Finally I can share with you a project that I’ve been secretly working on for a few months!  This past Saturday was a small craft fair I organized, called the Hidden Holiday Market.  I was so inspired by Chelsea & Abby in their creation of the Little Winter Market from last year, that I wanted to create a small fair of my own.  I know so many talented and creative people and I knew collectively we could put together something really wonderful.  I decided to host the event at my home, making it a warm, inviting, and casual holiday shopping experience.  However, since I didn’t want complete strangers showing up or knowing where I live, we made the event by invitation-only for family and friends… which is why I’ve kept it secret until now.

In total, 9 different artists and craftspeople came together to showcase their wares and their talent.  We had hot cocoa & cookies, a fire in the fireplace, and holiday music to get visitors in the mood.  After a bit of a slow start, we suddenly had the house full of people and it was absolutely buzzing with activity!  From what I heard/observed, people really liked that it was held at a home and felt like they could linger and meander more so than at a craft fair, and thus were really able to relax and talk with the artists about their work.

I had such a great time and I’m very much hoping to have this event happen again next year.  My dream and goal for 2012 is to be able to afford my own studio space, and if I’m able to do that (and it’s large enough), I’d love to host this event there and have it completely open to the public.  Although, there is something nice about having a cup of hot cocoa by a toasty fireplace…

Thank you again to all the artists who showed their work and who helped make this event go off without a hitch!
Allison Bianco
Leo Bonarrigo & Leah Mooney from Bonarrigo Weddings
Jeffrey Ellse
Calla Fogarty
Meagan Gilner from The Brocade Blackbird (and who also represented Shortstack Accessories)
Lara Henderson
Laura Warecki from Paper Taxi

*Photos and a video (I do believe!) of the event from Bonarrigo Weddings to come soon!

{for more images of my fairs & events, check out my Flickr}

Working to finish up details for an secret invitation-only event for tomorrow…  I’m really excited about it and can’t wait to share details about how it went with you all next week.

Hope you all have a great first weekend of December!
- Colleen

{image shown via my iPhone; lots of boxed holiday cards for sale}

This weekend was a good mix of work and play.  I didn’t get as much work accomplished as I would’ve liked, but I certainly enjoyed myself (and isn’t that the point of life anyway?).  Started the weekend by visiting a friend in her hometown of Marblehead (the land of Katy Elliot!) and she showed me all the best places in town.  It was a perfect New England coastal weather: cloudy and cool.  Marblehead is so charming with the world’s most amazing houses and yards, I wish I could’ve stayed the whole weekend… but will be back.

Then we had SoWa on Sunday.  The weather was a bit more summery than fallish, but no rain to be had.  There were the nicest, friendliest people shopping as well as showing; I swear that each SoWa we do is getting better and better as we wind down to our last two (*which are October 9th & 16th).  Also ate the best food during the day from the food trucks, including a chickpea fritter sandwich from Clover that I am still dreaming about.  Such a nice weekend.

PS:  Yes, I do love Hipstamatic and I’m not ashamed to say it.

This weekend’s Hyde Park Open Studios was a nice diversion from all of the fairs I’ve been doing lately.  First and most importantly, I didn’t have to drag my tent along with me (or the tent leg weights, which are 50 lbs each, I’ll have you know)… hooray!  I did however, miss my comrade that I usually show with but I think it was good for me to do an event completely on my own.  The space was really cool, a huge warehouse; I showed in a tremendously long, tall, and green hallway.  My friend Calla showed her work in the print shop where she works out of (EES Arts) and it had such great windows with tons of natural light.

The open studios was a great mix of friendly artists, printers, and crafters, and honestly the people that came through the space couldn’t be nicer.  Even if people weren’t buying anything, so many people gave me lovely compliments and positive feedback on my work.  I mentally told myself to listen them and store the quotes somewhere in my brain, so that I can retrieve them on days when I’m feeling down about my work or that I haven’t “made it” yet.  Such a great Sunday sharing what I do with lots of wonderful people.

{for more of my fairs and events photos, check out my Flickr}

Hip hip hooray!  This past Sunday’s SoWa Open Market was definitely not rainy and the sun shone on us all day.  It was muggy, hot and humid, but still no rain so we couldn’t complain.  There was so much foot traffic and I really got to see SoWa in action.  There were over 90 vendors exhibiting so the crowds came out; at times I didn’t know where to stand in my own booth!  It was great meeting people and hearing the nicest feedback on my work.  All in all, a positive day that boosted our spirits from our previous SoWa dates.

And, if you missed us this past weekend, don’t fret!  The Brocade Blackbird and I will be back at SoWa Open Market on September 25th, October 9th and 16th.  Hope to see you at one of our fall dates!

{for more of my fairs & events photos, check out my Flickr}

Please keep your fingers (and toes) crossed for sunshine for this Sunday’s SoWa Open Market in the South End of Boston, where The Brocade Blackbird and I will be showing.  Our first SoWa was a literal wash-out with down pouring rain and winds all day long (not a good place to sell paper; unfortunately some of our product packaging was damaged, but we got through the day with the amazing food trucks!).  Our second SoWa event was canceled due to Ms. Hurricane Irene, and with this Sunday being our 3rd SoWa Sunday… there is rain in the forecast.  Ugh, mother nature you have got to be kidding me!  But thankfully, today’s forecast says it’s only a 30% chance of showers and it should only be before 9 am.  That means that the event should still be a great place to visit to check out some amazing handmade gifts and items, and of course try out all the food trucks.  If you’re in the Boston area, I really do hope to see you there!

