Thinking Ahead: Valentine’s Day

Nothing Says "I Love You" Like a Morning Constitutional Outdoors

Only seven weeks away, and if you make a week’s allowance for shipping in time for February 14th that really only leaves six weeks.  This year the name of the game is preempting the seasonal trends.  Two months seems like a long time, but for research, development, execution, photography and listing it’s not that much!

Above is a popular photograph I sold last year, available both as an 8×10 print, or a 8″x8″ photograph framed in a 10″x10″ frame.  The photograph is of an outhouse my Grammie has outside her cabin in rural VT, which she’s using as a toolshed.  Let’s also not forget that on this very same photo-expedition in the woods behind her house I also saw a HUGE BEAVER gnawing on a tree, thought it was a baby bear, and promptly ducked behind the biggest tree I could find lest its Mama Bear found me to be a threat.  But then after a bit I am thinking to myself “Why is that baby bear chewing on a tree?” and quickly remembered the beaver pond was due east.  Ha-ha!  The pictures of the beaver aren’t the clearest, but if there’s enough interest I may throw a snapshot up on the blog.

Coming Soon to Little Eye

I’m also excited to report I’ve done a little Photoshop, graphic design fun time and came up with the above graphic as a future ‘set of 3′ magnets + pins.  I’ll also be making mix n’ match earrings and barrettes with the designs as well as pendants.

We used to have a bar here in Portland called The White Heart, a spoof off the famous UK watering hole called The White Hart.  For those of you in-the-know, you are totally aware that mature stags (appx. 5 years and older) used to be referred to as ‘harts.’  Now they’re just plain awesome.  I’m really digging these graphics because although they’re clearly seasonal, they’re applicable any time of the year.  I was considering doing a pink/red version of the set but something about that feels wrong so it’s just going to stay as is.  I might be persuaded to do red/baby blue since that’s my favorite.  In any case:  tell your friends!  Or don’t tell ’em and get them a nice, $5 set of 3 pins or magnets as a little way of saying “I ❤ you” this Valentine’s Day.

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You know what else is happening around Valentine’s Day?  Our band, Bath Salts, is playing its first show up in Brunswick with excellent acts:  Foam Castles, The Rattlesnakes and Berth Control.  Details to come – but you should come hang out with us!  Ok!

Music to My Ears… and My Hair.

OK, I’m going to try my hand at being a nice lady to my Etsy shop again.  I fell in to a lull this summer when sales were slumping and the beach was getting warmer and warmer.  But now that the Picnic busy-ness is over, I’m on top of my wholesale order (yet again) and the only real ‘extra’ project I have going on is knitting socks it seems like a pretty good time to start taking pictures again.

Non-sequitur:  I am in need of someone with size 7 feet who would like to trade modeling socks for… a pair of hand knit socks.  I’d need your toes for modeling by mid-September and then I’d have a pair of socks (in your choice of color and calf-length!) ready for you by the beginning of October.

Ok, but now to make sense of this post title:  I experimented with making post earrings with bottle caps before Picnic — this is not something I would wear (I like little posts, big hoops, or super dangly ones) but I’ve noticed a lot of people walking around with the chunky, ‘clip-on’ style earrings so thought I’d give it a go.  It did pretty well!  I sold three pairs at Picnic which was half of my experiment stock.  Here are two listings that will be music to your ears (and hair):

A Pirate Looks Under Starboard - Click on the Image to see listing.

Bass Clef Hair Clip - Click on image for listing.