Anthology

Crafternoon Delight comes to Madison

How excited are we? 

We were quite jealous when we heard about Crafternoon Delight and their exciting Sundays, including the super popular Terrariums and Mossariums.  In addition to creating a little bit of garden, this is a great way to repurpose those strange shapes of glass containers just sitting on the shelves at Goodwill that you have trouble passing by but don't know what to do with, AND also those funny little plastic animals (either at Goodwill, or at places such as Vanilla Bean - used for topping cakes, but how tempting is it to have a little ballerina amongst the greenery?!). 

We are really thrilled for the charming Deandra to be a part of bringing such craftiness to the Minneapolis area but we are selfishly glad for ourselves that she is willing to share.

Ta Da! Crafternoon Delight is coming to Madison for a visit!  They've secured space at Project Lodge on the near East side and will be hosting a terrarium extravaganza from 1 pm - 4 pm on Saturday, August 20th.

$12 will get you all the supplies and plants you need to make your own mini eden. We think it's a great bargain!  Glassware will be provided, but you are also welcome to bring your own if you have a lonely fishbowl, trifle dish, vase or other such piece sitting at home (or are inspired to head out thrifting).

Again, that's:

Saturday, August 20th from 1 pm - 4 pm

Project Lodge, 817 E. Johnson Street. Madison.

 

The event is on Facebook (created by Crafternoon Delight at 331 Club) and RSVPs are appreciated.

Maxwell 2011

Well, we're getting there.  The crabbiness level has intensified but hopefully we are managing to hide it from our customers.  This weekend might be my least favorite weekend of the year, though I'm sure I will fine once I'm in the middle of it.  It doesn't help the crabbiness that everything snuck up on me.  We've been so busy with out-of-town tourists at the shop, they I haven't done my usual level of prep work.  Plus I got distracted with new projects. 

But ready or not, Maxwell Street Days starts tomorrow (at our shop, 9 am - if you arrive at 8 am, I might make you help carry boxes).  The office is a disaster area and if the fire department comes to inspect the back hallway, I will just have to beg them for mercy.  Well, I will take the cardboard out today at least.  I spent a little time in my sewing studio last week so I managed to sort out some bags of scraps.  Some pieces could still be used for quilting, others are in that "too small to sew" category but might work for cloth buttons, fabric collages, or tiny Barbie napkins.

Technically, Maxwell Street Days is Friday and Saturday (8 am to 6 pm) and Sunday (10 am to 5 pm).  There are many great deals to be had, even started today (Thursday).  Anthology will be open 9 am to 7 pm on Friday and Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm on Sunday.  We will have our studio garage sale tables out on Friday and Saturday from 9 am to 4 pm.  The tables will be filled with supplies we've received over the course of the year as artists clean out their studios.  This year is particularly heavy on upholstery swatches.  Perhaps next year I will follow through on my own intentions to clean out my studio spaces more thoroughly.  Buy a bag for $5 and fill it up.  All money collected at the outside tables will be donated to local youth arts organizations: the Art Cart, Monroe Street Fine Arts Center, Shirts that Supply, Lussier Community Center.

 

Inside the shop, our back table is filled with sale items (prices as marked).  And, yes, only select items are on sale.

It promises to be a scorcher, as usual, but it's always a lively event downtown, and of course, the Farmer's Market will be back in its usual place after being bumped last weekend.  We hope to see you soon!

almost ready - sneak peek

Well, Maxwell Street Days is just a few days away.  I'm almost ready.  The weather looks hot and humid, as usual.  I'm trying to remember that this is a good opportunity to clean out a little bit as well as a busy weekend of sales, but mostly I'm just thinking about standing outside for three days in the hot sun. So yes, feeling a little bit crabby.  It doesn't help to have all these boxes piling up in the office and the hallway - but how nice will it be when they are gone?!  There's already some room to spare in my studio from the boxes of fabric (yardage and tiny scraps) that I've brought in.

