Ashley Anna Brown / Fern Animals

Craft fair progress and a new animal!

Sorry these studio photos are a bit dark and blurry. Its' been quite cloudy and grey for the past few days. It was snowing a bit today, which is exciting! I love the first snow, but it wish it would stop switching to rain. I want big fluffy flakes and for it to cover the ground. Soon enough... So here are the animals I've made so far (not nearly enough for TWO big craft fairs!!). I've actually finished up a few more animals since I took this photo a couple days ago - now there aren't quite so many headless/faceless animals!

And here's something really exciting! Justin and I have been planning out the details of this collaboration for over a year now, and he has finally come to life!

Justin sculpted and painted his face, and I made his body. I love him. We'll have some of these little guys at both the Bazaar Bizarre and Bust. Their debut! 

Look at this cute face! We've been inside most of the weekend, listening to Christmas music nonstop and working on these soft eared friends. It feels good to create something on a much larger scale. These are about eight inches long and nine inches tall. Well, back to sewing!

Fern Animals spotted in Readymade

There's a great little write-up about Faythe Levine in this months Readymade - and she has a Fern Animals postcard on her wall! Can you spot it? I met first met Faythe at the 2006 Boston Bazaar Bizarre. It was my first craft fair and she was walking around filming tables as extra footage in her documentary Handmade Nation. She filled me in on the film and was so nice and friendly, and super encouraging about my work. Now I get to see her a couple times a year at every craft fair I attend. She is such a strong woman. I've been quietly working on the beginning details of opening a gallery/shop with a friend of mine from college and I want to pick Faythe's brain on how to juggle doing everything you want to do. I am always feeling like I already have too much on my plate at once, but, compared to her, I've got it easy. Look her up - she is doing amazing things - from co-running the Paper Boat Boutique & Gallery (new works by Lisa Congdon Dec.5th- Jan.11th!), to organizing Milwaukee's bi-annual Art Vs. Craft, to writing a book, and directing a film. Did I mention that she is my hero?

Only TWO Custom Order Spaces Left!

Get yours in while you still can! (Read the post below for details)

For the Holidays:

So, as you all know already, I am super-duper busy preparing for two big crafts fairs coming up in just a couple weeks, but I have received some inquiries about the possibility of placing custom orders, and, although I originally said that I didn't think I would be able to do any this holiday season because of time restraints... I have changed my mind! I have decided to accept holiday custom orders -- but -- there is a catch! Since I am incredibly busy, I am only able to accept six (6) orders, with a limit of two animals per order-- the first six people to email me with their requests will have their orders filled! 

I will begin working on these orders as soon as we work out the details, and will have them all completed and shipped in time for which ever holiday you observe (please let me know this date in your request email). So, yes, hurry now and browse my Fern Animals Photo Archive (aka Flickr), narrow down your favorites, and send me an email detailing the special little animal you would like me to make for you this holiday season! You can find my email address in the upper right hand corner of this page. Have a nice weekend!

"Snowy" Big Fern Animal for Melanie / Custom Order / Completed November 2008

Weekend Update

I've been very good lately at setting aside all my new little animals for the upcoming craft fairs, but I miss my weekly shop posts. So, tomorrow I have decided to add just a couple to the shop. These three pictured will be there and maybe one sporting antlers, assuming I can locate my awl amidst the piles of fabric and scraps that have taken over my studio. The post will be around 11 am EST. Tomorrow I will also give you a good solid update on my craft fair production progress, complete with photos of my messy workspace and animals lined up on my shelves in various stages of completion. See you tomorrow!

Your suggestion would be much appreciated

So Justin and I are pretty much planning on attending the Bust Holiday Craftacular in Manhattan in December (Yay!) unless something goes terribly wrong this week and we suddenly can't come up with or justify the vendor fee. So I've been wandering the internet for a few hours now trying to get an idea of how much a hotel room would cost. We could stay with friends in Brooklyn like we did for Renegade, but I've been kind of dreaming about spending a couple extra days in the city and doing tourists-in-New York-in-winter things (like ice skating at Rockefeller Center!) and since we haven't really ever taken any kind of vacation alone together, I think it would be really nice and fun and romantic to stay in a hotel downtown. 

Can anyone suggest a good place to try to stay at? Some place that isn't super duper expensive? Ideally we wouldn't be spending more than $100 a night, though I know this could be tricky in Manhattan for a weekend so close to Christmas. I'm thinking we'll probably just stay with friends, but figured I would try to do some research first. I know I have heard of some new (?) hostel style place that's artsy and quirky and nice, and hopefully without bedbugs. But maybe I am making this up? I don't really know. Google doesn't seem to know either. Please help!

The Golden Lion

I just found out tonight that Justin (Heart Pump Arts) and I got into the Bust Holiday Craftacular! Yay! We still haven't decided if we can even do it... it is the Sunday right after the Boston Bazaar Bizarre, so we might not have time from now until December 7th to make enough stuff... but we have a week to make our decision. I think we'll probably do it though! I'll just have to crank out animals like there's no tomorrow (that means you too Lillie)! 

