Roseland Cottage Fine Arts and Crafts Festival

Well, I didn't get accepted to this one again this year.  So I took a ride to Woodstock, CT., to find out just what kind of jewelry did get accepted.  Last year I applied with pictures of my steampunk jewelry.  While it seems to be what gets me into shows like West Hartford, Historical New England probably didn't find that classy enough. So this year I sent pictures of my nicest fine silver pieces.  And it appears that too was a mistake.  

Taking a tour around the festival I found that though the jewelry category wasn't more than a quarter of the vendors, there were many, many with silver jewelers.  Silver clay pieces and those made by metal smiths tend to have similarities.  There were jewelers with shiny sterling silver, some with oxidized silver, a couple with some interesting designs, and a few that set stones.  On the other hand, I think there were only about 3 bead jewelers and they were all different from one another--riveted, soldered, and crocheted but no strands of plain strung beads at all.

So my dilemma now is what should I apply with next year.  Steampunk is the only genre with no competition. But I'm not sure this show is ready for what might be considered "gritty and industrial" just yet.  I've thought about a high end steampunk with gemstones and no rust.  Play up the whole recycling thing.  Or should I go back to my roots and try gemstone cluster pieces.  I guess I'll be working on this for awhile.

The show, however, is still quite successful.  Traffic was great on Saturday morning despite the $5 admission fee.  And people were buying.  The wind was an issue and I heard that a couple of tents blew away.  There were also a few empty spaces where it appeared people didn't show up.  But this is a show I hope to get into again one of these years.

I did see two members of the Artisans of Western Mass. selling there.  Fortunate enough to get is was Little Birch Farm and Armeith Naturals.  They both have great products.  I hope that had a great weekend.

Virginia Vacation Pt.2

A craft show, a garlic festival, and apple picking.  Just like home.

But in Virginia, they do it bigger.  The craft show was the Crozet Arts and Crafts Fall Festival.  This is a higher end craft show with a lot of regional artisans.  I had applied to this show a couple of years ago but didn't get accepted.  Now I know why.  This show is established with about 135 booths set up in 3 barn-like buildings and a very large tent on the grounds of Claudius Park.   The pottery we saw was unique, like Tom Clarkson's, and the colors unusual--reds, for instance.  Jewelry, even what might be considered strung beads, had a different twist, some unique findings, or dichroic glass made to look like flowing water.

 I stopped to see Mark Van de Bogart, a metalsmith I had met when doing a show in Rhode Island.  It was nice to see him again and knowing he'd be there,  I brought some gemstones for him to set.  His designs are truly "out of the box."  I can't wait to see the pendant he creates for me.

Unlike some local shows here in Wmass, Crozet isn't hurting for vendors or traffic.

On Sunday we decided to get some apples at a place called Carter Mountain.  This has one of the area's largest apple orchards and is a very popular destination.  Thinking it might be like Atkins, we drove to what is located high up on land adjacent to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello.  Traffic was so heavy it took us 40 minutes to crawl to the top. And this was NOT Atkins. They not only have the largest orchards I've ever seen but vineyards that go on forever.  Easily hundreds of cars were parked in the fields near the apple barns.

I guess in Viginia they too have to sometimes state the obvious--

We debated about whether or not to go to what we thought was a garlic festival.  It was farther away and cost $25 to get in.  But I'm glad we went as it was actually a WINE and garlic festival and $25 bought you a glass that you took with you from booth to booth for tasting.  Like the festival in Orange, MA, this one takes place in a  large field, among some old grapevines that aren't producing right now.  From the field where we parked (not as steep as those in Orange) we were herded through the old vineyard.

Lots of craft booths, local food, bottled sauces, and jellies are mixed in with a few booths selling a variety of garlic and several booths belonging to local wineries, a farm that produces hard cider, and a couple of booths selling mead.  To give you some sense of the size of this festival, among the maze of rows running through fields and wooded areas, there were 4 stages for music all playing at the same time.

