{week in pictures}

last week was nonstop... go-go-go... action packed. starting with a trip to Richmond, Va

Spring Bada-bing on Sunday

lunch with the hubby at Red Bowl on Tuesday

lots of quality time in the studio

Twister Necklaces for Raleigh Tornado Fundraiser

The Handmade Market on Saturday

Banana Bread Beer with friends at Woody's...

the perfect end to a busy week

{handmade market}

Find me this weekend at The Handmade Market.  The event is from 11-5 at Cobblestone Hall downtown in City Market.  The Raleigh Easter egg hunt is also going on across the street so its sure to be a great time for the whole family.  This is one of my favorite local shows and there is always such a great collection of vendors.  I've already started working on my shopping list!  I'm bringing new enameled pieces as some new metalwork that I'm really excited about.  I'll also have some Twister Necklaces to help raise money for victims of last weekends tornadoes in Raleigh.  They retail for $35 and 25% will go to the local chapter of the American Red Cross.  Meanwhile you can pick one up on Etsy or there are still a few left at Raleigh Tornado Fundraiser.

{on the bench}

{slightly organized chaos}

the 2011 show schedule is in full swing and i'm loving it. its a little hectic, but i love staying busy and it gives me an excuse to spend extra time in my new studio. in addition to working on some new designs for my own shows, i've been making lots of supply orders so others can get ready for theirs.  this means my bench is currently covered with clusters of rings, headpins and partially completed jewelry.

{tiny bud stack}

find me this weekend at the Durham Art Walk. i'll be on the upper level of the Arts Council building, 120 Morris St. 10-5 saturday & 1-5 sunday.

{shows & exhibitions} summer 2011

5.21- 5.22.11- Artsplosure- Raleigh, NC
http://www.artsplosure.org/

6.4.11- Arts on the Plaza- Durham, NC
http://www.durhamarts.org/artsontheplaza.html

6.10.11- Etsy Craft Party @ Bull City Craft- Durham, NC

6.24- 6.25.11- Bridgeton RiverFest- Bridgeton, NC
http://bridgetonriverfest.weebly.com/

8.27.11- Lazy Daze- Cary, NC
http://www.townofcary.org/Departments/Parks__Recreation___Cultural_Resources/events/festivals/Lazy_Daze_Arts_and_Crafts_Festival.htm

{trunk show}

Find me on First Friday from 6-10 pm for a trunk show, at Stitch.  I'll have lots of new style with me.

{including...}

enamel studs

brand NEW for 2011

{organic studs}- enameled copper on sterling silver posts

did i mention, i'll have rings also :)

durham art walk

i had a great time at the durham art walk this weekend, the turnout was better than expected, i met some amazing new customers, and some inspiring artists and designers.
the Arts Council Building currently has an excelletn exhibition of contemporary portraits going on called, People You May Know. my favorite of the show was a group of portraits by Jacob Cooley, which as luck would have it, happened to be right across from my booth giving me plenty of time to ponder them. i found them pleasantly unsettling {if that makes any sense}. the subject in each portrait is wearing a neutral shirt and the background is stark white, forcing you to truly see the person, simply as they appear, with no preconceived notions or distractions.
on saturday, i managed to {sneak} away from my booth for a few minutes and do a bit of Christmas shopping at Miss Maready, my {newest} obsession, and i learned that i really, really, {really} like kettle corn (which i always thought i hated). tonight i enjoyed a delicious dinner (an more importantly garlic fries) with a friend at Tyler's Taproom at American Tobacco Campus. this week is going to be insanely busy as i restock for the Rock & Shop and the Boylan Heights Artwalk in two weeks and get started on a few custom orders.

{Giving Trees} sponsored by Bert's Bees were made by local artists from recycled materials raised money for The Scrap Exchange

{Jacob Cooley} portraits, view from my booth

my {booth}

{holiday lights} at American Tobacco

{fall festivals}

{boo}

{mini donuts} yum!

{old fashioned peach ice cream}

silliness

random shots from my recent exploits at Cooke St. Carnival and the Pittsboro Fall Street Fair. catch up with on the 5th in my new studio for {first friday} 14 glenwood ave, suite 18-A, raleigh.