Sadly, this means that I will not be able to take on any custom holiday animal orders. I think this would be the case even if I were only attending one craft fair. I will try to keep posting animals in my shop as much as possible, though. And there are, of course, ornaments available for order. And if anyone is interested, you can order one of the ornament animals without the ribbon, which would make him just a regular Fern Animal. I've had a couple people request this already. Obviously this is no trouble because it means there's one less thing to do (add the ribbon, that is). 

On another note, tomorrow I will be listing a couple beautiful Limited Edition Golden Lions in my Etsy Shop. These are limited to only twelve, meaning that once all twelve are sold, no more will be made! The golden fur is a hand-me-down scrap I received from a friend quite some time ago, so even if I wanted to make more of these, I couldn't. Get one while they last! I will actually only be listing a few in my shop though, maybe just two or three for now, so that I can take the rest to the craft fairs with me. After the BBB and Craftacular, I will be immediately listing any remaining animals on Etsy so others will have the opportunity to snatch some up before the holidays. 

Well, I should get to organizing my work table so I can get some more sewing done. I have SO MUCH still to do!! Good night!

PS. Please visit my new Paper N Stitch Shop! And vote for me!

For Maria

The sun has been hiding today.

And it is growing dark so early. I didn't have a chance to get any good photographs of new animals today except for this one. (None of the others were completed in time!) I really like this photo, though, and am considering printing it as a greeting card. What do you think? I am always looking for some good feedback about which photos to print. Which ones are your favorite from my archives? I want to make at least one new greeting card this holiday season, and maybe a couple more images for the note card sets. Please leave a comment! If you help and I pick the image you suggested, I'll send you a complimentary set!

In other news, I will be posting some new little ones in the shop tomorrow as promised, though a bit later in the evening than usual - the listings should be up between 6 and 6:30 pm EST. I have been filling in for a friend of a friend as a nanny for twin babies for the past couple of weeks, and tomorrow is my last day for a while. They are super cute and it has been really fun doing nanny work again, but I do look forward to having my days back to sew sew sew! 

I am always making lists of things to do and trying to prioritize. With holiday orders streaming in and craft fairs quickly approaching, it's always tough to keep up. I am really excited that I have been able to offer new ornaments this year though! And they seem to be quite popular already. I have been making them as they are ordered and it is working out really well for me. It's like taking on custom orders, but without the super specific details that always go along with them, because these are all the same. I just listed a new one in my Etsy Shop. She's red and cute! I am making sure to keep one of each of these for myself this year! My tree will be adorned with Fern Animals, too!

I think that at the Bazaar Bizarre this year I will have a few one of a kind animals, but also some editions of animals. Yesterday I made a new little lion - he's yellow with a golden mane. I think he's really great and want to make many more just like him. I was going to list him in the shop tomorrow, but decided instead to hold onto him for the BBB so that I can make multiples. It feels weird to make an animal and list and sell it as one of a kind and then turn around and make another just like it. Even though they always end up having very different personalities - because I am not a machine and they all always end up looking slightly different - I'd rather sell the duplicates as one of a bunch. Making near exact copies is what I'm usually asked to do for custom orders, though most customers request a slight variation, even if only a change in the color of thread I use for the face. 

Anyways, I still haven't officially decided or worked out the details, but I think if you come find my table at the BBB this year (and maybe the Bust Holiday Craftacular, too - fingers crossed!), I will have many different animals, but all in families of twins, triplets or maybe even sextuplets. This feels a little less stressful when thinking about sewing up these little ones for the fairs. It's less daunting when I can cut out lots of animals from one fabric at once, sew up all their bodies at once, stuff them, etc. Like a little assembly line. Instead of making each individual animal in its' entirety one at a time. I spend far too much of my precious sewing time standing in front of my shelf of fabric trying to decide which to use next. I will continue to make these "only child" animals and list them in my shop though. But if you want a pair of identical twins, come find me in Boston on December 7th! (Personally, I love seeing the animals in pairs. I love anything in pairs! Probably what started my vintage salt & pepper shaker collection!)

Oh! And here's another exciting bit of news: I finally hired an assistant! Yay! It's my friend Lillie Harden. We went to college together. She is an amazing sculptor and has done a lot of work with fabric. She has only come to work with me twice so far, but already it is such a relief! And having her here gets me to tidy up the studio (though it's still a mess!!), and get more work done myself. I am more focused, instead of accidentally losing two or three hours a day looking around the internet at others blogs and flickr photos when I should be using that time to sew. Kitchen loves having her here, too! Another lap to sleep on while we sew. Here are the new best friends: 

Kitchen's actually curled up in my lap right now as I type. It's not always the most comfortable thing for me while I am trying to work, but how can I resist this? So cute and cozy!

Okay, time to check off a couple more things on that To Do list! Good night!

Yes We Can.

I finally feel genuinely proud of this country, not just disappointed. Wow.