Holiday Energy

Morning energy is wonderful and rare! I came up with 30 new penguin designs on paper. We'll see how many come into being! I am drawing inspiration from pop culture and literature. I would like to create a line of zodiac penguins and a line based on Broadway. I have little interest in astrology, but I will always be a Broadway Baby in my heart!

"Come and meet those dancing feet, on the avenue I'm taking you to 42nd street!"

Keep Crafty!

One Hundred Thirty Eight Day to Go!

Okie Dokie, Friends!!

The spring season starts at Moss Street Market on May 1. Sure, that is a load of time! I'll work on some new pieces and post them here and on my Facebook page. I'll use feedback to determine what I sell.

Keep Crafty!

New Pieces

I have been working on a cat and elephant line of ornaments for the next year. Although Dickens' was my last show for 2009, I plan to enter as many shows as possible starting this Spring. Until then, I will work on my Etsy store and will be pursuing other venues to show and sell my work.

I will endeavor to keep this blog up weekly with my Schnik goings ons.

Keep looking for updates!

Dickens Fair!

A great day at the Dickens' Fair. I was again seated next to my new friend, Harvey, and his beautiful woodwork. I got there with only a few minutes to spare this morning but was able to set up in time for the show to start at ten am.

As the show went on I tweaked my display, using the risers that Harvey gave me to bring the penguins up closer to eye level.

My first visitors were my father-in-law and his wife. Then my mother-in-law's husband showed up for a visit. Then I got another visitor, my sister-in-law and her step daughter, pictured. While the girls were visiting my mother-in-law showed up. Can you keep track? Funny enough, both my mother-in-law and father-in-law won door prizes!

While I was at the fair I met a woman from Friday Harbour. Turns out she knows the woman who was my childhood babysitter in Illinois! Small world!

There were tons of great crafts to be seen. Sadly, I did not get to see any of them. That's the problem with being a vendor at a craft show, not seeing the other products! I was able to get away for only a moment to purchase some Scottish shortbread and a loaf of bread braided with cheese and garlic!

Been a long day and Irwin has decided to snuggle. Enjoy the pictures!

Dickens Fair Tomorrow!

Today I have been busy making more penguin buddies. I took a quick trip downtown to get some more supplies. I don't think I'll be using it all, so I'll just return the unused supplies. I'd rather have them on hand and return them later than to be freaked out to not have them at all!





Yesterday, at the Camosun Show, I met an awesome fellow crafter. His name is Harvey Brooks and he makes wood vessels. They are beautiful! He and I were seated next to each other. We chatted each other up, talking about what we do, where we're from, all the usual small talk that make the lulls bearable! He and I will be next to each other again at the Dickens' Fair tomorrow!


Anyhoo, Harvey is such a nice person! He had just bought a lot of display pieces for his work. He couldn't use some of it and he gave it to me. Just gave it to me! How nice was that? I will find out if he has a website and post a link to it. His gift will really help me out! Having multiple levels for a display looks more professional and put-together. Also, it will bring my tiny penguins to eye level!



Thank you, Harvey!


Now, I have to get back to work! Here are a few pictures from the show. Yes, that is a real live cat you see! He was walking around on a leash, happy as could be! My cats are on notice!

Camosun Show: The Recovery

Today was an awesome day. I am too too tired to write about it now, but I can't wait to share my experiences with you about the people I met and the time I had.

Once I got home I passed out on the stuffed chair with a cat in my arms. Bliss!

More tomorrow!

Energy Now?

Of course I have energy now! It is late and I have to get up early tomorrow morning! After much finagling, I figured that I could not transport my display on public transportation. The solution? Show up the the show super early and have my loving husband drive me there!


What a guy!


I took some photos of my pieces tonight. The first photo is a group shot, I will follow up with some close-ups of the individuals. I have named many of them. I will post their names in a later entry. I've got to get up early!


Enjoy!

Camosun Show Location and Information

Lower Level, Young Building
Camosun College, Lansdowne Campus
3100 Foul Bay Road, Victoria, BC
Fair Hours:10:00am to 5:00pm

The craft fair will take place in our gymnasium which is located on the lowerlevel of the Young Building (#17 on the campus map). You are welcome to park in lot P1 – or any of the other lots on our campus – during the fair. Proceeds from our raffle ticket sales form a large part of the donation we will be givingto our Student Society Food Bank.



The students from one of our programs will be selling hot apple cider during the fair but the Campus Cafe – located in the Fisher Building (#8 on campus map) – will be open early for those wanting (or needing!) coffee,tea or other refreshments. This year we are happy to have a couple of our employees joining us to provide musical entertainment in sets throughout the day.

Here be Dragons!

Along with penguins, I also love to sculpt fantasy dragons. Again, they are on the small scale and are meant to be worn as pendants or small ornaments.

I am experimenting with photo techniques. This one is new for now! It is a photo of a small dragon that I made over the weekend while watching the Grey Cup. I have an abundance of these small pearls and am trying to use as many as I can! They add value to the piece while decluttering my supplies! Win!

Old Tools with New Uses?

Sweet! I think I may have figured out a new, better way to make the tutus for my little Lulu Penguins! Will my scalloped scrap-book scissors do what I think they'll do? And, if they do, think of how many different, cheap scissor patterns there are! Updates to come.




For now, while taking a Golgi mandated break, I am uploading pictures. Updates to come.





A ruffled edge for the skirts!

Camosun Show

My show at Camosun is this Thursday, 12/3/09. Today is the last day of production for that show. While the pieces bake in less than 20 minutes, the varnish that I am using takes about 24 hours to get to the cured, non-sticky state.

What are the things I am most nervous about for the show? I worry that there will be someone with pieces very similar to mine in either theme or medium.

Since this is a Thursday show I think my fellow vendors will be of the knitting and card making variety, but I could be wrong! Beaded jewelry is popular as are knit hats. While I enjoy making beaded jewelery for myself, I'm not gung-ho for it on a larger scale. Knitting? Right! Bless those hands who can! I crocheted a bit when I was a teenager, but my squares always ended up as trapezoids! Knitting is beyond my current skill level. My mom tried to teach me, but she is left handed, I am not, which makes for a very incompatible teacher/student relationship!

I am nervous about customer traffic and my pricing strategies. I am nervous that my table, in its infancy stage, will underwhelm and detract from the pieces. I am nervous about what to wear! I am selling myself along with my pieces! I am selling the idea that you should buy these pieces, and you should buy them from me!

I notice that most craft/art vendors are dressed casually in jeans, shirts and sweaters. That makes sense for all the outdoor shows I've been attending, sure, but I think being too casual makes it look more like a yard sale than an art/craft show.

What to wear to the show... as I've mentioned on my Facebook page and will again here, one of my beacons that I look to would be the fantastic Princess Lasertron. She is so cute! I love her work and her blog equally! She posted some pictures of her shows on her blog. Her style is similar to mine. I am considering dressing up like she does for my shows. The Dickens' Fair will be so huge that I won't seem out of place, but for the Camosun show I think I could come off oddly. Then again, whatever gets table traffic can't be too odd!

The last thing that I am nervous about is one anyone can understand! I'm nervous about getting hungry! There will be no one to babysit my table while I run off for a cup of tea or grab a candy bar from the vending machine! No one to bring me a slice of pizza from the college cafeteria! How will I cope? Tomorrow I will hit the market in search of deli food, snacks and drinks. I'm not a good salesperson when I'm hungry!

Ok, off to penguin production!