Mark Poulin Sightings!

Today while exhibiting at the Ann Arbor Sunday Artisans Market, a young woman walked up to my booth wearing a necklace made by one of my favorite jewelry artists - San Francisco artist Mark Poulin! She purchased this amazing piece at 16 Hands Gallery in Ann Arbor. I am always so pleased when I see Mark's jewelry!

I met Mark a few years ago when I was exhibiting at the Buyers Market of American Craft. I was immediately drawn to Mark's jewelry because it is so clean, colorful, and youthful. His enameled pieces are amazing and depict drawings of lovable cartoon animals (which he calls "jewelry stars"), botanical drawings, and other graphics layered on colorful backgrounds. Aside from the appeal of the designs themselves, knowing a little about the process of enameling I am in absolute amazement that Mark can achieve this level of detail in his work. I have one of Mark's enameled necklaces similar to the reversible necklace on the immediate right and I wear it constantly.

Last month, when exhibiting at the Shadow Art Fair in Ypsilanti, a shopper came to my booth wearing a pair of Mark's earrings that she purchased from the Hudson Gallery in Sylvania, Ohio.

Mark also makes sterling silver cast pendants and earrings of his jewelry characters and they are so stunning. The silver absolutely gleams...I have several of his cast pendants and I love sporting these characters. My favorite is Orbit Girl (shown on the right).

Mark's jewelry can be found in galleries and museum stores around the United States and on Etsy.

Another Day at the Ann Arbor Sunday Artisans Market - More Display Experiments

I had another great Sunday at the Ann Arbor Artisans Market. I am preparing for many cold and windy Sundays at the Market so I brushed the dust off an old display (the shelf unit with hanging necklaces) that I made and used many years ago. I thought it would be perfect for the market because it is clamped to my table, making it very windproof! So I painted it white and gave it a try today. The only drawback is that I found it to be very much in the way when I tried to interact with customers. But I can display a lot of necklaces and earrings and they catch the light very well. Here's how it looked. And here are close ups of the rest of my displays. The box lined with green with the leaf necklaces in earrings (above, right) is also an old display that I painted to match the rest of my displays. It is an old shadow/display box with a glass lid (removed in this photo because the weather was calm) that will protect the jewelry from wind and rain. The display (left) is a tray for printing press letters. I made some of the compartments larger, lined them with paper and vinyl circles to highlight the jewelry. It works well and it's easy to set up beforehand and transport to shows.

If you are in the area, come and see me at the Market. Check my website to make sure I will be there!

Ann Arbor Sunday Artisans Market

Yesterday I exhibited at the Sunday Artisans Market in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Here is how my booth looked at the market. Now that my shows are over for the month and I only have one scheduled in September I'm planning on being at the Market every Sunday that I can. If you are wondering when I will be there next or when my next show will be, please check my show schedule on my website.

I had a wonderful time yesterday. Sales were great and I met some very talented and friendly artists. The morning was busy and I sold my first three pieces before I finished setting up. There was added excitement that morning because the walkers from the Breast Cancer 3-Day were coming into town and cheering as they passed by.

I met another jewelry artist, Marta England (shown on the right), whose work I admire! Check out her Etsy store. She is also a regular exhibitor at the market.

My 11 year old son has been helping me at shows and I was pleased that he came with me to the market. His job is to watch my stuff while I unload and man the booth while I take bathroom breaks, get food, etc. After I was all set up, he mentioned being hungry. I gave him a ten dollar bill and sent him into the bakery to get something for breakfast. He came back carrying two ice cream cones and a bag of what turned out to be a box of cones and the remainder of a pint of ice cream. I guess the bakery owners were kind enough to help him scoop the ice cream into cones. I was not entirely pleased at his breakfast choices, but I guess I need to be more specific about what he is allowed to buy. I think my son had a really nice time. He enjoyed meeting the other vendors. One woman spent a few hours with him making origami. He wants to come back with me next week!

New Cufflinks

I am now making cufflinks with a more attractive and elegant backing. This cufflink is easy to put into place and stays put. It also looks very nice and polished on the underside.

I have been enjoying making cufflinks for a few years now. In fact, I met my husband (who was a customer at the Shadow Art Fair a few years ago) by trying to sell him a pair of cufflinks! He bought a necklace for his niece instead, but now happily wears my cufflinks and his own men's necklace (see an earlier blog post - showing a customer wearing a necklace like my husband's).

Men enjoy my jewelry and glasswork because it's colorful, yet clean in design. I mix vibrant colors with more subdued shades of gray to make it more wearable for men. They also seem to enjoy hearing how it is made and the scientific aspects of glasswork. I had one gentleman stop at my booth at the Royal Oak show and tell me how my colors and circle shapes reminded him of the radio halo of the element, polonium. Here is the photo he e-mailed t me to illustrate this. I really enjoyed this comparison! It does resemle the way I layer my bands of glass in larger and smaller bands.

