Category Archives: General

going along 2

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There have finally been some nice sunny days after many rainy ones and that means that Ben and I head out for a woodsy spot to look for mushrooms. We haven’t had much luck finding any, but it is always a good excuse for a stroll in the woods. Lately, our favorite spot is bordered by a cemetery and I’ve been studying the headstones.

I always notice the unusual names- Adeliza

Amaryllis- (remember in the Music Man?)

Asaetta-

I guess A names were popular for girls in the 1800’s.

There were a number of graves with oak leaf motif- something I haven’t noticed before.

The willows are more common-

The lichen on this one is beautiful. And on the bottom, the inscription says- Noble, Wise and Generous. I think we would all like to be remembered for that.

I love this one- great image and great name-

Ben had better luck finding mushrooms without me.

going along 1

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I’m way behind- here is the market report.

The market was last Saturday- it was one of those “paying your dues” kind of events.

Can you see where my tent is set up? Right next to the bus stop? Air quality, poor.

And it was windy. I’ve never experienced a windy market day. I think it might be worse then rain. I am going to have to do some booth redesign to address it.

I met some nice people and had some great conversations. Surprisingly, several people who were very enthusiastic about my work- so I assumed were interested in art and/or craft- had never heard of Etsy. My being surprised might say more about me then them.

I won’t be showing (in person) again until October, when I will be at the South End Open Market with Boston Handmade.

I still have room in my next tiny world class on 8/13. Email me, if you are interested. More info here.

classes- taking and teaching

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woo-hoo! I made a flag in my class today!

I’m going to put it in my booth at the show on Saturday!

I’ve had three classes so far. The first 2 days we tried out photoshop and today we worked in InDesign. The first 2 days were totally stressful. There are 3 middle-aged ladies in the class and then a whole bunch of teenagers. I know nothing about photoshop. Apparently a beginning class doesn’t actually start where I am. The teenagers already seem to know it all and never ask any questions. The 3 others (us) are the ones squeaking “help?”. I moved my seat today so that I was sitting next to someone else who is equally clueless- then I can grab the teacher every time she is near my neighbor. Today went better- I an working on a calendar.

I will be teaching another Tiny World class here in Arlington on Thursday, August 13. All the info is the same as here except the date. Email me at mimik@pobox.com if you’d like more info or would like to sign up.

show report

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finally! My show report- I am sure you were all holding your breath, right?

This past Sunday I was at the South End Open Market with my Etsy street team, Boston Handmade. I feel as though I passed some test because I survived my first rainy set-up. Real life doing an outdoor market. Here is a photo of the booth- mostly ready. I used a tent and thank goodness I had the sides, but the water pooled on the roof and dripped through in places. My banner got wet but survived just fine.

The rain poured down all through the set up time, but mostly stopped by 10:30 or so and crowds started showing up around 11.

I had a great day. My sales expectations were low since my prices are a lot higher then casual impulse buying. I sold a few things- that sweet yellow swaddled baby and one tiny world- both to repeat customers. The people who sell and the people who show up to buy are cheerful and enthusiastic. It is always fun.  I know that if I approached things differently, I would sell better.  If I want it to work for me, I need to go regularly and then people would get used to my work and the prices- that is how it works for me on Etsy and my blog. I just don’t have the energy to focus on both live markets and the internet marketing right now. And so, everything is in my Etsy shop.

The highlight of my day was a surprise visit from Kristin! I knew she was going to be in Boston for a job and I am so glad she found the time to come to the market. I haven’t seen her in 2 years! Hurray for internet friends!

Here is our Boston Handmade sign, before things got going in the morning.

Next show- Boston Handmade Marketplace on July 11 in Union Sq. Somerville. Guess I better get back to work!

summer show schedule

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I will be showing my work at the following places in the next few months-

Sunday, June 14- Boston Handmade will do a group appearance at the South End Open Market.

Saturday, July 11 (raindate Sunday, 7/12)- Boston Handmade Somerville Marketplace in Union Square.

Saturday, July 25- Boston Handmade at the Concord (NH) Arts Market

Sunday, Oct. 18- Boston Handmade at the South End Open Market.

little guy 2

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I’m getting over the plaid but still thinking about images of boys in the 50s and 60s. Here is the first little guy. I was also inspired by the cover illustration on this book– Every Friday by Dan Yaccarino.

Thanks for everyone who volunteered to test the pattern. I have now moved onto phase 2 of this pattern thing! I will let you all know when it is customer ready.

patterns- a survey

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wow, wow, wow!!! I am so thrilled by the response to the pattern on Purl Bee– from now on she will be referred to as purl girl. This is totally inspiring me to do my own pattern. A couple of things about me- I get overwhelmed and so thinking about doing a pattern suddenly seems enormous with too many decisions to make. And, I get easily discouraged- if I make a pattern and it’s a flop, I probably won’t try again.

So- I thought it’d be fun to do a survey. What pattern should I try first. The choices are- tiny world, kitty, tiki pillow, or sweater baby.

all of these would be doable by someone with basic sewing skills- nothing fancy.

the monday list

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I listed the last four girls in my Etsy shop. I had to retake some of the photos. We are in for a few stormy days so I set up in my studio to be… which I have gotten off course on. Got to get back on that.

One reason (excuse) for not moving the studio project ahead-

I took over the empty space for this project-

I said yes back in January (?) when Susan from Artstream asked me if I’d like to participate in a print show. I spent a good amount of time questioning that decision in the last few weeks. It was a challenge that I wanted to accept and succeed with- to change medium and keep the same feeling/style to my work. I think I will be able to really judge these in a year or so- right now is too soon. They will be going off to New Hampshire as soon as I’ve matted them up.

handmade portrait

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Are you wondering why I haven’t posted any finished dolls around here lately? Well, I got sidetracked. Last week I got an Etsy convo from Tara Young who does videos for Etsy. She does a wonderful series called Handmade Portraits and she asked me if I would be interested in being filmed for one. I thought about it for about 20 minutes- what would I wear, how could I lose 40 pounds in the next few days, is my studio clean enough, should I get a haircut… so many ridiculous worries- and then I said Yes, Of Course I’d be interested! I did a major cleanup in my studio and found enough floor space for her equipment. She arrived midday yesterday and we filmed all afternoon. She was back this morning and spent the day with me. Phew- exhausting!

Thanks (husband) Ben for taking some great photos!

We had a great time together and I think we both got a peak into the work world of the other. I don’t know when the film will be up, but I will definitely be posting about it.