Anthology

on to the next season

 

No, I'm not talking about Christmas.  I'm talking about fall.  It's been here a little while but the talk of apple pie and Thanksgiving, the chill in the air, and the crunching of leaves has finally sunk in.  Being in retail, a part of you is always way ahead of schedule (it is time to order Christmas ornaments, after all, and several catalogs for Valentine cards have arrived recently).  Perhaps the other part of my compensates by being way behind schedule.  Whatever the reason, I think I am finally ready to fully embrace the season of fall.

At the shop, we have plenty of new arrivals - change is pretty much a constant thing, but there's certainly a new season feel to some of the arrivals.

The Japanese washi paper always amazes me with its colors - even though the shades aren't what I'd usually select, I love this combination of browns and blues.

And, of course, we have goodies for fall accessorizing and clothing.  A new batch of sweaters is apparently on its way to us soon, but we still have the great Deandra yo-yo embellishments, as well as the highly popular sweater armwarmers which start selling out the moment we get them in.

I'm also quite fond of these new mosaics.  They are made by the mom of a UW student and her color combinations are a refreshing twist on fall tones.

And fall is a perfect time for grilled cheese sandwiches - real or pretend (like these made here in Madison).

 

And we received more of these great key necklaces from an artist we met in Minnesota at The Creative Connection Event.  Their rustic vintage look works well with cool fall mornings and walks through crunchy leaves.

 

summer inspiration, daze and days

Where to begin? It's already the second week of August and the glads & apples are already at the Farmer's Market (rather on the early side, if you ask me).  There's nothing like children to remind you of how quickly time is going.. especially since they are usually flying around just as quickly as the time itself.  It has gotten much more difficult to get pictures of the adorable girl.  Thank goodness for the digital camera, which allows me to attempt as often as I can, at no cost of printing blurry images (unless I want them).  I've been sorting through photographs (not organizing them, unfortunately) and feeling nostalgic - already Lily has grown so much since those early days!

The month of August is my birth month, which rolls out in a series of lunches and dinners, visiting guests, artful inspiration and more.  In a few days, I will attend an Alternative Photo workshop at Valley Ridge Art Studio with Mom.  I am gathering supplies, making photocopies and transparencies... oh yes, I will share the results with you, don't worry.

Meanwhile, I've also been drooling over the work of Jamie Heiden, whose work I saw at the Art Fair Off the Square.  A friend informs me that is mostly the effect of Photoshop, which strengthens my intentions to learn more about that .. hopefully in the new year.  Apparently I'm in a photography mood.  Jamie Heiden has a Blurb book, which really makes me want to get back into that.  I have several artsy books that I am working on, and would like to make a few photo/story books.  Sigh.  Sometimes it seems like it would be nice to have a little more leisure time to work on such projects.  The series of key photographs that I took turned out nicely and I'd like to frame some of those for the shop.  Oh, and I get easily sucked into looking at photographs on Etsy and getting all sorts of ideas for photo shoots.

In other inspiration, the Craftacular is coming up in a week.  Anthology is a sponsor but does not have a table... all the better to shop!  Sachi and I are making plans for morning scouting and a noon lunch on the east side of town.  I haven't been able to attend for a little while (since I've been tending the shop during previous events) so I'm looking forward to seeing what crafty goodness everyone has gotten up to.  Then there's Renegade in September. 

Although September has been quiet the last couple years, we overcompensated this year.  A few days after Renegade, we are heading up to Minnesota for The Creative Connection Event.  This is our first time vending out of state, at a non-Craftacular event so it's a little nerve-wracking.  We're busy making things and planning what we will take from the store.  Unlike the Holiday Craftacular, when we could just walk a few blocks back to the shop to restock, we have to figure out what we're taking before we hit the road.  For the people who continue to comment that our store is too full and overwhelming, they might be happy to come and visit Sept 15th-18th, when part of the store will be away.  But don't worry, we aren't clearing out completely, and Pamela and Mom will be tending the store so we will be open (just on slightly reduced hours).  Of course, we are also looking forward to shopping other people's booths and seeing what else is going on in the crafty world, maybe even meeting Amy Butler!  I went to school in Minnesota and thus have several friends living in the Twin Cities so I am also looking forward to some dinners in good company, as well as shopping in the area.  So much to do!

