traveling rhinos control center

indie shopping in the bk

Wow, I'm going to have to come in and cheat backdate slightly modify my unfinished blog entries to catch y'all up on what I've been doing since April.  Hint: mostly it's involved moving, and stocking up for summer shows.

Big one this weekend!  Renegade in Brooklyn.  I'm excited, Renegade is always awesome, people are always super fun, and there is always loads of amazing shopping!  If you're within say, a two hour radius of New York, I would head in!

 

We'll be in booth #181, next to the awesome peeps from The Sampler!  Please stop by and say hello if you end up at the fair.  I'll be the confused- and tired-looking one.  mr. rhino will be the one frantically grading papers while trying really hard to be helpful and sometimes succeeding if you ask him yarn questions. 

I will be attempting to return to normally scheduled programming, aka some sort of blogging routine, on Monday when we return.  Check back to see if I manage to keep my word or not?  Have a good weekend!

...more business, and an inability to blog regularly in the front.

In my defense, it has been a little insane around here.  Traveling, taxes, more traveling, long-term houseguests, and MOVING!  That last one isn't done yet, either.  I promise to do penance asap.  In the meantime, I thought I ought to at least make a few notes here for those who might wander here in search of information.

1. MARCH's fiber club was mailed in EARLY March, before I left to go overseas.  If you haven't received it yet, someone in the postal service has probably hijacked it, and you should contact me RIGHT AWAY.
2. APRIL's fiber club shipments just went out this past week.  So if you haven't received yours yet, please give it a few more days, longer if you are outside the US.  Apologies for the delay.
3. No updates on the book yet.  Supposedly will hear by the end of the month, so that's not too far away!  Fingers crossed.  Will be sending a note to those on my lists for contributing later this week, so please keep an eye out for that.
4. FIRST SHOW OF THE SEASON IS THIS WEEKEND!!  Details follow.

Saturday, April 26th, 2008, 10am-4pm
Gore Place Sheepshearing Festival (click for more info)
Waltham, Massachusetts

We'll also be at ICE (Indie Craft Experience) in Atlanta on June 7th, and Renegade in Brooklyn on June 14th + 15th!  More to come on that fun, and any other shows following...

Anyway, if you're in the area and like sheep or food or crafts or historical fun, please consider stopping by to say hello.  I'll be the exhausted, confused girl who looks like hell but will be very happy to see you!

business in the front...

Have now been back from our friends' lovely Caribbean (I still never spell that right the first time, though) destination wedding for over a week, and am off again next Thursday.  Last minute-decision family traveling.  Sigh.   More on travels later.

I am cleaning house (and studio) in a serious way.  I have added many items to the sale category in my etsy shop, some new, others holiday store/show items that I'm just inventorying now.  In addition, almost everything at travelingrhinos.com is on sale as well.  20% off yarn & fiber, felted beads, headbands and more, and a whopping 40% off all remaining bracelets.  I will continue to add sale items through Sunday.  If you want to shop & combine orders, please use a credit card for payment on the site, and I will adjust the total and charge you only once for everything.

Everything purchased + paid for by midnight EST Tuesday (March 4th) will ship by Wednesday, March 5th.  I will leave the sale up until I return on March 20th, but nothing will ship while I am away.

Also, tomorrow morning, the studio sale will begin!  That link brings you to the correct page, but there won't be anything to buy until tomorrow around 10am EST.  You can use any coupons you might have floating around on sale & studio sale items as well!

However, please note that coupons/codes may NOT be applied to fiber club subscriptions.  To avoid additional confusion, light/double scoop 3 month subscriptions are only available for immediate purchase in the etsy shop at this time.  Longer-term subscriptions will be posted as reserved items upon specific request. 

Also, I WILL be opening up a limited number of spaces for DELUXE subscriptions on Tuesday, March 5th, at 3 pm EST.  Anyone who has requested to be on the wait list will be given priority until Monday.  Emails are on their way to waiting list people!  You can contact me directly at info[at]travelingrhinos[dot]com to be added to this list.

