A Tent-less and Windy Festival

As promised, here's my post on my latest craftshow adventures:

All year… actually I guess it was shortly after the last craftshow of 2011, I decided I wasn't going to do any shows in 2012… and I didn't. I made beads. And really only made jewelry for challenges, gifts, and my own enjoyment. And I continued to make beads. And more beads. You all never stopped buying!

All the application reminder letters just sat on my desk. I figured maybe in a couple years, I'd pick up craftshows again. It really felt great not to have that added stress.

And then September came along and I decided on a whim to count up my jewelry and go to the Mountain Magic festival on October 6th. It's a non-juried festival, but I've always done very well there. Even better than at some of the juried festivals I've been to. The one hard thing about it, is that the weather is very unpredictable in October—some years it's warm and sunny, and other years it's freezing cold and cloudy! But one thing that's a guarantee, is the wind—it's always windy. Last year after almost losing the tent in more than one strong gale and having to take it down just a few hours after setup, I decided to not even bother with it this year.

Another thing I didn't do were table skirts. Yes, exposed table legs are among the ugliest things at a craftshow, but when the wind catches the tableclothes and brings them up over the table, pulling all the nicely arranged jewelry into one tangled heap, they just had to go too.

And so my setup was very, very toned down:

For my table coverings, I used a stretchy fabric and tied knots at each corner and stretched them over each table and tucked the knots under. Fitted tablecloths on a shoestring—easy peasy!

My two "models" are simply wire hangers wearing nice colored tops and scarfs. They really caught a lot of attention and we had to keep resupplying them with new necklaces throughout the day.

Here's another shot of them. I bent the hanger back and hung them over a wooden frame, which was taped down to the table. I taped everything that could possibly be caught by the wind!

The day had started out on the chilly side, but sunny. Later in the day clouds rolled in and threatened to shower us with rain. They thankfully left without dropping more than just a few raindrops! But the wind had picked up and never left. So eventually, all these earring cards had to be taped down.

And my sign caused a near disaster when (yes, I had it weighted at the back) toppled over and hit one of the vases. I turned just in time and caught it before it crashed onto the pavement. I had to put away all the vases by midday—the wind was just too strong and I was afraid they'd blow off the table.

The wind continued to get stronger and stronger. And the sun came back out and ROASTED us! Yep, we forgot the sunscreen… actually I didn't even think of it, since we usually have a tent and being roasted is not a problem. By the end of the day, my mom, two sisters, and I were vivid red.

So, you're probably asking was it worth it? The cold? The wind? The heat? The sunburn? And oh, yeah, the splitting headache? Yes! Of course I'll make improvements for next time. And also by the time next year comes around I'll probably have mostly forgotten about the uncomfortable parts!

I just love getting out and setting up "shop", meeting customers and other artists, and seeing my creations find new homes.

I actually got to bring some of my critters too. Most of the time I have none to bring since you all keep them flying out of the shop! (I'm not complaining! lol) But I squeezed in a few this time and everyone LOVED them. Here's one of the owl necklaces I made (please excuse the photo quality and arrangement!). He was too cute not to share!

And the very best moment of the whole festival—my favorite clay picture got it's forever home! It was one of those sales, where you know the match between customer and your art was just meant to be! I couldn't be happier about it!

"Country Sunrise"

And so, there you have it—my tent-less and very windy festival. Will I do craftshows next year? No idea yet! Ask me in September! ;-)

And another note of interest: I'm now part of the Art Jewelry Elements blog! Today I published my first post. Come on by for a visit and to see what it's all about!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Bead Table Wednesday - Craft Show Prep

Yep, you saw it - or in this case you didn't see it - I missed BTW last week. And I was doing so well keeping up with it, but I guess we all miss a beat occasionally. I had photos all ready and then time just got away from me. I thought about doing a Bead Table Thursday and when that didn't work a Bead Table Friday... Saturday... and so on...

Today the same stuff is on my table (not nicely arranged anymore). It's the last week before Peak Fest and I'm squeezing in a few more pieces. Every time I do a show I always plan to take the final two weeks off and relax.... it never happens.

New earrings for Peak Fest

I love making earrings! I have several new bracelets in the works too, but they'll have to come in another post when there's daylight again.

So how do you deal with the craziness of craft show prep? Do you work madly until the very last minute or are you the sane one with time to kill and you get a full night of sleep with your inventory and displays already packed in the car? I'm trying for sanity. I'll let you know if I ever get there. :-)

Happy Bead Table Wednesday!

