Happy End of 2009

This is it for 2009 and I don't think I am alone when I say DON"T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU IN THE A#$%.

But this blog isn't about complaining or negativity. When I look back on this year, I am really so incredibly grateful for all of my loyal, and new, customers who helped me survive a history-making (and not in a good way) year. I still was able to make new designs, repeat old ones with a fresh twist, and pay my bills. I havn't had to cancel my health insurance, and my "nuts " are stored for the winter. I am looking forward to a few months of fun in the studio. Who could really ask for more?

Jewelry is really about JOY, and I believe exists as a totally optional way to celebrate the self, and the day. If this is true, as I believe, despite everything in 2009, joy still triumped over despair in many hearts.

I do know, however, that it was a challenging year for a lot of people. To those people I wish positivity and hope for the new year. As long as we are breathing, there is hope, and many many ways exist to celebrate your life. If you can't think of one, make one up and do it. I am going to do this right now too.

Oakland - The Crucible Holiday Gifty Show This Weekend

The Davis Art Center show last weekend was a really fun time. I spend more money at that show than any other one! I got a new ( handcrafted of course) hat, and I had to limit myself to one, since there were THREE that I really loved! And of course, the candy......
On to Oakland this weekend, where I will be at The Crucible's Holiday Gifty Show. The Crucible is a teaching non-profit facility, and they teach what I call the 'fire' arts, welding, glass blowing, lampworking, etc. It is a huge building in East Oakland. I will need to add a link with a map, or at least a link to the Crucible's website. There will be about 60 artists here, and if you don't feel like driving across the Bay Bridge in the rain, you can stay in the east bay and still do your holiday shopping. I hear it will be cold in this building, since it is so big, and probably well ventilated, so bundle up!

Davis Art Center This Weekend-Dec.4, 5 & 6

I am almost ready for Davis this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This holiday gift show is at the Davis Art Center, which features many rooms filled with artists for this annual show. The volunteers cook great soups, sandwichs and salads for customers and artists alike, and I am especially happy that there are a lot of vegetarian choices!!!!
There is also a few "handmade" candy vendors here that I particularly like! Wonder why?
There is a link to the right with a map of the location. The show starts on Friday at NOON!, then Saturday until 6, and Sunday until 5. Hope you can make it!

Whats Happening?

I had a really wonderful time in Reno, but I had a very sick little cat this week, so I was too sad to write about it. So now it is time to pack up for San Francisco.
I will be in booth 220 in Fort Mason for this weekends Celebration of Craftswomen.
Hope you can stop by. I have a lot of sterling silver earring designs. This is a departure!!!

Getting Ready for Reno

I am bringing my silver earring/bracelets to Reno. I havn't had them at a show in a few years, mostly because I just couldn't keep everything stocked the way it needed to be, with the glass necklaces, pendants and stones and pearls. Now it is time! I am going to put them on Etsy in a few weeks, so they can be purchased there. A lot of my newer customers have never seen my silver!!!

I leave for Reno on Wednesday, as there is a fashion show on Thursday night, the preview night with food and wine. No wine for me of course. I drank up my life time allotment already.
I am working on restocking earrings sold at Saint Marys. The Mom's that put on the St. Mary's show really do a great job. Everything went like clockwork. Good job! I took my husband to the emergency room for a sprained ankle, so there will be a little less new earrings than I would like!

It is always fun to see my regulars at the shows and catch up with what's going on in their lives if there is the time to do that.

Another Blue Pearl for Sacramento

I just love this pearl! It has great subtle tones of purple and pink, but overall of course it is blue.
I have no idea how they color this pearl. I have heard that perhaps they dye the water the mussels are living in. I have also read that they are radiated, irridized or who knows what. They look great, however they do it!

Working for Sacramento - St. Mary School Fine Art & Craft Show

Here's a new piece for St. Mary's- pearls and quartz crystal.

I have been making a lot of glass the last couple of days, but the only thing finished is the Black Lava and Crusty Bead Squares Necklace on the right. I should rename that piece!

I am also working on some small glass and silver necklaces with matching earrings that are "giftable". If you don't see them, you will know I couldn't make it work!

Making Glass Pendants

It has been great to be home! This is my second weekend home in a ROW! I have been making glass pendants like crazy. I have decided to do some smaller ones that are "giftable" ( not that the larger ones I do most of the time aren't giftable).
My shows start next weekend with Sacramento, then Reno, and so on and so on.
I am waitlisted for Celebration of Craftswomen in San Francisco Thanksgiving weekend, and I may get a booth. Then Davis, and then Oakland. Whew!
I need to keep making glass!

