Anthology

spectacular Craftacular

Well, that's just what I've heard.  We had a busy holiday weekend at the store and I didn't get away but Sachi was busy over at the Masonic Center.  We certainly lucked out with the weather, and there were many people downtown as well for the Holiday Open House.  Several customers commented that they enjoyed the show and I am hearing good reports from friends and fellow artists and crafters.  It has certainly been satisfying to work on something that was so well-received... makes answering and writing those hundreds of emails all worthwhile.  I feel strongly that this is an important event for the Madison area so it was a pleasure to be able to co-host.  Now begins the cleaning-up, evaluation, planning... oh yeah, and getting ready for Christmas!  My long list of things to make is getting shorter, just as the time is getting shorter.  Certain things have already been crossed off - either I won't get to them or they are done.

i'm sure there would be pictures...

If I hadn't left my camera at my parents' house a few days ago.  To make a long story short, somehow I've ended up carrying only the bare minimum around with me for the last couple days.  Usually there's a larger tote with the yoga clothes, fig newtons for the adorable girl, camera, sunglasses, calendar, etc.  But for the last couple days I've just had my keys and my wallet.  I'm not at all a minimalist so I'm not sure why the situation is going on as long as it is.  There have been several occasions that I've wished for my camera.  Wait, was this going to be a short story?  The short story is that there are no pictures with this post.  I really don't like blog posts without pictures and if you are of the same mind, you might as well just stop reading now.  But I thought I should say something.  I've been so negligent lately.  That's what I get for thinking badly of people who can't post often to their blogs.  Karma, I tell you, it gets you sooner than you think it will.

So, where was I?  The month of November has been much more pleasant than October.  Not only does that make me happier personally (it was really depressing to think that the next nice weather we would have would be sometime in April), but that makes the store busier.  People are starting their holiday shopping but they are also just out and about enjoying the sunshine and the fall colors.  There are still some leaves clinging to the trees, though I am also enjoying the emerging bare branches. There's something so poetic about bare branches silhouetted against the sky.

My parents' have made the move to their new house so I've been helping a little with that, though I need to spend a lot more time unpacking some boxes.  I tend to hang my artwork within a few days of moving so I was glad when Mom went ahead last week and started hanging things up, even though there will be some painting done sometime down the line.  I think everyone is getting settled into new places and new routines and all in all, it feels totally right.  I am really glad for a Facebook friend's suggestion that I take pictures of the old house.  I had several photo sessions and it was a good way to work through my emotions and to say farewell.

I finally had a chance to take care of some paperwork, including cleaning out my email sent messages box last week.  I do periodically find those messages useful so it's something that I might not do for 8 months. It was an interesting reminder of everything that went on this year.  A good first step in the Christmas-letter-writing process, which really should begin soon.  I remember times when I used to everything written and addressed before Thanksgiving and would just sit around waiting a week or two until it wasn't too early to send them.  It will probably be a January project this year, though I must be careful not to expect too many things for January.  We will be gone for a week to southern California for the craft & hobby trade show, as well as some beach vacation time.  And I'm always busier than I think I'm going to be, and consequently get less work done.

I enjoyed an inspiring night out to see Carmen with Mom, and then this week, a last-minute outing for Flamenco Vivo, which was a really great performance.  Dance with live music is a treat for me, and there were a few moments when I was busily figuring out how I could modify an awesome flamenco dress into something for myself.  Perhaps that will be my treat for my 40th birthday party.  I thought I'd make everyone wear polka dots, or would that be too dizzying?

In addition to being busier with customers, many of our artists have brought deliveries for the holiday season: storybook coasters from Naomi, bottlecap necklaces from Emily, hand-dyed slips from Michelle, felted critters from Lisa, sock monsters from the other Emily, felted baskets from Donna, mirrors from Jen, notecards from Alisson. Not to mention other shipments like more fun notecards, recycled book journals, Christmas wrapping paper... LOTS of stuff to find space for!  The office is a little crazy, despite two attempts to enforce some order.  And I need more drawer space. That's a chronic condition.  I did spend time this week and rearrange the store.  There have already been sales of some of the moved items so it feels like the moves have already been rewarded.  Now that we have a little table of Christmas items (don't worry, we won't play Christmas music until after Thanksgiving!) that means things have to crunch even more.  

