random bits

Oddmall two weekends ago was a bit of a bust for me, although I did meet some great people and take a few custom orders, so it wasn’t a total loss. But I ended up with a lot of inventory that I had planned on moving along. It’s been hanging out in my cases waiting to be photographed and listed, but today is the first day I’ve really had time to make progress on that. I’ve got about half the photos done, and hope to list a couple of things over the next few days before hitting it pretty hard next week.

Part of what’s taken up my time was a slew of custom orders, one of which was a big wholesale order. See? Lots of little domes:

Nearly 100 in all.

In addition, I got some great new lowercase stamps and have been busy doing custom name pendants using these beautiful new stamps. I’ve ordered another set in a different alphabet, too, and those should be in next week. Lots of whacking with hammers going on around here these days!

Other than that, I’ve been working on a few editing projects and doing some serious gardening work. And trying to figure out how to cram more hours into a day.

sneak peek

I’ve been hard at work on some new designs in and around all the other projects I’ve been working on so far this spring. I’m not ready to list any of it quite yet, but thought I’d give you a sneak peek to see what the future holds.

Cleveland Handmade Market at Mojo’s Coffee

I will be joining a dozen or so other Cleveland Handmade artists for a trunk show at Mojo’s Coffee in Bay Village on November 23. We’ll be there 10 a.m.–4 p.m. with a selection of great stuff just in time to beat the holiday shopping rush. Stop by for a cup of coffee or cocoa and say hi!

Artists:
Jill Slaby * Lake Erie Beach Glass * LaPetite Fleur * Lori Paximadis
Lazy T Crochet * HandmadeGoods * Beautiful Era * Ramona
Petite Libellule * Stargazer Designs * Smashing * Leah Ana Designs

Jewelry Exploration

My class times have been set for October’s Jewelry Exploration at Bead Q.

I’ll be teaching etching on Saturday, October 25, 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in Chagrin Falls and on Sunday, October 26, 12:30–3:30 p.m. in North Olmsted.

Additionally, I will be teaching Beading 101: Necklaces and Bracelets on Saturday, October 25, 2–5 p.m. in North Olmsted. This is a beginner stringing class in which you will learn about different stringing materials and findings (clasps, crimps, jump rings) and then use that knowledge to make necklaces and/or bracelets from beads and materials you selected and purchased before the class (list provided at registration). Major emphasis will be placed on learning to crimp properly, which is the foundation of making pieces that last.

To register, stop in or call the shop where the class will be held: Chagrin Falls 440-708-1771; North Olmsted 440-734-2323.

summer’s end

Hard to believe it’s August already. The marching band is practicing at the high school, my niece and nephew start school in a couple weeks (one friend‘s kid has started school already), I’m making hot tea and wearing a fleece pullover today… Just not quite prepared for this time of year yet.

Sunday will be my last summer show of 2008, the North Olmsted Juried Arts & Crafts Show at Frostville Museum in the Metroparks in North Olmsted. The show itself is a small one and, sadly, not terribly well publicized, but the setting is just lovely — plenty of nature and nearby hiking — and there will be food and music. And, as a bonus, it’s not supposed to be blazingly hot that day, either.

This show will be the last chance for a bunch of items that have been following me around from show to show for a little too long now. These older necklaces and bracelets don’t quite fit in with the direction I’ve been going lately, so they will all be half price at the show this Sunday. After that, they’re going to be taken apart for parts to rework or sell off in the Etsy supply shop I’ve started but haven’t stocked yet.

now at BAYarts

Yesterday I dropped off a handful of charm necklaces and etched pendants at the BAYarts Gallery Shop in Bay Village.

New etched pendants available at BAYarts Gallery Shop

I also learned that the photo taken by the Avon Lake Press reporter did appear in yesterday’s paper. How fun is that?

wow.

That just about sums up the last week for me.

Tuesday I taught etching to an exuberant crowd of a dozen Bead Q employees, the largest class I’ve taught so far. I got some really nice feedback, and my students did some really cool work, too. I also learned that a dozen is far too many for this class, and from this point forward I’m limiting etching to six students at a time. I heard over the weekend that one of my August etching classes is fully booked, and the other is getting close. If you’re thinking about signing up, now is the time, unless you want to wait for September or October (no dates scheduled yet, but I assume we will).

