More Silverware Delights!

Over the last few weeks I have been privileged enough to work with Wayne and Gail Christy from The Bent Utensil.  A few months ago I met the couple at a holiday arts and crafts show. We had an instant connection because the Christy's also make some amazing jewelry out of recycled flatware. At the show, Wayne had offered to teach me how to make spoon rings and on March 5th, I took him up on his offer.  I drove the hour to Albion,NY to meet them at their home workshop for a lesson.

The Bent Utensil: Gail and Wayne Christy

Wayne and Gail are some of the nicest, down to earth people I have met on the craft show circuit.  I can honestly say, after just a few minutes in their company, I felt as if I had known them for ages.

As of right now, they don't have a web site, but today we got together and I helped them set up their Facebook fanpage. If you have a moment, I would highly recommend a stop over to check out their wares.  Here are just a few examples: 

handle bracelet with Swarovski crystal

Wayne and Gail use only the most unique silver-plated treasures. They pride themselves on their craftsmanship and have a lifetime guarantee on everything they sell.

gorgeous spoon ring

You can even stop at their booth at a craft show and get your Bent Utensil piece polished up, free of charge.

handle pendant

They make a wide range of amazing and innovative items. You gotta love these fork corn picks, perfect for your family picnic in the back yard this summer. 

set of 5 corn on the cob picks

Their prices and extremely fordable too, ranging from $7-$25 for most products. Check their Facebook fanpage frequently for newly posted arts and craft show dates in the Western,NY area. They also do custom orders, bridal party sets, and will even make you a special keepsake piece from Grandma's old flatware. 

I really cant say enough nice things about the Christy's.  They invited me into their home and taught me some very valuable tricks of the trade. I only hope I can honor their benevolence and virtuosic creativity in the rings I produce. 

Get 10% off of your entire Sunshyne Silverwear order by entering coupon code 'TheBentUtensil' in at check out. Offer is good until 4/2/12 midnight EST

Giveaway from Freckles and Frizz

As you may recall from a blog post earlier in the month, I did a church craft show in Henrietta,NY and was placed next to Tiffany Cotsonas of Freckles and Frizz. She makes some absolutely delightful reusable banners and happens to be giving this one away!

This could be yours - for FREE

Just follow this link to the RNEST blog to see the details of the giveaway. You could win by simply following the RNEST blog and 'hearting' Freckles and Frizz's Etsy shop

(RNEST stands for Rochester,NY Etsy Street team. We are a group of crafters in the Rochester area who support and promote each other. Read more about us here)

I have already entered to win. I absolutely LOVE her creations! Here are a few more that are for sale in her Etsy shop:

Reusable fabric banner - $50

Embroidery hoop art - $23

Good luck!!!

Marathon Maple Fest: Mapleicious!

Last weekend I trekked out to Marathon,NY (near Binghamton) for the Maple Festival. After the 2.5 hour drive, I was delighted to be greeted by some very friendly show organizers and the wonderful scent of buttermilk pancakes filling the air.

Little did I know that one of the Maple Fest's most popular attractions is the pancake breakfast that they have each day.  The organizers were thoughtful enough to give each vendor a free breakfast voucher for both Saturday and Sunday. Of course I took advantage of that! 

Free breakfast served with the area's finest
maple syrup. It was pretty amazing. 

Saturday was a crazy day. There were so many people in the gymnasium where I was set up that it was almost elbow to elbow.  I think it helped a bit that it was really windy and overcast outside which drew the festival goers indoors. At the end of the day I was whooped.  I had been up since before 5am and after the long drive and busy day, I was ready to crash. Unfortunately that didn't happen until almost 1 in the morning.

Happy to be here.

I have a friend that lives in Binghamton, so to save on a hotel room, I just stayed with him. He happens to live with his brother, his brother's wife, their 3 children AND he already had someone from out of town staying with him, so needless to say there was never a dull moment. Oh did I mention the 3 doggies running around the house too?  One chocolate lab (Baxter) and 2 pit bulls (Secha and Buster Blue) Mr. Blue is only a few months old. What a cutie pie!! I wanted to sneak him home with me in my backpack! 

