Th-th-th-that's All Folks!

The craft show I've been preparing for madly is over and done. Turnout was light, as were sales. I think the problem was two-pronged: 1) the economy is still pretty shaky, and 2) I focused on having a high-end product at a low-end show. My clay work received a lot of attention and admiration, but I only sold three very small pieces. Most sales were earrings I'd marked down to bargain bin prices and small necklaces under $30. Lesson learned.

My booth helper on Sunday was friend and mentor, Lorin Fields. My association with her over the past 10 years has been an adventure. She was the person who taught me to dye fabric, and she was instrumental in gearing me up to work craft shows.

This weekend she talked me into applying to the Piedmont Craftsmen Show in Winston-Salem, NC for next year. It's only 80 miles from home, and it's 12 months away, which gives me LOTS of time to work out a full 10x10 foot booth setup and make up some more show pieces. Yes, I decided to put this beauty up for sale.

In the meantime, I've got lots of leftover stock to fill up my shop, so stay tuned for upcoming listings. Note: free shipping in the US and Canada until December 15! (shipping fees will be refunded through paypal after purchase).

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

copyright 2010 Shibori Girl

Elegant Displays on a Zero Budget

Well, nearly zero. My booth design is finally ready for this weekend's show. I've tweaked and fussed, lost sleep, and worried, and now it's looking pretty good.

This was how it looked last year:

For the 2010 show, I've eliminated the grid cubes in the corner, and all the little picture frame displays for the smaller necklaces. They were ridiculously unstable and it was tricky to get the necklaces off them at the point of sale.

My conundrum this time was how do I display my new clay work? I've added brooches to my inventory, which I'd never had before. As well, I've got all these pretty little necklaces with chains that get tangled up with each other and knotted. I could lose sales while trying to sort that out.

I want displays that look elegant AND cost next to nothing to create. Always up for a challenge, I dusted off my mojo and got to work.

Take one ugly bulletin board from Staples ($20)
Sponge on some leftover paint ($0)
Fire up staple gun to tack down a velvet remnant from a friend's stash ($0)
Cover the staples with a ribbon ($0.75)

"Voila!" A boho-chic display board.

This board will go where those grid cubes were in the previous photo, leaning against the wall.

After the board project was finished, I still had a small piece of the velvet. I'd picked up a drawer organizer several years ago at a yard sale for $2.00. The gorgeous cherry wood is in new condition! I cut foamcore to fit the compartments and glued on the velvet. Wowzer! That's a display worthy of the bracelets I have ready to sell.

Now the only thing I need is customers. I have high hopes...

copyright 2010 Shibori Girl

Sparkles and Texture Galore

My time has been divided between beadweaving more sparkly goodness and tweaking my booth design for the show, which is less than TWO WEEKS AWAY!

My work modus operandi is to start a piece without a plan, then to run out of a specific bead. The piece takes up residence in the Closet of Abandonment, and I forget to order more of that-thing-I-ran-out-of. The result of this behavior: my project graveyard is full. Last week, I bit the bullet and placed a massive order with Fire Mountain Gems. The box arrived over the weekend and I knuckled down to finish some pieces.

I now have two very beautiful bracelets finished and listed for sale in my shop.

"Medici" Bracelet

"Blue Ice" Bracelet

The rest of this week will be devoted to booth design. This is the first time I'll be showing my polymer clay pieces and they present some display issues. Like, what's the best way to display brooches?

copyright 2010 Shibori Girl

Recycle... Reuse...

For a couple of years now I've been relisting expired items in my etsy shop. Every four months: another fee incurred and little very little interest generated in those early pieces. Frankly, I can understand this disinterest. Take this piece, for instance. It's a pretty necklace, but very simple and stringing was the only real skill involved with its creation. I decided to cut bait on this one.

I took the pearls off and used them in a new beadweaving project. I loved weaving this over-the-top gorgeous piece. First, I made a focal bead of Swarovski crystals and tiny little seed beads. Some vintage French bead caps make a beautiful frame for this spectacular bead.

Those rescued freshwater pearls went into the tubular netted rope for a nice rich texture. The final touches were beaded end caps and a gold-filled magnetic clasp.

"Cleo"

Once this piece was finished, I felt compelled to do another. I didn't have any other pieces to recycle this time, so I went full out with golden yellow Swarovski faux pearls.

