Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Studio and Florals
I'm back on the floral wagon, but not without casualties. This pretty thing I created a few days ago in my first floral foray in several weeks. The petals are a TAD less punchy than I prefer, but I love the background and the colours.
Today, not so successful. Although it seemed like it would be at first! I was working on a floral and because of the way I sorely abuse the glass as I make stamen beads, it thermal shocked and cracked an early stage. I managed to re-heat it and heal the crack... no problems, right? I thought everything was fine and put the lovely into the kiln after over an hour of shaping and layering. Well, boo! Halfway through the session I was adding another mandrel when I saw my beautiful floral bead cracked in half, broken in the kiln. That hasn't happened to me in a long time but the loss doesn't lose its sting, it seems. :P
I spent the rest of the session making simple frit-swirl beads.
On a cheerier note, if you have a dingy corner of your home and you're wondering whether a coat of fresh paint will *really* make a difference or not, check out this action:
Studio Before - - - - - Studio After
I'm LOVING working in the bright "new" space!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Happy Autumn!
Hello again! Sorry for the long break in posting. Since we moved into our house in 2005, August has been dedicated to intense renovations and this year was far from an exception. We needed to tackle the exterior, and let me tell you that after 4 weeks of hard work with myself, Andrea and my father, it was transformed.
We still have lots of painting to do but we're finally able to focus on glass again in the evenings. Which is great, because we have some major shows coming up!
Artisan Fall Open House
Hosted at Sumak Designs Studio
395 Elm St.
October 23, 24, 25
Friday 23rd 5 PM to 10 PM
Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
and...
Signatures Holiday Sale!
Winnipeg Convention Centre, 3rd floor, Hall B
Visitors please use Southwest elevator or escalator
November 19 - 22, 2009
Thursday and Friday from 11am to 9pm
Saturday from 9am to 6pm
Sunday from 9am to 5pm
Free Admission for all visitors!
We did some studio re-organizing and my wonderful Andrea painted the back wall of our torch studio which made it look 100 times brighter and nicer! This was in preparation for a video interview we did with the Manitoba Crafts Museum and Library. Excepts will eventually be available on their website.
We've also been working on some sweet custom orders, like these lovely matching heart pendants. I think the patterning looks like silk scarves!
Stay tuned, we're back and ready for regular blog action again!
We still have lots of painting to do but we're finally able to focus on glass again in the evenings. Which is great, because we have some major shows coming up!
Artisan Fall Open House
Hosted at Sumak Designs Studio
395 Elm St.
October 23, 24, 25
Friday 23rd 5 PM to 10 PM
Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
and...
Signatures Holiday Sale!
Winnipeg Convention Centre, 3rd floor, Hall B
Visitors please use Southwest elevator or escalator
November 19 - 22, 2009
Thursday and Friday from 11am to 9pm
Saturday from 9am to 6pm
Sunday from 9am to 5pm
Free Admission for all visitors!
We did some studio re-organizing and my wonderful Andrea painted the back wall of our torch studio which made it look 100 times brighter and nicer! This was in preparation for a video interview we did with the Manitoba Crafts Museum and Library. Excepts will eventually be available on their website.
We've also been working on some sweet custom orders, like these lovely matching heart pendants. I think the patterning looks like silk scarves!
Stay tuned, we're back and ready for regular blog action again!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Old Market Square noon concerts and craft fair
Old Market Square in Historic Downtown Winnipeg has recently undergone some extensive construction and renovation this summer. To celebrate there have been free noon hour concerts and accompanying artisan fair in the new space. We will be there August 7th, 8th and 9th (Wednesday through Friday) selling our wares at the noon hour, during and just after the concerts.
I'm glad to be able to check out these diverse acts:
August 5 - Mihirangi from Australia
August 6 - Royal Wood from Ontario
August 7- Egospank from Manitoba and Tennessee
All concerts start at noon- I'm hoping for beautiful days for our outdoor sale!
View Larger Map
Sunday, July 19, 2009
New Dragonflies!
All our dragonfly pendants sold out at Folk Fest so we were given a special order to make one as a gift for a young lady. I used the opportunity to experiment a little with a design I had in my head for a three-part dragonfly: two wings and a body, connected with jumprings and custom-hung on a sterling chain.
It turns out that it was more complicated to make than I'd anticipated. The wings were too delicate to pierce without breaking or distorting, so I had to add super-dainty loops instead. I was also determined to add two pairs of wings instead of my customary single pair. It ended up taking forever but I'm really happy with the result! It snuggles comfortably into the wearer's neck and dances as the wearer moves.
