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}

Wanted to share with anyone visiting or living near the Portsmouth, NH downtown area (which is fantastically cute with a plethora of shops and restaurants) that my letterpress paper goods are now being carried by Gus & Ruby Letterpress!  A little “big” step for me, and I am so pleased to work with Samantha & Whitney.  Stop in if you can; they have such a wonderful store and if I lived closer, I’d be in there once a month… or week.  Seriously, it’s gorgeous in there.

*If you’re interested in carrying my products at your retail location or website, please contact me for my wholesale information.

{image shown is via my iPhone, when I visited Gus & Ruby in August}

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}

This Sunday I’ll be participating in Hyde Park Open Studios at 65 Sprague Street in Hyde Park, MA from 11 am to 5 pm.  Many thanks to my dear friend, Calla, for the invite!  If you’re in the Boston area and looking for something to do this autumn weekend, please stop by and check out some amazing prints from talented artists!

{image shown belongs to Rob Villegas}

This past week I participated in a print exchange for the 4th anniversary of the AS220 Print Shop (where I print).  Being my first print exchange, I was slightly nervous to create a piece of art; however, I really enjoyed being able to work on something that was purely for myself and my “artistic endeavors.”  I was so inspired from my August trip to Acadia, and kept looking through my photographs of lichen, moss, and forest floor close-ups.  I decided to take a quote from William Wordsworth’s “Nutting” and work with my photographs as reference to create a two color silk screen and three color letterpress print.

Of course, I forgot to take photos during the exchange party (I apologize) but it was really neat to finally see all the work that everyone has been working on (etchings, silk screens, letterpress, woodblock, and I think a few others).  Besides enjoying hanging with my printer friends at the party, the best part is that now I have 19 new pieces of art to be able to hang on my walls.  Looking forward to doing another print exchange!

Kudos to Allison for organizing everything and working so hard to pull this together!

{for more of my letterpress work, 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}

Someday I hope to have a studio space as open, airy, and beautiful as Geninne.  Right now I share a cramped space with my husband, so looking at these photos makes me very dreamy and hopeful for a space sometime soon.

{images shown belong to Geninne}

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}