Mill Girl

Toadstool Pincushions

2012-02-08T14:01:00.003-05:00

I guess I've been thinking about spring :)

My ongoing fitness journey

2012-01-03T12:04:00.025-05:00

In October of 2002 I married the love of my life, it was dreamy. I didn't mind too much that my wedding dress was a size 20. My guy loves me whatever my size and I didn't feel unattractive. But I did feel uncomfortable; my back hurt, my knees hurt, it was hard to get a deep breath when I sat down, and I was always tired.

On January 1, 2003 I decided to try Atkins and lost about 60 pounds over the course of that year! I know a low-carb lifestyle is not for everyone, but it turns out to be the right one for me. I was able to quit eating sugar, white potatoes, rice, corn and wheat. I felt instantly better. My life-long food and candy cravings went away and so did a lot of my Asthma symptoms!

Me at the start of 2003:

And just by eating what I was cooking, my husband lost 40 pounds we didn't even realize he was carrying!

I had plans to lose all the weight, I had a modest five year plan. But I took my eye off the ball, I got distracted by ordinary life events and between 2004 and 2010 I quietly gained back about 20 of those pounds. By July of 2010 I was totally sedentary and unhappy and uncomfortable again. I thought about Yoga, but I realized I don't enjoy group exercise. I thought about exercise tapes, but I have done those in the past and found they quickly got boring. I decided to start using my trusty Nordic Track skier again. I bought it back in 1993 and have enjoyed using it on and off, lugging it from old home to new home. It was time to climb back on.

To psyche myself up for the long haul and to avoid feeling discouraged if weight didn't come off right away, I told myself I was only exercising for FITNESS and if the weight came off that would be a nice side bonus.

I started really, really slowly. I exercised 10 minutes a day, three days a week. In that ten minutes I would alternate walking for one minute then lightly jogging for one minute. I was making a lifetime change and I wanted morning exercise to become a habit. I decided that going at my own pace was the most important goal so I only increased my exercise to 20 minutes a day when it felt right. It probably took a month, but that was the only way I was going to get it to stick.

Every morning I would get up and put on my exercise clothes, I wouldn't leave the house until I'd done my minutes. Every day was a mental struggle. I would sit there in my exercise outfit, willing myself to just start. It was SO HARD!! I'm lucky that I work for myself, don't have kids, and have a schedule flexible enough to allow for this struggle to play itself out. I will tell you, it took well over a year and a half of persistent effort for the exercise to become a habit. I did not think it would take that long for me to feel like my day hasn't started until I get off the Nordic Track.

I was up to 30 minutes a day, five days a week in April of 2011 and guess what? My weight was EXACTLY THE SAME as when I began. I couldn't help it, I was discouraged.

I tried to tell myself I'd probably lost some fat and gained some muscle, probably true. That my body was more toned, it was. I tried to remember that I was in this for fitness above all else. But, come on. Then I decided to stop eating all the non-gluten grains I had added back into my diet over the years, and increase my workouts to 45 minutes.

I was eating meats, dairy, veggies (except corn and potatoes), beans, and nuts. I was totally satisfied and didn't miss the grains at all! I had really thought I would. It turns out the way I was able to quit sugar 9 years ago and feel like NOT eating the treat was the treat I was giving to myself, that's how I felt about not eating grains.

And a little bit of weight came off! Hurray! Then I read that you need to exercise 5-6 hours a week for consistent weight loss. Oy. So I decided to increase my exercise to an hour. And that, combined with ditching grains, is what finally tripped the trigger.

In 2011 I ended up losing 30 pounds! I feel fantastic. I will admit it was a bit of a shock to realize I was 75 pounds lighter than I was at my wedding. And that I am still 35 pounds overweight. But it's much easier to start fresh at this point. This year, twenty twelve, I'm increasing my 5 days a week exercise to 72 minutes per day. I'm determined to lose the last 35 pounds, however long it takes. Because I am in this for the long run. And this time, I'm paying attention.

Me and my husband in December of 2011:

Upcoming Shows

2011-11-29T13:44:00.007-05:00

I'll be vending at the Boston Bazaar Bizarre this Sunday!

And the SOWA Holiday Market on Saturday, December 10th.

I got this nice plug in the Boston Globe on Sunday, November 27th:

Hope to see you at one of my shows or Open Studios at Western Ave on Sunday, December 11 from 12-5.

New Made in Lowell Product!

2011-10-24T12:07:00.004-04:00

I have been hankering for a long time to make a soft ornament in a heart shape. Finally I could hold back no longer and this little dude burst forth from my fingers.

I made it at my studio where I didn't have crochet supplies, so I sewed the edging with embroidery floss. When I got home I made more hearts but this time with a crocheted edge like the one I developed when I made the cashmere scarf.

This one is ready for its vintage buttons:

I'm using some of the many sweaters I've collected and felted since I got my studio back in 2007. I've been thinking all these years of lots of ways to use my felted sweaters but I haven't moved forward on any of those other ideas yet. So it feels good to be using the sweaters for these friendly hearts which I think would work as lovely gifts year 'round.

I hope to get them listed in my Etsy shop, but probably the best way to get one is to attend Open Studios at Western Avenue Studios on November 5th.

Craft show season!

2011-09-26T14:50:00.003-04:00

At the end of August Dell and I drove up to Portland, Maine to attend Picnic Portland, an outdoor crafts and music festival. It was extra fun to walk around and play tourist instead of being a vendor myself. The bonus was that so many of my amazing friends were set up and selling! Here's a recap of the people I saw and since it is show season, I asked them to tell me where they will be selling in the coming months so you can go find them and purchase their excellent handmade wares.

First up is Danielle of Merriweather Council! I love her intricate and elegant embroidery, I will soon have TWO of her hoops hanging on my studio wall.

Check the calendar section on her blog to see where you can find Danielle's work in person:
http://www.merriweathercouncilblog.com/calendar/

Next I found Eling of Migration Goods and Rhino Fluff with all her adorable hand-cut felt accessories and her beautiful handspun yarn:

Check out the links in the sidebar of her blog to see where Eling is showing this season:
http://elingeling.typepad.com/blog/

Next I was pleased to run across Laura of Pansy Maiden, especially since I have one of her wonderful bags :)

Find Laura's list of upcoming events here:
http://www.pansymaiden.com/events

Another bag maker I love is Lisa of Red Staggerwing. I have a bag from her on my wishlist, the materials she uses are fun and contemporary, and I love the bag shapes as well.

You can get a beautiful bag of your own at Lisa's upcoming shows:
9/24 Concord Arts Market, Concord, NH
9/25 SOWA
10/8 & 10/9 Warner Fall Foliage Festival, Warner NH
10/15 - back at Concord Arts Market, Concord, NH
10/16 - Portsmouth Open Market, Portsmouth, NH
10/29 - Concord Arts Market
10/30 - SOWA
11/26 & 27 Hingham Shipyard Holiday Market, Hingham, MA
12/4 Bazaar Bizarre, Cyclorama Boston
12/10 SOWA Holiday Market, Boston

Jen of Zooguu was also there, with her adorable plushies. They are irresistible to children and adults alike! I have a fox ornament and I can't wait to put it on the tree this year:

Check out the cuteness at Jen's upcoming shows listed on her shop homepage:
http://zooguu.com/

Last year Dell and I bought all our holiday cards at craft shows, it was tremendous fun and I suggest you do the same. A great place to start would be with letterpress artist Melissa of Pressbound:

Check her events page to see where you can find Melissa's paper goods this season:
http://www.pressbound.com/events/

Another purveyor of paper goods was at the show, the lovely Kristin Crane! Her travel inspired journals are perfect for those with wanderlust:

Check out her paper-goodness at these locations:
November 11 & 12: Twist, in Northampton
November 20 & December 11: Craftopia in Pawtucket
And of course the amazing Craftland shop in Providence, RI!

I met Amy of AG Ambroult on the craft show circuit, I love her handcrafted jewelry, it manages to be rustic and elegant at the same time:

Find her work here this holiday season:

Portsmouth Open Market Oct 9
South End Open Market Oct 30
Hingham Shipyard Holiday Market Nov 26&27
SoWa Holiday Market Dec10

There were two people I'd developed craft crushes on over Twitter and I was undaunted by threat of impending hurricane as I raced northward to meet my e-friends. The first is Cassie of Shop Clementine (not pictured) whose delicate and thoughtful jewelry has everyone captivated:

Find Cassie's work in her Etsy shop and at these fine shops:

Grow Gallery, Shelburne Falls, MA
The Feather's Edge, Bend, OR
Monograham, Delafield, WI
Sacred Hour, Lakewood, OH
Sassafras, Rochester, NY
Rural Route 1, Chicago
Andi's Closet, Duluth, MN

The other crush was on Amanda of Longwinter Farm. I'd bought her soaps a long time before I found her sassy tweets on my twitter.

By the way, my shop crushes were justified, they are real and they are spectacular. Cassie and Amanda, I mean. Amanda's soaps and balms can be purveyed in her Etsy shop!

I hope you get to visit these fine hard working makers this season! You can find where I'll be showing on my Appearing Live and shop links sidebars over there ---->

Making Custom Wedding Invites

2011-08-23T14:03:00.018-04:00

My amazing niece, Alexandra, got engaged last year to a fantastic guy, Alex, and immediately I knew I wanted to make her wedding invitations if she would let me! I made her brother's invitations some years ago but wasn't sure if the kids these days even used paper invites anymore. But when I offered she said YES!

Along with her wonderful fiancé, we worked together over the internet (they were attending school in the midwest) on a design that would reflect the elegant wedding they were planning. We chose cream and black for the color scheme. Then they looked at some samples on a commercial website to show me the style that appealed to them the most. Once I knew their preferred style I was able to create a completely original design for them.

Though a wedding starts an entire married life together, the actual day really ends up being a snapshot frozen in time and there's no way to prevent it from eventually appearing a bit dated, though that's not a bad thing. For that reason, I wasn't worried about using a current trend in the design: lace.

I scanned a piece of found lace, reversed the color and painstakingly modified it in Photoshop to create the design element I eventually used on the invite.

Here you see on the left the original lace, scanned and with the white and black reversed. On the right is the design I extracted from the fabric pattern to create a whole new image.

We determined I would make 100 invitations so once I had a finished sample I got the go ahead from the happy couple and printed the design and text two-up on cream cardstock and cut the pages apart...

...then adhered them to black cardstock with an 1/8 inch border all around.

Additionally, to add a little more elegance, I traced and hand-cut liners for all the envelopes from silver shimmer paper.

It's a simple design, but reflects the level of formality (black tie optional) and aesthetic of the wedding. I was delighted that everyone was pleased with the results!

And it must have worked because a lot of people showed up for a very beautiful wedding this past weekend.

Me with the Bride:

I don't know if they've opened gifts yet, but when they do they'll find I created an additional surprise gift of thank you notes in a coordinating design.

Congratulations Alexandra and Alex! You are a wonderful couple with many years of happiness ahead of you. Thanks for letting me be a part of your special day.

Lowell Folk Festival 2011

2011-07-28T15:00:00.003-04:00

A quick note to mention I will be vending at the Lowell Folk Festival this weekend as part of Art in the Courtyard again this year!

Come by and see what's new :) Here I am madly prepping inventory for the show:

Creating Hits and Misses

2011-07-15T14:35:00.020-04:00

Makers come up with a LOT of ideas for products. We are sometimes bombarded hourly with brand new insights or variations on existing pieces. This usually happens right before we really need to fall asleep, and/or at the height of fevered seasons like fall when making prototypes for new products is impossible because we are in full on production mode for the holiday rush. We make lists, try not to forget the ideas and hope that later, in January, we'll still have the same excitement and enthusiasm we did when first the lightning struck.

When you surf our polished online shops or peruse our carefully laid out craft show booths, you are seeing the best of our work, the items we dreamed and then somehow conjured into existence. One in every color and size. A lot of work has gone into those collections and we are hoping that our creations are met with excitement and purchases. We all want a hit product.

When the items we perfected over weeks, months, years are met with oohs and ahhs and smiles, there is no better feeling on earth. But sometimes our brilliant idea is...

...a dud.

A collection that in the dreaming stages seemed like it couldn't miss is suddenly a stack of baggage. Overstock. Discontinued. Clearance. It's heartbreaking, baffling, and exhausting.

We spent so much time planning, making prototypes, perfecting and finally producing this adorable thing, then sent it out into the world with vulnerable hope. Why doesn't anyone love it?

It's possible we just didn't get it in front of the right eyes, or it's priced wrong for its ideal customer and we can't reduce it because then we'd be taking a bath. Or it's the wrong season, or we are ahead of our time (I prefer that one), or really, it's just not what people want.

I can't imagine throwing something I made away, sometimes I'll give things away. Mostly I try to adapt the ill begotten thing into a new thing and see if that changes its luck.

For example (as much as this hurts, I am going to give an example! Deep breath):

I made these tiny crochet flower earrings for summer last year. I crocheted for hours, making matching flowers in every color, excitedly running to the store for new string options. I starched each flower a little bit, not too much, so it would hold its shape. I spent forever sorting and matching vintage buttons for the little centers, sewed them on with carefully selected thread. Attached sterling earring components. Put them on cards I designed, printed and cut apart. Took and edited photos. All of this. And the response was...crickets. Nothing. I had a dud.

Once the shock and disappointment wore off, I decided I could re-purpose the flowers into rings:

And guess what? The rings are selling.

So my points are twofold. First, for the crafter, I feel for you. I know how it goes and I'm sending virtual hugs for all your unloved and discarded brilliant ideas. I hope you are able to morph them into hot sellers.

Second, I guess I wanted to show the shopping public how much work we put into things that don't pan out in order for us to have a collection that does appeal. What you don't see are all the mistakes, false starts and huge investments of time and resources into dead-end ideas. Making things for a living is hard! Figuring out what people want to buy that we also want to make is a constant struggle.

And we love it, wouldn't trade it for anything.

Ceramic repair, decorative plate

2011-07-01T13:54:00.008-04:00

A good friend brought this sad collection of shards to me wrapped in brown paper. It wasn't a valuable item, but it was part of a 4 plate set that was a gift from her mother, could I repair it? Yes, yes I could

But first I needed a plastic tub, and a bag of sand.

I learned when I was trained to repair ceramics professionally that the best way to repair a plate, or even the handle on a mug, is to anchor part of the broken item in sand, then balance the part you are gluing on top of it.

I try a dry run, seeing if the piece balances without my holding it, then I apply two part 5 minute epoxy glue.

I test all the pieces for fit first like I discussed in my previous ceramic repair post. I want to be sure to assemble the pieces in the correct order to prevent the sad experience of not being able to fit the last piece because it is "locked out". Sometimes that entails gluing smaller pieces to each other first, thereby making fewer larger pieces to fit together.

I only glue two pieces together at a time. I wipe any glue from areas where I will need to fit another piece using a Q-tip dipped in acetone.

While the glue is still uncured, I run my fingers across the crack line compulsively, seeing if I can detect a ridge that would indicate a poor fit. If there's a ridge, I nudge, delicately, the part that is slightly off so it aligns more accurately, then I check the crack again with my fingertips, sometimes my fingernails, making sure the join is smooth along its entire length.

I do that quickly, before the 5 minute glue sets up, using acetone to clean any excess glue off my fingertips.

Once the epoxy is cured, I fill the cracks and chips with vinyl spackling compound, the kind you would use on drywall. When that dries, I use specialty glass paper (sand paper that won't scratch glass or ceramic) to sand it flat for painting.

Then I mix acrylic paints to match the missing spots, when that dries, I use water based glossy polyurethane to make the painted areas match the shine of the glaze.

The repairs aren't invisible, but from a reasonable distance, no-one would notice!

