GOODBYE Cherry Street Pier, HELLO Third Street

The soon to be Craft Coven space on 3rd Street in Olde City

Well, I guess that's it in a nutshell^^ I'm leaving Cherry Street Pier and moving onto Third Street in Old City. There's so much more to it than just a move though, and I'm excited to tell you about it all. I'll mention a bit about why the pier wasn't my most ideal (why this new spot isn't either), what this new location will hold for us (physically, yeah, Whats The Footage Bruh?!), and all about the upcoming plans that I've got in store for you all (store? does that mean there's a store...). Most of all though, I'll be looking to see you all there and tell me what this move means for you <3 The Craft Coven group is all about the people that use it, and the community it exists in. With this move from Cherry Street Pier there was a large motivation to find a space with more direct access to the community it serves, myself included! As beautiful a space as the pier is, and as many amenities there are for people to come enjoy in the warmer months, Coven attendees expressed the difficulties they met when trying to attend events at the space. Being on the second floor was tough for some with mobility issues, and proximity to public transportation was a hindrance for others. With my personal space at the pier being less than 500 square feet, I made the choice to split my tools and equipment into different locations to accommodate the minimal space. My home basement held my leather machine, leather stash of over 50 hides, rivet setting anvil stump, leather dyes, a trunk full of buckles, a case full of feathers, a vintage (mostly decorative) Singer, 36" Floor Loom, Countless cones of yarn, bins of various papers, screen printing inks, screens, squeegees, and shamois, dyeable yardages, baskets of natural dyes, satchels bursting with alpaca wool, college weaving notebooks, vintage furs........ ok maybe you get the point. And what was I able to fit in the pier? My embroidery supplies :-D ok, ok, maybe a handful of other things including a 20" bed press that I never had the space to setup. But this doesn't even include the items I have spread out between Starr Garden Rec Center where the Clay Play classes are run, and Black Hound Clay Studio, where I do my 'day job'. So essentially- more space was NECESSARY. This new space is a lot more footage. 1,000 of those feet to be exact. Now I don't know how realtors run the numbers or anything, but that doesn't seem to include all the dark nooks, crannies, and wine cellars that come with my studio. To be direct- there are a lot of spaces for storage! The coolest bit is something I keep calling a cistern (vocab word of the day: a tank for storing water, especially one supplying taps or as part of a flushing toilet), which I'm p sure was used with one of the first modern plumbing systems in Philadelphia. I'll let y'all know if that ends up being anywhere close to the truth. So anyway, this weird tank type thing is now where the majority of my unused tools and supplies will be stored. It's got to be 15' deep, at least 7' wide, and taller than me, so it fits A LOT. This is a huge upgrade. I used to have a storage unit y'all, I no longer need storage unit! With all the pros though, there are a few cons- Accessibility is still going to be an issue at the new space. It may not be up 30+ steps like we were in the pier, but I am now DOWN about 8 of them. 8 steps down from street level, and a bit more steep than some would feel comfortable with. Then when you reach the ground floor, I hope you're under 6'4" because we're basement height and UNDERGROUND. Which also means no windows and very little light. We'll toss up some 'watch yer head' signs and a whole lotta new lighting, and welcome anyone who can make it inside! Please know that this is something I'm striving to fix when it's possible, and I'll continue to host events at ADA accessible locations like Starr Garden Rec Center for this reason. With this new space I will be introducing a few things we haven't had the ability to offer before. I can offer free beers when we have a sponsor donating drinks Shout out to Philadelphia Brewing for supplying us for the monthly Drink and Draw! We can host late night open mic events for writers and musicians. I've designated an area of wall space that we will use to host first Friday art shows for exhibiting artist works. The entryway to the studio will have a small shop with my own artwork, leather accessories and stained glass pieces made by my mother Pamela Jones. As well as relaunching some of the more popular CUSP by Cassie leather designs circa 2013, I'll have my leather machine on site making it a lot easier to accept leather repairs. The chainstitch machine will be setup and ready for custom stitching. All this, and the biggest upgrade in my mind- we have enough seating for classes up to 20 people!

The Craft Coven started as a Facebook group 8 years ago so that I could help people in my community learn how to do a classic hem. It turned into the place where I met my closest friends, and created things with no purpose or end goal. After that it grew to be my safe haven from the hard times of politics and living in a divided city. Most recently it has turned into my creative outlet for inspiration. It's now all of those things, and for so many people in and around Philadelphia. My hope with this new space being, larger, cuter, and safer for the community, is that you will all join me in being larger than life, cuter than the haters, and feel safe to be yourself. Signed Cassie Jones Craft Coven CEO (Craft Experience Organizer)