Holiday Show Season

It's kind of insane how quickly crafters plunge into thinking about and preparing for the holiday show season. We've usually got our schedules set for September through December before the beach sand is out of our shoes back in July. Or at least we are already crossing our fingers, hoping to be accepted into the big juried shows we applied to.

My 2009 holiday show season is starting take shape as my acceptance emails roll in. I knew the Worcester Center for Crafts was having trouble and I wasn't sure if they would be having their traditional holiday show the weekend after Thanksgiving. But I got the good news that they are indeed hosting it and I will be participating for the second year in a row!

I will be in my studio for the December First Saturday Open Studios at Western Avenue Studios. I have applied to Bazaar Bizarre, a fantastic indie craft show held at the Cyclorama in Boston this year. It's for one day on Sunday, December 6th. UPDATE: I was accepted!

I have been accepted for the SOWA Holiday Show for the second year and I could not be more pleased! That show is held in the South End of Boston on December 12th and 13th.

Meanwhile September continues to be very busy. I am participating in stART on the Street in Worcester for my third year. That fun block party will be held on Sunday, September 20th and I will again be sharing a tent with Candace of The Intuitive Garden which makes it twice as fun!

The weekend after that, September 26th and 27th, I will be in my studio again as Lowell hosts a city wide Open Studios with lots of special events planned! Then it's right back to First Saturday Open Studios on October 3rd from 12-5.

This year is different from last year in that I am now in three fine crafts galleries! You can see my work in Newburyport, MA at Sisters We Three, in West Concord and Groton, MA at NOA Gallery, and in Putnam, CT Silver Circle Studio.

I also applied to participate in the seasonal Craftland holiday retail shop in Providence, RI. I love all the Rhodie crafters I've met IRL and on the interwebs, it would be a lot of fun to show at this venue. UPDATE: They accepted my felted goods!

So of course I am currently constantly making things for all these venues, and for my studio and my online shops! Did I mention I have three online shops? The one at Etsy you probably know about, but I am also establishing a presence at 1000 Markets and on Artfire.

I'm certainly having fun, but I do feel a bit in over my head and of course this would be the moment when my muse starts to pester me with new product ideas which I just have to write down and set aside for now to work on pure production! I think the mantra in the handmade world right now is: I can sleep in January.