Headless...
Today I woke up with the body of a chicken and my head was missing. Don't ask me how I was able to know that I had the body of the chicken when I had no eyes to see it, but trust me, I was a headless chicken alright. Ahh, the holidays... I can see the end in sight. That is both good and bad. Though I am completely burned out from doing shows, filling orders and trying to squeeze in the last few special order requests I am also all too aware that the financial flow I have been enjoying is going to come to a screeching halt any second now. And that... is a real bummer. Those who support themselves with their craft will understand what I am talking about. We are so dependent upon the holidays and have to make those earnings stretch into the next show season when we can start all over again - it can be stressful to say the least.Anyhoo, enough of that! This is the last day of my Studio's annual sale which means that I am officially done with shows for the year. I am so anxious to get started on new ideas that I am nearly frothing at the mouth (lovely image, eh?). I was at the studio until late last night loading kilns and trying to glaze the last of my special orders. Meanwhile I desperately wanted to get my hands in the clay and work on some new designs that have been swirling around my head for weeks now. Perhaps today I can finally bring them to life. I hope, I hope!
The above photo is of my little table in the studio sale. There are around 25 people participating this year - a mixture of instructors, studio assistants and students. It is a nice little sale - if you happen to live in the Binghamton area come on down!
Lastly, I wanted to draw your attention to a new magazine I picked up the other day. It's called Stitch and it is excellent. It is full of great projects and patterns. I bought it for the skirt on the cover and was thrilled to find out that the magazine is full of great ideas and articles and it is a huge promoter of everything handmade. There is even a little article about handmade buttons which made me happy since just moments earlier I discovered that Joann Fabrics is now selling mass produced ceramic buttons, made in China, for a fraction of what I charge for my handmade buttons. Boo hiss on that! Anyway, do pick up a copy of Stitch - you will be extra super tickled that you did when you see all the wonderful projects inside. :)
Comments
I've been looking at lots of the magazines coming out lately. There are so many great ones, but is it just me, or are they asking an arm and a leg for them? Sometimes I'll pick up two or three and when I go to pay for them it takes a 20 dollar bill...sheesh! Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Yes, magazines have gotten terribly expensive. That is why they better have a ton of great info in them to make it worth my while. I do learn a lot of them, though, so I will keep spending the bucks to get them. :)
The frothing at the mouth image was a little disturbing, especially since your head is currently missing. (i kid) Still, I know what you mean. I have some ideas that I think are really cool but I'm holding off on trying them.
I totally saw those buttons at Joanns! I told my mom, my crafty shopping partner, 'There's a lady on Etsy who makes these'. I didn't and won't buy them though, especially since I saw them on Etsy first. I think they have someone following Etsy and getting companies to mass-produce items they like. :/ They had 'fused glass' buttons...which weren't really fused.
Sorry for the long comment, but I really enjoyed your post...but I enjoy all of your posts. I'll have to look for that magazine. That skirt looks interesting.
Merry Christmas. Cheers!
I think you are right about these big companies watching Etsy. When I saw those buttons I got a sick feeling and thought about all of the fantastic ceramic button makers that now have to compete with China. I'm going to do a post soon that features some of these awesome button folks so stay tuned!