1000 Markets

Don't get me wrong, I love Etsy. But I've also been looking long and hard for an additional online selling venue. Something with the visual appeal and quality goods like those found on Trunkt.org. Trunkt is wonderful, but it is primarily geared towards the wholesale market.

I've opened and closed shops on a bunch of Etsy wannabes and was getting rather discouraged. Then I stumbled upon 1000 Markets and it blew me away. It's only a few months old and still in the beta stages, but it already has a clear mission, look and direction. I love their 'Markets' concept - I currently belong to Inspired by Nature, Luxe and Metalcraft . I also like the way they've incorporated a blog and comment wall into the shop.

The site is juried, which allows them to maintain the integrity of the site. And it's still new enough that you get e-mails directly from the owner. When I was accepted, I got a really nice personal e-mail from Matt complimenting my work. And he immediately featured one of my pieces on the Community page. What a nice way to welcome a new shop!

Take some time to browse 1000 Markets. I think that you too will be impressed by the array of talent and the quality of the work.

Boston Handmade Downtown - Grand Opening!!

For the last two years I've been part of Boston Handmade , a group of Massachusetts Etsy sellers committed to creativity made by hand. When the city of Boston and owners of vacant storefronts in Downtown Crossing offered artist groups the opportunity to open retail shops and galleries during the height of the Xmas shopping season, we jumped at the chance.

It was ALOT of work. We couldn't have done it without the dedication, vision and unflagging energy of our fearless leader, Jessica Burko. Read the entire saga from raw space to grand opening here.

If you're in the Boston area, please plan to stop by. We are at 505 Washington Street, across from Macy's and Eddie Bauer. We're open 11am-7pm Thursday through Sunday from November 28 to December 28.

My Buttons in Stitch Magazine!

I hate leftover polymer clay. It sits around, gets hard and crumbly and eventually is thrown away. Bad for the environment and the pocketbook. So I started mixing my clay remnants to create earthy, organic looking pebbles. I started with earrings, but they don't use up much scrap clay so I also started making buttons. My Faux Pebble buttons resemble polished river stones and textured beach pebbles.

Stitch magazine (a special publication from Quilting Arts) liked them so much they were selected for a handmade button feature in the Winter '08 edition!

New Work

I've been spending a lot of time in the studio and at shows lately, so I've neglected my blog frightfully. Anyway, here's a new piece - nice and green for a dreary November day.

Boston Handmade at the SoWa Open Market!

Many members of Boston Handmade are regulars at the South End Open Market - myself included. This Sunday will be special, though, with 26 of us setting up in our own special section. We look forward to seeing you there!

Playing when I should be working....

I've got a very busy September coming up - multi-day shows every single weekend. So I really should be working on my inventory instead of fooling around at Big Huge Labs!

I took four photos and used the Mosaic Maker:


Then I Warholized it:


And a corny badge complete with bar code using the Badge Maker:


And a Jigsaw Puzzle:



Now I really have to get back to work....

More Etsy Front Pages....

Being on the front page on a regular basis almost (but not quite) solves my "finding time to blog during show season" dilemma.... Here I am on the Front Page on July 28 and again on July 29.

Another Etsy Front Page

I must admit I love being featured on Etsy's front page. Etsy is changing their front page every hour these days - which is good because it gives a lot of exposure to great work.

This one is particularly nice. No theme, just virtual window shopping by curator DuckDuckGooseStuff. If you feel like a little eye candy, visit the Etsy Treasuries and the Trunkt Showcases.

Beating a dead horse...

Yeah, I know. But I'm on this flower/branch/leaf kick... note that I have a couple of happy horses in there (not beaten).

Garden Inspiration

I love my little city garden and it's particularly lush this year. I can sit on my patio for hours just looking at it, then take it with me to my studio. I never stray very far from nature in my work, it's an endless source of inspiration.

Stretching a bit...

The cool thing about polymer clay is that you can use it in so many ways. This weekend, at the South End Open Market, I'll be bringing my collections of polymer covered ice cream scoops, cheese and cake slicers and knitting needles. I'll also be listing them in my Etsy store next week, if I have any left!

New Work

I'm taking a break from my illustrated transfers and have gone back to my landscape technique using metallic clays and alcohol inks. I love the organic, other-worldly feel to the pieces.

Faux Pebbles

My jewelry tends to be chic and elegant, but I also have a line of down to earth, natural pieces. Yeah, I know that might be a contradiction in terms given that polymer is petroleum based, and like almost all artist materials, is not particularly eco-friendly. On the other hand, I don't drive and have never owned a car, I don't use plastic grocery bags or drink bottled water. I figure that I use a heck of of a lot less petroleum in a whole year of polymer work than the average person uses to fill their tank just one time!

I make my faux pebbles in a variety of natural colors, but tend to prefer the darker shades. The huge advantage of polymer pebbles over the real thing is that they don't weigh anything at all!