Danville Fall Crafts Festival This Weekend

I havn't been to a show in Danville for a few years. I almost didn't make it this year either. I broke a toe Monday night, and I really didn't think I was going to go to Danville. Today, however, I am either used to the limping, or it is better, so I am going to go.
My booth is on Hartz Ave, facing south, close to School St. My number is 341. Hope you can make it!

Danville Fall Festival This Weekend

I havn't checked the weather yet for the upcoming weekend show. I am limping around with what I think is a broken toe. Bad weather and a broken toe may keep me at home this weekend!! I think I will check my weather source.
I will post my location tomorrow or the next day if I know I am going to make it.

Winter White- Blankets With Your Menu

Do they do "Winter White" in California, or is that just an eastern thing??

Back East this was the time of year that wool sweaters and skirts came into the stores. One's choice of clothes changed dramatically.

My stepdaughter is in Berlin, ( Germany, not Ohio ) and being a native Californian, I am afraid she is facing the stark realities of a real winter. She needed help to buy functional hats and winter clothes.

It was a fun thing to hear, however that it wasn't too cold in Berlin, only in the high 30's or 40's! She said people were still eating in the outdoor cafes.....the restaurants provided blankets, so everyone was eating wrapped in the blanket. I would love to see a video of this!!!

Menlo Park this Friday Saturday & Sunday

This weekend is the sidewalk Menlo Park show. I am on the corner of Chestnut and Santa Cruz Ave., in front of a bank that I can't remember the name of. It is a new location for me at this show, up the block from my old booth location. It is sunnier!!
I hope to post a few pictures, but time is running out. We got home late Sunday night from the last show, and the storm knocked off a day of work. It was like a hurricane here!! I was afraid to work in my studio with the wind and rain. There are power lines over my studio, and I was afraid I would get electrocuted!
Idid get some new things done, so I will try to get at least one photo up here. I didn't have time for any new glass.

A New First

This is just an interesting tidbit, perhaps more interesting to me than to you. I met THREE husbands of long-time customers at one show! I just don't meet that many husbands, and believe me, I have a husband, and I know all too well why I don't meet them. Most guys just are just not the "hang out a jewelry booth '' type. One of these husbands seemed unhappy to find himself at an art show. He was just there for the pizza! It looked like the other two were doing a "hang with the wife" day, even though one couple were hanging at the same show, but not together. This would be the way my husband and I would hang out at an art show.

Some husbands are actually helpful when their wives are shopping at my booth. This may come as a shock to those of you whose husbands would rather lick poison postage stamps than shop, but there are a few who shop well, and an even smaller number who have a good eye for what looks good on their wife! Once I met a man who picked out all of his wife's jewelry because he had a better eye for what looked best on her. I think he was an architect, or some other visual occupation. That has never happened again!!!

San Carlos TOMORROW

Here are some new pieces for tomorrow's show. There are more new, but just not enough time to photo them all.

Hope you can make it!

This amethyst necklace is really pretty. Long too...about 20" I think, but it can be shortened.

San Carlos Art & Wine Festival

My booth at San Carlos is on the corner of Laurel and Cherry, #178, facing east. I am very close to Alta, the clothing store.
I should read the paperwork on this show. I think it is an Art & Wine show, but there may not be wine. This could be a big disappointment for some people, so I should have this info correct. Please take it under advisement, there may be no wine. There is music however, which I hope my booth is a good distance away from.
Hope you can make it! I will try to post pictures of new work in a few days.

San Carlos Ahead, Montclair Behind

Montclair was a really good show! It seemed like more people than usual at this semi-annual event, and it was interesting that it was so cold, and people still came out!
Next weekend is San Carlos. I havn't checked the weather yet, but I have a corner booth facing east on Laurel at Cherry St.
Now I am going to go make something beautiful!!

Glass and Lava Bracelet

Tomorrow is the Montclair Two Day Art & Craft Show. There is a link( to the right)of my booth location. This great little bracelet is all new - a "crusty" bead ( yes it is glass) paired with black lava. I think I have a pair of earrings to match...?....maybe I need to go out to the studio and make some! Hope to see you there!

I hope someone will come by to give me a break...no husband this weekend.

Montclair Village ( Oakland) This Weekend

It'll be a cool weekend coming up in Oakland. I'll be on the corner of La Salle and Mountain, I think it is, the main drag in Montclair Village. Saturday and Sunday, October 3 & 4, from 10-5. Hope you can make it! I have some new pieces, but I am just too pooped right now to Photo/and Insert. No inserting tonight.