Due to an inability on my part to do basic math, I will also have three deluxe portions of January's fiber for sale at 9pm tonight.   (Again, EST, in the etsy shop.)

Spankin' new awesome jewelry, kits & more will arrive late in March.  That's all the business I have for now.  Tune in later tonight for some more personal blather. 

PS. Psst.  Use code CLEANOUT for free shipping on orders of $60 or more. 

me = overwhelmed.

WOW.
I am so truly floored by the responses to my initial cry for help call for submissions.  Fiber people rock!  Of course, in the midst of trying to reply to everyone my internet connection decided to crap out on me.  I've caught up on the bulk of the emails-- anything sent to me before Saturday night I've replied to.  Everything after that, I'm working on it!  If you sent me an email or left a comment BEFORE Saturday night (EST) and I haven't replied yet, please resend!  You may have gotten lost in the shuffle.  If you contacted me after that, please be patient!  I'm working as fast as I can!

For those who are not so interested in fiber/yarn, here's something I discovered (on TV, not the internet, gasp!) during my internet connection's temper tantrum.  The video is cute and I really like Matt Costa's voice.  I think it sounds like a quirky little mix of Dylan & Adam Levine.  And, (BONUS!) the MP3 is available for free download at amazon.com.  (Well it was earlier this afternoon when, internet-connection-mostly-seemingly-repaired I went searching for it there...)  Enjoy!  (Fiber folks, there's more info for you below.)

Ok, a bit more on the whole submissions/gallery thing, since I seem to have spent a lot of my time repeating myself to folks who were interested (I just didn't think there'd be so many!)...

I was/am looking for a few different things:
1) gallery items that were ready to send right away (and I am all set on those now, thank you!)
2) people who are interested in submitting something later on in the spring/summer and
3) people who are interested in test-knitting/crocheting projects/patterns in the spring/summer or later

Gallery items that I am particularly interested in are: finished objects created with hand-dyed/hand-painted yarn or fiber.  This could include knitted or crocheted garments, accessories, toys & decorative items, felted or fulled FOs, or, if you feel that the hand-dyeing/hand-painting is particularly spectacular/beautiful/clever, the yarn/fiber itself.  If you want to submit yarn or fiber as a gallery item, please consider at least swatching some of your yarn or spinning or felting a small sample of the fiber; this will make your item a stronger candidate for the gallery.

If you are interested in either #2 or #3, please shoot me an email at info[AT]travelingrhinos[DOT]com and I will add you to the lists to be updated when I am ready to proceed with those steps.  If you're interested in testing patterns/projects, please let me know if you knit or crochet (or both).  Please don't be shy!  I am thrilled by the response so far!  I'd love for the gallery (which is planned to be pretty extensive) to be filled with the widest variety of work from as varied a group of artists & crafters as possible!  Of course, questions can be directed to the same email address. 

Also, I'd appreciate if you'd send my internet connection nice thoughts.  It's one thing to isolate yourself from the internet, but when you want it and can't have it... oh, the torture!

Finally, though I don't like to get to political (often politics = confrontation, and I am an avid avoider of confrontation), if you don't vote, you can't complain later, right? 

help me, please! (or, call for submissions!)

So, now that I'm back from my brief much-longer-than-expected hiatus, I think I'm ready to share something I've been working on that's been a secret... it's a BOOK!  I know, I hardly believe it myself.  The thing is, it's not a 100% sure thing yet... so I'm all scared to talk about it and jinx it.  It's still in the early stages.  And now, here's where I ask for the help of all those creative fiber folks out there!

The book is about hand-painted & hand-dyeing yarn & fiber.  I'm working with the publisher on a presentation, and I need yarn + fiber + finished projects for the gallery sections of the book!  This is your chance to have YOUR gorgeous work published, people!  There's no monetary compensation for appearing in the gallery, but I think I'll be able to cover postage for shipping your item to/from me for photographing, and I'm going to work on some special fiber gifts for those whose work is chosen!

