Here’s a real quick entry: I’m here at the Chicago Market: Living and Giving.  I’m in the section, “What a Girl Wants,” instead of the handmade section, ‘cause I’d like to attract more boutique and gift stores.  Sadly, I’ve seen a few of my galleries close over these years.

Beautiful facility, the Merchandise Mart.  I love being here- hard walls included, great lighting.  I even have a window in my booth (a world outside? You never get to see that at most markets!)  So far, so good on the orders.  Only a few thus far, but two biggies, and definitely exposure to a different customer.

Who knows what’s happening in the retail gift/art world?  We’re experiencing an industry shake-up, which happens every once in a while in any economy.  My goal in doing so many events is to stay alive until the tide comes back in. 

 I was in LA last week, for the California Gift Show, in the LA Mart Temporaries section.  Again, I got a few good orders, new customers whom I would not have met had I not ventured forth.  Booth fees for both shows, LA and Chicago, combined were less than the booth fee for New York Gift.    This was a calculated risk, and I’m in the profit zone for both shows, so I’m feeling okay for now.

Wish me luck for more big orders!

Wow!  I have had so many inquiries lately about custom wedding bands.  The bells must be ringing!  I can help with the traditional stuff, but I really like to go a little further.  Here is a pair I did recently:

Ox Sterling and 18K Bands

Thanks for all the custom work!

March 3, 2010

A bride just left my studio.  She’s getting married in June, and wants a brooch to wear on her wedding gown.  I am so excited.

 This girl is so cute.  She’s a tiny blonde thing, her dress is strapless, and has this gorgeous lace jacket for the ceremony.  Her vision is for a crocheted silver brooch to wear at the empire waistline of the dress.

 We’re going to use both white and chocolate pearls for this piece.   She also has two tiny diamonds from her mother’s engagement ring that we might incorporate into the design.  The twin inspirations for the design are the crochet technique itself, and the swirly font she is using on her invitations.  The brooch will be oval-shaped, and will be worn horizontally for the wedding.  She can wear it vertically after the big event.

 I’ve got several designs scratched on paper.  Our bride seems to like them all, which is great, ‘cause it means I’m going in the right direction to make her a happy customer.  We’ve narrowed down the chocolate pearl choices to the “Old Gold” and “Ginger” colors.  The “Autumn Leaves” and “Metallic Golden Brown” are out.  Our next step is for me to meet her at her next dress fitting.  I’ll bring supplies and create a mock-up of the brooch, so we can be sure the size, orientation, details fit appropriately.  After that, I’ll do a more formal rendering and develop a price.

A big thank you to Dawn Nash, former owner of the no-longer-open Xen Gallery, Saint Louis, MO, for sending the bride my way!

May 4, 2010

Things have gone well with our blushing bride.  We decided to forego the chocolate pearls, and stick with two sizes of white for the nuptials.  She’ll be picking up the piece later this week, along with a few other items for the bridal family, and groom!

Here are some pics of the design process:

The bride and dress

Sketches, materials

Coming along...

Dawn putting things together...

The framework, complete.

Brooch can be worn vertically, and also as a pendant (good idea, Dawn).

Here’s the final piece:

Crocheted Bridal Brooch

 If you’d like to see more of my pieces that are great for brides, take a click here.

 

In this life, I am all about the beauty. The beauty of the morning sun, the beauty of a child’s smile, the beauty of the perfect bowl of fruit. But today, I am all about the beauty of the perfect handbag. The perfect handbag collections, I mean. I’d like to take a moment to make a quick shout-out to five handbag designers who make some of the most amazing designs today.

