You are currently browsing the category archive for the 'craft fairs' category.
Today, two items (and those paintings are coming, promise!):
#1. To get blueberry stains out of clothing, pour white vinegar on and blot it off with a paper towel and rinse with hot water. Or soak in white vinegar and pour boiling water over and let sit for a bit. Just, you know, in case you needed to know.
#2. After the success of my half-price print sale, I have decided to make it an official price-lowering for the summer in my Etsy shop and at shows/sales in-person! See it as my version of the economic stimulus, perhaps. Affordable Art for the masses! 8×10’s are now $10 and 4×6’s are $6, plus shipping. These are all printed by me on a lovely gloss photo paper, guaranteed to last a real long time. Probably longer than all of us (not to be morbid or anything).
I have come to this decision in part through my various price experiments. Didn’t you know you were all part of my experiment? I’m a mad scientist! ok, no, but I have spent the past few months travelling around to different shows, and chaning my prices here and there to see how things sell at different price points. And doing the same on Etsy. I think this is an invaluable way of determining prices, but of course in a time when many people don’t have a lot of disposable income, the experiment goes a little haywire. I’ve tried different methods and equations for pricing, and my favorite by far is the secret formula I used to come up with this “affordable art” price. I’m sorry that I cannot share that equation (e-mail me if you reallywanttoknow), but I’m sharing this whole story as a way of possibly helping someone who is in the same place I have been, trying to figure out how to not undersell yourself (or your fellow artists!) but also make a living and sell your butt off. I hope it helps to see that you have to try different things, and your business and business practices must continue to grow and evolve as your product and you grow and evolve. There’s no perfect way of doing it, if there was we’d all be millionaires. I plan on being one soon enough, but right now I’ll make do with selling my butt off. Buy prints here.
I was so inspired by the painting we did in Marisa’s class at Squam on wood panels that I had to go ahead and order up some blank ones for myself. While I wait for my archival wood panels to arrive from Plywerk, I am working on painting on un-treated wood that I happened to have around. These are both mahogany, salvaged from one of my dad’s construction jobs, I believe.
These are both in acrylic, which I also pulled out as inspired by Marisa. I have been painting in watercolor mostly since my classes with the lovely and talented Pat Hogan a few years ago. I have really loved watercolor, but getting out the acrylics reminded me why I used to paint with them all the time! They can really go on any surface and they dry so quickly! This is a blessing and a curse, of course, but so far I’m really enjoying the change of pace. These little friends (about 3 and 4 inches tall) will be for sale at this Thursday’s “Third Thursday” street fair in Pittsfield, and if they don’t sell there I’ll be sure to pop them in my Etsy shop this weekend. I’m going to be sharing a booth with Stephanie of Atoms At Work at Third Thursday — and we are crossing our fingers that these thunderstorms are all done by then!
I am so loving reading everyone’s impressions of Squam. That’s one great thing about getting a bunch of bloggers together — the event will be well documented, for sure! Some of my favorite accounts so far are Betz’s and Maya’s.
One of the new things I sold at the Squam Art Fair was my littler version of stuffed birdies. They were a hit, and I’ll be listing a few in my Etsy shop later this week (maybe even today?).
Maybe I’m biased, but I think they are such cuties. I really loved making them and you can be sure there will be many more to come. I got some fab. hand-dyed fabric from my cabin-mate Tracie Lyn Huskamp, who taught Painted Prayer Flags. The students in these classes made some really amazing work, and many of them hadn’t ever painted before. I’m sure she was a very nurturing and fun teacher to have, and I just looove her style. Can you guess why? hehe, bird nerds unite!
love and hugs and giggling and friends and art tears and and fun and craft and joy and water and trees.
It is so hard to put into words the magic (yes, I said magic! Alchemy? Sparkles? Joy?!) of Squam Lake and the Squam Art Workshops. So until I can put it into words, even though this was my second time there and I should be able to synthesize it into words now but I can’t, you can see my photos on my flickr here. This session was similar but also so different, so special in its own way. Some of the same people, many new faces and quite a few folks who I felt like I already knew. I kept having the “don’t I know you from somewhere?” conversation, and it went both ways; we both felt familar, but there was no way we had met before. Ahh, the bliss of kindred spirits.