I'm looking for hand-painted & hand-dyed yarn and fiber, and finished projects created with hand-dyed yarn or fiber.  The finished projects can be handspun yarn, knits, crocheted items, felted items, and more.  Also, I may also be looking for a few original patterns or projects if there are pattern or talented tutorial writers out there...

If you're interested, please email me at info[AT]travelingrhinos[DOT]com as soon as possible with what you're interested in submitting, and either photos or links to photos of the item(s).  I'll need to get the item(s) from you as soon as possible, as I'll be traveling in mid-February and the items need to go off to the publisher before I leave.  Same address if you have any questions, 'kay?

I'm super-super-super-super-duper excited about this!  I know that there is so much incredible stuff out there, and I'm excited to highlight all that amazing-ness in the gallery!  (I'm still nervous about sharing... trying to stop twitching here...)  Thank you in advance!!  I can't wait to see what everyone's got!

back from the dead (tired).

Well, hmm.
I guess I've been gone for a while, huh?

While I can't claim to be a particularly regular blogger, I have to say that this was a longer break than I'd planned.  'Cause, see, I'd planned on taking a little break from blogging and the internet in general around & after the chaos of the holidays... just not, oh, almost 2 months' worth of a break. 

I think the break was for the best, though.  I do feel more ready and inspired to take on some new designs and projects.  And boy, do I have some projects to tell you about.  More on that soon.  Anyway, I'm back.  Here is some cute Daisy-photo-representation of me before and me after.  Hooray!

before: tired, listless, overwhelmed... after: more refreshed, excited, and ready to get to work! 

The inevitable holiday update

Howdy, folks.  It's me, eling, here, just checking in.  It's 25 degrees out here in Massachusetts, not taking into account the wind chill.  We spent this past Saturday in Providence catching colds at the Marche de Noel.  It was really cold last year too, but there weren't the insane gusting winds that were there this year.  It was MAYBE in the low teens with the wind.  And the wind was blowing everything off the tables & racks.  People had their papers blown OVER ROOFTOPS and we actually saw framed paintings, lying flat on tables, blown clear onto the ground.  Eventually they moved everyone inside but it took several hours.  I didnt' take any photos at all because I was too busy keeping scarves from blowing away & keeping my fingers from being frostbitten.  Anyway, I slept for about 15 hours when we got home and spent most of Sunday incapacitated. 

Now, onto the stuff you really care about.  Updates: 
This is the last week of in-person shopping fun!  Friday night there's a VIP shopping event for the SOWA Holiday Market.  If you're in the Boston area, it's part of the LOLA launch party.  You can win tickets for the event at the magazine's site (lower right part of page), or from decor8!  Anyway, we'll be there Friday night as well as for the regular shopping hours Saturday (10-8) and Sunday (10-6).  Click through the postcard below for details + directions.

Actually, I fibbed when I said we would be at SOWA, because we will only be there Friday + Sunday.  mr. rhino will be there Saturday, while  I will be in NY for BUST.  If you're in the NY area, this should be a pretty crazy-awesome event!  Amy Sedaris will be there promoting her book!  That's from 10-8 also, at the Metropolitan Pavilion.  Again, click through for details + direction.

Since I'm frantically finishing up stuff for these two events, I've decided to postpone the last big shop updates until Monday, December 10th.  I will be adding some fun new stuff plus whatever I've got left from these two shows to the shops Sunday night.  I'll definitely have these:
 
Hooray, felted heart ornaments!  Until then, it'll be pretty quiet around here. 

However: if there's something you'd like to see/order or if you have any other requests, PLEASE feel free to get in touch: info[at]travelingrhinos[dot]com.  I'm happy to oblige!  I just won't be back to blog or do any big updates until after the 9th.  xo, e

shop-a-holic

since it's gotten so crazy around here (this time of year is insane, isn't it?) and I haven't been so good about taking photos, I thought I'd at least pop in & share a few of my artists + indie shops over the next few days.  It is officially holiday shopping season, right?

