbon and a hot pink vintage bead.

Three Wheels Design Vicki Shield’s road to design was a familiar one: She decided to create what she couldn’t find. Her birth announcements, birthday invitations, note cards, and personalized stationery are modern but still kid-friendly—with fun handcrafted patterns including giraffes, retro cards, and spaceships.

Home/Other

Benny and Heidi After Karen Park quit smoking, she started sewing to keep her hands busy. Her therapy is our gain. Using different fabrics she’s accumulated over the years, Park creates colorfully fun pillows and bags. And coming soon: a new site that’ll dabble in fashion.

Cotton Monster Jennifer Strunge, a puppeteer, makes her goofy/scary monsters out of recycled clothing and linens. Even with their bulging eyes and giant teeth, it’s hard to take them too seriously—what with their colorful fabric and soft bodies. The MICA fiber arts program grad promises no two monsters are alike—she also maintains that monsters need love, too.

Curious Zoo Though artist Leah Bloomfield has dabbled in almost everything (jewelry, knitting, pottery), she concentrates on art prints. They draw from the world of fantasy, featuring cats, birds, and even the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland.

Dear Frances Six years ago, woodworker Myles Poland came to Baltimore to apprentice with a family friend. He went out on his own four years later and started making handcrafted kitchenware out of his Bolton Hill basement shop. Last winter, a table saw accident put him out of work for some time, but he’s back to cranking out his two popular spatulas: a real simple flat version and a curvier one.

Green Room Lana Kole’s modern home goods include pillow duvets, coasters, placemats, mirror sets, and a new wedding collection. Kole works out of her sunny little design studio in West Baltimore and likes bold colors (fuchsia, emerald green), has a wicked sense of humor (see Little Drunken Bird Coasters), and is eco-conscious (she uses renewable, sustainable materials).

HVM Designs Creativity oozes from Heather von Marko. Her Etsy shop captures her spirit: mixed media collages, floral hair barrettes made of wool and angora, embroidered tree cards, and super original crocheted necklaces made from premium bamboo yarn.

Space Moderne The work of Momi Antonio-Barnes is as functional as it is beautiful. She uses ’70s-inspired felt designs for her iPod cases, wine pockets, clutches, and pillow case sets. A Hawaiian native, she also uses Polynesian floral designs to great effect.

TLane Tricia Lane-Foster spends a lot of time in the kitchen—well, her tea towels, lunch sacks, and totes do. Each product carries its own unique, but simple and modern handmade stencil. Lane-Foster draws inspiration from vintage kitchen items and road trips, and all of her work is re-usable and washable.

Yummy & Company Jennifer Wilfong—also known as “jenygwen”— is something of a Renaissance woman. While her background is in painting—and her abstract oil pieces are mesmerizing—she also sells jewelry, customized stationery, prints, and apparel. One unique touch? She actually sews designs directly onto her stationery to create a threaded, nostalgic look.

Ceramics/Glass

ClaycrazyPottery Judith Frederick lives and breathes pottery. She teaches ceramics at CCBC Essex for both kids and adults and is a member of the Potter’s Guild of Baltimore—a co-op of about 55 potters from the area. The cut outs she creates on the exterior walls set her pieces apart from more traditional pottery. And she is starting to dabble in Raku— a form of Japanese pottery characterized by low-firing temperatures.

Kiss My Crafts Busy with grad school and work, Sara Allred keeps her craft time silly. Finding inspiration in everything from billboards and bumper stickers to song lyrics, she uses the language in the world around her to create adorable, hand-painted clay tiles which can be used as coasters, trivets, or wall décor.

Van Wagoner Studios Megan Van Wagoner is inspired by the landscapes in Ohio where she grew up. She prints sketched images of farms, factories, and plants onto bowls, plates, vases, and mugs. She also makes smart art: impressing dimples on the surface of her coasters, for example, to collect condensation.

Babies/Kids

EllieBellieKids The best kid stuff is the kind that doesn’t plug in or need to be turned on. Jennifer Cooper’s tutus and capes are fueled by imagination. The perfectly crafted tutus, with yummy layers of tulle, come in girl-friendly hues like pink, lilac, and lavender—and are reversible. The classic capes are super-hero worthy with lightening bolts, stars, hearts, or monogrammed letters sewn on the back.