I found some nice Riesling and a pumpkin spiced mead that was wonderful.  But as I wasn't checking any luggage, I couldn't take them home on the plane.

Virginia Vacation Pt. 1

This year has been a bit stressful.  Lots of distractions from what I'd really like to be doing--designing jewelry.  So I took my youngest daughter up on her offer to visit her in Virginia.  I closed both Etsy shops, packed a small bag, and flew (on really small planes) to Virginia.  


Central Virginia looks a lot like Western Mass. which is probably why I kept running into people who had moved there from various parts of New England.  Same scenery, similar lifestyle, but warmer climate (usually).

                                                       Christmas 2010
My daughter had a lot of things planned. On Friday we drove out to Richmond to do some shopping and participate in an art walk. Unique shops line about a mile of Cary St. (known as Carytown) where you can find high end boutiques, consignment shops, handmade chocolates, and arts and crafts.  I really enjoyed out pit stop at Sweet Frog.  I'd really love to see one of these frozen yogurt shops here is Wmass.  They carry unusual flavors of frozen yogurt and the  caramel with pecans on top was my favorite!

And we discovered one of the best bead stores I've ever seen (and I've seen a lot of them). Bangles and Beads has been around for about 20 years and it's definitely what every bead shop aspires to be.  Chuck full of strands of every kind of bead imaginable, it also has a full line of common and unusual findings.  If I lived in Richmond, I'd never have to shop online again.

We stopped for supper at Kuba Kuba.  This Cuban restaurant has won a number of awards over the years for being one of the best restaurants in Richmond.  I expected a high end, expensive place only to find that it's just a small (about a dozen tables) popular neighborhood restaurant.  And it's packed even before 5pm.  

After a couple of Cuban sandwiches we headed off to the first Friday Art Walk.  This too wasn't what I had expected.  Art was not only displayed in galleries but also in a second hand shop, a couple of empty stores, and on the street.  We saw strange paper mache art, deer legs (yup, real ones) stacked in a small tower, great political satire, and a little raunchy comedy.

 Shawn Huckins is responsible for these text message masterpieces.

I don't text message so I needed the gallery explanation to know what these said.  Can you figure them out?

Getting Braver with New Designs in Silver Clay

September has been a pretty good month for Jansjems.  Considering that sales were down in the shows we did earlier in the year, it was a pleasant surprise to see that people are not only buying, they are buying my more important pieces.


I've talked about how much I enjoy working with Art Clay Silver.  But silver can be pricey so for the past 2 years we've been creating moderately priced pendants and earrings.  Recently I took the plunge and made a few larger pendants and strung them on strands of gemstones.  These are the reason I started working with silver clay in the first place.  Given the economy that could've been a really bad idea.  I am happy to report, however, that in the last 2 shows I sold 3 of these larger pieces and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the trend continues.

I've been reading a lot and watching online videos of techniques.  Learning on your own can be expensive if you make too many mistakes.  And I've had a few.  But I feel so good when something works.  So what's so special about silver clay?

The possibilities are endless.  Here are just a few designs that inspire me to keep working on my technique. I did manage to take a couple of classes with Lis-el Crowley.  She teaches out of her gallery in Windsor, Ct. and makes pieces like this one below.

In one of the books that I have there are instructions on how to create Gordon Uyeha's very organic "Forest Spirit" hollow form.  I'm not quire ready for this one yet.  Maybe someday.


And I have admired for years the work of Liz Hall who combines silver clay
with polymer clay for incredible pieces that look like this.


I have a long way to go and lot to learn.  But the journey is so much fun.

StART on the Street

One of the pieces of information an artisan needs when deciding to which arts and crafts shows he/she will apply is traffic.  The estimated number of people who attended in the past tells us if the show is established, well advertised, and popular.  Unfortunately that information is not always available. Occasionally I find a website for a show that actually has pictures of people in the aisles and shopping (and not just their volunteers manning the donations table).  When I can't get numbers, these pictures sometimes prompt me to give the show a try.

