Moonfruit 'n Muffins

The time has come- time to dig the computer out from beneath the mountains of snow and update my blog.
I must admit, the transition from holidays and new year back into business mode has been, shall we say, less than graceful this year. But with two show applications due this month I finally had to snap myself back into work mode.
One of the major things I want to accomplish this year is to launch my own ecomm website. As much as I love the ease and convenience of Etsy, I feel like it's really the next step my business(es) need to take.
That being said, when it comes to web design I know nothing.
Nada.
Bupkes.
And so the hunt has been on lately to find an online web design program that'll do some of the heavy lifting, programming-wise. While the decision hasn't QUITE been finalized yet, I'm enjoying Moonfruit.com.
It's pretty simple to drag drop and manipulate, even for the likes of me.
I'm FAR from finished, but these are the beginnings of phase one of this major undertaking:


To calm myself when I get all burned out on computing, I always have the solace of my highly low-tech crafts. I've been working on producing some new items, mainly with my felt, and I'm pretty excited about them.
Here's a little preview of my petit dejeuner fridge magnets to get yer felt tastebuds a'waterin':



(Incidentally, I have my eyes on the most AMAZING retro pink refrigerator toy to display them on. Fingers crossed that it doesn't come to me ripping it from a small child's hands)



Happy February everyone, and happy thoughts for an early spring!

Snowed In

Happy 2011 everyone! It's been a crazy couple of months since my last post but thanks to the foot of snow preventing my adorable Mini Cooper from going much of anywhere today, I thought I'd catch you all up a bit.
In November there was Twist. In December, there was Bazaar Bizarre Boston. Twist, as you know, was a Fuzz.E.Food show. Bazaar Bizarre was Baublefish. It was a ton of work to prepare for two shows at once, but both shows were great experiences for very different reasons and the catharsis of having it all be OVER with was a pretty damned great feeling.
Of course, shows being over meant it was time for full-throttle holiday prep.
Trees were trimmed, stockings hung and local economies stimulated and as a special holiday surprise, my boyfriend (of over 13 years) and I got engaged.

In rolls 2011.

After going full-tilt on show prep for such a long time, I admit it's been nice to take a little breather, but now break time is over and it's time to get back to work!
I have many plans for this coming year including tweaking my web presence, playing with new materials, learning new things, producing new products...and I'm excited about it all.

So welcome, 2011.
Bring it on.

Totally TWISTed

Well, though I can hardly believe it myself it's already mid-November and that means the first show of the season is already over. Aside from my predictable last minute panic attack (which you can pretty much set your watch by), Twist was a big success and my lovely assistant Stephen and I had a great time.

I think my favorite thing was how many people giggled as they looked through my stuff and hearing parents describe what exactly a "Hostess cupcake" was and why they thought it was so cool to their children, brought up in an ever-so-slightly more health conscious generation reared on fruit leathers and soy snacks.

And the star of the night at the Fuzz.e.Food table? My amazingly tacky pink tree. There's something very Zen about toying with its feathery branches that appealed to a lot of people.

It was a ton of work to be sure, but a great time was had by all, vendors and shoppers (I hope!) alike. Thanks to everyone who made it out and to those who didn't, never fear- Twist VI is a mere 6 months away!

So now I'm switching crafty gears, clearing the felty dustbunnies from the workbench and breaking out the silver- time to get ready for Bazaar Bizarre!

Twist and Shout Outs!

T-Minus 11 days 'til Twist and there are still a million things to do. This will be the first of my shows this season and (hopefully) will involve the most preparation. The other ones will be a piece of cake after that right? RIGHT?!

So as I'm spending most of my time preparing for shows (Bazaar Bizarre will be a whole other post unto itself) I find my days are pretty uninteresting as far as blogging material goes. "Got up and worked all day, blah blah blah. Made more pieces, yadda yadda...".


So in lieu of filling you in on the minutia of show preparation, I thought it might behoove me to give a little love to some of my personal favorite Twist vendors and entice you, my lovely readers, to attend the show and see (and perhaps buy some of) the goodies for yourselves!