FortCloudy Because babies deserve more than ducks and teddy bears on their onesies, this bi-coastal business (out of Seattle and Baltimore) creates tot tees with characters like Walfred the Radish, Mr. Moustache, Sad Muffin, and, yes, Sal Monella, the fried egg. If you can stomach those—you’ll love the ninja plushies.

Presto Bingo Proving that kid art doesn’t have to be pastel or cutesy, this off-shoot of Spur Design, a graphic design and illustration company, creates animal, alien, and robot prints in modern shapes and hues. The limited edition giclée prints are reproduced with archival inks on cotton paper—and are a steal.

Sweet Pepita Because your kids should dress hipper than you do, designer Shannon Delanoy blends 100-percent organic cotton with thrifty T-shirts (Patti Ann’s Pizza Parlor, Sonic Youth) to make shirts and dresses, plus infant pixie hats, scarves, and bibs. Now your toddler can relive your youth.

We all have it. That room—or maybe it’s a closet (or three)—filled with stuff that we don’t need, but just can’t bring ourselves to part with. Maybe it’s that peasant skirt you’re hoping is going to come back in style (again); the upright piano that would be so much fun at a holiday sing-along (if you ever actually had a holiday sing-along); the 20-year-old slicer-dicer-blender-doohickey wedding present thing that you’ve never taken out of the box. Whatever the case, it’s time to take a deep breath, get in touch with your inner Zen, and just . . . let go. Okay, so once you’ve gotten past your over-dependence on your stuff, now what? How does one actually go about getting rid of a lifetime’s worth of junk? We found that there is at least some truth to the old adage “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Most of your stuff can be sold or at least donated to a good cause. (But as for that mysterious wedding gift? It will probably end up in the dumpster.)

Jewelry

That galloping horse pendant seemed like such a good idea when you drunk-dialed QVC in a fit of 4 a.m. sleeplessness. There’s no need to hold onto jewelry you don’t care for anymore—or never cared for to begin with—especially when you can sell it.

If you want to sell: There’s definitely no shortage of jewelry stores that will buy all sorts of jewelry and even collectibles. Radcliffe Jewelers (1848 Reisterstown Rd., Pikesville, 410-484-2900; Towson Town Center, 410-321-6590, http://www.radcliffejewelers.com) is happy to buy your unwanted bling. Heirloom Jewels Ltd. (The Village at Cross Keys, 5100 Falls Rd., 410-323-0100, http://www.heirloomjewels.com) is always on the lookout for eclectic and antique jewelry. Pawnshops, too, can pay top dollar for a wide array of jewelry. The two locations of the super-friendly and quaint Carroll County Jewelry & Loan (1950 Dickenson Rd., Eldersburg, 410-549-7977; 2 Bond St., Westminster, 410-751-2111, http://www.carollcountypawn.com) are good to start out with, especially if you’re new to pawn shops. Another option is Northwestern Loan Company (1701 Pennsylvania Ave., 410-669-5454, http://www.nwpawn.com), the oldest pawn shop in Maryland. And, if you don’t feel like leaving the house, Precious Metals Trading Group (410-654-0821), sponsor of the popular Nusinov Jewelry Roadshow (nusinov.com), a heavily-advertised, Baltimore-area jewelry buying event (at big-name hotels about six times year, including April 1 at the White Marsh Hilton)—will come to your home to evaluate and possibly purchase your jewelry from the comfort of your living room.

If you want to donate: If you’re not hankering for the cash and would rather be more altruistic about it, most of the same places that accept women’s business attire and prom dresses (see page 175) will also gladly accept jewels.

Exercise Equipment

You were so well-intentioned when you bought that treadmill last year. Now the hulking machine is the biggest (and most expensive) clothes rack you’ve ever had. It’s time to get rid of it.

If you want to sell: Since there are no used exercise equipment stores in the Baltimore area, selling your machines proves a little tricky. A good standby is a reputable pawn shop like Northwestern Loan Company (see “Jewelry,” left). While the store can’t pick up machines from your home, they’ll gladly help you unload it once you’re at the shop. Another option is Baltimore’s craigslist (baltimore.craigslist.org), a popular online bulletin board where users buy and sell just about anything. Write an ad (it’s easy, trust us) and slap on a digital photo and you could have a potential buyer (who’s willing to pick the darn things up!) in days—or even minutes.

