The Show Circuit

It won't be long now before the 2007 Show season will be over .... whew! I'm not even out there every single weekend like many of my artisan friends, but I'm still tired! And longing for January when I can dive back into some new designs, play around with some cool new PMC tools I've been collecting and try out some of the tutorials and lessons I've purchased over the last year (as a reward here and there when I did well at a show!)

The photo above was taken in early November at Jefferson Community College in Watertown. It was one of the last times I used the black velvet table covers. It's a nice look; but I had originally purchased several different sizes of velvet to fit over a variety of display cases at the show that followed this one - and they weren't meant to be long term (though I've been using them now for two years). They're wide open in the back, which leaves all my boxes, tubs, bags, lunch and stuff visible whenever my booth doesn't have a good backing ... like another vendor's stuff or the back panel of a pop up canopy.


This was taken at the next show, the Jefferson County Historical Society, also in Watertown. I was the featured artist here in 2005 and have tried it a couple more times with good results - thanks to several great fans from the area! These are three women from my Artisans Guild - all four of us were at the JCHS Holiday Victorian Faire on the 9th and 10th. From left to right, Carrie Sweredoski , who makes awesome handmade soaps, lotions and potions using real essential oils - no fake 'r phony scents here. She and her husband are off to California Dec 15 and won't be back til Spring. Color me green; Moi, in the navy jacket; Mary Ellen Tyner in front of whose decoupage plate booth we are standing. She's an FIT graduate and can actually make a wedding gown from scratch - this skill amazes me - AND while a student there, she's the one who designed the famous Isotoner glove!! No recognition for that whatsoever .. life is most definitely not fair; Susan Lyth makes beeswax candles .. the kind of candle EVERYone should be burning in their homes instead of those high-pollutin' wax and so called "soy" (not 100% soy, but soy and paraffin blends that are sold as soy candles) .. or those especially nasty, artificially scented things you find in the grocery stores and gift shops .. yes, ladies, I include Yankee Candles in this category.

It was fun being all together at the same show .. that doesn't happen very often. Though several of our group will be at Lisa Nortz's Open House at the Fire Hall in Croghan on the 24th - if you happen to be in the area, stop in! Lisa does silver jewelry, Marcia Walligory makes gorgeous baskets (including sturdy pack baskets), Lis Barsuglia-Madsen is a weaver and makes all those warm winter things you like to have this time of year, as well as very cool woven handbags, table runners, placemats, etc., Susan will be there with her candles, I think Sharon Stewart will have her herbal blends, teas and animal treats, and Lisa's husband will be displaying his wooden lazy susans and cutting boards. Worth stopping in if you're the type who likes handcrafted things. We're a pretty cool bunch, even if I do say so myself.














These shots are from a show on the 18th at North Country Community College in Saranac Lake. It was the first time I used my new table covers!! A very good friend of mine made them for me from material I found on sale at JoAnn's in a color that matches the blue on my business cards and stationery (I can do buttons and hems, that's the extent of my sewing ability) . . and I had a graphic art company in Watertown put the logo on the front of one of them. It was supposed to be only six inches from the top .. I'm not sure what happened, but it still beats hauling that little wooden sign around with me, and I love the way it turned out regardless! Oh, and the covers all have back flaps that velcro shut .. so I've got a ton of privacy for all my show "stuff" now! I just love progress!