Secret Holiday: September 2008

Wow! What a week! And it's only Wednesday! I can't seem to get my act together and complete any single project... I've just been jumping around and doing half-jobs. And feeling a little stressed and unproductive because of it. But, let me catch you all up, starting from the beginning...

First of all, Twist was great! I couldn't believe how many people came out! There was a constant stream of new people coming and going. And I got to meet lots of great locals. There was talk of craft club meet ups and Wendy of Moop stopped by to say hello. We talked about business-y things. I love talking business with other crafters! The picture above is of my Twist table - a little sparse. I always forget to take a photo on the first day, instead of half way through the second!

All-in-all, it was a great success. Though Fern Animal sales are at an all-time low (sad!) I still feel very optimistic. Holiday time is just around the corner, along with the Boston Bazaar Bizarre (my favorite craft fair, by far).

This year the BBB is especially exciting because lots of my friends will be tabling there as well: Be Planted (I missed having them beside me at Renegade this year... where were you Sara?), Elise of Argyle Whale, Jessica of Blue Berry Pancake and Bill of Booby Trap Press (along with their little boy, Lincoln), and, sharing my table, will be Justin of Heart Pump Arts! These are all amazingly talented people that I went to college with and I am so excited that we can all finally do this together! Lots of other friends will be there, too! Egg-A-Go-Go, Forest Bound, and Handmade Nation to name a few. It's an amazing line-up this year. The vendor list should be available to the public soon.

Another exciting event that is happening soon is the Super Plush show at GhettoGloss in LA. I was invited to show some Fern Animals beside many other plush and soft sculpture artists that I admire. I just sent out my box of animals this afternoon.

I made this yellow patchwork fawn especially for the show:

I also sent a couple birds, another fawn, a cute cat-bear in light blue gingham, and one with a wise white beard. The show opens September 25th, so if you're in the area, you should go check it out! I wish I could!

On another note, I got a new job! I think this explains my internet absence lately. I have only been working one or two days a week at the UPS Store, so when I noticed that ReproDepot was hiring fabric cutters, I had to go for it. Yes! I now work for ReproDepot, and it is so great and exactly what I have been looking for in a part-time side job! I just go in, pick up a list of fabric orders, and start cutting. During my interview they explained that some people don't like the job because it can be repetitive and monotonous, but I really couldn't ask for a better job right now. We just listen to music, and I get to handle all these beautiful fabrics and day dream about what I could make with them. (The list is growing very long - and today was only my fourth day!!)

Oh! Though I haven't had any time to sew this week beyond still finishing the remaining custom orders, I am going to try to have a teeny tiny shop update this Friday. With a couple hooded animals I hope!

I am also working on a new project where I am making small collections of identical animals to start selling wholesale and consignment again. The plan is that I will make six of the same animal to send off to a shop, so each place will have a different collection of sextuplets. I have stayed away from selling to shops for the past year or so just because I couldn't keep up with the demand of it along with keeping my Etsy shop stocked. But I think this could work because when they are all the same, they get made a little quicker because I can sew, stuff and embroider them in an assembly line fashion. The animals I make for different shops will not be available in my Etsy shop, but the Etsy shop animals will all continue to be one-of-a-kind (and probably a bit fancier than the ones sent off to b&m shops). It's been fun to think about which fabrics I will make little families from. I think this will be an exciting new project. Please email me if you own a shop and this interests you and I can let you know what kinds of animals I am currently working on.

Okay, well, I think that's a pretty good update on everything that is going on with me lately. I'm off to make some dinner now - something small and quick because I can't get my mind off of the apple crisp that I made last night that's waiting for me in the fridge! I love the fall. Take care!