Now that I am not in school and not around many people who are in school, summer doesn't have to end so abruptly at the end of August.  I'll grab a quick trip to the beach in August, but am also looking forward to yet another in September - going across Lake Michigan on the ferry to visit relatives, see the Chihuly exhibit, and walk along the beach on the other side - all the better to see the sunSET over the water.  I need to stockpile some books for reading on the beach though.  I'm looking forward to The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest, but am not sure that I want to read that, or any trashy vampire novels, while I am camping alone in August.

We hope you are enjoying your summer days!

spring, I mean it

 

It's hard to be sure given the cold rain and the threat of overnight frost, but I had a lovely day at the arboretum yesterday.  The lilacs are already a bit past their peak; I can tell there's a brief window where one should go to the arb every single day.  I was too late for the peak of the magnolias this year and last year I missed the peak of the crab apples.  Ah well.  Lily humored me for yet another stroll.  Lilacs are one of my all-time favorite flowers and scents, and conjure up memories of our aqua house on Dogwood Place here in Madison.  There was a huge lilac bush on the side of the house.

I found this dress at Saver's and just added some tulle to it.  Meanwhile I've started three dresses using this wonderful pattern from Sandi Henderson Design.  Last year I made the girl a blueberry dress, which touched the ground, and now it hits her knees.  I got carried away pulling purple floral fabrics from my collection so there's one dress in darker purples with pansies, and another in lavender/yellow/light green that has lilies of the valley and lilacs.  I have some vintage hankies and pillowcase edges that I will incorporate into the apron somehow. And, of course, while at the fabric store for a completely different errand, I found a cute cherry fabric so I started a third dress, in shades of pink and red and brown (with cherries an

d polka dots).  It was nice to cut out three dresses at once - that part was fast, so I can see the whole assembly-line thing is working.  so far.  I'm feeling ambitious and hoping to finish at least one of the

dresses in time for NYC, though perhaps I should have gone with more trendy and less sweet fabric for a city visit.  I have distinct memories of going to New York and feeling overly bright amidst all the high-heel-wearing, black-dressed, skinny New Yorkers.  That reminds me that I have to start packing.  And I don't care what they say, I'm bringing my cherry skirt.  At least it's black.

 

bird & fleur, gifts for Moms

     

Spring is well underway now and a few turns of the calendar pages bring us to May already.  How did that happen?  Not that I'm complaining, mind you.  Sachi and I will be heading out to the New York Stationery show in mid-May (Pamela will keep the shop open but on reduced hours).  We are excited about the possibilities of new cards, papers and crafting supplies to bring back to the shop.  Not to mention a few days of vacation in the Big Apple.... as much as you can see when you have a two year-old along.  I haven't been to New York City that often, mostly to attend trade shows that occur in January, May and August.  Let me tell you, of the three, May is my absolute favorite month.  It is so lovely - all nice and green and flowering, Fifth Avenue windows decked out for Mother's Day, not too hot, not too crowded, and pleasant for all the walking to be done.  The last time we went, Lily was 8 months old.  We had to make the taxi driver stop on the way to the airport because her tiger blankie was in the trunk and there was no other way to quiet the commotion.  We walked around the booths and looked at cards and tried to avoid getting drool on anything.  Then we spent an enjoyable afternoon in Union Square park - each of us taking turns running in to ABC Carpet and Home (you do NOT go in there with a baby!).  The farmer's market was going on so we sat in the sunshine.  Hopefully similar opportunities will present themselves this year (minus the loud crying).  We're hoping to check out Moomah Cafe and Tinsel Trading, and are always inspired by ABC Carpet and Home (thanks a lot Pamela, for introducing us to that particular decadence).

Meanwhile, back at the shop, we are preparing for the onset of the various late spring events: Farmer's Market Saturdays, Cars on State Street, Mother's Day, Graduation, wedding season, Father's Day.  I just installed the next window.  Initially it was going to be all birds and flowers for Mother's Day (May 9th), but with graduation coming up so soon, the window kind of needed to do double-duty.  I went with a rough color theme of the terrace chairs - orange, green, yellow - and featured a corner of Madison mementos, along with a selection of goodies for Moms. 

I love these sweet bird prints and cards (and find the magnets hilarious, if not exactly appropriate for Mother's Day).  And the hand printed dish towels are also a nice present - if you don't think Mom will mind.  We've also stocked up on some nice flowery pins from various Wisconsin artists. 