"Natasha"

Fourteen hours (and a wicked hand cramp) later, I can't decide which one I like better.

~~~

Something I've learned about myself recently is: whatever skill I'm using at a specific moment in time is my favorite. Right now, it's beadweaving. Next week, it could be polymer clay. It's nice to know that when I need to take a break from one favorite thing, there's another waiting in the wings for me to enjoy next!

copyright 2010 Shibori Girl

A Good Cause

Last week I decided to try something new and joined a Street Team at Etsy. They are the Etsy Beadweavers Street Team and they are a wonderful, nurturing group of people with buckets of talent. (You can find a link to the team's blog in my right sidebar.) Each month the group has a beading challenge, and the winner gets to pick the theme of the next month's challenge, as well as bragging rights.

Right now, we are gathering donations for Andrew Thornton, a fellow beader, who finds himself stuck with a daunting number of hospital bills after surgery to treat cancer. This treasury features a selection of pieces for this purpose.

click on the image to see treasury

Please note, 100% of the proceeds from these sales will go directly to Andrew. Please, head on over, click through the treasury and comment to keep it at the front. This is a great reason to buy a gift, or a treat for yourself.

You can read more about Andrew Thornton at his blog. Please feel free to pass the word, post about this on your own blogs, etc.

Thank you,


copyright 2010 Shibori Girl

The Total Package

I'm slated to do the Alternative Christmas Market show again at the United Church of Chapel Hill. The dates are November 20-21. If you are in the Raleigh-Durham area, I'd love for you to stop in and say, "Hey!". This will be my third consecutive year of participation in this event, and each year I try to spiff up my image a bit.

This time, it's business cards and packaging. I researched online regarding business card design for jewelry artists. All the advice said it was imperative to have a color picture of your work somewhere on your card. Otherwise, the card is simply a waste of paper. People need to have a picture to remind them of why they took your card in the first place.

This weekend I ditched my black-and-white, text only, business card model and went whole hog. Did you know that your local Staples copy center can do a bang-up job of printing business cards? I went with a larger quantity to bring the cost-per-card down significantly, and I also uploaded an image of my own design. For a nominal extra charge I opted for their premium card stock, and I have to say, the final results pretty much knocked my socks off.

~~~

For years I've wanted to offer some form of gift packaging at shows. I found some reasonably priced pillow boxes in two sizes, and made up some pretty labels. I've got LOADS of wired ribbons left over from my ribbon flower-making period. I've precut them to fit the two sizes of boxes, and I think the final result is very appealing.

Now all I need is the customers! :)

If you have any other ideas for presentation, I'd love to hear them.

copyright 2010 Shibori Girl

Busy, Busy, Busy...

Thankfully, my days of perching against a heating pad while staring, glassy-eyed, at the tv are done. My number of good days FAR outweighs the bad and I've been crazy Productive Girl. I'm still on a beadweaving kick and have a number of new pieces listed in my shop.

I love making earrings - especially glamorous statement pieces like these:

(Click on the images to see individual listings)

Twilight Earrings

Seafoam Earrings

Flower Jade and Faux Pearl Earrings

Some super-sparklie netted beads:

In addition, I'm sprucing up my Etsy shop listings: improved photos, marking prices down, etc.

Glamorous Two-Piece Beadweaving

Cobalt/Lavender Beaded Lariat

Seed Bead Necklace

All this recent effort is with the Holiday season in mind. More pieces will go on sale in the coming weeks, so check back often.

copyright 2010 Shibori Girl

Sometimes A Girl Just Needs To Feel Sparklie

Once in a while when I get together with my best girlfriends, my Ya-ya's, we get silly and wear wild head gear. I've been meaning to make myself a tiara for these special times, but haven't had the time. This weekend I made time. For the flowers I cannibalized some wire-wrapped earrings that I've had in inventory forever. Special sale pricing proved ineffective at moving them, so I used them for this bit of Sparklie Goodness...

OK, Girls, I'm ready for our next meeting!

copyright 2010 Shibori Girl

And The Winner Is...

The winner of the contest to name my newest collection of clay jewelry is (drumroll please):

Tameka from Tea And Honey Bread

Her contribution to the name pool is Morrocane Magic. I love this... a play on words and it's catchy. Thanks to everyone who participated.


copyright 2010 Shibori Girl

While Mining Netflix, I Found A Gem

I'm still stuck on the sofa. My back is improving, but flares up quickly if I'm not careful. Daytime tv selections are dreadful, so I've been watching streaming Netflix... a LOT. While trolling through the many, varied choices over there, I found Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm School.