Find me online

2011-06-29T13:52:00.005-04:00

I'm always online, either here, on Twitter, checking email, posting pictures to Flickr.

But being on someone else's blog is a special thrill so here are two other places you can find me today:

No Big Dill is hosting a pincushion ring giveaway on her blog! Be sure and leave a comment to enter.

And on Scoutie Girl, which is a wonderful resource for crafters and craft lovers. Dannielle Cresp interviewed me for a little feature on where craftiness comes from.

Yay! Thank you Internets!!

Ceramic Repair

2011-06-24T16:36:00.014-04:00

Me, circa 2002

So one of the hundreds of interesting jobs I've done is ceramic repair for a restoration company. It was difficult, painstaking work but somewhat satisfying to put broken things back together again and then hide the evidence of the breakage with paint as best as we could.

When work got slow, I would go to the front office and talk to walk-in customers about what we could do to repair their broken treasures and what that would cost (a LOT). A few weeks later, I would present them with repaired pieces when they came to pick them up.

As optimistic as I had felt in the work room, mending objects and setting things to rights, I became disillusioned in the front office when I came to understand that no matter how brilliant the repair, we couldn't un-break the item. We couldn't take away the anger toward a clumsy family member, or dog, or friend, the sadness of a treasure shattered. It turned out we weren't really setting things to rights at all. Once I learned this, I couldn't un-learn it and repair lost its appeal. I moved on to another job, managing a pottery and dishware store.

But I learned repair skills that stay with me even today. And once in a while I say yes to a project for a friend as a favor. A few summers ago I repaired a yard sale find for a friend and documented it a bit. It was in many pieces and had intact old repairs that needed to be taken apart, cleaned and re-repaired.

It's important to take apart an old repair before trying to put new broken pieces back in because as each piece is fit a little wrong into the puzzle, that bad fit is compounded as more and more pieces get put in a little wrong until you can't even fit the last piece in because everything is so off.

Here is what my friend gave me to repair:

Here I have started taking apart the old repair, which fortunately had been done with something like super glue. With a glue like that, or epoxy, you can use a heat gun to warm the joins and make the glue soft, then you can gently separate the pieces.

NOTE: Silicone glue (like E6000) has no solvent, does not react to heat, therefore cannot be taken apart easily. And if you do manage to get it apart, you can never fully remove the silicone residue from the surface of the break, and therefore can never get a perfect fit again. I don't recommend it for repairs.

Once I got all the pieces apart, I carefully cleaned all the old glue off. I used a lot of X-acto blades and acetone with Q-tips, trying to get every tiny crumb.

When I felt I'd gotten the pieces as clean as possible, I did a dry run, fitting the pieces back together and holding them in place with masking tape. This does two things for me; it lets me see if I have all the pieces, and it helps me figure out the order in which I should glue the pieces. Nothing would be worse than getting to the last piece only to find I've done it out of order and I am "locked out" from inserting it!

I used a two part, 5-minute epoxy. Here are some close ups of the finished repair. I didn't fill and paint the cracks on this piece, it would have taken too long, also, I think the visible repair adds to its character.

Done! My friend was very pleased.

Shop crush: Gather Here

2011-06-07T15:21:00.006-04:00

Here's the honest truth: I have a crush on a shop, and it isn't some ethereal virtual shop either, it's a brick-and-mortar, in-real-life location you can go to and visit to fondle fabrics and yarns. And MAKE things!

Virginia and Noah have opened an oasis of beauty, creativity and how-to in Cambridge, Massachusetts called Gather Here. And I have! I have totally gathered there and I plan to do so again in the nearest future possible. The place is gorgeous, filled with high-quality fabrics and notions as well as yarns.

I got to see and purchase DaisyJanie and Cloud 9 fabrics that I have been admiring online forever!!

I'm not much of a sewer, as you know, but Gather Here can help me, they teach classes.

If you like to make things, if you like to be surrounded by attractive textiles and friendly folk, please go check out Gather Here pronto!!

New find -The Orange Owl skincare products

2011-05-18T15:00:00.003-04:00

On April 30th I went to The Sheepshearing Festival at Gore Place in Waltham Mass.

The festival is a big deal, draws hundreds of families who come to watch herding and shearing and eat fair food. There are reenactors walking around in period costume sometimes playing instruments and dancing. Also you can buy yarns and fibers (big draw for me!) and there's a craft show. I've vended at that show, the year I did it it was 90 degrees, no exaggeration.

This year the weather was warm but cloudy, perfect for attending as a customer. I was pretty much the only person without a stroller LOL!

While wandering through the craft booths I discovered The Orange Owl who it turned out was doing her very first show! I was immediately attracted to the lovely way she set up her all-natural skincare products. And also by her friendly and open demeanor. I love being greeted kindly by a vendor, it really makes a difference.

Her packaging is so modern and cute I was drawn to sniff the soaps. You know what a handmade soap addict I am :) I loved how each scent had a story about the melding of her Indian culture with local favorites. For example, her lemon scent has a hint of cardamom, what a great idea!

But Akshata's products go far deeper than just cute packaging and appealing scents. I found out that her life experiences and education led her to create skincare items in a thoughtful as well as scientific way:

"I always wanted to be involved in scientific research in some way or the other and that led to my first MS degree in biochemistry. While that opened avenues for research, it still seemed a bit incomplete. While working at the Emergency Department at the University of Rochester and studying brain injuries, I had the opportunity to get my second MS in applied clinical nutrition (while my husband was getting the same degree and his doctor of chiropractic degree as well). This just made 7 years of biochemistry in my head all click together perfectly. The research I had done on the immune system, toxins, injuries was all tied together by what we put in and on our body. So came about Alternative Roots Wellness Center in VT and The Orange Owl :)"

I couldn't resist bringing home a bag full of handmade goodness:

Now I smell great and my skin is super soft! So please check out The Orange Owl and welcome her to the crafting community. She'll be vending at Boston Bazaar Bizarre's Summer Fair on June 19th in Union Square, Somerville, MA. I also talked her into starting a Twitter account so now you can follow her there :)

More Not Buttons

2011-05-04T17:26:00.002-04:00

Four more images to add to my ongoing project: Not Buttons

Not Buttons

2011-05-02T15:17:00.006-04:00

Some of you may know about and indeed share my passion for, OK obsession with vintage buttons. I have a fantastic and extensive collection of old buttons that I sorted by color, material, number of holes. Yeah, it's serious.

I buy jars of mixed buttons at thrift shops and yard sales. When I need some meditative time, I'll pour a jar out on the table and spend a few hours sorting the buttons.

Along with the buttons there are often other objects mixed in. I keep these items too, I think of them as "not buttons". I recently snapped a picture of them which sparked interest among my Flickr friends.

My friend, JunkCulture suggested I do a photo series called Not Buttons and I loved the idea so here is the beginning of that project! All images taken with iPod Touch and the Hipstamatic App.

Pincushion Rings in New Colors!

2011-04-27T14:03:00.004-04:00

Pumpkin

MelonMy cupcake pincushion rings are now available in 8 colors! I'm open to custom color requests as well :)

Taking an online course

2011-04-22T12:25:00.005-04:00

I internet-know a lot of amazing people offering their wisdom in online course form. I always thought that sounded completely cool but had no idea what it meant. When I went to school there were no computers, all my classes were in real classrooms where I was surrounded by actual human beings scribbling notes with pens on paper and missing phone messages being left on their answering machines back at the dorms.

But this being the 21st century, things have changed! I shed my fears and signed up for an online class taught by Diane Gilleland. Diane is a crafty powerhouse; not only does she teach online classes, she produces a popular podcast called CraftyPod, has a lovely website, publishes e-books and has written a beautiful book on the art of fabric flower folding.

I follow her on Twitter and knew her to be friendly and encouraging to crafters. So when she offered a 3 week online course on how to make a PodCast, well, I could not resist.

And I am totally thrilled with the results! Even though over 20 people signed up for the course, Diane helped me personally learn my way around the online classroom. Once I signed in I had access to class forums where discussions could be held amongst the students and teacher. The lessons were broken down into manageable sections with each week's lessons released at the beginning of the week. The lessons were multi-media, encompassing videos, audio, and writing with images and diagrams. Also there were checklists and worksheets I could download. Each lesson had a space for discussion and questions. Also Diane was available for questions privately through one-on-one email. The lessons stay up for the duration of the course and for a certain time period after so you can access them at your own pace.

Every Wednesday Diane initiated a group chat on Gmail where we got to socialize and get to know each other a little, plus ask questions and see questions asked we might not have thought of on our own.

I feel like the course was an incredible value for the kind of information imparted and how well it was presented, but especially for the personal attention the online format afforded.

Now I feel like I understand what it takes to produce a podcast AND I now know what a professional online class experience can be like, I'm sold. Thanks Diane!

Craftopia Craft Show

2011-04-05T17:15:00.004-04:00

THIS SUNDAY!

CRAFTOPIA rings in spring at Hope Artiste Village on April 10

Who: Rhody Craft 100 promotes local artists and crafters through its seasonal store and website. At Rhody Craft 100 everything is 100% handmade, 100% local, and 100% delightful.

What: CRAFTOPIA is a super-duper day of art, craft, food, and fun in the beautifully restored Hope Artiste Village in Pawtucket, RI. Showcasing the unique work of 70+ independent artisans, Craftopia offers an eclectic afternoon of shopping, and celebrating all things local and handmade. Repurposed clothing, impeccably stitched handbags, one-of-a-kind jewelry and accessories join paper arts, fine arts, bath and body products, housewares and a whole lot of fabulosity you just won’t find elsewhere.

Always festive, Craftopia is the perfect way to swing into spring. Admission is just a buck, and kids, of course, are admitted free.

Where: Hope Artiste Village
1005 Main Street, Pawtucket, RI 02860
In the Main Hallway {known locally as the home of the Winter Farmers’ Market}

When: This Sunday, April 10, 2011. 10 AM - 4 PM.

Hope to see you there!

Bookbinding Class with To Boldly Fold

2011-03-22T15:37:00.008-04:00

I recently took a beginner bookbinding workshop with Melissa Chao of To Boldly Fold. It was so much FUN!!

A group of us gathered at her apartment in Watertown one rainy afternoon. Melissa had carefully prepared for our arrival with a neat workstation ready for each of us. Some papers were pre-cut and some were left large so we could learn to hand tear like she does with all her pages.

We learned to make 4 little hand-sewn booklets and a box to store them in!

I thought that was the coolest, and we were all so pleased with our little journals, thinking about how we would fill them, then we found out there was another book to make!

This one was a travel journal. So cool, it was 4 sections of pages sewn into an expanding cover. We had the most fun choosing color papers, map pieces to decorate the book jacket, and little envelopes (which would hold souvenirs) to scatter through the pages.

Melissa was a great teacher, she really knows her bookbinding. Her instructions were clear and the handouts were informative AND cute. It was a great way to spend the afternoon with friends and come away with a new skill and tangible goods as well.

Contact Melissa if you are interested in taking this class!
http://www.toboldlyfold.com/workshops

To Tweet or not to Tweet

2011-02-24T11:39:00.020-05:00

I read this post by Megan Auman on Crafting an MBA and it dovetailed with a post I've been wanting to write on my own blog.

The same way artists ask me if they should Open an Etsy shop, people also ask me if they should use Twitter. And the answer is always subjective. But here is why I use it and what you might consider before deciding if Tweeting is something you'd like to do.

Do you enjoy using technology?
I love the internets! I can't get enough of online everything. I should have a smart phone, but then you'd probably never get me to talk to you again without me saying "OK but first listen to what this person just tweeted!" It's bad enough now with access to a computer and being able to text tweets from my old-school cell phone. My husband is very patient with me.

Do you enjoy being social online?
I used to love the Forums on Etsy, but then I realized they were very repetitive and people got into weird fights and it was a downer so I stopped going there. For me, Twitter is like the forums, but if someone is weird or bums me out, I can unfollow them and I won't see their posts anymore.

Do you have a business?
Having a Twitter account allows you to be a human in real time online. By which I mean that folks who are interested in your work would probably like to know a bit more about you. Since Twitter is a conversation, followers have an opportunity to see a bit of your personality.

I know I have blurred the line between my business persona and my real self on Twitter, and sometimes I worry about appearing unprofessional. But I haven't pulled back behind a locked account or made two separate accounts yet. I guess I am willing to take the risk of alienating some people who might have considered buying from me until they found out I'm a progressive liberal who firmly believes in gay rights and supporting National Public Radio. I guess I just gotta be me!

Does Facebook make you sad?
I know this is not everyone's experience, and a lot of people use both Facebook and Twitter equally, enjoying the variations of both social networking sites. But I am not a fan of Facebook. I don't know why it is, I feel down every time I dip in, so I rarely visit. I claimed a Fan Page, but I never developed it.

When I first joined Facebook I friended everyone who requested it. Then I realized these strangers now had access to pictures of my nieces on the beach, ick! So I whittled my friends list on FB down to people I actually know (or have known online for years and years). I understand what vendors are getting out of the Business Page experience on Facebook; conversations, interaction, exposure to their customers and fans, but I am just not there yet. I'd rather use Twitter and Flickr and blogging to communicate.

Do you want a peer group?
When you work for yourself there's a good chance you will feel isolated at some point. I'm lucky to have my studio at Western Avenue Studios where I have a terrific collection of friends and fellow artists to bounce ideas off of. I get excited about their projects and it's excellent just to have other humans around. But I know you don't all have access to a group of individuals with your same job. Twitter lets you connect with a bunch of other YOUS. You can find out what other people with your job are dealing with, succeeding at, struggling with. And the possible solutions to your own dilemmas. It makes the world smaller and friendlier.

Do you want to get to know people in your own town?
I'm no shrinking violet, but I have met more people in real life by first making contact with them on Twitter than I ever realized I would! People in my own city with whom I might rarely cross paths but who shop at the same stores I do, walk the same streets. And so what if you did pass someone in the stairway of the parking garage? Would you really take the opportunity to get to know them? Certainly not. But because of Twitter, I know that guy in the stairway is actually Ed, he lives one street over from me and his wife likes reading! So I say "Hi Ed!" and he says "Hi Liz!" and we both win at being humans in real life. The local connection is vital. On Twitter we all talk about traffic, weather, what is that parade going by my window right now? It's like the walkie talkies I had as a kid, except back then no-one was out there to answer my 10-4 good buddy.

For all these reasons I use Twitter! I try to be a good twitizen. I don't post link after link to my Etsy shop items, that is so spammy and tedious. I interact with people who talk to me even if I don't follow them. (Except spam-bots which I block). I re-tweet links I think might be of interest to my followers. I try to provide relevant or funny content. I click on people's blog posts when they link to them. I occasionally promote people I admire, we are all out there helping each other is how I see it.

So is Twitter for you? I don't know, try it and see! Tip: I know you need to follow and be followed by some critical number of people (not sure how many) before things get interesting and you don't feel like you are tweeting to an empty room so don't give up right away. And if you follow me, say hi by using an "at reply" (@madeinlowell) so I can get to know who you are. Sometimes I can't keep up with new followers and people get unintentionally lost in the crowd.

Do you use Twitter already? Any unanswered questions? Please add to this discussion!

Cabin fever this Sunday!

2011-02-10T19:43:00.000-05:00

Gifts from the heART!

2011-02-04T11:45:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow, Saturday, February 5th, from noon to five, Western Avenue Studios is hosting First Saturdays Open Studios. I will be there in studio A305!

In addition, thirty of us artists banded together to offer a fun promotion called Gifts from the heART. Pick up a postcard at the entrance to the building and carry it around with you. When you come across a participating studio, gather a heart sticker. When you leave Western Avenue, drop your be-stickered card off in the box outside the loading dock on the second floor of the A Mill to be entered into a drawing!

