Handyman HotHotder Giveaway on the Kitchen Corners blog!

Hello everyone. One of the coolest things for me about having a shop on Etsy http://www.etsy.com/ over the last few months has been the exposure I get to all kinds of cool people with other interesting endeavors underway. Like Damaris and her awesome food blog, Kitchen Corners.


I am teaming up with her next week to give away one of the esteemed gentlemen HotHolders featured on my Etsy shop and represented by the group pictured here on the left. http://www.mountainashdesign.etsy.com/.

Want to win the giveaway?

Here's how:

Just go to my etsy shop http://www.mountainashdesign.etsy.com/, browse the HotHolders, choose your favorite tool-belt-wearing, hard-hat-donning, work-boot-sporting ideal kitchen helper (I know you can't always see these handsome accessories, but you can tell these guys apart from the other shirtless retro beach boys by the building plans in the background).

Then go to the Kitchen Corners blog http://www.kitchencorners.blogspot.com/ and leave a comment by midnight of Tuesday July 22nd telling which is your favorite gent. A winner will be chosen at random. I just listed several more HotHolders featuring Steve, Tommy, Larson, Oscar and Chad so there are many sweeties to choose from. Have fun!

It's been a while. Things get so busy for me in the summer, and unfortunately it's not with swimming and gardening dates. I don't have my production flow down. After almost 2 years I still feel very new at this. I spend a lot of time throughout the year doing research, getting marketing opportunities and materials together, etc., etc... And now my outdoor vending season is about to begin on July 6th (at the Norwich Farmer's Market) and I need new inventory!

I've been really inspired and recently started making clothespin bags in a new design. The construction is simpler but I'm very happy with how they look. Also on the docket are "Laundry Day Aprons" based on a traditional design I saw in The Apron Book by Ellen Anne Geisel: the whole front is one large pocket for holding clothespins. I've been using one I bought from a competitor (for research purposes, but actually I'm a total fan of hers: http://www.momomadeit.etsy.com/) and it's a great aid at the clothesline. I'm hoping the societal change in attitudes about energy/fuel conservation will have more folks inspired to hang out their laundry this summer. Nothing makes a task more pleasant than using beautiful tools. That's where I come in - aiming to increase your domestic bliss. My signature hostess aprons trimmed with shirt collars will have a few new twists later in the season, too. Stay Tuned!

Other products new this year are billfolds (see illustration A, above) and small quilts. "Virtuous Baby Quilts" made from all post-consumer pre-loved fabrics and 100% organic cotton batting. Eco-parenting at it's most cozy and gorgeous! I have so enjoyed composing these quilts. Well, the layout is quite simple, it's choosing the fabric combination that I love, love, love. It's been sort of like putting a family together, or a band(!). Each fabric was formerly a piece of clothing or had similar significant history and definite personality and connotations for me. I'd love to do some of these as custom quilts for new babies out of special cast off clothing provided by loved ones. One of the great things is that these fabrics have been pre-washed several times so the baby's skin won't come in contact with any of the harsh sizing and dyes and other chemicals new fabrics have on them.

Prices have come down on a few items as I've decided not to offer them wholesale. In fact, I'm thinking about price structure in a whole new way after getting to know http://www.etsy.com/.

I've been hanging out on Etsy a lot lately; looking around to see what else is offered, reading the success stories, figuring out how my products can fit into it all,and of course, constantly readjusting my own shop (www.mountainashdesign.etsy.com). I'm very optimistic about the possibilities for Mountain Ash Design, especially when I read about folks who sell on Etsy full time. I've been finding myself less and less willing to drive around to vending opportunities. Putting more of my efforts into selling on Etsy is right in line with my low-impact-on-the-Earth mission for my business. I'll have to do a whole post on Etsy soon. I've become a real cheerleader.

This morning I'm waiting for a delivery of firewood and soon after that I'm off for a day of errands that might include buying a new dress - oh boy! It's been a while since I had a new dress, but Revolution in WRJ is offering a deal if you bring in a wedding invitation. I think today's the last day.

Have a great week and 4th of July and come stop by the Sunday Craft Fair at the Norwich Farmer's Market on July 6th!

Happy Dog

I love this bright spring green color so much. It's so great to live in Vermont at this time of year. I've been enjoying it at it's most joyful verdant expression on my walks with the dog these last few weeks. I think we may only have a couple more weeks of this effect as the sun shines through the leaves before they become thicker and darker green. This color has really inspired my work for most of the past year.

This wonderful bamboo fabric came from my neighbor (I had enough to also use in a few aprons). I've incorporated it, and some other choice pieces with variations on spring green, into some of the small quilts I've been making. Here are some pictures of the first batch of said quilts. The latest batch, including more green-and-blue than green-and-pink, is at the quilter's right now, but will hopefully be back in time for me to sew on the bindings and take to the consignment shop at the Vermont Quilt Festival June 27 - 29. http://www.vqf.org/


On the right:
Many interesting vintage and recycled fabrics and possibly the last stripe from my previous orange phase.

