Sun at last!

Jul 2010

Summer at last. Today is our first sunny day in 7 weeks according to the morning news. It’s also about 10 degrees warmer than it has been...a balmy 73 degrees. But even though summer has been late, she’s about to arrive en force with temps expected to hit 91 by the weekend. So last week I got to complain about cold, gray weather and next week I get to complain about hot weather. :) It’s hard to know what season’s clothes to keep in the closet.

I have 2 new galleries added to my roster this month: Chopa in Aurora Colorado specializes in zen home and gift ware and An Artisan’s Marketplace in Plainville, Connecticut is a lovely Victorian farmhouse and was named a Best of Connecticut winner in 2009 by Connecticut Magazine. And there was a great blog mention of Laughing Girl Arts jewelry at Big Green Purse.

Next up on the show circuit is the Bellevue, WA Festival of the Arts. Those local to the Seattle area will know it as the “Cost Plus show” since it’s held across the street (and on the same weekend) from the Bellevue Museum show in, you guessed it, the Cost Plus parking lot. It promises to be a busy Bellevue weekend with 3 big art and craft shows going on at the same time. The two mentioned above and the Sixth Street Fair in downtown Bellevue. Come see me at the Cost Plus show in booth #116.

And I just got my booth assignment for the Boise Art Museum show in September. I’ll be in the same place as last year: booth #127.

Hope your summer is sunny and more predictable than ours has been!

Finally Spring

Jun 2010

Gosh, it’s been a long cold Spring in Seattle but the sun is supposed to appear this weekend and we may hit 75 degrees after record cold temperatures. The cool air actually feels great to me as I’ve been in Las Vegas for the past week at the ACRE wholesale show. The show wasn’t very busy but I managed to add a few new wholesale accounts so I’m happy. The temperature hit 109 degrees the weekend I was there and I was v-e-r-y happy to be inside the air-conditioned showroom!

I’ve added a lovely Spring/Summer Assortment of Redoute flower images to my bamboo line. I had so much fun choosing images for this that I’ll be doing a Fall./Winter Assortment too! And just to add another genre to the bamboo line, I’m looking at doing traditional tattoo designs and (also much requested) kanji symbols. Tattoos and Redoute flowers...my, we are diversifying, aren’t we?

I don’t have another craft show until mid-July (come see me at the Bellevue Festival of the Arts July 23-25) so I get to use this time to play. Bronze and copper clays have been sitting on my bench for several months waiting patiently for my attention. I’ll start with creating some of my current lines in bronze and copper and venture out from there. The warm tones of these “alternate” metals is very appealing.

Hope you’re having a great Spring and anticipating Summer fun.

Holy Smoke! Where have the days gone!?

Apr 2010

I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve written here. The days are speeding by with preparations for my first big wholesale show coming in early June and some new techniques I’ve been learning.

Last month I took a wonderful Introduction to Enameling class from Deb Fitz of Almost Paradise Designs, a talented Northwest artist who is very giving of her knowledge and talents to other artists. We had a whole weekend sleepover/art/food/wine lollapalooza seminar and I came home super excited about enameling. In fact today I picked up my first order of enamels and tools (gotta have the tools) so there’s nothing stopping me now except fear itself. No, really, learning something in a controlled class environment is great but when you’re in your studio alone trying to duplicate your classroom success it doesn’t always work. Nevertheless my head is spinning with new ways to think about making my silver pieces to accommodate enameling.

The 2010 show acceptance/rejection letters are starting to come in. I’ll be doing the Bellevue Festival of the Arts for the first time in July (see sidebar for details). This is one of the three big Bellevue shows within blocks of each other the same weekend. The Festival of the Arts is at the Cost Plus shopping mall across the street from the Bellevue Mall. This is a huge event in Bellevue, lots of fun and beautiful art to look at so I hope you stop by.

Wholesale show preparation for the June 5-7 ACRE- Las Vegas show continues and there’s a steep learning curve about shipping equipment and displays, wholesale booth setup vs. retail booth setup, renting vs. shipping my own booth setup, etc. Luckily I have some great resources so it’s just a matter of making some decisions and trying to be efficient in my choices. Easy, right? Yeah, but still a bit overwhelming. (Insert encouraging self-talk here).

The crocus are blooming!

Feb 2010

Yea! That means winter is on the way out. Actually Seattle had a record warm January unlike most of the rest of the country so there isn’t much to complain about.

I’ve got a few play dates scheduled with other artists: one for resin and one for enameling. Whenever I get stuck doing the same old stuff I like to get around other artists. I always learn something new and get inspired by their take on things.

I’ve only enameled one time before and can’t really remember the procedure so I’m excited to learn from Deb Fitz, a talented NW artist. There will be four of us in the class and it will be a sleepover so spending two full days with other artists will be heaven.

Show applications are in and I expect most of the acceptance/rejection letters in March and April. I have been accepted to the Best of the Northwest again this year and will be doing their November holiday show for sure. I’m considering doing their smaller Spring and Summer shows as well but haven’t made that commitment yet. I want to focus my energy on the big wholesale show I’m doing in June in Las Vegas so I may skip the Spring show(s).

I hope you are anticipating Spring and the changes that come with it as much as I am.

Jump In

Jan 2010

A new year! Are you calling it Two Thousand Ten or Twenty Ten? Whichever you choose it’s a fresh start and a world of new possibilities. I get the same feeling when I head out to sea on a boat...an adventure is about to begin.

This year I’ll be working on strengthening my wholesale business and participating in my first large wholesale show at ACRE in las Vegas in June. I’ve enjoyed adding the wholesale side of things to my business in the past year but I do still love the direct customer contact and feedback I get from doing craft shows. So to that end I’ll be applying to more of them this year than I have in the past. Watch the sidebar on this page to see which ones I get accepted into.

The show applications are starting to go out now and acceptances/rejections will start coming in around March. Jewelry is a tough and competitive category at the shows and the juries usually limit the number of jewelry artists that can participate. So I wait for the acceptance/rejections letters with excitement and worry. Which shows will I be in??

The holiday shows were decent. Not as good as a few years ago but better than the previous year. I think people are starting to feel the economy is better.

I haven’t been in the studio much lately. Busy with the holidays and a little bummed out by the gray Seattle weather. But we’ve turned the corner on winter and the days are getting longer and that always feels better. I’ve got some new copper and bronze metal clays to play with and maybe some polymer clay for color. We’ll see where those lead in the next couple months.

Hope you too feel an adventure about to begin...