Zen time....

I'm starting to get the hang of vessels! It's great fun and a relaxing break from jewelry making. Thanks to Seth Savarick for sharing his techniques - a must-take class for polymer clay aficionados.

And how about those photos? Thanks to
Melanie West for all her tips!

New Work April 1-15

I'm experimenting with oxidized and textured bezels.

And a new earring design with handmade earwires.

Take a class. Be inspired.

I recently took an awesome class on Japanese inro style containers from master polymer artist SL Savarick and was inspired to start making vessels out of polymer clay. I'm practicing on business card holders, but will soon attempt more complicated construction.

Another class that inspired me was the Boston Handmade knitting workshop. I learned to knit (if you can call my sorry attempt at a scarf knitting), but I also fell in love with Clover bamboo knitting needles. They look wonderful with the ends covered in polymer clay!

And now for something completely different....

This morning I decided to take a break from polymer and list a few things in my Etsy supply shop. Since I'm on a life mission to de-clutter and get rid of stuff, I opened a destash shop on Etsy for my extra stones and findings. 'Destash' is Etsy speak for unloading excess supplies, in case you were wondering.

Problem is, I still love stones. But it's time to move on from my chunky look, so I've been trying to convince myself to unload them. Then it came to me - I use sterling neckwires for my polymer work, why not make up a series of simple, elegant neckwires using stones, silver and vermeil? And since I've found this fabulous sterling cable, what better time than right now? Plus I get to keep my lovely rocks.....

I'm very pleased with the way they came out. Simple, sophisticated and very well priced between $35 and $65. Coming soon to my Etsy shop!

Etsy's Front Page

What a week! That I know of, I've been on Etsy's front page three times this past week. With over 106,000 shops on Etsy, it's not an easy task to make it to the front page. Front page items are selected by Etsy staff from the Treasuries, lookbooks created by Etsy members that include 15 images, usually with a theme. Oh, and you can't include your own work in your Treasury. It's wonderful browsing and really showcases the diverse talent on Etsy.

Thanks to fellow Boston Handmade pal,Amy Olson, for taking the screenshot for me.

New Work

I've been busy the last few days making up more of my Japanese inspired pieces. They will be finished soon and listed in my Etsy shop by mid-March.

By Popular Demand....

Folks are raving about my new sterling silver neckwires. I started assembling them myself because I've never found a commercial neckwire I really liked. What's particularly cool about them is the thin friction clasp which accommodates large hole beads and most pendant bails.

I thought I'd share them with fellow polymer artists and jewelers, so they are now for sale in my Etsy supply shop.

New Work

I've been in an orange and yellow mood lately. Funny how I tend to work in certain colors. I don't really think about it - it just happens!

Just Jewelry

Need a daily fix of awesome jewelry designs by independent artists? Check out Just Jewelry. This daily blog is a feast of beautiful, unusual and exciting designs. The photo above is a piece featured on Just Jewelry by fellow Massachusetts artist Angela Gerhardt. I love the organic and earthy feel of her work and her use of color is fantastic. Check out more of her work on her Trunkt portofolio.

Vacation Inspiration

There's nothing like a trip to the Yucatan if you want to explore texture, light and contrast. As I ambled through the gardens of Hacienda Xcanatun taking pictures of the lush vegetation, I was struck by the play of the green tropical foliage against the rich reds and yellows typical of Yucatecan structures. When I got back to cold and wintry Boston, I made up a few pendants to try to capture the feeling.


The pendants are done with my illustrated transfer technique on polymer clay, using pictures cut out of home decor catalogs. I then colored and altered the images to capture the flavor of the Yucatan.

What Color Am I Today?

I love color and I love choosing a project palette. I also love shortcuts! Here's a nifty website that picks out colors from a photograph and lays them out for you like paint chips! As a polymer artist who mixes all my own colors, it's a real time saver. Here I have a photo of a vegetable stand in Stresa, Italy with the corresponding color palette. Appropriately enough, I was in Stresa attending a color workshop! Check out Big Huge Labs and play! And don't miss all their other neat design tools while you're there!

Catalog Season

January brings the arrival of countless catalogs to my mailbox. Ever since my Martha Stewart period when I was really into interior design, I've been on every home decorating mailing list. I've finally found a productive use for all those catalogs, instead of just glancing through them and tossing them into the recycle bin.

I've been fascinated by image transfers to polymer clay lately. Whereas many of my fellow polymer artists strive for the perfect transfer, I prefer the misses and near misses. Take this one, for example: Pottery Barn is trying to get me to buy the dresser, but my eye immediately went to the flower vase vignette. It's a clear, crisp photo in the catalog, but when transferred to polymer using my 'illustrated transfer' technique, it looks more like an impressionist painting (click on each image and you'll see what I mean!).