September

horray!  its almost fall {my favorite season} and my show schedule is starting to get packed.  this month has been crazy with two shows so far, another one this weekend, preparing for my studio move at the end of the month {more details to follow}, and filling an order for metamorphosis metals' new home at Foundry in Asheville, NC.

two weeks ago, i participated in the wilmington art walk, and was lucky enough to spend the rest of the weekend relaxing at the beach with the lovely and talented "Boo" Reynolds of Bijou Savvy.  it was a fun show and a great weekend, the weather couldn't have been more perfect.  i'm looking forward to next year.  and once i get beach combing finds cleaned up, i'm going to have some great new photography props and jewelry components.

this past weekend was bazaarSPARK, which is part of SPARKcon, a great local event that showcases all kinds of creativity {music, fashion, poetry, dance, craft, etc} in the Triangle area.  at the last moment the bazaar was extended for a second day and it turned out to be a really great show.  this week i'm playing catch up and preparing for Designers Downtown Market on saturday.  i plan to have jewelry as well as handmade supplies and destash there.

 last month i added a new design to the metamorphosis line, custom initial necklaces, which debuted last month at Lazy Daze and finally made it to Etsy shop today.

the big crafty

we had a great time visiting asheville a couple of weeks ago for The Big Crafty. the show was a lot of fun and the city is absolutely amazing, the downtown area is filled with fun boutiques, galleries and specialty stores, you can even buy coffee from a stand built inside of an old double decker bus.. since it was mainly a business trip we didn't get to do a lot of exploring and the rain (which prevented our drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and made the trip home long and nerve wracking) didn't help either. we did manage to eat a couple of delicious dinners and listened to an impromptu performance by a bluegrass band (complete with a washtub bass!) in front of out hotel. the first night we dined outside at The Noodle Shop where we were entertained by a street performer, after the show, we went to Suwana's Thai Orchid where i got the pineapple fried rice, which was so good that i already have eating it again on my itinerary for my next visit.

july 4th

we decided to celebrate the 4th by heading to the fairgrounds to watch the fireworks. at the last moment we decided to watch them from the side of the road a little bit away to avoid fighting for a parking space. we found a great location, set up our chairs by the car and played with sparklers while waiting for the main event. after the show was over, we loaded up the car and took off and were home within 15 min. this is definitely the plan from now on.

this weekend, we are heading up to Asheville for The Big Crafty and i can't wait! if your in the Asheville area make sure to stop by on Sunday from 12-6 at the Asheville Art Museum in Pack Place.

june news

i can't believe june is almost over! this year is really flying by at an alarming speed and summer is in full swing. so far june has been a hot one, and tomorrow it might make it to 100 degrees. yikes! i think 100 is too hot to even go to the pool. our air conditioning has been on the fritz, but the ac guy was back out here today and i'm keeping my fingers crossed that its finally back up and running at 100%.

in other news, i heard back from the fire marshal's office and was able to get my "big" torch set up in the new studio. i'm so excited to break it out again and can't wait to start soldering with her.
i finally finished my wholesale linesheet thanks to Trunkt. if you haven't checked out the new Trunkt, you should. they recently revamped the site to a wholesale focus and are a great online host for linesheets. they have made several big improvements to the site and are in the process of adding even more features. i think its going to make it easier to manage the wholesale side of my business, which i am prone to neglecting. i made a few new designs yesterday, organic two tone hoops in oxidized brass and copper. i plan to debut these this weekend at the Greensprings Summer Arts Jam in greenville, nc. if you are in the greenville area you should stop by, its going to be a fun family event with music and art. i'll be there saturday, june 26, selling my jewelry and making beaded bracelets with the kids from 11 am until...
then next week its nose to the grindstone as i prepare for asheville and The
Big Crafty.

its a crazy, wonderful life

phew, its been a crazy, crazy, non-stop couple of weeks. however, today i have found myself stuck at home, forced to relax and catch up on much needed rest. my car is in the shop for the second time this week so i can't make it to the studio. since its rainy and overcast out, i've decided to spend the day eating popcorn and watching old movies. so far in the que is An Affair to Remember and An American in Paris. any ideas for what i should watch next?


