Shows 2009 - the life of a traveling craftie

I started applying to shows this year in the beginning of February and the acceptances and rejections are now rolling in! Here's a glimpse into how my year is shaping up. The amounts are what I paid to apply, but I'm not a very good record keeper as you will see...

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I'm so IN!
ONB Magic City - Birmingham, AL ($25)
(score! I was rejected last year and I hear it's a good one!)

Pink Palace Crafts Fair - Memphis, TN ($?)
(this was my best show I ever had sales-wise, mere days after my brother's death)

Grant Park Summer Shade Festival - Atlanta, GA ($25)
(I love this show - I'm so glad they let me come back!)

Spring Bada-Bing - Richmond, VA ($5)
(this will also facilitate a trip to all the relatives in Virginia, too!)

Crafty Feast - Columbia, SC ($0)
(this may be a low-key show but I won't have my slave labor, uh, husband to help me)

Artfest - Dallas, TX ($30)
(I was accepted after being wait listed! My first show in Texas since Stitch. Will Stitch be back for more?)

Fountain Square Art Festival - near Chicago, IL ($30)
(this show was literally blown away by heavy winds last year, hope that's not a repeat!)

Indieana Handicraft Exchange - Indianapolis, IN ($0)
(the promoter is a sweetheart and I bet there will be some great indie goodness here!)

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I'm so NOT IN!
Decatur Arts Alliance - Decatur, GA ($30)
(2nd year in a row I was denied... bitches.)

Wells Street Art Fest - Chicago, IL ($30)
(same promoter as the Fountain Square Art Festival - funny I got into one and not the other)

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I'm still NOT SURE!
Kentuck Arts Festival - Northport, AL ($35)
(man I loved this show last year - I hope they let me in again!)

Athens Indie Craftstraganza - Athens, GA ($85 - includes booth fee)
(or however you spell it)

Atlanta Arts Festival - Atlanta, GA ($25)
(not holding my breath - I've been denied at least once from this show)

Woodland Art Fair - Lexington, KY ($25)
(this will probably be my third rejection from this show. hmph.)

Forum on Peachtree - Norcross, GA ($25)
(I think I actually am rejected but it hasn't been officially mailed to me yet)

Virginia Beach Christmas Market - Virginia Beach, VA ($100 deposit)
(this show is so big it kind of scares me but I hear it's great)

It's a LOT of paperwork to apply and keep up with all of these shows!! Each one has different rules, different set up times, fees, etc... My total fees paid out so far this year are: $500!!! Holy crap! It's so scary when you add it all up... The good news is, I've got a good rate of acceptance so far this year. I'll keep my fingers crossed for the rest of them!

Domino, R.I.P.

How did I not realize that Domino was not publishing any more? I am so sad about this. I had almost let my subscription lapse since I had absolutely run out of room to decorate any more, and then we bought our house! I pored over Domino's and got so many decorating ideas from them - they were like the best blogs in print all at my fingertips. *Sigh*. Decor8 wrote a great post about it here.

part of my Domino collection

Saturday & Sunday - Walden Artisan Market in Nashville!

Calling all Nashvillians! Come to the East Side for a groovy craft show this weekend! No lame-o crafts here - expect nothing but tha coolest from the indie East Side! I won't be selling, but I'll certainly be shopping!

This adorable flyer was designed by Carolyn Burgess Sellers, the lady behind Squirrel Pearl, who will be there selling her creations and some of her fabulous vintage finds as well. Check these out:

Mustache serving plates - the perfect kitchen gift for your bachelor friend!

Also, Jessica of the orange bicycle will be there with sewn goodies- zipper pouches, wine totes, dishtowels and tote bags in really cute fabric combinations! And, check out Caryn of Leroy and the Girl with her amazing pastel artworks. (Caryn will only be there on Sunday). There will also be pottery, vintage clothing, jewelry and much much more! So go check it out, yo!


In other East Nashville art news, Art & Invention Gallery has an Open Art Night! Here's the scoop:

On Thursday & Friday nights, plus all day Saturday & Sunday, anyone with the desire to paint or create art can come to Art & Invention and play.
It doesn’t matter if you have years of experience, or no experience at all…
The point is to start having fun NOW!

Here’s how it works:
If you have everything you need to make art , and just need the space to create it - call us.
If you don’t have anything but the desire to make art, and have no supplies and no place to create your masterpieces - call us.
If you want to work on craft items outside of your own home - call us.
If you want to get together with a group of friends to make art and make an event out of it - call us.
If you want to paint in the great outdoors, and don’t want to be bothered with hauling everything to the location of your choice - call us.
We will deliver and pick up everything you need.
(We call this Art & Invention- Outdoors & On the Move!)

For more info, contact Meg at Art & Invention Gallery
1106 Woodland Street
EAST Nashville, Tennessee 37206
615.226.2070

Why Shop Local by Petra Geiger

Hop over to the Beehive Co-Op Blog and read a really great post by Petra Geiger, the founding force behind the co-op. It's an interesting commentary about how money spent at small businesses vs. big box businesses is circulated differently within the local economy. Go take a look and tell me what you think!

Birds make me happy

Can you guess what this is? It's a necklace! It is so pretty - I wouldn't even want to wear it - I would want to frame it because it looks like a work of art! This is just one bird necklace from Belokrinitski's shop - it features different shades of green, blue, turquoise and fuchsia felt, is hand cut and machine embroidered. She says "Each bird is absolutely unique because i cut and assemble the parts and color individually for each bird." It's made by hand in Israel and shipping is even free! Go see her selection of bird necklaces here.

Found via Misosouper.

New jewelry!

I've been extremely productive today, even though I've been in my pajamas all day. Showering can wait - I have new jewelry to show the world!

I've been experimenting with sanding some of my pieces to achieve a matte finish which I think is very pretty, but I needed to make this finish available on very specific pieces that had their own look and style. So far, all of my disc and solid pieces come in the matte finish but I wanted to try out some matte finishes on some of the wire pieces, too. I've also been curious about working with slightly thicker wire - it's a little harder to work with but can hold its shape on pieces that are more open (like the lucky or bucket) as opposed to all of the other work that has finished lines that all connect. The lucky and bucket are fine and don't need any reworking, but how could I take that idea further?

After playing around with my materials, I arrived on a solution - hoop earrings! Not exactly earth shattering or re-inventing the wheel or anything, but hoop earrings in my own style could be nice, right? I thought so, and I love how they turned out:


I have never done anything like this before so I only have three styles available and I haven't even named them yet (any suggestions? if you have a good one and I use it, a pair is yours). I have a rectangular hoop and a small and medium round hoop. The closure is a bridge style that I have created, which is pretty exciting that the entire thing is created with my wire! So far, I have put them in my etsy shop to see what happens. I get more traffic on my website, though, so I'll be adding them soon. I may make a few extra pairs and then send them to Bliss in Knoxville and Art & Invention in Nashville - two of my stores that have carried my jewelry the longest to see what they think. What do you think?

I also have a new heart necklace that I'm excited about. I've been playing around with heart shapes for over a year, and it's about time that I made one that I'd like to add to the line! I call it the free form heart, since each one is made entirely by hand and the shape is pretty much up to how the wire and my tools interact.