OUTSIDE: We are having a studio garage sale - odds n' ends from our studios and others' studios - including scraps of fabric, random boxes (including some tins and cigar boxes), upholstery samples,unfinished projects. yarn, plastic flowers.  Meghan from Absolutely Art just brought by tables and a generous donation of paper from Alpha Graphics.  Friday through Sunday you can buy a bag for $5 and fill it with various odds n' ends.  100% of the outside sales will go to local youth arts nonprofits.

 

INSIDE: Sachi has been going through the store and hunting down the items which have been here for a while.  I sorted through the sparkling watercolors and found certain colors which we have in excess so those will be on sale for $1, plus there are assorted art supplies and goodies.  All sale items will be at the back craft table Friday through Sunday.... perhaps a little earlier this week if we find the time.

   

Further down the street, there are always lots of deals at Fontana, and most other vendors have tables out on the street filled with great bargains.  Plus, many restaurants will have booths out as well - the grilled chicken at Chautara is one of my favorite lunch treats, and there's always brats at Nick's.  It should be a lively weekend.  Oh, and don't forget to tell Sachi "Happy Birthday!"

July weekends

Hope everyone had a Happy Fourth of July weekend!  We lucked out because Mom offered to work on Sunday so I didn't have to work for the 7th day in a row, and I got two days in a row off.  Ah, amazing what you can be happy with.  

On Saturday night, we picked blackberries and went to the slides and swings.

We might have started a new 4th of July tradition - after a day of sewing and otherwise puttering, everyone came over to my place for a picnic and dip in the pool.  I can't take credit for the idea for this cake - I copied it from a friend, and I can't even take credit for the making of the cake since it came from a box in the freezer section.  I know it seems uncouth, but I do like Pepperidge Farm cakes.  We had a delicious picnic and a relaxing evening.  

Monday was filled with various side jobs, studio cleaning and other organizing, as well as work on the skirts that I've been making for myself.  I got carried away sorting through all my fabric and ended up washing fabric for a total of five skirts, three of which are almost the exact same color combination.  I'm still in that fun stage of putting different fabrics together and feeling proud of myself for using up fabric from my collection (hardly made a dent).  There is still the unfun stage of double-hemming all five skirts (instead of a lined skirt, I just made an underskirt of two to three different fabrics and an overskirt of four to eight different fabrics pieced together.  That's a lot to hem).  Ah well. 

Meanwhile, back at the shop, I can't believe it is July already!  The Art Fairs On and Off The Square are this coming weekend and I am looking forward to checking out the various artists.  It's always a hot and lively time downtown. 

The following weekend is Maxwell Street Days, which is the big sidewalk sale here on State Street.  Lots of stores will have merchandise for sale out on the street.  We will have selected merchandise marked down and on sale at our back table; out on the street, we are hosting our first ever studio garage sale.  We have partnered with Absolutely Art, who puts on the amazing Re-Art Swap, and are gathering odds n' ends from our studios, from artists and from customers.  I have personally filled about five 30-quart containers with fabric in various sizes from scraps too small to sew (but useful for decoupage or cloth buttons, perhaps) to bigger yardage.  Throughout the year, we also get donations from customers, including 1950s magazines, upholstery swatches, little ceramic tiles and so on.  You can buy a bag for $3 to $10, and fill it with all sorts of goodies.  Anthology and Absolutely Art are donating our time and other resources, 100% of the sales from the outside tables will be donated to local youth arts organizations: the Art Cart, the Monroe Street Fine Arts Center, the Lussier Center, and Shirts that Supply.

We hope to see you sometime this month! 

 

coming events

I don't know about you, but my calendar sure starts to fill up quickly.  In the interest of reserving a little crafty space, here are just a few coming events to look forward to:

Friday, July 16th through Sunday, July 18th: Anthology & Absolutely Art, 218 State Street: Studio Garage Sale

Sunday, August 15th: Glitter Workshop, East Side Club, 3734 Monona Drive: Summer Craftacular 

Wednesday, September 15th through Saturday, September 18th: Hyatt Regency Minneapolis: The Creative Connection Event

Saturday, November 27th: Overture Center, 201 State Street: Holiday Craft Lounge 

Saturday, December 4th: Holiday Craftacular

Gallery Night Spring 2010

Anthology is pleased once again to be participating in the MMOCA Gallery Night, a chance for galleries and retailers around town to show off their artfulness.  Gallery Night is Friday, May 7 from 5 to 9 pm (Anthology will be open until 8 pm).

