Sidewalk Sale: A Great Success!

I just wanted to thank all who came and checked out my work at the Sidewalk Sale last weekend. I hope that you all got something nice, for Mom or yourself!

It was a smashing success! I doubled (and then some) my profit from last year - which was amazing considering we had a freakin scary torrential downpour with scary thunder. Due to my busy-ness, I sucked at documentation :( But my table display was great!! I had a black tablecloth with my handmade jewelry scattered around. I also had my new handmade journals that I blew out of - once I make more, they will definitely be for sale on the website! Lastly on display I had a representation of my handmade sail products, like the sail notebooks and wallets.
As always, I had my embroidered necklaces, which did fairly well - the biggest hit were my $8 earrings, which were the perfect Mother's Day gift at the perfect price :D

I also did some trading at the very end, which is my favorite part - I traded earrings and necklaces for some awesome ceramics: I got two bright blue mugs, an earthy colored mug, a bowl, and a sterling silver wire ring. Fun!! (Pictured below is a piece by Sara Eustis: I custom made a pair of earrings for her mother for Mother's Day, and she traded me a mug that was similar in style to this vessel - I love the look of her pieces!!)

Here were some of the advertisements that we received for the event!

Boston Globe – Thursday, May 6

“Bargain Bin”

Circulation: 264,105

Going.com e-newsletter

“10 Things Boston is Doing this Week”

Style Carrot blog

“ARTevent: SMFA Sidewalk Sale”

"Positivity: One Word"

From the new line of Dock This Way and Ash Tree;
"Positivity: One Word"

We wanted to create an item that promoted positive thinking and concepts.
Using the Papyrus font, which is this rustic font that is totally awesome-looking, we place "one word" on the front of a 100% organic t-shirt. The shirts are super comfy and lightweight, and are super casual - perfect for that yoga-lover or gym-goer. I used chocolate brown thread on pale blue t-shirt. Blue not your color? We also have ice blue thread on chocolate brown!


Buy yours today - available in all sizes.

Other words available:
PEACE
HOPE
INSPIRE
DREAM
LOVE
GRACE

Simple, positive message; and it's green, too! (Well, not literally.) Yay!

Rune Necklaces

"Success" Rune Necklace - Jera, $15

Looking for a look that is a bit different? These rune necklaces evolved from my horoscope necklaces, where I was really excited about the simplicity in the symbolism.

For example, pictured above is the rune, Jera. Jera can be either J or Y: and largely symbolizes a year, or a good harvest. The results of earlier efforts are realized. A time of peace and happiness, fruitful season. It can break through stagnancy. Hopes and expectations of peace and prosperity. The promise of success earned. Life cycle, cyclical pattern of the universe. Everything changes, in its own time. (Whoa, deep.)

"Hope" Rune Necklace - Dagaz, $15

Purchase this edgy rune necklace to carry with you the qualities it embodies.

Charm was handmade out of iridescent pearl polymer clay, rune was painted in black ink, and sprayed with a gloss finish. Rune charm strung from a black rolled leather cord measures approx. 17", and secured with a lobster clasp.

Below are all the runes and their meanings: all of which are available! Check back frequently for more pendant colors and designs.

SMFA Sidewalk Sale!

So I've signed up for the SMFA Sidewalk Sale, which takes place this year May 7th and 8th, 9:00-5:00. We set up on the street right next to the school, Museum Road, across from the MFA on Huntington.

It's really cool, there are tables with art from all over the school's majors and departments, usually reasonably priced - just before Mother's Day! How totally perfect is that?! :D


As for what I'll be selling this year: I've got my famous embroidered necklaces that I'm trying to move, so ALL EMBROIDERED NECKLACES are selling for $5.00 this year so I can get some fresh designs! I also have my reasonably priced earrings for $10.00, and some wire necklaces, bracelets, and sea glass rings. And, as always, now is your chance to get your own sail wallet for $30! I've also got the other sail canvas products, sea glass mirrors, and handmade cards.

Additionally, I'm introducing some products I made in my classes this semester that I'm really excited about. First off, I've got really cool ceramic pendants for necklaces that are glazed with these beautiful hues and colors that are worth checking out. I've also got some handmade journals that I LOVED making in my Book Arts class.

So come stop by and see me!!

How I Got Started - The SMFA Sidewalk Sale, 2008

Ah, the SMFA Sidewalk Sale of 2008.

As my first art sale, it was kind of a disaster. I sat at a table for two days, 10-5, and sold two things. Do you know what it's like to sell two things in 15 hours?

Yeah, not fun :(

I had put out some great bags that I embroidered from me & my mom's business - They're being featured in an associate's, Cindy Cheever-Nichols who owns Mermaids at Duxbury Bay Boutique. We've sold a bunch, and I'll be sure to get some images up ASAP.

So I was selling those, some prints from a color photo class, and lastly some images I created using pointillism. Pointillism is a technique involving the buildup of dots of ink to create depth and perspective. I took this great Film Noir class, and I got so inspired with the stark contrasts of lights in dark with the imagery of the movies, and I set up a few images to reflect this (one of my images, above) I got a ton of positive feedback, and so I priced them and put them out to sell.

And I continued to get a ton of positive feedback, but just no sales. And I could not lower the price because of the nature of the technique; the dots take a long time to build up. It sounds crazy to do, but it's actually quite a meditative process. I fell in love with it in high school, and I also picked it up again in tribute to my art teacher. Yeah, AWHS!

Anyway, back on track -

So as I was sitting there, watching everyone else making sales, my brain started concocting things. There was a diverse set of things being sold at this sale, by a great deal of talented people - like jewelry, and fun unique things that were different. So, I kind of started thinking how to make embroidery into jewelry.

Without revealing too much, that is how I came up with my signature product, the embroidered necklace!! They're really edgy, have a dinstinctive look, and I have a lot of flexibility in terms of what I can embroider on them. I recycled fabric from quilters, braided rope for the necklace, and sewed patches onto custom made-backs.

So there you are! I sold a great deal of them at this year's Sidewalk Sale, and plan to continue to :) My big selling categories are horoscope signs, the peace signs, and the "green" design. Check them out on my etsy site!