Come visit us at Redemption this weekend!

Wow, things sure have been busy around here!  Today we'll be setting up shop at the new space, isn't that exciting?  Jeff has been working on the gypsy cart that I'll be using as my primary display area.  Travis and I put a base coat of paint on the cart yesterday and it looks so GREAT!  We're going to add more paint later, but we've got to get this show on the road!  I'm getting so antsy about setting up that I just keep making more new things, and more new things, and MORE new things!  I'm rapid-cycling through all my crafting skills.  One moment I'm sewing, then I'm making jewelry, then its back to sewing, then I'm working on some cards, sheesh!  Guess I have a little nervous energy or something!?!?  I'm just excited to get started!
Oh bummer, I took a few photos of the gypsy cart last night while we were painting, but I left the camera at the studio!  I guess I'll have to post them later.

Jeff has been working away at his garden art pieces for the shop.  There are several trellises, birdbaths, even a giant weather vane!  They are very imaginative and colorful, made almost entirely from reclaimed materials.  I'll shoot some photos of those when we move them to the shop today. 

Last night at the studio Jenny was making some awesome handmade journals out of reclaimed materials.  She used old record album covers for the journal covers!  The paper inside was even reclaimed, packing paper and brown grocery bag paper, etc...  Wanna see 'em?  Come to the shop this weekend!  (Okay, maybe I'll shoot some photos too.)

After I get my things set up at Redemption, I'm hoping to photograph my new pieces so I can start posting them in my Etsy shop. 


In other news, my handmade earrings "a pair of pears" were featured in an Etsy treasury.  The theme is "Pears or Pairs?".  Too cute, very clever and I love the colors as well!




My lovely hair bloom was also featured in a treasury.  The theme is "For my queen of hearts - for a little girl who has completely captured my heart"  aaawwwww, it was made by a new Mommy who has a preemie in the NICU.




Please take a minute to comment and click on some of the other shop's items.  Please tweet and 'like' on Facebook if you can.
Together we can make these treasuries successful and bring traffic to all of these wonderful shops.

Pretty boxes, ribbons and twine - new packaging!

As my Etsy shop grows, I find that I'm spending a bit too much time crafting boxes and bubble mailers out of recycled materials just so I can ship out each order.  Jeff and I have a strong personal commitment to repurpose/reuse/recycle, and we make every effort to apply this philosophy to every area of our lives.  This includes packaging.  So, thats where my dilemma of timing came in.  I was definitely having fun making boxes and envelopes to accommodate all the different size items I was sending out... but I was spending a LOT of time working on these creations (see photos below). 

I mean, don't get me wrong, I enjoy making origami paper boxes out of pretty bits of paper and making boxes out of (inside-out) cereal boxes...  I love decorating these little boxes and envelopes, each a little work of art in itself.  However, I'm getting busy enough now that I need to spend my time making the actual goods, rather than the packaging.  I needed to invest in ready-made boxes.



What I needed was a time saving, earth-friendly packaging approach.  So I did some online hunting around and I found just the right stuff!  Now I can pack up all my orders easily and quickly at my little "shipping station".

beautiful boxes - 100% Recycled Jewelry Boxes

I think the embossed, matte finish paper is nice, and I like the chocolate brown color.  Box board consists of 100% recycled materials - on average 80% is post consumer.  Non-tarnishing ultra white synthetic cotton filler is 100% recycled.  Paper wrap material is 100% recycled, Process Chlorine Free (PCF), and manufactured with renewable hydroelectric energy.  Made in the USA.

Abaca twine ribbon is made from manila hemp fibers from a species of banana native to the Philippines.  I chose this pretty apple green color.  You can unwind the ribbon if you wish, its about 1-1.5" wide, with a papery feel.  These Eco-Friendly products are made by artisans in remote villages around the world - creating jobs and fair wages for hard working communities.  Distant Village Packaging is providing more that just great eco-friendly and sustainable products.  It is a sustainable model that supports real people in many ways.  This ribbon is made from 100% natural plant fibers.