In addition to the many local and regional artists works that we have at the shop, Sachi and I will have an exhibit during Gallery Night at the Quarry Arts building (go upstairs and look for In Balance Massage Therapy).  The theme of our exhibit is "Collections from the Journeys," and will feature mementos and art created on and for travels real and imagined.  If the space at Anthology gets a little overwhelming, this will be an ideal opportunity to check out the work of just us two sisters, without all the distractions of the other items we can't resist carrying in the shop.  We will be tending shop that night, but Candice is a gracious host who is sure to be welcoming.

So, all you west-siders, if you'd prefer, you can check out the many offerings from Chiripa on Park Street, to the Grace Chosy Gallery on Monroe Street, to the Higher Fire Clay Studio on Regent Street, to The Century House and the Quarry Arts Building on University Avenue... .to name a few of my favorites. 

And if you've never been to the Quarry Arts building, I do recommend it.  The building houses a number of businesses centered around the healing arts, and the space itself is wonderful - usually I can feel muscles relax just by stepping through the doors.  Mom takes yoga there and my tense muscles are eased by the amazing hands of Candice Schneider who comes to you highly recommended (by me).  Her wellness workshops also look intriguing... and rather overdue for this particular small business owner... just as soon as I can create the time for myself.  In the meantime, a couple massages a year are a marvelous treat.

Whatever your geographical preferences, I do hope you'll come out on May 7th and enjoy all the arts this city has to offer (and, oh yeah, don't forget that most places have wine and cheese and other goodies to sample).

Valentine goodness

Oh, remember those days of shoebox mailboxes?  Those are some fond memories....  Meanwhile, at Anthology, we've got a nice array of goodies for your Valentine card-making and gifting needs - paper, cards, ornaments like sweet sailor Valentines from Persimmons. 

The anatomical heart stamp is a popular one for card-making but we have many others to choose from, as well as stamp pads, blank notes to stamp, and various paper packs for card-decorating and collaging. 

Rebecca brought us a new batch of her sweaters, and the "Wisconsin Loves Me" onesie is a good gift for the babes.  Plus there are Valentine ornaments from Jane and Pamela, and plenty of sheets of paper to choose from.

At the craft table, we've got supplies for you to make your own Valentine's ($2 each).  We've also got supplies for you to make Valentine fortune cookies ($3 each) out of fabric from Laura's quilting collection.  You get to pick two pieces of fabric to cut and iron into fortune cookies and tuck a little love note inside.  They are a fun variation on the Valentine card theme.  And how fun would a whole bowl of those be as party favors?!  

 

  

 

 

Gallery Night and other news

Tomorrow night (Friday) is Gallery Night around town; various galleries are hosting exhibit openings, serving wine and cheese.  It's always a fun event and we are happy to participate once again this year.  I know, some people pop their heads in and look puzzled, "this isn't a gallery..."  But considering how many artists (and crafters count too!) that we have in the store, I don't think it is such a big stretch.  My sister even has her M.F.A.   In the process of moving from my parents' house, we've found several boxes of Sachi's work from art school.  I'm still trying to persuade her to let them see the light of day.  But there are some new (to Anthology) drawings and prints of hers that we've set out.  And we have watercolors

by Amy Park who is a New York artist, formerly of Madison and Little Luxuries.  Earlier this week I stayed late into the night (not that late, but late enough that Officer Cindy wasn't pleased to know that I was walking home from the bus), fueled by the Diet Coke that I had with dinner, and rearranged a lot of items in the store.  It was overdue. 

I even got out the ladder and rearranged what was hanging on the wall, including hanging the newest quilt that I just finished up, made specially for the store. 