Collect 10+ hearts and be entered to win a $25 gift certificate. Gather 20+ hearts and be entered to win $50 gift certificate. Get all 30 hearts and enter to win a $75 gift certificate!

I have been replenishing my stocks from the holiday shows and adding new colors of old favorites. Hope to see you!

Year end business recap and looking ahead

2011-01-07T15:50:00.003-05:00

I had a great holiday season! I hope you did too. I had fun with friends and family, also I'm grateful to announce that my business did very well during the gift-buying season.

It started with a wonderful Open Studios at my studio at Western Avenue Studios in Lowell, MA. the first Saturday in December. Mom and dad came, kept me company while folks came in and did their holiday shopping.

Then I participated in Bazaar Bizarre for the second year in a row. That was an honor! I loved seeing all my crafty friends at set-up. They are a peer group I mostly socialize with online only.

After that I did SOWA Holiday Market for the third year in a row. That was also a lot of fun, especially since I got to hang out with Kristin Kelley of SkiingWeaver who was in the booth right next to me! We got a kick out of that since the show organizer had no idea we were friends and had studios right down the hall from one another. Kristin made the beautiful scarf I'm wearing in this photo and she took the picture as well! Thanks K :)

I had an item, the pincushion ring, that sold very well online and it kept me hopping through November and December. I was so stressed at some points trying to make a bunch of these items that I started to worry I had priced them too low. Then I realized, no, they are priced accurately, they just weren't intended for mass production. Like all my items, they take time and care to produce. That is just the way it is.

So I soldiered through, making items all day in my studio then bringing home materials to work from dinner time to bed time. I wasn't able to make as many of my best selling items in the most popular colors as I wanted to and that had me down sometimes. But I am only one person and I don't want any outside help, the point is that I make everything myself!

Also, I remembered that I am not really in this solely for the money, though it is my job and it is a business, if it ceases to be fulfilling then what is the point? So I may not have capitalized as fully on the selling season as I would have liked, but it was still a success!

Now it is the new year and I can concentrate on what is next: I was accepted into Craftland year 'round shop again this year which pleases me greatly! I will make them some new inventory and ship it to Providence, RI post-haste.

I was also accepted into the Cabin Fever show on February 13th, this is their second year holding it but my first year participating, it's in the same Cathedral High School gym in Boston's South End where SOWA Holiday show is held.

A group of us at Western Avenue Studios is putting together a Gifts From the heART promotion for February Open Studios on the 5th where you can win a gift certificate to spend with participating artists! More on that as details become finalized.

I hope you enjoyed your holidays and are also excited for the new year. Here we come 2011, ready or not!

Handmade Holiday Cards

2010-12-09T13:07:00.002-05:00

I usually make our holiday cards but this year I'm really going to enjoy sending cards made by my talented friends:

1} Pressbound

2} HeatherJeany

3} Thimblewinder

4} Zoetropa

Etsy Holiday Gift Guide - Rhode Island

2010-11-29T11:45:00.002-05:00

In the last few years Rhode Island artisans have become some of my greatest internet friends, and because RI is not far from where I live, I sometimes get to see some of these friendly crafters in person at shows! I have my work in the all handmade shop Craftland in Providence and I do very well there. I feel like Rhode Island folks just get me. And I get them too! I highly recommend their gorgeous goods:

à la mode stuff
Seatbelt bags :: home decor :: jewelry & more. Linda makes amazing items with seatbelts, yes, seatbelts. Also industrial jewelry, switch plates and fun jewelry. I have one of her home prints and I love it!

D. S. Brennan Photography
I only know this photographer through her friendly tweets, but I love these images. They cover all my favorite topics: flora, fauna, the ocean!

HeatherJeany
Screenprinted goodies, handmade with love. What can I say about Heather? She is a fabulous person who makes utterly original work! Dell and I buy her cards and bookmarks whenever we see her. And the coffee at her shop is excellent too.

K. O'Brien Jewelry
Contemporary handcrafted jewelry. Kim is someone I met online and am very glad I got to meet in real life. She is so generous and kind, and her jewelry is gorgeous!

Kristin Crane
Books, travel journals and other fun stuff! Kristin is an amazing bookbinder. Her map-covered, hand-bound, blank journals make excellent gifts for travelers and graduates. Plus Kristin is the fun voice of Craftland on Twitter!

Parrott Design Studio
Letterpress wedding & stationery. I've met Sarah in person at shows and I just love her elegant letterpress!

Tanner Glass
FUNctional Objects for Everyday Life. Suzanne is a glassblower! How cool is that? She's also a super nice person I love interacting with online and running into at craft shows :)

Etsy Holiday Gift Guide - Local

2010-11-22T09:00:00.003-05:00

This holiday gift guide features local area (Massachusetts, New Hampshire) artisans I've gotten to know better this year. Please check out their shops for gift giving ideas! (Note: gift to self, always an excellent choice :)

Kerry Hawkins
Kerry takes pictures that capture what's interesting about a particular place at a particular moment. She often photographs a person's hands as they are making something and posts it on her blog, always makes me happy when she chooses me :)

Mimi Kirchner
Mimi's work snuck up on me. I never intended to become interested in art dolls, and I will tell you, I'm still not really. But Mimi's work just mesmerizes me. The details, the materials, the craftsmanship! Her unique take and the characters she chooses to manifest. Wow. You'll see.

Red Staggerwing
Lisa makes beautiful bags that are expertly sewn! I treasure the little card case I got from her.

Stonehouse Studio
Betsy transforms polymer clay in elegant ways. Her work is beautiful and modern.

Stray Notions
Sharon has a whimsical way with textiles I find charming.

To Boldly Fold
I'm just getting to know Melissa, can't wait to see her work in person, I love the finishing touches on her hand bound books; vintage buttons, beach stones.

Vintage by Crystal
Crystal makes charming, vintage-inspired spun cotton decorations which are at once nostalgic and modern, very sweet.

Zuguu
Jen's work is so adorable and her craftsmanship is so expert, I think I need one of her ornaments this year!

Etsy Holiday Gift Guide - Lowell

2010-11-17T16:51:00.018-05:00

I made a list of some excellent local online shop owners I know, they either live in or have a studio in Lowell, Massachusetts. I hope you will check them out for your holiday shopping!

Brick Mill Studio
Intricate and lovely bead crochet by an expert. I have a bead crochet bracelet in my favorite colors and it is so comfortable to wear, I treasure it!

Heather Wang Jewelry
Enamel jewelry and custom pieces, this is her 2010 ornament, I have one and I love it!

The Intuitive Garden
Painstakingly-crafted, original, resin jewelry. I have a HUGE collection of Intuitive Garden earrings that I treasure and wear all the time.

Junk Culture
For the the ultimate in hip eco-giving, buy vintage! Junk Culture has an excellent eye for classy and kitschy home goods.

Lush Beads
Carefully constructed jewelry, this is from her new unisex industrial line made from upcycled computer parts, I think they look excellent!

Skiing Weaver
Handwoven Scarves, wraps, journals. My Skiing Weaver scarf gets a bazillion compliments and is so comfy!

Sweet Lydia's
I don't eat sugar so I am relying on all of you to support this super nice baker! The husband gives her smores an enthusiastic thumbs up and I think they would make any holiday party a hit.

Walk On The Moon
One of a kind & limited edition artisan jewelry, she has an eye for things that sparkle exquisitely!

Making table covers for craft shows

2010-11-08T14:52:00.006-05:00

Recently my good friend Candace asked me to sew her some custom table covers. She bought king-sized cotton sheets, washed them and loaned me her spray bottle. I gathered my sewing machine, iron, pins, measuring tape, straight edge, cutting mat and a rotary cutter.

Some of you may know that I am not an expert sewer, but this was going to be straight lines and I knew the hardest part would be the measuring and cutting. Also the ironing! Never again will I ever try to iron anything without using a spray bottle. What a lifesaver. Candace had tried to get 50%/50% sheets so they wouldn't hold a wrinkle so steadfastly, but that kind wasn't available and time was short so we made do.

I cleared my crafting tables, moved everything to the sides of my studio and pushed the tables together to make a large working surface. I also set up one of Candace's tables to take measurements. I put a plastic drip cloth on the floor to keep the white fabric from getting dirty on the rusty metal floors.

I measured and cut and folded over and pressed and hemmed! The most exciting moment was when the thread pulled out of my machine as I was changing the needle. You see, I've been tying the new thread to the old one for years and pulling it through without learning really how to properly thread my machine. So when it pulled completely out my heart stopped for just a second. Then I got onto the trusty internet and found a threading diagram for my 20 year old sewing machine! Have I mentioned how much I love the internet?

I don't think I handled the inside corners with finesse, but at least the measurements were right!

Candace really loved the covers and her work looks smashing on them!

Should you sell your crafts?

2010-10-19T15:10:00.009-04:00

I have been approached many times by folks who know what I do, which is make things and sell them. They make things and want to know if they should sell them too. They want my advice. What do I tell them? Well, it's a very complex question with many nuances.

I make and sell things full time, but I do not make a full time salary, so I am very lucky to have people in my life who help me to make ends meet. Without them I would have a very different lifestyle. Someday I hope to be able to make enough to be independent, but I have no idea when that time will come. People who have it more together would come up with a five year plan. That's not the kind of person I am.

I sell a little bit in lots of venues; on Etsy, in my studio and at craft shows. I also sell in consignment shops and to other shops through wholesale.

I work every minute of the day and well into the evening 7 days a week. I don't mind. I generally don't get burned out because I love what I do and the tasks are varied; item production, new product development, marketing, bookkeeping, show applications, photographing products and listing them, etc. But I am ALWAYS working. And remember, I do not make a full time salary.

So. Should you sell your well-made thing? I have no idea. Your thing might be the hot new thing, or the best version of that already hot thing, or even just another very good thing. Or your thing might not have a market at all, or a very tiny one.

My life up to starting my Etsy shop: I had about 20 years prior experience making and selling things at craft shows before the popularity and ease of internet shops existed. I worked as a production artist for other small business owners all through the 90s. In the aughts I managed two retail businesses, one of which was a fine crafts gallery.

My life now: I am computer literate. I use and enjoy social media. I can take photos of my products and Photoshop them to look enticing. I have graphic design experience. I stay aware of material, color and motif trends in the current handmade marketplace. I am always paying attention and coming up with new ideas.

I am not trying to sell the most items possible, I am not a factory. So I price my items at what I need to make for it to be worth my time, this often puts me at the high end of the market for many of the things I make. That means I sell fewer things.

Will your item sell on Etsy? I don't know. Etsy is only a venue, it's up to you to bring people to your Etsy shop. Does the thing you make have a market? Research it online. Can you invest the time and perseverance it takes to become more than a needle in a haystack on a site as enormous as Etsy? A place as vast as the internet? Since 2006 I have built an online presence that helps people feel comfortable buying from me. I update frequently enough so that people are reminded that I exist but not so much that I become an overexposed pest.

Etsy is NOT expensive. Would it hurt to try? Maybe it would hurt your feelings if it didn't work out. Would that make you so sad it would take all the joy out of making the thing you love to make? Would you be content with a sale here and there? Only a few people are going to become crafting rockstars. I've been in magazines, books, I went on national TV and though I'm certainly a rockstar to my mom and dad, I am not inundated with orders. What is your idea of success?

Though I would like to sell more than I do now, being inundated with orders is not of paramount importance to me. I want to make beautiful things well. I want to sell them to people who appreciate them. I want people to smile when they see what I made. I want my whimsies to mitigate, just for a moment, the existential angst. As long as I make enough money to keep being able to to do that, I feel successful. Would you work this hard for that goal? Would you work this hard for less?

Should you sell that thing you love to make? I don't know, why don't you try? Here is a good resource to help you get a handle on all the possibilities available to you: The Handmade Marketplace.

Pick the marketing methods that appeal to you and try them. If what you are doing doesn't work, adapt. If it turns out the business of making and selling things is not for you, don't sweat it, now you know. Maybe you just want to enjoy making things without the added pressure of selling them. If you do become inundated with orders, write and let me know, I love a success story :)

Sewing How-To Resources

2010-10-12T12:47:00.002-04:00

When I ran my Stitch magazine giveaway, I asked entrants to suggest a link to a sewing tutorial website they found helpful. I really want to thank everyone for their generosity in sharing their faves! I compiled a list of these great resources below:

U-Handbag

Pattern Review

Merriment Design

Sew, Mama, Sew!

Noodleheads

Maiden Jane

Oh, Fransson!

Amy Butler

Angry Chicken

Anna Maria Horner

Now that I have had a chance to look through all these sites I am going to announce the winner of the bonus round of my giveaway: a free pincushion ring to the person who recommends the site I like the best!

The 4 sites that were the most appealing to me were:

U-Handbag

Sew, Mama, Sew!

Noodleheads

Oh, Fransson!

But the one I think I will make the most projects from is
U-Handbag, so alamodestuff is the winner of the pincushion ring!

Congratulations! I'll be contacting you for your address to send your pincushion ring :) Thanks again to everyone who entered and offered such useful information!

Winner of the Stitch Giveaway!

2010-09-24T10:49:00.006-04:00

Hello! Thank you to everyone who participated in my Stitch magazine giveaway, I really appreciate your kind comments and suggestions for sewing tutorial resources.

To arrive at 18 entrants I culled out my comment, my mom's comment (sorry mom!) and a duplicate comment leaving me with this list:

1. Sonja
2. PoetessWug
3. kcroteau
4. alamodestuff
5. Chrissy Ann Ceramics
6. melissa
7. andrea creates
8. Paputsi
9. Campbell
10. MB by Brigid
11. Jane
12. Marissa
13. Sharon
14. The Sexy Knitter
15. booksNyarn
16. Jean Ashley
17. Renee
18. AniDoll

I then entered the numbers 1-18 into the Random Number Generator on http://www.random.org/ And came up with this result:

Congratulations Marissa! I'll be in touch to get your snail mail address.

Meanwhile I will need some time to look through all the wonderful sewing website suggestions and choose the winner of the pincushion ring so stay tuned.

Thanks again!

Stitch Magazine Giveaway!

2010-09-20T12:07:00.010-04:00

So excited and honored to have my pincushion ring chosen as a wish list item in the Special Fall 2010 issue of Stitch Magazine from Interweave Press!

I am very happy to announce that I have one copy of this fabulous issue of Stitch to give away.

After 20 years owning a sewing machine I am sadly still mostly a novice and I am itching to learn more about sewing, especially small projects like pillows and bags. So here's what you do to enter this magazine giveaway: leave a comment below with a link to your favorite sewing tutorial website/blog or your favorite online sewing project tutorial. That's it! The winner will be chosen randomly from all the entries received.

As a special, separate bonus, I will send a free pincushion ring to the person who points me toward the website or tutorial I find the most helpful and/or inspiring.

The giveaway deadline for entry is Thursday, September 23rd with the winner of the magazine giveaway announced on Friday the 24th.

The winner of the pincushion ring will be announced after I have had a chance to look at all the links.

Please remember to include a way for me to contact you if you are the winner and good luck!

Podcast Recommendation of the Week - Number 5

2010-09-07T09:42:00.004-04:00

Here's a quickie podcast recommendation for a short week:

Planet Money!

I love Planet Money on NPR. This team of reporters investigates the economy, economics, and economists then reports back in an entertaining and easy to understand format. Recommended if you like Marketplace and want to know more about what economic terms like Collateralized Debt Obligation mean. They go deeper into what actually happened during the recent economic meltdown by talking with economists of all opinions.

I got so interested in economics after listening to this podcast that I tried listening to other economics podcasts but, um, no. The Planet Money team is doing something special. The segments are usually short, about 20 minutes, which makes for a nice little bite of a podcast.

Cheers!

You will find the previous entries in this series in a list on the right.

