Custom Shutter Covers

In the past I have wrapped the shutters that my earrings are displayed on with plastic wrap - which is not only expensive but wasteful. Last summer while at the Lavender Faire I met a seamstress who helped me come up with some covers for them. She spent this winter tweaking my design (with help from her engineer husband). She found fabric that met all my criteria - washable, durable, water resistant, a little bit of stretch and soft on the inside. I have been using them since the first weekend in May and I love them!!

I usually am putting them on while the shutters are hanging, but this was my test drive at home.

They have a nice pocket at the bottom to catch any wayward earrings. 

I discovered this works as planned when a pair leaped off their card in Wenatchee.

Their is a velcro strip along the length of the front as well as top and bottom. There are also button holes at the bottom for the eye hook. I run a rope thru these when the shutters are hanging to help stabilize them.

The top flap extends over the hangers. This protects things in transit and makes them fairly weather tight. At a show this last weekend in Anancortes they got rain tested. The tent walls were wet and there were some drips from the roof. The outside of the covers were damp in spots, but the earrings were nice and dry!

I LOVE my new covers!! They are so easy to get on and off and one person can do it by themselves. 

Thank you Lorie, seamstress extraordinaire!!

Shutter Re-do

One of the trademarks of my jewelry displays are the black shutters I have been using for more than 10 years. They are vinyl, purchased from a home improvement store. They have held up great over the years. I had been using black foam core for the backs - lightweight, but now that I spend so much time outdoors, they were warping from the humidity and the black duct tape I used to attach them melted on hot summer days.

Thanks to my friends at Shoji Designs I now have new improved shutter backs made from a material called lumasite. They use the material in the creation of some of their custom made Japenese shoji. Visit their website and take a look at their beautiful work. They cut the panels to size for me and then I spray painted them black on one side. I attached them to the shutters using wood strips and screws.

 The new backside. A little paint bled around from the front and sides which were spray painted black. But not enough to worry about, it is the back after all!

Clean sides! No more messy black duct tape.  And the black painted fronts look very sleek as they peek through the slats in the shutters. I am very happy with the finished product.

They are working beautifully. They are heavier so I had to figure out a new way to transport them and my arms will get a good workout this summer! Many thanks to Shoji Designs!!

View from My Tent - Miss Hannah

Now that my show season has started it is time to bring back this fun series of posts. 

Last weekend I had a booth at the Wenatchee Apple Blossom Festival.

A few doors down was a collection of really neat garden art. 

Boy one of those would sure look good in my garden.

 

Across the way was Miss Hannah's Gourmet Popcorn Company. 

 

I had fun visiting with Michale and Linda all weekend. They gave me a bag of their Snickerdoodle popcorn - yum!! I also tried the Kickin flavor - wow it was hot!! Made with habanero peppers, no wonder! Their company is named after their daughter Hannah. They are from Tualatin Oregon and spend the summers traveling around to various events in the northwest.

You can learn more about their company and check out their flavors at http://www.misshannahspopcorn.com 

Celebrating Fall this weekend

Do your no rain dances for this weekend please. As much as my garden would like some rain, I have been enjoying setting up my Beadware tent in dry and sunny weather this summer. Saturday you will find me at the Quilcene Fall Fair along with Blue Fox Glass. On Sunday I will be in Silverdale at the Peterson Farm Fall Fair along with Blue Fox Glass, Eastern Wind Glass and a host of other local artists. This event helps to support the Kitsap Food Coop and Great Peninsula Conservancy. For links and details please check out the events section of my Facebook page.

Sunshine, tugboats, theft, disrespect, and Rice Krispies

This past weekend I had a booth at Harbor Days, along with Kandyse of Blue Fox Glass and Dawn of LaGrave Designs. The weather was gorgeous and the setting perfect. My booth was 50 feet from the harbor with a cool breeze, views of the tugboats and Olympics in the distance. And having friends to share a room and dinner with each evening makes for a fun weekend.

It was a busy weekend with many folks there to tour the tugboats and watch them race, check out the tall ships and see the new boardwalk and park.

 

 

Saturday two if my items disappeared. In the last 2 years of doing booths almost every weekend, I have had only had one theft, a pair of earrings this past August. This day a bracelet and ankle bracelet disappeared. And folks were so rough on my things Saturday! Dropping them on the sidewalk, bending, breaking, stretching, cheesy popcorn fingerprints on earring cards, dripping ice cream on my displays, etc. 

Glass gardens are a fancy, fringed beaded bracelets I make that take a lot of work and a lot of beads. I usually put them out front because they are interesting and in the sunshine their sparkle draws folks in. The sixth time my purple one hit the ground it broke in 3 places. I re-arranged my display and put them back by my cash box so I could keep on eye on anyone who touched them. I also had a woman pull so hard on a necklace she broke the clasp. I know that my memory wire bracelets are indestructible, but did a lady really have to totally straighten one out and let it snap back? Another woman grabbed a crystal sun catcher and promptly dropped it on the ground. Retail value of my losses on Saturday: $144. Two steps forward, one step back.