StART on the Street just had it's eighth show yesterday.  They have no problem advertising that they get over 200 vendors and attract over 20,000 people.  That's what I want to hear.  When I can't get that information, this is what I want to see.

This show takes place on Park Avenue in Worcester.  It begins at 11am and somewhere between 12 & 1pm this mass of people arrives making getting from one booth to the next a bit of a challenge.  At times we had so many people in the booth I could've used a third person.


The variety of arts and crafts runs from the truly funky and kitchy to high end and polished.  You can buy a skarf made from recycled t-shirts or fine art.  But StART isn't just a craft show.

  Throughout the day they have a variety of musicians performing, dancers, performance art,  mimes, and even a poetry reading stage this year.  There's a section dedicated to keeping children entertained.

And I can't leave out the Chinese dragon who made an appearance.

This is a fun show.   It's loud, it's crowded, it's full of the unusual and the unexpected.  You should try to get there next year.

For artisans who want more detailed information, go to my review section.

Old Deerfield Fall Craft Show

We're heading out to Worcester tomorrow for the annual StArt on the Street that takes over a portion of Park Avenue.  It's big, it's loud, and it draws around 20,000 people.  We decided to go back to Worcester after taking a break last year to sell at the Old Deerfield Fall Craft Show.  But I visited this year's show with a friend just to see if the people who told me last year they weren't going to return, really didn't return.  And they didn't.

While even the fall show, the biggest and best attended of the 4 they sponsor, didn't have all the spaces filled, I was happy to see some new artisans at the show.  Tina's Baskets is not your traditional basket.  She came with basketry art.  Even her actual baskets were unique yet usable.

Liz Blanchflower came with her handcrafted sterling silver designs and unique French knot cord necklaces.

Lou Rudinski, woodturner, came all the way from Maryland to set up a tent with beautiful wooden bowls.


I had a laugh looking at the Art of Conni Togel.  It's all about sheep and they are wonderful!  This one is called "Big Horn Sheep".

I hope these new vendors did well so that they'll return.  Having attended this craft show as a patron for years, I always like to see new artisans.

Gotta run and pack up the car for Worcester.

                  

Ahhh. Mattoon Street

A neighborhood of historic brownstones, brick sidewalks, and old trees.  The perfect setting for a September craft show and another successful Mattoon St. Festival. And unlike some shows that are losing their popularity both with vendors and customers, Mattoon St. seems to be growing.  They hosted 100 vendors this year.  That may be a record.  And I really think the traffic increased as well.  Of course it helps to have good weather.

We showed up with both our steampunk and fine silver jewelry this year.  There are several other jewelers with beaded designs so I left those at home.  I was happy to see that our silver was almost as popular as the steampunk and I saw a couple of my newest pieces go to good homes.  It's really bitter sweet when a piece I've put a lot of time and effort into gets sold.  I tend to get attached.  Well, I can only hope my customers love wearing them as much as I loved making them.

I've talked so much about this particular show that a few of my fellow AWM members applied this year.  And I was pleased when they also reported having a good weekend.  

Awards are given out for first, second and third place in a variety of categories--fine art, jewelry, glass, etc.  This year Jansjems came in second in the jewelry category, losing first place to my good friend
Kathleen Anderson and her polymer clay jewelry.

And then there are the roving musicians.  From a harpist to a lady's barbershop quartet they have something for everyone.  The accordionist and clarinetist got together at one point and even played a couple of polkas. And, no, I didn't request them.

The Mattoon St. Association makes a real effort to make you feel comfortable.  Bob McCarroll is on site both days in case you need anything.  They allow set up on Friday night which I just love.  On Saturday morning I'm cool and calm and not all sweaty from setting up the tent.  The food court only has 4 or 5 vendors but there's alway a nice selection.  There were crepes this year to die for.  And, as in the past, volunteers come around on Sunday just before closing and offer vendors hors d'oeurves or cheese and crackers.  A rather nice touch.