I also want to say a huge thanks to everyone who came out to the Squam Art Fair and loved on my crafty goodness and took home some goodies. I am so thrilled that a handfull of my birdies will be living in loving new homes and my art will be gracing the walls of some really rockin’ creative souls’ homes. You all blow me away.
And the teachers, the Teachers!
Lizzy House (top) and Marisa Haedike (above), you are so amazing beyond words. Thank you for imparting your knowledge to us in such a kind, thoughtful, joyful, eloquent way. You are both such fantastic artists and it was a joy to meet you. I am a better person for knowing you. And I hope to be a better artist, armed with some super tips and techniques that you brought to us in your classes. These women are both forces of nature to be reckoned with, but bring such compassion to their interactions and relationships, and every piece they create has such meaning and feeling behind it. I can only hope to expand on what I learned from each of you.
We also had the honor of being joined by the fantastic Ms. Jonatha Brooke again this session, who continued the tradition of serenading us by the bonfire on the first night, and brought tears to our eyes once again with her songs of trust and pixie dust throughout the weekend. Lovely seeing you again, dear soul!
I am so thrilled to have been mentioned on the Fiber Farm blog and the sweet “loving it” section of SouleMama, Amanda Blake Soule’s blog as a result of being at the Squam Art Fair. Fiber Farm was part of the Art Fair on Saturday, and Amanda was part of the books and authors forum on Friday night at Squam, and I had the pleasure of meeting her at the book signing. What an amazing and lovely woman; I so plan on using her creative-family-raising ideas someday with my own family. She is such an inspiration!
ok, I guess I did have some words to describe it. And I’ll bring you more later, but for now be sure to enjoy my photos. Here are some of the work I created, too (top two from “Create a Painting in a Day” with Marisa Haedike, and bottom is the result of both “Pattern Design” and “Block Printing Fabric” with Lizzy House):
I’m not broken, not torn, just pulled a muscle/tendon — a bad sprain and I’m actually up on my feet now and walking without a cane or crutches like I was for over a week. Amazing how a body can heal, eh? Thank you, body, you’re fantastic. I’m still gimping around like a peg-leg with an ace bandage and a bulky air cast on my ankle, but I’m doing ok. Phew.
I’m really hoping I’m about a jillion times better by this time next week, though, because that will be the first night of SQUAM Art Workshops!! Yippee! I’m so excited for this opportunity to check in with myself and my art, as well as connect with all those lovely like-minded individuals who have chosen to take this opportunity to live the arty dream for a few short days of art and trees and lake and fun. Living in the woods is fantastic, and visiting someone else’s woods and lake is sometimes even better. I’ll also be sharing my cabin and taking one workshop with my dear friend Sarah G., who will be meeting me there from Burlington, VT. How perfect?
No news on the DC trip. I am contemplating changing our trip to a later date, since I’m not so sure how well I’ll be able to walk around the city all day. My ankle tends to get all kinds of swollen and painful when I stand on it too long. But the good news is that I CAN stand on it, without excruciating pain.
The last weeks have also been jam-packed with crafty goodness, wherein I did my first outdoor craft fair at Sowa Open Market, (with amazing help from my friends and my wonderful husband!!) and my second at Pittsfield Third Thursday (with amazing help from the other BerkshireMade members!), and then a fun one in North Adams at the NoAMA Mill, where I was really able to get to know the members of BerkshireMade much better. What a great group of folks, who make amazing work. Have you seen the new website that I redesigned for BerkshireMade? You can click around and see all of their super shops. Buy local, buy handmade! See pics of these events on my flickr, here.
OH! Also, I just got myself a new lens for my camera! A 50mm portrait lens for my Nikon D40, great for low-light, but with a finicky manual focus that is super fun to take macro shots with. Most of those BerkshireMade pics were taken with it — some nice up close shots of the jewelry and art and bags and people. Here are a few of the pups, because, well, they are cute.
Top: Mickey, my mom’s Australian Shepherd, enjoys a chewy treat. Bottom: Our sweet (and somewhat alarmed?) HappyDog.
Sometimes your body tells you what to do, eh? So, yesterday I’m running around like a crazy person, getting ready for the Sowa Open Market this weekend, and I go on over to Kari’s for a little visit and to collect some things from their house that they don’t need anymore (they’re moving to Northampton, boo for me, yay for them!), and I managed to twist my ankle in some bad bad way. Sprained? Torn muscle? Ripped tendon? Bruised or fractured bone? Ok, body, fine — I’ll lay low today and tomorrow and hopefully will be mobile by Saturday, but what a bummer, eh?