Karen Wilson is a Canadian whose work I found when I did the One of a Kind Show and Sale at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago several years ago. (Just to clarify- I’ve done the show as an artist in the years since. It’s been a strong show for me for years.) The OOAK Show has a lot of Canadian artists involved, as it was a show that began in Canada- Toronto, I think. Maybe Montreal. Anyway, Karen’s bags are structured, beautifully made, in fabrics of her own design. When you carry one you feel like a queen. I think I actually named my bag, “Princess,” and carried it with deference usually reserved for your teacup Chihuahua. She is pink and brocade-y, made of the thickest smooth cotton sateen I’ve ever felt. Mmmmmmmm… I’ve had to retire her for a while, when the diaper bag became my carrier-of-necessity. But she sits regally in my closet, waiting for her moment when I reach for her to pull my entire outfit together.

Fuschia EVening Bag, Karen Wilson

Ransom & Scout is another company whose bags are worth talking about. Ransom and Scout are characters created by a clay artist in Santa Fe, who had the intelligent brainstorm that more women will buy incredible handbags than will buy handbuilt clay figures, no matter how incredible they, themselves, are. The artist prints images of her characters, whose stories are printed, newspaper-style, on each bag. The bag designs are stellar- structured, but soft, a great mix of masculine and feminine, as has been pointed out to me. I own the Dolores, and get compliments on her everywhere I go.

Dolores Satchel, Ransom and Scout

Another leather-bag designer is Bari Brosh, the niece of a friend of mine in Israel. These bags are gorgeous, just dripping leather, gooey almost, and chic. Take a look at Model 1575 in the brown color. It’s almost worth hopping on a plane to Israel, just for the shopping. And a salt bath in the Dead Sea, while you’re there. http://www.baribrosh.com/

Susan Williams is a designer newly-brought to my attention. She recently contacted me about some wholesale events she was considering. And of course, she sent a link to her work, so I could at least pretend to have something intelligent to say in my reply. I can’t wait to see these bags in person at our next show! I love the bags’ shapes, and of course the textures drive me crazy with joy! I think the black crinkly one will have to be part of my collection soon.

Crinkle Satchel, Suzanne Williams

And I couldn’t complete this without a word for BeeGee bags. I met the artist, Brooke, at a show a while ago. We chatted because I was interested in carrying her bags for the store I was considering opening. I haven’t gone forward with the store, but I thought her bags so cheerful and crisp that they keep popping into my head. Perhaps I’ll have to place a personal order soon.

Curvie Silver Nora, beegee bags

Yes, a beautiful life is all the more beautiful with an amazing handbag. Please enjoy these selections, and let me know which ones you pick up first!

Is anyone decent anymore? So what do we think about this:

I’m driving along on a local busy street. I come to a stop light, and brake. I sit, stationary, and then- bump! I am struck by the car behind me.

This was not a big crash, but the bump was significant. There was enough contact for my car to be pushed a few feet forward on the road. I had Elliot in the back seat, and we looked at each other in the rear-view mirror.

“Are you okay?” I asked him. He nodded, but didn’t say anything. I looked again into the rear-view mirror, hoping to make eye contact with the driver behind me. She didn’t seem to have noticed that she had just had an accident with another car. I’m not sure if we made eye contact, but she sure did not make any move to wave at me, nor did she indicate she might pull over.

Nevertheless, I put on my signal, ready to pull over to the left, as I have always been taught to do in any accident situation- pull over, make sure everyone is all right, then exchange contact info and insurance info, right? As I pulled over, the other driver sped up and whizzed right past me!

Being the compulsive person that I am, I made immediate note of the license number and scrawled it on the cookie bag on the seat next to me (a visit to Barnes & Noble always ends in a snack, no?). Still shocked, I re-entered traffic and moved along, barking to myself and Elliot that I could not believe someone had just hit me, then gone on her merry way. Was no one decent anymore?

The offending vehicle turned into a strip mall I knew, and I took note as I continued on my way toward home. This accident had actually happened in my husband’s car, and I was anxious to see him and have him inspect the car.

The damage to our bumper was pretty inconsequential, but we did have some scratches and a chip in the paint. Together, Jon and I drove back to the strip mall where I had seen the car turn.

To make my ever-lengthening story shorter, I will sum up the rest of the events by saying that we found the hit-and-run driver in the body-building storefront (??). When I asked if the white Ford Explorer was hers, she said, “Yeah.” “You just hit me at that stoplight,” I said, to which she immediately replied, “No, I didn’t!” protesting so loudly that it was clear she knew she had.

