Winter Pins

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I finally got the new Pins uploaded to the Pine Tree Designs website. Having that Halloween pin on the front page was bugging the living crap out of me. I wish I could update my website more than I do. A stagnant website is so amateurish. I envision a big overhaul in January. Not design, just product. Anyway, there they are, $3.50 - $4.00 each.

I am so backed up on orders but today is my best day to get caught up. Yesterday, I went to The Enchanted Rose Garden an hour before they opened and put all my show leftovers in my rental space there. I wish I had a few more Sticky Notes, but overall, I'm happy with the quantity of everything. This weekend is Penfield's big tree-lighting holiday shopping event so I'm glad I was able to get that stuff in there in time.

I spent the rest of the day cleaning up my studio. I know I say this all the time, but it was such a frenzied mess! I think it was actually flavoring the rest of my life - I was feeling a little depressed actually. I didn't want to be in there and it's my favorite room of the house! I recycled a mountain of cardboard from boxes of recent shipments and old storage boxes. I reorganized the closet with some plastic drawers, neatly labeled of course. They hold my various frames, which were getting out of control stacked on the shelf.

This closet organizing paraphernalia was in each closet of the house when we bought it. I started realizing how much space was wasted in my studio because I'm obviously not hanging clothes. My recent plan was to take all this out and fill the closet with adjustable shelves. Then I realized I just needed to go vertical in some of the clothes hanging spots. I'm still not using every inch of space but this is good for now. I may still do the adjustable shelves at some point, when I feel I have the time for a big project.

Back to work, y'all.

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Casa Larga Recap

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Look what I bought yesterday! This pin is made of many layers of fabric stuck together, embellished with sparkle & beads. Some had some quilting on them too but this was perfect for me since I wear a lot of red and a lot of purple.

(Hey Ann - did you see the artist's name above?)

I used to have a strict policy of not buying anything at the craft shows I'm in because I wanted it to be an all money-in experience, not money-out. I even take my lunch so I don't spend money on lunch. But I've decided I also like to support my fellow artists so as long as I don't go nuts, buying something I love is a good thing.

I'm pooped. I've decided after the big show at the Rochester Museum & Science Center in November, which is Friday night, Saturday and Sunday - I'm going to take Monday morning off. I've slotted all the rest of my vacation days (and then some) for the rest of the year so I don't want to take the whole day off but to be able to sleep until I wake up Monday morning would be a very good thing. I think the fatigue is mental as well as physical.

Overall, yesterday's show was a bit slower than last year, by 15%, for me. I attribute that to two things. It was freakin' 80-something degrees yesterday I think - in October? in Rochester? So people were not in the holiday buying spirit yet. I also consider this a warm up to the major holiday shows, one of the first of the season maybe. Vendors mostly had fall/autumn/Halloween stuff, but still I heard very little talk from customers about Christmas, etc. This show is repeated November 1 and that will be more "holiday" related. We always sell more at the November show than the October show.

The other thing is the road the winery is on is being repaved. It's a very hilly road so the areas that are one way are very long. Meaning there's a really long wait but then lots of cars get to go at once, finally. Not conducive to craft shopping, I don't think. That project will be done in a few days so we won't have that problem again.

I don't think this had anything to do with slower sales but the room I was in did not have the air conditioning turned on. We didn't figure this out until 30 minutes before close. We all assumed it was broken or something until one of the vendors went over and checked the thermostat himself - and turned it on. I sat there in a state of one perpetual hot flash all freakin' day. During slow periods, I walked around the other rooms a couple of times, partly to cool off.

Some of the highlights:

Seeing fellow vendors I hadn't seen in months was fun. I feel a real part of the community. I love that.

Some of my regular customers stopped by, always cool.

A man and his wife stopped by - he's a rep for greeting card companies. He was amazed at my work and my prices. He was especially interested in the gift tags, which is a little item I whipped together a couple of days before a spring show. He said stores are always asking him for kid-related gift tags. We talked and brainstormed and it looks like we might be working together. He lives in Fairport too.

One woman told me I don't charge enough for my $4.00 Sticky Notes. I said, "Okay, for you, $6.00." She laughed and said, "Oooh - I meant for other people, not me!"

I was invited (as was every vendor there I think) to participate in a church craft show on December 1. I just received my application for another show on December 1, one that comes highly recommended, but if I don't get into that one, I'll do the church one.

I was also invited to participate in a fundraiser craft show for breast cancer research but it's a day I'm already doing another show. It's actually the weekend where I'm doing one show, Thurs-Sat and another one overlapping Fri-Sun so I really thought it best not to completely overextend myself. I asked her to put me on her mailing list though.

So while I'm a teeny bit disappointed in sales yesterday, the good news is I have good inventory left for future shows. I always prepare like I'm going to sell out of every single thing, which I guess is a good motivator to keep producing.

I'll post a picture soon, when I can find them again, of some pumpkin pins that I made last year. They sold so-so last year but were selling well yesterday. I was glad I had these leftovers available - and I'll definitely make more.

I've bored you enough. Off to my day job soon, where I can get some rest!

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Dragonfly Necklace

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This is the necklace I bought for myself at Artizanns on Sunday. Wish I'd paid attention to the artist's name so I could Google her/him and provide a link. It came on this black cord but I'm probably going to put it on a silver chain I have. This is so me - the colors, the subject, the size, everything!

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