Where I psych myself out and am completely convinced that every show I go to will be a complete bust.
A quick to do list for tomorrow before I go to bed:
Tonight is the Rare + Fine (Rare Device + Sodafine) Wishlist party in Park Slope, for those of you able to make it! The poster is made by the lovely und talented Sian Keegan.
Come for 10% off, a little sparkling drink and handmade goodies. And since Greenjeans and Shoemine are involved, I pretty much have to ditch Sian at the party and do some shopping myself.
Just kidding!*
*I'm totally not.
Taking a quick break in the middle of the day to down a mug of water before heading back into the metal studio. The photo is of my Baltic Bazaar loot-- I highly recommend going there if you're in the Brooklyn Heights/Cobble Hill area. It took me forever to get over there but I am so glad I did. Thanks for telling me about it, Rena!
They sell fabric by the pound and all the pieces are in a variety of sizes and perfect for small projects. I needed some for displays and made it out of there with 12 pounds.
It was totally worth the drive and crazy search for parking.
My favorite pieces are below: the red one has a pattern that reminds me of those projects when you were a kid and used peas and toothpicks to create structures. The cream colored one has such a pretty texture, I wish there was more of it!
My Thanksgiving post is a little late, but there are things worth mentioning so I will do it anyway. There is so much to be thankful for-- this year has been especially good to me in pretty much all aspects of my life. My business is growing and almost self sustaining, everyone I love is healthy and fulfilling their dreams, and Lars has actual plans to move to NY. 2006 was an awful year and although 2007 has had its downside(s), there was plenty of silver lining in those situations. In 2008 I will work on giving back more of the goodness I have been blessed with, I promise.
The actual Thanksgiving day was pretty much the worst one of all time. The night before, I got sick with some kind of food poisoning so by the time Nov. 22 rolled around, I was sleep deprived and unable to eat anything. Unbelievable. Luckily, the plans were to just stay home and relax and being sick allowed me to take a break from working. Silver lining, silver lining!
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Last week I bought plasticine for my dad for his birthday, look what he made! It always makes me sort of sad to see that he was never allowed or able to pursue what he loved to do but it strengthens my resolve to keep pushing towards a career that I have a passion for. I'm not going to eff my opportunity up.
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Yesterday's Cyber Monday sale was an enormous hit, wow. So much so that I stayed up til 3am and then spent the next morning/noon time trying to fulfill as many orders as I could, stamping boxes and making little baking twine bows. My reliable little tumbler is pushing its hardest right now. I just hope the holiday season will continue to be this awesome because I have some big expenses coming up.
Today was a trip to Baltic Bazaar, but more on that tomorrow. I am beat, yo.
Wish list cards for Rare Device's wishlist party on Thursday!! 6pm-9pm, and Sian and I will be selling our handmade goodies.
Just a quick one for now; having a 35% sale off of the entire shop today only. If there's something you've been eyeing, now's the time! (Sale ends at 11:59pm.)
I was at Pearl Paint getting my dad a birthday present (plasticine, which he's been wanting for a while now) and I came upon some supplies I had never seen before. After buying a couple of things, I'm now doing a little porcelain jewelry experiment. I am not completely sold on all of them, but I like the shattered design the best so far. They are hand painted and I'm not accustomed to the consistency of the ceramic paint just yet so are a bit goopy. These are unfired, so we'll see how it goes! The circles will become pendants, I think.. and the marquis shapes will become pins.
My new Judith Haas ring. Gold plated bronze and the gorgeous stone is labradorite. Find out more about her here. She does beautiful gold work, organic forms with a forged look. So tactile and good.
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Today is my dad's birthday.. happy birthday to my dad! I baked an onion bread for him but I have no photo unfortunately. I think bread machines are the greatest.
I also found out that this is the reading level of my blog:
I am starting to panic a little about inventory and displays, so this post will mostly be photos while I gather myself together. This weekend was really lovely.. roaming around the city with Rena, who introduced me to Kinokuniya. I think it is pretty much my favorite place in the world right now. Then it was off to check out Edge NY where I saw Judith Haas and could not resist one of her pieces.. more tomorrow. After all that, I finally made it to Edgewater, NJ for some quality Gina time*.
