Secret Holiday

Renegade Re-cap

Thanks to everyone who came out to Renegade in Brooklyn this past weekend! Saturday was a bit of a bummer with the rain and all, but Sunday turned out to be a pretty nice day... cloudy and overcast, but still warm and no rain at all!

I actually managed to walk around a bit this weekend, and took a few photos from some of my favorite booths: 

I loved getting to chat with Mimi Kirchner and to see her AMAZING dolls in person. Someday I will own one of these!

Laura of Wren Handmade also makes incredible dolls. This was the first photo on the roll, so half of it got cut off, sadly leaving out one of the beauties... check out her website for more! I'd really like to get one of these for my niece when she's a bit older. Who am I kidding... I want one for myself! 

Probably one of the best-looking booths at the fair was that of Forestbound and Digby & Iona. I was so happy that they were placed across from us so I could go over and visit Alice periodically throughout the weekend. Never see enough of that girl!

This is a tiny sampling of Argyle Whale's set up. We shared a booth and got to giggle all day long. That was nice! 

My husband Justin / Heart Pump Arts brought pretty much every drawing he's ever made. There was so much work!! And it all looked amazing!

These last three images are of my little space. Justin and I both put more effort into our displays this time around than ever before and we are so happy we did! I'm usually making goods right up until the night before the fair and then I try to throw my space together in too little time. It felt good to be prepared and more satisfied and proud of my set-up. 

Here are a couple more favorite booths that I didn't get to photograph:

Gold Fools 

Miniature Rhino

The Oak Leaves 

Noble Town Vintage

Taylor Ceramics (who happens to be based out of Northampton! New buddies? Yes please!)

All in all... a great weekend! Thanks to everyone who came out!

I'll be posting a couple new birdies in my shop tomorrow afternoon at 3pm EST. Come around to check them out? I'll add a couple preview photos here later on today, or tomorrow morning.

It's finally sunny outside today... I hope you have a chance to enjoy!

 

Tools of the Trade + Renegade

The lovely Shauna of Something's Hiding In Here has started a new series on Poppytalk: Tools of the Trade. First up is sewing... with a new interview each day this week! I am so honored that she asked me to be a part of it!

My interview went up yesterday: HERE, but be sure to check out each feature (starting with Katie Kukulka on Monday) - they are awesome and so inspirational! I can't wait to see who's coming up next!

(I know there are a lot of links up there - - click 'em all!)

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On another note, do you have any plans for this weekend?? If you are in the area - stop by the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn! Come say hello!!

I'll be sure to come back here next week to post some favorites from the fair. Have a great weekend!

Blah blog world.

I just considered getting rid of my blog. Yup. I'm never good at coming here and posting enough. Even when I say I'm going to be better about it. And it just feels silly to say that over and over again... instead of being a fun thing to do, blogging becomes this thing that I should do; a constant on my To Do list that never gets crossed off because I never make time for it.

Instead I spend spare moments (when I should be sewing) learning how to use a new blog space, like Tumblr (check it out if you want). And I get ahead of myself thinking, "yeah, I'll just delete my blog and use this, and only upload photos because it looks nice and tumblr encourages all pictures and no text." Justin immediately told me it would be silly to delete my blog. He didn't even consider it! He's probably right, even though he's had a blog for years and NEVER uses it. Blah.

Sorry if you're actually interested in following me here, and I never come around to say anything new. It's hard keeping up appearances. I'm always absent from this space when I'm overwhelmed with life and can't find some happy cheery thing to go on and on about. But, you know, then I sit down (now) to write just a quick tiny sentence, and it turns into this whole long rambling thing. 

Well, I will not delete my blog. I will continue to come here and post every now and again, but please don't expect too much. I am officially taking the pressure off of myself to be a great blogger. It's just not gonna happen. 

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On another note, I've been shooting lots of film lately. With everything blooming, and lots of outdoor time, how can I not? I'll probably (maybe) just come here to upload current favorite photos I've shot. Also, remember to check out By Mountain & Sea, a blog that I actually post on Every Single Week. But that's fairly easy, seeing as it's all photos and only one of them is mine. 

