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Welcome to the very first Elektra Steel newsletter!
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Hello, friends!

It's been just over a year since I started working full-time on Elektra Steel, and I'm finally getting around to writing my first newsletter. Lots to catch up on! The biggest news is that Elektra Steel will be selling at two craft fairs this winter in SF -- I'd love to see you there!

As you can imagine, I'm hard at work gearing up for these two shows. Just the other day, I picked up 350 stainless steel pentagons from the lasercutter, which I'll be carefully welding together over the next few weeks. You might say that I have my work cut out for me... Sorry, couldn't resist!

Enjoy!
Zai
Mark Your Calendar: Upcoming Craft Fairs!
Think this handmade steel bowl would make for a lovely holiday gift? Come and get it! Elektra Steel will be selling geometric steel bowls and vases at two holiday craft fairs in SF this winter. Make sure to get these two holiday shopping events on your calendar:

SF Etsy Indie Holiday Emporium
Saturday and Sunday, November 28th-29th, 11am - 5pm
Pier 35, San Francisco

Urban Air Market: Holiday Show
Sunday, December 13th, 2015, 11am - 5pm
Pier 70, San Francisco
How I Made the Geo Vase
How does one make a 31-sided, stainless steel vase, you might ask? If you're curious, check out my Instructables write-up! In it, I share every bit of the design and fabrication process with photos, time-lapse videos, and step-by-step instructions. My write-up ended up getting featured on the Instructables homepage, and currently has over 7,000 views!
American Craft Council Show
In August, the Elektra Steel Geo Vase was featured in the American Craft Council Show in San Francisco! Bay Area architect and designer Gustave Carlson was asked by ACC to design a showroom for the exhibition titled, "Make Room: Modern Design Meets Craft," and he invited me to contribute an original piece for it. More photos from the show here.

Volunteer Welding for Burning Man 2015
I spent the month of August helping to build a portion of the Temple of Promise for Burning Man. Our small team of volunteer metalworkers created three giant, sprawling trees out of steel. I learned a ton about large-scale fabrication, and it was amazing to work on a piece of art that 70,000 people would end up seeing! Click here for more photos and a time-lapse video.
Teaching Teens How to TIG Weld
I spent several weeks this summer teaching TIG welding at the Crucible's Youth Summer Camps. It was both challenging and rewarding! I myself learned how to weld when I was 14, and it's so cool that I'm now in a position to be able to introduce other young people to the world of metalworking. Check out this blog post for some action shots and a slideshow of their incredibly creative pieces.
Follow Elektra Steel on Instagram
If you enjoyed this newsletter, I bet you'll enjoy following Elektra Steel on Instagram. It's the best place to go for news and behind-the-scenes pics from the metal shop!