The title was so cumbersome, I was skeptical about how good it would be. The cast is stellar: Mary Steenburgen, Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty), John Goodman, Marissa Tomei, Donny Wahlberg, Adam Arkin, Miguel Sandoval, Ernie Hudson, and Danny Devito. My God, with a cast like that, why didn't this 2005 movie get more press?

I found myself delighted and deeply touched as I watched. This is a heartfelt, poignant story of a widower thrown into a tragic situation that inspires him to change his life. The actors move through their parts gently, working to avoid out-shining each other. In particular, John Goodman demonstrates he is a mature and skillful actor with his touching performance.

The script was very well written. The story flows through present and flashback scenes so easily, that it never leaves you feeling lost. The plot and subplots are woven together so well that the actors are able to bring these characters to life. You clearly see their transformations without proclamations or huge speeches.

You won't find action scenes, obvious, gratuitous sex, or beautiful people; these are tragic figures who find direction. A sleeper film, but what a treasure! I hope you'll try it... you won't be disappointed. (Oh, and lest you be put off by the idea of ballroom dancing, actual dancing plays a verrry tiny part in the plot.)

copyright 2010 Shibori Girl

Fall is in the Air

The days are getting shorter, the sun is lower in the sky, and squash is in season at the Farmer's Market.

I roasted a funky looking squash (can't remember the name... sorry) - the farmer told me it would be a good pumpkin-like flavor. It is. To mark the onset of Fall, I made pumpkin pancakes this morning.

What a fabulous recipe! You can find the recipe at my cooking blog.

~~~

In other news, I'm slated to participate in our local church's Alternative Gift Market again this Thanksgiving (I'll be the one with all the jewelry! :) . I'm SO looking forward to this event. People come ready to buy, as the proceeds go to charity, and I really enjoy representing my work personally to the customers. I'll post more about it as we get closer. The dates are November 20-21, if you happen to be in the Chapel Hill-Durham-Raleigh area.


copyright 2010 Shibori Girl

Polymer Clay and That Thing That Happened...

There I was, being a Good Girl and resting on the sofa. I spent the past week making the blog rounds, rearranging the furniture (so to speak) on my own site, and watching a LOT of movies from streaming Netflix. My back is beginning to feel marginally better and I started to get bored.

For the past few days I went into the studio for a short while and found that something wonderful had happened.

I decided to make some pins and earrings using really old canes. The slices I made were cracked and crumbly (we're talking 6 months old here). So, thanks to Alice's advice, from Polymer Clay, Etc, I reduced the canes down: small, smaller, and smallest. I had no idea these canes, originally about 1.5 inches square, could go down as far as 1/4 inch. They made beautiful borders.

I began building my brooches with a single large slice. As I played with my new mini canes, I realized that I'd need to add some contrast between the center area and the borders. I textured some 18 karat gold leaf-covered clay and cut it to fit. Add on the borders and... "Wowzer!"

While reducing some of the canes, I stopped at about 1/2 in and tiled slices together to make a larger kaleidoscope design.

This I cut into several different shapes and added black and gold leaf borders. A few slices from my favorite flower petal cane added an exciting detail to these new earrings and necklace.

I also had some regrettable "junk canes" sitting in a drawer. I'd mish-mashed some scraps of clay together and added some blue and white as borders. The final result looked uninteresting, to say the least. I reformed the round cane into a rectangle and cut some slices. Add some black, gold leaf, and bright border cane slices... NOW we're cooking. The final touch: a single honey-colored Swarovski crystal in the center of the junk cane slice.

I have no idea where these new pieces came from. I guess I should take more time off!

~~~

Now I need to come up with a name for this new series of pieces. They remind me of old-fashioned tapestries and/or Persian carpets. What do you think? The person who comes up with the name I decide to use will get a special prize - a pair of these pretty earrings:

So spread the word to your friends. All ideas are welcome! Just be sure to leave your contact info in the comment you leave here. The contest will end on Sept 25 and I'll post the winner in a blog entry shortly after that. Thanks for your help. :)


copyright 2010 Shibori Girl