Autumn (it still is autumn, no matter what Macy’s and Wal-Mart tell you) is a time for change. Sometimes it seems the leaves take forever to reach their brilliant hues of gold, yellow, orange and red. Then it seems, almost over night, the tree’s are on fire with color. Then, an over cast day leads to a windy and rainy evening storm and over night the trees shed their leaves and blanket the ground with color.

Quirky Crafters Holiday Bazaar

I hope every body's Thanksgiving was fantastic! This past weekend I was in Rhinebeck, New York vending at the Quirky Crafter's Holiday Bazaar. It was a blast! Leah, of gomonkeydesign.etsy.com organized the whole thing and did a wonderful job. It was great to be in Rhinebeck, a community that truly appreciates unique, handmade and handcrafted goods.

I look forward to doing more shows in the area and hopefully the Quirky Crafter's Holiday Bazaar next year!

Also at the show was fellow Connecticut Etsian Sharon Jenkins, of morganstreet.etsy.com, maker of amazing handcrafted soap and body luxuries. Her soaps were so fragrant, they were actually making me hungry! I indulged myself and bought her patchouli bay rum and lily of the valley soaps.

Classical Day

I've recently discovered one of the most awesome websites, in my opinion, Pandora.com . It is a website that curates up to 100 radio stations based on your suggestion of an artist or song that you like. It also has tons genre radio stations to choose from, which I've been really into lately. Yesterday was New Orleans jazz day, today is classical symphonic day.
I'm becoming a huge fan of classical music, its extremely relaxing and makes you feel smart. Really, you should try it. Check out Pandora and discover some new music, its totally free and worth a listen.

Pretty Little Things

Some things give me such pleasure. These photos depict some of my favorite things, which are lovingly displayed in my little studio area. I love to look at them while I'm working, or when i need a bit of inspiration. To me, they are like little treasures.

Shows...

I had booked this past weekend with two shows and was expecting to be raking in the dough. With Christmas right around the corner I figured everyone would be out shopping for cool, unique, handmade gifts. Well I was wrong. I ended up loosing money at both shows and was pretty disappointed.

Looking back at the whole experience now is enlightening. Both of the shows I did were weekly markets, so I've decided to try to sick to annual shows / fairs. Although I didn't make any money, I did meet some wonderful people, did a bit of networking and of course handed out business cards. I even had a wholesale inquiry.

I learn something new every time a do a show.

Organizing

I am constently struggling with keeping my studio area clean and organized but i seem to have the most trouble organizing and storing completed pieces. I hate to put them away because a lot of them provide inspiration for new pieces. I've toyed with the idea of buying jewelry trays, but never thought they would completely solve my problem; it seems I'd need so many different size compartments.

But I believe I have found a great solution: antique type set trays. This one is large enough to hold pretty much all of my pieces and makes such a beautiful storage unit!

Gray, Grey

I love the treasury that addorns the front page of Etsy right now. So many shades of grey (or gray).

Keep Looking

I have two shows, back to back this weekend and another next weekend, so I've been working hard to create inventory.

I've stared a new series entitiled "keep looking" featuring images of beautifully forlorn looking Victorian Era women. I'm hoping the series, which is mostly sterling silver, becomes a hit over the next few weeks.

Kitchen After

My wonderful boyfriend worked so hard demolishing, assembling and installing this beautiful new kitchen. We are both so happy with the end result...what an improvement, huh? Of course, it's not finished yet, a subway tile backsplash will be put up this weekend.

Kitchen Before

This is what I've been up to

Amidst the mess of my full kitchen renovation, I've been attempting to assemble 25+ pieces for an opening at d.Art Gallery in Easthampton MA, revamp my inventory for the four shows I have scheduled this month and update my etsy shop. Its been quite a challenge, but I think I've done well and the kitchen is coming along beautifully. Before and after (and every where in between) pictures to come...