Although these particular necklaces are not locally made, they come from the hands of an artist in the southwest.  They feature delicate photographs of birds and other images.

Sachi has kept busy making little bird nest charms for her popular necklaces, but we are also excited to be able to offer various jewelry-making elements.  Flat brass pieces can be stamped with your own personalized message, and the Jill Schwartz pieces are sure to be fun for necklaces and bracelets.  The huge order of hand-dyed yarns and ribbons is slowly being organized and rolled up into easier forms than skeins.  I'm thinking these ribbons and cords will be great to add into necklaces - like the sweet seam binding bows of Persimmons. 

We have plenty of flowery options as well - resin flower rings made right here in Madison, and vintage & reproduction millinery flowers for sweet bouquets (or maybe incorporate them into your own pins/jewelry).  So many options.... now to decide what I'm going to do for my mom for Mother's Day!

     

springtime inspiration

Monday is my day off, which includes some studio cleaning at the home of S, whose garden was just starting to wake up.  I couldn't resist taking some pictures. 

The acid green of the new leaves coming to the trees, and the occasional burst of pink or white on flowering trees is quite a treat for these winterweary eyes!

Happy Easter!

I was happy last night to be invited to dinner and egg-dyeing with the adorable girl.  I'm thankful that my brother-in-law is willing to share these times with me, and give him credit for the idea of the close-up shot of the eggs.  I've never been one for a solid colored egg, but I do like them all together like this.  And see how SpongeBob is peering at the egg?  I thought that was pretty funny.

Driving in to work this morning, I suddenly noticed the greening of the grass - it always starts out subtly and then there is a day when - ta da! - there it is!  The buds are starting to add a tint of green to the bare branches, and, as Hollis says:

"Even if you don't believe it happened, it's a pretty good story. Here's to second chances and faithful questioning of life's wonder."

Happy Easter everyone!

could it be?

  

The branches are still mostly bare, but I can sense just a smidgen more fullness.  I washed my heavy winter coat and have transitioned to the spring/fall coats.  There are still moments when my nose or toes or fingers feel quite chilled and I probably shouldn't stop wearing all the layers, but signs are all around that spring is starting to arrive.

At Anthology, you can feel it in the filling of the shelves, as the items we ordered in January are starting to arrive.  Just like the branches, it feels like there is blooming underway.  Hopefully the lovelies that we've been gathering will start to ferment in your mind and start your very own blooming.

It also feels like everyone is starting to emerge from hibernation.  Even if a few brisk mornings throw us off, there are definite signs of spring.  We've been busy this past week with several different craft parties and I can tell that people are already starting to think about what they might make over spring break.  If you need a dose of color or inspiration, we have lots to share with you. Many of our artists have brought in new creations; Sachi and Laura are hard at work making new items, and there are new arrivals almost every day.  We hope to see you soon!

basket goodies & Easter traditions

  
All right, the pictures aren't exactly the Easter pictures I was first thinking about, but here's a springtime pic anyway - little Laura with Mom.  And the other picture is Halloween, but Sachi looks a little bunnyish, don't you think?  I was really trying to find the picture of me with a paper plate on my head (all the best Easter bonnets are made this way) but I didn't have any luck.

Seems like every holiday has some favorite traditions and memories.  In our house, for some unknown reason, it is tradition now to have a Greek Easter dinner.  It's a relatively recent development, but a yummy one.  The menu comes from one of our dad's favorite cookbooks.   The thing is, our heritage doesn't have any Greek in it at all that I know of - it's mostly Dutch and Japanese.  But the food is delicious.  I have never been to a Greek Orthodox Easter service but it sounds intriguing.

Meanwhile, Mom was in charge of the Easter baskets.  She let it lapse for a little while but even relatively grown-up girls like basket goodies so we didn't let it lapse for long.  James J Chocolates is a great place for Easter candies.  I particularly like their pastel colored... oh, what are they called?  not really marshmallow, but some opaque sugary goodness...  The Easter flavors are the best (the Valentine's red hearts were a disappointing cinnamon).

From dyed hard-boiled eggs, we quickly moved on to decorating hollowed-out eggs (thankfully Dad figured out that a turkey baster worked well, which saved the headaches from too much exhaling).  Every year we decorated eggs and Mom would go and cut some sort of branch (honeysuckle perhaps) to put in a pot and hang the eggs from.  In fact, I think that was probably one of the earliest decoupage projects that we worked on.  My egg had a lot of white space with some bits of blue calico fabrics in odd places.  Then there were some crayon/resist eggs, some Ukranian eggs (in technique more than in style) and a memorable egg that my dad decorated with little dinosaur drawings.  Mom's favorite approach was using onion skins to dye the eggs.