Hope you're all doing well - anyone out there who is still checking in on this space. I've locked myself in my studio tonight in an attempt to finish custom orders AND prepare for Renegade. I'm so unprepared. But then, that's nothing new. Come visit me in two weeks?

Hello Hello!

Wow, 22 days since my last blog post! Is that the longest blog-break I've ever had? I think it might be. So much has happened over the past three or so weeks that I need to catch you all up on, but where do I start? I have been writing bits of this post in my head for days and days, never being quite able to commit myself to the computer time and energy it would take to complete it. I'm not sure I'm totally prepared to do it now either, but here goes nothing!

I guess I should start some where near the beginning. Moving a week before Renegade was crazy. I've been working hard trying to get this place set up and feeling like home, but it's been really hard (harder than I thought it would be) to get back in to the swing of things. 

This apartment is way smaller than our last place and it's been really tricky finding a home for everything without it feeling cluttered. I am definitely not even close to being done yet. I set up the living room/bedroom area so I am happy with it and it feels cozy and nice, but the studio is still filled with boxes and is a bit of a disaster. Actually, today it is a huge disaster! I keep finding myself being drawn back to the couch because then I can't see the boxes and random stuff stacked and piled around the corner. This is probably not helping me to get any work done. The persistently rainy cloudy weather isn't helping either. And I have been feeling lonelier than I thought I would with Justin gone. I just need it to be sunny out! Just one day, please! I need to wake up with the sun on my face, telling me to get out of bed and get excited about making new animals! 

Here is a couple pictures of our apartment so far:

Making curtains and hanging up some art always makes a space feel nice and homey. These are fairly tight quarters, but Justin and I decided to save the bigger room for our studio. And the kitchen is pretty spacious and downstairs, which makes the place feel bigger too. I really like it here. I miss the sunlight that filled my last studio, but I think I'm just missing the sun in general. I'm pretty sure I remember one or two fairly sunny days here, and we got pretty good light in this new studio... it's just those darn clouds! 

What do you think of what I've done with the place so far Justin? (He hasn't seen it since we first moved all the boxes in!)

Moving on to the next topic at hand... I guess I should do a bit of a Renegade recap... it already seems like it was so long ago! I think one the best things about the weekend was deciding to stay in a rented apartment. It was so nice after a long day at the fair to go back to a private apartment with friends who were also working at the fair, to relax and hang out. And I was really glad Justin ended up being able to get out of work and go. I don't know how I would have been able to sell his stuff and mine! Lillie came with us, and it was so nice to have her help and get to spend lots of time sitting and chatting. (Can we still work on that sculpture collaboration? I've been thinking about it a lot.) And of course sharing a booth with Alice was wonderful! We are old friends, having both grown up only a couple towns away from each other in New Hampshire, but we haven't gotten much of a chance to hang out in the past few years. That weekend was very much needed! Plus she brought her lovely house mate Francesca along, who I knew a bit thanks to Etsy and Flickr. Yes, you've guessed it, she is even sweeter in person! 

I think the most disappointing thing about the weekend was that Renegade didn't put us next to ArgyleWhale as we requested. We did get to visit a bit, but I wanted to sit next to her and listen to her jokes all day! Next year Elise! I also forgot to take pictures. I only snapped a couple before the fair started, and then took a group photo right after we packed everything up on Sunday night! Oops!

As many of you probably already know, the fair took place in the park this year, instead of the pool like the previous two years. I really loved sitting in the park, on grass instead of concrete, under the shade of big trees (sorry to those of you who didn't have this luxury! It was lovely!), but I didn't like how gigantic and spread out the fair felt. Being at my booth most of the time, I had no real concept of how sprawling the park was, and when I finally got to walk around, it felt like the rows of booths went on forever! I did miss that sort of small-ish family feeling of the park, all the booths butting up to each other, being able to stand on the edge of the pool and see all the vendors. We had the most perfect weather though, and tons and tons of people came out to walk about and shop. All in all, it was really great! I do wish that we hadn't moved just a week before so we could have been a bit more prepared and relaxed, but, oh well! Timing has been tricky these past few weeks!

