Tina Sparkles, member of Austin Craft Mafia, DIYer extraordinaire, indie designer and imminent author will be setting up a sewing station at Maker Faire 2008 with First Samples, an Austin sewing and design studio. We caught up with Sparkles to find out about her Maker Faire plans. ...

One of the big components of next month's Maker Faire Austin festival is the Swap-O-Rama-Rama, an enormous clothing swap and DIY workshop series. Through the recycling and repurposing of used clothing, Swap-O-Rama-Rama seeks to explore the benefits of community reuse and creativity. During the festival, you'll be able to bring your own bag of unwanted clothing to be added to the collective pile; in turn, you're invited to take away as much as you'd like.......

The sixth annual Blue Genie Art Bazaar kicks off today at Blue Genie's eastside headquarters. The 18-day event, featuring a bevy of local and regional artisans and artists, is an excellent opportunity to find one-of-a-kind clothes, ceramics, original paintings, photographs, sculpture, accessories, and more. Participating artists include the Austin Craft Mafiosa (Tina Sparkles, Jennifer Perkins, Jesse Kelly-Landis), Obsolete Industries, the guy who wrote Manspace: A Primal Guide to Marking Your Territory, and local painter extraordinaire......

An annual showcase and celebration of all things DIY, the Stitch Fashion Show and Guerrilla Craft Bazaar returns for its fourth installment this Saturday with an even bigger and better lineup. Back in 2003, local designers Jesse Kelly-Landes (Amet and Sasha), Tina Sparkles (Sparkle Craft), Karly Hand (Identity Crisis Clothing) and Jennifer Perkins (Naughty Secretary Club), dismayed that Austin lacked an effective outlet for independent designers to exhibit their work, orchestrated one of the city's......

Just in time for Valentine's Day next week, local design boutique Sparkle Craft opens its studios for the very first time! Impresaria Tina Sparkles (the fashionista behind the fabulous) has rallied together a fantastic coterie of independent Austin labels - Amet & Sasha, *AnneMarie*, All Dressed Up & Shy, Lawless Revolution Wear, Naughty Secretary Club, OtterOtto by Donna Soo, Will Heron, Tokyo Valentine, and Sublime Stitching - to offer up an assortment of one-of-a-kind goods.......