These green flowers were cut from what I can only think to call a Tiki shirt: It had the total vibe of a souvenir shirt you'd wear at the Tiki bar on a tropical vacation. Lost its shirt form along with a few other shirts to make this quilt, which is mostly borders around borders.

More along the pink-and-green theme, with some sweet equally Spring-like yellow flowers on the back, bordered in blue/yellow business shirting.

Are other folks excited about particular colors? Are there certain colors you are always looking for, drawn to, find yourself using or wearing? What's your ideal pallet?

News from the homestead (warning: the following contains several off-hand comments about chicken death):
Remember those cute little black balls of fluff I posted about in April? Here they are 7 weeks later - hanging out in the chill spot under the trees and getting a visit from the geese (guard animals). They are a pleasure to take care of: so good-looking and full of vigor and personality. Richard commented today, "I hope they're tender." This is an issue. The Cornish Cross Rocks ("staggering blobs of flesh" I call them) grew (the ones that lived) to be SO big and were mighty tasty and tender. Actually our "mortality rate" with them was about what the chick suppliers tell us to expect, only I want a zero mortality rate, until they are ready to harvest. On that day we can expect a 100% mortality rate! These hardier Kosher Kings might not be as tender. Our localvore/omnivore friends are all observing our experiment with interest. The chicken tractor is off to the right, on this little hill overlooking our place where we also put in a new garden this year. You can hear the birds singing in the woods behind.

... .... Care to comment on my mash-up of descriptions of idyllic rural life and morbid comments about farm animals? Can you relate? ...or no?
(It's okay if you can't. I'm certainly not here to preach a certain lifestyle, just to chronicle what's going on around here.)
So...Wish I would leave these food-raising tangents out of my craft blog?
Inquiring minds want to know!

Channel 3 visits MAD

Jack Thurston and Andy Goodrich from Burlington's WCAX Channel 3 came to visit yesterday and film me cutting up clothes and making HotHolders.
"We'll have fun," Jack emailed me a few days before to ease my nervousness.
You know, nervous energy is a great motivational force when it comes to cleaning the place.

As soon as they arrived I was fine, though. They were great and felt like friends by the end.

For the past two years I've been amusing myself by pretending to be Jimmy from The Commitments and rehearsing press interviews (inside my head - not in the bathtub).
Lately I've been having to prepare better for the real questions, not just the fantasy ones BUST magazine is going to ask me some day. It's a good thing I talked to my mom after the Strictly Business article came out because it turns out she doesn't like the expression frugal Yankee.

"Making goods out of recycled materials - it's everywhere right now. Is that why you're doing it or are there some moral motivations at work?"

So maybe you'll see me talking to the camera about how I used to steal t-shirts out of my dad's dresser as a teenager, cut them up, and sew them into mini-dresses. Or how my parents have been committed environmental activists since the first Earth Day in 1970 (I'm so proud of them). Or maybe Jack will choose to show me using my high school French to proclaim "Voila! Finis," after completing a fireman HotHolder at the sewing machine.

Tune in to the Channel 3 nightly news on Friday May 30th and see!
See it here now:
http://www.wcax.com/global/story.asp?s=8403675

<--- the set of the Channel 3 Made in Vermont story - my humble home studio.

now at the Howe + NFM schedule

I don't just make things with hunky guys or other cute characters on them. When I was an art major in college 20 years ago I started to see the creative potential of piecing bits of cloth together. I always felt the cozy homey feeling that quilts evoke makes them a wonderfully accessible medium for expression, but my art professors thought I should stick to painting and photography. I sort of dabbled in making quilts after college for a few years until parenting overwhelmed my physical creative projects. This past winter (it is over, right?) I started a line of small ones so my collection of vintage fabrics and discarded clothing can play and form relationships together as one cuddly object. I have really enjoyed coming back to making quilts. Organic cotton batting gives them that slightly puffy texture. When washed it should shrink 5% which will result in that old-fashioned slightly scrunched look - which I like.

Some of these baby/wall/lap/back-of-the-couch quilts can be seen at the Howe Library in Hanover, NH until May 29th. The colors in the batch turned out rather preppy (Vampire Weekend was in heavy rotation while I was selecting fabrics - could that be why? I remember well that pink & green trend in the early-eighties.)

Also occupying the large case near the teen room are billfolds, a loteria belt, one of my favorite aprons, and a pillow I made for my daughter for her birthday. About ten HotHolders have a shelf of their own but I think the real focus is the quilts. In the picture to the left you can see some bindings (my favorite part) and peek inside to see the backing fabric too.