I feel like I have so much more still to write about, but I think I'll have to save it for another day because it has escaped my mind. I will leave you with this though:

Since Justin moved out to Beverly for the summer he took two quilts and I kept two here. But he sleeps best when he has every blanket we own piled on top of him. So I spent one whole day making him this quilt. Yes, I made the entire thing in one day, all from fabric I already had in my stash. I only had to go out to buy the batting. This quilt was actually a huge feat for me. I am usually very picky and particular about the quilt pattern and which fabrics are touching each other. But with this one I just grabbed the fabrics I had a lot of, which conveniently happened to all be in blues, and started laying pieces out. I tried to keep myself from thinking about it too much (over thinking my sewing projects is a problem I am often fighting), and I am really happy with how it turned out! And Justin keeps telling me that he's been sleeping much better since I brought it out to him. Oh how I can't wait until he comes back. 

Okay, well, I heard a rumor we're supposed to get a bit of sunshine tomorrow. Let's cross our fingers that it's true! I'm going to get back to sewing now. I'm trying to finish up a couple new animals so I can finally open my shop back up! Please stay tuned - I'm hoping to have it back up and running by the end of the week!

Finally moved in!!

Moving always take far far longer than you think it's going to. At least it does with me and Justin. We rented a U-Haul that we were able to pick up on Sunday, specifically so we could load everything into it that night, clean the old apartment, and then sleep and rest, and move everything into the new place Monday morning. Time just kept slipping away though, and before we knew it, it was dark outside, and we used that as an excuse to stop for the night before getting everything out. Yesterday was probably the longest, most exhausting day I have experienced in quite some time. We took the last load of random stuff in my car and climbed into bed at about midnight I think. Amongst boxes. 

This morning I got up and began to try to make sense of everything, focusing first on getting my studio/work area situated. They are still a million boxes and over flowing whole foods bags every where, but I did get most of the dishes put away and my desk and sewing station are both set up and ready to go. 

We won't have the internet until Friday (hopefully early in the day since I'll be driving to New York that afternoon!), so today I am sitting at Haymarket, trying to focus my thoughts and keep my eyes open. Justin is sitting across from me making a list of things to do. We both have a lot of craft fair prep to get done tonight, and some how it's already 3:30! Where has the time gone?? 

Justin and I are going to walk back up to our old apartment now to get my bike. He wants to make a new drawing tonight of one of his characters riding a bicycle to sell at Renegade. I think this will be great! 

Well, we better get going now - SO MUCH TO DO! I'll try to come back to keep you all posted on my move-in/Renegade progress (with pictures too!) soon. It's so much harder than I'd like to admit to not have internet access at home! What did I do before having a computer and going online? I probably read more. No, I'm sure I did. Bye for now!

Shop Post Tomorrow!

Good Afternoon!

I have been diligently working for the past couple of weeks checking things off of my long list of things to do by the end of the month. Listed items include: 

*CLEAN & ORGANIZE (this is a huge job, and has not been checked off yet, but I have made some good progress!)

*BEGIN PACKING (items I need to keep, but won't need access to for a few weeks, ie: books, magazines, etc.)

*MAKE A YARD SALE PILE AND DON'T THINK TWICE! (I have way too much stuff, and need to make this big pile with out pulling anything out before the yard sale - I'd like to move as little as possible)

*DESIGN AND ORDER NEW POSTCARDS FOR RENEGADE (I have already gotten a new stack of postcards, but I would like one of two more before the craft fair... we'll see...)

*ORDER MORE BUSINESS CARDS (this is a must)

*SEW AND STOCK UP A GOOD VARIATION OF ANIMALS FOR RENEGADE

*MAKE NEW ANIMALS FOR MY ETSY SHOP

*BEGIN MAKING A FEW ANIMALS FOR THE ETSY SHOP LIVE EVENT (stay tuned for more info about this in the coming weeks!)

*BEGIN SOME BEAST PEOPLE (and get on Justin to start making the faces!)