Mom Painting

2010-09-01T16:58:00.006-04:00

I ran across this video I shot of my Mom painting which is from 2007. I found it among files transferred off the hard drive of my mom's old fried laptop. And here's what my Mom was working on! Beautiful Mom, just beautiful!

Podcast Recommendation of the Week - Number 4

2010-08-30T08:44:00.004-04:00

Podcasts are great for listening to a show I missed during the day, or a show that's not available on the radio. But to keep up with current events I daily listen to radio live-streaming on the internet. That is quite possibly my favorite perk of this amazing technology age. All day long at my studio I tune in to different NPR stations through my computer, stations too far away to pick up through my humble radio antenna.

While I get ready in the morning I do listen to one of three local NPR stations I can tune in on the tape-to-tape AM/FM boom box I bought back in college. I am lucky to be within range of New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR), Boston College Public Radio (WBUR) and the Grandmama of them all, WGBH. (Which I know stands for Great Blue Hill because my dad always pointed out the actual hill as we drove past it when I was a kid).

At my studio the radio reception is terrible so I turn on my PC and boot up Windows Media Center where I have my favorite stations bookmarked.

In the mornings I love Morning Edition, news and culture for several hours.

From 10 AM to 12 noon I love listening to WAMU's The Diane Rehm Show. Diane talks with pundits about politics, experts about issues, and authors about books. It's also a call-in show so she takes questions from the audience. She is very smart and engaged. Don't let her voice throw you. She has a tremulous tone due to a paralyzed vocal chord, but she will certainly grow on you if you give her a chance. I especially recommend her lively Friday News Roundup.

If Diane isn't covering a topic I'm interested in, I'll turn to energetic and engaged Tom Ashbrook with WBUR's On Point, a similar format show. both Tom and Diane are great at coaxing callers to get to the point.

At noon I like Here and Now an hour long program also from WBUR. This show covers national stories a bit more in-depth with longer interviews and also goes a bit off the beaten path sometimes to find interesting musicians and such.

At 1 o'clock, I hate to miss Fresh Air with Terry Gross. Fresh Air is an hour long interview program that covers news and culture in a thoughtful entertaining way. The topics can be silly or serious. Always excellent. This is the kind of show that gets me interested in a person or topic even if I'm absolutely sure I don't care.

2 pm is Talk of the Nation. It's actually on from 2-4 but my local stations have dropped the second hour so I turned to the NPR Broadcast Schedule linked from the show page to locate WNJN in New Jersey which plays both hours. Isn't that cool?

At 4 it's time for the venerable evening news program All Things Considered. Just hearing the iconic theme song is enough to make me feel all is right with the world even if the news they are about to tell me proves my feelings wrong.

By the time Marketplace comes on at 6 or 6:30 I am usually back home cooking dinner. I love listening to the day's economics news in this half-hour, easy-to-comprehend format.

So now you know the extent of my NPR addiction. But I am not ashamed! NPR keeps me entertained, informed and sane. Invite me to your cocktail party, I know at least a little bit about everything going on in the world. :)

Summer Vacation

2010-08-21T21:42:00.004-04:00

Podcast Recommendation of the Week - Number 3

2010-08-09T08:28:00.002-04:00

I started a new series recommending the podcasts I enjoy listening to while crafting. You can find the growing links list on the right hand sidebar.

*Please note you don't need an iPod to listen to these programs, they are available on the websites I link to and can be listened to through any MP3 player or right on your computer.*

I grew up listening to Car Talk on NPR, it was part of my childhood weekend. Mom prepared lunch, dad tinkered in the basement, and I sat at the kitchen table drawing while we all listened to the goofy Magliozzi brothers laugh at their own terrible jokes and try to answer real questions about car repair.

I lived in Tennessee in my twenties. I was surprised to find a co-worker who thought Tom and Ray were stupid and childish who just laughed at their own stupid jokes. I thought, "Yeah, so what?" That's part of the charm of these intelligent Cambridge guys; their self deprecation, infectious laughter and recurring inside jokes you don't really need to get.

Plus they really do answer questions about cars and car repairs! And relationships strained by disagreement over car issues.

If you already listen, I'm preaching to the choir, but if you haven't tried it yet, I hope you enjoy getting to know this silly, relaxed show. (If, however, you agree with my TN coworker then please, let us never speak of this again.)

Podcast Recommendation of the Week - Number 2

2010-08-02T08:50:00.004-04:00

Last week I started a new series recommending the podcasts I enjoy listening to while crafting.

*Please note you don't need an iPod to listen to these programs, they are available on the websites I link to and can be listened to through any MP3 player or right on your computer.*

I'm going in the order in which they appear on my iTunes and 2 short podcasts from The New Yorker are next. Sometimes I don't want or need an hour's worth of distraction so I like having some shorter listening options.

The New Yorker offers a great collection of free podcasts.

I listen to two, the first one is The Political Scene which is usually short, about 15 minutes, and features "A weekly discussion about developments in Washington, hosted by The New Yorker’s executive editor, Dorothy Wickenden, and featuring the magazine’s Washington correspondent, Ryan Lizza, and other contributors."

I'm interested in politics so I like it because of the subject matter, also I'm a progressive liberal and I'm pretty sure these folks are too. It's casual and cogent, the speakers are knowledgeable but not inscrutable.

The second New Yorker podcast I listen to is Out Loud which is a weekly conversation with a writer about a feature in the magazine that week, the topics vary widely but are almost always interesting. I don't have time to read The New Yorker so I listen to this short (about 15 minutes) podcast and if the story they discuss intrigues me I'll go search it out online or in print to learn more about the subject. It always amazes me how in-depth the New Yorker writers get on their subjects. Really refreshing in this day of headlines and soundbites.

See you next week!

Podcast Recommendation of the Week - Number 1

2010-07-25T22:25:00.000-04:00

I make things all day long, sometimes into the night. My crafts are labor intensive, also occasionally tiny, painstaking, and always repetitive. I need to listen to something while I'm creating or I'm left alone with my own thoughts and, well, no thank you. Years ago I used to put a TV on while I worked but the temptation to glance up was irresistible and it became distracting. I've always loved radio and since I found podcasts, I don't even watch TV just to relax anymore, I'm hooked on sound! I make my own pictures in my mind.

My default listening experience of choice is live streaming NPR over my computer. I'm a proud NPR junkie and I love knowing what's going on right now. I'm supremely lucky to live within radio range of three excellent NPR stations, but I have at least 6 different stations bookmarked on my computer so I can jump around from town to town along the northeast and listen to my favorite shows at the most convenient times regardless of where they are broadcasting from.

When the shows are not to my taste or they start repeating I listen to the podcasts I've downloaded from the internet and stored on my computer and also transferred to my little orange iPod.

I know a lot of artists listen while they work, some to music, some to audio books, some to TV and movies. Once they burn through all those episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer they have to find something new! I mentioned on Twitter that I have 250 podcasts waiting to be listened to and people wanted to know WHAT IS ON THERE??

And it came up again recently at one of Mimi's crafty meet-ups, what do you listen to while you make?

So I decided to make a list, telling you once a week about a podcast I like and what it's about. Then you can decide if it's something that would entertain you as well. I hope you find some great new listening!

Bob Edwards Weekend
I decided to go alphabetically so I wouldn't get confused. The first entry is Bob Edwards Weekend. Bob Edwards is the smokey-voiced former host of Morning Edition on NPR. It crushed me when they let him go (though I have to admit, I love the new hosts) so I was very excited to find his show available as a podcast. On it he interviews actors, authors, singers and musicians.

Bob Edwards has an excellent way of letting the interviewee get their thoughts out without interruption, and he's obviously listening to their answers because he follows up and laughs and interacts in a very satisfying way. He's one of those interviewers that, like Terry Gross, can make me interested in a subject matter or person I wouldn't have thought I would care about.

The show is presented as two one-hour segments and it always features a classic clip from the This I Believe series started by Edward R. Murrow in the 1950s, including the context of the clip, which is so interesting I think.

I like listening to this podcast on weekend mornings with a cup of hot beverage and a slow-paced project in my lap.

Granny Square Pillow Cover

2010-07-19T16:31:00.008-04:00

I have been so eager to make pillows! I have had this excitement for years now. I've bought pillow-making books, read tutorial after tutorial and finally took the plunge with this cotton granny square I had crocheted last year. I made the front about 12 inches across.

I matched the stitch count for the back and crocheted two panels which overlapped about 3 or 4 rows. On the second-to-last row of the top panel, I used double crochet stitch to act as button holes, then finished with a row of single crochet.

I had originally crocheted the front piece to the back pieces with right sides facing and then turned it right side out. But I didn't love it so I took it apart and re-crocheted it with wrong sides together, when I did that the crochet edge appeared like piping. Now I love it! Plus it was easier to see where I needed to catch loops at the places where I had to stitch through 3 layers.

I sorted through my vintage button collection and picked out coordinating but all different-patterned white plastic buttons. I sewed them on about 2-3 crochet stitches apart along the back seam.

I went to the fabric shop to buy a 12" square pillow insert but all they had was 14" so I bought it. I made sure to pick one with a nice fabric shell because it is visible through the front granny square of the pillow cover. The pillow insert turned out to be just the right size! The cover stretched over it nicely.

*happy sigh*

Will be making many more of this kind of pillow and others too! I knew I would love it and now that I've started, I cannot be stopped :)

Editing Product Photos

2010-06-21T12:39:00.028-04:00

Disclaimer:

Hello, my name is Liz Smith and I am an amateur photo editor. I have taken tips and tricks from many sources over many years to put together the method of photo editing that works best for me. I make no claims that this is the best way, the only way, or even the right way. But it's my way and it's my hope that maybe something I mention will help you get the effect you want in your own product shots.

OK here's my version of photo editing:

An online shop is only as effective as its photographs. Good product photography will always be your best marketing tool. I don't have a fancy camera, I use an older model Kodak Easyshare, so I try to make my photos shine with Photoshop. I'm using an older version of PS, CS3. This information will be most helpful to you if you have at least a little experience using Photoshop.

I have a shelf near a window where I put down some white paper and capture the natural light on my subject, which today is a little felted wool pincushion. I set up an object to be in the background and give the photo some depth, in this case a stack of folded linen fabric.

(UPDATE: I'm sure you already know to set your point and shoot to the tulip setting which is Macro for taking close-up shots.) I take a bunch of shots from slightly different angles keeping in mind my final composition will be square. I try not to take 30 shots because I don't want to have to sort through 30 pictures later, I will probably take 5-10. Here's the one I'll edit today:

I open the picture in Photoshop and use the crop tool to make my favorite size for Etsy listings, 8 inches x 8 inches at 125 DPI. This makes it so when my customer clicks on the picture it will become larger and give them a chance to take a good, close look while the picture remains within Etsy's size parameters.

I make a copy of this layer so I can work on the copy without ruining the original picture. When I use layers, if I don't like how the adjustments I've made look and it's too much to undo undo undo, I can discard the whole layer, make a new one and start again.

Sometimes I mix it up, but usually the next thing I do is adjust the color. I like my images to look a little golden so I boost the red and yellow.

After each successful adjustment I make, I flatten the layers and make another copy.

My photos always seem to come out of the camera with a grayish cast so another adjustment I make is brightness and contrast.

Sometimes I will raise the brightness while reducing the contrast so details are not lost, then flatten, make a new layer and heighten the contrast as a separate step.

If I over brighten, the details can get blown out. Sometimes I will brighten an image and then use the eraser tool on the blown out highlights so the darker version from below shows through. You can adjust the strength of the eraser tool to slightly erase portions of the top layer or full strength to fully erase.

I also use this erase-parts-of-the-top-layer thing to create the illusion of depth of field. If I had a single lens reflex camera with which I could manually adjust the focus, I could make my object clear while letting the background blur out. I love that look. I fake it using layers, Gaussian blur and erasing.

I make a layer copy and apply Gaussian blur, adjusted to the level that works best for this photo, concentrating on how the background looks.

Then I start erasing the object I want to remain clear on the top layer. I'm terrible at using selection tools so I just carefully erase using the eraser tool.

I sometimes hide the bottom layer for a minute and see where I'm erasing.

I enlarge the image (Ctrl +) and adjust the eraser size (right click) to work on the small details

I used to go to Levels first thing when I edited an image, and sometimes I still do. But I found I prefer to use color balance and Brightness/Contrast first which to me, feel like more nuanced adjustments. Levels is a great tool to add a sharp bit of brightness and contrast so if the picture still lacks that eye-catching zing I like to see, I'll touch up the levels a bit.

I didn't illustrate its use here, but another tool I love is the Clone Stamp. You can clone out little bits of lint and dirt, or use it at a reduced opacity to clone out weird blown-out highlights and such. I also use it to clean up and straighten the horizon line in the background.

Here is the final picture I will use in my Etsy listing:

That's my quirky little version of photo editing for product shots. Thanks to all the kind and generous people who have shown me the different things I can do with Photoshop which have become invaluable in running my online business.

UPDATE: Here's a link to Julie's response tutorial on using masks and layers!

What I've been working on

2010-06-03T17:24:00.003-04:00

These things:

Crafting outside my comfort zone

2010-05-18T10:43:00.016-04:00

So I am old enough at this point, and I know myself well enough, not to take custom orders for items I am not already making. Please know, I love to customize the colors or size of an existing product to suit a buyer's request, no problem! But after years of regretting taking on projects outside my purview or skill set or even interest level, I have perfected the polite refusal. Except once in a while something slips past my carefully guarded perimeter and I find myself in over my head, avoiding a sure pay-day in the form of a custom request I have no idea if I can complete. This project was one of those clever monsters.

Years ago I had an idea to full old wool sweaters, cut them into squares and needle felt them together at the joins to form a scarf. No sewing! I made exactly two of these scarves before I realized that the labor involved in the needle felting alone was going to make a finished piece so costly, the market wouldn't bear it (still mortified at how much I had to charge a friend who requested one).

While I was still deciding this, I had the prototype scarf on display in my studio. A local guy saw it and loved it, especially the piece I showed him on the scarf that was cashmere, mmm, soft. He volunteered that he had some old cashmere sweaters that he would love to give me for crafty pursuits. Hell yes I said!

Probably a year passed before the gentleman showed up at October Open Studios with two gorgeous but stained or punctured cashmere sweaters. Somehow, I'm not sure what happened, by the time he left I was consigned to making him a scarf with them. Oops.

Not only had I discovered by then that I didn't think the needle felting project was a good idea, I also learned that while cashmere turns soft and lovely once washed and dried in machines, it does not full or felt. I realized I would be sewing this scarf together and my sewing knowledge is only basic to be sure. We hadn't discussed design, price, anything. A custom order specifics FAIL.

It was almost the holiday show season and I had to put the project aside to concentrate on getting ready for shows. Come January though, the project was still waiting for me so I started thinking about it again.

Fortuitously, soon after I started designing the scarf in my head, I found myself at a crafty meet-up with the brilliant human-wiki-of-wool-sewing, Mimi Kirchner. I asked her a few questions about sewing cashmere into scarves and she generously showed me (on the handmade cashmere sweater scrap scarf she happened to be wearing!!) how she made the seams and edged the finished scarf. I knew I had my information and there was no more putting off the task.

Here's a drawing I made of the seam Mimi described to me:

I laid out the sweaters and, heart pounding, cut them apart with a rotary trimmer and a straight edge.

Until I had a nice stack of pieces.

I figured out the tension needed on my machine to make the stitches work and started piecing squares together.

After I sewed the flat seams I trimmed the excess, the cut edge side would be the front.

I figured I would do a test run with smaller scraps, but the block turned out so well I decided to use it as the beginning piece.

I sewed all the seams as Mimi had shown me, and the piece started to come together. It was looking really sharp and I started to think I might be pulling this stunt off.

