Lots of Shop Orders!

Thought it might be a bit slow after Valentine's Day and then 7 shops ordered last week! Usually it takes several weeks to make an order but I was well stocked on inventory and able to get 5 out this week. Now I'm looking forward to working on some new designs in the studio today and for the next few days. 

For T. Karn in Telluride, CO

For Trinket in Burlington, VT

For The Shoe Horn, Montpelier, VT

For Nest in Brunswick, ME

For Earth and Wears in Dallas, PA

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! 

Cleaning, Shopping, Organizing...

As I transitioned from the end of Artist Market season to the beginning of crazy holiday season, I took a moment to super clean my studio. With cleaning came the reward of making space for new (vintage) organizing drawers. I'm always looking for these things and was so shocked to find not one but TWO affordable, old, metal drawer cabinets at 2 different vintage shops within a week. It helps to keep careful watch of their Facebook pages because I happened to see their photos right away and made sure I got to their shops asap. The first one was at Vintage Inspired Lifestyle Marketplace. 

I love this shop and check it out often. A great activity before heading over to Oakledge. They even host outdoor flea markets once a month from May-Oct. The lovely owner, Mary, posted a photo of an Oak display case but I zoomed in on the metal watchmaker's drawers... 

I inquired how much in a comment on the photo and she got back to me right away, so I ran down there before they closed and snatched up this beauty. It even had tiny watch parts strewn throughout.

 Then I bought a bunch of these beading trays that happen to fit perfectly, 2 to a drawer so I can easily move things around. Now instead of having random trays all over my room, taking up valuable surface space, all of my wholesale orders are easily contained in here, under my table, but super organized. Ahh. Seriously, this is a game changer.

Not even a week later, I happen to see Barge Canal Market post the above photo. They sold the table, stools and crates right away and I asked how much the thing on the right was and they got back to me quickly. I was there the next morning to nab it, hadn't even been in the shop 24 hours! So social marketing seems to be working for these places! 
Barge Canal is in the heart of the South End and it's a fantastic place to roam around after eating at Myer's bagels. They set up great little vignettes with their inventory and treasures abound. 

Here's the metal drawer tower tucked into the corner of my studio, among friends. It fit in the only space I could've possibly fit something. It has 15 drawers and I've filled them with postcards/business cards, catalogs, and most of my fabric, lace and leather scraps.

Clean workspace! I'm determined to make this last!

 As clean as this area gets... but it's organized! 

Everything in it's place!

Look at all that surface space! (This photo was taken before the new metal tower addition. Now all of those boxes in the corner are gone and their contents are in the drawers.)

 I also dropped some work off at Trinket.

Here's my earrings at Earth and Wears in Dallas, PA.

So now I'm super happy to be working away in my clean space. I highly recommend taking a moment to regroup before the madness!