Sachi and I have been diligently restocking as well. Sachi made another batch of resin pendants with some new images: books, shells, pears.  We are having lots of fun putting the pendants on the silk ribbons.  Well, I just love the silk ribbons no matter what; I like the color and charm and their flexibility - I've been having lots of fun with the ones that I made myself, trying a different grouping of ribbons with every outfit.  Sachi has also been making her Madison photo snippets and button bracelets.  For me, this week has been a terrace chair extravanga: button frames, bracelets, photo snippets.  Not to mention that we've had a lot of commissions for custom photo charms so I've had plenty of opportunities to play with ICE resin. 

I'm also working on a 2x2 book swap for the guild that I'm a member of.  I'm making several editions of a mini Alice in Wonderland book because I'm hoping to persuade other people to swap with me.  Now that I've finished up the blurb 2x2 book, I see how many fellow artists' books I don't have in my collection...  And, oh yeah, speaking of blurb, I'm working on Lily's second year book.  It might not be done in time for Christmas at the rate I am going, but it has been fun to work on that.  She has changed so much over the last year! It's pretty amazing.  I find now that I am an aunt, mentions of aunts/nieces/nephews resonate more with me - I'll find myself thinking, 'oh, that will be me in 20 years' when someone talks about taking their niece on a college visit.  

And what else?  Oh yeah, the CRAFTACULAR!  Coming soon!  The volume of emails has definitely dropped off so that's a good thing.  It was a pretty time-consuming task there for a while but now most of the details are worked out.  We're getting a flyer printed for the day of, there were posters and postcards to distribute.  I'm pretty excited about it, even though I probably won't get to see the results of the work.  It's the Saturday just after Thanksgiving and hopefully the weather will be fantastic and lots of people will come downtown for the holiday open house and Mom and Pamela and I will be so busy at the store that we won't be able to stop over and see Sachi and Deandra and Jen and Naomi and Jermoe and everyone else.  There was already a nice write-up in the Sunday 77 Square section of the newspaper and certainly a lot of people that I've talked to have been excited about it. 

The time has just been flying by.  Every Friday, Sachi and I marvel that yet another week is gone.  But things are good and busy and happy, even if the list of things to do doesn't really get any shorter no matter how much I accomplish.  On Facebook, people have been posting things they are thankful for, in honor of the upcoming holiday.  A friend started posting a list each day, which has been a fun challenge.  There's so much that lists quickly gets long.

is it too early?

To talk about the holidays?  I know, it seems a little early perhaps?  But the Craftacular is only 22 days away so it's all coming up rather quickly.  I'm not ready to listen to Christmas music.  Well, I am always ready, but I won't play it during store hours.  I went to a lovely holiday open house at The Century House, and the next several weekends are filled with art and craft fair shopping possibilities.  My work for the Craftacular is wrapping up, or at least not as intense as it was before, so I can focus on making things for our Craftacular booth, as well as for the store for the holidays.  Sachi is done teaching the bookmaking class for UW-Continuing Ed.  Now there's the pile of things that we've been putting off.  This morning I dealt with the file cabinet.  Next on the list is possible consignees, receiving and entering consignee deliveries, cleaning the office, magnet picture frames, button bracelets, cupcake aprons and artist pockets.

We did set up a little Christmas corner in the store.  We'll be getting more things from our artists but there are donut and bottlecap ornaments, scrap paper packs, cards, glitter, rubber stamps, German paper scraps... at least you can start your Christmas card making if you are so inclined.

The craftivity for November is gift tags so the table is chock full of supplies as usual.  I'm especially fond of the different colors and textures of glitter.  Today a group came in and decorated tags - three tags for $5.

changing seasons, catching up

Time is flying, or swinging?  But it's still October, right?  I think I've finally managed to catch my breath!  This summer was so crazy; I was so tired I was near tears for most of August, and it took me well into October to finally feel like I could face the holidays.   But now I'm ready.  I've been slacking a bit but Sachi declared that it's time for both of us to get ready for Christmas.  To that end, I have been very productive this last week: made butterfly button bracelets, scrabble tile necklaces, scrap paper packs, mini fabric button bracelets, glass square pendants, epoxy necklaces, Madison photo snippets. 

