Crafty Girl

Sorry for the lack of posts this week… I've been a buy busy bee and now I'm off to DC for Crafty Bastards! If you're in the area don't forget to stop by and say hello to myself and the Candy Thief.

Check back on Monday… I'll have soooooo much to blog about!

craft mutiny podcast!

Thanks to Caitlin of Rebound Designs for letting me know my work was mentioned in this podcast. The Craft Mutiny is an artist collective out of DC doing fabulous things to support indie hand-made design, including running their website which has a blog, a shop, and now a podcast as well. My work received BIG mention in episode #1 of their podcast, where they talk about the upcoming Crafty Bastards show in DC. Thanks for the kind words ladies… I can't wait to meet everyone at CB!

Oh, and just to clarify… I will not be selling any of my one-of-a-kind gallery works (aka the $1,200 pieces) at CB. The pieces I'll have are production works and new designs ranging in price from $25 - $175.

My "other" jewelry

When I'm not dismembering Barbie and Ken dolls I do actually make some everyday wearable type jewelry. These are a few of the designs I have made repeatedly over the years which were recently included with my boss's jewelry booth at the NY Gift Fair in August. I sold a few things through her, though not as much as I would have liked. Our work is VERY different and I think together in the booth it didn't relate enough visually for the wholesale buyers. I'm considering putting this jewelry on my etsy page as the pieces are affordable and can be made in multiples. We'll see… maybe for Xmas?

Red Drip Necklace

I just completed this new necklace - a bit of an experiment for me. It will probably be for sale at Crafty Bastards. Made of sterling silver, plastic Barbie hand and red coral droplets.

Hooray for ProPay!

I can now officially accept major credit cards (Mastercard, Visa, American express and Discover) at my booth at the Crafty Bastards show in DC on Sept 30. ProPay has decent rates for small businesses that want to increase sales by accepting credit cards at craft fairs or other such events.

Many thanks to Caitlin of Rebound Designs for the tip! Check out her fabulous handmade "book bags" made out of actual vintage books on her website or come visit her at Crafty Bastards booth #52. I adored the Nancy Drew series as a kid so this purse is one of my faves:

A new face

Hooray! My postcards arrived today! D designed them (of course) and we decided to go with vistaprint for the printing. When all was said and done it cost about $70 for 250 postcards, but what was most impressive was the turn-around time. We ordered them on the 7th… they arrived on the 12th! The colors are slightly off, but overall for the price they're pretty decent. They'll be great for the Crafty Bastards show so people can walk off with a little something that has my name on it.

It was time for a new look for my blog and I decided to go with something cleaner and more streamlined. Since blogger only offers so many templates I thought this was a nice simple choice and better matches my website. I hope you like it too :-)

You may have also noticed my profile Midge has been replaced with a new doll… time to switch it up, and I just love that doll's face. I don't have the heart to cut it up… yet.

etsy fave

So much work is being produced inside my studio these days: between the enormous wholesale order I just shipped out to Texas, to the huge batch of goodies being prepped for this months Crafty Bastards show in DC. One would think I'd have tons of pictures to share, but alas, the work I had photographed of the wholesale batch came out all fuzzy. However, I will be shooting some of the works in progress in my studio today so stay tuned later this week.

For now, I may as well share yet another artist whose work I'm digging lately. The artist goes by the name of "jacksonswift" on etsy. (I couldn't find a real name anywhere). Her watercolors (or perhaps his?) evoke both calm and turbulence, safety and danger, all at the same time. It captures a sense of life in dreams and nightmares for me. Particularly this painting since I used to have a reoccurring nightmare involving wolves as a child…




"Jacksonswift" also makes lovely necklaces. Almost like spilled milk, the pendants are made of porcelain strung onto silk thread and hand-painted with animal imagery. Even though the bird trend is a bit tired, I have to admit I love this particular pendant:

I think it would be amazing to see the artist translate his/her watercolor painting imagery into these necklaces in some way.

Okay, now, I have to bring this up: I have strong feelings about not having your name located front and center (or hell, at least somewhere!) on your etsy page. I think it can be particularly detrimental to an artist trying to promote themselves. Perhaps they're not proud enough of their work to attach their name so permanently to it? I can understand for crafters who are selling as more of a "store" on etsy, that's where the profile comes in and where their real name should be located, but as an individual artist producing fine art? How are people ever going to be able to associate you with your work? Just something I feel strongly about I guess… agree, disagree?

eBay magazine

So who knew eBay even had a magazine right? Let alone, in German. Like Breathing pendant was featured on page 103.

Shary Boyle

This is certainly not the first time I've been seduced by strange, perhaps mildly disturbing artworks …though I'm not sure when this fascination with "cute things gone wrong" first began for me?

Toronto artist Shary Boyle makes wonderfully captivating porcelain figurines. Of course her craftsmanship is stunning, but it is the narrative, the dark fairytale from which these characters spring to life that truly awakens my imagination…

"Boyle is a performance artist, sculptor and painter as well as a filmmaker. She has become known for the deeply personal and psychologically moving content of her imagery, which recalls the anxieties, desire and bittersweet fantasy worlds of childhood and adolescence. Critical, enchanting and at times humorous, Boyle's work is raw with human vulnerability and dysfunction."

Boyle has also collaborated with Peaches and Feist (two of my faves) and other various musicians to create "live drawings" projected onstage during their performances. Her drawings and paintings are perhaps even darker than the sculptures: definitely worth checking out.

Giraffe Man

Recently I purchased this hilarious "giraffe man" ceramic sculpture from melabo, an etsy artist whose work I can't get enough of (note the Ken head used for his face mold!)

He really completes my little kitchen wall vignette and makes me smile every time I look at him :-)

Melabo has so many great ceramic items in her shop. I seriously have to resist buying every single one of her quirky, bizarre sculpture creatures before D kicks me out on the street to go live in my own miniature ceramic circus with them all. I was contemplating buying this handsome fella as an addition to the series…

…when someone else beat me to it! I won't let that happen again ;-)

Good News…

Due out this October, Cool Green Stuff (published by Random House) highlights green design in all it's various forms. Two of my jewelry pieces were selected for inclusion. I'm really excited to see how it turns out. And how cool that fellow art jeweler and friend Liana Kabel has one of her measuring tape brooches on the cover of the book!


Also, Pins for Men opens this month, September 19 - October 3. I have two new pins included in this group exhibition. I think it's a fantastic idea for a show. It promotes and encourages the idea that men can wear art jewelry as well as women. If you're in the Seattle area, check out this unique exhibition!