Montclair This Weekend.....October 5 & 6

It is really hard to believe that it will be October in a few days. It is overcast and chilly here today, and it really finally feels like fall. This coming weekend in Oakland should be enticingly cool after last weekend's breathtaking heat in Walnut Creek. So bundle up! I may have to turn on the space heater in the studio today!!!!

Fun Girl Thing in Walnut Creek

" I saw this last year and didn't buy it. I am buying it now, and my husband won't be happy, but I'm tired of being good."

Total fungirl.

Walnut Creek This Weekend

This coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday I will be in my usual spot on North Main St. in Walnut Creek. There is some sidewalk construction there, but they have built a walkway on the side of the road, so it is still accessible. And it looks like good weather!!!

So Bummed Before Lafayette

My computer let me down, so no pictures of new work for tomorrow's Lafayette Art and Wine Show. Booth 369. I'm in the hotel, and my battery is low. So much for technical dependance!!!
Hope you can come...I have a LOT of new things!

Life Returns to Normal before Lafayette.

It is amazing how I am counting on my computer more and more for my business. So, when my USB port seemed to QUIT ( except for the printer, which, WHO KNOWS WHY?) it means I couldn't listen to my audio books, no skpe-ing, and no posting pictures to this blog. Frustrated, thinking of the additional stop at Best Buy in the East Bay for the Geek Squad repair, I tried to look on the bright side. It would give me a little extra time to make work for the Lafayette show this weekend. No new pictures on my blog, but, I could actually make more jewelry!!

Laying in bed last night, I had a brief thought that perhaps I had more USB ports on my laptop.
For those of you over 50, you may know what I mean when I say that this thought went immediately out of my head. However, this morning when I plugged in my microphone for a phone call, there to my amazement were TWO more USB ports. Life has returned to normal. So I am looking forward to posting some new pictures of work before Lafayette this weekend.

Buy Online

I forgot to mention I put a few items on my etsy site for those of you that can't make a show.
http://www.fungirlsjewelry.etsy.com

I am pretty new to etsy, so there may be some unknowns (maybe?) .

A BIG Fun Thing

Shitmydadsays - on Twitter!
...A Great Twitter --Twit.. or --Tweet???? It's on Twitter anyhow. So am I, not that I give great belly laughs. I think I am Fungirlsjewels. All these online things are so confusing to us boomers. God that sounds horrible.
I love the dad in Shitmydadsays. He cusses more than me, and he makes cussing socially acceptable. He is so funny!! His son Justin is the author of these tweets, and I heard he has been given a book deal because they are so funny.
Love it!! Truly a Fun Thing for FUN PEOPLE!

Lafayette Art & Wine Festival- No Orinda in 2009

Sept. 19 & 20, I will be in Lafayette for the first time, on Mt. Diablo Blvd. for the annual Art & Wine Festival. My booth number is 369, and I have a link to the right where I have guestimated where this booth is likely located at the show. The hours are from 10-7 on Saturday, and 10-6 on Sunday. Long day on Saturday!!!!

I usually do a little show in Orinda in November, but that show has been cancelled, so this is my LaMorinda show for 2009. No Rec Center this year in Orinda!! This is sad news. That was always a fun little show.

Hope you can make it!! If you see something on this blog you would like me to hold for you, call my cell at 650-814-6966 ( it doesn't take messages...sorry!)

Kings Mountain Change of Location

My booth at Kings Mountain this year will be two down ( or up?) from last year. My husband will be in my old location, so this is a good thing. We are on the parking lot of the firehouse, which, when you enter the show, is up the paved driveway hill at the entrance to the show.

I have a lot of new work for this show, so I am pretty excited. I have a new bead style that only happened a few days ago, so I will have to take orders on them if they are popular.

We are leaving today to set up the show......hope you can make it.

A Few More Pieces for Kings Mountain This Weekend

Here's a few more that finished well. I have more done in different styles of course, but I am running out of time to photograph them!