At the same show - Royal Oak Clay, Glass, and Metal, another gentleman custom ordered a pair of cufflinks to match a shirt he had. This is the pair of cufflinks I made for him and this is what he had to say after receiving them:

"The cufflinks are perfect and look totally awesome on
the blue Rufus dress shirt!!  Thanks again for all of
your creative efforts on my behalf. Excellent workmanship
and then some."  Walter, Bloofield Hills, MI

Amazing Etsy Find...

Today, at the Milford Memories Art Fair, I wore my favorite belt buckle that I purchased from bykali on Etsy. I received so many compliments on it that I decided to share it. I have a leaf buckle with a maple leaf on green/yellow. I wear it often and always receive a ton of compliments! She has some similar (and equally amazing looking) buckles listed in her Etsy shop now.

Visit her Etsy shop...you will enjoy it!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5418707&order=&section_id=&page=2

Shadow Art Fair - Summer 2009

As usual, the Shadow Art Fair was most amazing! The Shadow Art Fair is held twice per year (July and early December) at the Corner Brewery in Ypsilaniti. This was the seventh Shadow Art Fair. I have done six, including the first one in 2006.

Here is an excellent recap of the Shadow Art Fair made by Mike Ambs:
http://vimeo.com/5721887

For more information on the Shadow Art Fair, please visit www.shadowartfair.com.

Summer Art Fairs - Part Two - Saugatuck Shows

I was fortunate to do the two July Saugatuck art fairs. The first one was the Waterfront Invitational Art Fair on July 4 and the second one was the Village Square Art Fair on July 25. For the first Saugatuck show, I made some minor changes to my display that made a big difference. I made new table coverings! Here is how my display looks with the new table coverings!

This was a great show. We had great weather and I was very pleased with the customers' response to my jewelry.

Last weekend, I went back to Saugatuck for the Village Square show. I was surprised and pleased to see a lot of customers I'd met at previous shows, including the previous Saugatuck show. One customer, who (along with his wife) met me at the Royal Oak show, ran into my husband who was picking up lunch for me. He noticed my husband's necklace (which my husband has worn since I made it for him over two years ago) and recognized the work. My husband told him my booth number. Soon, he and his wife stopped by and he purchased a similar necklace. I was so pleased. I had originally designed this necklace, a small circle necklace with various shades of gray on the oxidized chain, for men. Since then, though I have sold a number of similar necklaces to men, mostly women have purchased the "men's necklaces" for themselves. This gentleman was kind enough to allow me to photograph him wearing his new necklace!

Summer Art Fairs - Part One - Royal Oak Clay, Glass, and Metal

I'm near the end of my busy summer art fair season and wanted to take the time to recap the season so far. Prior to this summer, I had done only small, usually indoor, art shows and a few outdoor shows where a tent was provided for me. This year, my first major show was Royal Oak Clay, Glass, and Metal on June 13 and 14 in Downtown Royal Oak, Michigan. It was the first time my husband and I set up the used canopy I'd purchased the year before so I felt like there was a lot to do and learn set up wise. Here is how my booth looked at this show.

This was a great show. Most of the customers commented that they regularly attended this show and I really appreciated all of the kind comments regarding my work. The promoters of this show do such a great job organizing it and volunteers regularly stopped by my booth to offer me a beverage or a bathroom break. Wonderful!

I was also very pleased to receive the award for Best of Jewelry at this show!

New Studio Space

A few months ago, my amazing husband expanded my studio space to three times its size! It is now so much more efficient. I have an area for each part of the process of making the jewelry, getting it ready to ship, or staging the jewelry to prepare for shows. Here are some photos of my studio in use...I didn't attempt to clean it up too much for these photos. Above is the area where I make my beads and make the silver settings. I also do various stages of the assembly here.Above is the area where I do the cleaning and packaging of my jewelry. I also prepare packages for shipping in this area. Below is the area where I organize my displays for my show. It's not really set up now, but it will be later next week as I prepare for my next show of the season: Etsy at the Market in the Kerrytown Market in Ann Arbor.

Craft Show Display

I am always searching for the perfect displays. It is important to me that my displays are unique, that the displays highlight and do not compete with the jewelry, that I am able to display a lot of work in a small amount of space, and that it is inexpensive and easy to set up. My displays have changed from one show to the next based on the venue (indoor, outdoor, size, lighting), changes in my jewelry line, or from problems I encounter along the way that I want to avoid next time.

Last month I did an indoor show where I set up a six foot table and used table lights with some handmade round displays. I loved the look of my displays. The round theme worked very well with the circles I use in my jewelry. It is clean and does not compete with the jewelry. It was also open so that customers can touch the jewelry, but also free of obstructions to hopefully discourage theft. The problem was that it took a long time to plan at home and then set up at the show. I knew I was going to be doing many more show this year and I could not imagine setting this up and tearing it down every show, then repeating it for the next show and the next show. So I was determined to find a solution that could be set up and transported from show to show.

