Spring Bling Fling!

Tomorrow, I start "spring fling", where I literally fling myself from show to show. Living out of a suitcase, enjoying treats from local holes in the wall, spending time with show friends, and connecting with my buyers, it is why I do what I do. People wander in, ask me all sorts of questions about my work, and I just stand there and look pretty right?

Wrong! I work my tail off! What people do not see are the late nights in the studio, the sleeplessness from too much thinking, and living off fumes of coffee. They do not see my studio, a wreck after packing and organizing, and my aches and pains from 30 years as a professional schlepper. They do not see how my hands can hurt after filling a last minute order, yet the show must go on.

After 30 years, my ultimate reward is when I see people truly enjoy wearing my pieces. It is so great, when people recognize my work and perfect strangers comment on it. I was told by a prominent social butterfly, who attended the NYC Met Costume Ball, that no one noticed the diamond dappled creatures who swanned around, but the press noticed her Abra Couture Cotton Ball Collar! She was photographed for some media, and featured wearing our work in front of millions.

In the meantime, if you would like to purchase pieces, check out our "Where" tab! Come see me at the studio by appointment, or just stop by one of our lovely stockists to see what is in store! Happy Spring Bling!

Settling in for the Winter...

My daughter is on break from boarding school. I went to fetch her, a bike, 3 huge bags, with the help of my son, who is a day student. We managed to stuff ourselves with all that, into the car. As we passed a cop car, I told my daughter to scootch down and look like a pile of laundry. Which, as rumpled as she is these days, was not hard. We passed the cop car and wended our way home. Carefully, on the lookout for more cops, and our laundry pile m.o. in place.

Those poor kids. They had 7 exams in 4 days. Plus a diagnostic SAT. All I wanted to do was throw them in the shower, wash their stinky laundry, and feed them a roast beef or Turkey plate. My hubby, an ex chef, and a pretend Jewish mother, was on it. Cooking and roasting and stirring and slicing. He was in his element. I swear he would be whistling a jolly tune if I weren't in proximity. It was a lovely quiet evening, with both of our kiddos at home, hanging around and falling all over each other like puppies. With the whir of the washing machine, and the wafting smells of the magical roast beef eminating from the oven, it was a picture of domestic bliss.

Life at home is a nice change from my chaotic art show schedule. I finished my last show for a while, and I am taking a break from my travels to organize my studio, build my retail website, work on my wholesale website, and get organized for my next round of shows that start in January.

In the Winter, I am like a crazy squirrel gathering acorns and stashing them. I plan. I save. I create. I store meats and prep veg for our ensuing starvation time, for I have no income from shows for 3 months. We eat a lot of breakfasts for dinner, spaghetti, and stir fry. I am a master of making a quarter out a two nickels rubbed together!

We are so glad to enjoy the holidays with our friends and families. Honestly, when you travel and hear the stories of people as they regale you with tales of woe whilst shopping for perky pick me ups, it makes you stop and think. Do you have a roof over your head? Check. Do you have food on the table? Yuppers. Do you have friends and family (who put the fun in disfunction?) Ditto. So in the end, if you can check all that stuff off, consider yourself lucky. Then tuck into a nice tasty Turkey...

The zoo.

I wake up to squawks, and chirps, occassionally a buzz, every morning. As I wend my way toward my beloved home coffee pot, I spy a coterie of feathered friends, having a nosh, under our bird feeder. 2 families of Canadian geese, and their combined offspring, have made our yard their summer home. The goslings are cute, and look like cornish game hens as they are just covered in down, not quite feathers yet. The parents communicate in non verbal terms: warning them, corralling them, and telling them to get on the chow line. A lot like how I raised my twins I suppose.

The chimney swifts dart all over the place, zooming in to eat whatever they can find, and the juvenile squirrels are enjoying the buffet as well. The flowers are in full blossom. I cut roses and put in a bud vase on occasion, you know, to get fancy. After drinking my coffee, i wander over to our huge garden, praying that things are growing and not being eaten by whatever pest du jour is making the local 6 o'clock news.

Eventually, I must go on to the grueling task of designing more pieces that will entice my wholesale buyers, as well as organize for an upcoming retail show. Oh, and get my store ready for visitors and classes this summer, oh, and get pictures done, new slides, applications, taxes, oy. I am going back to bird watching. And my coffee.