I tried to make things look a little more artsy.  Whatever that means.  I also put mostly Laura and Sachi creations on the front table.  Often I get the feeling that people don't realize that the people behind the cash register are actually making much of what's in the store.  There's still a little white space left, but not too much.  I have an ongoing debate with myself since I like it FULL, so that every time you look, you see something different, but I know that some people come into the store and are so overwhelmed that they can't focus... and I think it is a bigger part of the general overwhelming nature of the world we live in today.  And yet, I can't usually bring myself to tone it down any.  But Facebook friends pointed out that people can't buy white space... 

In other news, we finished out the month of September with a double-digit increase compared to September 2009.  In these days of fractional percentages of corporate sales reports, it is definitely rewarding to know that we continue our growth as a new business.  I know our consignment artists will see a smaller check, but September does tend to be a quieter month for us in the transition between summer vacation ending, school starting and the upcoming holidays.  Truth be told, though it took me all month, it was nice to actually catch my breath before the holiday season starts.  Summer was pretty crazy.  Crazy good, not crazy ugly, but crazy nonetheless. 

In other news, the week has been busy with new arrivals.  We got these great notecards in from an Appleton artist.  I love sewn paper.  We've made necklaces out of some of Kim's pendants so we have a nice assortment of necklaces hanging from the branches.  I made my list of things that I should make between now and Christmas and it fits on one page.  I do need to make Madison photo snippets and terrace chair button frames and was going to do so before Friday night.  We'll see what happens tomorrow. 

Maxwell Street Days. year one

Well, it's really summer when the Maxwell Street Days posters start to come out.  State Street's big sidewalk sale will be here before we know it -- usually a marathon weekend of unbearable heat.  Well, that's OUR end of it; the event runs for 27 hours from Friday July 18th through Sunday July 20th.  For customers, it's a casual stroll down a busy State Street, when vendors have tables out on the sidewalk and try to entice you with various bargains and the smells of brats and grilled chicken waft up from further down the block.  For stores, it's a good opportunity to do some housecleaning, but with extended hours, there was always a lot of scheduling and prep work to do in my previous job.  Anthology operations are rather more scaled back by comparison.

On principal, I don't plan to discount anyone's creations and we're also too new to have lots of old merchandise that we need to clear out.  For our first year, we are going to use this as an opportunity to introduce the button machine to more people.  We'll set up a table on the sidewalk and move the button-making station outside.  We're brainstorming ways to make it simpler -- pre-cut the paper, have a limited selection.  I'm starting to think maybe we could just make cool alphabet pages and then everyone could make a button with a letter, or make several buttons to spell out words.  Sachi and I still have to brainstorm and decide.  27 hours of button making is a lot. I love lots of choice but I am feeling more and more that there is such a thing as too much.  I myself fall victim to that unending back-and-forth, having to check all the options, changing my mind again and again, wondering if I made the right decision, but I'm still amazed at how long it can take to pick out a piece of paper for a $1 button.  Hopefully we can streamline things a bit for Maxwell. 

As for the future of Maxwell at Anthology?  Here's my idea, which I hope we can pull off. I would like to have a studio garage sale.  I'd solicit art supplies from artists I know -- all those things you thought you'd use but decided against or the things you have way too much of even for several lifetimes.  Especially in these days of altered books and found object assemblage it is easy to collect a huge quantity of supplies -- things that might be useful one of these days.  Of course, I think that is the nature of being an artist, that one sees possibility everywhere you look.  But still.   If you reach the point of not being able to find anything, or feeling so overwhelmed that you aren't creating anything or aren't even spending time on the things that you really like to do... then perhaps it is time to do a little weeding? (and if you need help, you can always call on me for studio cleaning).

What I'd really like to do is to have all the money from the art supply sales go to local children's art programs.  It would be a challenge to sell the supplies on consignment so it really would be simplest if we ring all of it up under the same barcode. Sachi and I have fond memories of the Art Cart and UW Extension art classes so we'd like to support those programs that supported our early art endeavors and encouraged us to be creative.  We plan to donate some of our profit quarterly but it also seems like that might be a fun thing for a Maxwell studio garage sale.  So, set aside any supplies you'd like to donate and stay tuned for next year....