I am so pleased with my newest displays. I just returned from a show where I put this system into use. This is an old letter press tray that I painted white and fitted with colored paper inserts with white spots to highlight the jewelry and to place the price stickers. I added all of the jewelry and price stickers at home. Then I set up the drawers, fitting them with bead tray liners (with white paper inserts) then I added the necklaces and price stickers. Both of these displays were transported to the show, fully stocked. I then transported them home where they will stay set up and ready for my next show. I can easily see the inventory I have and which pieces I will need to make between shows to fill in gaps. The jewelry outside of the print tray and the drawers was a manageable amount to set up. I continued the use of my round necklace displays and glass blocks that show of the jewelry so well. It's just an amazing relief to have so much ready should I run behind in my set up at the show.

I was concerned that the jewelry recessed in the trays would not show it off to its best advantage, but customers enjoyed taking pieces out and looking at them. It looked very organized and I could also tell if something was missing or if restocking was necessary. They also enjoyed looking at the jewelry in the drawers.

I hope you enjoy looking at my photos and I hope this inspires you to come up with some ideas to make your shows easier!

Two New Stores!

Last week, I shipped a wonderful selection of work to two stores that have just started carrying my work:

Thaddeus C. Gallery in LaPorte, Indiana

Johnston Gallery in Mineral Point, Wisconsin

If you are nearby, I hope you will stop in and look at my jewelry in person!

I Was Recently Interviewed for the M.I.C.E. Blog

Please click here to read a recent interview for the Michigan Indie Crafters of Etsy blog.

http://miceetsy.blogspot.com/2009/04/interview-with-mice-member-kristin.html

New Shipment Sent to Poppy!

I recently shipped a selection of jewelry to Poppy in Columbia, Missouri.

New Store!

I just sent a shipment to the Madison Museum of Modern Art Gift Shop in Madison, Wisconsin:

If you are in the Madison area, you should check it out!

New Earrings at Fusion Art Glass

Yesterday I sent a shipment of a bunch of my post earrings and my leaf earrings to Fusion Art Glass in Seaside, Florida. One of my friends, whose mother winters in Seaside gave me store's business card a few years ago. I contacted them, they saw me at the Buyer's Market, and they have been carrying my jewelry ever since.

New Store

Yesterday I shipped a selection of jewelry to Mackerel Sky Gallery in East Lansing, Michigan. If you are in the area, check it out!

New Shipment of Jewelry to Studio 12 in Denver, Colorado

I just sent a shipment of jewelry to Sean Brown, artist and owner of Studio 12 Gallery in Denver, Colorado. I met Sean and his wife, Stacey, last year at the Buyers Market of American Craft. Sean makes amazing ceramic jewelry. He opened Studio 12 Gallery last year and has been carrying my jewelry since then. I enjoyed chatting with Sean at the Buyers Market and I wanted to share his amazing work with you.

Sean's Dachshund Pin, shown here, is available at his Etsy Store.

My Jewelry - Now at What Is That in Ypsilanti

On Saturday, I delivered a selection of jewelry to What Is That...a gallery on Michigan Ave. in Ypsilanti. Just what the City needs! They have an amazing collection of local work. For more information, please read this article.
This is a photo of what I delivered...

Family Necklace

One of my customers, who found me on Etsy last summer has become quite a collector of my jewelry! She asked me to design a "mother's necklace"...a pendant with four pieces - each representing a member of her family. The colors would be of each of their birth months. We discussed several options while finally deciding that my new leaf necklace would be an excellent starting point. The leaf necklace, which is inpspired by nature, but is clean and contemporary, normally has three leaves. It has a different look with four leaves. It's longer and the leaves have a cascading effect, which my customer and I were both very pleased with. It was great fun making this special necklace for this special person. I am so pleased and flattered that she chose me to make this necklace.

Getting Back...

It's been awhile since I've written an update! I've been crazy busy since late January...first with getting ready for Buyers Market of American Craft in Philadelphia along with Valentine's Day orders.

Since returning from the Buyer's Market (I was gone from February 9 until February 17), I have been organized to send out wholesale orders and I ended up having quite a few orders (including several custom orders) on Etsy.

I am also having my studio expanded/renovated...which is being done slowly and in stages so that my work is not interrupted. I am already benefiting from the more efficient work space.

Watch for photos of my studio!

Featured on Etsy's Front Page!

Etsy artist, PoleStar, curated a gorgeous treasury and included my earrings! Here is a photo. Kathy from Smashing, with the bracelet above my earrings, was kind enough to send me a screen shot of the front page. I met Kathy last November when we both exhibited at the Tiny Canary Indie Market in Columbus, OH. I have admired Kathy's work on Etsy for a long time and it was such a treat to see it in person and of course to meet her.

Valentine's Day Jewelry on Etsy and at Craft Company No. 6

I have been busy creating new designs for Valentine's Day. I just love making hearts and working with rich reds, fuchsias, pinks, and purples. This year, I added some other colors to my line. Here is a preview. Check out more at my Etsy Shop:

www.kpglassjewelry.etsy.com

Also, in late January, I will be delivering some Valentine's Day jewelry to Craft Company No. 6 in Rochester, NY. Check out their website:

www.craftcompany.com

New Jewelry at Heavenly Metal

I recently delivered some new jewelry to Heavenly Metal in Ann Arbor.

www.heavenlymetal.com