Yokota Craft Fair 2012

Please note that I am in the process of transferring blogs, ownership, and files to different email addresses based on the content of the blog.  For my family life blog, please visit us at www.daveandkayladoescher.blogspot.com, and for my art blog please visit me here.  I will attempt to make the transition as easy as possible, though there will probably be a few temporarily broken links until everything is smoothed out.  Thank you for your cooperation and support!


Bright and early yesterday morning after staying up until nearly 1AM to make tags and last minute adjustments...

Dave & I packed all of my freshly branded jewelry items and a bunch of display items into the back of our tiny Honda Fit and drove over to the Yokota Arts & Crafts Center.  It was freezing cold and windy, but I was so excited!  Dave was much less so, but he was very supportive and helped me set up my 6-foot craft display for the fall craft fair.

About an hour into the fair, it got very windy and it started to drizzle, but it didn't deter some shoppers! I managed to sell quite a few pieces, and now I know which ones are more popular than others.  I think I might need to start making smaller items, since they were more popular, though the necklaces were a huge hit!  Some people were asking if I was sourcing some of my beads from here in Japan, so I've started looking into getting more items from here.  People seem to be looking for more Japanese-themed items, thought they still want to support the small crafters and artists.  I got a recommendation from one gal to get on Yokota Talk and promote my polymer clay items; she took a business card and seemed very excited, so I think I'll follow that advice :)

The craft fair was a huge success for me.  Dave helped manage the money, and even sold two items when I ran to the bathroom for two seconds.  I learned how to be outgoing for my customers and how to make a sale, and what NOT to do when looking for sales.  This was a huge learning experience, and I'm definitely not aiming to make a profit; however it is nice to have money to put back into crafting so that I can make more items for people that simply enjoy wearing what I make.  I can't wait to participate in the May craft fair, so keep your ears tuned!

Lentils

No, not the kind that you eat--those are beans!  :)

I've been experimenting with polymer clay (when HAVEN'T I been?)  and, despite seeing all the tutorials on unique swirled lentil beads I hadn't come up with one of my own.  So today after my L&D staff meeting, I decided it was time to try.  Lacking a bit of blue clay, I used Premo! turquoise and Sculpey III yellow to create a malachite-inspired lentil bead.  Of course, dummy me...I swirled my bead into my (dirty) desk and it picked up all the little paper and dust crumblies.  Ugh.  Guess that's what wet sanding is for :)  Here's what they looked like straight out of the oven:

Not too bad for a first try.  I couldn't find quite the right combination I was looking for, but the colors were bright enough for me without looking too realistic. I'm going to start trying some caning so that I can create a layered bead--possibly with some transparent Fimo and flowered shapes.  Not that that has anything to do with malachite, but you never know what you could make!

Another thing that's been stacking up is my growing collection of earrings and bracelets.  I've been accumulating the beads and findings that I like for months, but I've made achingly little progress in the way of actually MAKING things until the past couple weeks.  Now I have a variety of drop earrings made with a multitude of materials: pearl, tensha, ceramic, crystal, jade, quartz, marble, onyx, and soon to be many more if I can keep up the pace.  Here are quite a few that I've made in the past week or so:

I've decided that it's time to start making Christmas gifts.  It's a little more than two months away, but if I'm doing anything with clay or paint it'll take a while. So, for anyone who reads....what are YOU wanting for Christmas? :)

New Works

Hello again!

Clearly, this "blog" thing is for the birds...my birds, anyhow (seeing as I lack any and my husband says no, haha!).  I can't seem to keep it going without extended absences that annoy the crud out of family and friends.  But, I continue!

Here are a couple things straight from the camera that I've been working on in polymer clay.  I've been experimenting with techniques in 3D, such as stamping, embellishing, layered mokume gane, etc.  and also with 2D techniques such as washes and application of surface treatments like Pearl-Ex and acrylics.

These guys are a few beaded-jewelry works that I've done recently.

Here, also, is a preview of a manga I am working on for someone in Michigan.  The character's name is Keihana.  She is a student in a rehabilitation school called Junction, where the students are taught to vent their anger from different parts of their lives away from their loved ones and into controlled fighting matches with individual, customized weaponry.

Recycling Roses

No, I'm not going crazy and attempting to use rosebuds in my jewelry. Though, that gives me an idea about pressing small flowers and encapsulating them in resin...

Ahem. Pardon my random trains of thought. :)

BUT--continuing on the upcycling trend, I've made a new set of earrings that follow an elegant vibe.

Version 1--Long Elegance

This pair of earrings was the starter piece of the collection. It started out as a project for a "bunch"-type earring, but when the beads just didn't lay right, I tore everything apart again and reconstructed them from the beginning. And voilá--a new kind of elegance! Long, delicate and prim & proper, these can be worn to church, prom or any dress-up function. The texture of the rose paper makes these pop and will be certain to gain compliments. They almost bring back memories of Grandma's old trunk full of jewelry.

Version 2 - Cheeky Elegance

This pair of the collection was a spin-off of the original "Long Elegance" earrings. Adding a whimsical silver and several pearls to the mix, the beads were shortened to allow the pearls to bounce the eye down the earrings and end at a full-bodied rose texture that still spells "formal".

Version 3 - Playful Elegance

An ode to the original starter idea for this collection, this pair of earrings stars two altered grape-bunch clusters of rose paper beads and pearls, and a large freshwater pearl balances in the middle of each to give it that final touch. The chunky silver beads on the ear wires gives it that playful note, while the rose texture and pearls keep the feminine side alive.

All of these compose the Rose Blush Collection. You can visit my Etsy site (see the link on the side toolbar) to view more pictures and purchase any of this set.

Recycle to Repurpose

How many times have you looked at that stack of magazines in the living room and wonder, "Why did I ever order those? I never read them" or maybe "I've got so many cardboard boxes I could construct a house"?

I know I've done it countless times.

Instead of tossing them in the garbage can or even shoving them in the recycling bin where it will cost companies hundreds of thousands of dollars to re-pulp, re-bleach, and re-sell for higher prices, why don't we reuse those magazines and boxes for an even better purpose?

REUSE!

Throwing things in the trash these days is now tantamount to crime, so why not help out the rest of the environment by recycling all our old things into something reusable or even beautiful? Be eco-friendly! I created inner envelopes from sewn magazine pages, fused plastic grocery bags, and even cardboard Girl Scout cookie boxes. I also created jewelry from magazine paper--and look how cool that turned out. There is no end to what we can do for the environment, and on top of that if you're repurposing old paper as jewelry you're boosting the local artisan business by not using newly created resources. There are even jewelers who only use recycled metals that have been separated out by metal refiners. Did you know that mining an ounce of gold creates up to 62 tons of acidic waste rock?

Yep, and all that is draining into your local sewers. Are you thinking twice about purchasing a brand new metal item?