I even made a cupcake costume for the adorable girl for Halloween.  I was inspired by the Pottery Barn catalog, but we found wide wale corduroy at the fabric store so I rigged up a litle cupcake bottom from that.  The top is a multi-layer felt cape of pink and red, with ric rac for trim.  There's a headband too with a cherry on top. 

We'll see if she actually wears that.

The leaves have been inspiring to look at; I do love the changing seasons here in Wisconsin, though it seems like autumn got real cold rather fast.  But at least that's an excuse to wear my striped hoodie from Charlie & Sarah with the camera silk screened on it. 

Besides working on my list of projects, thinking about new projects (thanks to Valley Ridge Art Studio for the resin inspiration), placing Christmas orders with vendors and artists... Oh yeah, the Craftacular! 

Now, don't get me wrong, I am excited about the Craftacular.  I feel like it is a really important event to have and am committed to be a co-host, even if it leads to my being committed...  Let's just say it's like a full-time job all on its own, except that I'm not being paid and that's on top of the other full-time job that I'm doing.  On the whole, most artists are appreciative but of course everyone wants to make sure that they have a successful event so there are lots of questions to answer and some hands to hold.

Yesterday I was feeling very cranky and then suddenly I realized that aside from anything else, between the Craftacular, a 2x2 blurb book that I am editing and a collaborative art journal swap that I'm coordinating, I am working with over 100 people - trying to get them to reply to my emails, making sure information is correct and complete, trying to motivate without scolding or nagging...  That's a lot!  As I was stomping crabbily around yesterday I realized that I felt a lot like those New Zealand sheep dogs, trying to run like crazy to get the entire herd to move as directed.... all the more so when Ann pointed out to me that it is to be done without barking or biting.  Hmm.  What exactly is an introvert like me doing in this situation?  What was I thinking?!

And THEN, as if there wasn't enough already, we are entering into the countdown of the final days of my childhood home.  My parents will be moving next week so my apartment is a jumble of boxes that I had to take from my studio which was at their house, not to mention other odds n' ends from childhood... a box of old art projects, a box of school papers... There has to be some good art project for those.   There are emotions as well to pack up and move around but after one week of feeling overly emotional, I've been able to look forward to what lies ahead.  Having my sewing machine at my place has already been very handy, and my parents are clearly ready for a new location and a smaller house.  It's still very close compared to other people so the change is rather minimal.  I'm sure I will accidentally take the bus to their old house a few times (it's just two stops past my own bus stop).  I went with the adorable girl to see thier new house and she was already excited about the park that's around the corner. She informed me that Elmo lived in the yellow house across the park.  AND there was a dresser on the curb in front of the new house.  6 narrow drawers.. .. why, just last week I was commenting that I needed another dresser for the store!  Sweet!  I had to ride facing backwards in my brother-in-law's car, holding onto the dresser while we drove downtown, but I've already fit it into the store and filled up the drawers.  My sister says I am like water, able to expand to fill any space...  It is nice to have a little more storage space going into the holidays.  The store is really filling up!

I've been taking pictures around the old house.  Eventually they will be part of an altered book.  I have a book that is cut in the shape of a house so I'm planning to put in pictures and text. In all my spare time... So much had been packed up and really, so much about the house has changed since we moved in 20 years ago, it was tricky to find views that were quintessential to the house.  I think I need one or two more times around the house to get pictures; I think I've forgotten to take a picture of the bathroom floor, which is the same green tile as when we moved in.  Despite all the changes and the chaos of packing, I managed to get some really interesting/good photos so I think this is going to be a really lovely book.  Here's a picture from yesterday's rainy morning.

Craftacular! Craftacular!

Wait, did I remember to say THANK YOU to Naomi and Jerome for founding the Craftacular in Madison?!  Next time you see them, you should thank them too. Whether you are an artist or a shopper, this is a great event! I feel very strongly that this is an important event for the crafters & artists & holiday shoppers of Madison but, phew! There is SO much work involved!  We are very lucky that I am only following in their footsteps and that they are willing to spare time from their busy family and work lives to co-host.  That little baby is due pretty soon!

Do you remember that scene in Moulin Rouge when they are dancing around trying to pitch their new idea for "Spectacular! Spectacular!"?  For some reason, that comes to mind.  Something about that frenzied dancing strikes a chord.

