First Craft Show of the Season!

Well, I didn't get to break out my brand new table on Thursday night (my sweet husband bought one for me and now I have my very own folding craft show table ♥) but I did get to break out my new & improved display!  What do you think?  Pretty professional, eh? At this event the tables and chairs were not only provided for us, but the tables already came with covers on them which saved everyone a huge hassle with set ups and break downs.

It should have been an amazing event except for two unforeseeable hurdles: A) it was pouring rain all night so barely anybody came out for it & B) the room we were in was GORGEOUS and well-lit by day due to the floor-to-ceiling windows surrounding it, but the lighting was designed to create atmosphere, not for the purpose of actually illuminating anything.  As this was an evening craft show, it was all but pitch black as soon as the sun went down.  D'oh!!!  Nonetheless, despite the darkness and quiet, I still managed to make back my table fee plus make a little extra change for my troubles, so I must be doing something right!

In the end, along with some change in my pocket, I got loads of really sweet compliments on my designs (can't get enough of those!) a new list of signatures for my mailing list and some potential new biz connections to boot!  So it was definitely worth the effort.

In other news, I'm still waiting to hear the final results re: Hearts.com and Thistle & Clover, but I promise to keep you posted!

♥

Johanna

photo credits, clockwise from top left: 1) me and my new display at the show (as photographed by Yvonne Raley of Cecile Raley Designs) 2) Yvonne Raley and Joanne Simmons of The Silver Sculptor 3) the newly un-veiled vintage dog intaglio collection 4) more of same collection 5) more of my new display! 6) not shown: my other Jersey City Craft Mafia buddy, Kate Stillings of Katrinbird Design, that I forgot to get a picture of :(

Pretty Pretty Peggy Moffit

Peggy Moffitt: The Total Look on Nowness.com.


After all of these years, she's still every bit as stunning; a true style icon.

Exciting Week...!

So I mustered up the nerve to try Thistle & Clover's "Open Call" for designers again this past Tuesday.  And the very lovely shop owners gave me another shot.  Rand, one of the co-founders, met with me and gave me extremely helpful feedback about current trends in their shop and loads of encouragement.  I showed her my article from CrossStitcher magazine which she seemed very excited about and she asked me lots of great questions about my newer designs.  She seemed most excited about the progress of my embroidered line of jewelry and how much more polished and flushed out the line looked from the last time she saw it.  I'm sure that the competition will be stiff and who knows what my chance of getting into the shop will be, but it was such a great experience for me and I'm so proud of myself for doing it.  It's inspired me to contact more shops this week and see if I can get myself some more appointments...  

Things seem to be going well at Hearts.com, too.  I believe they are photographing my pieces now in preparation for launch!  I can't wait to show you the pieces I've developed for them!  But until launch, it's TOP SECRET <3


Be sure to check out my newly updated Upcoming Shows page!  My next appearance will be this Thursday in Hoboken at the W for Not Yo Mama's Trunk Show!  

♥
Johanna

photo above courtesy of www.dace.ca

ch-ch-ch-Changes...

Well, this summer marks the third spring in a row that I am without a regular day job.  Truth-be-told, it's not the worst thing ever.  I've been interviewing, so who knows what will happen.  And in the meantime, I'm taking Dexter for lots of walkies and making lots of jewelry.  Speaking of which, the most exciting news for this upcoming week is my appointment with Thistle and Clover.  If you remember from last summer, they gave me really positive feedback, but I just didn't have quite enough to show them at that time.  I'm hoping things will go better this time around!  I have a lot more embroidered patterns and my silversmithing skills have improved like ten-fold!  I'm just now finishing up a mini-collection to show them using vintage crystal dog intaglios set in sterling silver and also my new line of mixed metal designs!  Wish me luck!!!

I'm also working on a wholesale order with Hearts.com.  I have to wait until their official launch to show you what the designs look like, but lets just say I'm pretty excited.  In the meantime, you should definitely check out their gorgeous website.  They specialize in eco-friendly and fair trade fashion and accessories.  So cool, right?  And so me!!!  My pieces will be made with eco-friendly fabrics as well as recycled sterling silver -- and I can't wait to show them to you!!!  But I have to wait.  Pthbbb.

<3

Johanna