front page!!

I never get to be on etsy's front page!



Thanks PEtra and Cath for the heads up!

almost done

I'm finally taking the plunge into wholesale.
It's a little scary because basically you do all the work for 1/2 the pay, but it should cut done on the amount of traveling I have to do for shows. Although....and don't tell anyone this....since I've discovered priceline I've been enjoying some nice hotels instead of sleeping on friends' couches. Too old for that! You can get the best deals if you name your own price if you can get past the fact you don't know exactly where you'll be staying until after you pay.

Today I'm packing up my first large wholesale order for shanalogic. LOVE this site & Shana is the best person to work with. She's had my work on consignment for a year or so now, but it sells so well she's talked me into wholesaling to her.






I just need to put those hearts on the their chains and this order is outta here!!!

oh the insanity

mmmmmm...where to begin??
So last post I said I was getting ready for a show in Bethany Beach, DE.
Canceled, due to hurricane.
No problem, I had actually double-booked shows that weekend so I went to Sugarloaf in Manassas, VA instead. Which I knew would be a giant mistake but I went anyway.
Let's just say that LORiOLA is not the Sugarloaf aesthetic.
By any stretch of the imagination.
And Saturday was canceled because of the hurricane.

I have NEVER lost money at a show before. I guess it needed to happen sooner or later, let's just hope this is the LAST time, ok??

To make up for Saturday being canceled the Sugarloaf people are giving us a free show in the spring, which is actually unheard of, and extremely generous. Problem is I hadn't wanted to do any more of their shows. EVER.

Now stupidly, back in March when I was super excited to be doing Sugarloaf shows I prepaid for 4. After the first 2 this past spring I realized I had made a mistake. Unfortunately once you pay you're SOL, that's why I booked a better show for the same weekend as Manassas. I have one more paid for Sugarloaf, Oct 12, 13 & 14 in Gaithersburg, then maybe one in the spring. We'll see. Even for free I'm afraid I'll lose money.

You know what else is crazy?? I have a show the weekend before Sugarloaf in Alexandria, VA called Art on the Avenue which I absolutely love but it means that on Friday Oct 5 I will be driving 5 hrs to VA, setting up at 7am Sat morning, selling all day (hopefully!!) then packing and driving 5+ hrs home Sat night BECAUSE the following Thursday I have to drive to 5.5 hrs to MD to set up for Sugarloaf. OMG. What was I thinking???!!!

Basically in the next week and half I have to make enough inventory for 4 days of selling.

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

And the absolute weirdest thing that happens when I am this stressed and trying to make as many beads as I possibly can, is that new designs happen! And instead of making things that I know will sell (hearts, cupcakes, etc) I'm spending precious time developing something new.
This happens EVERY TIME.

NEW-

medium birdy birds

large birdy bird

Will you let me know what you think? I think they're super cute, but I am also slightly crazed right now.

cupcake chaos

Thought you might like to see what 100 cupcakes look like!
I'm getting ready for a show Sept 6 in Bethany Beach, DE. I haven't done this one before but my friends who have sold TONS so my plan is to bring 200+ cupcakes with me along with my regular show stock (hearts, skulls, acorns, etc).

I can't believe I think I'm going to make 100 more.

shards

I have new hearts! Introducing the "bondage" series, now in my etsy store.
These are all made with really thin pieces of glass called shards that have been all the rage (LOL) in the glass community for quite a while now. I'm a little late.

The 3 hearts above are done with dark silver plum shards. I really love these because they do not look like glass AT ALL, much more like leather, or metal....definitely not glass.

More to come I'm sure.

new challenge

Real quick...
one of the etsy street teams I'm a member of, LEST, is having a little challenge where we're showing off our "summer brights". If you feel like taking a look and possibly voting you can do it HERE.
And of course, even though it's not the best, if you feel like voting for my little green heart I'll love you forever :)

careful what you wish for

This past weekend I did a 3 day craft show that I was very excited to do. It's a show my family used to travel 3 hours to shop every year, and it was really the first time I understood that it was possible to make a living as an artist. We'd park in the field, often slogging through the mud, making our way past the RVs, buses, and vans, and I'd think about how exciting it would be to travel around the country selling my art. Doesn't matter that I had no idea what I'd sell, I just thought it was the thing for me.

Let me say this,
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR.

Setting up in an open barn, with dirt floors, when it is 48 and raining, ESPECIALLY when weather.com LIES and says it will be in the 60s all weekend so you don't pack anything warm, is miserable to begin with. But when the show planners do such a bad job of setting up the show that you are in the middle of FIVE empty spots you know something is wrong.



The first day I should have done a better job of counting how many women where wearing lighthouse sweatshirts. I'm sure my mom owns one...but that is NOT my audience. I think I confused a lot of people ;)
Saturday was better and I met a bunch of great people and the weather was much more enjoyable. Sunday, back to 48 and raining. BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

I know the economy is bad. I know it's hard to get people out when it's raining. I know I am a great big complainer, but what a let down. Keep your fingers crossed that the next 3 shows I have go a little better than this one.

Or I may have to come live on your couch!

COME SEE ME
April 25, 26, 27 SUGARLOAF, Timonium, MD