the craziness started late last wednesday afternoon when i got a phone call from Artsplosure. someone had to drop out at the last moment and i had to decide ASAP if i wanted to take the spot with only two days to prepare. i made a call to work and managed to find someone to cover my shifts and spent the next 48 hours frantically trying to get ready. i don't think i've ever made that much jewelry in such a short period of time, and i had the blisters to prove it. somehow i managed to get everything finished and even got a few hours of sleep.


yesterday, we finally made it out to the newly renovated and expanded NC Museum of Art. it was sort of a belated birthday celebration since i was at Artsplosure last weekend and happy to be too busy on saturday to even think about my birthday. the new building is amazing, so bright and open. my favorite part is the Rodin garden which is so peaceful and beautiful and best of all filled with Rodin's. while i hated that the museum has been closed these past few months, it was definitely well worth the wait.

in addition to rushing around like mad, i did a bit of contemplation. the 19th was exactly 3 months from the day i received this in my fortune cookie.
the day i received this was during a very stressful and uncertain time in my life. so much has happened since that day, i've grown so much, and realized that i have so much to be thankful for. i'm glad i taped this little reminder to the calender, so i remembered to stop, look back and reflect.

for now... its back to the old movies.

Durham Art Walk

you can find me this weekend at the Durham Art Walk. this is my first year as a vendor at this show and i'm very excited. the weather is going to be perfect and there are sites spread throughout downtown durham. most are within a 5 min walk of each other.
in addition to around 200 artists there will be food, music and a scavenger hunt. there is also a shuttle that runs from the parking areas to the main sites in the walk. i will be in the Durham Arts Council building on Morris St. the show runs saturday from 10-5 and sunday from 1-5. for map and list of artist locations check the art walk website or this pdf.
hope to see you there!

The Art of Fashion

image © Hathir Pfau of WestenraRising Studios

A big thank you to everyone who came out Monday night to the Art of Fashion. The fashion marketing students from The Art Institute of Raleigh/ Durham put in a lot of hard work and did an excellent job organizing the event. The show was a lot of fun, there was a great turn out, and together we raised over $5,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. There were ten local jewelry designers, working in a variety of styles and using a various materials. Everything from metalwork, to found objects, to vintage textiles. We each had our own booth to display our work and a model to show off our designs (and keep us company.) You can see my lovely model, Danielle, above.
The show was held at Marigold Parlour, which in addition to talented stylists, boasts amazing decor. The salon is right up my alley, a combination of both modern and antique elements. My favorite part is probably the installation of vintage hair dryers hanging from the ceiling.
I also love the ceramic deer head mounted behind the front desk and the fabulously creepy image of the woman with the marigolds protruding from the top of her head.Somehow I managed to fit almost everything on a small table. I saved a lot of space by using these ring trays. I wasn't able to use the large shipping tags that I normally use on the rings but I do like the streamlined look and may stick with it go forward.
Your next chance to catch up with me is April 17 & 18 at the Durham Art Walk. My booth will be located in Adaron Hall in the Durham Arts Council building. For more information on parking, shuttle service, and art walk sites, go here.

tonight

Come out and see me tonight at The Art of Fashion. Presented by the fashion marketing students of the Art Institute of Raleigh/ Durham, the show features 10 local jewelry designers and a silent charity auction. Tickets are $10 in advance/ $15 at the door and go to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. 6-9 pm at Marigold Parlour in Seaboard Station, 10 West Franklin St. Raleigh, NC.

designers downtown market

designer's downtown market is tomorrow. the weather forecast was a little scary yesterday but is looking much better this morning and i am keeping my fingers crossed that the majority of the rain and thunderstorms will decide to stay away.
if you haven't been to this show you should definitely check it out. its a fun outdoor market in downtown raleigh with tons of local designers. i was happy to see that Knockabout will be there with her Peculiar Pets. i bought one of the night owls at Brand Fandango over the holidays and i absolutely love it.
there will also be a popcorn vendor! yum!!! popcorn is my favorite snack food and i foresee a repeat of the time i was next to a funnel cake stand and had funnel cake for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
today, its busy, busy, busy, work, work, work, as i finish some last minute designs for the show and attempt to dig my tent and then rest of my show display stuff out of the storage closet. earlier this week, before the rains came, i managed to get a few photographs of some of the new pieces that will be for sale at the show.