What you see here is the result of a swap I participated in, which I am just completely thrilled about. The construction is amazing and the craftsmanship perfect. There is a clear zip pocket in the front which is like, whoa-- this is how my brain should be. I know I'm going to be using that so much. All of this thanks to Vanessa of Gerbera Designs. I'm not sure how she knew I'd need that little pouch and those adorable hairclips too, but somehow she did. A magical, wonderful, lovelyx100 swap. Thanks Vanessa!!!
In my world, next to tea & cake, mail of the non-junk variety is the next best thing on a chilly fall day. Thank you!
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My other half tells me that I have some chocolate coming to me by post and today I was notified by another small biz owner that the trade item she's been working on for me is ready (!!!) -- it's so fun to have goodies in the mail to look forward to.
I just placed an order to my caster for a bunch of bronze succulent ornaments in time for the holiday shows and sales. (Photo is of the piece in matte brass.) I think a skinny little velvet ribbon will complement it nicely. I've never made ornaments before so I'm quite excited about this batch! They are huge and graphic but being bronze lends it a timeless quality. For a tree, a window, or anywhere that needs a little pretty.
I purchased a Polaroid Sx-70 about a month ago and haven't actually gotten around to playing with it yet. A post just to give me a little inspiration-- there are so many beautiful polaroids floating around flickr.
1. the guardian, 2. me to her, 3. 042, 4. tree 01 11 07, 5. purple sweet potato macaron, 6. SX-70 / blendフィルム, 7. jackson, 8. Autumn and chocolate and coffee, 9. Mayble, 10. hand-me-down's, 11. Clockwork Horse, 12. invite, 13. cacuti pot #2, 14. Hypnotique Indie, 15. Blue mistery.....•, 16. mmmh ...
I've been trying alot harder with blogging every day. Can you tell?
Was just thinking on Saturday that I missed the museum. I just can't bring myself to drive so much anymore; only what is necessary. Still not over the accident although I should be because being a frightened driver is dangerous.
Less than a month left before the convention I'm selling at and a holiday shopping party at DWR! Gotta get making get making.
My mom made this really great and super simple Asian cole slaw/salad the other day and it was so easy that I have to share. The amounts are up to you and it's also one of those dishes that doesn't have a recipe so if you decide to try it, use your intuition.
(I don't have a photo of it, so instead please enjoy this photo of a cute sugar/creamer set at Rare Device that we just got in last week.)
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Ingredients:
[1 C] raw cabbage, thinly sliced
[.5 C] cooked chicken, thinly sliced
[3-4 TB] fish sauce
[2 TB] lemon juice
[1 TB oil] a clove of garlic, fried in oil (you want the oil for this)
salt
toasted sesame seeds
red pepper flakes optional
Note: When purchasing fish sauce, go for the most expensive bottle. No worries about never using it again, because you totally will. Like in curries! Or in fish soups. Which sound awful but are actually so great, esp. if you're like me and dislike fish.
Combine all the ingredients and consume alone or with white rice.
Mm.. food = happy.
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Edit: Amounts were requested so I will put approx amts in brackets. Approx!!!
And I'm not going back into rags or in the hole
and our bruises are coming
but we will never fold
A couple days ago, I was having my daily cereal & WSJ and I saw an article that said that Conde Nast was shutting down House & Garden. The author questioned why a magazine that was so popular in 2006 could do this poorly in 2007 and it made me curious about design blogs and if their existence could be hurting the big trade magazines. Surely not! I still enjoy thumbing through big glossy pages and stickering things I like. But who knows. I suppose it wouldn't really surprise me if blogs ended up hiking up the prices of print mags... buying one is the next best thing.
I am in love; he is so beautiful! Have not decided on a name though. Suggestions?
**edit: His name is Winsor Newton! Oh oh my heart is full.
