buyers market of american craft revisited

i am attending the buyers market of american craft next week. this will be my second go after my first experience there in august 2008. preparations this time around have been completely different, easier, cheaper, quicker. i had to create my booth from scratch last year but this year all i had to do was repaint my earrings stands. (they got a little beat-up during my west coast trunk show tour). i'm scaling back a little on the display, too. after my 4 show tour in the fall, i figured out a more streamlined approach. i'm using the same props for the most part, minus a few. most of my collection items are already made this time. i only spent a day or two making the missing pieces. i still have one necklace to make and two of my very thin gold rings. it's still funny to me how little room my inventory takes up. its all in these boxes!
finally, all my printed materials (wholesale line sheet, contract, postcards, photos, etc.) are done with a few needing a little update. i just need to make copies of some of those. i am really appreciating all the hard work i did nine months ago right now as well as the lists and notes i made during the show. they have made things so much easier.

oh, one more thing...the february show is longer - 4 days instead of 3 and in addition there is a jewelry preview. it seems a little grueling to me as i don't have much experience with shows like this. even though the buyers market is only open to retailers and not to the general public, here is the info:

2/12 jewelry preview 4-7
2/13 show opens 10-6
2/14 10-6
2/15 10-6
2/16 10-3

i think i'll go back a reread all my posts from last year's show now.

thanks for reading.

guest star friday #28... the west coast edition part 2

brooch, 18k gold, silk, quartz

last week's guest star friday did not happen - finding the internet while traveling can be challenging so i had to postpone until now. my guest star for the san francisco part of my west coast trunk show tour is raissa bump. raissa is a favorite of mine both as a person and as an artist. i met her about a year ago at the penland school of crafts when i was her assistant. we did not know each other beforehand, but became fast friends. raissa's jewelry features a combination of her two interests - metals and textiles. (in addition to jewelry, she also makes knitwear.) she layers materials and mixes opposites in a complementary way that is intuitive and effortless. she also includes subtle details, like a few stones, and often leaves behind little reminders of the handwork, like the unclipped ends of thread. her pieces remind me of abstract paintings and sculpture and are beautiful both on an off the body.

brooch, 18k gold, silk, sapphires


buttons, silver, antique glass beads, thread

necklace, 18k gold, pearls, silver, mixed media

thanks for reading.

west coast trunk show tour

i will be heading west for a tour-of-sorts with trunk shows lined up in four of my favorite cities and shops.

friday, october 24 at seaplane - portland, or
saturday, october 25 at velouria - seattle, wa
saturday, november 1 at rare device - san francisco, ca
saturday, november 8 at carol young studio|boutique - los angeles, ca

more details to follow...

thanks for reading.

hurray for north carolina!

i am finally home from my west coast trunk show tour. i got back late last wednesday and immediately went to penland for the end of the fall concentration session which included the scholarship auction and show and tell. i loved being back with my students! it was so wonderful to see them again, but was sad to say goodbye so soon after returning. i really wish i had had more time with them.

the day before i flew back east i gave an artist talk at long beach city college in long beach, ca. i talked about my work and career and then gave my snag conference presentation. the talk became a lively conversation between me and the students with them asking questions as i went through my topics. the metals studio at lbcc is excellent. you can see pictures here. afterwards i spent time with kristin beeler, the associate professor and program coordinator, who was a lovely and generous hostess.
now i am very, very happy to be home. the trip was great and my trunk shows were successful, but it was also long and tiring. for the last couple of days i've been digging myself out from under a huge pile of mail, email, and studio work.

i'm looking forward to taking a little break in a few weeks for christmas.

thanks for reading.

once again...SF, part 6, the end

karen gilbert-sediment brooch

just a few more bits about my trip to san francisco before i move on to other things. i met jeweler and gallery owner, karen gilbert, at my opening at rare device. we had a good talk about our work and her new gallery (gallery lulo). she also invited me to be a part of the gallery, which i am very excited about. she represents a strong group of jewelers, many of whom are among my favorites. i will be working in the coming weeks on a new group of jewelry for her.

i got myself a lovely jewelry treat at rare device - this leather covered pendant by jalea jalea. i saw it last time i was at rare device in 2008 for my west coast trunk show tour and have not stopped thinking about it since. i figured that was a sign...

the one disappointment of the trip was that i did not make it to shibumi gallery. there just wasn't time...too bad, i would have liked to see that space and the tina rath show. i'm finding her work very curious right now. i guess i'll have to rely on the internet to see images...

tina rath-boulder colony

and finally, a huge thank you to rena and lisa at rare device for inviting me to be in fault lines, for curating such a beautiful show, for hosting a fantastic opening, and for just being all-around fantastic people. (it's wonderful working with you!)