Sinamay Natural Organza Mesh Ribbons are hand made from natural fibers.  This stuff is so gorgeous and its lovely to work with.  I couldn't choose just one color, so I got both the aqua and the amber/light brown color.  Both the ribbon and the twine are made from natural and sustainable materials.

MiniMoo Cards - How CUTE are these?!?!
With a photo on one side and my info on the other, these make the perfect tag/business card.  the weight of the paper is nice and heavy, the finish is velvety...  I love them!  The really cool part is that you can order one pack with many different photos in the same pack.  You don't have to get 100 of the same photo on every card. 

I don't know about you, but I would be pretty pleased to get THIS festive little package in the mail!  The wrapping is almost as pretty as the contents.  Packaging made of recycled materials and its recyclable.  You might even consider reusing the packaging before you recycle it!  (Thats what I would do!)

love is a gypsy caravan

I love my husband.  A lot.  He is the BEST.  I have not been feeling very well this week, perhaps the rainy weather has been contributing to my usual achiness.  I have had a headache all week.  This headache has really been slowing my productivity, during a week that I wish to be extra-productive.  So, while I have been at home all week, working away at my projects here, I have been aware that Jeff has been at the Studio working away at his projects.  I just haven't seen any of his work this week because I haven't visited the Studio.  We have talked about the gypsy cart he's building for me to use as a display at the new shop, but we decided that I would wait until this weekend to see it.  I like surprises.  Well, this morning he was off to the Studio before I woke up (as usual).  I gave him a call so we could have a chat and plan our day and while we were talking he directed me to look at some photos he took yesterday at the Studio.  Imagine my surprise when I saw THIS on my computer screen!!!!!!

"Is THAT my gypsy caravan?!?!"  I yelled to him, over the phone.  "I LOVE IT, aaahhhhh!!!"  I knew he was going to build something amazing, we even sat on the sofa together and made sketches, but COME ON!!!  This is way cooler than our drawings.  AND its not even finished yet!  Hopefully we'll start painting it this weekend.  Don't you just love that arched window on the end?  We salvaged it from a local school building that is being renovated.  The side windows will be able to open (sort of like little cabinets) and there will be space inside to hang/display jewelry and other handmade goods.  The arched window will not open, we'll just use that space for display (sort of like a storefront window).  This is the perfect solution for a display that can be used outdoors, then easily moved inside, all while protecting my handmade goods!  THANK YOU JEFF!

Well, I'm signing off.  I have much to do today.  My new miniMOO cards arrived in the mail yesterday.  So I'll be pricing my things with my lovely new 'tags'.  I'll post some photos later.

The countdown continues, only 3 more days!

While I can easily say that things are always crazy and busy around here, this last week has been especially so.  However, all for good reason(s).  Recently we photographed Claire and Nick's engagement session so I have been busy in the office with editing and post-processing.  (Stay tuned for a peek at the photos!)  Meanwhile, this idea that has been floating around in our local artist cooperative just sort of came to fruition rather quickly.  We have been looking for a location where we could set up shop for the summer and sell our work.  Some of us are selling online via our Etsy shops, but we also wanted an opportunity to have a local venue where we could have a more personal interaction with our customers.  Well folks, we've found our space and we're setting up shop this weekend!  We will be unofficially open for business, so stop by and say hello!

I would like to introduce you to my friends and fellow artists.  These are the members of Studio Rico Oeste (our local artist cooperative), who will be featuring their work at the shop.


Jeff Long a.k.a. "jefficus", and my husband, find his shop online at http://www.jefficus.etsy.com/.  Jeff is a photographer, artist and fabricator.  He went to the Art Institute of Seattle for Industrial Design.  Do you want to know what he is doing as I type, right this very moment?  The man is building me a gypsy cart (out of other people's discarded "junk") in which to display my wares.  Isn't that the most wildly romantic thing in the world?  (Well, if you're me, then it IS.)  I will be posting photos of the cart very soon!  Pictured, this is a new lamp that Jeff has just finished called the Tech Light.  Its made out of recycled and repurposed parts and pieces of things.  Look for Jeff's garden art, lamps, furniture and more in the shop!