Working Like Crazy

I just posted a few pictures of new things for the upcoming Kings Mountain Art Faire in Woodside this coming Labor Day weekend. I have more of course, but they are sitting in the studio waiting to be finished while I am painting my display stands, fixing posters and all the odds and ends that must be done also.
If I have time I will add some more photos.
Feel free to call me about any of these pieces. Most of them are one of a kind, and if you want one, it is best you get it now!!!
209-920-3117

San Francisco ACC Show

I just took a 'busman's holiday' and went to the American Crafts Council show at Fort Mason in the City last Sunday. I guess I am in the right profession, because I still love to go to a show and see all the great craft and art. The ACC show brings in a lot of big names from the east coast, and all over the country, really. Thomas Mann was there HIMSELF, from New Orleans. I had to stop myself from thanking him for his generosity in sharing his business knowledge with the craft community. Of course it would be great to talk to him, but that wasn't why he was there.
My ALL TIME favorite, Biba Schutz from New York was there. I had hoped to buy a small piece of hers, which would still be expensive in my world, but an unexpected bill popped up right before I left, so my Biba piece had to be postponed. I will try to put a link up to her website, if she has one.There also was a hatmaker from Arizona that I have seen in Ornament magazine for years, and a clothing designer as well. I tried on some hats, but couldn't bring myself to even look at the clothes for more than one minute.
I am starting to save for next year.

Truckee Show

We were really lucky with the weather last weekend in Truckee. Wind is usually a problem at all the shows in the Sierras, and last weekend there was NO WIND. This was great! It was a little cold in the early morning, and socks and jackets were an absolute necessity. But mid-day, while it was warm, was pretty darn hospitable.
There were good crowds with lots of out-of-state tourists, and Southern California people. I like this about the Sierra shows. Women from all over the country give me feedback on the jewelry designs.
And, on the way home yesterday I won $80 in a South Lake Tahoe casino!! That was great fun.

Sunday

It really felt like a day off today. We went to our "vacation" house ( our old house we are trying to get ready to rent) and had more fun things to paint, clean and pound. Of course the work isn't going as fast as I want it to, so I grabbed the nearest saw ( some odd hacksaw thing) and started cutting the floor trim for the laundry room. Tomorrow I will nail it up.
The laundry room was my studio when we first moved to the mountain house, and I was grateful for it. I had my soldering table and my polishing machine on the back deck, since the room wasn't big enough for all the equipment. I had my torch mounted right in front of the window, so it was great to watch the weather and make beads.

My neighbors could see my torch flaming through the window from their front porch. They moved "up country" when they were my age, and that was over 30 years ago. I would drop in for cocktail hour with them once in a while....4:30 if you didn't know....and their signature drink became my favorite drink, brandy and soda with a squeeze of lime. They were very private people, and I was fortunate to get a little foot in the door once in a while. They were so capable, even in their mid 80's. One time I had bottled propane they needed during a bad snow storm, and I was so happy to have something THEY needed! They were very independent.

Helen just passed, and I miss her a lot, even though we havn't been neighbors for a while. Bob isn't looking too good. He hasn't had a brandy in a while, so I know he's not feeling great. Funny timing. It's been just over a year since I had my last brandy and soda. Things change.

Connoisseurs' Marketplace This Weekend

I am leaving today so I rushed to get a few photos up. I especially like the conversion necklace in dark blue to the right. This customer liked the bracelet so much, she wanted it as a necklace. I get some of my best ideas from my customers!!!

So I did a lot of new bracelets, in case anyone else wants to "convert".......to a necklace, that is.

Mapquest Change??

So did Mapquest change something or am I just too fried to copy the map link like I have been doing for the past year???
So no link to the map......
My space at Menlo Park this weekend is facing south on Santa Cruz Ave, just west of Starbucks that is on the corner of Curtis. I can see Starbucks from my booth, I think!! It is closer to El Camino than my usual spot at the sidewalk shows.
I also was wondering why I was getting more work done than usual....and then, I remembered that I FORGOT to mail out the postcards! So a few people will get one tomorrow.
I would like to think I will post some new photos of new work but.....?????

TOO Hot to Work

I guess today is like a snow day...in reverse. I am taking this evening off due to extreme heat!!
I was going to do a kilnload this evening after it cooled down, but it is still just too hot. The kiln is outside the studio, so it doesn't contribute to the heat inside. The reason I don't do glass in the day is that I can't run the kiln and the air conditioner at the same time (fuse problem ) so I wait until it cools off in the evening, and fire up the torch. Not tonight.
I am going to try an experiment....perhaps I can do glass in the early a.m. before it gets too hot. Tomorrow I am going to start the kiln around 6:30a. This will be interesting, since I usually can't walk until 7a, after 3 cups of coffee. Does this count as getting out of my comfort zone?

The hair dryer that kills.... Read on...

Great show in Los Altos! The weather cooperated, and it was only a smidgen hot in the middle of the day. Great crowds! I wish I could have tried some of the fair type of food....I just couldn't get out of the booth long enough.