Buster Blue

Secha with Mr. Blue

We all went out for an amazing sushi dinner at my friend's favorite restaurant. We talked and laughed for almost 2 hours over a boat full of fish and a complimentary bottle of Sake. Yum! 

When we got home, I was tired and full, but despite that, I ended up staying up past midnight gabbing with everyone and enjoying a free Bob Weir webcast. 

The next morning I dragged myself out of bed and was out the door by 7:30am. Got my free breakfast before the masses came and opened my booth well before the craft show opened at 9am. 

Sunday was a surprisingly quiet day.  I would say about 70% less people than the day before. (which means I did about 70% less sales) But it gave me a chance to talk to the other vendors, and look at their wares. 

My booth neighbor was Ling Wu from Simply Ling. She makes the these divine table runners. I wish I had gotten a better shot of their intricate detail. Unfortunately she does not have a FB fanpage or a web site yet so you just have to be lucky enough to run into her booth at a craft show.

Simply Ling

Ling is a very pleasant lady with a perpetual positive attitude towards life. She also runs her booth, from set-up to tear down by herself, like me. We became fast friends and helped each other throughout the festival in many ways. 

Erin Shepard of Gecko Glass is a very spirited woman who comes from a family of artists. She makes a wide range of cool crafts from unique silk screened hankies, to glass jewelry, and these funky bottle wind chimes.  They have a very soothing sound. I have been to craft shows in the past where I have been placed near wind chimes and after a few hours they can really get on your nerves. These, I actually looked forward to hearing. 

Debbie MacMaster of Sweet Lemonade is a friendly and talented seamstress who makes some absolutely gorgeous children's clothes. Her designs and fabric patterns are so delightful and charming, I wished she had some garments in my size! 

Sweet Lemonade

In the end I was about 15% under my monetary goal for the show. I think that was due to the booth spot I was assigned to. I was in one of the only areas that did not get a lot of traffic because it was sort of off the main path. Next year I will be requesting a better spot or maybe try the Civic Center instead of the gymnasium.  Getting to hang with old friends, make new ones, and almost reach my goal makes this trip a successful one in my eyes.  

Next up, Furthur Tour! I have been waiting 6 months to see the boys again. Find me in the parking lot selling my wares for the MA and CT shows. More details to come...

Oh, and my car hit a milestone speedometer mark on this trip, check it out. (66,666) Yikes! 

But have no fear, I was not really going down the road feeling bad. (I might have been if I'd  run out of gas though)  

Enjoy 10% off of your order until 3/29/12 at www.sunshynesilverwear.com by entering coupon code 'BUSTERBLUE'  in at check out. 

Survey Time! Which color do you like best for the living room?

 I have sort of hit a wall with the whole re-painting the living room thing. (no pun intended). So I could really use some suggestions on color. I have been buying those sample colors you can get at Home Depot for $3 and the walls are staring to look like a masterpiece of their own. I have tried 8 colors so far and nor sure I am happy with any of them. What do you think? 

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.


Here is a video of the living room. As you will see, my couch may win the award for 'ugliest piece of furniture EVER.' The wall paint does not need to match the couch because I am hoping to kick it to the curb very soon. (literally) 

Thanks for your input!! Any suggestions are much appreciated.

Word of the Week

This weeks 'wotw' is SYRUP in honor of the Maple Festival I will be participating in this weekend.

How to get your discount...

In person: Mention the Word of the Week at my booth and get a $5 discount on your purchase of $25 of more and a $3 discount if your total is under $25

Online:  use the word as a coupon code at check-out to get a $4 discount on your purchase at www.sunshynesilverwear.com

offer expires 3/26/12

This Week's Sunshyne Silverwear Events

Watch out Central NY, here I come!  I have been accepted to the 42nd annual Maple Festival in Marathon,NY. 

Maple Fest Web Site

Dates: Saturday and Sunday March 24 + 25th

Site: you can find me in the High School Gymnasium

Times: 9am-5pm on Saturday; 9am-4pm on Sunday

Directions: 

View Larger Map

Hope to see you there! 