I decided since I do have insurance (super wonderful Commenwealth Cares from the great state of MA!) I should go ahead and have it looked at by my Dr. — but the silly receptionist made my appointment for after the x-ray tech left, so I have to go back tomorrow morning and I have no idea what I really did but I’m hoping something simple and not a break or tear or who knows. I d know that it hurts to walk. Wah.
Despite this setback, the next few weeks are jam-packed for me and my crafty business! Come visit me at one of these fairs, would ya?
SOWA Open Market – Boston, MA (www.sowaopenmarket.com); Opening Weekend Sat. and Sun., May 16 and 17; Sundays June 28, July 12 and 26, August 9; Open Studios Sat & Sun, Sept. 19 & 20; Baked Fresh Sun. Oct. 4.
BerkshireMade Artisan Market at Cultural Pittsfield 3rd Thursdays on North Street in Pittsfield, MA (www.pittsfield-ma.org); May 21, June 18, July 16, August 20, September 17, October 15.
BerkshireMade Artisan Market at The NoAMA Mill at 234 Union St., North Adams, MA: May 23 & 24, June 20 & 21; July 11 & 12; August 22 & 23; September 5 & 6; October 17 & 18.
Squam Art Fair: Saturday June 6 – Squam Art Workshops, Sandwich, NH (www.squamartworkshops.com)
Oh did I mention how excited I am for Squam!? watch this video to get excited yourself, then join us!
I’m really not sure what it is, but this last week or so I have been having this urgent feeling like I’m forgetting something and there are not enough hours in the day. Or minutes. And then I slow down, remember that this moment is all I have (yeah, a little existential for this mind/crafty lady/blog — but it IS true, right?) and then I relax and enjoy what I’m doing and remember that it will all get done and whatever is happening, is what is happening. Whatever I’m able to accomplish in a day is what I am able to accomplish.
I know I’ve mentioned him here here before, but I think Michael Neill’s books and radio show and overall personality and work have helped me with this — I’m striving toward the idea of “being done for the day” and remembering that no matter how cranky I am and how bad anything seems to any one of us, that usually it is actually all ok. We are not about to be run over by a bus or attacked by a rabid wildebeest. So… like I said, I’m not sure why I’m still having this feeling of not getting it all done, except maybe I’m just realizing that I WANT TO DO IT ALL. This has been a big problem for me my whole life — I’m what some might call a “maximizer” — I want to do it the BEST way, anything must be totally worth it and done just right or I don’t see the point. I’m trying to overcome it, but it’s not easy.
This is all to say I’ve been meaning to come here and tell you all about Twist and how wonderful it was last weekend and how many fantastic artists I met and what wonderful goodies there were for sale and all the yummy beers and tasty tidbits we were fed by the organizers and all the general goodness of Northampton (and on Pride weekend and a gorgous sunny day, at that!) BUT I just haven’t seemed to have the time to tell you about it! So here’s a quick rundown on a handful of my favorite artists there, which is by no means an exclusive list, because I pretty much loved EVERYONE! (click the images to go to their websites)
Alison Tauber, who makes wonderful screen-printed clothing and accesories and who was kind enough to mention my work on her blog this week — I have been drooling over her work since I first saw it at Twist in November. Gorgeous organic shapes and patterns.
Miaow. I am so lucky to have come home with one of thier little stuffed birdies. I couldn’t resist! Mine is orange on orange, which looks fantastic on the top shelf in our green bedroom, where no dog or cat can get hold of it!
I’ve mentioned Maeg of Ranunculae before; a fellow gocco’er who also makes smashing pillows and art prints and pincushions and more!
I also came home with this gorgeous necklace from Donnabelle Designs. Enameled glass, Gorgeous!
Also enamel, but on copper, is Angela Gerhard’s gorgeous jewelry. She was one of my neighbors at Twist (on my other side was Storey Publishing!) My little green mascot birdie happily went home with her and a few pairs of her fabulous earrings are happily hanging from me and my helper Sarah’s ears!
Directly behind us were the lovely ladies of the Spun Monkey Fiber Shoppe; drapey and colorful felt scarves and yummy yarns. Too bad my knitting hobby is sitting very very still lately, or else I might have allowed myself to take home some of her wonderful yarns!