This summer, I was lucky enough to be able to squeeze in a trip to my favorite bead shop, the Beadin' Path in Freeport, Maine, while they were having a trunk show that I was SUPER excited about: Stephanie Sersich & Amy Johnson, two of the most talented glass artists I know of. 

I've known Stephanie for a few years, ever since I took a bracelet class with her at the Beadin' Path.  (It was the spiny knotted bracelet class, HIGHLY recommend it if you have the opportunity.  She teaches classes mostly in the New England area but sometimes travels to teach too.) 

I got one of Stephanie's gorgeous starfish early on, and then when d & I got engaged I had her make six different starfish in our wedding colors.  I kept one & each of my 'maids got one too.  In some It's-A-Small-World randomness, Stephanie is the niece of my high school french teacher, AND some very good friends of ours moved into the same (small) condo that she lives in when they moved to Portland.

(from left to right: 1st starfish, wedding starfish on necklace, newest starfish)

another shot of the wedding starfish + the full necklace it became.

I've been a fan of Amy's work ever since I saw it some years ago in Bead & Button magazine, but had never seen it in person.  Lo & behold, Stephanie & Amy are friends, so I did my best to make sure we were free to go up to the trunk show.

After a lot of hemming & hawing & bargaining with both D & my bank account, I walked off with the following awesomeness: two sucker rings & an anatomical heart from Amy, and a starfish (my third) from Stephanie.   

sucker rings

heart pendant

starfish #3

Hello, gorgeous.  They both use color in a way that I really love + appreciate, and their glasswork is flawless.  If you're interested, more photos, including some with rings on the finger, are included in this flickr set.  Honestly, I can't say enough nice things about their gorgeous beads & jewelry.  I don't think you could go wrong gifting any of their work.

PS. Imagine my thrill when I found that Amy now has an etsy shop too!  If anyone is looking to spoil me this holiday season, her incredible tubes of you necklaces are on sale!  A mere $1100.  ;)  I like this one & this one best.  Oh, and the complete heart rings!!  swoon.

whirlwind visits

Well, we're about to set off!
Don't forget to stop by & see us if you're in the DC/Virginia/Maryland area!

DC Craft Mafia is proud to present
          The UNusual Suspects Arts & Crafts Festival
          The Anastasi Room
          5020 Battery Lane
          Bethesda, MD 20814
        Saturday, November 3, 2007
        12pm to 8pm
          50+ Amazing Vendors
          Donate $1 to The Washington Humane Society and get one doorprize ticket!
We'll be in booth #52.  Even more details about the show here.

I wish I could say that I thought we'd be seeing the sites & checking out our nation's capital while we're there, but with friends with new babies & friends home from abroad & friends with significant others we haven't met yet in the area, I'm pretty sure we won't see anything tourist-y at all. 

I was hoping for some Atomic Books action, but it may have to wait 'til next time we're in the area.  With any luck, we'll see all our friends, the inside of a good restaurant, a couple good nights' sleep, and maybe some room service at our hotel. 

Have a good weekend!

blog on the run

Gee, D loves him some Wings these days.  He's been mixing beats with Paul's songs.  When I figure out where the link to his myspace for that music is, I'll come back here with it.  Hence the title.

And also because it seems like we've been on the run constantly!  Rhinebeck was awesome!  Of course we were a bit limited by time due to some last-minute plans to visit with people we never get to see, but it was a good time nonetheless... despite poor D getting mowed down & cut-off by seemingly sweet little ladies who would suddenly turn cutthroat & vicious when confronted with yarn & fiber that they wanted... 

I got to meet Carrie & Michelle, which was awesome, but missed any other meet-ups due to time shortage (hello, I had to at least walk by all the vendors!) and needing to feed & rest the spouse.  I have to figure out uploading to youtube so I can show off the video I took of tortoises eating.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Here's a still-shot preview...