What is the matter with people!? She didn’t say, “Are you all right?” or, “Gosh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I made such an impact.” NoooOOOOOoooo. She could not have cared less about the woman whose car she had hit, or the three-year-old boy inside.

In the end, we called the Des Peres Police. Officer O’Connor arrived and performed his duties consummately, wrapping up the appropriate exchange of contact and insurance info (that should have happened 20 minutes earlier, had the offending driver stopped at the time of the incident!) in a timely and respectful manner.

Elliot and I are fine (although my lower back is smartin’ a bit), and I ask again- what is the matter with people?

Please, the next time you do something that has the potential to cause harm to someone else, stop and ask yourself if it’s the right thing to do. We have only each other to count on, yes? I humbly request that we treat each other with respect.

I’d be very interested to hear some comments about this post. Thanks.

Yes, another year has passed.  Another milestone under the belt.  I am 28… again.

Well, really, I turned 42 last week.  And except from the near-constant shoulder pain and the fact that my knee sounds like a bag of rocks every time I move it, I feel pretty terrific. 

I try not to fear how I’m aging- I like to think I will accept every age, the same way my mother tells me there is beauty in all of my children’s stages.  She has made me able to see the joy even in Jonah’s infrequent phone calls from abroad, and Elliot’s tantrums at the grocery store.  I think we’re all meant to learn something with every stage of ourselves, and I stay to stay open to every opportunity for joy.  Even if joy includes crow’s feet.

A great friend, Donnabeth Mitchell, of Donnabeth Designs, sent me a terrific horoscope that has enough good juice to inspire me for the next year.  I’d like to share it here.  This is what she sent:

 Year at a Glance for Aries

You’re the perfect warrior, champion of a new world rising. 2010 is a year for polishing armor and weapons, to become lean, fit, and ready for anything. Don’t go looking for battles yet, though an exercise in preparation appears in June–early August. There is more to come.

Your most powerful weapon is desire, the enthusiasm for your unique role in the world. Get clear on an image of what you want; paint it, collage it, sing it or write it out as poetry. Strength fused with desire delivers everything you’ll need to step forward.

Important in 2010 is to clear away blocks, anything that drags you down or back into the past. These could be old attitudes, old relationships, outmoded venues or ways of presenting yourself to the world. You may project obstructions onto others, feeling held back by their issues; they are merely holding up mirrors to show you where you need to firm yourself.

Focus on simplifying, freeing yourself of anything that siphons off that pure, fierce Aries force. Your home is a refuge, your place of renewal and rejuvenation; make sure it feels warm, comforting, free of clutter and distractions.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Call upon your ancestors. There are gifts, talents, passions from past lives or bloodlines lining up to be available for these times. When you’ve slain your inner monsters and freed your deepest desires, your contagious passion and fearlessness will ignite in you incisive leadership in service to Mother the Earth.  

Gretchen Lawlor@ Mother Tongue Ink 2009

I wish everyone a year of inspiration.  Happy birthday, whenever it is!

I got back from both New York and Philadelphia markets last week.  It looks like we’ll be so busy in the next few short weeks, but it must be said, I did not write the usual number of orders required to keep us busy and profitable for the next few months.  I am very frustrated.

I have always believed that not everyone should be self-employed.  Making your own money is a hard thing to do.  It’s a tough life sometimes.  Sure, there is great freedom, especially when you have enough business to hire employees to create certain efficiencies.  But there can also be huge anxiety.  There is no safety net, no corporate big brother to make sure those paychecks are distributed on time, or even that there is money in the bank to support them.

Self-employment is not for the faint-of-heart.

My Philly show was quite rewarding, especially in light of the fact that I, and so many other artists and buyers, arrived late due to the blizzard of 2010.  I didn’t score a lot of new business, but previous customers came and replenished their inventory.

