Welcome Event Helps ‘Make’ the Most of WE Local Denver

There’s a lot to look forward to with WE Local Denver’s upcoming conference. But did you know that we have a big celebration planned for you on Friday evening?

The Local Host Committee (LHC) will be welcoming you under the theme “Colorado Homemade,” and we are taking the theme literally. Not only will you find local music, local beverages and local crafts to buy, but the main focus of the event is that we have ‘Colorado Makers’ on hand to help you make a homemade gift to take home!

Each of these ‘makers’ is a skilled local crafter who will not only have beautiful handcrafted items for sale but also will have supplies on hand for you to make your very own craft. When you arrive, you will also receive a ticket to make one craft – so, take a moment to browse the crafts before choosing which one you would like to make.  Once you’ve decided on a craft, give your ticket to the ‘maker,’ and she will get you started.

And, if you’re really feeling the crafting spirit, we have two additional activities that are available for all, no ticket needed!

That’s right, a screen-printing station! Hosted by screen-printer extraordinaire and SWE RMS fundraising chair, Manisha Ghorai. Simply bring a cotton or jersey item—such as a t-shirt or bandana—to print one of two custom designs.

If you haven’t done one of these before, it’s a lovely way to contribute to a little bit of art—no bigger than a post-it—that ends up as part of a masterpiece.

Don’t forget to get to check out the “Colorado Homemade” makers you’ll be meeting (below)! We look forward to celebrating with you next week!

(Pssstt—make sure to stop by the sweSwag table at WE Local Denver’s celebration to purchase some of SWE’s top sweSwag like socks, hats and cords. Products and quantities are limited!)

Karen Corliss is a Denver area community organizer, event producer and founder of [i am a maker], a Colorado nonprofit that provides local resources for makers. Karen sews, screen prints and helps makers with connections to resources, other makers, materials and tools. In her spare time, she works full time in engineering project management for Fortune 500 food & beverage clients who are looking to expand their manufacturing operations.

Jennie Kies is a teacher and a tinkerer. She holds a Bachelor of Science in manufacturing technology, a Bachelor of Arts in technology education, and a Master’s in instructional technology—all from the University of Northern Iowa. After four years of teaching pre-engineering classes at Jefferson High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa she moved to Guadalajara, Mexico and taught middle school technology classes. There, she discovered the awesome power of middle school students’ imagination and enthusiasm for making. For the past three years, she has been teaching at Colorado Academy where she has designed a ‘Middle School Makerspace’ and collaborated to create 6th- and 7th-grade computer science and design classes. Her hobbies include reading, knitting, sewing, playing board games, inventing solutions for classroom problems, and walking the dogs.

Melinda Violit has been an artist all her life.  From torn paper bunnies in preschool to architectural rendering as an adult, she has spent her life creating beautiful images and art pieces.  Melinda’s artistic expression has appeared through paint, glass, fabric, paper, clay…and often everything all together!  Continuing to display her love for combining textures and colors, her latest creations are wearable art called “Hair Bling:” clips with strings, yarn and gems to decorate anyone’s hair with flair!

Robyn Shaw is a Colorado native and lover of all things creative.  Over the years she has worked with fabric, yarn, beads, and dabbled in making soap, but has excelled the most in paper crafting.  Her greeting cards incorporate traditional materials, metals, glitter, inks and paints, mylar, acetate, wrapping paper, upcycled tissue paper and whatever else she can get her hands on! The techniques, tools and materials can also be translated into a variety of mixed media projects…there are really no rules!

Melinda Malek, a Colorado native, has enjoyed being “crafty” since she was a little girl. She works with two Boulder-based nonprofits, teaching and mentoring teenagers. However, in her free time, she is a self-taught homemade 3D pop-up card & feather earring maker.

She started hand making 3D pop-up cards as a way to give love-filled gifts to friends and family when funds were low. The cards were so well received, she was inspired to learn new techniques and improve her process. She enjoys designing cards in a 2D format and then making precise calculations for the cuts that are needed to produce the pop-up structures.

All Together is the blog of the Society of Women Engineers. Find stories about SWE members, engineering, technology, and other STEM related topics. It’s up-to-date information and news about the Society and how our members are making a difference everyday.

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