Erica of Vonica Designs makes funky handbags, wallets and pouches from uniquely textured and often vintage fabrics. Vonica was across from me at the last Design Hive market I attended, a lovely neighbor to have!
RecycleMoe; undefineable (kinda like me!), Moe makes lots of things from lots of things. She recycles plastic bags, fabric, books, board games, sweaters and more into funky fashionable items. Sarah and I both scored coffee cup cozies, and my water bottle is currently sporting it right now, looking very swank.
Just looking at the Twist Vendor list is reminding me of all of the other super splendiferous vendors there; take a look and be prepared to be awed! Thanks also to everyone who came out and bought some of my work. Lots of my cards, tiny needle-felted birds and artwork found great new homes!
this is a real quick update, because I need to get to bed and rest up for tomorrow… because it’s TWIST!!! I’ll be in NoHo for the day tomorrow, setting up in the early afternoon, getting ready for the crafty goodness. I’m so thankful my pal Sarah G. will be joining me, as she’s supremely familiar with the area, since she went to Smith for college, and her fantastic brother Lyon and his girlfriend Alice will be letting us crash at their pad after all the fun tomorrow night; Lyon is part of some amazing bands, so check him out!
I hope you will come visit Northampton tomorrow, Friday May 1 from 5-9 for the opening event and market party — it will be a great time and there will be lots of crafty goodness to enjoy (over 60 vendors!), as well as tasty local beer, and tunes from a live DJ. Or come visit Twist on Saturday May 2 from 10-6 . Pride is also taking over the town, so there will be all kinds of fun shenanigans, I’m sure!
The other thing: I’m holding a special little Sale in my Etsy shop for Mother’s Day: buy one note card, get one free! I’m allowing you to choose any other card listed in my shop (while supplies last!) or if you don’t specify in the “notes to seller” upon checkout, I’ll just send you a second of the same card. What a super deal! This special will be on through Sunday May 10 (but you knew that was Mother’s Day, right?).
yippee! hope to see you at Twist this weekend!
Tina Seamonster tweeted one day recently that she was looking for a Hello Craft podcast submission for an episode sponsored by Readymade Magazine, and since my latest upcycled bird sculpture projects have included scraps that I’ve gathered up from my friends’ craft projects, I thought when better a time to begin my foray into the world of podcasting? You can hear my episode here. {FYI, I recorded it on the (free!) Speakeasy app for my iPhone, then sync’d it to my mac with Speakeasy Connect (also free!), then edited it in GarageBand, hence the less-than-ideal sound quality, perhaps, but hey, a good start, eh? (and I’ll try not to rock the lispy s’s next time… not sure where that came from!?)}
The friends I mention in the podcast are:
Bella Bags by Marcia: Marcia’s bags are beautiful, well constructed and sturdy, as well as being made from the most fantastic selection of colorful and boldly patterned fabrics; I’m using her fabric scraps to construct the birds’ bodies, wings and tail feathers. She sells wristlets, totes, cosmetic bags, sunglass bags, messenger bags, and re-useable lunch bags, as well as accessories such as headbands.
&
Crispina ffrench: Crispina is a master recycler in her own right, and I’m constantly learning from her amazingly sustainable business practices and strong eco-warrior convictions. She makes gorgeous rugs, pillows and blankets as well as clothing and soft sculptures from repurposed knitwear. She collects sweaters, washes them until felted and cuts and sews them into all sorts of shapes. The scraps from the work she produces are available at her studio for $5/lb, and you can choose your own colors! Using these scraps is kind of like a twice-baked potato, only, er, twice-recyled? I’m using these scraps for the little leaves on the metal trees.
I so love everything about Hello Craft (who’s tagline is “the future of making is in your hands” and who’s podcast is entirely listener generated!) and I sooo wish I could make it this weekend to the Summit of Awesome and Show of Awesome (um, crafts, music and cake?! count me in!), but alas, I will be bringing my crafty goodness to another wonderful crafty opportunity, TWIST!
Twist is a “fresh kind of fair” in Northampton, MA at the Northampton Center for the Arts at 17 New South Street on Friday May 1 from 5-9 for a spcial opening party, and on Saturday May 2 from 10-5. There will be over 60 amazing vendors; see the vendor list with links here. Come visit and get yourself (or your moms? it’s Mother’s Day NEXT WEEKEND May 10!) some crafty goodness!