However, when it came time to edge the scarf I ran into big problems. My Singer loved sewing two and three thicknesses of cashmere together but doing a binding seam on the single layer at the edge was not working out. The tension was wrong and no matter what I tried the edge looked terrible. I found out later from a helpful sewer that my difficulty was probably from using a dull needle in the machine. But while still muddling along I tried at least three different edging methods, eventually tearing them all out.

Sitting with a pile of ragged threads and an almost finished scarf in my lap, I decided to hand sew a blanket stitch along the edge. At this point, I knew the labor I had put into it was well beyond what the finished product would be worth, I was working for free now. I just wanted to give my customer a finished piece he would love and that I could be proud of. I started the blanket stitch by hand but I didn't like the irregularity of it. It had a folksy quality I didn't think went with the sleek, DIY hipster vibe the scarf had going for it so far.

That's when I had my light bulb moment. I ran over to Lush Beads across the hall and bought the tiniest crochet hook Liz had which is normally used for bead crochet. The hook was so small and pointy I could easily push it through the cashmere. I tried it and it worked so I ended up crocheting the entire edge of the scarf!

Yes it took forever, but man I love crocheting and I enjoyed the work. Because I crochet much more than I hand sew, I was able to make the stitches very uniform and neat, also loose enough so the edge didn't ruffle and remained manly.

I finished the scarf and fondled it triumphantly. I was proud of it, I was pretty sure he was going to love it, and after weeks of agony, I had solved a puzzle that threatened to defeat me. At the same time I discovered that I love crocheting into cashmere or wool, a technique I am incorporating into new products right now.

It was February when I emailed my customer who showed up at the very next Open Studios. Months after dropping off his cashmere, he was worried too! He told me later he had decided that if he didn't like what I had come up with he was going to tell me no harm, no foul, keep the scarf and the sweater scraps and it was worth a try, no hard feelings.

But he LOVED it! And it looked great on him. Success! I would end this story with a vow of never again, but I have to go finish a drawing I promised someone. Even though I don't normally do custom portraits. Yeah, I know.

The book giveaway winner is...

2010-04-30T12:23:00.004-04:00

Comment #22 who turns out to be: Lesley of Smidgebox!

Congratulations! And thank you to everyone who entered, I truly appreciate you taking the time to read my blog post and I loved reading all your wonderful comments. I hope you will find a way to check out Kari's book soon. It's a great resource, like having a friend in your book bag who knows all about running your crafty business :)

The Handmade Marketplace Book Giveaway!

2010-04-26T08:40:00.009-04:00

When I first opened my shop on Etsy in 2006, a kind person name Kari Chapin contacted me. She was a crafter living in Massachusetts and was eager to meet other like-minded folk. It's hard to believe now with Twitter and Flickr and Facebook connecting us all, but at the beginning we were all isolated crafters hungry for interaction with others like us. Little did I know that connection with Kari would have such an impact on my creative life and business!

This year she published a fantastic book! It's called The Handmade Marketplace. It's an inclusive guide to selling your crafts locally, globally and online. While she was writing it, Kari contacted a diverse group of crafters, bloggers, podcasters, etc. and dubbed them her Creative Collective. I am very honored to be included in this group! The advice from the Collective is sprinkled throughout the book in friendly conversation blocks. This style makes the information accessible and not daunting as the whole subject can sometimes feel.

Dell took me to Barnes & Noble to see it when the book got published:

It was incredibly exciting to see a book with my friend's name on the jacket!

The whole book stands out to me for its attractive layout and friendly tone. Taking the step to sell what you love making can be very intimidating! It feels like there's so much to learn and so many people who are already ahead of you in the game. I think if you read this book you will discover that it is all within your reach. This book is like a friendly mentor taking your hand, giving you important information about running a business while encouraging you to follow your dreams. This makes sense because that mentor is exactly who Kari Chapin is!

Kari selected four members of her Collective to participate in a panel discussion that Etsy hosted at its Brooklyn headquarters on April 1st, 2010. I got to spend a day with Kari and meet other creatives with whom I instantly bonded.

From left to right: Jennifer Judd-McGee, Betsy Cross, Kari, me, and Kim Werker.

We had a good crowd in-house and the discussion was beamed out onto the internets where my husband was able to watch from home and snap this screen shot:

I didn't notice until just now that because it was April Fool's Day, Etsy changed their name to "Esty" (a common mispronunciation) in their banner as a joke, ha! I'm still laughing at the waffles April Fool's gag they did years ago.

Anyway, being in this book has singled me out as a resource, which I love. I'm so grateful I am able to help newbie crafter/sellers get their footing and figure out what's essential to getting their business going. I loved participating in the panel and hearing what people are trying to learn about running a craft business. I am still learning too! The most important thing, in my opinion, is gathering around you a community of like-minded crafters. Just like Kari did 3 1/2 years ago. Thanks Kari ♥

NOW, the Giveaway! Leave a comment on this blog, whatever moves you; advice, questions, your favorite color cupcake pincushion, anything. Just be sure the comment either links back to you or includes contact info so I can let you know if you are the winner.

I will close commenting on April 30th at noon and use a random number generator to pick one lucky person who will receive a free copy of The Handmade Marketplace! Good luck :)

Blowing Out An Eggshell - Free Tutorial

2010-04-23T12:31:00.007-04:00

After my appearance on The Martha Stewart Show I got a lot of questions about how to empty an eggshell. There is more than one method. For example I know the show page suggests using a plastic device made by Blas-Fix designed especially for this. I have never tried it. I have my own quirky method that I have been using for years and years. It works for me and I am not likely to change my ways now! I find that my method keeps the shell from cracking while I am smoothing out the seams between poly clay pieces applied to the surface. If you are curious how I do it, please read on:

1. Purchase pretty eggs at the store. I really do pick my eggs by shape at the grocery!

2. Once I have them home I choose the most pleasingly shaped eggs from the carton and leave them out for an hour or so to warm up a bit. Warmer eggs are much easier to blow out than cold ones.

3. I use this salt and pepper drill from Kemper Tools . This drill has two sizes of drill bits. Using the smaller bit, drill a hole at the top of the egg. You may have to use some pressure to get the drill started but try not to punch a hole all the way through, twist the drill to create the hole.

TIP: Hold the egg up and twist it back and forth a little while positioning the drill to find the true center at the top.

The drill creates a perfectly round hole. It is my theory that having the hole be perfectly round helps the shell maintain its integrity therefore making it less susceptible to cracking later on. In fact if I do crack an egg, it is usually while drilling the hole. In the 15 or 20 years I have been making poly clay eggs I have cracked no more than 4 shells while applying the clay.

4. Using the other end of the Kemper tool, drill a larger hole in the bottom of the egg.

5. Poke a wire (this is an unfolded paper clip) inside to break the membrane around the yolk.

6. Blow! I used to play trumpet so I may have an advantage :) I know it's better not to puff your cheeks out or you will get that soreness up around your ears. You don't have to get all the egg out in one breath. The membrane will probably get caught up in the hole and plug it. You can stop, tilt the egg sideways to clear the blockage, wipe the top hole with a paper towel and continue or...

...if the membrane is already coming out the bottom hole you may have to pinch it and pull it out by hand.

7. Once the shell is empty, under running water, gently twist the drill bit in and out of the holes to clear away any membrane from blocking the holes which would trap water inside and prevent the shell from drying out properly

8. Plug the bottom hole with your finger and run a tiny bead of water into the shell. Shake the water around for a bit to clean it out. Blow the water out and dry the shell with a paper towel.

9. Dry the shells for a few days in an egg carton. Any water trapped in an eggshell will ruin your poly clay application.

That's it! Cheers :)

My Experience on The Martha Stewart Show

2010-03-28T10:05:00.006-04:00

I went on The Martha Stewart Show! Here is a link to my segment on making polymer clay covered eggs:
Liz Smith on The Martha Stewart Show, March 24, 2010

The experience was completely overwhelming so instead of flooding you with random ramblings, I will try to answer some FAQ I have been getting, and please let me know if you have more Q after, I will do my best to answer!

(For another point of view, check out my husband's blog post.)

Q: How did this happen? How did they find you? Did they contact you or did you contact them?

A: They contacted me through Etsy. The producers at The Martha Stewart Show [TMSS] know about Etsy; apparently Martha loves technology plus craft. They look at Etsy for crafters, who knew? I was told by the producer who contacted me that she saw my shop and liked my eggs, then she saw my name again, in Kari Chapin's book, The Handmade Marketplace (I am part of Kari's "Creative Collective"). Seeing my name in the book made the producer feel confident to contact me, I was bona fide. (A thousand thank yous, Kari!!)

I was asked to submit a video and a written how-to for the polymer clay covered eggs I've been making for 15 or 20 years. I devised a design for the egg that was straight forward that I thought I could teach quickly and would make the average person feel confident enough to try it.

Once the producer, Noel, saw the video I submitted, she asked for samples of completed eggs, which I sent to her.

I only waited a day while they decided whether or not this would work for their show and lucky for me, they said yes! The whole process from start to air date took one month.

Q: Where did you have to go?

A: TMSS is filmed in New York! We drove there, 4 1/2 hours in a downpour at night, flooded roads, wow. That was awful. Dell, my husband, was heroic! We made it there safely and stayed at a Holiday Inn in Manhattan. Everyone at the hotel was super nice and professional and we had an amazing 20th floor view of the Empire State Building.

Q: Did you rehearse?

A: I spent two days with TMSS. Day one was prep, day two was the show. They have an AMAZING craft room where professional crafters/set designers work on crafts for the show. I worked with Kirsten, who was incredibly nice and patient. We had to figure out which steps would be the ones we did on camera and which ones would be "swap outs" (completed steps we could jump to). I cannot say enough nice things about TMSS crafters, wow, talented, friendly and down to earth. They were so kind to me, I really appreciated it.

I loved discovering that everyone there was genuinely interested in crafts. They really wanted to know how I made the eggs. They loved seeing the process and I think some of them are going to try the project themselves!

BTW, I brought all the craft supplies I would need for the segment with me.

The second day was rehearsal and show. The project was moved over to the set for me, which is in a different building across the street.

The set was decorated beautifully! (That was my egg tree they used). Chip and Kirsten (and others, I'm sure) created that Easter wonderland you see on camera. Gorgeous! Kirsten made sure the work area was set up exactly how we'd need it. She took care of details like seeing that the pasta machines were attached to the tables correctly, that we used anti-glare work surfaces, and that the plexi would stay put when we worked on it. Details like that were crucial in making this work.

I rehearsed with Lenore, my segment producer, she stood in for Martha and went over the steps with me. First I went through the moves for the cameras so they knew what to expect when we filmed later that morning.

I don't know how they do it, those camera people are pros because it's all live and sorta unpredictable. After the cameras moved on to rehearse another segment in the kitchen, Lenore stayed behind with me and we went over the steps again. I would have loved to go through the steps a thousand times, but time was short and makeup wasn't done with me yet.

As an added bonus of awesomeness, the art department had seen my mom's watercolor cards in my Etsy shop and asked for some to decorate the set!! I was so focused on my tasks there, I didn't even notice they had hung them on the wall of the craft set until we looked at Dell's pictures.

Q: Uh huh, that's interesting, wait, it's LIVE??

A: Yes. It's shot live and you get one chance to do it right.

Q: So they dress you? Do hair and makeup?

A: They told me to wear what I wanted as long as it was appropriate and colorful, no stripes or patterns. They did do my hair and makeup and wow, I wish I could experience that again, it was so much fun!! I started to feel like a princess.

A very nice guy, Jim, steamed my shirt while nice ladies preened me, wow. The makeup lady cleaned up my eyebrows. She was like, "Is it OK if I do this?" I was like "What?? A professional New York TV makeup artist wants to do my brows? YES!!" The producers said I was lucky, everyone wants their brows done but there's never any time because all the people who are going on the show go through that chair and she is constantly busy with makeup and touch-ups.

Mary was the woman who miked me. She was kind enough to put the battery pack up high on the back of my bra instead of inside the back of my pants so I could continue to use the bathroom every 15 minutes like I had been doing all morning.

Q: Were you nervous?

A: I was so freaked out the night before, I woke up at 4 in the morning. I became more and more terrified as air time approached. I had a strong fight-or-flight response with emphasis on the flight part and poor Dell had to witness it. At one point in the green room I was mumbling "I don't think this is for me, I don't think I am suited for this..." He grabbed both my hands and said "I know it's scary." And just held my hands. Man I love him! While we were in this standing-double-hand-hold, someone peeked their head into the room and ducked out quickly. We realized they must have thought we were having a moment of prayer which cracked us up and broke the tension.

Q: What was it like to actually be on the show?

A: Joel, a guy with a headset and clipboard plus a warm friendly smile and easy laugh, came to get me to go on set. The sweet woman who did my hair followed me all the way to the stage door trying desperately to tame my cowlick seconds before I went onstage.

The giant stage door opened and Joel guided me across a writhing maze of camera cables between the audience and the backs of the cameras. As I quickly walked through I glanced up at the elevated audience of smiling (mostly) women in bright colored clothes, it was a pretty sight under the super bright lights.

This is how far away the regular audience sat:

Joel put me in position behind the craft table and I locked eyes with Dell, whom they had placed in the VIP seats right in front of me, about 15 or 20 feet away. That made me calm and gave me strength.

I was only there a few seconds before someone counted down and Martha came over, greeted me and we were off! She started reading the teleprompter and I tried to keep smiling at her.

Q: What's Martha like?

A: I have no idea! I spent as much time with her as you see in the clip. All I know is she is a PRO and she is fearless and I don't know how she does that every day. I find it very charming that she just barrels forward no matter what happens. That is a great skill.

I also want to mention how I think she made it OK for women to be strong in business and still like crafting. We don't have to give up our love of creating to be savvy entrepeneurs. And look at this crafting community! We are all doing both and being taken seriously. I love it.

Q: Did it go really fast?

A: It was like being pushed to the edge of a superhighway with cars zipping by at 80 miles an hour and they tell you, "Cross the road! Don't worry, you've crossed a road a million times before, go ahead, you'll do great! Oh, and we're timing you." Hahaha! Wow. It happened really fast. Luckily only one person got injured.

My producer, Lenore, was flashing cards I could see just out of the corner of my eye that told me how many minutes were left in the bit and maybe a keyword that told me where I needed to get to fast, for example to the last part of the segment, go go go! Meanwhile Martha was off on her own adventure, ha!

The most important skills I needed were to be able to talk and "do" at the same time, which I was OK at but also to point at things so the camera could focus on them instead of picking them up which I still need to work on :)

Then it was over! Several people came to give Martha bandaids and she asked to keep an egg. I gave her the finished version of the one she was working on in "Martha green". A professional photographer took a shot of us together and I was whisked offstage.

Lenore said I did a great job, which I was thrilled to hear, I had NO IDEA how it looked to the audience. I asked her if it "made good TV" and she said yes, so I felt like I did her proud. I wanted her to feel she made a good choice picking me to craft on the show. The crafters I met the day before also said it went well and I really appreciated them taking the time to tell me that.

Q: Did you get any swag?

A: I did! A bag full of Martha's new cleaning supplies. Being chemically sensitive, I was hopeful they wouldn't make me allergic, and they don't! I put the liquid soap in the ladies room at Western Avenue Studios and when it runs out, I think I will get more.

For being in the audience, Dell got a cookbook and the free pasta machine and polymer clay the show had wrangled for the attendees. Do you think he'll mind if I snag the craft supplies?

Q: Did you get to meet Rob Corddry?

A: Nope, but I was in the hall when he went flying by after his segment ended. He was saying something like "That was actually a lot of fun!"

Q: What did you do after taping finished?

