It only took me two requests on Etsy for a plain state with no inner cut outs for me to get one in the shop! You can tell I'm fairly pleased with myself.
I'm getting more skilled at cutting out the Old North State.. but of course just when I break down and buy a gross of saw blades I seem to stop breaking them as often, always how it goes!
Ahhhh, the thrill of an overseas flight! These buttons were made from stickers that I got on my first ever trans-atlantic flight when I accompanied my mom and my aunt Frankie to visit family in Dresden, Germany (with side trips to Austria and the Czech Republic). Our flight out of Washington DC got canceled, and so for some reason they decided to reroute us to Texas and then to Germany. The only good part of that was that we got upgraded to Business class, which was amazing. I still have my little socks and sleepy mask they gave us... What a wonderful trip too..
A new design I've been working on, little houses with silver wire and flags(or branches coming soon). They make me so happy, especially when sitting in front of a postcard of my friend's (Cindy Bainbridge) paintings.
I've said it before, and will continue to do so, but summer truly is my favorite time of year. There's no school, there's my birthday, there's the long days... and best of all, there is swimming in the ocean(comfortably... I have been known to throw myself in in January as well).
This summer has been especially good to me: a dear friend visiting from California and some family that I don't get to see often were in town~ an occasion that demanded a get-together at the coast! Closing the shop for a few days was really good for me too, I have returned to it much inspired and renewed.
Here is a little behind the scenes look into how Hannah's wedding dress was embellished! Hours of stitching down some wonderful loopy merino wool thread that I found on my first trip to California, followed by singeing circular flower petals, sewing them on, and finishing it all with a little gauze along the hem for an extra elegant look.
Matching jewels and headband were awfully fun to make too. The wedding was lovely(and it was an unbelievably hot day)~ very fitting for my dear friend... Awwww, pretty girl!
This week's featured seller on Etsy is very inspiring to me, even though I don't really wear hats.. and I don't actually think I could pull something like this off 'round here anyways. I have really been feeling "Atelier Vespertine" as I am embroiled this week in embellishing Hannah's wedding dress (pictures soon) and making something in lieu of a veil to put in her hair. I was really pulling for the little deer, but it got voted down! It has been so nice to work with needle, thread, merino wool ribbon I got in California, and of course gauzy flower petals. Photos from Zara Carpenter, check it out here!
One of my fave customers (KP!) encouraged me to make a post about the music I play in the store. I thought it was a brilliant idea, because not only am I crazy about my music, but I do have some interesting stories regarding customer reactions to what I am playing. I get a looooot of questions, and a lot of great reactions when people walk in and I happen to be playing their favorite semi-obscure artist(Cat Power). Today I have a mp3 cd on shuffle that has Broken Bells, the Fleet Foxes, and these guys, that KP liked:
This a great band from Brooklyn, Grizzly Bear, that I discovered on a icy day this winter while lounging around surfing YouTube looking for John Oliver stand up routines.. I have had many customers try to guess who they are, most notably Neil Young, which still makes me giggle.
The story for this song happened recently and involves two teenage girls who walked in, and upon insulting most of the soap flavors asked "what is this you are listening to". I was taken aback because 1. this is an incredible song and 2. this is the second most popular band in the universe(I'm putting them right behind the Beatles, and I mean, very close second). I told them it was Radiohead and the first girl professed her love of Radiohead and said she was a big fan while her friend pointed out that she hadn't even recognized the song. "Oh", she said, "it must be from one of their old albums", which made me feel ancient.. I can remember as if it was yesterday laying on Hannah's bedroom floor, our heads near the speakers, listening to Radiohead... so lovely! But yeah, these girls probably weren't born yet....
This last vignette into life as a shop owner comes from when I had just opened my shop on the big street, and people hadn't figured out I was here yet. (who am I kidding, people still don't know, three years later) A couple came in the shop and browsed around, the woman was quietly admiring everything. As they were at the door to leave, the man came back, leaned into my face and whispered "I think there is a sick woman over there". I was worried and confused as they were the only people there and his girlfriend looked fine. "A sick woman" he went on, "a very sick woman, I think it has something to do with her stomach" Then he gestured to the Bose and the ambient music (which was the above song) and I realized he was attempting to tease me about my music choice. At the time I just smiled politely and waited for them to leave.. but I have always wished I'd told him to stuff it...