My New York show, however, was a different story.  Even after having my mother (remember, I mentioned employees) make one hundred phone calls in advance of the show, my final numbers were so low I lost money on the show.  I’ve never had that experience at New York Gift before.  Usually, the New York show is the big money-maker for me.  I couldn’t believe the lack of business.  On the plus side, every previous customer I saw did stop and write a new order, for which I am evermore grateful.

At first, it appeared that everyone in my section was having the same, surprisingly quiet show.  By the end, however, it seemed that things turned out “okay” for just about everyone else in my area. My question is this: is it just a matter of adjusting one’s expectations?  And, here’s another: how does one keep one’s faith that everything will be all right, when things don’t go as planned?

I’ve asked myself over and over what I could have done differently to achieve better sales.  Frankly, I cannot come up with an answer.  I did a mailing, an email blast, my mom made the phone calls, the booth looked good, the lighting was generous.  I introduced new work, and even offered my buyers chocolate!

I’ve now seen the results of a survey conducted by Larry Hornung of http://craftshownews.com.  His respondents seem to echo my experience: the Galleria handmade section just did not see the same buyer traffic as the rest of the show.  It may be that the further back the buyers need to go, the less likely they are to get there.

Fortunately, GLM and Javits will be addressing that issue: Javits Center North will be open in August, placing us back at ground level, and integrated with the rest of the US/Canadian handmade product.  Global Resources will be established to showcase handmade product made in other countries, which usually results in those inexpensive imports.  Hallelujah!  We’ll be in our own venue, which I believe will increase visibility, as well as keep our product from having to compete with cheaper imports.

In the meantime, it’s my job to reach out to the customers I may have missed at this year’s Winter shows.   I have a strong track record of sales and profits for my company, as well as high customer satisfaction.  It’s been a tough couple of years; we artists felt the recession coming long before the mortgage crisis hit.  At this point, I need to re-commit to making the company strong, even when I feel fear.  I have to deliberately construct my confidence.  What’s that phrase? “Fake it ‘til you make it”?  Yep, that’s what I will do.  Rather than drown in my fear, I will choose to remain confident, choose to remain committed to my customers and their success.  I make great work, and support my own work.  When the market comes back, I will be here.

Here’s a bit of the newest work:

Wide-Band Rings hand-crocheted with Semi-Precious Stones

Lattice Ring

Hand-forged Silver FlowersHand-forged Gold Flowers

Hand-forged Gold Flowers

Boogie Nights- early daysvi2361065753 boogie nights trailerDuuuuuuuuude

In 1997, a great movie was made, Boogie Nights.  Marky Mark Wahlberg, Heather Graham, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and even Burt Reynolds starred.  It was an epic,  a three-hour long extravaganza focusing on the growth of the porn industry from the 70’s and onward.  While it was interesting for obvious reasons, it sticks in my mind because it spawned a significant theory that drives my life as I raise male children.  What theory, you ask?  My Boogie Nights Theory of Hair Length for Men.

You see, what goes around, comes around, in fashion as in life.  My son, Jonah, now 13, has had long-ish hair for most of his life.  As a little boy, I had his hair cut into a short preppy style, but as he got older, we both agreed that his iconoclastic persona (my words, not his) and desire to be “different,” meant that he should be among the first to experiment with the free-and-easy symbol that is longer hair. 

The girls love the long hair!

 His little brother, now almost 3, has the long hair, too. 

Elliot, age 2 3/4

So back to the movie: At the beginning, the porn industry was just coming to life.  It was populated by cute young kids, eager for sexual experimentation, with only a few hardened souls to show just how bad things could get.  The kids, Marky Mark in particular, had soft, longish hair.  No more tight, preppy cuts, things were just growing naturally.  As the movie moves forward, hair starts getting longer, and longer.  By the epic third hour, when the porn industry has devolved into one drug fest after another, the hair gets too long, lank, unclean  and unattractive.  The characters are all in trouble, strung out and addicted, not having the happy sex of their youths, but rather doing what they have to do to keep themselves addled out of reality.  The characters’ hair is a great metaphor for the downward spiral in which all find themselves.  In a nutshell, the cute, sweet characters of the beginning turn into something like this:

