one of a kind chicago

i'm sitting here in chicago waiting to board my train to new york, and thought i'd get a few thoughts down. the show i just finished was decent; i learned a lot of stuff and will try this show again next year. first, because i was in the etsy pavilion i had half the footage as other artist, so that made my sales not as high, i didn't have the room to have the inventory to really bring in the money. i also learned that i need a LOT more inventory to make more money at this show. my new natural line seemed very popular too. all this will help me for next years show.
i also have to note that at this show i was accosted by a sheep farmer. she came into my booth and asked about where i got my wools from, so i told her. some i get from local and independent farmers, but most i buy through ashland bay, which is a wholesaler out of portland. they use wool from all over the world. the farmer got pretty confrontational with me, lecturing me on the need to use local, domestic farmers, which i don't disagree with. but i told her until local farmers can be competitive with price and consistent with quality, it doesn't make business sense to buy it. she then argued back that if more people bought domestically, then the prices would be competitive. ok. we then moved on to the silk fabric i use, which to my knowledge isn't available by domestic mills. she gave me a breif history lesson about the US being the largest manufacture of silk... during the civil war! fantastic, does that help me now?
here's the point: i'm producing a product that is from natural and renewable fibers, recycled goods, using eco-friendly dyes, made by domestic artisan hands, my own; how much more do i need to pile onto my product? how much more cost can i really pass on to the consumer? she tells me they make less money by using domestic wool in there products, ok but i'm still waiting tables to pay bills- how much less can i make? i wished i had asked her if the wool blazer she wore was from domestic wool or if her blue jeans had been constructed within the US, i bet not. does she go into macy's and lecture the sales clerks about domestic fiber in their products? why does the responsibility fall on my shoulders as a fiber artist?
that's all i have to say to that
more to come from NYC......

some new work

here of some photos of some new work! i've been developing a new line of work which uses naturally colored wools and alpacas. with these colors, i have started partial felting in designs. that's how i've made some of my newer work which has stars, honeycomb, circles, etc. designs in the felt.
people seem to really like the colors and the natural aspect, but the price is much higher than my dyed work. there's more work involved and also the fiber alone cost substantially more!

so here are some photos of the natural stuff. all the following work in un-dyed, naturally color wools and alpacas!

working hard

the past few weeks have been spent getting ready for my winter show circuit. they are
winterfair-cincinnati nov 27-29
one of a kind-chicago dec 3-6
one of a knid- new york dec 10-13
if you'll be in the area, stop by and say hi!

here some new pieces i've been working on. the bottom brown one is one of my favorites. i made it for myself, but decided i need to be selling all i can right now, so it is listed at my etsy shop and will be for sale at the shows, until it sells!

1 year down

this past weekend was the jackson hole art fair, which was my first juried show. so this marks my 1 year anniversary. instead of looking back, i choose to look forward. here are some things to work towards:
1. making a profit! separate from my other forms of income; my craft supporting my craft!
2. work towards outsourcing some of the work: photos, garment tags, people to help with bookkeeping, money, all that!
3. develop new products; set time aside every week to do some product development.
4. keep working to get organized!! some days i'm really good, then my portfolio blows up! (which is its current condition)
5. get into some better shows. after working with the howard allen group this summer i can honestly say i will never work with them again! i'm going to try and do better research to which shows to try for.
lastly 6. keep trying! which is all any of us can say right now!

so i need a break from the fiber, going into wedding world instead. i'll be posting photos as soon as i can find the camera cord to upload the pictures!
more later

green show

its early morning here out west and i'm preparing to leave for the second show this summer, a green show in frisco co. here are some green pieces i'm taking. these hats are made from all natural, un-dyed wool and alpaca. this is something i've been wanting to do for sometime and am thinking about offering a new line of natural colored goods.
this second group is again naturally colored wool, but i then did a dye bath with walnuts husks. walnut is one of the few natural dyes that does not require a mordant (primer). some of the mordants are very toxic, but most think natural dyes are greener
more from the show later

first show down

i've just returned from my first show of the summer season; in vail co. here's my new booth layout that corey and i built!!! don't be fooled, as i did most of the carpentry work on these wood boxes. corey build brackets and got hardware on them. i really like the flower pots/cement weights needed to keep the tent on the ground.
the show was not so hot, i did sell some (not enough to recover my cost), but some of my neighbors had no sales! so it could have been worse. i was not expecting much from this summer, but i was hoping for a little more than this first show provided!
i have been in a real bad mood since my return and i'm not sure way. this week i have a lot of commitments and work to do and little time, so my stress level is high. but another thing is i'm not sure if doing these shows is really my thing. it takes so much time away from your studio and work. and not just the time at the show, but travel and then getting resettled once back in the studio, it takes days! so i think that is frustrating me. also the summer tourist season is in full swing, so traffic is high and people are everywhere.
i don't know why people forget to pack their brains when they go on vacation!!
as a new month is on the horizon, i'm planning to make myself write every weekday this month, just cause i feel like i need one more thing!
more tomorrow!

surface work

this week i've been doing a little 2D surface work for my wedding accessories and my dress. here are some photos.
i was trying to match the swatch; i think it came out pretty close. i'm not sure how to get the 'dusty' gray to fully match, but it should work.

i'm dying this for my dress, but am second guessing it; it needs more worki like how much darker the first photo looks; i just need to keep working it.