Time for a little Co-op-eration

About a week ago, I took some of my glass pieces into my favorite yarn shop, Chix With Stix in Forest Park to see if the bead shop up the street might be interested in my work.  During the conversation, Kelly mentioned that the gallery next door was an artist co-op.  My ears picked right up.

I'd been to an artist co-op in P-Town in 2005 and would have joined that one, but didn't live in the area.  Finding one in my area was exciting and I went next door to see what they had and if they would be interested in my work.

At the American Artworks Gallery, I met Lisa (one of the owners) and Gabe (another glass artist).  The really liked my work and were excited about having my heart pendants in the shop for Valentines day.

Valentines!  I hadn't even given that a thought and I had quite a bit of hearts since I'd found another box of them in my basement.  Yikes, I have a lot of glass art sitting around!

The race was on to get retail labels designed and printed (got a new printer at Christmas, fortunately) hearts inventoried, priced, labeled and back to the shop by Wednesday.  It was a busy couple of days, but I got 20 hearts completed and packed for retail sale. YEAH!

Wednesday evening after work I officially joined the co-op and turned over my hearts. Lisa is very enthusiastic about my work and I'm thrilled to be showing in such a cool and eclectic place.

Yesterday, I stopped in to see the hearts on display.  It was wonderful.  They're shining there in the window as well as in a lovely display case.

I'm anxious to see what the response from their clients are.   If you're in Forest Park, IL sometime, be sure to stop in and say hello and check out the gallery and support some local artisans!

Come Visit The Mall!

I hope today finds you healthy and happy.

My second web update this weeks debuts a new section of my website: The Mall.

This is the page where all of the shops, galleries and on-line venues that I sell my work in will be listed. As shows and art fairs come along, this will be the place to see that schedule too!

For all of the details, come take a look HERE.

Hope you have a great day!

Back From Vacation

OK, now that the website drama is over, I can tell you about my wonderful trip up to Door County.

We had a wonderful time and dogs really loved getting out and seeing new things. However, I do think they tired of getting in the car and going to the different towns on the peninsula and walking around so much.

My dogs are pretty lazy and not used to so much exercise since I'm usually busy with work, the gym, chores, etc. The slept well at night, that's for sure.

Now for the big news! I'M IN A GALLERY!

I took a bunch of jewelry and loose beads up to Door County to show a few of the shop owners and see if I couldn't get into one of the shops. Unfortunately, several of the shop owners were out of town during the time I was up there since Mondays and Tuesday are usually the shop owner's weekends.

After a few false leads and dashed hopes, fate took over.

My perseverance paid off when I visited The Dragonfly Gallery & Gardens in Sister Bay. The shop owner, Susie, saw my stuff and went wild. She really loved and took most of what I had brought into the shop.

She was really fun and sweet and has a great energy. I found out that the shop is fairly new and she's working to establish herself yet. She had a number of folks stopping by while I was there since she's got a great location and the shop is fabulous.

I cannot wait to see how her customers react to the items. I'm hoping they will really love them.

If you're up in Door County this summer, please check it out! You won't be disappointed.

Have a great night and weekend!

P.S. Tomorrow is the first day of my class with Ken Herman so wish me luck.

On The Hunt

This is going to be a short one tonight since it so late, but I wanted to tell you about my hunt that I have started at the urging of some friends and customers.

What am I hunting for, you ask? I'm hunting for a gallery that I can display and sell my work in addition to my on-line and art fair presences.

I've contacted a couple so far and have sent out an official e-mail to one gallery tonight that looks quite promising.

With any luck, I will hear back from them soon to arrange a meeting. I'll keep you posted on how the search goes as things develop.

If you have any suggestions, I will definitely take them!

Wish me luck!