Rick Weese, a.k.a. "Rico Oeste", the man behind the plan.  That's right, our artist cooperative is named after him, Studio Rico Oeste.  Artist, sculptor and lover of junk, Rick made the file-cabinet table pictured on the poster above.  Pictured below is a sculpture Rick made out of recycled junk.  (When I say "junk", that is like a term of endearment in our vocabulary, it doesn't mean garbage... but you already knew that.)  Look out for his furniture, sculptures and more in the shop!

Jenny Roth, wanderer, lover of junk, and creator of one-of-a-kind "modern tribal" jewelry as well as handmade journals, find her shop online at http://www.returnstudio.etsy.com/.  I adore her jewelry, she has creative vision that is just so unique.  You will never think of your kitchen junk drawer in the same way after you see what she can create out of old rusty stuff.  You can find out more about the fabulous neckpiece pictured below here. 

Jeff Dyke, a.k.a. "Padre", carpenter, scavenger and super-fantastic pinstriper.  Hey, if you don't want your soda or your bible pinstriped, then keep it out of Padre's way...  but if you have something that needs a little personalized va-va-va-vooom, you know who to talk to!  Bring him your guitar, your toolbox, your favorite chair, ANYTHING you can think of.

Finally, this is Jonathan Wesley White, a.k.a. "Juan Blanco", artist, photographer, etc...  Check out his shop online at http://www.artistetc.etsy.com/ or his learn more about Juan via his website http://www.artistetc.com/.  He is currently showing a series of paintings at a local coffee shop called J.P.'s.  Here is one of the paintings in the series.

Oh, wait!  I almost forgot about me.  I'm part of the group too.  I'm Jennifer Long (in case you didn't already know that), most people call me Jen.  You can find my shop online at http://www.pair.etsy.com/.  I'll be selling a wider variety of things at Redemption, so if you are local and you are a fan of my work, you'll be pleasantly surprised at all the fun things you'll find when you stop by to say hello and meet the gang.

There you have it.  Six local artists, working away this week to bring you an exciting new shopping experience in Holland, Michigan.  I'll keep you posted with any news, including the "official" opening date!

Its a wrap!

When I ship something, I love to make the packaging (you know, boxes, bubble mailers, etc...). I always try to challenge myself to see what I can come up with using recycled/repurposed materials.   I made these bubble mailers out of brown paper grocery bags, an old lighting catalog and some bits of a beautiful sheet of art paper.  I also added some ink and rubber stamping, as well as using contrasting thread to sew them up.  The bubble wrap I used for the inside was 'trash' my Mom and I saved from the landfill.  She works in industrial food services and great big pieces of it were used for lining boxes... used just once and then chucked in the trash!  Well, we fixed that!

This stack of twelve mailers was a custom order for a girl who wanted to send out her graduation announcements with a CD of pictures.  She was looking for a cool, unique way to package/present the CD and the envelope.  I chose the paper from the lighting catalog because she had a background in theater.  I provided the manila shipping tags for addressing the envelopes.

Wouldn't you just be so excited to find one of these in your mailbox?  It could happen, skip on over to the shop and pick out something pretty for yourself.  I guarantee it will arrive wrapped in eco-conscious style!  In fact, I have as much fun packaging items and I do making them!

Look who's sitting on my front porch!

When Jeff & I were in Washington this last Christmas, I became interested in creating plush toys or stuffed creatures. I requested old socks and Jeff's Dad offered several pairs. Then I asked for buttons and Jeff's Mom supplied me with a lovely little pile of vintage buttons, YAY! I have just completed my first experimental version of a sock creature and he's made out of recycled materials! Thank you to Mom & Dad for the supplies, I hope the little dude makes you laugh. Every time I look at him, I just crack up! It's not his fault that his teeth are out of proportion. Don't tease him, he's very sensitive. He had a little run in his belly so I made him some pants. His waist isn't very defined so I had to add some suspenders. I turned the sock inside out to give him a stubble effect (rather than the tiny dots on the right side of the material).




I just had some lunch followed by a lovely short walk. It's 45 degrees outside! Yay!


Charlie is napping on my ironing board, how cute.