A "Fun Girl" come on Sunday to the show to replace her Macha chain and pendant destroyed in a house fire that completely burned down her home in the San Jose area. Her daughter got out safely, so it could have been a lot worse.She is now in the arduous process of rebuilding, and I thought it was important that everyone benefit from her loss. Her fire was caused by a hair dryer that was left plugged into the wall. The attending fire captain said that hairdryers, irons, toasters and toaster ovens left plugged in (albeit turned off) are the main causes of these types of devastating fires. I got home today, and unplugged the toaster.

Los Altos Art & Wine This Weekend - July 11 & 12

This is a great piece I will have in Los Altos that is all natural faceted stones.

My booth is #650 on Main Street...south side....east of 3rd.

Gotta Run!

Wrong Date on my Postcard

Zing..ging along too fast. The date on my postcard for the Menlo Park Show is wrong...The correct dates are July 18 & 19. Sorry.

Northstar Booth Location

I just learned my booth will be located in the roller rink at Northstar. I will try to post a new picture of work for this show, but time is short. We leave...UGH.....tomorrow?? O say it isn't so.

NORTHSTAR Ski Resort : Friday, Saturday and Sunday July 3, 4 & 5

Off to Tahoe this Thursday to Northstar Ski Resort, a little north of Lake Tahoe. I will try to get the map link up soon. In past years this show was at Homewood Ski Resort on the west shore of Tahoe, but the management there cancelled all of the '09 shows. The only one relocated to Northstar is the 4th of July show, and I know a lot of you have come to Homewood on many different dates in the summer. This will be my only Tahoe show, butI will be in Truckee in August.

Please note: an oddity about this Northstar show: It closes on Saturday at 3:00 pm. due to a wedding that was previously booked.

Montclair Village This Weekend

This Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I will be in Montclair Village ( Oakland) for three days on the the corner of Mountain Blvd. and LaSalle. This is my usual spot. The weather looks great for the upcoming show, and I am excited about the show! I love the little boutiques in Montclair, and we always enjoy the many food and coffee choices available.....civilization!!
Some of my new pieces are pictured here. More are not. Hope you can make the show!

Oakland Show Next Weekend

I'll be in Montclair next weekend - June 26, 27 & 28, on my usual corner. I would write some more about this show, but the kiln is on, and I need to make some glass!

Good Ideas

I had some really good ideas for posts, and I should have written them down, since here I am with nothing to say. I just didn't want you to think I forgot about my blog.
Four shows in a row coming up......I may forget a lot of things in July!!!
Montclair Village in Oakland is the next show....last weekend of June, including Friday.

Burlingame Art in the Park

I guess I forgot a few details!! The Burlingame show is called Art in the Park, and is in Washington Park at the corner of Burlingame and Carolan Avenues across from the train station. I have never done this show before, so I don't know where my booth will be. Show hours are 10a-5p.

One of my Sacramento customers told me that the clothing stores in Burlingame are really great, so I am hoping to get there early on Friday so I can walk around town before I set up the show on Friday night. She said the Talbots there even had better clothes than the Talbots in Sacramento!!

If you can't find my booth, try my cell phone - 650-814-6966, but don't leave a message, as I havn't set up a mail box yet!

Burlingame this weekend

Sacramento was GREAT!! GREAT weather, GREAT turnout, GREAT women!!! Thank you all for your support.
Burlingame is this weekend, so I'd getter get to the studio.

Sacramento This Weekend

I'll be in Sacramento this weekend at the 51st Annual Art Fiesta at the Town & Country Shopping Center. I am in canopy row, which you can see from the grocery store there ( Cost Less???) and it is behind the Mexican Restaurant. All of the art booths are scattered around the shopping center, but there is only one site with canopys. Click on the link to the right for a map. I mapquested Trader Joe's there ( which is across from the Mexican restaurant)

Organizing

I am always in the throes of my organizational dis-ability. I just bought an old car-parts metal cabinet for my studio, and it will hold lots of individual containers, so hopefully I can get my bizillion beads more organized. I bought 80 small plastic boxes on ebay, and 24 tupperware-like clear containers at the dollar store, so this is the beginning. It will be interesting to see when these are filled up, and I need to go back to the dollar store. Of course, now I am trying to find the logical organization of what should go in what size container. This could take a while!!!

My Vacation House

I am pretending I have a vacation house, since I am spending my vacation at my old house, cleaning, painting, fixing, waiting for workmen to show up.....you know the drill. I am EXHAUSTED in a physical way that I don't even feel after the shows. Cleaning grime is really not fun. Maybe it is mental as well, since I don't really want to be doing this.

