NY NOW! NOW!

Sometimes you have to go way WAY outside your comfort zone. Sometimes you have to leave your town, leave Vermont and go into the heart... of the heart... of the heart... Sometimes you gotta be a really small fish in a really big (EPIC!) pond, pull a seat up to the grown up table and try to have a good poker face. I wouldn't be able to do this without so many wonderful people who believe in me and who love and support my work. I thank you all for having my back in so many ways. I'm really proud of my booth, I worked with my restrictions of "booth on a budget" and "what will fit in my car" while trying to still look professional and convey my "me-ness". I'm going to do the best I can do here and really give it my all. After 6 months of planning I can just hope the next 4 days go well. This all feels pretty crazy but kinda right. xoxo

New Collection: Modern Relics 2015 available for pre-order on Kickstarter!

You can view the Kickstarter HERE! Please help spread the word! Thank you so much for your support! 

I've been making my "Modern Relics” since 2008 and now I feel like I’m pulling my own designs forward, simplifying them, and making them even more contemporary and wearable. It's been such a joy to put these together. 

I’ve never made an entire collection before. I generally, slowly try out new ideas, one at a time. A few years ago I launched such an idea, my Chakra Kahn Wraps with Kickstarter and they were successfully funded. It enabled me to begin to see how to really grow my business. It was a way to dip my toe into the pool. 

Last year I developed my wholesale line and got into 17 shops. Over the past few months, my goal was to design a line of killer necklaces that would really “wow” buyers and round out my line.

Now I’m taking a leap! My first wholesale tradeshow - NY NOW (formerly the NY International Gift Show) at the Javits center this August. Taking on this enormous show is diving into the deep end of the pool!

In return for your help getting me to this next level, you'll get these pieces before stores and at a discounted price!  Plus this would be a great way to really debut this new line and properly launch it into the world! The funds gathered will help with the production of the line, right here in Vermont and help to fund the costs for doing such a huge trade show (booth fees, booth set up, travel expenses, catalogs, advertising…)

I’m moving into my own REAL studio in the South end in June. I’m hoping to have a kickoff party there as well as have the whole line on display. Locals might even be able to pick up their rewards at that time.

Checking out NY NOW

This past weekend, Nicole (of Nicole's Threads) and I headed to the big city to check out the Mothership of all wholesale trade shows: NY NOW. The first step of deciding whether you want to exhibit at a show or not is by doing a walk through to scope it out. We got to be buyers for Nicole's mom who has a lovely shop (she carries my work!) in Dallas, PA called Earth and Wears (thanks Lyn!). Still we felt totally out of our element and like we didn't belong there. Talk about being a tiny minnow in a vast sea. Everything about this seemed overwhelming. It didn't help that we flew there on the 6am flight and had to get up at 4am, setting the tone for the trip as a bit of weary one. 

Blurry eyed and heading to the airtrain at 7:30 am

It was cold and dreary but exciting to be in the city.

Our room at Yotel was like living in an Ipad. Very funky and futuristic. 

Ready to hit the show!

This awesome erector set thing is the Yobot and it will store your stuff for you at Yotel. So cool.

We enjoyed this little cafe on the way...

This is one corner of one floor of the show. The aisles go on forever and each floor of the Javits center is GIANT. Sensory overload to max.

Found my friend Tabbatha (Tabbatha Henry Designs) in the Handmade section. So cool to see her all set up there and killin' it.

Also finally got to meet and hang with Christine of Chocolate and Steel who was also killin' it. So great to spend time with her later and pick her brain. Had fun meeting up with friends Rachel and Nicolette from Sweet Lady Jane and Trinket for drinks and getting more advice from the buyer's perspective. Now Sweet lady Jane is going to be carrying Christine's work - yay for networking! 

Our plane got cancelled due to weather so we had an extra night and got to spend time chatting with friends and folks at the bar. We met Fran and Jim from Rich Frog in Winooski - small world!

Now just trying to process it all and then the decision of whether to apply to the show...

Our flight was rescheduled for an entire day later and we needed to get back so we rented a car and headed home but we did make one small (big) stop at IKEA to buy desks! I finally bought the standing/sitting desk I've been looking at and I can't wait to put it together.  Check it out:

Gonna be doing some rearranging to replace my desk and make it fit in my studio... so much to do and so much to think about!