Harvard Square - Nov. 28 + 29

The Harvard Square Holiday Fair celebrated its 24th season and I was happy to be a part of it. Many of the vendors will continue on through the end of December in the same location on Church Street but I’ll be doing many other shows instead (the count is now officially 6 different shows!!) which I’m pretty sure will be lots of fun! Yay December! Ok, so there was an eclectic mix of vendors at the Harvard Square show including my neighbor Mary Risley, MR Jewelry. She brought her nature inspired and one of a kind, embossed sterling silver goodies all the way from Northampton to share with the Harvard Square crowd. And they loved it! It’s always nice meeting new, creative people but it’s especially nice to be situated next to someone at a show that’s genuinely sweet, engaging and fun to be around. I hope we'll be neighbors again soon! Lisa Kerr, Design Consultant (fabulous) was also present showing off Tuff Cookie’s playful, colorful hats for kids and ladies. My mom has a mild obsession with hats (oh, and other accessories) and it took about 30 seconds before she spotted Lisa’s table, selected a hat and completed a purchase. Anyway, the next 3 weeks will be INSANE. Between the full-time job, the evening studio hours, the online shop and the 6 shows in 3 weeks, I hope to keep my sh*t together. So far, so good and that's the plan… but I'll likely fall apart on December 20th which actually works out fine since I have a week off between Christmas and New Years.

p.s. thanks to Kenny, lead singer of Motherboar, (nominated 2 years in a row for Best Metal Band, Boston Music Awards - good luck on Wednesday!!), for keeping me company and helping with breakdown on Sunday :) You're the best!

Wellesley Marketplace - Nov. 21st

On Saturday even though I was a last minute addition (hey, I'll take it!), I participated in the 33rd annual Wellesley Hills Junior Women's Club Marketplace and it was fabulous. Very organized and many enthusiastic volunteers from a great organization. Plus there were many fantastic, talented vendors including Cathy Cahill, Sew Cuties (um, prepare yourself for an explosion of cuteness!!). If you need a gift for a baby shower or toddler or just something for the kid in you, check out Cathy's world of creatures and drawings. Her work is so fun (and so is she)!
Oh! and for those of you on Facebook AND Etsy, I just discovered a new application that lets you set up a "My Etsy" tab on your facebook profile. Click here for more info. pretty sweet!

Chestnut Hill Mall - November 14th

I hadn’t been to the Chestnut Hill Mall in a long time and I was finally able to check it out, so to speak, this past Saturday thanks to the Jamaica Plain Arts Council. I was invited to participate in a holiday artisan showcase having participated in the JP Open Studios in September. So from 10am to 6pm, a sizeable group of JP affiliated artists took over the empty space adjacent to Bloomingdales & Brooks Brothers and though it was raining outside, the feeling inside was cozy and warm. Plus I got to see some friends and check out their newest creations including Cathryn Blackwell, Blackwell’s Stained and Leaded Glass. Yes, we’re both stained glass artists but we've got very different styles. She’s the lady you go to see to restore a lovely leaded window that needs some tlc! She's super and I loved her table set up with the glittering "snow" table! Anna Koon, painter, photographer and writer, was also at the show. She's involved in lots of creative ventures including film projects. yay! I enjoyed looking at her newest mixed media pieces, especially the ones depicting birds on wires. The images feel musical to me, probably because of the color combinations but mostly because birds on a wire remind me of sheet music!Lastly Rob Festa, Dog Devil Studio is an architect by trade but he's also a photographer so it makes perfect sense that he has a great eye for design, color and composition. His photographs have a painterly feel and warmth. I love the piano portraits... simply beautiful. I'd like to say thank you to my friend Nicole for stopping by, bringing me much needed caffeine in the form of coffee, and helping with the break-down session. But alas, it's not all work and no play... we were able to reward ourselves with some delish wine following the show at Aquitaine, I believe it was 14 Hands Merlot. Yum!
See you on Saturday in Wellesley... yes, I am a crazy person who has overscheduled herself! But I love it!!

Hello November!

To begin - pictured above is my booth at the 23rd annual Christmas Festival at the Seaport World Trade Center since I still don’t have photos of my “clean” studio which honestly isn't really all that clean or organized… yet! Also, I missed an update last week (heavens no!) because I had limited computer access + many long hours in the studio so you’re in for a treat as this is a double update! Woohoo!

The Design Hive in Cambridge on November 1st was full of great exhibitors as usual including the lovely "Nicoles", that's Ms. Lyons of Lola’s Urban Vintage and Ms. Deponte of Lilian Asterfield. Some other fabulous designer pals I haven’t mentioned before who were also showing their goods at DH include Erica Walker, Walker Silverworks – beautiful, clean and simple, her silver designs are crafted by hand in a tiny house in New Hampshire. Each piece has been formed with skill and celebrates the beauty and natural qualities of silver (love these earrings!);Kim Gonzaga of Stella Marie Soap Company with the slogan “a good bath freaking rules” says it all - as if relaxing in warm water wasn’t awesome enough, you can enhance the experience by lathering up with a yummy smelling cupcake. Come on, it doesn’t get better than that!; and last but certainly not least, Sara Harding of Sara Danielle Designs, handcrafted precious and semi-precious gemstone jewelry - Sara is a ball of positive energy and her work is delicate, feminine and sparkles with joy (like Sara)! Plus we're both Leos, have curly hair, AND we have the same camera! Here's hoping we have a bigger group of attendees for the next Design Hive on December 6th -the room is full of talent that needs to be seen and experienced!
The last 2 weeks I was up pretty late every night in preparation for the 23rd annual Christmas festival at the Seaport World Trade Center on November 6-8. Lots of last minute details to attend to and then... move in! I arrived at the Seaport WTC at 6pm on Thursday Nov 5th and even though I was moving at a feverish pace, I still wasn't done at 9pm. That's 3 hours of non-stop setting up!??!! So I had to leave the building at 9pm (actually, they announced they were setting the alarm at 9pm and I had 2 minutes to get out! subtle!) and return the next morning to finish setting up. Hey! it's not so easy to create an inviting, spacious 10'x10' world that includes paintings, jewelry AND stained glass, but I think after more than 5 hours, I did ok. I give myself a B-. Next time, I'll set up with the tables out front. Because I felt like people were intimidated to approach my space and walk in. Front and center is key.

That's momma (sporting a white pendant on a 30" inch chain) keeping me company on Sunday...

Despite the unseasonably gorgeous weather, there was still lots of foot traffic at the show though the vast majority of passersby simply passed by, likely overwhelmed by the endless amount of things to see, or maybe they just didn’t like the look of me, my booth, my intimidating mermaids, or my portraits of scantily clad ladies… hey, it’s possible! Needless to say, it was very fun people watching! And I still managed to find my people amongst the masses... yes, you special ladies and gents with style and flair who appreciate the unique & handmade! Papa and I had a particularly fun time and lots of laughs (after AAA retrieved the keys from his locked car ;) on Saturday when we encountered a familial threesome from Poughkeepsie, NY; Danbury, CT; and Lincoln, RI (above). And on Sunday, it was a hoot to meet artist Rose Bryant from NH who'd been reading Artscope on the ride to the show and spotted me and my Artscope centerfold and stopped to say hello! I meet the greatest people!