Last Saturday, Tom and I made it back to Fishtown for Jinxed's 8th Annual Heart Show. Last year I posted about our experience at the event for the first time and swore that in 2017 I would make sure that I participated! Long story short, a few weeks ago I stopped by Jinxed to inquire about participating this year. The way it works is pretty simple. The store gives out blank, wooden hearts as templates and the artists decorate them and bring them back by a certain deadline. Jinxed keeps 30% of the selling price and the artist keeps 70%. I was able to pick up two hearts at once, one for me and one for my boyfriend, Tom.
Now I do not claim to be some kind of real artist, but I definitely have a knack for D.I.Y. and crafting. I had a lot of fun designing my own heart this year. I knew ahead of time that I wanted to make some sort of vertical hanging planter and incorporate real plants in the design. In my post last year, I mentioned that one of the ones I loved was a 3-d terrarium. I loved the idea of having the heart actually function as art and something you could actually use. The hearts are only a few inches in size, they are not that big (so you don't really have that much space to work with), but after a few trips to the vintage flea market and home depot, I eventually had all the supplies I needed to craft my first heart! The heart in the picture above was also one of my favorites and it probably the only heart in which you can see what the wooden template really looks like.
I have to admit, it was really nerve wracking to wonder if our hearts were going to sell. I'm happy to say that mine ended up selling within the first hour! Thank goodness I showed up early this year or I wouldn't have been able to photograph it while it was still there! Tom's didn't sell right away, we actually left before knowing if someone bought it or not. Eventually by the end of the night, someone snagged his as well. Actually Tom's heart was featured on Jinxed's instagram (!) before the show, so I was 99% sure it was going to sell eventually! One of the coolest things was getting the chance to see how other artists interpreted their heart designs. The heart below was really unique in that the artist actually constructed a pillow as their submission! What a genius thing to do! Now that's a functional piece of art.
In the picture above, you can see Tom's "Fresh Pretzels" submission (he painted the word FRESH to look like actual mustard). My submission is pictured in the photo below, it's the one with the succulents on the lower right.
There were sooooo many good hearts this year. You could tell that everyone was really impressed by a lot of the submissions. One thing I noticed was that many of the more expensive hearts ($100-$200) actually sold faster than the less expensive ones. When I spoked to a Jinxed staff member after the show, I learned that a lot of people that night were actually buying multiple hearts. Hearts ranged from $20 to upwards of $200, but I would say the average price for one was $100. The red dots in the photos indicate that the piece was sold. I (foolishly!) didn't bring any cash that night so I missed out on the one heart I really wanted (the one shaped like a Septa token, you can see it in a few pictures up).
I have no words for how beautiful the heart above was. The picture does it no justice. Amazing. In case you are wondering, this piece also sold pretty quickly.
Well we had a great time at the show this year and I am so happy we both were able to be a part of it. I really can't wait for the show next year! Not only will I design another heart, but I will have to remember to bring some cash so I can take one home for myself!
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