More Rhinebeck photos here.  Shopping scores will be flashed after I'm sure that someone I was shopping for has received her fiber goodies.  After running through the fairgrounds, we booked it down to Manhattan to meet up with friends.  I did insist upon a stop here, as was promised to me when we modified our original plans to stay at Rhinebeck longer, and was rewarded with some tokidoki goodness. 
Followed by: check in to hotel, rush to catch ferry (really kinda fun btw), shabu-shabu, weird greek restaurant staff, wedding party crashing @ rewind, drinks, ferry again, police car in hotel parking lot for HOURS, not enough sleep, mitsuwa market, yummy spanish food, and PINKBERRY!  see more photos here.  Will do more of a food & friend rewind/run-down on blogger next week.

All of the above occured in a period of less than 36 hours.  Don't forget driving time from Boston to Rhinebeck to Manhattan to Boston (last leg in Sunday afternoon traffic no less).

This weekend, we're off to DC!  In typical style, we're squeezing in visits with friends along with business... Come check out the DC Craft Mafia show if you're in the area!

and now for something completely different...

Hmm.  I've been making an effort to do more fun fall activities before it gets so chaotic around here getting ready for fall + winter shows that I can't leave the house.  Last weekend there was a giant corn maze, apple picking, and fried pickles in Witchtown.

This weekend, we're headed to Rhinebeck!  Just for the day on Saturday, but I know there will be lots of blogosphere folks there, so here are some identifying details about me in case you're there...

(from left to right)
1. I like this picture best but
2. I always have my hair up, so I will probably look more like this.
3. I will likely be wearing this jacket.  If it rains, I will have a lt. green raincoat on.
4. I'll have this guy in tow (or infood lines)-- he may really look cranky like this 'cause he doesn't like crowds and
5. I will be carrying this very bright + easy-to-spot bag which is nice + roomy for holding fiber + yarn purchases (bag photo borrowed from tokidoki blog)

We're headed south after that for the night.  Visiting visitors from the midwest + of course, eating.  Hope to stop here (for these! from lesportsac-- see also frame #5 above) and here on the way to New York.  Be back Sunday night with a big fiber update + other goodies!

hurry up hurry up hurry up!

I feel like sticking this picture of myself from twenty-some years ago to my forehead to remind myself to move faster.  Mostly 'cause I feel SLOOOOOOOOW these days.  Have been feeling a bit under the weather and therefore a little overwhelmed with keeping up with orders + updates while trying to get ready for what looks to be like a pretty packed fall + holiday show season. 

I totally forgot about the Columbus Day weekend too, until it was here.  long weeken + mr. rhino at home + not feeling well = Fiber Club going out a few days later than I had wanted/planned, and updates taking longer than desired.  Blech.  Rather than continue to bore you with that talk, I'll talk about myself.

I'm not 100% sure, but my best guess is that the photo above was taken when I was about 6, in Paris.  My dad used to travel a lot for work, and when I was little he would take me + my mom with him.  I no longer have bangs or rock the side ponytail, but am told frequently that otherwise look pretty much the same, on a slightly larger scale.  I know for a fact that I still make this face in photos today. 

Note also the fabulous crocodile buttons + trim on pink overalls.  My mom used to make most of my clothes. I have yet to develop such sewing skills as she has.  (Kind of hard to motivate when I can just ask her to make something for me.)  I might have passed on the lace trim on the pockets + excessive collar and sleeves on the shirt myself, but I'm certain that this outfit was made with a skill I can only hope to aspire to. 

Ok, back to work.  I'll be back as soon as possible with craftier-type photos. 

a little retail therapy...

I have this suspicion that part of why I can be such an inconsistent blogger is that I'm SLOOOOOW about it.  And wordy, I'm wordy!  So I'm going to work on including more posts with pictures and links.  (click photos for larger versions)  On your mark... GO!

I have been obsessing over shoes lately!  I already own these Royal Elastics:

(Flonica in black + green) but I want these too!
   