If you want to donate: Baltimore City’s Department of Recreation and Parks (410-396-7900, http://www.baltimorecity.gov/government/recnparks) is always on the lookout for stationary bikes, treadmills, free weights, benches, Stairmasters, and universals. Equipment should be in good condition (no missing hardware or rusted tubing) and pickup is usually within three business days. The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services will gladly accept that old weight rack or Bowflex, depending on its condition. Gifts are tax deductible; e-mail the public information office at docpio@dtscs.state.md.us for more information. Calling your local elementary, middle, and high schools to see if they’d like donated equipment isn’t a bad idea either—but make sure your equipment is up to challenges of a heavy-use school environment.

Computers

If you can start dinner, flip through your mail, and call your mom while your ancient computer’s booting up, you already know it’s time to upgrade. Whether you have a weathered old desktop or a reasonably new laptop, it’s easy to either sell or donate your computer. Just remember to delete all of your personal information off the hard drive (can you say “identity theft”?). Oh, and be sure that no matter what you decide, don’t throw it in the garbage (see “Toxic Trash”).

If you want to sell: Selling a used computer all depends on its condition, of course, but a great place to start is on eBay. If you’re intimidated by the idea of selling something on the gargantuan online marketplace, storefront businesses like iSold it on eBay (12101 Darnestown Rd., Gaithersburg, 301-990-2040, http://www.i-soldit.com) will sell your items for you. For a more immediate sale, most pawnshops will be happy to take an unwanted computer off your hands.

If you want to donate: Schools are always on the hunt for used computers in good shape. Save some legwork and visit iloveschools.com, where local teachers post wish lists of their classroom needs, which includes everything from computers to rugs and art supplies. The Lazarus Foundation (6520 Freetown Rd., Columbia, 410-531-8485, http://www.lazarus.org) distributes recycled computers (less than five years old) to nonprofits and educational institutions.

CDs/DVDs/LPs

We all like to hold onto music that brings back memories. But, really, how many times have you listened to that C + C Music Factory CD in the past, oh, 10 years or so? (We thought so.)

If you want to sell: If the inside of your car is looking more and more like a Sam Goody than an actual vehicle, and you’ve officially run out of room in that fancy entertainment center for another DVD, then maybe it’s time to bring Gonna Make You Sweat and Ernest Goes to Camp over to your local Record and Tape Traders (several locations, including 3003 N. Charles St., 410-662-9610, recordandtapetraders.com) for some cold hard cash or store credit. The longtime chain (30 years and counting, says owner Kevin Stander) also buys records and video games. Sound Garden (1616 Thames St., 410-563-9011, http://www.cdjoint.com) in Fells Point is an area favorite as well, and “buys what sells,” according to store manager Dave Policastri. The shop buys DVDs as well, but not LPs. Discs don’t have to be in perfect condition at Record and Tape Traders or Sound Garden, but you’ll get significantly less for scratched items. Also featured in the “Books” section (see page 177), Normal’s (425 E. 31st St., 410-243-6888, http://www.normals.com) buys records and CDs. But when buying music, Normal’s is on the lookout for less mainstream artists, so you’ll need to take that Hootie and the Blowfish album somewhere else, dude.

If you want to donate: You know the drill: you receive an ill-conceived CD, DVD or video game that—after the grin-and-bear-it smiles are over—just sits and molders in its shrink wrap. Instead of letting perfectly good pieces of entertainment go to waste, why not donate them to a hospital? Children’s hospitals such as the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center (410-955-6276, http://www.hopkinschildren.org) love getting brand-new CD/DVD/game donations; just make sure they’re child-friendly (that means leave Die Hard: With a Vengeance at home, folks). Most libraries accept similar gifts and it’s even okay if those are gently used.

Cars/Motorcyles/RVs/Boats

They say the two greatest days in a boat owner’s life are the day he buys the boat and the day he . . . sells his boat. While that’s not always true of cars, motorcycles, and RVs, here are some good tips to get rid of yours.