And now there is less than 2 months to go before the big event.  The planning details are wrapping up; time to start focusing on making things to sell!  The artist list for the ballroom is finalized.  We ended up adding the classroom space because there were so many people on the waiting list.  And even with that we had to turn some people away.  Unfortuntely some artists are only hearing about it now, and applications closed a month ago.  If you are one such artist, I'm sorry, but all that I can offer you now is to put you on the mailing list for next year.

Over 60 vendors will be present including: Absolutely Art, Anthology, ArtforGas Collective, Antiquebasketlady, Artsy Fartsy, Artsy Momma, Art Kitten, Bags by G, The Bare Tree, Bernie's Girl, Betherella, The Bohemian Bauble, Built to Last, Corgimo Collars, Cutie Cooties, Dainty Daisies, Dairy Air Collective, deeconstruct, Ella Bultman, Emily Keown, Fennel Studio, Five Green Acres, Found Object Fashions, The French Made, Frosted, Glamdring Beauty, The Glitter Workshop, HappyKATT, Hats-O-Fancy, Imagin Design, Jen Zimmerman, Jenny Blasen Pottery, Jewelry Infusions, jill2day, Just for Fun, Kellybot, Kim's Crafty Apple, KR Metals, LaZorra Glassworks, Little Dandelion Studios, Lucky Bee Press, Lula & DeeDee, Lulu's Stabby Critters, Made by Amy, Midwest Beauties, Miel Paredes, Mimi and Mom, Mimmysmittens, Mindy Kuen, Mirasol Farm, Picture Day, Prettifications by Cynthia, Pretty Theory, Recreative Crafts, Re-Threads, Space Oddities, Storyline Design, Tie Beau, Tiny Tree Farm, Tyler Poncho, Uncommon Objects, Whimsy House, Wild Plum Mosaics, Xanthe Walker.

Andrea and Chad have been working on our graphic design and I just ordered postcards today. It will be nice to have those since many of our customers will surely like to know about the event.  We'll be sending out notices closer to the event but we'd love it if you would help spread the word too!  There's a great group of artists and this is a really great opportunity to get some holiday shopping done in ways that will benefit the people whose hands actually made the goods, not the supplier, distributer, middlepeople in the long line of the supply chain (not to totally knock the middlepeople, because I'm one of those too).

a night out and a chance to catch my breath

This was the sight that greeted me last night, arriving out in Spring Green to see a play at American Player's Theater.  The night was interrupted by a brief but intense storm (including hail -- thank goodness for their new shelters) but ended with stars and moonlight.  It was a lovely way to pause and savor the moment, which doesn't happen too often since my head is usually bent over the sewing/button machine...

And honestly.  It's almost October already?!  I'm not at all prepared and I've been really bad about blogging.  I used to read that in other people's blogs and think, "what's the big deal? just sit down and tell me what you've been up to."  ha ha ha.

September, although it has passed quickly, has been a little bit of a break in the mad rush.  Things were a little quieter at the store (same as last year) - people are going back to school, preparing for the changing seasons...  We have already exceeded the annual sales from 2009 so that feels great.  I've managed to catch up just a tiny tiny bit, although the list of things to make to restock the store is still quite long.  Well, at least I don't feel quite so frazzled as I did in August.  Which is good because there is a lot ahead of us. 

The Craftacular is the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  We are co-hosting the event so right now there's lots of paperwork and planning to be done.  Not to mention making stuff for our own booth.  We will have over 60 artists there and it promises to be a fun event.  Already a lot of our customers are marking their calendars.  It's exciting to be a part of a local & craft holiday event.

And even though it seems early, it is time to start thinking about the holidays.  But first I have to decide about a Halloween costume.  Who am I kidding, I always dress up as a fairy.  But I don't know if I should make something else for the adorable girl.  Speaking of, I have been working on her Blurb book for year two, reviewing the pictures and thinking about how much she's grown.  It's all good, but poignant too.  Here she is this morning in my parents' backyard.  I love hoodies with ears.

And, oh yeah, my parents are moving.  Only a few miles away but it means packing, making room for art supplies and furniture at my home...  I need to take pictures of the old house for a book project that I have in mind.  I need to clear room in my livingroom and make new cushions for the couch.  Brown zig-zag does NOT go with lime green and red flowers!  But I have been making progress and I feel like maybe it will only be a year before people can come over to my place, instead of two years that I initially thought.  There's still a lot going on; which will always be the case since the living room is also a studio.