It took me a while to compose the case - an hour and a half maybe? Someone teasingly suggested that makes me a perfectionist. I did want it to be nice and just so, but I was relaxed about putting it together, and didn't take it down a bunch of times to start over or anything like that. What is a perfectionist anyway? I thought it was about procrastinating so much you don't actually get to a point of creating something that might not be perfect.

This is the "all done" picture. That old suitcase Richard got me makes it look like I'm waiting for a train. It was perfect for holding all the quilts and tools.

and just so you know...
Here's my Norwich Farmers Market schedule for this summer:
I'll be there on these Saturdays: July 26 and September 6, 20 and 27.
and also on Craft Fair Sundays: July 6, August 3, and October 12

I'll tell you some other plans while I'm at it:
I'll be vending at the Mad River Craft Fair in Waitsfield, Vermont on August 30 and 31 and
I'll be participating again this year in the Vermont North by Hand Open Studio Tour which will be on the weekend of October 4 and 5.
Please stop by and say hello!

thrift score

This is my score from a bi-annual thrift sale I went to yesterday. This picture does not do justice to the wonderful colors and high quality of the fabrics. They will be great for quilts, Hotholders, and other projects. I scored a few interesting vintage pieces - some skirts and even "new" fabric remnants. I've started looking with an eye towards what I can use in baby quilts for boys. I think I'm going to have to stretch out of my tendency towards floral prints and "pretty" colors, though florals seem to be okay for boys if they are hibiscus or have a beach/Hawaiian vibe. I really don't want to fall into the primary colors thing, so I'm exploring other colorways.

It's rather competitive shopping this sale. Last fall there were at least 25 people standing out in the cold and the rain for 20 minutes waiting for the doors to open at 9am. Most people are looking for clothing for themselves and it is quite the toney neighborhood so the donations are along the Brooks Brothers line and the deals are great. I head for the men's button down shirts first and then the linens. I got a sweet linen dish towel with 6 owls on it - just the right size for HH and billfolds.

After the business shopping I look around for clothes for me and the family. I usually find something good. This time I got an stellar boys high tech ski jacket I'm going to wear snowboarding and a couple of preppy t-shirts I can wear now that my new glasses give my look a bit of an edge (it's been hard to wear pale colors with short white hair and not took like a grandma); a few one dollar t-shirts my boy can get holes in this summer, and some maternity wear for my best bud.

They're back!

They're back! These retro beach boys started my line of HotHolders in 2006 and inspired their slogan, "Because you're not the only thing in the kitchen that's hot(tm)." The company that makes the fabric hasn't had this available since then and I wasn't able to find it from any retailers. I finally found a source while at the New England Fabric Show last week. One of the reps also has a retail store, Portsmouth Fabric Company and I bought the half bolt she had left.

http://www.portsmouthfabric.com

The beach boys are featured here on my new checkbook covers (coming soon to my online store and the large display case at the Howe Library in Hanover), but I have beach boy HotHolders(tm) in the works also. Just so you know, checkbook covers come in styles not exclusively with men on them. I also have loteria cards, storybook firemen, western scenes, graphic florals, birds and more. Wouldn't your mom like one of these on May 11th?

Free Press + baby chicks

Look what appeared in yesterday's weekend section of the Burlington Free Press: Chad shouldering that thick post through a strawberry patch surrounded by other artists' work from repurposed materials. An Earth Day showcase.

Where can you find Chad and his cohorts? At the following fine establishment in Vermont:
Frog Hollow in Burlington
Frog Hollow in Middlebury
Art on Main in Bristol
Blinking Light Gallery in Plainfield
Northeast Kingdon Artisan's Guild in St. Johnsbury
Also I'll have stalls at the Mad River Craft Fair in Waitsfield August 30 and 31,
the Norwich Farmers Market July 26 and September 6, 20 and 27,
and Sunday Craft Fairs at the Norwich Farmers Market on July 6, August 3 and October 12.

To learn more about the galleries and vending events check the links to the right.

Here's a little homestead update. Or maybe I should say 100 little updates. Our chicks arrived! Edie and I went to the Bradford post office to pick them up Wednesday evening. We're raising Kosher Kings this year. They are supposed to be hardier than the cross breed we've raised in the past (which grow up to be basically huge chicken breasts on legs, without enough brains for self-preservation). They sure are cute with their little yellow rumps and spots on the tops of their heads. I'm sure they'll be very tasty this winter ; >

Seven Days + green bunny in the onions

Woo Hoo! Here I am in this week's Seven Days, "Vermont's Independent Voice." Except this week their tag line is "What a Mother." Must be for Earth Day. Anyway, 7D: think the Village Voice, only out of Burlington.