A: They packed up all my stuff for me and we went to get our car which was buried in a subterranean parking garage two blocks away. Then we drove into Manhattan noon traffic. Wow. Can I mention Dell's heroic driving again? OK, then yes, the man was fantastic! In New York, it seems to me like the pedestrians and the cars are different types of cells all flowing in the same veins, curling around each other in narrow chutes. It's kind of amazing and completely cringe-inducing at the same time. I thought for sure I was going to witness grisly carnage many times per block, but no accidents happened while I was looking.

I called my mom from the gridlock, then we busted loose from the grip of the city and drove straight home. I think I exhaled in Connecticut.

******

I would like to take a moment to express my complete gratitude for the outpouring of support and encouragement I have received during this whole surreal experience. You all have been so gracious, so kind, so excited for me, I am completely humbled and honored. Thank you.

Photo by Liz of Lush Beads

I wanted to do that show more than anything I've wanted in a long time. And it was harder than anything I've ever done in my life. I'm so grateful I had the chance to do it and for all the people at the show who helped me look good for 7 minutes. So much work goes into those 7 minutes, it's pretty incredible.

I am so glad I did it and I am so glad to be back home with my cat and my pajamas. Back in Lowell where I can go to my studio every day and see my good friends, talented artists all. My studio where I can make my little felty things and build up my inventory and complete custom orders and interact with my online crafting community. I live a peaceful, mostly uncomplicated life of making things and selling them, then going home and cooking my husband dinner. A lot of people helped get me here. It's exactly what I want and I couldn't be more lucky. Thank you.

I'm going on The Martha Stewart Show!

2010-03-19T11:05:00.006-04:00

I know, it's sorta insane, right? But producers at The Martha Stewart Show asked me to come on and show Martha how I make my polymer clay eggs, so here I go!

The show will be on Wednesday, March 24th. It's syndicated instead of being on any one network, so check your local listings.

*faints*

BTW, they also asked for mom's cards to decorate the set for spring! They requested Chickens and Iris, go mom!

Hi there :)

2010-02-25T11:56:00.001-05:00

Quick test of the emergency polymer claying system :)

2010-02-25T10:08:00.006-05:00

This is only a test. Were this a real demo there would be more information given on how to make a polymer clay egg! Thank you :)

(BTW that last word is bake! It's ready to bake!!)

New new new!

2010-02-12T16:34:00.006-05:00

Before I even made it through my post holiday To Do list, a flurry of new product development burst through. I couldn't repress it any more!

I've been crocheting tiny things. At night in front of the glowing computer monitor, while reading tweets and listening to podcasts, I've been making tiny intricate things that became other tiny intricate things you can wear:

And today I could no longer wait to try making a completely silly cupcake pincushion ring:

I made another cup cozy in a new color too:

I cannot be stopped! Apparently. We now return you to my regularly scheduled To Do list. Ahem.

What's New

2010-01-19T15:16:00.007-05:00

I bought these things:

The garlands kit is by my Twitter contact PlanetJune, I've been so interested in making paper garlands lately and here was this kit! The bags book is just something I'm excited about trying right now. Nothing gets me more invigorated about creating than looking at pretty pictures of handmade objects and perusing tutorials.

And I'm making these:

Those will be nest pins, coffee cuffs and little felty heart pins. I'm so grateful I did well this past holiday season, but now I have no inventory! *make make make*

I became a year 'round vendor at Craftland (yay!) and I spent the first two weeks of January making this lot to send them:

Now I am working on all the little projects I put off until "after the holidays". Everyone has been so patient with me and I will get them all completed eventually!

2010, I'm Ready For You!

2010-01-01T18:29:00.006-05:00

Happy new year! What are your plans for the next twelve months? I look forward to expanding my business, Made in Lowell. I have so much on my to do list already and it's only 01/01/10! I love being this busy and I can't imagine having nothing on my plate. Though I'm sure I would fill any lull with crafty activities as my kind-hearted inlaws witnessed whilst I knitted throughout a whole day of holiday festivities :)

In a scenario the crafty among us will recognize, it was in October that I was besieged with orginal new product ideas I wanted to develop. Which, of course, is terrible timing for new product development as autumn is when we all switch into high production for holiday sales. I suspect the fact that we are unable to develop this avalanche of ideas is probably why they are so numerous. I hope you all wrote the ideas down like I did because now is the time to travel those creative roads wherever they may lead.

What's new for you?

Bazaar Bizarre Boston 2009

2009-12-09T17:40:00.007-05:00

I didn't realize how thrilled I would feel to be vending at BazBizBos this past Sunday, it kind of surprised me! But I guess it makes sense. Three years ago, before I had even put anything in my fledgling Etsy shop, Dell and I attended BazBiz in the same location, the Cyclorama in Boston's South End.

It was then I realized, these are my peeps! These tattooed and pierced ladies with cool glasses were making quirky crafts and selling them and I wanted in. I was and am not tattooed or particularly extensively pierced, but I had been making things and selling them for almost 20 years. This new craft revolution really spoke to me. I had been a bit of a loner in my endeavors and now I had a possible peer group. I filled my Etsy shop with the goods I had been making forever: polymer clay egg ornaments and bead and metal jewelry. The next year I applied to BazBiz but did not get juried in! I realized I was probably not Bizarre enough. My goods were very mainstream.

Without really meaning to, over the next two years my style started to lean more toward what I can only describe as an Etsy aesthetic. I took up needle felting and started producing more modern items. Last year I did not apply to BazBiz, I did two other amazing holiday shows instead. This year I got up the nerve to try again and I got in! And after two years in other venues, BazBiz was back at the Cyclorama where my excitement had been renewed about what would eventually become my full time career. I could not shake the feeling that I had won a contest and was going to play on stage with my favorite band! I grinned ear to ear from 9:30 til 7.

I was lucky and made excellent sales, but the most fun for me was meeting a whole host of humans I had heretofore only "internet known". Some for years! Some who had changed my life! Fer reals. It was an amazing day. I loved being near my dear friend Candace of The Intuitive Garden and next to Elise of Argyle Whale whom I have admired from afar (on Flickr and through her excellent tweets). I was so grateful to Dell for hanging out and helping me all day, even taking the blame when I stepped on his glasses ("I'm sure I put them in a bad place!"). I was actually, miraculously able to fix them so he could drive us home. And he is the one who took all these great pictures documenting the day.

Huge thanks to the organizers of this wonderful show! And I hope I get in again next year :)

Craft Show Update

2009-12-03T19:25:00.008-05:00

I was a felting wild woman prepping for the Worcester Center for Crafts Festival of Crafts over Thanksgiving weekend!

Before the show, Dell and I spent a lovely Thanksgiving afternoon with mom and dad at the house I grew up in.

The show went well though doing 3 day shows is hard! Luckily, I married a really nice guy who helped me through it all. I am so grateful I sold well and had to spend my nights making more goods for the next day. I would also like to express appreciation for my friends and family who have given me strength and encouragement at this exciting but truly stressful time, I couldn't do this without them!

Sunday night we packed my table up and went out to dinner at the Beerworks in Lowell, which we love.

Monday I was back in production mode with another big show weekend coming up; Open Studios on Saturday, December 5th from 12-5 then Bazaar Bizarre on Sunday December 6th along with The Intuitive Garden, Lush Beads and many other Etsians I have only "met" online, should be intense!

Pilgrimage to Providence

2009-11-21T22:28:00.003-05:00

This morning we packed my collection of felty goods and drove down to Craftland in Providence, Rhode Island. I don't know Providence at all but I instantly fell in love with Westminster Street where Craftland is located, it's pretty, full of interesting retail and OMG there were more hipsters per square inch than any other place I've been. I just loved it!

The Craftland shop is big and bright and friendly looking. I got to see one of my Etsy faves, HeatherJeany, and I met Kristin of ScrapsofPaper. I had a lot of fun talking shop with them and looking for the goods of other artists I might recognize. I was so excited to see the work of alamodestuff, heatherwangjewelry and absolutelysmall in the year round shop.

Handmade cuteness!

LOVE the sign:

Since my husband's sister lives in RI, we arranged to meet her for lunch after the drop off.

I would love to go back when the holiday goods are out. I know it will be winter wonderland in there!

Craftland!

2009-11-19T14:37:00.005-05:00

As their adorable website explains:
Craftland Show is an annual holiday sale in downtown Providence, RI that celebrates all kinds of sparkly handmade objects and the people who make them.

Craftland is a juried seasonal shop and I am thrilled to be participating alongside so many fantastic artists! I've been working very hard to come up with a nice collection to take there.

Here I am with my goods:

And here are the goods closer up:

I hope you get a chance to stop by!

The Intuitive Garden

2009-11-03T19:12:00.013-05:00

I would like to take a minute to toot a horn for someone who would never toot their own. Candace just appeared like a crafty sister-separated-at-birth one day and immensely altered my life and business for the better.

All my life I have been crafting and selling my goods. In 2006 I started hearing about something online called Etsy so that fall I joined, giddy and hopeful. It seemed like a good fit for me so I decided to devote my full time attention to a crafting business.

All through the 90's I did craft shows but had taken a long break. In the spring of 2007 I read a forum post that called for Boston area crafters. The SOWA Open Market was offering free spots at their Sunday Market for first timers who were on Etsy. I thought this was a good chance to start doing shows again so I signed right up. We were to be 4 people sharing 2 tents. I did not have a tent and I wanted to be sure I was going to be compatible with these crafty strangers so I scoped out the three other shops, picked the one that looked the cutest and contacted the shop owner. Candace had a tent and yes, she would share with me.

Having that settled, we immediately faced our first crisis. Due to flying tents in high winds the previous week, the SOWA Open Market was requiring weights on all tent legs. We could use water jugs, or sand bags they didn't care. I nervously called Candace to find out how we were going to handle this little snag since I knew she didn't have sand. After a well-placed joke about "big jugs" I knew we would get along great. Dell and I brought sand, Candace and her husband brought sand, we were a team with a stable tent. And we smiled when we saw the other two Etsians sharing a tent that day; perfectly matched goth girls with black velvet and tattoos.

Since then, we have done many shows together and now have studios side by side in an old mill building. She knows more than anyone what my daily life is like, she has the same job as me. And she has great ideas for what I should make, how I can display things, all conveyed in an enthusiastic, friendly way that gets me excited about the possibilities.

Also, Candace is uncanny for giving me just the right thing at just the right time; a display, some mailing envelopes, jewelry findings. She is so generous and it's like she can read my mind. Which maybe she can, we are both Virgos :)

And look at her work! She's amazing! See, she takes photos, makes drawings, illustrations, then meticulously combines them with resin to create these little gems she makes into the most beautiful jewelry. You can't imagine how much craftsmanship goes into her items, it's incredible. I have seen all the steps, all the decisions, all the knowledge she puts into every tiny piece. I fall in love with her work over and over each time she shows me something new she is developing. How cool is it that I get to see new things being born right in front of my eyes? I'm a witness to the creative process, it's so inspiring.

Plus we can be snarky together, have a laugh over the hard parts of running our own businesses; the tedium, the let-downs, the weirdos we encounter. Everything is easier to handle when someone is on your side and knows what you are talking about.

All this is to say, I feel very fortunate to have had her placed in my life at just the right time and I don't think I would be this successful without her encouragement and camaraderie. I wish for every artist an artist friend like Candace. And if you have one, go ahead and toot that person's horn for them! They are probably too gracious to do it themselves.

Studios Magazine Fall 2009

2009-10-09T13:46:00.005-04:00

I am thrilled beyond description to have a three page article in the Fall 2009 issue of Studios magazine, published by Interweave Press! It all happened because Pokey Bolton from Quilting Arts magazine stopped by my studio during one of Western Avenue Studios First Saturday Open Studios! What luck :) She took a few cell phone snaps and passed them on to Cate Prato, the Studios editor who contacted me. She wanted an article specifically on my displays so I wrote 300 words and provided photos which they laid out beautifully in the magazine:

I could not be more pleased with the whole experience! I am waiting on a box of 25 magazines which I will be able to sell in my studio and give to family and friends. You can also buy it online (linked above) and I've seen it at the major bookstores and craft supply stores as well!

Etsy Stalker Giveaway!

2009-10-05T09:50:00.005-04:00

Go check out Etsy Stalker, a super fun blog highlighting all kinds of whimsical Etsy discoveries. Today they are featuring my shop in a solo exhibit, which is exciting enough, but I am also offering a giveaway, this pincushion! The contest runs through October 11th.

Holiday Show Season

2009-09-10T08:33:00.013-04:00

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.

Handmade Portrait - Mimi Kirchner

2009-08-26T12:58:00.003-04:00

I have been seeing Mimi around at various Boston area craft shows for over a year now, but didn't really take a closer look until I started reading her completely delightful Tweets! It's funny what will finally bring someone fabulous to your attention even if they've been right in front of you all along. Now she is featured in a sweet video series on Etsy and I wanted to share it with you!

Custom Orders: I take 'em*

2009-08-04T15:00:00.007-04:00

Lately I have been working on a lot of special orders. I love it when people ask if I can make something and the answer is YES!

*Now, I can't always do it. Maybe the barrier is simple like I don't have the color of wool needed or maybe it's more complicated like the requested item is such a leap from my existing product line that it isn't something I am interested in making. For example, I might have a go at trying to make a felted ornament shaped like a bon bon instead of a cupcake but I have no interest in felting your cat hair into anything. (True story)

A little while ago I made a felted beads necklace in custom colors for someone:

And for someone else a custom cupcake in all vanilla:

Most recently I made a felt beads necklace in all red:

I am currently making more felt beads in blues and greens for another custom necklace.

At the same time I am working to complete a wholesale order for my polymer clay egg ornaments.

Here are the canes I made to adorn the eggshells:

Here are the eggs baked and waiting to be sanded, varnished and have loops attached:

So let me know if you are interested in something custom made. These projects keep my workload interesting and fun, and I love making people happy with my whimsical handiworks!

Vending at Art in the Courtyard, Lowell Folk Festival 2009

2009-07-29T21:44:00.021-04:00

Thanks to handsome Roberto of Junk Culture for taking this nice snap of me.

The Lowell Folk Festival takes over downtown Lowell, Massachusetts the last weekend in July every year. It's like our Mardi Gras but instead of parades, drinking and plastic beads, we have music, drinking and crafts. (Oh, and meat on a stick.) I was lucky enough to be juried into the Art in the Courtyard show again this year. We live right around the corner so it's old home week for me when I do it. The show sets up on Friday afternoon to vend for 3 hours. Then we break down, set it all up again Saturday and Sunday. The set-up-break-down times three is hard, but the crowds on Saturday make it worth it. If the weather holds. And we started out nice and sunny after several days of rain:

I shared with Amanda of Brick Mill Studio again, and we even had the same location as last year! There she is on the left:

Here is Amanda's table hopping with interested customers)

Tarja, a fiber artist at Western Avenue Studios, sat in the booth to my left, she was able to get some work done for her upcoming show at the Loading Dock Gallery.

I set my table up thusly:

I looked at pictures of last year's setup and though the look is very similar, I can see that a year of tweaking helped me get a nice cohesive look to my displays this time around. Also, it's so interesting to see how many new products I have developed!

I know I had talked about making goods for this show in my last post, and I'm glad to report I have never felt more prepared for a show. And as predicted, I sold a few of everything making a nice sales total for the weekend.

A huge fun part of doing shows is people watching and there were tons of people to watch. Everyone, guys especially, got a huge kick out of my felted rocks and everyone wanted to pick them up. When they realized they were wool covered rocks with some real heft they all said "Whoa!"