Signs of Spring

In years past, it would be no surprise to be up to our knees in snow around this time of year.  This year, Rochester caught a break and we have had sunny weather in the mid sixties for the last week or two. (and 70's to come next week!!!)   

Beasley

Lately I have been taking the dogs for 2 walks a day. On our morning walk today, we found many new signs of spring at every turn. 

I am absolutely loving June weather in March. Only bad part is, is that it has been very hard to focus on making pendants when the sun is shining and there is a warm breeze flowing through the open windows. 

At least today has not been completely unproductive. I sat on the spot of the floor where the sun was coming in, surrounded by stacks of paper, and organized my tax info for 2011. I obviously had been putting that off for a while. It was a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders. I think I will reward myself with another walk to the park with the dogs. 

When you see me this summer and my pendant display is bare, you will know that it is not because I've sold out, but rather slacked off this spring.

Courtesy of theawl.com 

Makes me think of the Popeye's character 'Wimpy', who's M.O. is enjoying something today that he wont have to pay for until later. 

I guess the moral of the story is that I have to find the balance between living in the 'now' and preparing for the future.  I will ponder that while the sun is warming my shoulders and a light breeze is blowing through my hair...

Webster School Craft Show Review: DejaVu

There were many things about this craft show that were very similar to last week's show. Unbeknownst to me, it was another show debut. First time shows, in my experience, are hardly ever well attended.

The pro's:
* I got to hang out with my crafting friends all day and gab about business                                 
* the organizers were super friendly
* loading in and out was a breeze thanks to the large carts they made available to us and volunteers' help
* great lighting and free electric in the cafeteria
* made enough money to pay the gas and electric bill! Woot!
* it was fun seeing all of the customers wearing their festive green outfits for St. Patty's Day
* getting to converse with a few of my awesome Facebook fans (actually, this was my favorite part of the  
   day)

The con's:
* low attendance
* no place to buy food nearby (thank god I brought a lunch)

* it was a LONG show. I would say the average indoor show goes till 3pm, 4 at the latest. This one ended                
   at 5pm

Lori of LPrince Designs

It was really nice to get to hang out with Lori all day, I had the booth next to hers.  Lori and I met about a year back at a small business class and have been friends ever since. We have done a few of the same shows over the last 6 months, but this was the first time we got to be booth neighbors. Lori has been hard at work creating some amazing new products. Forming these beautiful silver floating hearts from scratch. 

Francesca DeCaire chatting it up with a customer

And of course having Francesca at a show is always fun. You can see her colorful personality come out in all of the beautiful glass jewelry she makes. If you live in the Rochester area, mark my words, you will be seeing a lot of this chick in the months to come. She is a rising star! 

Lots of fine crafts, not too many customers to enjoy them all! 

Another delightful part of today was having local singer/songwriter Chris Wilson perform an acoustic set for about 4 hours today to promote his albums. I have seen him a handful of times at other arts and crafts shows over the last few months and he plays a lot of songs I like including this one: 

(4 times) 

By the time 5pm rolled around, I was ready to enjoy the beautiful sunny day outside. During the show, Lori had mentioned that there was a fog advisory in effect for Rochester. Until I saw this as I was driving over the Bay Bridge on my way home, I didn't believe it. 

"going home, going home, by the waterside I will rest my bones..." ~ Grateful Dead

All in all a decent day. Got to hang with some great folks, make a few bucks and get home in time to take the doggies for a long, sun shiny walk to the zoo before the sun went down. 

Next week it's the Maple Fest in Marathon,NY. My first time doing this show and my first out of area show of the year. I have heard some wonderful things about it and I hope they are all true. I will keep you posted on the outcome. Wish me luck! 

(Oh, also wanted to give a little shout out to Tori. I had the pleasure of hanging out with her at this and last week's show too. Such a sweetheart and a talented potter. We are doing another show together April 21st and 22nd in Utica so look for us there!) 