I really enjoy their unique color choices!  Check out the metallic Flonicas!  Heck, just check out a variety here.  Unfortunately, these are not what I would deem as "sensible" shoes for New England winters...  I'm really in need of dressy but slightly more snow-negotiable shoes and probably some boots.  I've got these Campers (Brother Sisters), which I LOVE (check the adorable raspberry stitching):

but unfortunately these are snug on my not-skinny calves and therefore don't work over thick socks/tights.  I think these boots from sugar are all adorable:






from top to bottom, that's the morigami in wool olive, graphic boot in green and in brown, beefy bacon strip (I kid you not), morigami asian floral and the rollin roundup (that's flocked velvet, btw).  And the patterns!!!  are you looking closely?!

the squirrels + sweet ribbon detail just kill me. 

Sometimes I wish I could go a little crazier (and less cute) with my boots-- like these or these.  But I'm pretty sure I can't.  Nor can I afford to buy boots that I only dare to wear once or twice... though I DO like the style of the pump on the second boot there.  and didn't I say I wanted some dressy covered-toe shoes?  Best of both worlds?  Possibly Princess Grace:

Actually, they have their amazing patterns on their awesome flats too!  as well as some fun + slightly more street styles named after old skool rappers!  meet sugar hill, doug e & flava flav.  I'm torn between the latter two, but have already amassed a rather large collection of flats + mary janes, in large part due to Eleanor Grosch's adorable Keds...  (current most-desired pair: the penguins)

Speaking of Keds, here is my crafty-patchwork-loving-self swoon of the week (though I am also overshopped in slip-ons too):

how can you resist these?!?  Crap, I've gotten away from boots + dressy fall/winter shoes, haven't I?  SUGGESTIONS APPRECIATED!    also, this post took longer than my rambling ones.  I think it's all the links.  Hmm.   BBS to try again soon.

notes: photos (except for keds) from: zappos, shoes.com + endless.com (amazon derivative).  I have used all three (I told you I'm a semi-professional shopper!) and have been pleased with the service at all of them.  (though endless does still have the negative $5 overnight shipping-- like free overnight and an add'l $5 off)

where do I start?

well... I took a much longer break from blogging than I had planned meant to allow.  Not that I'm the most consistent of bloggers to begin with, but there's been a lot going on.  Nothing life-changing-ly serious, but a lot at what felt like all at once.  I've been feeling dragged down by a lot of things, and am now finally feeling like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

So, here's to hearing lots more from me here!  (I know, you're all just waiting on pins and needles, aren't you?)  I've been working + crafting lots, I swear!  Oh, and shopping.  'Cause I'm REALLY good at that.  How about a picture at least, you say?  I can do that.

Pictured are:

• LWA stationery + telegram flats from 16 Sparrows -- LOVE the idea of promoting letter writing!  I always want to buy everything from 16 Sparrows, but I have so much paper + stationery that it's hard to justify.
• pirate ships! from owly shadow puppets -- these were so awesome I got two sets... I was worried about getting them home 'cause I'd stressed last winter about getting the Yetti home from Renegade Holiday, but Andrea's mom was manning the booth + convinced me when she told me that they might not make it online (don't see them anywhere yet).  I had actually ordered more Yettis + a T-Rex (! how does she know what all my faves are?  if only there was a rhino) before we even left for Chicago...
• bollywood star tea from herb + ginger -- so yummy! that reminds me, I'd wanted to order the apple one too...
• cutie hair clips from Wonderland Q (aka Totally Awesome Alison!) -- ... that hair clip has a mate but I don't know where it is right now.  I should've gotten more of those.  I'll have to go stalk Alison to see where she'll be next :)
• a whole slew of stamps + the ABC chart from The Small Object -- I have a hard time resisting Sarah's stuff, especially when presented with all of its adorableness in person!  I may have to gift some of those stamps though, it seems selfish not to share.

You can click through for more details + bigger views.  I kind of had to speed-shop while I was there, 'cause it was crazy at the booth so I really ran through.  There was so much more I wanted to see!  Also purchased but not shown: sweet Jay Ryan poster.