The scene from my booth:

Western Avenue Studios was well represented. The other Western Ave group was situated further up the Courtyard on the right:

Liz of Lush Beads and Peter Zimmerman Art Glass, (Peter shows a potential future Open Studios attendee how to get to WAS)

Heather Wang Jewelry:

and Vicki Green of Art by Verde:

Overall a wonderful if hot and exhausting weekend. The only trouble spot was the last ten minutes on Sunday when a sudden, violent thunderstorm blew in throwing lightening bolts at us and sheets of wind driven rain. Yeah, that was terrifying and made me really mad. Because the same thing happened last year! ??? Luckily I was able to pack up quickly without losing product, just a little bit of my sanity.

Now that I am recovered from the weekend, I have been working on special orders and getting ready for Open Studios this weekend. If you missed us at the Folk Festival, or if you just can't get enough of Western Avenue Art, come by and see us Saturday August first, from 12-5.

Making Goods For A Show

2009-07-22T15:12:00.007-04:00

It's so hard to know what to make! I have such a varied and extensive product line, and I seem to sell a little of everything at every show. There are usually a few standouts that change for each venue. At one location people can't get enough of my egg ornaments, at another I can't keep my cupcake pincushions in stock. So figuring out what to devote my time to before an event is a guessing game fraught with not a little bit of anxiety.

The crafter's biggest fear? Not having enough of the thing that is a hot item. Best to have too much of something, you can always sell it at the next show or online. But I don't have enough time to make too much, I barely have enough time to make enough!

So here I am charretting for Art in the Courtyard coming up at the Lowell Folk Festival this weekend. All my work is incredibly labor intensive so I make a giant wish list of what I would like to complete on time, and then as the days tick by the list becomes more realistic and some items have to drop off.

Today I am trying to fill a 12 hook ornament hanger with little cupcake ornaments, I think I am on track to finish this task. I also want to make some more sleepy sheep, to have at least a half dozen If you have a good number of any one thing, you have a better chance of selling some.

Trust me, this is a anxiety filled task I relish :) This is my dream job for sure and this is the kind of problem I hope I always have!

I love meeting an Etsy seller!

2009-07-18T18:43:00.006-04:00

Today I got to do something extraordinary: I got to attend a craft show! None of us vendors are ever afforded this luxury, we are always working the craft shows we would attend. Or we are too busy making stuff for the next show to have time to leisurely stroll the aisles of handmade goodies. Or even have any money to buy the truckloads of carefully crafted pretties we covet.

But today my sweet husband loaded me into the car and took me straight to ArtBeat in Davis Square, Somerville, MA. The clouds had dissipated and left us with a perfect hot, muggy summer's day, I was thrilled!

I had seen on Twitter that a long-time Flickr friend and fellow Etsy seller, heatherjeany, would be there so we scanned all the booths until we found her! I was trying to take her picture all stealth-like when she made me and a big smile broke over her face :)

I got a sweet hug and we got to chat for just a minute. I didn't want to block her booth, though Dell was shopping the whole while and we picked up some sweet swag.

I had seen the bookmarks recently on her Flickr page so I knew I needed some of those, and a few cards for sure.

Dell and I got street vendor food (I cannot resist meat on a stick and he likewise cannot pass by a fresh grilled hot dog) and then we wandered a little more watching the eclectic crowd.

Now it is cocktail hour, my very first mojitos are prepared and the red beans and rice is heating on the stove...happy summer!

Virtual Studio Tour

2009-07-05T10:31:00.004-04:00

Videos of my overstuffed studio taken at the most recent Open Studios on July 4th at Western Avenue Studios, Lowell, MA. We have Open Studios the first Saturday of every month!

4th of July Staycation?

2009-07-01T11:58:00.007-04:00

Are people wishing you a "non-voyage" this holiday weekend? Come visit the artists over at Western Avenue Studios in Lowell, MA! We will be hosting our regular First Saturdays Open Studios on July 4th from 12-5. Come see our newest work and wander these historic hallways.

You can also catch me July 11th when I will be vending with Liz Stewart of Lush Beads and Candace of The Intuitive Garden at the Boston Handmade Marketplace in Somerville from 3-7. This was a great show last year with choice vendors and fun music, come on by!

If it's July, then the Lowell Folk Festival can't be far away! The dates are July 24-26. It's right here in downtown Lowell, it's free, just pay for parking and tasty eats, mmmm, meat on a stick. Walk around the closed downtown streets and enjoy rockabilly, polka, blues and all kinds of great music. I will once again be vending with Amanda of Brick Mill Studio at Art in the Courtyard Friday night, Saturday and Sunday all day. A lot of Western Avenue artists are vending there, come see us go free range :)

Photography and online selling

2009-06-19T15:30:00.010-04:00

Online selling is mostly about effective photography. How else will someone realize they are hopelessly in love with your handmade item when they can't fondle it in person?

I have no groundbreaking photography tips. And I can't recommend a fancy camera. I use a Kodak Easyshare which is an automatic point-and-shoot, I like it fine. OK, here are all the same things everyone else will tell you:

Don't use a flash.

Try to use natural light. The best is indirect sunlight on a windowsill in the afternoon, maybe filtered through gauzy white fabric or tracing paper to cut harsh shadows.

The most important thing you need to take clear product shots is the Macro feature, the symbol for which is this Tulip.

A tripod helps too.

And try to think of what would make a pretty picture more than just showing the product, this is the hardest thing for me. You will of course want some straight up product shots but maybe the first pic can be the eye catcher. The one with that ineffable feeling.

That's all I got. Because everything after that is how well you can use photo editing software. I almost never put a pic online without tweaking it somehow. Often the pics are dark straight out of the camera so I lighten them. Sometimes the color is off so I correct that. Etsy likes square pics so I crop.

I use Photoshop, which is NOT intuitive. I have been using it for years and still only know about twenty things I can do on it. I understand GIMP photo editing software is free and people recommend it, I've never tried it.

Here's an example with my new cupcake pincushion listing in my 1000 Markets shop:

Straight out of the camera:

Edited:
My pictures have been an evolution. I am always learning new Photoshop tricks and thinking of new ways to make my product shots stand out. But you have to start somewhere so don't let your lack of photo skillz stop you from just getting started. You can replace images as you improve. That's what I do. For example, I just replaced a product shot for the Farmstand Bouquet cards I made from my mom's amazing watercolor.

Old pic:

New Pic:
I keep trying to do my mom's gorgeous illustrations justice! Every little photography improvement keeps me interested in working on building a better online shop.

Everything Upside Down

2009-06-10T10:32:00.007-04:00

So there was some water damage in our condo. We are on the top floor and over the years the roof has leaked around the windows and such. Now that the roof has been replaced, the work can begin to paint and patch the damaged spots.

Dell and I had been somewhat dreading this moment, our small condo is crammed with the beloved artifacts of our ten years here. Even with half my stuff crammed into my studio we still have some pack-ratting issues in the apartment we don't much care to correct.

Though I cringed at the invasion of the workmen in my personal space, and hated the idea of being confronted with the evidence of my storage dysfunction by having to pull the bags of stuff out from under furniture where previously it had been hidden enough to allow me the illusion of normalcy I craved, I decided, since I had no choice, to embrace the event. To take it as a learning moment, to embrace the chaos and perhaps use the upheaval to make changes. Or at least to dust :)

The painters themselves are smaller guys and very neat and very quiet, this works well for our tight-like-a-ship quarters. They are also used to working in occupied spaces. After two days of being home while they worked in the other room, I can say I am very pleased with their methods. And our living room looks so much nicer without that hole in the ceiling!

Chester camped out in the bedroom with me while the guys worked in the living room. He knows how to take care of himself.

Did I learn a valuable adult-after-school-special lesson about change being a catalyst for growth? Not really, but neither did I fall apart like I feared. And when the work is all over and it's time to stash everything back where it was? It's possible I won't.

Felted Technology Cozies

2009-05-31T10:51:00.011-04:00

Before we went on our Florida vacation (many thanks to our family in beachy locations :) Dell bought me an iPod!

We don't even have cell phones, so this little-bit-of-a-technological-miracle-clad-in-orange kinda blew my mind. And my first instinct was to protect it. So I crocheted a little pouch from worsted wool and felted it in the sink. I made it big enough to also hold the recharge cord and even fashioned a little pouch on the front for the earbuds.

I have done lots of felting from wool roving, both wet and needle felting. And I have done a lot of crochet. I have even felted from my crocheted items, making coasters we love using around the house and which I hope someday to add to my shop. But I always felted the knit and crochet stuff in the washing machine before. I didn't have time for that days before our big trip so I donned my lovely yellow rubber gloves and tried wet felting my cozy in the sink. It worked!

The following isn't meant necessarily as a detailed tutorial, but as an overview of my process.

First I found some worsted weight merino yarn in my vast stash:

Then I crocheted it into a pouch (see below for very basic recipe). This one is for an iPhone type of object. I'm not doing mathematically accurate measurements, I really just like to eyeball stuff. For me that's more relaxed and fun.

After I completed the crocheting, I took it over to the sink, got it wet with hot water, poured a little dish soap on it, and started scrubbing:

You can really rough it up, I smashed it all around into itself, occasionally put a little more hot water on it, or soap if needed, and sometimes pulled it flat to see if it was felting OK and/or becoming a weird shape by accident.

After it had felted as much as I wanted it to, I rinsed it well and sort of blocked it by laying it flat, pulled into the shape I wanted it to keep when dry. I put the pouch on a sunny windowsill, usually they are dry by the next day.

I have a HUGE vintage button collection and I like to go through it, picking out buttons for these little pouches.

Here's one I made for my digital point and shoot camera, the button is Bakelite:

Here is my very basic recipe for making a pouch that could hold a digital camera, adjust as necessary for your specific 21st century marvels:

1) I use a G crochet hook and worsted wool (not super wash!)

2) I chain about 18-20 then turn and single crochet (into the front loop only) back and forth for about 12 rows more or less.

3) When it looks wide enough (I'm allowing for felting shrinkage of about...25%? I have no idea :) I slip stitch the pouch closed down the side and single crochet the pouch closed along the bottom.

4) Then I cut the yarn and work in loose ends, these will disappear into the fabric of the pouch when you felt it which I LOVE!

5) I start the button loop by attaching the yarn at the top opening of the pouch somewhere a ways in from the edge (1/2 inch maybe?) your call, and chain about 10, attach it where it looks most symmetrical to where I began and single crochet along the chain back to the beginning of the loop, fasten off, weave in ends.

6) Felt as above, 7) block and allow to dry then 8) attach button of choice!

You could also add more buttons for adornment, embroider, sew on beads, and/or needle felt designs onto the pouch. Let me know if you make these too and what yours look like!

Craft Show Display

2009-05-18T20:42:00.007-04:00

It's show season again! Along with thinking about producing as many items as I can to fill my table and what exactly those items should be, I'm also thinking about display.

My craft show displays have always been organic and inexpensive, whatever I had around that worked for now. Over time they have been augmented by things I've found for free or at thrift shops. I also found some great items at Bed Bath and Beyond and Target. I got my fab card spinner randomly from a shop that was going out of business.

Here's how my full tent display came out at the Sheep Shearing festival in April, thanks to Candace's generous help and impeccable eye!

Here's my half-space table from Andover Crafts in the park on May 9th:

This past weekend I vended at the SOWA Artwalk in Boston's South End. It was a crazy set up of first come first served spaces in two empty office buildings. The space was generously donated and our table fee was $0, so we were all determined to make the situation work!

I snagged a space in a larger room with some natural light. The fluorescent light above me was not functioning and the first day my space was a little dark.

On Sunday I brought a lamp and that made a huge difference. I sold many more of the items under the light! I also rearranged the left side of the display.

My theme, in as much as I have one, has mostly been trending toward displays that look like they should hold food. I think this is appealing and goes with some of my food-like products, cupcake anyone?

But it's not consistent across my table, I do like the way things pull together at my shows, and I get a good response from shoppers, but there is a part of me that wishes I could have a Martha Stewart set designer come in and tell me what I should do! Because I believe, like photos in online shops, displays at craft shows can affect sales.

Though I don't think I'm living up to my full display potential yet, I'm on that path, I'll get there soon!

Making my own hang tags

2009-05-04T10:50:00.011-04:00

When I started selling in consignment shops I needed to add individual hang tags to my pieces for branding and as a place to put pricing stickers. Most shops won't want a tag with your web address on it, so I just put "made in lowell by Liz Smith". I started by cutting some Moo cards in half and rounding the corners, those looked fantastic but wow that was going to get expensive fast.

I don't mind a ton of laborious cutting and clipping (OCD heaven!) so I designed a group of 11 hang tags using my product photos and arranged it to fit on an Overnight Prints postcard. I chose Overnight Prints because I wanted the matte finish they offer, sort of trying to replicate the Moo card look. When the box of 100 cards arrived I cut the tags apart, used a corner punch to round their corners, punched a hole and strung them with vintage crochet thread.

While I am overall very pleased with the results, here are the things I would do differently next time:

1) Design to the edge of the postcard, do a full bleed. I designed my card with the images floating inside a large white area and while this wasn't a problem for me, Overnight Prints lil printer bot caught it and emailed me TWICE to tell me my order was on hold because I didn't do a proper bleed on my card and it was coming up as an error in their system. I don't want to give the lil bot a heart attack and I don't want my order delayed again so next time I will make sure my image goes past the edge of the card.

2) Size my tags differently. The best corner rounder I have found is made by Fiskars but your tags have to be at least 1 ½ inches to reach the corner punch part and still leave you something to hold onto. My tags were about ¼ inch too short. *sigh* I cannot be thwarted so I rigged up a lightly sticky strip of paper to extend my reach so all was not lost, but wow, was that a pain.

3) Another note on size: When I took my items to one of my consignment shops, I saw my carefully placed text and image obscured by a pricing sticker that is standard size for a lot of POS systems, ½” x 1 ¾”. My tags weren't long enough for the whole sticker to go on the back so the shop owner had no choice but to wrap the price tag around to the front of my tag ruining its aesthetic. I really should have thought of this when I designed my tag shape, but now I know!

Now that I have tried making my own hang tags using an outsourced printing company, I have more ideas for things like earring cards and other packaging. Please feel free to tell me your experiences with this kind of DIY packaging project!

Why have an Etsy shop?

2009-04-22T20:05:00.010-04:00

Artists without Etsy shops are often surprised to hear that mine doesn't make a ton of sales.

So I know people, lets call them my friends, who do really well on Etsy. They make regular sales, spend a little time each day getting those transaction emails, wrangling bubble mailers, going to the post office, sending their sweet handmade pretties to far off locations. Me? Not so much. Yes, of course I've had some sales in my Etsy shop, and believe me, each one is a winning-scratch-ticket thrill! But I don't really do the kind of volume that would take my biz anything past a hobby. Luckily I do well in my studio and at craft shows or I would get really discouraged.

Crafters, pretty much all who open an Etsy shop I'm guessing, get excited at the possibility of selling from home. It's a very attractive idea! No storefront to rent out, no business loan to apply for, working in your pajamas. Right? Though Etsy's trademarked tag line is "Your place to buy & sell all things handmade", I think they should amend that to read "Your place to buy & TRY to sell all things handmade". That would bring a lot of expectations down to earth.

Luckily, (or not) I had tried an online business in the past and my bubble was already well burst by the time I found Etsy in November of 2006. Still I had hopes. Over the years my product has evolved, my photography has improved and I have made reliable, if slow, sales each year. But that momentum I dreamed of, the one that everyone talks about as inevitable that I thought would come from having over 1,400 shop hearts UPDATE November 2010: now 2844 hearts and surprisingly regular front page exposure? That just isn't happening. Honestly I don't know why not.

So why am I still running an Etsy shop? Because it does take a lot of time and attention to keep a shop appearing vital, so if I'm not making great sales why am I spending that time? Because sales are not the only thing I'm getting from Etsy. I almost can't believe what I get from Etsy, it's mind-blowing. I will make a list (not in chronological order and not comprehensive) and show you:

1) I made a friend right away, a like-minded soul with an Etsy shop who put me in a treasury that made it to the front page (way back when they would last all day!) and now she is writing a craft book and she interviewed me and maybe I will be in it! UPDATE November 2010: I'm totally in that wildly successful book!

