What a kick!

I just discovered my jewelry was featured on a January 26 blog! Secret Life of Jewelry is a blog about jewelry by Carmela DiLeva and Shelby Matero. Their statement from their blog reads:

"This blog showcases fabulous handcrafted jewelry made by independent artists with incredibly amazing talent. This blog promotes awareness of those artists and designers who seek to imbue their work with meaning. It is our hope that this awareness spreads through ever-widening circles of people who share the desire to acquire items of beauty and durability with an awareness of social responsibility."

I'll now remember the grin that this gave me when I'm writing about other people's work and try to give them a grin as well. We all need it!

Bonita Springs National Art Festival

Amazingly I survived my first art fair of the year plus had a wonderful time! The Bonita Springs National Art Festival was the perfect show to start my year. The director, Barry Witt runs a tight show with a smile on his face plus enforces the rules which I dearly love. It helps everything run smoothly and the show looks so clean and professionally run. Beautiful location, wonderful neighbors. I was proud to be there and can't wait to go back in March.

Michael and I stopped and spent the night with the Hecker's on the way down which started the whole trip with a warm fuzzy. Great people, great food, glorious hot tub outdoors and three of the most wonderful furry kids. The only downside was leaving but we had to continue on.

In checking my records I discovered that the last time I did a winter Florida show was in 1996. In that 14 years, I think they moved Florida further away from Michigan. I truly didn't remember it being so far but finally we got to the Florida Welcome Center and I got my long anticipated, free glass of orange juice. That meant I was really in Florida. Sunshine and warm weather. Very welcome for a Michigander in January!

Beginning of the art fair year

The first art fair of the year is always exciting as I've written about before. But having your first show be just 3 very short weeks after the holidays, I'm finding that tough!

At this time of year I'm normally slowly getting things done. I'm catching up on sleep, playing with Dick, playing with the cats, seeing my Dad and thinking about what I'm going to do when I finally make it back to the studio. All done without the adrenaline of "show time".

It's time when I get to catch up with in town friends and see the inside of my local coffee shop instead of every Starbucks on the road. I return long overdue phone calls and the e-mails fly! Soup becomes homemade again as I fill the freezer. Dick and I actually cook together and I relish in the home cooked meals.

So life just is. And I love it.

The bad news is that this year, I'm doing the same things as normal AND I HAVE A SHOW IN A FEW DAYS! So I have to pump up the adrenaline, load up on coffee and get to the studio before I'm totally out of time!

Starting up shows again

I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. My first show of the new year is a week and a half away and even though I'm not close to being ready, I'm so excited!

The show is the Bonita Springs National Art Festival in Bonita Springs Florida, January 16 and 17 and it's my first time there. I haven't done any winter Florida shows for years due to my wholesale show in February but with each year comes changes. Boy am I looking forward to some warmth and sunshine in Florida instead of the cold of the Philadelphia show!

After I finish my shows for the calendar year and hopefully get a small break, I start on the list of jobs that I need to do before I start up shows again. Usually I have until April so it's not a big deal to get them all done, but this year the list is long and my time is short.

So what's on my list? It goes from washing and cleaning EVERYTHING to restocking and reorganizing to coming up with better ways to do things. I love forms so I have forms and lists for everything from what jewelry to make to what I need to take to each show and those constantly need updating. I really need a new banner showing images of my work for my booth.

Even using a GPS, I still need to print maps since I don't want to be in the middle of nowhere and have my GPS get a hiccup. I spend hours researching hotels since I now want cheap but still clean and safe with a good bed and shower. And it really helps if there's good coffee close by...

Since I never got my summer clothing put away because I was in warm weather areas until mid November, at least that part should be easier. I repainted my chair in the fall so hopefully that still looks good. Whew, so much to think about. I need to start some new lists!

And yes, I'll even be making some great new jewelry! Can't wait to get back into the studio and try out some new designs and even make some old favorites. Look here for new designs coming soon! And look for this booth at shows this year. It will contain some wonderful new work looking for the right person to own it!

My Sister's Blog

I'm proudly advertising my sister Karen's new blog. When I first starting blogging myself I said my sister was the writer in the family and she's proving it with her blog. Please check it out!