Following a highly popular collaboration with the Laufey Book Club to produce limited-edition library cards, the Fullerton Public Library held “A Very Laufey Craft Night” Aug. 26. The library’s community room was filled to the brim with crafters of all kinds to create felt crowns.
“We knew it was going to be big but it’s always hard to say with any of our events, if it’s not registration, what the turnout’s going to be,” said Amanda Ortega, an adult services librarian who assisted in event setup. “This is definitely pretty crazy, but it’s really fun.”
Those in attendance took part in a night of making felt crowns, soundtracked by a selection of Laufey songs, chosen by library staff. Fans of the singer-songwriter, who call themselves “Lauvers,” will recognize the handmade accessories as a staple for attendees of the artist’s concerts.
The library provided Lauvers with all necessary supplies for crafting. For each participant, foam stars, glitter, plastic gemstones, lace and tools such as hot glue guns were also provided. Most essential to the crafting activity were precut felt crown templates that were piled at each table.
Visitors to the library were greeted with decorations including clock motifs, and a balloon arch adorned with paper flowers that led to the community room. As for the decorations in the event space, Emily Elliott, the teen services librarian, noted a focus on soft design elements.
“This was all handmade by various library staff and set up Sunday morning,” Elliott said.
Upon entering the crafting space, fans were greeted by even more themed decorations, including floating clouds, a wall modeled after the night sky complete with crescent moon and a photo backdrop in the form of a garden hedge wall decorated with picture frames and a life-sized cutout of Laufey. This imagery is associated with the musician’s live performances, and with her book club’s promotional imagery.
With the intention of being inclusive to any interested participants, the craft night was open to the public and for those of all ages and artistic skill levels. Those present also witnessed the sense of community fostered in the shared activity of craft and admiration for Laufey’s music, as noted by Elyssa Guelos, who attended the craft night with her daughter.
“I thought it was fun,” Guelos said after she and her daughter had completed their felt crowns. “I think that a lot of people are helping each other out since it doesn’t look like there wasn’t enough chairs, so people were waiting around. I saw people helping with finding extra materials, like ‘Where did you get this ribbon?’”
For the organizing librarians behind the event, a sense of community was fostered by the close collaboration required to put together this craft night on short notice that followed the popularity of the launch of the Laufey Book Club library cards.
“We decided to keep the excitement going and have a program in a couple days following, so people who maybe missed out on the event could still stop by and enjoy a craft and the decorations,” Elliott said. “Because her music just goes across all ages. The main project lead, she reached out departmentally and picked a bunch of people from all over to come together and make sure all aspects were seen, and including all the different ages.”
Though the Laufey Craft Night was a one time event, the library holds seasonal craft nights as part of its monthly event rotation. Additionally, Lauvers are still invited to pick up a limited-edition library card in collaboration with the Laufey Book Club if they were unable to during the launch event on Aug. 23.