The sketch-
The doll-
Do you know what a penny rug is? That is what I was thinking about- piles of cut-out wool pieces, stitched together and onto a backing. I know this is nothing like a penny rug- it is just what was on my mind!
Looks like the rain is going to end tomorrow. Yes!
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!
Usually when I finish a doll, I am finished. I don’t go back. But now I’ve done it twice in a week. hmm.
This doll is now this doll-
It was a problem with the glasses and eyes. I was never satisfied with them. And several people didn’t get that she was wearing glasses- clearly not working. I’d been looking at her and thinking change for a while. Finally, last Friday, she got new glasses and new eyes too.
I brought her down from the studio to photograph. As I was looking at her through the camera, I saw a tiny hole in the dress- I couldn’t believe it! How could I have missed it? That is what happens with recycled clothing- there is probably a reason they ended up in the thrift shop. Anyway, back to the studio and now she has dots. I love dots.
And this doll– the fairy baby. I was looking at her at the market and this was really bothering me-
The pinks and the yellow orange combo was not working for me- at all. I picked it out today and changed it to this-
And I added a few little lines into the blue butterfly. Small changes but I am happier with it.
I went back to my original post of the fairy baby and just changed the photos and added a note- seems sort of a blog no-no. But I couldn’t decide… it was a recent post and that makes it seem less sinful. Any opinions on this?
Now that the market is past, it is time for catch-up in all parts of my life! There were a few things that I finished up at the end of last week that never made it to the blog.
I made 3 more Tiny Worlds-
This one looks like a cabin in the woods to me. I tried to give it a foresty look.
Very fancy cups can be a challenge to work with. This one looked like it needed a snow scene to mellow it out.
I sold one of these at the Market, but will put the other 2 plus the one I made for the pattern, onto Etsy later today.
*note- today 6/16/09, I redid some of the details on this doll and changed the photos.
This baby says flower fairy to me. She is so soft- the green background is woven cashmere. The flowers in the crown are made of all soft knits- cashmere and angora blends.
Here is the 4 babies together.
note- this is the old version of the baby- I changed the bottom flowers and added details into the blue butterfly.
In case you’ve been wondering why I’ve been finishing up so many pieces- I have a deadline- so inspiring! I will be at the South End Open Market this Sunday, with all my pals from Boston Handmade. For that reason, I haven’t been listing any of this most recent work in my Etsy shop. I will have an update next Monday, after the show.
the hat is suppose to be moon-ish.
Several people mentioned that my hand gave them an indication of the size. I forget that there are new people here who haven’t seen scale photos like this one. These swaddled babies are a little bit smaller then life-size- mostly about 12 inches long.
Now, back to babies-
The garden is incredible right now and sooo inspiring…
I have a very lush patch of thyme in the garden- it has taken years to get like that. I love how the dolls look, nestled in the green bed. And then there is the smell when I am stepping in it to take the photos.
Are you thinking, now wait a minute! I thought you were working on swaddled babies?! Well, yes I am. And I also had/have 3 ladies, waiting in doll limbo since before Christmas. When I started in on the babies, I pulled them onto the desk too. And now look who showed up!
Don’t worry though, tomorrow- another swaddled baby to show.
When I change direction and am trying to get in the groove- from girl dolls which are about the clothes, to baby dolls which are about applique and surface decoration- I find it useful to step back and start with a design I have explored before. That gets me thinking and going in the new direction but hopefully not getting overwhelmed or lost.
I love the night babies so I start there. Here are some earlier ones–
This doll was amazingly hard to photograph. If I wanted to show the details on the body, the face got washed out. Face right? Body ended up too dark. So I mixed them up to give a good idea.