thanks for reading.

from penland to seattle

my time at the penland school of crafts ended on thursday. we had a final critique on my students' bezel setting projects and as usual i was impressed with how well they did and even more with how personal they are already making their work. after the crit they presented me with this beautiful charm bracelet that they had been secretly making. it made me cry. my near four weeks as their instructor was just incredible. it was a joy to teach them and i learned a lot myself.

my instructor slide show/artist talk went well. i was very nervous but was able to settle down within the first few minutes. i showed images of my work and things that are inspiring me right now. here are a few images of my inspirations...nicholas de stael, terry winters, and a close-up of a buoy.

today i am off to the west coast for the start of my trunk show tour and right now i am waiting in the tiny asheville airport for my plane to board. it is real early and i am looking forward to being quiet and still on the plane, two things i have not been for awhile now. i have a few days in seattle to start, then head to portland for my show at seaplane. the next day i will travel back to seattle for my show at velouria followed by a few more days to visit with friends. after seattle i head to san francisco for my rare device show and then on to los angeles for my final show at carol young/undesigned as well as a lecture at long beach community college. after all that i head back to penland for the last days of the fall concentration. i am really looking forward to my shows and seeing all my friends again. it's been almost a year and half since i moved from seattle to asheville. this trip is sure to be lots of fun. as for my shows, i'm feeling pretty good about my readiness. i wasn't able to make as much as i would have liked, but i'm guessing it's still enough since i tend to make more than i usually need.

charm by claire buck - gracias amy

thanks for reading.

mini update

i leave for my west coast trunk show tour in a week. in the evenings when i'm not teaching at penland, i am busy making inventory for my four shows. i've made most of my steel and gold collection but still have a long way to go on my other collections. i foresee some long days ahead.

seaplane pop up shop
friday, oct. 24 from 7-10pm
919 nw 23rd. st. ground level
portland, or

velouria
saturday, oct. 25 from 2-6pm
2205 nw market st.
seattle, wa

rare device
saturday, nov. 1 from 12-4pm
1845 market st.
san francisco, ca

carol young|undesigned
saturday, nov. 8 from 12-6
los angeles, ca

in other news...i've been chosen as a american craft council searchlight artist. i was nominated by a colleague and then juried in. the searchlight program features a group of 25 emerging artists at the american craft council baltimore show in february 2009 in a special gallery section.

thanks for reading.

something new...part 2

i've been working on some new ideas since moving to penland. i've been thinking about lines and different ways they come together, especially borders and other outlines. when i was flying a lot in the fall for my west coast trunk show tour i became increasingly fascinated by the outlines of farmland and the meandering patterns of roads. also, around election time, i looked at the blue and red map of the u.s. a lot and really began noticing the shapes of the states. i think between my birds eye view from the plane and that map, these shapes developed.


as i am sure many of you can relate, i have to be thriftier than usual right now. i had all these little circles in my scrap bin that were the insides of my flat egg shapes. instead of recycling them, i just started cutting them up. what came from that light bulb moment are these shallow domes. all this work is for the acc searchlight show at the end of the month. i will also be bringing lots of line drawing pieces.
thanks for reading.

this just in

yesterday afternoon my studiomate, joanna gollberg, and i were asked to teach beginning jewelry at the penland school of crafts for the next 8 weeks. (the teacher originally hired for the session had to leave.) this was a complete shock! the fall session began just days ago on monday! i will be teaching the first half of the class until i leave for my west coast trunk show tour and joanna will teach the second half. this morning the two of us met with the class for the first time to introduce ourselves and set forth our plan for the concentration. then i spent some time with each student to discuss their individual skill set, to find out what they were working on, and to learn about their expectations. i also demonstrated a few basic techniques. we'll continue with more basics tomorrow and then move on to soldering on monday.

i have to say, i am completely awestruck by this whole thing. i am so honored to be here as a teacher, thrilled, excited...

it's going to be an interesting couple of weeks.

i'll keep you posted.

thanks for reading.

item of the week

this week's item of the week is the diskis bracelet from my signature collection. this bracelet is based on a custom design i created for a client a few years ago. as i was working on sketches for the fall preview and 2009 pieces, i came across my original drawings. i was reminded of how much i enjoyed making it then and thought it would make an excellent edition to my original line now. plus, i really liked that i would be adding a bracelet. i don't make many of them so it is a refreshing edition as well. the random pattern of different sized disks is how i like these elements best.

this will be the last item of the week until i get back from my west coast trunk show tour. i will also be "closing" my shop until then as well. you will still be able to visit my site and all its pages and even place orders, i just won't be able to fill any of them since i will be away from my studio.

thanks for reading.