AAG Artisan Show in May!

I belong to the Adirondack Artisans Guild http://www.adirondackartisansguild.com and we have scheduled an Artisan Show for May 23rd on the sidewalk in front of the Gallery 812 at 7617 North State St. in Lowville, NY. Last year we had a Studio Tour with limited success. We are a far flung group with members in St. Lawrence and Jefferson County as well as here in Lewis County. Spring is an exciting time of year for most of us, we have been working all winter on new products and are anxious to show off our wares to our customers. I'll keep you posted on the details as they become available and hope to see you there!

I love the organic turquoise pendant shown above, my focus this spring has been on reusing scrap. Generally I return surplus scrap to my supplier and get credit towards future purchases but this year I have reused most of it and have decided not to return any. The freeform shape and imperfections give the pieces some real character and I've had positive feedback from several customers.

This week I'll be in Saratoga Springs at the 23rd Annual Buyer Days, a regional handcrafted rustic and nature-themed wholesale show, presented by Adirondack North Country Association. You can check out the show vendors at http://www.AdkNCcrafts.com. The quality and variety of products is amazing, it's fun to see how artists grow and change from year to year. I was a vendor at the very first Buyer Days, selling baskets and that's how I really got started with my wholesale basket business. Most of my customers were shops in the Adirondacks and it was a great way to meet them.

Feather and Leaf Barrettes

Thanks to Dorothy for the inspiration for these barrettes, they measure about 3.5" long and are attached to a metal barrette. In an earlier post, I had photos of the concho barrettes like the ones that my Mom made for me many years ago. This is a great variation on that idea and I've already sold several. They aren't cheap, these long ones are priced at $70 and I have a shorter one that I sell for $50 but they are truly one of a kind. I'm going to add some small stone cabs to the next batch that I make.

I even made a replica of a pony tail holder that my Dad bought for me when I was a teenager, it seems that it came from an antique shop or something. It's not sterling but it's very nice and I've worn it many times over the years.