I spent most of last week preparing for the Avon Lake Summer Market, which again this year lived up to its history as a really good show for me. Saturday was pretty much nonstop until early afternoon, then settled down to a thinner crowd but still a steady pace.

Avon Lake Summer Market, before the crowds hit

It was great to see so many of my regular customers and friends, and to meet some new people as well. I was next to Jen of Seat of My Pants, who makes adorable bags and braved out the day despite looking like she was going to burst any second. I had some really wonderful praise for the new work I’ve put so much of my heart and soul and energy into over the past few months, and I was asked to bring some work to BAYarts for inclusion in the gallery shop there, which I will be doing later this week.

We got some great preshow publicity this year, including a short piece in the Plain Dealer’s Friday Magazine, and I had my picture taken with a customer for the Avon Lake Press, which may be included in Wednesday’s paper.

I went most of the day thinking it was a good day but not a record breaker, yet when I got home and counted up I found that I had done even better than last year, my best show ever. It made the exhaustion worth it.

After eleven solid hours of sleep and a little nap here and there yesterday, I’m feeling almost back to normal, just in time to teach the Chunky Chime necklace at Grand River Beads on Thursday and get ready for the North Olmsted show on August 10.

Then today I got an e-mail from the gallery coordinator at the Avon Lake Public Library, who wants me to do a show there for the month of December. That was just the push I need to get it together with some of the bigger, showier pieces I’ve had swirling in my head for a while now.

miscellany

The weekly entertainment update I get via e-mail from the New York Times featured Mamma Mia today. I am ambivalent about Abba — it’s pretty much just fifth-grade nostalgia background music for me — but now I have “Dancing Queen” stuck in my head. It’s not good.

I have been nose to the grindstone in an avalanche of freelance projects. A few were running late from the publishers, one was running early, and one was a peach of a rush project that I couldn’t turn down, so I started out the month with eight projects in various states of completion. I’m still trying to figure out if that was a good or a bad thing, but the paychecks will be nice once they start to come in. I slugged through it and managed to return everything on time, and even a couple of them a day or two early. It was a good feeling. I’m on the last one now, then I’ll have a bit of a breather before the next slate is due to arrive on my desk. The break will be welcome, since I have a couple of upcoming shows and classes to prepare for.

My biggest show of the year and my favorite to do is the Avon Lake Summer Market, which is coming up next Saturday, July 26. Erin and Kristen do a fabulous job of putting together a beautiful show with a wide variety of vendors. The setting couldn’t be more lovely, and they do a nice job of publicizing it. It’s a fundraiser for restoration of the Thomas Folger Home. I hope to see some of you there.

My August show will be the North Olmsted Juried Arts & Crafts Show on Sunday, August 10. This will be the second year for this show. They do a really terrible job of promoting it, but I stick with it because I think it has a lot of potential. I wrote a long feedback letter last year giving them some pointers for promotion, but so far they have not taken them to heart.

This year I started teaching some classes, too. I’m teaching bead classes at Grand River Beads. The May and June classes were bracelet variations on a kit design using large borosilicate beads. On July 31, I’ll be teaching a necklace version, then I’ll be retiring that class for a while. For August, I’m working on an original design using furnace glass and crystals. I’m also teaching etching classes at Bead Q in North Olmsted (8/17) and Chagrin Falls (8/4).

free shipping upgrade

This week, I’m offering a free upgrade to USPS Priority Mail shipping within the United States for orders placed through my Etsy shop. Assuming the post office keeps its end of the bargain, orders placed by noon EST Friday should still arrive in time for Christmas (if the package is going to Alaska or Hawaii, make that Thursday).

Silverthorne Gallery trunk show

Last night’s trunk show at Silverthorne Gallery was a great time! I made more than a handful of sales, and the staff and shop are just fantastic. I got to meet some other wonderful artists, too. Thanks to everyone who came out to support me.