I thought of all my customers who have big commutes back and forth to work. I drove an hour each way to the house, several days this week. Today, after cleaning dirt all day, the drive back was so relaxing!! It was so good to just sit! That hour went quickly.
My "work" commute is so different from the daily grind of regular jobs. I commute to the shows, and they are usually 2-3 hours away, but it isn't the same as spending hours on the road everyday. So now, I have a new perspective on my career commute.

MOST Fun Email Ever!!

Yes I tried to send these photos out to my email list, but I had second thoughts about junk emails, so I posted the pictures here. They are just too good not to share.
What a cultural divide, however. There were photos of young girls staring adoringly at the giant penis, and I just couldn't post them.

The Ability Curve

I finally made it back to the torch, and the result is some pretty bad beads.

A very good watercolorist I know ( no, not my husband) has taken some time off from his art to remodel his house, yet he complained to me that he missed painting. However, after the passage of some remodeling time, he was reticent to go to the studio to paint, only because he knew that for a indeterminate time, he would produce crappy paintings until his skill level rose to his usual level. I have a new term for this phenomena...the Ability Curve.

This is a phenomena I have recognized and experienced......that a skill unpracticed for an amount of time, will need to be practiced in a length of time relative to the fallow time, before good work is again produced. I wonder if anyone else has named this phenomena? It is extremely irritating, just as the learning curve is.

I am going out to the studio to look at my crappy beads, and record the lost hours.

Los Altos Rotary Fine Art Show 2009

This weekend......the Los Altos Rotary Fine Art Show!! To the right, there is a map link to the show location, so it won't be the LOST Altos Art Show!!!!

My booth number is 193, and I am very close to Edith Ave. Franklin Park is very long with lots of grass and tree roots, so wear your walking shoes. If you absolutely MUST wear your heels, park close to Edith Ave.

Have Fun With it Video from the New York Times

To the right, I posted a great video clip from the Sunday NYTimes.....A fashion fundraiser in NYC, and lots of HATS. His final words...."Have fun with it!"

Fun Good Thing

I posted a link to the right to a Real Age quiz. It is totally cool. Try it out. I don't know the reliability of it, but it sure looks solid!

Learning Curve

I always have a problem with the learning curve. How long does this go on??? Really.
I have been making glass now for .....13 years??? But I learned a new thing during a very busy time........the thermometer that goes into the kiln to regulate the temperature CAN FALL OUT. So this was a lesson that cost a day's worth of glass, and with so many shows last month, I didn't spend much time at the torch. So there we go. Another lesson learned the hard way. I am going to look hard for a lesson now that I have learned the easy way so I can post about that. I also want to make sure that it is possible to learn the easy way. Keep tuned.

Day After

We got home late last night after the three day Walnut Creek show, but the sky was a only dark blue, not black!! If we drove straight home, instead of stopping for dinner, we would have been home before dark, which would have been thrilling.
Before we moved down from the mountains, we wouldn't get home from a show until Monday afternoon. Now we have all of Monday at home to recover from the show. This is really a great lifestyle change for us. I do work a little however. There is a lot of paperwork to do, and I try to organize my orders before all memory of them has left. ( This isn't alway successful.) Today I may even try to clean up the studio a bit, so when I get started tomorrow morning, it won't be quite so chaotic. This is my free time....and I am just hanging out. What a new thing to do!!

Process

I've been having fun with the new things I purchased at Tucson Gem Show this year. The necklace to the right labeled "New for Walnut Creek" is one of the pieces that is all new in '09

Tucson is so much fun!! My process is....buy what appeals to me. Oh, I do go with a plan, like trying to match stones with my glass, or listing and looking for what I think I need, and never has this really worked. What results in the best, interesting jewelry is to buy the things I have never seen before that are different and interesting. I don't (as a lot of you know) even remember what the heck they are!! And sometimes, it doesn't matter what the actual material is.
The piece to the right is made of glass ( the clear parts) and who knows what that black stone is?? I had never, in over 14 years of shopping at the Tucson Gem Show, seen anything like these two beads. When I bought them, I didn't even know they would go together. I also bought the metal beads this year that are shown here between the black and clear. What a great look!! All new!

The down side to this process is that I don't know how much of each stone to buy, and lots of times there are only a few strands available. For these reasons, there are only two of this necklace available. The other one features larger pieces. It isn't quite finished yet, and I may not take it to Walnut Creek.