If you want to sell: It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the basics of selling a vehicle. There’s the dealer/trade-in route, increasingly popular Carmax (http://www.carmax.com, with locations in White Marsh, Rockville and Laurel), classified ads (on-line or in the newspaper), and the good old-fashioned sign on the car (just make sure you’re abiding by Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration guidelines, detailed on their website at mva.state.md.us, if you decide to sell your vehicle on your own).

If you want to donate: Donating your vehicle can easily make you a hero with a local or national nonprofit organization (and get you a nice tax deduction in the process). Rockville-based American Kidney Fund (800-638-8299, http://www.kidneyfund.org), provides direct financial assistance to kidney patients, and accepts car, truck, RV, and boat donations (even if your vehicle isn’t in working condition) with pick-up services included. Maryland Public Television’s Motor Donor (888-777-9633, http://www.mpt.org/modo) program accepts cars, boats, motorcycles, and RVs to support its programming, education, and outreach efforts and will also provide pick-up. The famous Habitat for Humanity organization welcomes vehicle donations—including cars, motorcycles, RVs, boats, and trucks—for its Cars for Homes program (877-277-4344, http://www.habitat.org/carsforhomes), and provides pick-up service across the country. And be sure to check your favorite nonprofit—like animal shelters!—to see if they accept cars, too.

Art

It’s been languishing in your attic for 20 years. Maybe it’s time to dust off that old landscape and see if it’s of any value.

If you want to sell: Alex Cooper Auctioneers in Towson (410-828-4838, http://www.alexcooper.com), Timonium-based Richard Opfer Auctioneering (410-252-5035, http://www.opferauction.com), and Laurel Auction (410-880-0864, http://www.laurelauction.com) are all experienced at selling art, antiques, and collectibles and hold regular auctions. If you’d prefer to sell your pieces at a storefront gallery, Flinner Gallery (505 N. Charles St., 410-727-1863, http://www.flinnergallery.com) buys antique art—prints and works on paper—but owner Craig Flinner recommends calling before you stop by to see if he’s interested. If he is, he’ll even make a housecall to check it out.

If you want to donate: The Baltimore Museum of Art welcomes donations, but must adhere to a strict set of guidelines—including whether a potential gift is in line with the museum’s collection—when deciding what pieces to take, according to Jay Fisher, the BMA’s deputy director of curatorial affairs (call his office at 443-573-1740). If the artwork is not up to museum standards, the BMA may suggest another museum or academic institution that could make better use of it. A similar procedure exists at The Walters Art Museum(410-547-9000, http://www.thewalters.org), where they recommend that you send along a photo of the work. The Art Connection (617-338-7668, http://www.theartconnection.org)—a Boston-based nonprofit that links art collectors to nonprofits and public agencies in search of art to display—has less stringent policies about accepting donations. If you’d like to make a donation, send slides or photos of your artwork. Detailed instructions on their website.

Clothes

Here’s the rule of thumb: If you haven’t worn an article of clothing in a year, get rid of it. You won’t miss it. (We promise.)

If you want to sell: Selling clothing in excellent condition can be a lucrative activity, and Baltimore has some great shops, especially for women’s clothing. Fells Point’s Fashion Attic (1926 Fleet St., Suite A, 410-276-0817, http://www.thefashionattic.com) buys and sells tons of trendy clothing, and consignors get 50 percent of the selling price. If you’re looking to cash in on some couture, Vogue Revisited (4002 Roland Ave., 410-235-4140) will give you a chance to get top dollar for all the brands the girls go ga-ga for.

If you want to donate: Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake (410-837-1800, http://www.goodwillches.org) is more than happy to take any clothing at all (and give you a receipt for tax deduction purposes), regardless of its condition. Baltimore’s YWCA (410-685-1460, http://www.baltimoreywca.com) has a constant need for women’s and children’s clothing (especially women’s business attire and baby clothes) for homeless and transitional women and children. Ladies, if you have unwanted business suits and accessories (purses, belts, etc.) that are taking up valuable space in your closet, there are a number of local organizations dedicated to providing women in need with business attire, such as Suited to Succeed (410-528-1799, http://www.suitedtosucceed.org) andSuccess in Style (443-535-0333, http://www.successinstyle.org). If your college-aged daughter has left the nest, but left her prom dresses behind, contact the Priceless Gown Project (http://www.pricelessgownproject.org). Co-founded by Rebecca Davis in 2004, the organization collects and then donates gowns to Baltimore’s prom-going high school girls who wouldn’t be able to afford a dress otherwise through an annual “boutique.” The project also welcomes accessories (with the exception of shoes) and is especially on the lookout for sizes 16 and up. Fluffy bridesmaids gowns double as fantastic prom dresses, too.

