Shop Hop Fun at Artistic Artifacts

The first month of the second annual All Mid-Atlantic Shop Hop is coming to a close, but the fun continues all the way through Sunday, August 31 — plan a visit to our shop! Just as we enjoyed our participation last summer, this year has been a pleasure! Pictured above, Cheryl and Carolyne visited us on Day 1 of the Shop Hop and have been two of the most dedicated hoppers out there, with frequent posts to the All Mid-Atlantic Shop Hop Facebook Group! “We are having so much fun in our travels and meeting so many very nice people... loving the shops that we enter, especially when you run into the hoppers from the previous shop.”

Visit the AMASH website for the 126 participating stores and more information about touring Meander through Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania West Virginia and our own Commonwealth, Virginia. When we thanked the above pictured happy quartet for including our shop on their Shop Hop route, the comment back was “I sure wouldn’t miss your shop. So much eye candy & inspiration,” so we thank them once more!

The All Mid-Atlantic Shop Hop magazine is still in stock at our shop for in store or online purchase and contains your official Passport, required to register for Shop Hop prizes, is included in the magazine. While the scope of this year’s hop is huge, you can qualify for the general prizes with as few as five stamps from participating stores! Above right, pictured with her mom, Tracy K. shared, "Since I work full-time in DC, my hopping days will be limited…took advantage of some time off this week and started out strong knocking out my home region, Middle South! I’m going to do my best to sample all the other regions and maybe complete a couple more but I’ve got to say I’m loving this event and plan to participate for many years to come. Seeing and supporting all the other shops in our community and surrounding areas feels great and is so much fun!"

Pictured above, examples of our free gift for those who present their Shop Hop passport for stamping — a fat quarter cut of a beautiful blender fabric, a packet of Honey Bee Wildflower seeds (a mix of annuals and perennials, pollinator friendly) and an exclusive ‘Virginia is for fabric Lovers’ sticker!

You’ll also receive the ‘official’ shop hop gift! This year it’s a quilt block pattern card — each shop’s block is unique (and copyrighted). Our colleague Chris Vinh turned our shop sample block, using our selection of official Shop Hop fabric, into a pocket for a tote bag (pattern by Jean Ann Wright for Cut Loose Press) and we have a limited number of kits available in store to make your own.

It’s just one of the many new kits for quilts and bags/totes and curated fabric bundles we’ve prepared for our Shop Hop customers — we have so much to inspire your creativity. Whether you have visited before or a first time shopper, you will be amazed at all we carry!

Above left, sisters Karen and Robin visited us and Artistic Artifacts completed their first region for their passport. Right, Tina also completed the region — and found our ‘hopper’ too! Each of the participating shops were supplied with a stuffie, either a rabbit or frog, and hide them each day within their shop so shop hoppers can take a selfie and post it to Facebook. 

Stop by our shop to see if you can find Artsy — we gave our custom bunny a mixed media and vintage makeover so its vibe matches our store! “Wow what a shop ... mixed media, all fiber arts and an incredible fabric selection!  Worth the trip!” enthused one of our visitors. 

While adults are enjoying the activity, it’s also been fun for children and grandchildren who are along for the Hop! And if you’re shop Hopping with a child or grandchild, ask for our art scavenger hunt sheet (pictured above) when you arrive.

And remember, for our Shop Hop summer we supplemented our store hours  — we’re open every Sunday from 11:00 am - 4:00 pm, plus have extended evening hours, until 8:00 pm, on Thursdays. We’ve scheduled new Workshops & Events with these summer hours and encourage Shop Hoppers to consult our website — combine a visit to our shop to get your Passport stamped and attend a class at the same time!

Whether you arrive singly, with a friend or relative, or via bus like this fun group from Bobbin & Bolt (above), we’ll enjoy welcoming you to Artistic Artifacts, full of Creative Finds for Creative Minds!