Walnut Creek This Weekend

It's a busy time. With back-to-back shows, I have forgotten to send out my postcards for Walnut Creek. I will send a few out today, but I won't get everyone. Emails will go out!!!
I have had some fun in the studio, working with more of the new stuff I bought this year at the Tucson Gem Show. Now, I can see I what I should have bought more of , and what I perhaps shouldn't have bought at all! I got a few strands of an unusual glass, and I made two related, but different, necklaces out of it. I will try to post a photo, especially since there are just two of these available.

New Booth Location at Menlo Park

My booth location at Menlo this coming weekend has been changed- I will be two booths west of my old spot, so it is a short walk. I wanted to be in the sunshine!!! I am cat-i-corner ( how do you spell that?) from La Boulanger, on the south side of Santa Cruz Ave, on the corner in front of a bank. Sorry, I don't know which bank either!!!
Gotta go make beautiful things now!!!

Doing My Part

In San Franciso in March, one of my customers remarked that she was buying whatever she liked. Her rationale was, if people with a job don't spend money, what will happen???
I took this to heart when I was back in San Francisco last weekend. I noticed that a. I was working, and b. I do have a job. Therefore, it was my DUTY to buy these handmade SHOES!!! Aren't they just fantastic???? (pictured at bottom of page)
The handmade shoe people were new to the art shows, and I had never seen their work before. I wish I had taken more photos to post here, but I must remember, this is a jewelry site. I absolutely love them!!!! The shoe makers had pumps, flats, pointy toes, flashy straps.... you name it. But these fit me perfectly, and I may be able to wear them for a few hours at some of the shows, if I can stand to scratch up the bottoms!

First Spring

I got home from San Francisco on Monday afternoon, and as I drove up our driveway, the landscape had changed since I left on Thursday. The trees were budding then, and when I got home there were leaves everywhere! There are two large oak trees in front of my studio, and the change from bare limbs tinged with pale green, to large masses of solid, opaque green was truly amazing. I feel like I am experiencing spring for the first time in my life, even though that is surely not the absolute truth. Our mountain home didn't show a lot of seasonal differences, except of course when there was snow. Here, there are things coming out of the dirt, our front yard went from a dirt field to....well, not grass exactly, but very very green stuff that needs mowed. Bushes that looked dead when we moved in now are almost in bloom!!! It is amazing.
The West Portal show kicked my butt, or I would have been out in this glory doing some weed whacking. Instead, I have been wandering around the house in a daze. Not today!!!

San Francisco, West Portal Neighborhood Show this Weekend

It looks like the weather will be great this coming weekend for the West Portal show. One year the weather here was so cold, I actually cried.

This show is Friday, Saturday and Sunday. My booth is in front of Starbucks. Click on the maplink to the right if you need directions.

I need to get to the studio!!! If I get a good photo, I will post some new pieces I have done for this show, so check back in a day or so.

Hope to see you!!!

Done for the Day

My work day was shortened today. I picked up the wrong rod of glass, and I have two cute little blisters on my "bead" fingers. This feels like a "snow" day, which is what it was called years ago back east when school was canceled due to snow. Burn Day sounds a little funny....... not funny ha ha either.
So my show in Belmont will be shy a few pieces I had intended to bring. Ah well.
Keep calm and carry on.

Carlemont Shopping Center Show

Next weekend I will be in Belmont at the Carlemont Shopping Center at Ralston and Alameda des las Pulgas. My booth is usually close to Ralston, by the pharmacy, but I could be moved. It is a small show, but good artists show up for it . There aren't many shows to do in March!
Belmont is a great little town, and I have been doing this little show for years. The shopping center is a hub of activity, and the walkways are completely covered, so if it rains, there is a roof over our heads!!! It can be cold there, of course, so I have a little propane heater I bring. I think I will go dig it out of storage right now!

Tax Time with Electricity

For the past 7 or 8 years, I would do my taxes when the power when out at our old "mountain" home. This was an extremely reliable method, since any big snow would cause the power to go out for one, two or even three days. Stories said one year it was out for over a week when trees were down over the roads, and the crews had to clear the trees before they could get in to fix the lines.
One year, we had many early power outages in January, so my taxes were done by the end of February. I would set up lanterns, LED little lights, and a candle or two, and do the taxes on our large coffee table in front of a blazing fireplace that kept water hot for coffee, tea and soup.
Obviously, I didn't do them online.
This year, I am racing to do them at the last minute. Somehow, without the snow and darkness to prompt me, I just didn't "get" that taxes still had to be done. So this is what I will be doing in the jewelry world for the next many days.