Well, okay, NONE of these things have been checked off yet. But I did finally go through three boxes that I hadn't yet unpacked from moving here (ha!!) and sorted through the things inside - most of which obviously went into the yard sale pile, because, really, if I hadn't gone looking for it at this point (eight or nine months later) I probably don't need to hang on to it! 

There's still SO MUCH left to do! But I am feeling okay about it (right now at least!). But all of that being said, I will finally have an official shop update tomorrow! Yay! I used to always schedule my posts so interested people could try to be there for the newest little ones, but for some reason I haven't really had the time since last November to make a significant amount of animals to post at once, causing me to just post as I made them instead. 

Well, tomorrow I will have about four or five (I haven't decided yet!) new animals, each made from a bright and springy fabric, in my Etsy Shop at 2pm EST. The two pictured above will be there along with a couple other new favorites - did you notice the cute little bumble bees on that pink hooded animal?! Yes, polka dots + daisies + bumble bees = too much! I think I will also be listing a new Big Fern Animal, made from a great floral green fabric! 

Okay, back to sewing and sorting and cleaning... all at once! See you tomorrow!

We're moving again!

Yes, Justin and I have already moved five times in the past three years (!), so, why not one more move? This decision was actually just an idea, until everything very quickly fell into place, pointing us towards moving on June 1st. Justin was offered his job back at a small vitamin and natural foods store that he worked at before we moved to western mass because the owner is losing his only employee this month and needs knee surgery. This happens to be the very best excuse for Justin to finally quit his job at Whole Foods (which he has wanted to do probably since his first couple weeks there - two years ago). He'll get the chance to work for someone who actually shows him respect again, while also managing and running the whole store alone, with out the corporate eye breathing down his neck. 

So Justin will be living with some friends for the summer, and we found a great little one bedroom apartment for me to hunker down in while he's gone. Though we'll miss each other terribly, we're also both really looking forward to having these months to be, well, a little bit selfish. We both want to be allowed the time to focus on our art with out getting in each other's way. And the apartment we found is perfect. It's in the back of a three family house, with a small kitchen on the first floor, and the bedroom, living room, and bathroom on the second. It's right downtown, yet some how super quiet and surrounded in the back by trees. It had a slight cabin in the woods feel, and I like that. Even before Justin was offered his old job back we were looking into downsizing, and this place will be great when he comes back. I will very much miss this beautiful studio, and the view and sunlight all day long, but I think we will be much better off saving those extra few hundred dollars every month. Maybe then we can actually save up for a wedding bash, and stop postponing it already! 

Now it's time to start packing again. And we still have boxes we haven't emptied from moving in here in September! But that just tells me that we have too much stuff that we don't really need. With this move, since we're going from a five room apartment to a three room - and since Justin will be living in just a bedroom in Beverly, we will be doing some serious sorting and will hopefully have either one huge yard sale, or a couple smaller ones before June. I want to be really strict with myself and move as little as possible. When did I collect all this stuff?? Having this big apartment probably hasn't helped -separate studios and with a closet in every room, allowing us to stuff things in, not to be looked at for weeks (or in some cases months!). I am being hopeful that having a tiny apartment will force us to be more organized with our space and think carefully about what we buy to bring into it. I'll keep you posted on how that goes! 

So, besides doing some major spring cleaning, packing, holding yard sales, and moving this month... we will also be preparing for Renegade, that conveniently falls on the first weekend in June! Yay! (That's a bit sarcastic, if you couldn't get that.) Well, there's a chance now that Justin won't be able to go because he may be working for a boss who's leg is out of commission, which means he'd be working crazy hours in Beverly, and I would go to Brooklyn alone to sell my goods and his. I am so glad we're sharing a booth with Alice so I wouldn't end up sitting there alone altogether (and I am really hoping that the Renegade crew honors my request to be near my friends ArgyleWhale and Be Planted. That would be really great!). Needless to say, these next few weeks are going to be a little crazy, but fun and exciting too! (Well, packing and moving is never really that fun - it's the unpacking and settling in part that's fun!) I do really kind of enjoy the stress of preparing for a fair though - with that kind of deadline I get so many animals cranked out it feels so good! High speed production while also sorting and packing starts tomorrow! 

