In a Nutshell...

In Chicago at the Renegade Craft Holiday Show - check out the travel display!

Well, as I suspected, it's been a wild month. Completely manageable, but wild nonetheless. One month = 5 shows, etsy, wholesale for a total of about 200 pieces of jewelry sold. That's a lot of metal work! Yesterday was the first day I didn't have any sales in my Etsy shop, so I can really say for the first time that it's time to kick my feet up. And when I say kick my feet up, I mean organize and do year end calculations like mad!

Other exciting news, I've been accepted into the AltCraft section at ACC. This is such a major milestone for me. For the last two years that I've lived in Baltimore, I've always gone to the ACC show and just gazed in wonder. And then went to the AltCraft section and gazed some more and thought, I belong here. And this year I will be there!! I have exciting plans for a new line incorporating some of my ceramics into my metalwork. I've been wanting to do this forever and think this is the perfect venue to debut these pieces.

Ms. Ladybug - our only picture, since she's afraid of cameras

And lastly, we have a new addition to our family! Ms. Ladybug, a gorgeous and funny and sweet Basset House & Beagle mix we adopted from the SPCA. There's never a dull moment with this Lady, but she gives us so much love - we are all crazy about her, even Louie.

Here we go!

Well, it's hard to believe, but this weekend is my first show of the season. That's right, in just three days. The show is called Holiday Heist and it's in Vienna, Va. at the Soundry. It's my first year doing this show and I have to admit I'm a bit skeptical. It seems like there are A LOT of jewelry artists and at least 4 metalsmiths that I know of, and that's out of 30 some vendors. Hmmmm. Anyway, if you are going to be there be sure to check your goodie bag. There's a 10% off coupon to spend on your purchase at my table.

Also, remember that picture of the empty cardboard box (pictured below). Well, it's filling up with finished jewelry! I'll be sure to post a picture of it soon. You'll be amazed at all the goodies I've produced. I will do my best to keep you all posted during this super busy holiday season. And did I mention that I'm offering free shipping until the end of the year on all purchases from my Etsy shop? Just a little something to make your holiday shopping easier.

Production Time

Yes, I've known for quite some time that the holiday season was coming. A time when I need to have lots and lots of jewelry ready to be snatched up on Etsy and at the craft shows that I'll be doing. But then the acceptance notices starting rolling in and now I have 5 shows, one of which is a two day show and Craftland, which is this amazing month long show in Providence, RI. So, I sat down and started to do some figuring and came up with this awesome chart:

Basically, this chart says that I need to make over 200 pieces of jewelry. In the next 5 weeks. Luckily, I've gotten a good head start on that goal, so I think I'll be okay. I'll likely be working some late nights and weekends, but it'll totally be worth it to do these amazing shows. Seriously, check out this line up:

Saturday, November 21st: Holiday Heist in Vienna, VA

Saturday, December 5th: Holiday Heap, Baltimore

Saturday, December 5th & 6th: Renegade Chicago

Saturday, December 12th: Squidfire, Baltimore (sharing a space with Sugar Paperie)

Sunday, December 13th: Last Minute Maul at School 33

Here is my new inventory box, just waiting to be filled (don't worry, I have a whole other box of inventory already made). I'll keep you all posted on my progress. Beer and coffee will help get me through (and lots of face licks from Louie, my faithful studio companion).

Surprise! Crafty Bastards

my display

Well, remember when I wrote about doing the Fenton Street Market last week? Well, instead of doing Fenton on Saturday, I got the opportunity to be a Crafty Bastard instead! I had been on the waiting list, but it's such a great show that they weren't able to make room for me (because every single person that was invited said yes). That is, until someone cancelled the day before the show. Fortunately, I happened to have lots of stock on hand, so I was able to say yes to this last minute opportunity. And I'm so glad I did! The shoppers were wonderful, I received many, many lovely words of praise about my work and people were gobbling it up. The whole day was like a craft show dream come true, including the weather. Not only that, I but I shared a booth with Monica Stroter of Sugar Paperie. She is so sweet and her note cards are so lovely. She was a source of calm, which was nice on such a hectic day.


So, thanks to Sara and Kim of Crafty Bastards/Hello Craft fame. You guys run a pretty fantastic show and were so great to work with. I am really so thankful to have been given this amazing opportunity!

Fenton Street Market - This Saturday!!

Now that I've recovered from pneumonia (yes, you heard that correctly) and my vacation, I'm back in the studio and have all manner of shows and other opportunities lined up. This Saturday, I'll be selling my goods at the Fenton Street Market in Silver Spring, Maryland. This is a new street market which premiered last month. Word on the street is that it was a hit! You can find me sharing a booth with my super talented and sweet friend Jen of Yummy and Company. She makes really cute flower and botanical accessories made from polymer clay.

