another day, more snow! despite the inconvenience of canceling my holiday travel plans, i’m enjoying the unexpected time off and slower pace that all this snow is bringing us here in portland. last night i was able to go on an evening sledding expedition in a local park. the best run was the 50 feet of steps and three landings now transformed into a prime ski/sled run! i kinda have whiplash today from it, but it was totally worth it!!!

i was also able to pack orders today and get them to the shipping store. i’m also working on new poster designs for the new year, and some other fun projects i’ll be able to report on soon.

this week has been a busy one between packing the last of the website orders that will make it in time for christmas and various potluck parties at friends’ houses. ah, potlucks! i love them. although we still try to support local restaurants in these tough times as much as we can – who doesn’t love someone else cooking and doing the dishes? – my group of friends and i have begun organizing quite a few potluck parties. it’s a great way to save a little money while still enjoying good food and one another’s company. 

as those of you who are on my email list already know, i’ll be out of the studio for the holidays next week and unable to ship orders as usual. all orders placed from now until the 28th will be shipped on the 29th when i return. i’m looking forward to more good food and good times with friends and family in the next week, and wish you the same!

yesterday was controlled chaos at the crafty wonderland event here in portland! just as predicted it began snowing at 8 am, which is not very common in portland, and apparently didn’t let up until the afternoon. the crowd turn out was still good despite the odds to get to the convention center! thanks to everyone who came instead of sledding or building snowmen!

that’s my boothmate bishop lennon, above, in our booth with a shopper. below, one half of apak models one of my birds.

one of my favorite things about craft fairs is trading with other vendors. once the crowd of shoppers thinned an hour or so before the official close, i scored some awesome gifts for myself and friends and family. while i can’t show you my gifts for everyone else until after the holidays, here’s what i scored for myself:

that’s a handknit 14k gold chain necklace from little purls [actually this was so rad i paid cash for it, as did betsy walton for her own longer sky blue version], a replacement fleece top from texture clothing [i got one of these several years ago and wore it so much it fell apart], a cutting board made by a cabinetmaker glueing scraps together from other projects [website unknown], owl and mushroom ornaments made by marcy from the shop called shipwreck in eureka, ca. last but not least are my new pdx rain magnets from my boothmate bishop. she did a brisk business with felted plush pdx raindrop magnets, but sadly i missed out on those!

just when bishop and i thought we may very well be stranded at the convention center because none of our car friends had snow-enabled cars, our friend [and hero] ryan saved the day with a rented honda element with chains on the tires. celebratory beer and pizza was consumed before trudging home in the snow and collapsing in bed.

the snow is still on the ground today, so now i’m off to organize a sledding party…

tinlark has finally worked out all the kinks on their online shopping area, hurray! you can now purchase the garland necklaces [shown above], the reasonably-priced leaf and feather garlands [shown below], the giclee prints [also shown below] and some of the other larger pieces here! just in time for holiday gift giving!

the group show at bristol’s here gallery premiered last night, wish i could have been there! you can see photos of the show and everyone’s work here.

below is the douglas astor piece from the show – the original drawings created for the floral leaves datebook.

first up is a necklace collaboration between myself and jewelry designer amy tavern. we combined amy’s sterling silver twigs with my fabric flowers and leaves. amy and i have been talking about collaborating for years and finally we both had the time in our schedules! only four of these necklaces were made and each is one-of-a-kind. they can all be viewed and purchased via amy here.

my second holiday offering is a collaboration with neapolitan printing and company. neapolitan specializes in handmade custom artisan chocolates, and we’ve teamed up to create the plan 9 chocolate box. nine chocolates, three flavors, and they come in a surprise screen-printed box with a limited edition letterpress print. the box and the chocolates are produced by neapolitan and various local portland companies, while all the art was made by me. yum! see my website here for more details and ordering information!

i’ve pulled the plug on this project, apologies to anyone disappointed by this news!

on thanksgiving i ate too much, i drank too much and spent the following few days recovering! thankfully by yesterday i was fine, it was the sunday best holiday sale here in portland at the ace hotel. great venue, great fellow vendors, great customers… what a great way to kick off the holiday season! if you live in portland and missed it, you missed out! hopefully there will be another one next year! yes and maybe next year i’ll remember to iron my table cloth. oops!

for those of you near portland, i’m doing one more sales event this season: the colossal crafty wonderland holiday sales event on december 14 at the convention center. want to get overwhelmed by handmade goodness, get all your holiday shopping done at once and support local handmade artisans? mark your calendar!