Gift Tags

Check it out... I was rummaging around my apartment for things to make cute gift tags with and I dug up an old test print from my color photo class in college, which was nice and stiff photo paper with a white back - perfect for writing on - and also a few pages ripped out of an old Sears & Roebuck catalog reproduction from waaay back in the day, full of old school drawings of anything you could possibly think of. (My favorite are the bikes.) So I cut 'em up and glued 'em together, and this is what I got:

Just goes to show that you really can make awesome creations out of very little. I feel as though there may be more of these in my future...

Corning Pilgrimage #2

So we ventured back down to Corning this past Wednesday and Thursday for some more burn-a-licious molten-glass-slingin' fun. Wednesday didn't go so well, but I was pretty happy with Thursday's haul. (Photos of pieces made will appear here soon!)

It felt very normal and natural to be in the hot shop despite the fact that I haven't truly spent any large amount of time in one since the Alfred days - Blowing glass is so enjoyable! It's satisfying in a way that not many other activities are for me. I appreciate the physicality of it, and even though I can't touch the piece I'm working on with my hands, it's sort of like a puzzle or a brain teaser trying to gauge the best steps to take, reading how the glass is acting, and coaxing it to do what you want it to. And then after all your effort, you end up with something beautiful.

 

And!! I came home to discover that I had made my very first sale on Etsy.com! I've really been meaning to revamp my online shop there, since there are currently three listed items and no banner to speak of. I didn't expect to sell anything until that happened, but I suppose it helps that it is the holiday season. So far it's been a good December. :)

Corning Pilgrimage #1

For the first time in far too long, me and a friend ventured down to Corning, NY yesterday to, get this - BLOW GLASS. Whoa. Crazy, I know...

So much fun! It was especially awesome because I got to see three of my former classmates (glassmates?) from my years at Alfred. We went nonstop for five hours, which seemed to me to be the perfect amount of time, at least for small production pieces which is essentially what we were making this time around.  No photos of the finished products yet, but we will be picking up the things we made next Wednesday, when we go down again for another five-hour timeslot.

This was our first time renting time at the Studio at Corning, and everything went well. They have very nice facilities, and I feel confident that much of whatever rustiness had built up from my long absence from the hot shop has been shaken away by this "back in action" blowslot. So, hopefully some of the multitude of ideas that have been aimlessly swimming around in my head and in my sketchbook (read: tree goblets, asymmetrical terrariums, colorful cups, and mustachioed ornaments...) will come to fruition next Wednesday!

 

  

Shop Local!

Despite the fact that there has been an underwhelming amount of snow so far, it is pretty much that time of the year when people begin to shop in masses rather than small groups, and when it is the most important time for me to make sure I have my products out in the world for people to notice.

So, here is my little tidbit for your valuable holiday shopping information: if you live in the Rochester area and would like to procure one of my pendants they are available for perusing and purchasing at Archimage and, as of this past Monday, at Zak's Avenue (in the photos), at which location there are also a number of earrings for sale. Shop local!!

 

Also - Happy Thanksgiving! A small list of things that I am grateful for:

• pie
• bicycles
• sunshine
• YouTube
• the Great Lakes - both the enormous fresh water source as well as the outstanding brewery
• having a job that I do not dislike
• my family & friends

Christmas Tea & Craft Sale

This past Saturday was the Annual Christmas Tea & Craft Sale at Ogden Baptist Church. I exhibited my pendants & earrings, marking my very first craft show! I did not know exactly what to expect, but I think it went pretty well. I've never been able to convince myself to do one before, either because I didn't think I had enough product to be very successful, because of bad timing, or because I was being a wimp and didn't want to sit in one place for six hours. But! It ended up being totally worth my while.

An added bonus was the free tea, coffee, and delicious homemade hors d'oevres.

I found that the earrings did not sell nearly as well as the pendants, which were the focal point anyway, and much more impressive. I really got it together in the weeks preceding the sale, and cranked out lots of new pieces. While I'm still honing my imploding skills, I'm happy with the progress I've made since I got my little Bobcat torch.

Next year I will have to expand my variety somehow... Maybe wine stoppers, or candle holders, or ornaments? What would be awesome?