Crafty Bastards - Saturday 10/2 - Washington, D.C,

Stop by and say hi!

A Cyber Halloween Party or by the time you read this I will probably be fired

... well, wait a minute I don't actually have a job so I can't actually get fired, but if I worked for me I might be in trouble and here's why ...

I used to work for a bank and lately,

(because work has been taking over my entire life and not in a "make a million dollars" kind of way - more on this some other time)

I have been feeling a bit nostalgic for the days when I had things in my life like days off, paychecks on Fridays, someone else making the coffee, which resulted in it actually being sort of drinkable, and yes, especially Halloween parties.

At the bank we dressed up every year

very tastefully, of course

one year I was Sherlock Holmes and then the next year I was ... Sherlock Holmes and then the next year I was ... well, you get the picture - it was pretty much an excuse to wear a brown plaid English detectivey hat and carry a pipe and a magnifying glass.

I didn't win best dressed in 5th grade for nothing folks

and I am really missing those days and thinking that those of us who work at home

and if you are home and doing any kind of work including but not limited to:

making something to sell,
making dinner,
bringing up a child, puppy, hamster or goldfish,
bringing in the mail

you qualify - deserve a Halloween party, too!

What do you think? Who is up for this and how can we do it, realizing that this just popped in my head 5 minutes ago and I haven't really thought this all through, but why should that stop us?





We could kind of be like these guys except we'd be all alone and alot more cute and crafty ------->




I am thinking we can do some really cool, super fun things like:

1. Getting free flu shots in costume

(hitting up our local Walgreens all across the country at the same exact time)

2. Organizing someone to speak to all of us, again in costume, with some pertinent information we will all require like maybe a funeral director speaking about burial arrangements

3. A laffy taffy cyber giveaway table with our hubbies dressed up as gigantic Raggedy Ann dolls which would be terrifying on so many levels

Maybe we could take advantage of the whole "cyber" things and create our costumes in photoshop and then have a costume contest.

Nothing too crazy that will cause an emergency meeting of the Blogger blogging association in which they decide it's best for us to blog elsewhere, but something that could have gotten us fired in the old days

(or the not so old days if you still have a job).

Something to ponder while the Real Housewives of New York is on hiatus ...

BTW I will be at Crafty Bastards in Washington DC on Saturday selling my wares if anyone is around and wants to stop by and say hi - I plan on being super busy and making a gazillion dollars so don't tie me up with idle chitchat for too long unless that chitchat is about the Real Housewives, Top Chef, Work of Art, Flipping Out or ideas for our upcoming Cyber Halloween Party...

xo =^..^=

Wordless Wednesday - shutting up so we can get some work done

end of season photograph by the amazing jude mcconkey

Tuesday Trends - Brutalism or raw, rough and exposed

Nick Olsen, over at Design Sponge recently named Brutalism an emerging trend and this is one I really love.

Raw edges, rough textures, repeating geometric patterns - it is a trend that truly exemplifies all the beauty of handmade - the beauty of imperfection - the organic feel of this trend is so inspiring!

Here is what some Etsy peeps are doing:

1. Textured bowl from blueroompottery
2. Distressed ring by tinahdee
3. Peeling paint photographs by stillmemory
4. Lava earrings by valkasinskas
5. Distressed jeans by MatyDavis
6. Reed tunic by zelaya
7. Collage heart by RedorGrayArt

Polarity Lockets featured on Daily Grommet today!

Yes, there are a few scary clips of my fidgety, fast talking self in there -ugh!

Creating a Sustainable Business - Part III - Aesthetics

"form ever follows function" - architect Louis Sullivan

Now, aesthetics is a tough thing to describe- it does have a real definition, but whether something's aesthetic is good or bad is a pretty subjective thing.

We all have our own likes and dislikes, history and culture that create our predisposition that goes into judging the things we create and the things we purchase.

Function used to be (back in the days of the industrial revolution and today for some people and within some cultures) the most important part of any design and then form followed.

And, maybe for our handmade work to be truly sustainable this is still a good model for us to work with.

As customers become more conscious of how they spend their money it is very possible to see function pushed ahead of form again and this is more good news for the handmade movement where we control both form and function.

So, if you are a maker of flower vases for example - you might think first people want their vase to be cool (whatever that is to them) - to be their own aesthetic whether that be traditional or modern or whatever and obviously the form your work takes is very important and will stir up a certain audience and is the part that most personally reflects you as a maker ...

but, if the top of the vase, for example, sits in such a way - that is very cool and modern and pleasing to the eye of those who share your aesthetic - but will not allow a flower stem to sit straight in water and loses its function, well ...

for makers seeking to create a sustainable business with customers who are making conscious spending decisions putting time and energy into function can be, to quote Martha here, "a really good thing".

I just bought one of the very gorgeous jewelry hanging cases that the amazing Jessica of bluebirdheaven upcycles from antique printer drawers.

Now, as a customer I didn't go searching around Etsy thinking I wonder what interesting something or other I can find made from an antique printer drawer - I went looking for a jewelry case and my aesthetic led me to hers.

(and I am so happy with it by the way!)

Now, I do not know if form or function came first for Jessica - did she stumble upon a stash of amazing vintage printer drawers or want to create unique jewelry cabinets - but because she has taken into consideration both form and function she has created a very sustainable piece.

Functionality is also why sometimes even the most amazing illustrators find it easier to sell their work on t-shirts and jewelry and fabric and coasters and the myriad other functional processes available to them than to sell an 11X14 print.

(that and the fact that so many people have had the same art on their walls since Clinton was president - let's all buy some new art this week - we should start a movement - change your wall for fall or something catchy like that)

I have a beautiful bracelet that I would wear alot more often if I could latch the damn thing without giving myself a carpal tunnel injury or calling out for reinforcements.

(and I am not a "get hubby to zip me into this dress" kind of girl although that does sound kind of cool, if I had a dress like that ... now that I think about it)

Now, all of this is not to say that things can never be just 100% about form

(because all beautiful things serve their own function, of course, what higher calling than to give birth to something beautiful - something that moves us and makes us feel something)

but as makers looking to sell our work and create a sustainable business at the same time, the balance of form and function is surely something we might want to keep in mind.