An artist puts thought, creativity, time and a little bit of themselves into each piece they make regardless of how small or the price. Being so rough on my things was disrespectful. As my booth neighbor Kandyse said, it felt like a personal violation.

Sunday was another beautiful day – and Olympia redeemed itself. The day was extremely busy. Folks were appreciative and they bought many things. In the end I made my goal for the weekend. And the best part of the day – Kandyse made more than 2 times her best ever show!!

Kandsye and I often get booths next to each other so we can share funny stories, commiserate as needed and keep a running commentary on people and dog fashion. One of the memorable things this weekend was a sticker on a skateboard – “I do what the Rice Krispies tell me”. So when is the last time you listened to your Rice Krispies?

Harbor Days

This weekend I will be down in Olympia at Harbor Days - weather looks gorgeous so if you are looking for a destination come on down! Booth #29. Tour one of the many tugboats in the harbor or watch the races at noon on Sunday. Check out their website for more info.  http://www.harbordays.com/

Art in the Garden

For a slide show of all the great art available this weekend at Art in the Garden click here!
Art in the Garden

Art in the Garden

 One more day until my garden is filled with art! Friday 4-8pm and Saturday 10-5pm enjoy the last lingering days of summer while strolling through gardens with refreshments while browsing beautiful and locally handmade art.

Fused glass art and pendants, pottery, photography, glass and driftwood wind chimes, whimsical garden art, crystal sun catchers, beaded jewelry, and more!

Featuring:
Ann Haines - Beadware; Noelle Morris Photography; Linda Ricci - Side Door Pottery; Kandyse Tobias - Blue Fox Glass; Brenda Ackermann - Plants & Plates; Kim Pinkerton - Wind Dancer Glass & Pottery; and Dixie Armfield-Rogerson - Eastern Wind Glass.

Indoor Booths

Each show I am doing this fall has a different booth shape and requirements for decorating. To make set up easier on myself (and my helpers!) I first start with graph paper - sketch out the shape of the booth, then use paper tables and arrange them in a way that allows for good traffic flow and gives me good display space. Next I move out to the garage and do a dry run based on my sketch. I set up the tables and shutters. Next I put out some of the jewelry so I have a good idea of where things will go and I add some of the decorations (sand dollars, shells, lamps, etc.)

My first booth was 6 x 12 feet, in the North Kitsap High School Gym. Being without my tent felt weird - very exposed! But the arrangement worked really well. As usual, I received many compliments on my displays. I think doing them is so much fun!

 The left side. My pay station is on the lower table so I can stand behind the display and greet folks as they walk by. I added a table lamp to give the display a warm, friendly  feeling. The shutters are held up with wooden stands and weights that I draped some black fabric over. Next time I might drape some fabric from the string that runs under the shutters to hide the electrical cords.

The right side. My tubs are hidden under the table in the corner. I left ample room (about 4 feet) for folks to easily enter the booth. It also allowed several folks to be in the booth at one time.

 The woman next door let me hang a cloth on her lattice panels to provide a clean back drop for my hanging necklaces and earring racks. The necklace hanger is usually suspended from the center of my tent. I found some great stands at Michels to allow me to use the hanger on a table top.
 

 
All buttoned up for the night. I have never left my merchandise in my display over nite - and I would not at an outdoor show. But we only had 30 mins to leave the site, not enough to pack anything up. Everyone said to just cover things with sheets. We used some binder clips to fasten the edges together making it a little harder to get at things under the sheets. False sense of security? It sure was nice to show up the next morning, remove the sheets and be ready to sell in less than 20 minutes!

Four Legged Booth Helper

When my booth is at the Fremont Sunday Market you may have the opportunity to meet my 4-legged furry booth helper - Lola! She belongs to my sister and often joins us in the booth. She loves to lie under the center table with her legs daintily crossed watching people and dogs go by. She is extremely friendly so be sure to stop in and say hello!

Indoor Rain

Friday I set my booth up at the Magnolia Summer Fest. In the grass on the floor of my tent area there was a small depression in the ground with a white circle painted around it. We were worried someone might trip over it, but decided to ignore it.  Saturday morning I got a call from one of the organizers - the city staff had neglected to turn off the automatic sprinkler system. Well I bet you can guess what that small depression was - yes there was a sprinkler head INSIDE my tent!!!!!

My sign was toast. This is the back.

All the rest of my signs were a mess and the table coverings drenched. 

So much for business cards. The power of the sprinkler tossed things off onto the ground. Look at all the water standing in the top of the tub. Luckily I take my merchandise home every night.

