Crafty Bastards was GREAT, of course! i absolutely LOVE the DC and Baltimore (home) crowd- everyone is so kind and curious about my process, inspirations, and story. thank you so much for coming out on an incredibly hot day and supporting us crafty bastards!
after the show, i decided to grant myself a few “mental health” days before charging forward to artscape, buyers market, and pool. i shipped out orders, but mostly stuck to reading, lounging by the pool, running and yoga. i finally returned to the studio this morning and guess what? my internet service decided it needed a mental health day too!
i finally decided on this bike. i’m trading in my crazy heavy, vintage panasonic road bike for a lighter, more comfy city cruiser. i’ve faced the fact- i’m simply not built for road biking around these parts. have you seen the roads in this city? (baltimoreans: please report a pothole near you by clicking here). inspired by my trip to amsterdam, all the avid bikers i know (thank you steve, rachel, jenny, megan) and a commitment to a create a more fit community, i’m hopping on the bike!
i love to treat myself to new books. two of my newest reads:
i enjoyed unaccustomed earth so much that i picked up another book by jhumpa lahiri, interpreter of maladies. can’t wait to crack this one open. have you read either of these? i’d love to hear what you think. i am especially fond of lahiri’s representation of the young adult lives of first generation americans- so honest and relatable.
in other news, i’ve decided to run the baltimore half marathon in october! i’m using this book, marathoning for mortals as my coach. my official training started yesterday and am i EVER sore today. what a great feeling! the last race i ran was a 5k back in 2006, so i know this half marathon will be quite a mental and athletic challenge for me. i’ve found that i have a hard time staying fit/excercising if i do not give myself an end goal. in this case it will be to complete the race!
i also picked up this fun book titled running made easy (to negate the seriousness of “marathoning for mortals”). it is full of fun motivational tips for the running woman.
thank you to everyone who came out to pile of craft yesterday! i especially loved meeting all the blog readers. hello, guys!
thanks also to my amazing charm city craft mafia buddies who work so tirelessly to put on awesome events. there is already something new in the works (non craft fair related), but i’ll leave the details for another time. - stay tuned! after artscape, i will no longer be a member of the charm city craft mafia- i just can’t keep up with them and prep for my first wholesale experience at the same time! i’ll miss you and will always be your biggest fan!
today is all about kicking back and relaxing. i got to sleep in and have a delicious japanese lunch topped off with some iced coffee. yummm. also, i’m in the market for a new bike, so i’ve also spent the day doing some research. here is my dream bike. really, could they possibly make them ANY CUTER? but alas, this is simply not in my budget.
for those readers in the baltimore area, have you seen the beautiful new banners around town? thanks to the urban forest project for giving us these lovely pieces of public art. i smile everytime i spy one that i haven’t seen before.
here is an excerpt from their website:
The project brings together more than 350 LOCAL artists, designers, college students, K-12 students and area businesses to create awareness for making Baltimore more sustainable. Each participant was asked to design a banner based on the sustainability of a tree. The results are remarkable and you can now see them all over the city!
to see the banners live, an exhibition map is available here
at the end of this project, the banners will be recycled into totes ($120). all proceeds will benefit the baltimore city department of recreation and parks tree baltimore campaign.
many things on my mind today. i’m feeling pensive this rainy monday thinking about the future of indie craft shows for jewelers like myself. (did you see 12linden and megan auman’s account of their weekend?).
i won’t get into it right now, as i’m trying to lighten up a little. so onto other things. . . like this:
that’s right- i’m a loyal subscriber of cute overload.
this week, i’ll be holed up in the studio prepping for the upcoming shows with some new strategies- like bringing back the oldies but goodies- the bird necklace, tree necklace, and experimental pieces made from my vintage bead stash!
as always, thanks for listening to me. i always feel happier after blogging
brooklyn renegade craft fair time! i had to cancel at the last moment, but i will surely be thinking about and missing the fair this year. if you are in brooklyn, won’t you swing by and say hi to some of my friends for me?
if you liked the one-a-day challenge and one-a-week challenge, i bet you’ll also like learning to love you more. from the official website:
Learning to Love You More is both a web site and series of non-web presentations comprised of work made by the general public in response to assignments given by artists Miranda July and Harrell Fletcher. Yuri Ono designs and manages the web site. Participants accept an assignment, complete it by following the simple but specific instructions, send in the required report (photograph, text, video, etc), and see their work posted on-line. Like a recipe, meditation practice, or familiar song, the prescriptive nature of these assignments is intended to guide people towards their own experience. Since Learning To Love You More is also an ever-changing series of exhibitions, screenings and radio broadcasts presented all over the world, participant’s documentation is also their submission for possible inclusion in one of these presentations. Past presentations have taken place at venues that include The Whitney Museum in NYC, Rhodes College in Memphis, TN, Aurora Picture Show in Houston, TX, The Seattle Art Museum in Seattle, WA, the Wattis Institute in San Francisco CA, among others. Since LTLYM inception in 2002 over 5000 people have participated in the project
some of my favorite assignments include #55. photograph a significant outfit, #63. make an educational public plaque, #30. take a picture of strangers holding hands
i spent this weekend sweating. temperatures soared to the mid and high nineties and according to the weather channel “felt like” in the 100s. ouch! it was much too hot to come out to the studio to work, so instead i worked on a baby blanket and a few good reads. here’s hoping that it cools down soon!
a baby blanket in a simple basket weave pattern. it will have ruffle edges when i’m all done. i traded jewelry for this yarn on ravelry- how cool is that?!