And now there's a whole new generation.  I have some plastic eggs to fill for Lily's hunt... She's finally getting old enough to understand a little bit more what is going on.  I'm getting a little carried away -- Little Luxuries has some great paper eggs to fill. This picture is from last spring in the arboretum and I'm getting carried away thinking about photo ops, even though mostly this just involves chasing around after the adorable girl.  But I'll have to find some sort of cute dress... Oh right, I was going to make a fairy costume since I ran out of time at Halloween.  Won't it be fun to get pictures of a fairy flitting through the flowering trees in the arboretum. 

Meanwhile, at Anthology, we have lots of goodies for Easter baskets and Easter crafting.  Once again, we have the paper mache eggs for you to decorate - take them home or have a seat at our table and add some sparkling watercolors or layers of fabric/paper.  I love all the different paper flowers that we've received and think they would be a wonderful paper Easter bonnet, paper crown or even Easter egg decoration.  Sachi loves the Martha punches and went butterfly crazy decorating one of our sample eggs, and I had fun with the torn washi paper.  The various paper scraps are nice for Easter/spring cards and eggs and I'm still thinking about cutting one of those paper mache eggs open and making a little diorama.  Did you ever do that with sugar eggs?  My mom did once and I remember being so enchanted (of course, the fact that the egg was made of sugar was also of interest to me). A customer came in and bought several sheets of the Beatrix Potter scraps.  She made some sweet little Easter garlands.  I love the idea of filling an Easter basket with various crafy goodies (though there would have to be sweets too, don't get me wrong).

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walking in a winter wonderland

Yes, that's right, just in case you haven't heard or aren't living it yourself, there's a little snow here in Wisconsin.  I love snow.... well, at the moment anyway.  I really think winter should be cold and snowy, but I know I will feel otherwise in February, and March.  On Wednesday there was so much snow that pretty much everything shut down, including the buses that I usually take to get to work.  I walked to the bus stop and took lots of pictures on the way.  I only waited 10 minutes before it occurred to me that when they said "delayed," they really meant that the buses weren't running at all, not just that they were running late.  They should have used another word in my opinion.  So, sorry if you stopped by the store on Wednesday.  I returned home and stayed indoors for the rest of the day.  I should have stocked up on some more groceries but I raided the freezer.  And I got so much sewing done!  It's amazing how much can get done when there are the distractions of a computer.  Thank goodness there was electricity so I could still sew and iron.  I finished up three more cupcake aprons, got further along on about 12 knitter's pockets and 20 headbands.  Then I took a nap, and then I worked on an art project from my Valley Ridge workshop this summer -- totally NOT what I need to do for restocking the store but it was a nice treat to work on a real art project and not just make buttons.  And I finished my sister's Christmas present which I am really dying to show you but I know it will have to wait until after she opens it.  I'd better just wrap it right now so I resist the temptation to snap a picture and post it somewhere.  It's quite lovely though, if I do say so myself.  Thank you etsy supplies and Vintaj brass.

And now it is Friday already.  Madison is still digging out from the blizzard.  I have had some long cold waits for the bus the last two mornings but it is supposed to get a little warmer for the weekend so that is good.  People are definitely getting ready for the holidays.  We have an assortment of groups coming in to work on craft projects (paper stars, button bracelets, stamped charms), including a birthday party this weekend (decoupage mirror frame and cloth button bracelets).  Here's the sweet little stamped charm that you can come in and make.

Jane will be here making paper stars on Saturday from 11 to 1.  We've got some paper cut so people can make their own, or they can buy some of hers.... and I'm pretty sure she was going to make up kits so you can take the pieces home and make more.  Some of our paper pads would also make nice paper stars as well.  Many people are still in the browsing phase which always entertained me at my former job.  It will be Christmas Eve and they'll come out shopping but when asked if help is needed, "oh no, just browsing..." as if there is all the time in the world.  It's a bit of a mystery to me because I am the type to shop all year long so there isn't too much left to do at this point.  Other than write my Christmas letter, which I can tell is going to be late again this year.  Maybe I should take a page from Julia Child and make it a Valentine's letter.

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.