Thanks to how secure my tent is I spared all my neighbors any damage. The guy next door was a wood worker so I had him take a look at my tables and chairs. They are toast as they are laminate and once they dry out the laminate will curl and bubble. It has already started to do just that.

I called my sister - help I have a tent emergency! She arrived with towels, sheets, paper and crayons. The girls across the way liked our new sign. Despite the mess we were able to open for business on time.

Today I am working on a claim form to file with the City of Seattle for new tables, chairs and signs. 

Wish me luck!

View from my tent

A friend recently compared my Beadware tent to her office cubicle. She said my "cubicle" is bigger (10 x 10 feet) and I have an ever-changing view and cast of characters. 

West Seattle July 9-11 2010

Mukilteo July 17, 2010 - waterfront!!!

Fremont Sunday Market April 2010

First Thursday Fun!

Linda and I set up the Beadware Booth at the recent First Thursday Art Walk in Occidental Park in downtown Seattle. What a fun spot to be. The weather held, the people were friendly, and the atmosphere relaxed. Nice music all afternoon and folks were in a shopping mood. A few friends stopped in to visit. And I found out someone reads my blog! :)

They set up a huge dance floor and stage right behind us. Hmm ..what is going on? SALSA!! At 6pm salsa lessons started, then the band took the stage and folks danced the evening away. A bit loud so we had to communicate with our customers via hand signals and smiles. But boy was it fun! And to top it off we sold quite a bit of jewelry!

I've already put the first Thursday of August and September on my calendar.

 Linda womaning the booth.

 Salsa class. You can see Linda watching from the back of our booth (white tent in the background).

 

Our view out our backdoor of the Latin band including horn and rhythm sections. Singers and dancers also joined the musicians onstage. Boy were they loud!!

Fathoms O'Fun

My online boutique will be closed this weekend while I am at and arts and crafts show. If you live near Port Orchard come on down to the Fathoms O' Fun Arts and Crafts show on the waterfront and say hello!!

Gone Fishing

Ok, not really, but my online boutique will be closed this weekend while I am at  Meeker Festival  in Puyallup. We set up the tent tonite. I am in space #94, in the park at the end opposite the community stage and near the bathroom building. It is a pretty little park. We are near a pizza stand, an elephant ear booth and some Asian food. Hmmm, I can see my profits dwindling.....Come on down and say hi, enjoy the music, the food and vendors.

Getting Ready

I am getting ready for my first, big, 3-day booth event. I am a bit nervous about not having enough stuff, but I have a pretty good inventory built up. And if it all sells, I would not complain! Today I am making moonlight glass garden bracelets. A few of these and then I will switch to one I call Fiesta, with a black base and red, orange and yellow fringe. I thought it might be fun to post a few pictures of one in process.

I like to layout all the bead possibilities ahead of time so I can easily pick and choose the right one as I go. For this one the theme is blues, and I have various shapes, moons, stars, crystals and leaves. I like using these velveteen tray pads as my work surfaces. Keeps things from rolling away and if I want to work on a different project I can set these aside.

Here I have the base layer of size 6 seed beads and the first row of fringe completed. I use about 180 inches of thread for each row of fringe. I sew in and out of each seed bead on the base layer. Patience is required!! Time for a lunch break before I start the second row.

Paper Panache

My usual neighbor at the Fremont Sunday market is Dawn who makes the most wonderful and unique paper collages. Unique is hard to do anymore, but she has created art that is just that. Dawn takes photographs of buildings and structures with interesting lines. Then she uses the computer to "kaleidoscope" them. She prints out several copies of each photo and then uses small, sharp scissors to cut out layers, stacks them up, and wa-la........ a 3-D, mini-masterpiece! You can see more at her website. My photos do not do her work justice, but here are some samples....

Peacock feathers

Eiffel Tower, Paris

A selection of 2-D cards

Frances would like this 2-D card - it is yarn!!!

Eat Cake!!

Sunday was my best day yet at the Fremont market - despite it being a bit wet on and off. I suspect it may have had something to do with the fact that we were next to the cake ladies! Happy Cakes are so delicious! They give out samples all day long so there is always a crowd in front of their booth. A dangerous neighbor as they kept popping over with samples for us. Mike even got a free piece of red velvet cake at the end of the day. Yum!

Great Weekend

Boy what a fantastic weekend for Beadware! Saturday was the art and garden fair in my neighborhood at Rodstol farm. Thanks to everyone who came by to shop and visit. Gorgeous setting, wonderful weather and lovely people. A very fun day. Then Sunday at Fremont - lots of last minute Mother's Day shoppers! A few pictures.....

Art & Garden Fair at the Farm

 Ready for Shoppers at Fremont

Newest creation - Gardenware - vintage spoon garden markers!!

The famous Pig!

Can't beat Fremont for people and dog watching!