Furniture

Has chic turned to bleak in your living room? Fear not, options abound when it comes to finding your furniture a new home.

If you want to sell: There’s always the furniture-rich Baltimore craigslist (http://www.baltimore.craigslist.org), where many a grad student is thrilled to get a good deal on a gently used bedroom suite. Another option is consigning your contemporary or antique furniture at a specialty consignment shop such as Cornerstone (2175 Greenspring Dr., Timonium, 410-561-3767, http://www.onlycornerstone.com) or the time-honored Turnover Shop (3855 Roland Ave., 410-235-9585; 3549 Chestnut Ave., 410-366-2988, http://www.theturnovershop.com).

If you want to donate: The Salvation Army (800-229-7156, http://www.tsabaltimore.org) has a standard large-item pick-up policy. Up to 25 trucks a day are out on the road picking up large donated items like furniture for all seven Baltimore area Salvation Army thrift stores. Unlike Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake (410-837-1800, http://www.goodwillches.org) —which will only pick-up multiple bulk items (an entire dining room set, for example)—the Salvation Army will gladly stop by to get that old couch or loveseat within a day or two, just call ahead to make an appointment. A different route is the Baltimore Free Store (31 North Haven St., 410-522-0722, http://www.freestorebaltimore.org). This environmentally conscious organization accepts everything from furniture to children’s toys and makes them available to individuals who may not be able to afford them otherwise. Donations are accepted every Saturday and Tuesday from 10 am to 3 pm.

Books

It’s a great book and all, but do you really need four copies of The Catcher In the Rye?

If you want to sell: At Normal’s (425 E. 31st St., 410-243-6888, http://www.normals.com) if a title is in print, you’ll get 10 percent of the cover price; if it’s out of print, that jumps to one-fourth of the cover price. If you have an enormous collection of fantastic books (or music) to sell, they’ll even come to you. The Book Escape (805 Light St., 410-576-8885, http://www.thebookescape.com,) gives sellers two to three times as much in-store credit and accepts “virtually anything,” says co-owner Andrew Stonebarger. Keep those old medical books at home, though.

If you want to donate: The Book Bank (501 N. Calvert St., 410-783-1479, http://www.baltimorereads.org,), the donation arm of the Baltimore Reads program, welcomes books of any kind, but has a special interest in children’s and young adult titles. The Bank is set up like a library where teachers, day-care staffers, and health-care workers can stop by and take up to 50 books in a single visit. If you have an especially large load to donate, the Bank is happy to swing by and pick up your donation—something they do about once or twice a month. (Mark your calendars for the first Saturday in May for the Bank’s annual Books for Kids Day.) The Baltimore County Public Library System (410-887-6100, http://www.bcponline.org) and Enoch Pratt Free Library (410-887-6100, http://www.epfl.net) both have annual book sales and gladly accept donations of all kinds. If you’re looking to unload books after hours, the Book Thing of Baltimore (3001 Vineyard Ln., 410-662-5631, http://www.bookthing.org)—dedicated to ensuring that everyone in the city has access to as many books as they need—has a drop-box at their headquarters.

Pianos

Pianos are meant to be played, and that baby grand in your living room is collecting more dust than a Swiffer pad. So unless you—or the kids—plan on finally learning the Moonlight Sonata, it’s probably best to find a smaller stand for family photos.