Whoaaaaa, duude

And here’s where I’m going with this: Jonah’s hair is too long.  It’s starting to look like the strung-out guy above, and it’s starting to affect his reputation, at least in my eyes.  Is his shaggy look a mirror of his inner self?  And if so, is he hiding under all that hair, as a way of softening the slings and arrows of being 13 in a divorced, reconstructed family?  Or, maybe he thinks it’s cool, so his inner self is doing great. 

I love my Jonah, and I think my job as  mom is to help him keep his options open, for now, as he discovers himself.   Here are a few men’s ‘do’s that I think fit the bill.  Jonah would cringe, knowing that I’ve chosen celebrity heartthrobs as my examples, but they were easy to find.  Because of his previous investment in long hair, he can claim to be ahead of the pack in going shorter, no?

Zac Efron Hair

Still a groovy 'do

Of course, Jonah is the biggest hearthrob in my life.  And I’d rather he think I’m a big dork (duh) than have him be the bigger dork.  Of course, it’s not the hair that makes the man, but rather the other way around.  I just want to make sure he’s moving forward with the hair, as he does in the rest of his life.

As an “object person,” I frequently come across things, usually clothes or accessory pieces, that keep me awake at night. This week, I am drooling over a few belts and boots. I suppose, given the delicious crisp autumn air we’ve had of late, it’s my way of welcoming the season. A girl’s gotta celebrate, yes?

My usual gun-to-the-head, the Sundance catalog, has a few gorgeous belts that I’m coveting.

peace, love and happines belt

This “Peace, Love and Happiness” belt is making me googly-eyed, that’s for sure. It’s only available online, of course. Oooh, exclusive… It’s troppo caro, however, $148, which is more than I am likely to spring for, for such a unique piece. I don’t know that I’d be able to wear this with everything. I mean, of course you could wear it with every brown boot, and all your denim, but it’s so unusual that you’d come to be known as the “Peace, Love and Happiness” Girl. Something this distinctive is hard to buy on a limited budget.

Hand-wrought Genevieve Belt

Here’s another totally gorgeous piece, the “Hand Wrought Genevieve Belt,” also $148. Hmm… this one might be worth the splurge. I like the red-brown pattern on the dark background. And there’s also the “Larissa Belt,” another goodie:

Larissa Belt

This one would be great with the tobacco-colored boots I’m dreaming about. (I think the Larissa is less expensive, maybe $78.) And speaking of the boots, I am a big advocate of La Candienne, a Canadian company (duh) that uses a lot of eco-friendly practices, as well as waterproof suede. I’ve had a few pairs of their boots, and I’ve finally worn one out. Instead of thinking, blah, I’ve killed it, all I could think of was buying a new pair! My new Felicia boots arrived last week- just in time for rainy season- hooray!

Felicia

I got them in the dark brown. I’m also in love with their Camille boot:

Camille

This is a little motorcle-y, and I think it’s so cool. I’ll have to find the price for this. It’s probably a little high up there, as their boots ain’t cheap. I love this in the tobacco color, which of course goes great with the Larissa belt. Or the Genevieve, for that matter.

 Here’s one more boot option for achieving nirvana: the Checkers Boot by Rocket Dog.

Checkers Boot

It’s a little grittier, which could be fun, and also probably a little less expensive at $85. Hmm… so many things to decide!

I just want to throw one more thing into the mix, since I am obsessing, of course. Sundance is offering a cashmere sweater group at a really good price.

Blissful Cashmere Sweater

So, I ask myself, is it time for another cashmere?  Well, is it ever not a time for another cashmere? If I go here, I might do something in color, rather than the usual black. I’ve been buying patterns lately, and another black sweater seems too staid.

Well, I’ve sort of spent my money on my obsessions, at least in my head. If anyone knows of other incredible items to obsess over, let me know!