hingham + holiday = hooray!

Although I was a wee bit cold, I had a fantastic weekend at the holiday shipyard show and became aware of a whole new development in Hingham that I didn't even know existed! Wow. The area is just full of potential for shopping, relaxing and dining.  Tons of free parking, beautiful water views and numerous restaurants including Alma Nove,  Hingham Beer Works and Typhoon Asian Bistro  to name a few. And for some cool design and artsy stuff, there’s BG Galleries, a humongous showroom of antique, vintage and modern design, and across the street, the newly opened satellite location for the South Shore Art Center.  Both were closed by the time I was done packing up for the weekend so I’ll have to make a trip over there soon to do some more exploring.

Ok, so back to the actual SHOW.  Thank you to everyone who came out in droves to attend and make purchases at this first time event, especially my local pals from the south shore.  It was great to see you all and I appreciate the support!  Once again I lucked out with neighbors.  I’ve seen Big Skinny the Cambridge-based creators of the world’s thinnest wallets at several shows but this was the first time I was next to them.  And my other talented neighbor Rachel of Malagueta traveled all the way from Philadelphia to bring her beautiful clothing and handbags to the Boston area.  I think she should come back to Boston often!  

Um, so I kinda splurged a bit and did some shopping of my own.....

Some fabulous frames from Mean & Wroughten (I can’t resist a pair of old red scissors with chipped paint welded to a frame.. I just can’t), a set of gorgeous pillows from Red Staggerwing Designs (hello yummy color combos and beautiful craftsmanship!) and lastly, a most awesome cabinet by John Warren Designs (as soon as I saw it, I stopped in my tracks and was like.. omg, I have to have that!).  But I had to stop myself there for the tent was brimming with so many amazing temptations… 

 Mean & Wroughten frame (without a photo)

Red Staggerwing pillows, my bed never looked so good.

Oh, and a final shout out to Cindy from Letter C Design for also making the trip to Hingham from Connecticut. The designs and paper goods from her studio are just awesome!

Hello September!

Friday, September 4th was the last day of the Mashpee Open Market for the season.. and sadly, I forgot my camera (heavens no!) so I don't have any pics of the day. It was a small group, only about 16 vendors, and I got to see some of my artisan friends, many familiar faces who stop by the market weekly as well as some new friends. Thanks to the suggestion of one of my fellow artists, graphic designer Cindy Slater of Letter C Design, I created my own font (yawn). Well, for some of us, it's quite exciting. And you can see the results above (insert cheerleader going bananas!). Anyway, there are apparently many, many easily accessible websites that allow you to create your own font with just pen & paper, computer and scanner.. and I think it's exciting AND fabulous. If you want to know the (FREE) site I used, email me and I'll pass it along... This weekend I'm heading to Providence on Saturday the 12th and... I'll be sharing a tent with Saya of Saya Studios in SoWa (that's Boston) on Sunday the 13th. Hope to see you there....p.s. Happy 44th Anniversary to Ken & Dassie!! Wowza!

3 Days + 4 Events + 1 Liza = &(@%()@#!

Mashpee, Marshfield, Cotuit & Boston…. Another 3 days back to back and I survived! Phew! It was a little draining, mostly because the weather was so HOT and steamy. And though I would’ve preferred to be at the beach sipping a cool cocktail instead of shvitzing under a tent in a parking lot, incredibly, the hot weather and humidity did not seem to bother the crowds! So it was well worth the sweaty effort. Friday was an exciting day because I had 2 events. The first stop was Mashpee Commons for the Mashpee Open Market. Some standout vendors and all around fabulous ladies (drumroll please)... Cindy Slater of Letter C Design (above) from Connecticut is the owner and designer of her darling paper goods studio. Her stuff is adorable, delicate and girly! And you can personalize everything including notebooks, labels, cards, etc.

And if you’re in the market for something special, as in semi-precious and precious gemstones set with sterling & fine silver, 14K gold and vermeil, you need to check out ZuZu’s Petals, (above) hand-crafted jewelry by Adriana Mead. Beautiful color combos and timeless pieces!
After packing up at Mashpee, I headed north to Marshfield to an art opening at Porcello Gallery (839 Webster Street) where they have 2 of my paintings on display and several of my mermaids in the window. The current show, " A Weekend By the Shore" runs through mid-September so pop by and say hello to Hilary, the gallery director.
On Saturday, I spent the day at a lovely Cape town called Cotuit, very close to Mashpee actually. My tent was adjacent to the Cotuit Federated Church, the sponsors of Craftfest Cotuit 2009. And I have to say, I was blown away by my neighbor, Sandy O’Connor, Red Hill Studio. She is a watercolor artist, recently accepted as a gallery artist by the Copley Art Society and I can see why. Her work is amazing! It looks like she also teaches classes in Hyannis so keep her in mind if you want to brush up against greatness and hope some of it rubs off. Finally to round out the weekend, I shared a tent with my pal Saya Cullinan of Saya Studio, designer extraordinaire and maker of fabulous handbags and accessories. She and I had a night of adventure planned following our day of hard work and fending off sweat, but, unfortunately, our plans were dashed last minute. (damn restaurant week!) Anyway I guess it was a blessing in disguise since I drove straight home following the market, showered and fell asleep at 7:30pm... right in the middle of a movie! So much for a night on the town… I guess I needed the rest after many late nights in the studio and long days in the sun!