Monday, April 23, 2012

Show hiatus--until July

just in time for summer:
Under the Sea: turquoise and
coral seaweed --pricing/sizing
available
through www.theafine.com
The good news is that the shows this spring ultimately were successful. The contacts were great, the opportunities for teaching are superb.  Now to find a locale for the classes -- perhaps the clubhouse here at EH would be better than the studio itself.

There is no bad news!  I've the time to design and to get some kits and class materials together.  Remember, I'm teaching at the Gemcutters Guild of Baltimore at the end of June, beginning of July....check the classes out on their site!  I'm teaching three ways of bezeling around the gems they've cut....What fun...and you can join in!!!

I'm awash in ideas for new designs for both Circle the Stone and Under the Sea, but before I go there, I need to finish up the two prototypes for the Judaica collection so I can share with a few shops.

The latest addition to the collection is "Just what the doctor ordered" -- they're custom-made and sized medic-alert bracelets.  A large step up from the garden variety from the drug store!  Chain maille or pearl or swarovskis are in the works.  Stay tuned.

BUT, before I do anything else, I need to finish up a writing project AND a baby sweater for a friend's soon-to-be-delivered new granddaughter!

I'm also learning all about Pinterest -- not sure WHAT I'm doing, but trying hard to do it! LOL.  My work has been pinned a few times already.....

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Spring shows over: The chicks have flown

     PHEW! I am tired!  Sugarloaf was a good show this Spring. Not heavy traffic, but good traffic for me.  Many projects went off to good homes.  I ONLY send them to good homes, of course.   The mailing list has grown markedly; web contacts, too.
I'm only sorry that I won't be able  to participate in the Timonium show the last weekend of the month.  It would have been a good event.  Next up?  Ann Arbor in July!  I'm now wait-listed for Sugarloaf fall shows...hope to get in....
     Given the relatively light schedule, it gives me much time to stock up on supplies AND to get existing projects finished, kits completed and up on the website, and some classes scheduled.  REMEMBER, I am teaching at the Baltimore Gem Cutters at the end of June.
     The other major step I need to take is to update the website photos, and get a shopping cart up there!  The new line is launched...."Just what the doctor ordered" is alive and well....Medic-alert bracelets in 12-in-1 Japanese chain maille in a variety of colors.  I'm also getting some other versions ready in other media...stay tuned on that one!!!.
     And while I was away, the birds have flown.  As you may recall, I have a tiny barn finch nest at the top of the column that holds up my front door's porch roof.  We last saw mama bird feeding tiny babies.  Just before I headed out to the show, the young 'uns were beginning to take test flights.....Here's a picture of them as they were about to launch themselves.....And now, like my own young 'uns, they've flown the next.  Time to clean up the guano and wait for next year's fledglings.
     Tempis fugit, as they say!
     Off to work I go!!

Sunday, April 15, 2012

One day more.....Come on down!

Sugarloaf continues. I'm cleaned, dressed, pressed, bedecked and bejeweled and ready to grab a bit of breakfast before heading to the show....and ARGHHHHHHHH!!!!  The clock radio in the hotel room is off by an hour.  It SAYS it's 7:24, but, in reality, it is only 6:24!  No wonder I'm still so very tired!

The solution?  More beading time!  I can finish up a necklace before I head off to the show....It has been busy, but nowhere close to the definition of busy during the fall holiday season.  I've even got a "booth-and-a-half".  While in the middle of a row, I've been able to configure the space to provide the illusion of a corner booth, allowing beaucoups of additional sunlight streaming in from the window nearby.  Wonderful!!!  AND I've got a bit of extra "leg room" behind to provide a nice little storage area!  Wowzers!

The only thing that's missing is YOU!  So come to visit!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Set up at Sugarloaf Craft Show complete!

So, I'm at the hotel, with my feet up, having spent the better part of the day setting up the booth at Sugarloaf.  PHEW!
Poor John had to go back home on a "pick up what Teddi stupidly left at home" mission.  The velvet shelves on which the jewelry sits were left in the basement! DOH!  So everything WAS good to go EXCEPT what was necessary to display the jewelry!  Double DOH!

But we're all set up now; he's on his way home. I'm trying to figure out what to do for dinner....perhaps a salad from somewhere or other....MUCH to drink -- water, that is!

I'm surprised by how empty the show seems to be; but I remain hopeful that this will be a good one for me.  On the bright side, the booth is larger than usual, leaving me storage space and the ability to create the illusion of a corner booth.  Sunlight streams in and helps reduce the need for extra lighting.  A good thing!  HUZZAH!  A freebie, too!

COME TO VISIT! BOOTH 107!  Sugarloaf Craft Show Montgomery County Fairgrounds, Gaithersburg MD!




Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Taking the show on the road this weekend

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I'm going to be at the Sugarloaf Craft Show at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Gaithersburg Maryland this weekend.  Friday through Sunday.


I'll be upstairs in building 6A, booth 107.  Do come to visit!  I'll be looking forward to seeing friends old and new, and making new acquaintances, too!

It's just the time to pick out things for Mother's Day and for graduates and brides.  Stop by early for the best selection or to special order in time for the wedding or graduation!