Also pictured: amazing Red Fire Tortilla Chips and Mo's Bacon Bar (previously blogged about here) from Vosges.  Next on my list from there (as soon as it's cool enough so I don't have to pay extra for cooling materials in shipping) is the Italian Collection.  YUM.  By the way, the bacon bar is HIGHLY recommended.  I always make a big deal out of going to the Vosges boutique in Chicago when I'm there because even though they sell a lot of the bars at Whole Foods, you cannot get the Bacon Bar there (short shelf life + high demand, I think), and the chips have been out of stock for ages.  Shipping is expensive too.  Also, they give you free samples at the boutique.  Luckily I have nice friends who don't mind too much when I drag them along on my random whimsies.

More about the whole Chicago trip (good and somewhat frustrating) here and here.

renegade rewind

wow, the last few weeks have been a whirlwind.  I know I always say that, but it really seems like it's been extra chaotic.  I've been thinking about it, and I've decided that it has a lot to do with the terrible feng shui in my studio/workspace. 

I do not even have to look at any diagrams or get a compass out, because there is clutter EVERYWHERE.  That means that nothing in my life is going as smoothly as it should/could be.  I do not claim to be a particularly organized person, but it's extra bad horrifying here right now.  So much so that I will be taking a few days off next week to get things on track.  Part of what caused the extra craziness around here was Renegade. 

1. on the way to renegade, 2. on the way to renegade, 3. lunch, day 1, 4. beauty addiction on the way to dinner, 5. my moon gate, 6. moon salad at my moon, 7. cheese plate at my moon, 8. tiny dumplings at my moon, 9. fun! day 2, 10. handspun + day 2, 11. banner + jewelry, day 2, 12. dane day 2, 13. booth day 2, 14. close up of marilyn's case, 15. on the way home, 16. renegade purchases
(Created with fd's Flickr Toys.)

This was my second year at Renegade in Brooklyn, so you'd think I'd have been better prepared, but somehow I wasn't.  This spring had been such a blur with things happening on the home front, that business-wise I just haven't been where I wanted to be.  And this was the first big show this year...

So we drove down Sat. am and day 1 was all a BLUR.  Busy busy until the TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR about 2 hours before close.  It cleared up pretty fast, but everything was soaked, so we packed it in for the day.  Then we had an amazing dinner at My Moon (more about that amazing dinner here) and off to bed.  Day 2 was kind of a blur too, and then we headed back. 

A few highlights:

• Visiting with my friend mrs. s, who I never see enough!  thanks for helping out for two days straight!!!  unpaid, no less. 

• Meeting the amazing Aprill of lulubeans, who is super super nice!  and VERY talented.  She was hanging out with Jen swallowfield and Meg pixiegenne at their booth.  I love all of their work, so it was neat having them right across the way! 

Side story: I actually "met" Aprill and Meg at a little local sale at their neighborhood pre-school.  Knowing it was (mostly) on the way up to d's dad's, I made him stop at this random little school in a random little residential area in Portland so I could buy yarn and one of meg's buckets.  But I felt shy + silly so I never introduced myself at the time.  They know now, though.  I hope I don't seem like a stalker.  Though to be honest there is an awful lot I will do for yarn...

• Obviously, the shopping.  Oh, the shopping!  Good thing Aprill wasn't selling her yarns.  I was on a serious budget this year, but I did pick up a few things, mostly gifts (click through for details):

• Getting asked the randomest questions ever + having what I'm quite sure are extremely unflattering photos of myself taken by some nice folks from JANE magazine (more on this as I know more).
• Meeting lots of people I previously only knew from etsy or elsewhere online... It's nice to know that these are all real people.  And nice ones too!!
• Meeting Marie from The Sampler was awesome also even though it was only for two seconds!

Gee, it only took two weeks for me to blog about this.  It's still June, people!  I'm improving!!  More on my attempts to get good feng shui going will be forthcoming.