2013 has arrived!

After a very hectic holiday season and a major clean up of my studio after last season, I needed to come up with a project that would kick start the new year.  Usually I start my year by building a new teapot, but with orders and an upcoming wholesale show, I have to come up with a quicker boost!  I started by custom blend some new colour sheets.  Afterwards, I created some fun simple tumbling block canes with them.  I couldn't stop doing it for 2 days!  These brightly coloured patterns has really boosted my creative juices and it's time for another year of creativity!  Sometimes all we need is a simple perk up....kind of like a shot of expresso!

Textures, textures, textures!

With all the carving on the Night Circus teapot....I was on a roll. Decided to take that energy and create some customized texture sheets for my other works. These were all carved polymer clay sheets and their 'stamped' mates. I'm looking forward to putting these to use!

It's that time of year again?

I can't believe it's that time of year again! It's the Christmas Craft Show Season! This year, I decided to do 4 shows...yes, I said 4! You may say...Hey! That's not alot of shows to do. It may not be a big number if you're doing weekend shows at smaller venues, but I'm actually in 4 different cities....across 2 provinces. Three of these shows are major ones in their cities.

I start this coming weekend in my lovely hometown of Victoria, BC...Gifts for Myself and Others...a beautiful little show with just under 30 of the finest Island Artisans. I'm proud to be part of this group of artists! From Nov. 17-21st, I'll be in Vancouver at the Circle Craft Christmas Market at the new Vancouver Convention Centre. Luckily, I have a nice little break before I head off to Alberta! Calgarians can find me at the Calgary Festival of Crafts from Dec. 2-5th. Hey! Just noticed they used my new teapot in their advertising! Then I wrap up my show circuit in Edmonton at the Butterdome Craft Sale from Dec. 9-12th.

I hope to see familiar faces at these shows...it's the highlight of my year to see my friends at the shows and the clients that I've met through the years.

Perfume Project

The second time I participated in Filberg Festival, I met a wonderful aromatherapist/perfumier, Anita Kalnay of Flying Colors Aromatherapy. She approached me about a project where I could design containers for her custom perfumes based on the scents. I found the idea very intriguing because I strongly believe in the experiences through all levels of our senses.

Finally this past fall, the project was executed. Anita sent me a beautiful fruity blend for me to draw my creativity. I envisioned colours of peaches and visions of peach blossoms swirling around as I held the scent to my nose. I find it fascinating how I can see these imageries just from the smell of something. I was pleased with the final product and so was Anita. We're hoping this is just the beginning of an interesting collaboration!

New Studio!

First on my agenda with my new home is creating a studio. The space we took over in my mom's home was originally created as student suites. The included 2 bedrooms and kitchen and bath. Works just fine with us! The kitchen was totally perfect for my studio since it already included an oven and a sink, great for polymer clay! The cupboard space was great for storage for all my supplies and such.

We installed a nice ceramic tile floor, easier for cleaning and scraping off clay. A lick of paint and new custom counter, I'm good to go! As a treat for myself, I decided to get a LCD tv, since it takes up so little space! ;)

I'm already deep into production and the space is a godsend.