Pieces for week 42: Turtles!

I was sitting in the booth last week staring at a piece of copper....wondering...hmmmm ...
and then I heard a little boy yell, "TURTLE!!! Look mom...a turtle..." he had seen one of the sun-catchers that our neighboring vendor sells.

Turtles. What a good idea.

So, I made some...and a key and another leaf...with a dragonfly!

One of the turtles sold the same day I put them out! A woman had just returned from Los Cabos, Mexico and had spent time with the conservationists who are working on saving the sea turtles. She saw my little turtles and ... well... had to have a little reminder!

It's the stories that are told to me that are amazing.
And now that I think of it...interesting timing!

Introducing "Yimmiys" and fun Halloween jewelry!

Introducing "Yimmiys". Yours Is Mine, Mine is Yours! LOVE THEM. Here they are, mother and daughter:

Taylor and Teri Lafferty of "Yimmiys"

What you are seeing in the picture is "garden art". They take old plates and cups and re-purpose them...add a stake and VOILA...pretty art for your garden...they also re-purpose frames - picture, bed, door...and ... TA DA...we are re-doing our booth with their work! I have been wanting to add this kind of look to our shop, but haven't had the time to add the wires and all the other details. But Taylor and Teri do DO this work, and do an excellent job at very affordable prices.

Look!

"Yimmiys" large frame with a strong wire grill. PERFECT for earrings! I got swooshy with the fabric!

The white oval frame is a "Yimmiys"!

The white frame on the left was the first "Yimmiys" we purchased! You can see a larger white grilled frame on the right. For now we are using it as a "prop." Future booth building will have the frame holding our work.

BUSY! And the "Yimmiys" frames look fantastic!

Again, their prices are very approachable. If there are any art/craft vendors out there that would like to add a "Yimmiys" piece or five to their display...here is the info:

Yimmiys
P.O. Box 10614
South Lake Tahoe, CA  96158
yimmiys@hotmail.com

They said I could put their phone numbers on this blog...but right now that doesn't feel right...but you do have their email address! I believe the next time they will be at High Hill Ranch is November 19! I know I'm saving some dollars to get a few more....somethings...don't know what they will have, but I want more!!

They also make the frames with a cork board backing...one very cool frame has the wire and a chalk board ... kinda want that one, but I would need to have a 10x20 booth!!! 

One more share:

Our limited line of "Halloweenies"... Josh made little pendant charms to charm the spirit...

The little family of Halloweenies. Not sure if we have any pumpkins left!

Fierce, yet charming. I think each of these guys needs a name.

"OH NO Mr. Bill"

Boo!

However you think about yourself is who you are! Have the most excellent thoughts about yourself!

Pieces for weeks 40 and 41: heavy panting...

ok, so, we have made lots of new wearable art pieces...
All have sold. No pictures! Well...I did take a few pictures so that I could have a record, but the pics didn't come out as well as I would have liked (so I'm not sharing...).

This is good...to make something and have it sell just as fast...Some things have taken longer to find a new home...this piece just sold today to someone who "got" that...if she loved it, she had to buy it...because it probably wouldn't be there the next time...

Sold today! "The Experiment"... named after what it was...I wasn't sure my plan was going to work!

Josh and I worked on these hearts this week... Only a couple remain!! Josh is working on more as I write this post...

Hearts! (and a beaded thingy and an abstract something)

Ah...and last night my ship(ment) came in with new silver-fill sheet. Although I was really in the mood to be out and about doing non-artist/designer/vendor things...I just couldn't wait to get my hands on this stuff. 22 gauge silver fill...or silver clad...I made a leaf (on auto I think) and then did these cool scratches on the surface. Filed away the edges to created a silver leaf with a "gold" outline.

I made two more silver leaves while sitting in the booth today! No pics though! :( Too busy! :)

Silver clad leaf. Hand fabricated. Light and delicate.

ok - there you go. 71 days until Christmas by the way....next week I hope to post some pics of our "Halloweeny" line! }:-}

On being a vendor...

*Your booth is your store and you are the owner/manager/artist/ruler - so be professional.

*Open early and close late. (Even if you haven't seen a single human since 2pm...YOU NEVER EVER KNOW....)

*Follow every rule that the event has...to the letter. Have questions? Find the organizer.

*No complaining, bellyaching, or backbiting in your booth. AT ALL.

*No complaining, bellyaching, or backbiting in another vendor's booth. AT ALL.

*If you must vent then find a neutral space away from it all.

*If you are visiting with another vendor, be aware when potential customers walk into the space. Back off. The event is about connecting with customers and selling.

*Raise your tables. This isn't the 1960s and we are not hippies.

*Use lighting. Regardless of your product. Light it up.

*Smile.

*Laugh

*Ignore the strange comments that passers-by make. They aren't your customer anyway.

*Do you know who your customer is? Write a profile of your perfect customers. Review this profile when it's slow.

*Keep a mirror handy to make sure spinach isn't stuck in your teeth...or other such debris!

*Stay out of vendor gossip. Some of it can get so far off base it's ridiculous.

*Don't worry about that other jeweler, photographer, fabric artist in the show. You have your unique look and customer and s/he has their own.

*Stop talking about the horrible economy. There are individuals who WANT to spend money on original work. There is plenty of money.

*Make a quality product with a guarantee.

*Customer service is EVERYTHING...

*Smile (worth repeating)

*Laugh (ditto)

*Ditch the "victim/artist" mode.

*Artists are visionaries and innovators. That is a powerful position.

*Offer the world something irresistible.