It's a really great article, fun to read, lots of (_!??!!_) quotes. He didn't quite understand me about the apron market, but oh well. Here it is, with a broader photo:
http://www.7dvt.com/2008/kitchen-kitsch

My friend Charen said, "You're gonna be so famous you won't have time to wipe your nose!" I don't know about that, but it is exciting and certainly good exposure.

If you read Patrick Mullikin's article about me in Strictly Business, it is very interesting to see how very differently the same subject is handled by him for this paper, which, he kept telling me, "is a completely different animal."

I was out of town early this week on a fabric buying trip (more on that in a separate post) when 7D was frantically emailing me for product photos. It didn't happen*. But if you are here on my blog you have access to lots of nice pix so you can get an idea of my work, which is even better in person, by the way.

*does this mean I have to invest in a laptop now, lug it with me everywhere, know where all the hot spots are, and be at work 24/7? I've heard that's what owning your own business is about. I am definitely starting to feel it this week - so much happening.

And on the homestead front: I thought I'd share this picture of Richard's onion seedlings which are taking up a lot of space on our kitchen counter right now. There's a little green paper Easter bunny Edie made that hiding in there.

Stay tuned for more press...

wish you were here

Here are some sketches for my spring postcard mailing, in which I'll be announcing my summer vending events, current retail outlets and my online store
http://www.mountainashdesign.etsy.com/

The design will be based on what you see at the left, only with the faded out paisley below as a background instead of plain white.


I'm not good enough at photoshop to put that together for this post, but don't worry: I'll have it right when it comes time to send it to the printer. If you think you'd like to receive this amusing little piece of snail mail but I might not have your address, send it to me at sarahogreen-at-gmail-dot-com

Thanks to all of you visiting my blog who read about my wares in Seven Days (April 16 - 22), the Burlington Free Press (April 17), and Strictly Business (all April long)! If you don't get these papers, you can see them online:
Seven Days: http://www.7dvt.com
Burlington Free Press: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com
Strictly Business: http://timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=strictlybusiness/

Are simple pictures best?

According to The Crafts Report, if you ask the "well respected" "high quality" craft fair juries, they don't want to see anything in your product photos other than a single object against a graduated grey background.

But if you are newspaper photographer Stefan Hard, your wife is a weaver so you understand textiles, and your current subject is another textile artist, it seems you want to get as much of her work and materials into the shot as possible.

The results are shown at left.

Stefan came by to take photos for my recent press in Seven Days and Strictly Business.

I didn't know what the papers would want in terms of settings, subject (other than yours truly), etc., other than the reporter, Patrick Timothy Mullikin, suggesting a shot of me "cutting up a shirt." I happen to have my current inventory of aprons on racks in the living room after a recent photo shoot so I tidied that area and arranged the aprons just so.

But what about an action shot in my workroom? It was a great opportunity for me to feng shui my creative space. I am so glad I did! I moved my sewing machine to the other side of the table and it opened up an ironing station I didn't realize I had room for. I reorganized several bins of material and shoved stuff I know I'm not going to be using into the attic. Two-thirds of the room still needs a once-over, but the most active areas work so much better now.

When Stefan arrived I showed him my workspace and the racks of aprons and my idea for a pose with scissors and about-to-be-transformed shirt in hand. He went for the aprons as a backdrop and wanted to add the baby quilts he saw on my work table on a third rack plus a bin of raw materials (shirts) to block the window and a few unfinished HotHolders in the foreground.

While he was shooting the pictures he kept making comments like, "This had better be in color," "All the prints on the fabric are taking up a lot of memory," and "Wow. There is just so much fabric in this shot it's hard to see the person."

"That's why I wear solids," I told him.

Stefan was easy and comfortable to work with. It was an only slightly glamorous undertaking for me though, as I was also the props person, hair, make-up and stylist and I had to run off after 40 minutes to drive the carpool from school.

When I got home an hour later I was still so excited I called Richard to tell him about the shoot.

"Simple pictures are best," was his only reaction.

This is a little bit of nuclear family culture. We have this wonderful children's book we used to read to the kids a lot. It's by Nancy Willard and illustrated by Tomie dePaola.

In the story a late 19th century photographer tries to shoot a silly couple on their first anniversary. They keep wanting to add personal objects to the shoot to show how rich and varied their lives together are.

"Simple pictures are best," is the repeated warning of the long suffering photographer, consistently ignored by the couple every time. You know how some children's books have a repeated refrain that is the rhythm and heart of the story. This one's fun to read aloud because you get to give a dramatic pause and then say it with a slightly snooty, exasperated voice .


I hadn't yet told the kids about Stefan coming over so that night at the dinner table I described the whole scene.

My theatrical 10 year old daughter paused at me from across the table, gave me a slightly exasperated look and said,

"Simple pictures are best."