Israeli Artists

I do seem to really dig the aesthetic that comes from Israeli artists. Here are my top 3 favorites...

Leninka

Alona Lahav

My Lola Fashion

Birthday

I had a pretty awesome birthday yesterday. I spent the day with my mom, went to Ikea and got some fixtures for the shop, and did lots more shopping. When I got home, my husband surprised me with a brand new Singer Serger! I was SUPER excited! I've never had one before, so I can't wait to start working on it tonight. I've got lots of projects already floating in my head of what I'll soon be able to make.

The day just continued to get better. My husband and I met up with about 15 other friends and had a great time at a wine bar. Best birthday I've had in years :)

Yarn Bombing Coming to The Blanton

Things about me... I graduated from UT Austin, I love art, and I love to knit. This past weekend I attended an informational meeting on how to combine all of those aspects of me.

Three days ago I found out from my friends at Yarn Harvest about a call for knitters to participate in an installation at the Blanton Museum of Art headed by textile artist Magda Sayeg. For two weeks in the month of March, about 100 trees on the UT campus will be YARN BOMBED! I can't wait! It's going to look sooooooo cool! About 170 knitters showed up for the meeting and like I mentioned, they only have 100 trees, so I was pretty worried that I wouldn't be able to sponsor a tree... especially since I drove all the way from San Antonio to find out more info. Luckily, I ended up being assigned tree #23. Here's a look at me and my tree:

The assignment of the bombing is to incorporate 4 specific yarn colors in horizontal stripes and cover the entire trunk of the tree from ground to branches. My tree measured at about 7ft high and 20in in circumference. The pattern and style of stripes is totally up to us. Many of the other knitters that showed up to the event either paired up or decided to tackle this in groups. I think I was the only non-Austinite that showed up, so this means that I'll be tackling this project on my own! Here's a shot of about half of the trees to be knit.

The project is due mid-February so I've got lots of work ahead of me... I'm so excited!

Bargain Bin

I've decided that I'm going to crate a new category in my Etsy store... a Bargain Bin. Over the past 10 years I've acquired many many beads and notions. So many in fact that I don't really know what to do with them, so I figured I'll create simple and cute jewelry items (mostly earrings) starting at just $5 and not exceeding $10. Stay tuned! I hope to have this category full of listings by the end of this week.

Happy New Year!

I'm pretty glad that January is finally here... December was a bit overwhelming. My online sales at BLinkDesign just blew up! Which is a good problem to have, I was just taken a bit of guard. For about 3 weeks straight, I was at the post office about every other day and shipped anywhere from 6-10 packages on each visit. I am pleased to say that all orders purchased before 12/20 were in fact delivered before Christmas.

Last year, while I was preoccupied with my wedding, I did see a spike in online sales (it was my first holiday season online) and I was super excited back then to be getting a single sale every day. So like I said, I was just taken off guard when I started getting 10 sales a day!

Well, the new year is here, and I'm starting to work on new designs in both silver and in knits. My supplies have been somewhat restocked, however the shop is looking a bit bare, so I'm going to have to get working pretty quick... especially since today is the first First Friday of the year down here in Southtown.

Sales so far in this first week are looking good too! While I can take a bit of a breather now that the holidays are over, it doesn't quite look like my work is done.

Same ol' Same ol'

Have you ever been online looking at jewelry and saw something, then though to yourself, "I swear I've seen this before?" You're not crazy and more than likely, completely right... especially if you were on Etsy. There is one type of bracelet out there in Etsyland that seems to be the gold standard for copycatting. I will admit it's nice, but it's just that... nice. Nothing extraordinary, just nice. Here's what I'm talking about:

See what I mean; all the same, AND they are from different sellers. The kinda sad thing is that these bracelets sell really well. Not sad for the seller or buyer, but more like sad for artistic integrity. It really is a shame that so many talented artisans feel the need to replicate on a commercial level. Oh well... done ranting.

Animal.

I recently acquired some leopard print fabric. I've never been too fond of animal prints, and I'm trying pretty hard to get my preconceived notions of vampy-rock-a-billy chick out of my head. I like the fabric, and it's perfect for the upcoming winter months, but still, trying to get rid of old stereotypes. Old safari style seems more appropriate.