Well overdue. Part II

If you have been following along with my posts, you know that I have been knee deep in paint, brushes, and rollers for the last few weeks trying to spruce up my apartment. I finished the hallway last week and next on the list is the bedroom. For 10 years now I have been sleeping in boring white bedroom with awful light blocking mauve curtains. This room as in desperate need of color (and sunshine). 

BORING! (and this is after I rearranged all of the furniture) 

I found that the bedroom was a lot harder to do. Because I have accumulated a lot of crap over the 10 years living here, there is no floor space against a wall that has not been taken. I could only do one wall per day because I had to move all of the furniture away from the walls or out into the rest of the apartment to make room for painting. The whole house looked like a bomb went off for almost a week. The worst part was having to sleep on the couch.

I also painted all of the trim, replaced the socket plates, washed the blinds (tub full of hot water and laundry detergent did the trick, and they smell so nice now!) and bought some sheer white curtains to complete the look.

Much more serene! 

View from the purple hall

This time I chose Behr's English Channel. I really liked the dark blue, but I thought that it might be too dark for the whole room, so I painted the main wall the darker blue then I poured a bunch of white into the can and painted the rest the lighter blue (well slightly lighter). 

Now I find myself gravitating to this end of the apartment way more than ever before. It's almost as if I can breathe easier in here. (or maybe its just the lack of dust bunnies living under the bed now) 

Next up, the dreaded living room. If I am not in the studio, that is where I spend most of my time.  I feel that painting this room will make the biggest impact on the look and feel of the entire apartment. I still haven't  picked out a color yet, but I have something in mind. Part III soon to come...

Don't forget to get 10% off of your entire purchase at www.SunshyneSilverwear.com by entering coupon code 'FACELIFT' in at check-out. Offer expires 3/29/12, which happens to be my goal to finish up painting the apartment. :)

Upcoming Show/Word of the Week

This week you can find me at Webster Schroeder High School for their annual 'Spring Fling' craft show

When: March 17th 10am-5pm
Where: 875 Ridge Road Webster,NY

This show is to benefit the school's scholarship fund. There will be dozens of local artists, including a few of my close crafting friends Francesca DeCaire (glass bead artist) and Lori Massa-Prince of LPrince Designs

LPrince Designs

Francesca DeCaire

********************************************************************************

Word of the Week

In honor of the absolutely lovely week of weather we are having in Rochester, the word of the week is 'WARMTH'  Mention the word of the week at my booth this Saturday and get $5 off of your $25 or more purchase (or $3 off if under $25)
This discount will also work as a coupon code online at www.sunshynesilverwear.com until 3/19/12 for $4 off of your total order. (no minimum purchase required!)

It was well over due...Part I

Ok, as some of you know, I own a small two family house in the city of Rochester. Originally, the plan was to live here 5 years then resell, hopefully at a profit, to buy a one family house in a better neighborhood. Well, that was 10 years ago now. I have come to accept the fact that this house is my home, and will be for some time to come. I live well within my means here, and the rental downstairs helps tremendously with the mortgage.  I guess I partially never really accepted the fact that the 'five year plan' disintegrated a long time ago, so I never really made this house my own. What I mean by that is, I never repainted or redecorated to my liking. Until now.

1:00 am, and still at it

Being an artist, I have come to realize that the craft show doesn't end after I pack up and go home. This year I invited many folks into my home studio to shop my wares. While it does give me a good excuse to clean up around the house, there is no hiding the ugly wall colors. It was time for my artistic taste to reflect onto my home. The goal is to paint the hallway, bedroom and living room before the spring crafts show madness begins. Here is part one...

This is the hallway you enter after walking in the main door

 Before, it was this UGLY pinkish, salmonish color that always looked dingy to me. Lets call it 'dirty bubblegum' (my living room is the same color, blah!) The worst part is that all of the rooms I have to paint are stippled. Which means that you have to go over it once with a thick nap roller, then at LEAST once more with a paintbrush filling in all the nooks and crannys that the roller missed. It's pretty tedious, and makes your eyes go buggy after a while.