SoWa Open Market
460 Harrison Avenue
South End, Boston
10 am – 4 pm

{image shown via my iPhone, deciding which food truck to visit during break in the rain}

I’m very excited to announce that The Brocade Blackbird and I will be sharing a booth at the SoWa Open Market at 460 Harrison Avenue in Boston!  Dates of our attendance are August 7th & 28th, September 4th & 25th, and October 9th.  If you’re in the New England area, please do drop by to say hello on one of those dates… we’d love to meet you!

{image shown via SoWa Open Market}

Hello everyone!  I have officially accomplished being in my first fair!  I am really exhausted but feel good about how everything turned out.  I won’t get into telling you how much sleep I’ve been getting in the last month (or the last two days, no sleep), but I will tell you that I slept for 14.5 hours straight last night and I could definitely go back to bed for more.  I only had a month to prepare for the show, and that included doing all the design work, all printing, designing the packaging, figuring out the layout of the table, and getting all my ducks in a row.  I probably should’ve had about 3 months to do it all, but I am glad to now be at the finish line, that it’s all over and I have so much product to physically show for it.  The night before the show I had my family and incredible friends stay up late to help me.  I had product everywhere, all over the dining room and kitchen, and it was emotional at one point to A) see everything all together, to see all that I’ve been working on and haven’t realized how much I had done in a sort amount of time and B) to know that all of these people believe in you, want you to succeed, and are willing to spend a Saturday night folding cards and packaging things (which is tedious and not exciting) just because they love you and want to help.  I never would’ve been able to wrap up everything had it not been for Jeff, my parents, my sister, and friends Leah & Leo.

The day of the show was a little frantic, having to pick up rental tables and rush back to pack the car and get to the fair location on time.  But once we got there I felt a bit better, or rather nervous/excited for it to begin.  The weather was perfect, sunny and in the high 70′s, except for the wind; we learned the hard way that you HAVE to weigh down your tent poles.  From my view it looked like we were the only tent that didn’t.  Someone told me this ahead of time and I didn’t take it to heart and ended up needing to physically hold the tent pretty much all day long to prevent it from blowing away.  I also was really heartbroken that I couldn’t hang my white drop wall which would’ve acted as my backdrop for my table, to which I was going to hang the most perfect colored assortment of crepe paper garlands against.  Seriously, I got really excited for weeks about these garlands and almost cried when I realized it couldn’t happen.  When we did hang the drop wall, the tent turned into a sailboat and it actually moved the tent several inches.  So plans were changed at the last minute and things were learned for the next fair.

We had a good crowd of people turn out, mostly in the middle part of the fair, and customers were really great and I got good feedback on my work.  It’s always nice to know the things you’ve been working on quietly and ideas you had for products are well received and people really liked them.  A few of my items I designed just because I like the subject matter, but wasn’t sure how well it would sell, and was surprised at how many other people liked the illustrations and subject matter as well.

All in all, it was a great day and I loved sharing my booth with my friend Meagan (of The Brocade Blackbird).  Being able to do my first fair with a friend (instead of alone) was perfect and we both had a good time.  We already started talking about when we can do another fair together, and thankfully this time around I’ll know what to expect!

I have to say a quick shout-out and the biggest thank you I can possibly shout from the mountain tops specifically to: Jeff, Mom, Dad, Cathy, Meagan, Leah, Leo, Margaret, Colleen, Morgan, Brian, Jacques, everyone at AS220 Printshop.  Each of you guys really helped me beyond words can say, and without you giving your time out of your day (or night) just to help me, I never would’ve made it to the fair.  I am blessed to know such wonderful friends and have the best family ever.  And a huge thank you to everyone who gave me feedback, a pat on the back, lifted my spirits and cheered me on… you guys kept me focused and helped me through all everything.

*Lastly, as appreciation for all of you loyal blog readers, please use coupon code “NEWSHOP15″ this Wednesday, June 22nd, when my online paper goods shop opens!  The code will be good through the following Wednesday, June 29th.  Thank you again for your patience while I finish setting up my online shop!

{for more images of my Union Made fair, please check out my Flickr}

I have some good news and some bad news.  The bad news first: my online shop will not be opening as planned this Monday, June 20th.  The good news, however, is that it will be opening on Wednesday, June 22nd!  I also have a little treat for you all as a thank you for your patience while I get all the details wrapped up… check back in on Monday for the details!

This past week has been quite the whirlwind and I’ve had a lot of things thrown in my way while finishing my printing, including the press breaking down on me twice and a few miscalculations from my paper ordering.  Thankfully I’ve been able to figure out ways around it, but more importantly have had the nicest friends helping me along: giving me advice and feedback, fixing the press (including making a replacement part – !! ) and talking me down from majorly freaking-out due to extreme stress, lack of sleep, and low blood sugar.  Best of all are all the “you can do it!” comments from family and best buds.  I feel very blessed, even if I am overwhelmed.

Besides news on my online shop, I wanted to invite all of you in the New England area to my fair this weekend, Union Made, in Somerville, Massachusetts.  I think we’re having a lovely, sunny weekend so it should be a fun time for all.  If you can’t be there, I promise to share lots of photos with you next week!

Have a wonderful Father’s Day to all of you celebrating!
-Colleen

Here’s half of a letterpress occasions note card set I’ve been working on for Union Made and my shop.  Years ago when I was still learning about letterpress, this was the first product I wanted to create: a set of different occasion cards packaged in one box.  Life is so busy that sometimes you’ll forget to pick up a card for someone and hopefully by having this set around, you’ll never be out of luck.

Stay tuned for a few more sneak peeks!

*Today I was featured on Bazaar Bizarre Boston’s blog for the upcoming Union Made Fair!  Thank you BBB for the post!