Next up: Holiday Artist Market!!!

Friday, Dec 18 12-8
Saturday, Dec 19 10-6
All the artists from the Artist Market will be at Contois Auditorium (City Hall) in Burlington selling their handmade wares to holiday shoppers. It's not too late to buy handmade...buy local.

Trunk Show at Sweet Lady Jane!!!

It's that time again! This will be my 3rd year having a holiday trunk show at Sweet Lady Jane. It is so wonderful to spend the day in such an amazing boutique with gorgeous clothes and such a warm and friendly staff.

Okay, so it's been foreva...but now it's time for Holiday Shows!!!

Women's Festival of Crafts, City Hall (149 Church St)
Friday Nov 27th 5-9 pm
Saturday Nov 28th 10-6 pm
Sunday November 29th 10-5 pm

Trunk show at Sweet Lady Jane (40 Church St.)
Saturday Dec 12th 10-6 pm

Holiday Artist Market, City Hall (149 Church St)
Friday Dec 18 12-8
Saturday Dec 19 10-6 pm
In other news:
This is how I spent my Halloween...

Some helpful tips...

Someday I'll write a blog post on every tip and trick I've learned when it comes to having a booth at an outside venue. For now, I just wanted to share a couple of key items that I often get asked about...I just got a fabulous banner. I only had to look as far as Etsy to find a banner maker who was fast, affordable and friendly. His name is Paul Wilson and his Etsy shop is Wilson Graphics. He can print whatever you want on thick vinyl complete with grommets and he has a variety of sizes. I chose the 1' x 3'. It only cost $22 + $10 shipping and I received it 4 days after I ordered it!

Make your life easier with a good folding cart. This one at handtrucksrus.com is amazing. It folds up so small for storage and opens up so huge for carting all your wares.

I get business cards and postcards from Overnightprints.com. They have good prices and quick turn around time. I like to go with a matte finish and rounded corners.

I also recently got mini moo cards and I LOVE them. They are small but sturdy cards, you get 100 for $19.95 but the best part is, they can be 100 different images! It's so great to be able to get a variety of images and not be limited to just one. I picked 20 images of what's currently available in my Etsy shop and got 5 of each.

Thasall for now. Just wanted to share...

The little things...

Sometime it's the little things that make a big difference...
When I display my earrings at my booth, I hang them on little iron wire racks. I've been selling my earrings at Trinket now for many months, where they were hanging them on little gray cards on the wall. I realized I could really make them pop if I made display cards for them. I always think about one of the most important lessons Celie taught me. Everything...EVERYTHING!...is an opportunity for creativity. So I had an idea to make re-usable display cards by recycling cardboard and paper. Economical, environmental with a raw, edgy look! They were so much fun to make and they do a great job of showing off the earrings.

More than a little behind...

but I wanted to make 2 shout outs without letting more time pass...

A couple of weeks ago my interview for my Etsy Metal Clay team blog went up, check it out!

Also, my work was featured in Wendy McManus' wonderful new blog Metal Clay Magic.

Oh and just added more work to my Etsy shop.

Thasall for now...more to come...

My Blog is 1 year old!

I can't believe it! I've been writing this blog for a year now. I realized this as I was taking photos of the lilacs outside and feeling a powerful sense of déjà vu. Wow that year went by fast! It seems I have less and less time and try as I might, I'm just not posting enough on here. I hope to change that though as I really value stretching my writing muscle and reflecting on the happenings that...happen.

One of the reasons I've been so busy was gearing up for the Artist Market that started again in mid-May. With the Market comes photos of puppies! I can't resist, so here is the first market pic:
It was taken in front of Moe's colorful table cloth. Speaking of Moe, I'm loving her stuff! I've recently purchased a casette wallet, a journal and baby bibs from her, all great gifts and all made from discarded things. Check out her stuff!

And then there are the lilacs which were simply brilliant this year. They kindly came in 2 weeks early so we were able to enjoy them before running off to Bead and Button.