First up, my friend Maeg Yosef of Edison Rex. She makes amazing prints of her original artwork and word on the street is she's got some new toys to debut at the show this year...


Another favorite 2D artist of mine is Julie Beck. This woman does things with acrylic paint that would make a tube of oil paint blush. I own a couple of her pieces myself and if you have the means I highly recommend picking one up- they are so choice.


In a more three-dimensional arena there are such wonderful things as jewelry from DA Metals- she makes these totally fun, colorful pieces of jewelry from silver and enamel in all these different modular designs. Very cool things.


Maybe an amazing belt from AWC Designs?...

...Or fantastic measuring spoons from Beehive Kitchenware?

I could go on forever.

There are so many talented people in this show, I am honored to be among them. SO, guys and gals- the long and the short of it is, you should come to this show.
Northampton Center for the Arts
Friday November 12th from 6pm-9pm and
Saturday November 13th from 10am-6pm.


P.S. Did I mention there's beer and food?

Maker of Things, Baker of Cookies?

There's something you should know about me...

I'm obsessed with Martha Stewart.

We're not talking like, a John Hinckley Jr. kind of obsession here, but there's something about her level of craft OCD that I really relate to and admire. She makes me want to fold perfect hospital corners on my sheets and repurpose old suitcases into chic storage cabinets. I mean, for her Halloween special, the woman (and her amazing craft department) made cocktail glasses out of cored apples, complete with a decorative orange sugar rim.

AMAZING.

(On a side note, I also have respect for Martha for being one of the few celebrity jailbirds to serve her time with dignity.

Paris Hilton could learn a thing or two.)

So lately, the combination of my DVR episodes of Martha and the nip of Autumn on the New England air has filled me with a strange desire: I feel the need to bake.

Now you may be thinking "What's so odd about baking?" But for me, this is not normal behavior. My boyfriend Steve cooks about 99% of the meals we eat and when it's my turn to cook, usually we order out.

But I couldn't help myself. Martha beckoned. And so I made cookies that were SO delicious, even She would be proud. (Well, she would have been if they hadn't gotten ever so slightly burned. Fail.)

For anyone interested in a perfect Autumn afternoon tea cookie, you can find the recipe here. They're amazing Orange Cardamom Cookies that were featured in Gourmet magazine. (See how little I cook? I'm boasting about making amazing cookies by following someone else's recipe as if I re-invented the wheel).

A tasty diversion from craft show preparation, but now I'm back on track.

Next stop, TWIST!

Meet the Maker

My name's Kerri and I make things. LOTS of things.

I started making things, as most makers do, when I was a kid. Never one for sports, instead I spent my days on the important things like making clay bumblebees and drawing princesses, mostly with their hands behind their back (and trust me- if this method were still a viable option every person I drew would still have their hands behind their back 'cause you know what? Hands are hard).
When I grew up, I was going to write and illustrate childrens' books. I decided this pretty early on and so when it was time for college, I went and learned to do this:

When I graduated however, I didn't make children's books.

Instead I got full-time a job making custom signs for a grocery store. So then, I found myself making these:

After a few years of sign making (wherein I honed my abilities to both paint a multitude of foodstuffs and pun the jokiest huckster under the table) I decided that it was time to branch out a bit more.
This is where things start to get a little crazy.
I decided to start a jewelry business.
Why you might ask? Where did this heretofore unexplored genre of craftiness come in to play? I wish I had an answer for this but the best I can do is to say that I'm pretty sure it was largely due to a hidden desire to return to making clay bumblebees. So then I started making these:

You'd think that illustrator/sign-maker/jeweler would be enough crafty hats to wear but if you were me, you'd be wrong.
In moving to a new town I discovered this wonderful felt store. What would even compel me to go in? I don't felt....and yet....
So yeah. I went in. And now I make these:

So this is me. I make things.
I know that all you makers of things out there can relate to the feeling of being a plate spinner. Once you decide to turn what you make into a business, you just start stacking more plates onto the pile. You go from illustrator/sign-maker/jeweler/needle felter to photographer, designer, advertiser, marketing expert, bookkeeper, etc..

And with this post, we officially add blogger to the list.

Welcome to the journey of keeping the plates in motion.