2) Speaking of craft books, I am already in one! The author found me on Etsy and asked me to submit items, she put a dozen of my artworks in there! How cool is that? I can go to Barnes and Noble and there it is on the shelf. Nice :) UPDATE November 2010: I have also been in two magazines and on the Martha Stewart TV show!

3) A local craft show offered free trial spots to Etsy sellers, I took one and met by chance someone who is now my very good friend! Meeting her changed my life and my business for the better in innumerable ways. Amazing luck. And Etsy.

4) I have 3 consignment opportunities in the works all because I was found on Etsy. I didn't have to nervously approach galleries and cringe against the sting of rejection, I was pre-approved! And I didn't even know I was applying. My online application is my Etsy shop and it's up 24 hours. UPDATE November 2010: I am now in 5 shops!

5) I have been pre-juried into high-end craft shows I didn't even know about that ended up being very successful for me and which led to other opportunities, wholesale orders and friendships.

6) I found adjunct online communities that make me feel part of a whole world of like-minded crafters. Like Flickr for instance, and now Twitter. These are my office mates, this is where I have my watercooler chats and keep in touch with the world. Literally the world. If I ever travel to England, for example, I have a half dozen women to meet up with that already seem like sisters to me!

7) As far as my products go, I have definitely been influenced by the Etsy, new-craft revolution aesthetic and I love where that's taken me creatively. Being on Etsy has also caused me to improve my photography and packaging, I've stepped up my game.

8) People find my shop and blog about me and my products which is always incredibly cool and great exposure.

So, though most days I feel like a needle in a haystack on Etsy, every once in a while one of my items miraculously makes it to the front page or someone sends me a friendly convo, I get a heart or a complete stranger randomly presses the Buy button and sends some money into my PayPal account and happiness into my heart. I do admit to having the gambler's addiction to unpredictable results, that's the nature of retail, but the benefits I really glean are regular and satisfying and go beyond just dollars.

What I'm Working On Now

2009-04-15T11:54:00.002-04:00

Needle felted Sleepy Sheep:

Tiny poly clay sheep:

Tags for items going in shops:

Mom's cards!

What I'm Working On

2009-04-06T12:52:00.004-04:00

Lately I've been snapping pictures of my workspace. I am in such a high state of production that I haven't been able to take time to blog! But I can show you in pictures what's happening in my studio:

Making the polymer clay designs that go on my egg ornaments:

Here are baked and sanded eggs waiting on varnish. Meanwhile I'm bagging sets of beads. I make them from the clay leftover from making the eggs:

Here I am choosing vintage buttons and sewing pinbacks on flowers and nests:

Sorry for the tilt angle! Only way I could get it all in :)

Buying Handmade Soap On Etsy

2009-03-17T12:07:00.000-04:00

I know a lot of crafters do what I did for many years. In my twenties and early thirties I found myself infinitely fascinated by dozens of crafting media. I find I am the kind of person who can pick up new crafting methods fairly quickly. Knowing this, I would get excited, inspired, obsessive and collect all the materials and how-to books to learn a new craft. The craft might or might not take, however.

Polymer Clay has stayed with me for twenty years! Felting is a relatively new passion (a few years now) but it seems to have staying power, I'm doing it every day without any end in sight for my enjoyment of it.

At various other points I thought I would love to quilt, make lampwork beads, learn ceramics, do metalwork and enameling, make soap and candles from scratch, etc. I was just going through some old books stored at my parents' house and they tell the tale of what didn't stick. In some cases I did do some part of the craft for a little while. For instance, I did make little patchwork backpacks using vintage fabrics in the early nineties. I did make my own patterns for quilts but never actually made the quilts. I bought all the candle making molds, wicks and wax I would need, plus an old aluminum double boiler, but the candles never got made.

I made some lampwork beads on the back porch of my aunt's house in Indiana (I love being related to cool artists!) and was thoroughly fascinated and blown away by the amazingness of it, but that was also the point at which I realized that fire and pressurized tanks of flammable gas scare the crap out of me!

I found in my pile of books (soon to be donated to the Friends of Western Avenue Studios Booksale April 4th, 12-5) three pertaining to soap making. I remember I had gotten as far as finding out I would need beef tallow from the butcher, caustic lye, careful measurements and eye protection and that was the end of that adventure. (I know you can also make soap with vegetable oils and not animal fats, which most Etsy soapers do and that those oils are expensive!!)

I did subsequently get the supplies to make my own melt and pour soaps and that was perfect for me as a hobbyist. With melt and pour, you buy a pre-made glycerin soap base that can be cut into chunks which you then melt in the microwave, add scent, color and maybe ground almonds or the like and pour it into molds and let it set up. Instant soap! The soaps are only as good as the bases you buy, the colorants and oils you add etc. I went for nicer bases but they still weren't anything I would ever have considered selling. They are good handsoaps and I made some cute guest soaps as stocking stuffers.

The point is, at some point you figure out what you are going to do as an artist and what you are going to leave to others for whom it is a true passion. As I catch up on 40, it becomes clearer and clearer what I will not be devoting learning time to and one of those skills is cold or hot process soap making.

Luckily, it turns out that Etsy is loaded with tons of amazing soapers! I can see that most soapers are NOT hobbyists. It takes skill, patience, immense amounts of knowledge and a certain understanding of chemistry. If you read the Etsy forums when soapers start talking, you can see that they are all extremely professional and dedicated to quality and education. It's very exciting for someone like me to witness! These soapers know their stuff and they want you to know it too, because what's sold out there as commercial soap apparently includes all kinds of nasty ingredients that dry out your skin while the carefully crafted soaps made by dedicated artisans contain super high quality ingredients that are safe and skin loving!

So my new hobby is soap buying on Etsy :) We use these soaps in the shower every day. I have tried three sellers so far and have been extremely pleased with all of them. I started back in the fall so the scents I bought were more suited to cozy winter days. As spring approaches I am looking through gorgeous listings seeking a perfect new fresh scent.

What do I look for in a handmade soap? Actually, I am chemically sensitive. But my sensitivity is very selective. Some scents are no problem for me and some give me an instant headache and bright red cheeks. Essential oils are oils from natural sources like plants. Fragrance oils are synthetic. I can tolerate some of both somehow, which you wouldn't think, but not all scents. I seem to be OK with food smells like almond, cinnamon, chocolate, pumpkin and coffee. I can also tolerate some flower smells. This can make it tricky to select soaps online, but I figure if I accidentally choose something I can't use it makes a gorgeous gift!

So first I look for scent. Actually, that's a lie, first I look for gorgeous product photos. What difference do photos make? None to the quality of the soap of course, but I want an experience when I shop for soaps online. I expect to pay between $4.50 and $8.00 a bar for handmade soaps and as such, I want my shopping experience to be spa-like. I want to enter a virtual shop and be calmed or energized or dazzled by gorgeous, lush product shots. I want the soap shop to sell me the whole experience! Plus it gives me more confidence in their professionalism if the shop is super sharp looking.

After that I need scent descriptions, I want to know what actually goes into the scent and then tell me what does that smell like? Get all poetic on my ass if need be :) Tell me what kind of person enjoys this scent.

Also, I like a price break on shipping. I will usually buy at least three soaps from a seller, two for me and something manly for the husband.

The first shop I bought from was BLSoaps. She offered a coffee scented soap called Kahlua Cream Shea Butter Soap that caught my eye, I added Wisdom facial soap and then Overdrive for the husband. The Kahlua Cream soap smelled delicious! Like bathing with a dessert, it had caramel overtones. It was smooth and creamy feeling too with great lather. The Wisdom soap has a great scent I can't quite describe, herbal and warm without smelling like medicine. I'm still using it exclusively to wash my face. The husband went through the Overdrive quickly, he uses soap much quicker than I do. He liked it a lot and I LOVED the smell, very manly but not overpowering. I would buy all three again.

Photos courtesy of BLSoaps

The second Etsy seller was BathArtisanSoaps. Still on a search for the perfect coffee scented soap made without coffee grounds (surprisingly hard to find!!) I bought Bean Juice and for the man, Blue Rush Spa Salt Bar. Bean Juice was a handsome, generous chunk of smooth soap, cured nice and hard, it lasted a long time. It had a great coffee dessert smell, very satisfying. The Blue Rush was a salt bar which creates a smooth, creamy lather, the salt is not exfoliating, it's not meant to be. The scent was sophisticated and masculine, I loved the way it smelled and so did Dell. The seller was very gracious and had great communication skills. Would buy both of those again!

Photos courtesy of BathArtisanSoaps

The third shop was SouthernVTSoap. I guess I was hungry when I was shopping because I bought Almond Cafe Mocha, Pumpkin Spice, and Chocolate Bliss! All three smell delicious and look gorgeous. I went through the Almond one first, hard not to take a bite out of these soaps, they smell like real food. I'm using the Pumpkin spice one now, I was worried it would smell too strong like a Yankee Candle, but it doesn't, it's subtle and warm, perfect. I'm saving the Chocolate one for next fall I think. I recommend this seller too!

Photos courtesy of southernvtsoap

I have been very happy with all my soap purchases so far. I'm glad these artisans took the time to perfect a craft I am smart enough to know I don't have the passion to master. My only problem now is deciding which soaps to buy next, too many great choices!!

Sisters We Three Consignment Shop

2009-03-02T13:53:00.001-05:00

I have a shop on Etsy.com, the selling site for all things handmade (plus fab vintage and supplies). I love being a part of the handmade community, interacting with like-minded people who have the same job I do. Another perk of being on Etsy is being contacted for opportunities I might not hear about otherwise. No, not the chance to accept a bogus cashier's check from some overseas scammer's "shipping agent", I'm talking about legitimate invitations to apply for craft shows, and also possible consignment and wholesale gigs.

Late last year I got a nice email (called a "convo" in Etsy parlance) through my Etsy shop. Cathy was letting local people know that she and her two sisters were opening a consignment gallery in Newburyport, Massachusetts and would love it if I would apply to jury in. I wrote her back and we had a nice exchange through which I determined she knew what she was doing.

Newburyport is a seaside town north of Boston. It's a tourist destination with quaint streets, old brick buildings, stately homes, a harbor, and it's great for a day trip in the summertime as it is less than an hour from Lowell. Dell and I have been there several times, but it had been a few years and I thought I had heard where it was struggling retail-wise, maybe slipping in quality. Cathy said she'd been living there 20 years and she was bullish, so I decided to trust her.

I made an appointment to bring my goods in and on one sunny February Saturday, Dell drove us up there. We found the shop easily and as a bonus, it is conveniently located across from the municipal lot. Though the sun was out, it was chilly, snow and ice still pushed parked cars away from the curb, but man! That town was HOPPING! I mean wow. Every other shop seemed to be a super cute boutique or gallery, some looking pretty high end. We also saw independent coffee shops, restaurants, a yarn shop, a book store!

And the people walking down the street were hip-looking couples in their thirties with new additions to the family, older couples, ladies out in groups, handsome gay couples dressed so nice I felt a little frumpy, you maybe get the picture, Newburyport is thriving! Need I repeat that this was in February?? It made me very excited. But I still didn't know what to expect for the shop and I was nervous.

The sisters were set up in a newly painted gallery space. They were seated around a large wooden table, there were empty glass shelves pushed up against one side of the space. Though they were still working with another artist when we came in, they immediately said hello and did we need the bathroom or a bottle of water? Which put us at ease. They were so friendly and professional and their combined experiences; one had been a merchandiser for CVS, one had been a banker for 20 years, one a music teacher, seemed perfect for this task. Also, one sister makes mosaics and another makes jewelry, from that I knew they would understand artisans.

I started putting my goods on the table, I brought pincushions, necklaces, brooches and hair pins. They cooed and exclaimed and made me feel special. But mostly because they were being genuine and friendly. Jan looked up my Etsy shop right there on her laptop and saw my mom's cards and requested I submit those to the shop too. That sealed the deal, praise my mom, get a friend for life.

The deal is this: you rent space from them for a monthly fee based on the size of the space, you sign a year contract, they take 15% of each sale and that's it! You don't have to work there, you don't have to arrange your shelves, they are going to take care of all that. All you have to do is replenish your goods when the supplies run low.

I especially liked that they aren't going to shackle my goods to one shelf, but put that merchandising expertise to use in arranging the items throughout the store for maximum sales and exposure. Maybe they will have a theme and pull items from several artists that fit the theme. I love that! You never know if the spot you have is a good spot for selling and with their careful curation, I think everyone's items will be showcased in the best way.

I know consignment deals can go horribly awry. If you look it up in the Etsy Forums you'll see what I mean; shops taking your goods then going out of business, not paying on time, things getting damaged or stolen with no recourse. I've read it all.

So far my two experiences with consignment have not been brilliant, nothing lost but not much gained. This is more like a craft co-op that masquerades (in a good way) as a gallery. I am also in the process of starting another consignment relationship with a gallery that will follow the more standard route of 60/40 split and no monthly fees. I'll let you know how that one goes.

Meanwhile, Sisters We Three is opening in April and still seeking artists so if this sounds like something you are interested in, you can contact them at: sisterswethree@gmail.com

Felt Beads Necklaces

2009-02-28T10:23:00.009-05:00

Hey there! People, or at least person, requested a follow up on my big necklace order so along with my last post showing the needle felting process, here is the final installment of this particular storyline.

A bowl of beads, how many? Try to guess! Hint: it's not the actual final number, I took these pics before I was completely done felting:

Here is a necklace in mid-string:

And the finished items:

Very satisfying to complete this challenge! Also, now I know how much wool it takes to make 5 of my necklaces, (more than I had in stock it turns out, doh!) and how much patience it takes to make the same color bead over and over, all day, many days in a row, heh.

Fresh off this project I launched straight into the exciting world of consignment! (To be detailed in my next post, stay tuned :)

Felting Beads Demo Video

2009-02-13T10:40:00.006-05:00

Here I am felting many minty beads from wool! And below you will find a video showing a quick demo of the process:

Wholesale, New e-Shops and Craft Shows

2009-02-10T19:43:00.007-05:00

It's very exciting to be working on my very first wholesale order! I hope to do more in the future. The shop owner found me on Etsy if you are wondering...this is what I am making:

I am making bunches of beads every day, good thing I enjoy it :)

I've been on Etsy since November of 2006, and I love it there.

But I did decide (somewhat hastily) to open an Artfire shop. Almost immediately after doing that, I realized Artfire is not exactly my style. I don't love the way it looks but I know they aren't finished with it so I am witholding judgement as of yet. I paid for the $7/month unlimited listing option. I like that they are very conscious of social media and let you link to your Twitter, Facebook and even back to your Etsy! I haven't put a lot of goods in my storefront there, but I think when I do, I will start listing fun or cute, lower-priced items that might not fit in with my Etsy shop aesthetic.

I guess I was on a roll because I then applied for a shop on 1000 Markets! 1KM is a gorgeous site which still claims to be in "sneak preview" mode though it is fully functional. Listing is free and fees are only taken out at the time of sale. It is juried and uses Amazon Payments instead of PayPal which has the advantage of letting buyers purchase from several different merchants but pay all at once. Vendors there are creating and joining "Markets" which are groups that showcase a region, a medium or a style. I got rejected from the only Market I applied for so far and no others seem to fit my style yet, I will keep an eye on that.

I plan to list only my felt goods in this shop, I am doing a marketing experiment in narrowing focus. I'll keep you posted.

And this is the time, remarkably, when we are all planning our craft shows for the whole year! I'll post them on the right side of this blog as I get accepted. OK, I gotta get back to work!