We have had some craftivities going on at the store.  Last weekend we hosted a birthday party for a group of girls to make the mini coil-bound notebooks/journals. 

The craftivity for the month is the decoupage paper bracelet.  Because of the curved surface, the paper has to be cut into thin strips but it is fun to see the different colors that people come up with.

And a few of our other favorite things? 

New headbands from Oshkosh and from Chicago, German paper scraps, new cards from Appleton and Milwaukee, mosaic picture frames from Illinois.  The store is chock full right now as we gear up for Christmas and also unpack new arrivals that we found at Renegade in Chicago. 

fun 'n' games

First of all, Happy Birthday to me!  Just about an hour ago sometime in the 1970s I was born on this day.  And to celebrate, I got to sneak away to the beach last week for a few days.  Here's the birthday present that I bought for myself. It's a lovely flower necklace that is so charming to me.  It is family tradition to go to Point Beach on the Lake Michigan shoreline sometime in the early fall (and it is definitely fall-like this August in Wisconsin).  I went by myself this time and enjoyed some lovely reading on the beach and other solitudes.  Since I was camping, I didn't bother bringing art supplies that would get messy or sandy so I didn't work on any projects.  EEK!  Now I need to focus and do a little catching up, right after I finish all this birthday eating.  Still, it was wonderful to get away.  I went to the Kohler Art Center in Sheboygan.  I love that space.  It is very inspiring.  I think it might be among my all-time favorite spaces to be in - I can really imagine a fabulous party/wedding/funeral there.  All my art work could be hanging on the walls, there could be dancing on the lovely wooden floor, whimsical little fairies could flit amongst the little stone houses...

I also got to (FINALLY!) visit the shops of some artists that I know and admire.  Dainty Daisies' work is carried here in the store but she has her own store in Oshkosh which I've been wanting to see for a long time.  So many lovelies!  I got some Christmas shopping done so that was fun.  Her hand dyed slips are so wonderful!  I'm hoping we can have some here even though we don't have a fitting room for people to try them on.  Trust me, you don't want to go back behind that curtain!

And I also got to Persimmons in Manitowoc.  SO much fun!  Lots of ephemera like Bingo cards and scrabble tiles, and inspiring pendants. 
Kim is the owner and artist and I've been meaning to connect with her and bring some of her creations to Anthology and I finally got to do that.  We are building up our collection of charms and other jewelry pieces so people can make their own charming necklaces.  Here is what I brought back from Manitowoc. Kim makes soldered pieces, including some that incorporate Lake Michigan rocks.  Also some sweet pendants with vintage linens and quilt scraps.  I am going to redo the jewelry case to make room for all these charming options.  I like that people will be able to make their own necklaces, and also that I have more supplies to draw from when making necklaces for the store.  We got in some colorful enamel beads and pendants from Duluth last week - which I think will work well with Vintaj brass for necklaces and bracelets.  I need to have a jewelry-making marathon!

I also made a stop at the St. Vinnie's and gathered some more ephemera to add to what I picked up at Persimmons so I made some fun 'n' games packs for the store.  It was fun to see the variety of game cards, flash cards, and game pieces that I could pull together. 

In a few more weeks we will be going to Chicago to scope out more new artists so that will be fun.  And the store continues to stay busy, an increase over last year. There aren't as many summer tourists but the students are back and decorating their apartments and dorms.  And then, before you know it, it will be Christmas.  Sorry, I just had to say that. As an artist, it is time to gear up and get cracking on that list of things to do.  Sigh.  It's such a long list!  A friend came to visit and asked how I was progressing on the necklaces that I started when she was last in town (several months ago).  Hmmm... can I take a pass on answering that?  There are several Vintaj necklaces waiting in the wings. 

We are still accepting applications for the Craftacular and that has been fun to see the various creations that people make.  We are excited this year to be able to help out with that.  There's a big pile of paperwork that I have been neglecting so I do need to work on that part of my job as well.  Besides balancing the checkbook, I'm looking at what sold last Christmas and what has sold this year, so I can give our artists some idea of what we could sell this year for the holiday season.

But now I am off to my birthday dinner.  The work will have to wait...