If you're in the area, please swing by. Did I mention that they also have hot mini-donuts? Mmm.

Saturday, October 3, 2009
9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
rain or shine
Corner of Fenton Street and Silver Spring Avenue
*Free parking in public lots across Fenton Street*

Our opening market will feature more than 60 vendors with an exciting array of fine, unusual, imported, and handmade goods...plus live music and hot mini donuts

Ahhhh, Seattle!

After taking 10 days away from the east coast, followed by 5 days in bed sick, I am back! I had a lovely, lovely time in Seattle with dear friends and family. But really, my best friend of all on this trip is the city of Seattle. Remember how on Sex in the City, Carrie has a date with NYC? Well, that's sort of how it was with Seattle on this trip. It rained buckets the first few days, but that didn't stop us from making little jaunts into the city and we even spent a day up in Vancouver. Here are some highlights of our trip, you may notice that most of these center around food, since I really like to eat!

Bakery Nouveau: A fantastic bakery filled with baked goodness in West Seattle, a favorite neighborhood of mine. It's like a little escape to France, and the is owner famed for his baguettes. We enjoyed slabs of pizza, served very much like in Italy, and double baked almond coissants (yeeeesssss!). And, how cute are these pictures of our jaunt there?


bakery nouveau fun!

Sushi and the Pike Place Market: I went for super yummy sushi with my dear friend Leo, a graphic designer, semi-professional ballroom dancer and musician, at an sushi place that I can't remember the name of. Afterwards, my sweetie Jeff and I strolled the Pike Place Market and purchased tea at Market Spice and all manner of goodies at Delarentis italian deli. We even ran into a friend!

Vancouver, B.C.: Jeff, my lovely in-laws Dave and Judy and I piled in the car and drove to Vancouver for the day. We spent most of the time on Granville Island, which is like the Pike Place Market, except that there are tons of amazingly talented crafters and artists in addition to the yummy treats and produce. They have these beautiful galleries with working artist's studios in the back. . The Gallery of B.C. Ceramics has long been a favorite place of mine and so inspirational to me as a potter. I scored a stunning mug by B.C. potter Jackie Frioud there. It's just so sweet and simple and lovely to hold and looks so cool on my desk. After Granville Island we strolled around Stanley Park and then ate dinner at one of my favorite restaurants ever, Delilah's where we indulged in martinis and yummy food. It was a perfect day!

ivy covered beams under the bridge on Granville Island

Madison Park: One night we went to Madison Park, which is a fantastic neighborhood on Lake Washington, just near Capital Hill. It has restaurants and cute shops and it's fun to walk along the water. It was one of those sunny days where the water is glistening and we enjoyed margaritas and butternut squash and goat cheese enchiladas. Mmmmm.

not in Madison Park, still funny!

Nordstrom: Okay, I couldn't exactly go to Seattle without going to Nordstrom. The Nordstrom in Bellevue Square is one of the best in the country. It's about 5x the size of the Nordstrom stores here in MD and has so many pretty clothes and shoes. They even have entire section (the size of a shoe store) of sporty Nikes/Pumas/Adidas for the ladies. I swooned, but walked away with only one denim skirt.

Barbecue at Judy and Dave's: Our last night in town my previously mentioned really sweet in-laws hosted a barbecue for us and our friends. We had a great time catching up with lots of folks that we haven't seen since we moved away. The food and the conversation were perfect and it was a sunny 85 degrees, rare warm weather in mid-September. Hooray!!! A perfect end to a perfect trip.

My (very cute!) husband Jeff and his dad and beer

Hold the Meat

For a long time now, both my husband and I have toyed with the idea of giving up meat. We love animals and have often made veggie and vegan meals for ourselves. We also have had a penchant for the Hamilton Tavern's tasty bacon, egg and cheese burger and for fine cured meats. Nonetheless, a few weeks ago we threw in the towel and actually gave up meat. And you know what? We both feel great! Besides, there are so many yummy, yummy foods that don't have meat in them. Here are some examples of my favorites:

-Guacamole/avocados

-Salsa and Chips

-Pizza

-Gnocchi with pesto

-Chocolate

-Peanut butter

-Beer

The picture at the top of the post was my lunch today, and it was so tasty. It was half of a toasted homemade English muffin, soy sausage, basil from the garden and fresh mozzarella (melted). So simple and incredibly satisfying. I'd love to hear about your simple veggie meals.