Be sure to visit the Flickr group to see what everyone else is up to today!

Last Festival of the Year

Last Saturday at Mountain Magic in Fall was a wonderful success! It was a beautiful sunny day filled with lots of sales. I couldn't have asked for a better ending to my last festival of the year!

My setup was much the same as it was at Lazy Daze. The main difference was in my inventory - for Mountain Magic I brought all my work - jewelry, decor, and pens.

These new pictures were among my other decor (You may remember them from these posts here and here.) I was so excited when the little kitty found a new home...she'll be traveling all the way to France!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by and made my day at Mountain Magic a success! See you all again next October!

Mountain Magic in Fall Festival

This Saturday, October 2nd, I'll be setting up my booth in downtown Buchanan, VA for the annual Mountain Magic in Fall Bluegrass, Antiques, and Crafts Festival. Come on by for a fun day of shopping (it's never too early to start for Christmas!) in the beautiful autumn weather and enjoy bluegrass music performances by seven local and regional bands! See you Saturday!!

Another Lazy Daze Gone By!

Hi everyone! I'm finally back at blogging after a very successful Lazy Daze festival! Here are the events that led up to the show:

Of course there were lots of new jewelry designs! I'll be posting photos of all that shortly. There are so many I can't possibly get them all in this post...you'd be sitting here a very long time waiting for them to load! ;-)

Sign making: Even my sign was handcrafted. Below my "printer" is hard at work. She was very glad that I had Overnight Prints do my business cards! ;-)

Here's the practice setup. We set up everything but the jewelry to make sure it would all go together quickly Saturday morning, then snapped a few photos so our exhausted minds wouldn't have to try to remember it all!

Wrought iron stenciling on the the tablecloths:

I love this kind of work. But getting my hands clean afterward was quite a job!

Here it is! The morning of Lazy Daze! The night before we had set up the tent, the lights, and arranged the tables. This year my booth location was across from the 4 Seasons Stage. My helpers, customers, and I had the pleasure of listening to great music all day. Here I'm putting tacks in the jewelry boards while listening to music by John Williams - what a great way to start the day! No, John Williams wasn't at Lazy Daze! They just played his music while setting up and testing equipment.

And now for the grand tour! It's after 9:00, the lights and fans are on, and the festival is just beginning! Check out Sarah's super sign! As much jewelry as could be squeezed in has been set out. Come on in and see!

At 5:00pm it was all over. Lots of jewelry had gone to new homes, business cards had disappeared as fast as we put them out...and all day there wasn't a single rain cloud in sight!

A very special thanks to everyone (especially my fabulous Aunt Lindsey!) who helped out all the days that led up to and the day of Lazy Daze! You all made this the most perfect Lazy Daze yet!

One Week From Today...

Come visit me at the Lazy Daze Arts & Crafts Festival next Saturday, August 28th! Look for booth number B207 under the big Tree Wings Studio banner.

And here's another peek at what you'll find when you stop by:

And there will be lots more to see on Saturday! See you then!!

Read more about the festival on the Town of Cary site here.

New Pewter Ruby Dragons...and Some Old Ones Finished

More dragons for the festival! Four little pewter guys this time.

And here are a few photos of my first two pewter ruby dragons...made into necklaces. It took so long for me to find the right beads and then to have enough time for photographing that I forgot to post them!

The single dragon necklace:

And the double dragon necklace:

Gunmetal rollo chain, pewter stacked beads, and tiny red rondelles - a bit gothic don't you think? ...I'm sure I'll be doing more of this style. It's surprising how things turn out sometimes, but that's what keeps creating so much fun!

You can find both necklaces now listed in my Etsy shop.

Tree Wings Studio at Lazy Daze 2010!

I've been accepted into the Lazy Daze Arts & Crafts Festival again! This year the jury placed me in jewelry. I'm so excited to be showing my work this August...and doing jewelry is going to be so much fun! Here are just a few of my newest designs in progress:

Mod Poppy Pendants

I formed the bases of these pendants in my pewter mix and then added the funny little poppies for a contemporary yet rustic look.

Winged Heart Pendants

The result of a day of doodling winged hearts...before long I had a whole paper covered in them in lots of different poses. I really like how the new double and flying (side view) hearts turned out.

Winged Heart Birds

When creating so many new winged heart pendants, making them into birds just kind of happened!

Fire Agate Dragons

Of course my jewelry display at Lazy Daze just wouldn't be complete without these little dragons! I'll be making lots of them!

...And this is just the beginning! I have so many other ideas lying unfinished or waiting to be created!