Display 2.0

Well, the Holidays were too hectic to blog, and I spent January doing a bookcover. February was spent working on special bead orders and my new display. I put beadboard wainscotting panels around my plastic portable shelves, held in place with plastic ties, used an old piano top cover for the middle table board, and painted everything white. All in keeping with my shabby chic-Coastal Living vibe. I had to use the garage for my photographing - the due dates for fair applications were coming and we have been in a continuous round of rain and snowstorms - Could not put up a tent in 14" of snow. Aack!

I love my wacky baroque candelabras, which I repurposed with the help of some wood dowels and and aluminum wire into displays for my big Oceana Heart Pendants. They're actually pretty fragile for something so heavy.

The cleaned up, photo shopped, "Display" for Show applications. Wish me luck!

Needless to say, I still have more plans for improvement....

Jody

These Babies Need a Good Home (and Some Handmade Clothes)

I also found these three adorable headless baby mannequins at the Fortunoff sale. I have no use for them and bought them to SELL AT COST to any member of the New New Team (or someone they know) so they will find a new, loving, crafter home. They are way classy and cuddly and will make your display look like it stepped out of a high end children’s boutique.

The appendaged babies have a loop on the back for hanging and a pipe in a leg for standing (though one baby lost its loop when Child “J” decided to swing it around, new owner will just have to rig a new one.) They are $70.00 for all three. Contact me at jodylee@jodylee.org and ignore the non-delivery mail response, it’s wrong. I’m not going to haggle, or split them up, or jump through hoops to mail them to Nebraska. If someone wants them I’ll bring them to a street fair or team meeting, and if no one does, I will put them up on Etsy for a profit or use them to display my daughter’s cute baby clothes – yes, I’m a hoarder of useless, sentimental objects, so act now before my hoarding instincts get the better of me.

The Arrival of Doris

The loss of our local Fortunoff is my personal gain. I had never shopped there before, but bought a mannequin from their going out of business sale. We have named her Doris and she will model my earrings and necklaces for my Etsy shop. Unlike my first model (my daughter) Doris looks like a grown-up, and does not complain or sulk no matter how long I make her pose. She does not even ask to be paid or fed! Of course, being a plastic model, I would probably only need to give her a lettuce leaf from the toy food box and she would be happy.

My brother-in-law works for the company that owns the property the Fortunoff was located in and I’m going to suggest they bring in an IKEA store. Westchester could really use one, and I would actually go into it and buy things, unlike the deceased Fortunoff.

Our First Street Fair

It was very nearly a disaster. Grandma, Jessamyn, and I set out at the crack of dawn for the Fabulous Fifth Avenue Street Fair on a blustery May morning. I was going to show my artwork and my beads, and Jessamyn was going to show her button hairbands. It was our first time selling from a tent on the street and we were not prepared for high winds and possible rain. The tent tried to blow away, the panels fell over, and the display followed suit, beads flying, carousels breaking. At one point Grandma and Child were in tears and asking to go home. In my best “Calm Mommy” tones I said nobody was hurt and we would keep trying. The artwork never went up and stayed happily under an extra tarp I had brought. We developed our seller’s lines; “These buttons are made by Jessamyn…These are glass beads I make by hand…” and we sold a lot of product! We met two other Jessamyns, a young mother from Britain and a pretty college student. We also spent HOURS untangling the cupcake necklaces, "cutting" through the last Gordian knots only minutes before it was time to take down the tent. Whew! I'm not a coffee drinker but I downed a McCafe Mocha for the drive home.