If you want to sell: “A used piano’s value is in its function,” says Phil Heiliger, owner of Maryland Piano in Columbia (9139 Red Branch Rd., 410-997-8388, http://www.marylandpiano.com). The shop will buy or consign your piano but be warned: just because you have grandma’s old upright doesn’t mean it will be worth much, if anything at all. In fact, Heiliger explains, many times the cost of repairing a used piano—or even picking it up—outweighs its actual worth. As with all used piano buyers, the price Maryland Piano will pay for your piano varies on a case-by-case basis. The Piano Man in Catonsville (624 Frederick Rd., 410-747-0200, http://www.pianomanusa.com) has a restoration facility on its premises, so Nick “Piano Man” Margaritas may indeed be interested in buying an older model that needs a little refurbishing. Both shops will come to residences to assess potential buys, but only after evaluating them over the phone to see if they’re worth the trip.

If you want to donate: If you’d rather donate your piano, give local retirement homes, schools, and churches a call to see if they’re interested, advises Anne Levit, manager of Jordan Kitts Music in Lutherville (which only buys used Steinways in good condition). The problem with donating pianos, Margaritas explains, is that donation is sometimes a last resort for piano owners who can’t find a buyer because their piano isn’t in the best shape, so Levit recommends calling a piano technician for a checkup (usually about $75-125). “If you want to donate a piano, make sure that it can hold a tune, and that it’s an instrument not just a piece of junk,” she says. (FYI: If your piano is indeed a piece of junk, dealers such as Maryland Piano and Jordan Kitts will come to your home and haul it away, but this can run $200-300 due to moving manpower and landfill fees.)

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Yard Birds

A great way to clean house is a well-executed yard sale. But when’s the right time to hold one? How do you attract customers? And, most importantly, how do you move your merchandise?

Dean Minerd, an executive producer of The Learning Channel’s Clean Sweep recommends putting aside an entire weekend (sunny weather is best, of course) and getting the word out far and wide. “The real key is advertise, advertise, advertise,” he says. Good old neighborhood fliers work wonders—especially when they have a sense of humor, he adds—and online message boards such as craigslist.org can attract customers from outside your immediate area.

As for goods, “price them to go,” Minerd says. “You’d be surprised how dollars and 50 cents add up. People are paying you to clean out your place, look at it that way. You’re not paying to haul it away; anything you get for it is more than before.”

Peter Walsh, Clean Sweep’s on-air organizing expert and author of It’s All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuffand How to Organize (Just About) Everything advises yard sale novices to visit other area yard sales in the weeks leading up to your own to get an idea of the going prices of everyday items. He also recommends that sellers keep like things together (all kitchen items should go on one table, for example) and bundling objects together. “If one book is 25 cents, sell six for a dollar,” he says, and you’ll be surprised how fast things disappear.

Another handy tip to keep things moving: Keep an extension cord handy to allow shoppers to try out electrical goods while they browse.

Two hours before you shut down, slash prices, Walsh says. Anything left over shouldn’t go back into the house; instead, take it straight to charity.

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Toxic Trash

Although cleaning house may give you a deep sigh of relief, your household junk could be doing major damage to the environment. Before you go on that trash-bag rampage, take a moment to evaluate what you’re about to put curbside.

Our collective need to have the latest and greatest in technology makes electronic waste—such as computers and televisions—a big problem in landfills these days, says David Mrgich, division chief of recycling and marketing at the Maryland Department of the Environment. Older computer monitors (read: the big ones that take up half your desk) and old-fashioned tube TVs contain dangerous heavy metals such as lead, copper, cadmium, and chromium that can enter local ecosystems by contaminating ground water. If you can’t donate your computer but have designated it as trash-worthy, check with your local recycling center (listed by county and city at mde.state.md.us/recycling) for details on electronic recycling, which is easy and convenient across the state.

If you’re cleaning out basement trash—perhaps you’re in the midst of a renovation down there—other common potentially toxic household items are mercury thermostats, which, like the traditional thermometers of yesteryear, contain actual mercury. Paints, uncured adhesives, and pesticides are also dangerous to toss (or dump in the backyard), reports Scott Lupin, associate director of the University of Maryland, College Park’s Department of Environmental Safety. And, for all you garage warriors out there, dangerous household chemicals also include fertilizers and yes, you guessed it, gasoline. Another toxic trash item many folks don’t think of? Car batteries, Lupin says. All of these chemical-laden items can be safely disposed of through local household hazardous waste days where residents can drop off hazardous waste at city or county-designated locations free of charge.