Visualizing Rain

I did some gardening ( weeding really) yesterday, so I am ready to get back in the studio.
I am just visualizing that our much needed April rains will come during the week. I have three outdoor shows on the weekends in April, and since we need the rain so badly, I am just seeing lots of rain during the week.
It seems there is always a downside to self-serving wishes. What about all of the commuters during the week that would have to battle the rains??? hummm.

Show was GOOD!

I got home last night from the San Francisco show. Saturday was packed, and the crowd was the usual artsy, educated Bay area craft and art enthusiasts. Sunday was slower and much less crowded. It was such great fun to be out in the world again, so the slowness of Sunday allowed me to really enjoy talking with people, something I don't have the time for at a lot of the shows.

The work at this show is so fabulous, I just have to force myself to stay in my booth, or I will spend more money than I make. I did buy a great little hat for the shows this year, but I didn't buy the incredible hand knit sweater coat, or the amazing little wind chime made of urchin spines, or the jewelry I admire from so many talented metalsmiths!!!! There were 100 jewelers in a show of 200 artisans, so if you like art jewelry, this really was the show to go to!

New Work

At right are several of my new things for the San Francisco show this coming weekend. If you go to the show's website, you can print out 2 free tickets. I am located in booth F214, about in the middle, along the left wall.
I have more new stuff than this, but you will have to come to see it!!! Many of you will be happy that I found the pearls for the earrings at the bottom, after a few years of not having them. They are a great "go-to" pair of earrings, perfect for almost every occasion. They will also be available in 14 kt. gold this year for the first time. I will have other smatterings of gold vermeil here and there as well.

Spring

This beautiful beautiful day is such a distraction!! Yesterday I spent 3 hours digging in the dirt, and it was just fantastic! I haven't had a garden for....12 years?? So I forgot how much I love the dirt.

Another distraction I didn't need, so I am trying to reframe this. I used to pretend that making jewelry was my hobby, and selling it was my livelihood. I think I will move gardening into the hobby position, jewelry into the avocation position, and hope I still have a livelihood!!! New pictures coming...soon.

San Francisco show at Fort Mason is next weekend. I want to soak up this sun, since going to San Francisco can be like going to Antarctica.

Working

I am working, but there isn't any jewelry materializing!! What is this??? I did some glass, I made some clasps, I did some prototypes of new designs, working out the kinks as I went along, but WHERE IS THE JEWELRY??? I need to start producing. The Contemporary Crafts Market is in a few weeks in San Francisco, so I am focusing on that right now. I took a great shot today that I may use on my postcard. It is the briolette necklace to the right, top I think.

When we bought this house last summer, I really didn't know that the wash that looked like a big ditch is really a lovely creek that I can see from the front door of the studio. There are so many frogs in there croaking away tonight, it is really peaceful. I think I will go lock up for the night.

Home from Tucson

I had a great time in Tucson. Today I am unpacking and pricing all the stones and pearls I bought, and it is so much fun to see them all together!! When shopping over the course of 5 days, the stones stay in their respective bags, so until I get home, I don't get to see them side by side, and it is great to see how they fall into color families. Of course I don't go with a plan, but it usually turns out that I bring home things that really work well together, sometimes in the most wonderful ways!

I also got some SMOKIN' DEALS, which of course I will pass on to you, Fun Girls! And, as always, there were some of the most beautiful, expensive strands I just couldn't pass up. I can sit here and remember all the expensive strands I didn't buy as well, but there is a pile over there that is just too beautiful.

I bought a little bit of bone beads this year, usually a No-No for the vegetarian me. Perhaps since I am eating fish, my resistance to using dead animal parts in the jewelry is diminishing. I also bought some gold vermeil (gold over silver), which I also avoided in the past, so for you GOLD GIRLS, I will have a small selection. You get the look of solid gold at a fraction of the cost.

I finally found the pearls I used on one of my most popular earring designs, so they will be back again, and I think I will do them in 14kt gold as well.

About Time

It is about time I posted something. January was gone in a flash of computer problems that left me blogless, and lots of messy little things that interfere with my best intentions.
Tomorrow however, I leave for Tucson to buy all the wonderful little delights that I shall turn into jewelry for you, fun girl!! I have a list, and am checking it twice.
The weather should be beautiful! I am packing my summer clothes, sunscreen and a hat, so I can pretend that I am on vacation. I will look at so many strands of beads, that I know at some point it will be too much, and then perhaps it will be time for a walk in the desert. I actually have never taken a walk in the desert when I am there, because no matter how over-stimulated I become, there is always more stones, more beads and pearls to be found.
Perhaps I can post from the road????