Getting ready for Spring show



Folk art style chicken with caterpillar - front



Folk art style chicken with caterpillar - back

Cherry blossom bonsai



Cherry blossom bonsai

 I am getting ready for a show that is coming up so fast I can hardly believe it!  The show is on the long weekend in May, which is the 19th - 21st this year.  My stock is down and I have to get cracking on making focals for pendants and small beads for earrings.  I find those two items seem to sell the best for me.

What kind of items do you find sell the best for you at shows?

After the Show

This last weekend a friend and I did the Woodland Gardens "Art and Bloom" festival in Courtenay, B.C.  When we do shows together we call ourselves "Playing With Fire".  We had a great show, despite the inclement weather, and my booth partner actually had her best show ever!
The weather was quite miserable on Saturday and Sunday, and then on Monday (our May Day long weekend), the clouds finally broke and we had a bit of sun come through - so I quickly shot this photo of our booth. 
I find it very difficult to organize a booth for the outdoor shows that is going to be fairly wind proof, and also to give the two of us room at the back, and the customers room to get out of the rain if needed.
My friend hates to have her photo taken, so you can just make her out "hiding" behind the metal shelving - lol!

I wasn't able to get around too much (because my back is still quite bad) to take pictures of the gardens, so I am including pictures I took two years ago.  Things haven't changed too much, and this year everything is late coming out  because of all the cold weather we have had so there wasn't much in the way of flowers to photograph anyway.

Tomorrow I plan on getting out into my studio to get on with stocking my Etsy shop, and finishing up on some orders I have put off until after the show.

Have a great week everyone.

Snow, Snow, Snow

After working all week getting ready for the 4 day studio tour that started on Thursday, it was quite dissappointing to get up this morning to a white winter wonderland.  Although it looked very pretty, it was not great for customers coming, and the expected flood of people was a mere trickle.  Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit better - although it is supposed to get colder and freeze everything solid.  On the bright side, I will have lots of stock for the spring shows. sigh.

The picture below is from our front porch.  If you look closely at the lower left hand corner, you can see the path to the studio we very carefully made and covered with bark mulch, now has snow shovelled off and looking very messy.   Can you tell I am "ticked off" at Mother Nature?

The Studio Tour is on!

Here is a picture of my tables in my studio.  The room is quite narrow, so my tables are against one wall, while a friends pottery and another friends beads are against the other wall.  It is a little crowded, but looks quite nice.  However, I see that I should have ironed the table covers - LOL

The next two photos are of a couple of new pieces I made for the show.  I am having a definate love affair with copper!  I think I prefer it to silver.

Bye for now.

Re-visiting my previous career

Sorry, I don't have anything "beady" for you at the present.  I am getting ready for my next show, which is  the Cedar/Yellowpoint Artisan's Christmas Tour, next weekend.  This is the first year that I have participated, as I now have a suitable studio that is apart from the house. Here.

I do however, have pictures of some of the teddy bears that I used to make.  I was looking through my photos today, and thought you might like to take a look too.  These bears were made from mohair fabric imported from either England or Germany, they are all fully jointed, and have glass eyes.  They were made as adult collectibles and not suitable for children (because of the glass eyes).  I made all their clothes too - sometimes from scratch, and sometimes for the larger ones I would re-make children's clothes.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

So Very Tired!

I have just finished a three day Christmas Craft fair here in Nanaimo, and I am exhausted.  Spending three days smiling and laughing is just too much for me - LOL.  My sister very kindly volunteered to help me for the full three days - what a great sister!  We laughed so hard sometimes that we ended up crying - I think some of the customers must have wondered what on earth was happening.

I am not at all pleased with my booth this year - I think it is the white necklace stands/busts/boards.  They are great for summer, but I think that in winter I need to get more black ones for display.  I also think I need a softer colour than the black top cloth I have been using for the winter shows - maybe a lovely rust, or perhaps a deep plum - what do you think?  I would love some feedback.  Anyway here is a very poor picture of my booth.  The black backdrop is the promoters choice - I wish they would have silver/gray or something like that.

Right now I think I am going to go and make a cup of tea, and sit and read for a while.  Tomorrow I will be out in the studio again making beads for the studio tour coming on November 18 - 22.

Bye for now.

Golden Strands

Three more pendants for the show tomorrow.  I have wired these ones in copper and put them on matching silk ribbon cords - I love the warm earthy look.  I think I am definitely moving over to copper - I love working with it, and I don't feel guilty if I have to cut it off and start again the way I do with the more expensive stirling silver.

Well, I better get packing, as I have to be at the show bright and early tomorrow to get set up.

Have a great weekend everyone!

New Necklaces

I have been working on this style of necklace for about a year now - ever since I purchased some leather cord and then didn't have any idea what to do with it!   It has taken many "trys" and many "tear aparts" to get to where I am finally pleased with the designs.  The large beads in the middle are hollow, and I posted a picture of some of the beads in a previous blog post.  I think they have a very ethnic or tribal look about them, so now I have to figure out a name for them.  Any ideas?  They are just a tad longer than choker length, and I will provide an extender chain if requested.  These necklaces will be going to the show this weekend - hope they are a success.

After the show season is finished at the end of November, I am planning on making more of this style of bead for my Etsy shop - so let me know if you are interested.

Have a great rest of the week.

Home Again!

While I enjoy going out of town to shows sometime, I sure do like getting home!  I think I am definately a homebody at heart.

I was sharing the booth with a beader friend of mine, Judy Baun, at the Fraser Valley Bead Show this past weekend, and the sign would be just too large if we put both our names on it, so we call ourselves "Playing With Fire" - I know, not very original - LOL.  Above is a picture of our booth before the masses of enthusiastic bead buyers came through.  We had a great time, met lots of fellow beaders, and purchased way too much stuff!  It was a great show, and I must give Barrie Edwards, the promoter, a big round of applause for doing such a great job - thanks so much Barrie!

Almost Ready!

Just getting the last minute preparations done for the upcoming Fraser Valley Bead Show this weekend.  The Little Missies are all set on their frame, and I will pack them this way, then I don't have to spend the time hooking up each one when I get to the show.

Hmmm - I was going to show you another bead picture, however I can't seem to get it to upload - I'll try again later.  Oh, I just see a little notice that says the image uploader is down for maintenance.  Oh well, like I said - later.

Bye for now.

Beachcomber Beads

Three sets of "Beachcomber" beads, ready for the upcoming Fraser Valley Bead Show in October. 

I have been out in the studio today working on some new tree beads.  I can't wait to see what the kiln fairies give me tomorrow morning.

Ideas for Show Display

I have been accepted as a vendor in the Fraser Valley Bead Show on October 22, 23 & 24, 2010 at the Cascades Casino/Convention Center, 20393 Fraser Hwy Langley, BC.

In preparation for the show I have been going through all my display items.  I am finding that it is one thing to display jewellery, but quite another to display just beads. 

Soooo, I guess there is quite a bit of work ahead of me - good thing there is lots of time yet!