Oh, did you see this new little fawn I added to the shop? I completed her last week, and I really love her little flowers and pretty girlie eyes! I'm sure I'll be back in the next day or two with some new little ones for the shop. I think I am over due for a decent update. Good night! 

Great news!

I found out last night that I have been accepted into the Brooklyn Renegade Craft Fair again!! I will be sharing a booth with my friends Justin and Alice. I am super excited about the fair taking place on grass this year instead of concrete and about sharing the space and how that means I can stress less about filling it. Now, the count down begins! Two months! Better get sewing!

Just some rambling here, and not about what I promised to fill you in on either.

I have had such a bad case of spring fever lately! It has been so sunny, with clear blue skies every morning, I just want to pull on my shorts and run outdoors. But then I remind myself that it is still February, and it is still freezing outside. It snowed today. That was actually kind of nice because this morning was really gray and cloudy, and the snow falling ended up lifting my spirits. I am completely in love with the winter when it's pretty and snowing outside. It's just the end of winter, when it drags on and on and won't let go, and the snow is mostly melted except for the muddy trash-laden lumps beside the road. I don't like that part of winter. 

I have spring on the brain so bad. I am constantly thinking about yard sales and opening all the windows and riding my bike. And I think I have officially exhausted sewing with pink and red for a while. I want to move on to bright colors and patterns and bring a little more variation to my shop again. I've been thinking a lot about my shop and how to deal with it. I want to make some changes, but I can't seem to really stick with anything. I am thinking about having more made-to-order animals available in the shop at all times, and then special updates for limited editions and special one-of-a-kind animals. I think I just need to make one of each of the little made-to-order animals first so I have some fresh ones to photograph and breathe some new life into my shop. While I still try to work out these details I will have occasional updates, including one this Friday. The new little animal shown above will be there, along with a couple fawns I think, and hopefully one or two hooded animals. 

Is there any special kind of animal that I haven't made in a while that you have been waiting for?? Please let me know and I'll see what I can come up with. I know lately I have mostly only been offering the regular little cats. More lions with big manes? I haven't made any of those in a while. Or antlers? Hmmm....

I have also been thinking a lot this week about craft fairs, and whether or not I am going to apply to Renegade this year. I am completely torn. I felt pretty sure, after the craziness of two big craft fairs during the holiday season, that taking the summer off would be really good for me. It would give me more time to focus on my online orders and to just enjoy the outdoors, without stressing about craft fair prep... for months. 

But then I went and saw Handmade Nation, and it reminded me that I am a part of this really amazing thing and there was footage of crafters setting up their tables and booths and I couldn't help but think about how good it feels to walk into a venue, lugging all your goods behind you, and spotting familiar faces from the internet and past shows, and feeling, "Yes! I am here! I am so lucky to be a part of this!" Really I need to sit down a make a serious Pro/Con list. One thing that came up when first talking about not attending Renegade this year was that, instead of spending $300 on the booth, I could put that money into advertising, which is a great idea. But then on the bus to New York with Elise (a four and a half hour ride from Boston during which we talked non-stop, literally), she mentioned that she had just applied, and I found myself saying how just being on the Renegade Vendors List makes the whole event worthwhile because it's up all year and people are constantly using it. That website it THE NUMBER ONE referrer to FernAnimals.com. Number one. Maybe that reason alone means I should at least apply. I mean, $300 for that kind of advertising, AND a weekend show to sell my goods? How could I not? Plus this year I could at least share the space with Justin, if not one or two other friends to make it even more affordable.....

Oh, things to decide! Well, I have until March 27th to figure out what makes the most sense for me right now. I would just really hate to decide not to do it, and then regret the decision. 

