Thursday, December 29, 2011

2011 Year in Review

Kewish Designs at High Hill Ranch, October 2011


January 2011
Like most artists...January is the Great Black-Out time. Staying quiet and resting is the game plan. Maybe some cleaning and organizing in the studio...nothing is in my calendar for January 2011!

I gave myself a challenge to do a "Piece a Week"...I did fairly well with that until Apple Hill hit! At that point I was making leaves, leaves and more leaves.

February 2011
Still quiet...but a lot was stirring!

March 2011
We were the featured artists at Arareity! Even had a radio ad that mentioned "Kewish Designs." That created  a lot of excitement! It was fun to walk into parties and have people say, "Hey! I heard about you on the radio!" We had a fun evening!

And then...I started running again...one particular day I was having a GREAT run...except I tripped...fell...bounced and slidddddddddddddddddddd. I was at the furthest point out from the house...so...left arm, hands and knees bloody and swelling...I hobbled back the two miles to get back home. And then sat down covered in ice packs. I was unable to do any studio work for the rest of the month.

April 2011
Studio work...to the best of our ability!

May 2011
Fire and Rain Gallery opened up a 2nd store on Sutter Street. We had pieces in both locations!
The end of May (Memorial Day weekend), we began our Tahoe shows...it SNOWED that weekend. Horrible snowy, windy weather. bleh.

June and July 2011 - Tahoe every weekend. The 17-day run from July 1 through the 17th. Not much action for us up in Tahoe. We had to seriously think about that commitment. Frankly, we were losing money and our spirits were really, really down. We did not feel the love. We hung in there. At the last minute we contacted Mendocino's "Art in the Garden" organizer..."we know we are late, but can we still get in?" They were THRILLED to hear from us and were delighted that we wanted to do the show. So...

August 2011
A great kick-off to August by doing the "Art in the Gardens" show at Mendocino's Botanical Gardens! We did well and that helped to boost our spirits. We did one more weekend up at Tahoe and then got ready for...

September - December 2011
High Hill Ranch/Apple Hill!!! What an amazing experience that was! We did very well...almost too well at times. We were working seven days a week at the Ranch, then coming home and doing studio time. Because we make each piece, one at a time...it, well, TAKES TIME! We were so busy in fact...that the calendar on our wall is STILL on September!
Even with all THAT going on - we added a trunk show at Vintners, and a show at Gold Hill Winery!

Our big winners were wire wrap rings, hearts, leaves and the Key to Self. I (Lisa) am sold out of my artsy pieces. I believe that Josh's silver flower pendants have sold...except for one with an opal.

Still available!
We made a conscious choice to not do so many street fairs this past year...it just isn't our scene.
We also made a conscious choice to get into a few more galleries and stores. For now we are in Fire and Rain, PeraDice, Vintner's and Journey. We pulled out of Arareity and The Market Place.

In between everything else we did a few Mid-Town Bazaars and Ladies Night at Vintner's.

Looking forward we are thinking about wholesale...and finding some stores in Berkeley and San Francisco that would carry our work. We will apply for "Art in the Gardens" for August 2012 and we will be at High Hill Ranch next September - December. Right now as I write this, I am aware of an approaching deadline for a show in El Dorado Hills in May that we are pondering... yikes! In March we are going to jury in for the St. John Craft Fair in December. That show is HUGE.

We are also trying to figure out ways to introduce and sell our other creative work...Josh's drawings and paintings and my photography. I still have a few other creative ideas that need to get out of my head!!

It has been a splendid year and we thank you all for being a part of it! I have a feeling that some amazing things are going to happen in 2012...because they have already been set in motion! :)

Have a GREAT New Year and see you in 2012!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Last Show of 2011!

Saturday, December 17. 12pm to 8pm.

Vintner's Cellar Custom Winery
12401 Folsom Blvd
Rancho Cordova, Ca 95742