The luscious lavendar blooms lined the stone path, I had to take the obligatory 'old truck' photo.
This is the view from my window. Nothing quite like the smell of lilacs pouring through it, such a treat! I'm writing this from Milwaukee, at the Bead and Button Show which I'll be writing about shortly...

Queen City Craft Bazaar!

Gosh, guess it's been awhile! April was a busy month. I've been getting ready for the upcoming Artist Market season, (it starts on May 16th!) and I celebrated my 30th birthday.
(Photo by Lauren Selfridge)Right now I'm getting ready for the Queen City Craft Bazaar on Saturday. Can't wait!

Spring is springing!

This is my favorite time of year.  The snow is receding, revealing new ground every day. Buds are emerging, birds are chirping, the days are longer, my world is habitable again and I can be outside in it.  

I've been working in copper clay.  Here are a couple of pairs of earrings made with it, the color is so rich, I'm calling it 'Rusty Rose'.  Just perfect for spring!
I'm also taking some of my Modern Relics pieces in a new direction, hiding herkimer diamonds in their open spaces. The herkimers move around, adding noise and flickers of light. These are just the first two rings of the series...

I would write more but I have to go out and enjoy this beautiful day. Happy Saturday! Happy Spring

Trinket

Friday I dropped off a second batch of work to Trinket (32 1/2 Church St) in Burlington. This was the first time I'd seen the place in all of its splendor.
It has such a lovely feel - like a gallery of accessories. White shadow box frames house jewelry on a chalkboard painted wall. Notes and info about the pieces or the artists that made them are lovingly written on that wall.
At this time, my work is featured in one of the top frames on that wall.  I took this photo before they added my new work so there's more now!
The back wall has shelving made up of chairs that are mounted in the wall - so cool!
I enjoy selling my work myself, through my Etsy shop and at the Artist Market but I'm very pleased to have my work in this great new shop. I feel very well represented by Rachel and her wonderful staff.  So support local artists and local businesses and check out Trinket, you'll love it!

In honor of Valentines Day: Dogs in Love

The unlikely bond between an Italian Greyhound (Ecco) and a long haired Chihuahua (Kiwi).

Rachel Strules (owner of Sweet Lady Jane and Tribeca) is opening a new accessories shop called Trinket. I'm pleased to announce that she will be carrying my work there. It is located on the top block of Church St at 32 1/2. It's opening on Wednesday (just in time for V-day!) and there will be a grand opening at the end of the month. I got a sneak peak the other day and it looks amazing!

Imaginative Captures

Last week Celie and I took Andy Cooperman’s class at the North Country Studio Conference in Bennington, VT. It was so much fun! It’s very exciting to be around a bunch of people who just love to make stuff. The class was called “Imaginative Captures” and it was all about setting stones in different ways – couldn’t be more up my alley! Andy gave us each an eye to make a piece with. During the demo the zipper on my jeans kept opening and I kept messing with it and... the light bulb went off. I used the actual zipper pull from my jeans and fashioned the zipper part from sterling wire. I roller printed the copper sheet with fabric from my apron (actually the fabric that it's photographed on) and heat patina-ed it. It's riveted together with sterling rivets.

Below is the other piece I made in the workshop. We learned how to 'spin set' a faceted gem in a tube. I soldered that tube onto brass sheet that I sawed a shape out of (it looked like a turtle!) The river rock already had a hole in it, I set it in place by pushing the prongs around it.
The class was very inspiring and I look forward to applying some of these techniques to PMC.

Been so long

I can't believe almost a month has gone by since my last post.  I guess I needed a bit of a break after the holidaze.  I've been doing a combination of decompressing, having some fun, catching up, and preparing for some big projects/pieces.  I usually lose momentum this time of year, after all the crazy hustle and bustle.  I kinda feel like I'm constantly juggling so many balls and at the moment, they are all on the ground.  Today, however, is a new day.  A new world.  I'm feeling excited and energized.  So, today I'm getting back on track and back to work.  And I'll be blogging more often so stay tuned...

With Valentine's Day coming, here's a photo of dogs in love (Ecco and my Kiwi).