Front door: American Craft Council Show

Plus: What do to now in your yard.

By CONNIE NELSON, KIM YEAGER, LYNN UNDERWOOD, Star Tribune

April 13, 2010 at 8:23PM
Michael Mikula's plant rooter with hanger
Michael Mikula’s plant rooter with hanger (Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

HOT TICKET

Starting Friday, more than 240 artisans from across the country will offer handcrafted goods to adorn your body or your home at the American Craft Council show in St. Paul. The juried event, now in its 24th year, features contemporary decorative objects, furniture, sculptures, rugs, pillows and wall art, as well as jewelry and wearable art. New this year: outdoor furniture and accessories for the yard and garden and budget-conscious "Handmade under $100" crafts. The show is from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. $10; $18 for a two-day pass; $5 after 5 p.m. on Friday. Free for ages 12 and under. St. Paul RiverCentre, 175 W. Kellogg Blvd., 651-365-4800, www.craftcouncil.org/stpaul.

DO IT NOW

Our unseasonably warm weather keeps spurring on our early spring -- and tempting gardeners to dig in. Yes, you can rake, fertilize your lawn and overseed thin spots. You can pull the mulch back from around perennials, shrubs and bulbs. (You may want to leave it nearby, however, in case the weather takes a turn for the worse.) And you can even plant -- cold-season veggies such as lettuces, radishes and peas. But don't be fooled in planting warm-weather lovers such as the much-loved tomato. The nights can still get plenty cool. And our average last frost date for the Twin Cities is May 15. Yeah, that's right: May.

WE SPOTTED IT

Bjorling & Grant, custom furniture maker and importer of home decor pieces, said it has updated its website to include pictures of wood slabs brought home from founder Ian Grant's travels. Grant said this allows customers to pick their own wood for dining tables, consoles, shelves and other handcrafted pieces. Among the choices, either Forest Stewardship Council-certified or reclaimed or salvaged pieces: curly redwood, old grain redwood, teak, monkey pod, mangowood and silkwood. The site, bjorlinggrant.com/content/pick-your-slab, lists the pieces by small, medium and large; most have the dimensions chalked right onto the wood.

ON TV

Sundance Channel will air the second season of "The Lazy Environmentalist" April 20 at 7 p.m. Hosted by eco-entrepreneur and author Josh Dorfman, the hourlong series showcases Dorfman's mission to prove that greening the planet doesn't have to be complicated. In each episode of the eight-part series, Dorfman (who penned "The Lazy Environmentalist: Your Guide to Easy, Stylish, Green Living" and "The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget") convinces conservation skeptics that a green approach can easily translate into any profession or lifestyle.

NEXT WEEK

A Minneapolis couple have a very old-fashioned take on the new trend of living green.

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CONNIE NELSON, KIM YEAGER, LYNN UNDERWOOD, Star Tribune