I'll leave you with this cute photo of Elise, excited about her milk shake at the Brooklyn Diner before the film premier: 

Boston Bazaar Bizarre Vs. Bust Holiday Craftacular

Considering the state of the economy, both craft fairs were very successful this year. But, although the BBB will always have a special place in my heart because it was the first craft fair I ever sold at, I have to say that the Bust Craftacular seemed to be a bit more exciting and fruitful. Maybe I only felt this because the BBB was first (on Dec.7th) and this was our first time attending the Bust show (on dec. 14th), so that added excitement on its own I think (plus Boston has seen me for the past three years now).... But Justin and I agreed while at our table in Boston that we would not do that fair next year. We even shook on it (though you never really know until the application goes up again!). Then in New York we decided that, if we were to vend at any craft fair next December, it will be the Craftacular alone. But don't get me wrong - Boston was great! I love the Bazaar Bizarre! And the new location was really nice, and huge! It was a really cold snowy day, yet the place was completely packed all day long, open to close. Supposedly people were waiting in a line that wrapped around the block to get in. Amazing!

It's hard though. I really love going to craft fairs. I love being a part of it, and meeting other crafters and customers I've become friends with online, in person. But at this point I'm definitely considering taking a break from the craft fair scene altogether. It's terribly exhausting. 

The saddest thing about this year was that Justin and I love holiday time - getting a tree, decorating the house, making lists and lists of presents we want to buy and make for friends and family (I love gift-giving!), but with back-to-back craft fairs - and right before Christmas mind you - there wasn't much time left over to really enjoy the pre-Christmas holiday season, until the fairs were over, and at that point, we were so tired, and had such a tiny amount of time left to prepare it just felt sad and stressful (we finally got a Christmas tree on December 23rd, and didn't get to decorate it until Christmas Eve). Plus I feel like I would really like to be able to devote myself completely to online holiday orders - and be able to accept more custom orders and such - instead of spending most of my time making animals to set aside for the fair. 

I am thinking about not applying to the Renegade Craft Fair in June, either. But it's so hard to know what will really happen when it comes around again. I really do love doing craft fairs! And now that Justin could share the booth with me, it seems like this year would make more sense than any other. Oh, who knows! All I know is that I have a tendency to apply and get accepted into a craft fair a couple months before it takes place, and then I spend those couple months feeling like I need to be working for it non-stop. Every time during those months when friends want to do something, I always feel guilty, and will too-often opt out, saying, "I can't, I have to work". 

So I think I either need to work really hard on balancing my time to make attending a craft fair work, or I need to just take a break. I could skip Renegade as a test run and see how I feel about it, see if my heart aches. But, I am thinking that it would be really nice to not attend as a vendor, but actually go as a patron. I haven't been to a craft fair that I wasn't selling at since my first time going to the Bazaar Bizarre in 2005. And when I have a table, I never get a good chance to walk around and shop. Yes, that would be really nice! Hmmm.... we'll just have to wait and see. But, anyways. Sorry I just rambled about all of that. Obviously I am just trying to work some things out in my head. I'm so torn! But here are some more photos from this seasons craft fairs: 

This is our table in Boston. 

Our friends Jessica and Bill had a table right next to us, which was great! (Blueberry Pancake and Northern Mystery School) Our other good friend Elise (of ArgleWhale) was on the other side of us. I'm really sad I didn't get any photos of her at her table! We all went to college together. 

Here's our table at the Craftacular (with Justin still assembling Paper People). These tables were about two feet longer than at the BBB, which was great!

Here's a rare photo of me where I'm smiling and my eyes are actually open!

And justin again. 

I think my favorite thing about going to the Craftacular was getting to meet more people that work at Etsy. At one point I was walking to the bathroom and a boy past me and said, "Oh! Hi!" all excitedly like we haven't seen each other in years, and I didn't recognize him at all. I just assumed I must have met him at one of the other craft fairs I've been at, smiled and said hi back, and hurried off to the bathroom (but I wasn't running away, I just had to pee). A little later he came by my table and introduced himself saying that he realized after that interaction that I had no idea who he was - and that was because we'd never met before! He works at Etsy and knew me from the holiday ad. It was really funny. You see, this is the hardest part about deciding not to vend at a craft fair - it feels so good to feel a part of something, and if I hadn't done Renegade last year, I wouldn't have been invited to the Etsy Labs to have my photo taken, and I wouldn't have been in the ad..... Oh, decisions to make...