Think About It Talk About It Make It Happen

Think local - talk local, buy local ~

The odds are you know someone who owns a small business in  your town... bookstore owner, hairdresser, pet groomer, antique dealer, clothing store.... check 'em out. They need your support!

Make Your Art Your Business

Took the day off last Friday to try to grow my brain a little. One of those things that I think is important to do occasionally. It doesn't always work out but, I'm happy to say that this time I hit it out of the park (not my brain)

I attended a day long workshop at Blue Ridge College in Weyers Cave, VA that was co-sponsored by Shenandoah Valley Small Business Development. It was called, Make Your Art Your Business. I had a great day... got too meet tons of local and regional artists, listened to some experts who have been making a living with their art for as much as 30 years and got to share ideas with a roomful of people who are passionate about what they do.

One of the most important things I took away from the day was that too many artists don't take themselves seriously as a business. Being an artist isn't like any other job - there is a lot of emotion attached to what you do, sharing a piece of yourself is serious stuff. It's important to decide whether you're a hobbiest or an artist trying to make a living. Neither one is right or wrong, its a personal choice. But if you're an artist trying to make a living then you better have some decent business sense.

You need to know what a Business Plan is - you should have an Artists Statement - you need to know about marketing, taxes, credit card sales, shows, expenses and the worst part of all..... PRICING YOUR WORK!!!

If you don't know some of this stuff.... be smart, contact your local small business development center (there are over 10,000 offices in the US) and make an appointment!! I'm so glad that I did this. I feel so much more confidant about my work, my goals and myself.

Get smart - its good for you.

Snow? In October?

It was a crazy weekend here in Virginia... we got about 3" of snow here in the Shenandoah Valley - but a lot of places around us got as much as 10"!!!!

What does one do when a freak snowstorm assails you? Here's what I did:

A little practice on my newly learned technique - yup, I made the hooks! I still mostly make them and throw the crooked little bastards away....but that happens less often now! It was so dreary outside I worked with bright, intense, springtime colors - made me happy.

Stuff I Love (this week!)

I'm supposed to be working on a newsletter.... somehow I found myself following the blue links and the next thing I knew.....

I had found this adorable little bag! Yes, it's a book cover - love the look of this. Check out her Etsy site: Rebound Designs

I continue to wander and as usual I have to check out the new listings at Beady Girl Beads. I am so completely in love with the fun, color saturated beads on this site!!

 

And... from one of my favorite artists these fabulous enameled squares. I've used these as toggles, Kristen is great at special orders! Her Etsy site is Bead Swede

A Delightful Fall Weekend

I did everything I was supposed to do - clean, launder, sew, organize, mow...  Then, I did a few things I wanted to do - went to the 150th anniversary re-enactment of the Battle of Cedar Creek and also went to the Virginia Wine and Balloon Festival at Long Branch. Had amazing times at both events, great weather, fun crowds, cool stuff to see and do.

If you've never been to a Civil War re-enactment you should add it to the bucket list. The men and women who participate in these events are amazing. They are experts about the Civil War, they know things you will never learn in a classroom, never see in a classroom and never fully understand from a classroom. The battles are accurately portrayed - the experience is quite overwhelming, it will truly give you a much better understanding of what occurred.

After my little history lesson, I stopped at Long Branch to see the Wine & Balloon Festival. Thousands of other people had the same plan! Dozens of local wineries, some great food, bands and lots of interesting art and craft vendors. My favorite vendor of the day was Finchberry Soapery. A small, woman owned soapery in Fairfax, VA the soaps and lotions were the most unique, delightful, delicious, wonderful concoctions I've ever seen. You should definitely visit her website... www.finchberry.com -- you'll be so happy!

Wandering the Web

So, I'm wasting some time. It didn't start out that way, I intended to do something serious... I just get so easily distracted by the blue words. Seems to have something to do with thinking that if I don't go look, I might miss something better then where I am right now. Or maybe it's just because I have a serious case of, "ADH, oooh sparkly!"
Anyway... while I was wandering I found some really cool stuff that I thought I better share. Not jewelry, but sometimes its ok to look at other stuff... right?

Isn't this amazing? I found this at an Etsy site: http://www.etsy.com/shop/maryjudy --- really fun, really unusual! Go there, you'll smile!

Don't you want one of these?? Well, you can get this one and tons more here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/beadygirlbeads

Then I wandered over to Dust Furniture - I happen to own one of these clocks - but I seriously covet this shelf unit... sigh!, unhappily I don't have the cost of it, but one day.....

Some New Ideas

I've been working on making Mother~Daughter sets -- bracelets mostly, but I did try one necklace set. They are so cute. Now I just have to find some teeny tiny wrists to try them out on! The necklaces use a lot of components that I saw in a Wire Working magazine this month and the beads are from a set of lampworks that I bought from Chestnut Ridge Designs. The wire comes from Parawire.