However it would probably be too dainty a piece for an active young lady to wear safely. I decided to try something on a completely different scale:
Here they are together so you can see how tiny the tiny ones are! I was in LOVE with the chubby-winged blue one, and that was ultimately what our client chose for her gift.
I snapped some quick pics before it left us. Unfortunately I mixed up which ISO setting was best, and set it at "HI", which is why there's so much speckly noise in the shots. Ah well, this is how I learn! Keep on checking out blog for our latest designs and innovations!
It turns out that it was more complicated to make than I'd anticipated. The wings were too delicate to pierce without breaking or distorting, so I had to add super-dainty loops instead. I was also determined to add two pairs of wings instead of my customary single pair. It ended up taking forever but I'm really happy with the result! It snuggles comfortably into the wearer's neck and dances as the wearer moves.However it would probably be too dainty a piece for an active young lady to wear safely. I decided to try something on a completely different scale:
Here they are together so you can see how tiny the tiny ones are! I was in LOVE with the chubby-winged blue one, and that was ultimately what our client chose for her gift. I snapped some quick pics before it left us. Unfortunately I mixed up which ISO setting was best, and set it at "HI", which is why there's so much speckly noise in the shots. Ah well, this is how I learn! Keep on checking out blog for our latest designs and innovations!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Winnipeg Folk Festival Report!
Another wonderful Folk Festival has come and gone. It always goes by so quickly! A BIG thank you to all the wonderful people who came by our booth to visit us and look at our most recent work. We felt very spoiled with all the kind praise! As Andrea says, it's hard to know whether we're on the right track at all when we're working in our subterranean studio, and it means so much to get feedback.
I always get such bad, high-contrast photos of our booth at Folk Fest and this year is no exception, but I'll share it anyway. We improved our look with our revamped Tree of Leaves,Andrea repainted all our displays to be black and bronze instead of black and red, and we had improved bracelet displays. Andrea handmade all our displays, mostly out of copper pipe and discarded theatre set scrap! I think our curtains looked tidier this year as well.
As you can see, we had a ton of simple leaf pendants this year to offer some very cute but affordable options. They're always popular but this year I felt like we had a more complete offering, and beautifully displayed. I was also very happy with our butterfly selection this year, especially our new pierced-wing butterflies. I find them kind of retro, in a good way, and a little more graphic and funky the way they hang diagonally. 
Of course we stocked up on goodies from other vendors, too! I got a new hat from Oldhat, and Andrea got a second Wanda June cap. I got us some yummy bath stuff from Heartsease. I wanted many more lovely things but we're trying to save up a cushion for a big upcoming project. I also got to see some great performers! The Punch Brothers had an amazing triple rainbow appear over the mainstage during their performance, which was magical.
So now I'm retreating from the bright and busy world again to work on some very cool special commissions, including a pair of wedding pendants! Back to my cozy underground lair... :)
I always get such bad, high-contrast photos of our booth at Folk Fest and this year is no exception, but I'll share it anyway. We improved our look with our revamped Tree of Leaves,Andrea repainted all our displays to be black and bronze instead of black and red, and we had improved bracelet displays. Andrea handmade all our displays, mostly out of copper pipe and discarded theatre set scrap! I think our curtains looked tidier this year as well.
As you can see, we had a ton of simple leaf pendants this year to offer some very cute but affordable options. They're always popular but this year I felt like we had a more complete offering, and beautifully displayed. I was also very happy with our butterfly selection this year, especially our new pierced-wing butterflies. I find them kind of retro, in a good way, and a little more graphic and funky the way they hang diagonally. 
Of course we stocked up on goodies from other vendors, too! I got a new hat from Oldhat, and Andrea got a second Wanda June cap. I got us some yummy bath stuff from Heartsease. I wanted many more lovely things but we're trying to save up a cushion for a big upcoming project. I also got to see some great performers! The Punch Brothers had an amazing triple rainbow appear over the mainstage during their performance, which was magical.
So now I'm retreating from the bright and busy world again to work on some very cool special commissions, including a pair of wedding pendants! Back to my cozy underground lair... :)
Monday, July 6, 2009
Floral Stamen Breakthrough!
Yes!!! I've figured out just the right order of steps to make crisp stamens in my florals! I've been struggling with this for YEARS so I'm kind of giddy about finally succeeding. They're pretty hot, eh? And just in time for our Folk Fest show starting on Friday!
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