Looking down the opposite end of the hallway

It was totally worth it in the end. I absolutely LOVE the color I chose (Behr's 'Delectable'). It such a bright and happy color that makes a great first impression when walking in the door.
And I have BIG plans for this hallway. I want to showcase all of my artist friend's work and pieces I find along my craft show journey. I want the whole hallway, top to bottom, to be filled with art. This is just the beginning...

Got this piece at The Grassroots Gallery

My friend Jen made this awesome quilled  piece for my
30th birthday

This was a trade at a Phish concert in Vermont last year

Serendipity Photos

I am just about done with the bedroom now. Part II coming soon!

Get 10% off of your entire purchase at www.SunshyneSilverwear.com by entering coupon code 'FACELIFT' in at check-out. Offer expires 3/29/12, which happens to be my goal to finish up painting the apartment. :)

Handmade Brigade: Was it Worth it?

Today I participated in this show: 

It was my first time doing this show and I did not know what to expect. The only thing I knew going in was that there was going to be a few artists that I know personally vending there with me.  

The first thing that got me a little nervous about the show was that when I turned off of Henrietta Rd onto Ward Hill Road, there were no signs indicating that there was a craft show. Upon turning into the parking lot, I had still not seen ANY signage. Yikes, not a good start. 

Set up and parking were fairly easy, and I was lucky enough to be placed next to Tiffany Cotsonas of Freckles and Frizz. Tiffany makes a wide range of beautiful fabric and embroidered decorations and children's clothing.  She is also a fellow RNESTer (Rochester New York Etsy Street Team) 

Freckles and Frizz

As I had suspected, the show was really slow. I think maybe 200 people came through all day. (and that number may be exaggerated a bit) 

Ultimately, because this is how I make my living now, my first goal is to sell enough pieces to pay a few bills and unfortunately the show fell short. 

But money aside, this show was actually really fun. I had hours of great conversation with Tiffany, which made the time just fly by.  Periodically, Francesca DeCaire, who was set up on the opposite end of the room, would make a cameo in our area and get us cracking up over one thing or another. 

Francesca DeCaire: Bead Artisan 

Dollar bead anyone? 

I gotta say, the ladies that ran the show were very nice and helpful as well. They had volunteers willing and able to help with load in, a free hot lunch, and the organizers came around and asked if the vendors needed anything a few times throughout show. If they can remedy the lack of advertisement, I really think that the show has great potential. The quality and diversity of crafts was impressive, it was like a mini Indie show. Definitely NOT your typical church fair. 

one of MANY beautiful pottery pieces by Tori DiPietro

The other great thing about slow shows, besides mingling with other artists, is doing TRADES!  Lola got this awesome (or should I say PAW-some)  leash, hand made with love by Tiffany in exchange for one of my new spoon rings. 

Lola and her new leash!!!

Tiffany also made Lola's pretty collar <3

So, back to the original question, was today's show worth doing? I would say hell yeah! It is a rare occasion that you get to schmooze with fellow crafters at a show. Being in a room full of creative people and weaving ideas on collaborating talents is one of my favorite things to do. Also, getting tips on good shows to participate in, and advice on which shows to steer clear of are priceless did bits that only get shared when there is time to share, and there was PLENTY of time at this show.  Not to mention the many friendships and connections made today.

 In the end, I would say that having the occasional slow show is necessary for growing a business for the networking aspects alone, although I hope next week's show at Webster Schroeder School is a bit more profitable. 

Enjoy 10% off of your entire order online at www.sunshynesilverwear.com by entering coupon code 'BRIGADE' in at check out. Expires 03/12/12

Word of the Week!

This week's 'word' is: GRASSROOTS
Mention this word when you see me here this weekend

and get a discount of $5 off of your $25 or more purchase and $3 off of your purchase under $25

Location: John Calvin Presbyterian Church
Directions: 50 Ward Hill Road, Henrietta,NY 14467
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You can also use GRASSROOTS as an online coupon code at www.sunshynesilverwear.com to get a flat discount of $4 off of your entire order!



Expires Sunday 3/11/12 at Midnight (EST)