Studio with a view #1

And just over my computer screen is the garden

It is the best thing I have done for my creative self in years. I have light…huge windows looking out on my little garden…loads of surfaces to collage away on….more dream boards and shelf space to store “one of these days” collage treasures. I now walk in to my studio every morning inspired and nurtured.
Why is it that where I spend most of my day shouldn’t be the most important space in my home???? My new little living room works just fine and I can talk to everyone while I am cooking…much more fun!

So my call to all is to create the most inspiring workspace possible…wherever that is!

The great, good goddess Anne Taintor

Sloppy tulips & Pinterest
Did you know that the average visit to Pinterest lasts 1 hour and 17 minutes? Impressive!
I love Pinterest…my studio is filled with “boards”: there is a “to do” board, a “perfect studio” board, a “school stuff” board, a general “inspiration” board…I go thru a lot of tearing and push pins to get myself inspired. Of course there is also the “heart” board that is on the front of my fridge… which is one of the reasons I designed a line of magnets ( can’t lose any of those sentiments to the daily opening and closing of the fridge)…it is so full it requires Superman strength magnets to hold the layers of fanned out papers.
So, Pinterest seemed like a great way to get even more inspiration and organize my creative dreams. The only hitch is, I don’t always have the time.
Recently back from a trip to Pike Place Market, I decided there is nothing better than when the tulips first arrive. We need reminders of spring in the Pacific Northwest…our winters are long and grey and wet. When the tulips arrive, in massive displays at the market, it is cause for hope and celebration. My first thought was to go to Pinterest and find some great tulip shots. But days were slipping by and no time to search. I then woke up to the fact that I had the greatest bunch of now sloppy tulips I could wish for….and to boot, I have a blog (as good as any “board” cyber or cork). Its not that I don’t love to scan the hidden treasure of the cyber world, I just want to make sure I don’t lose track of the things that bring me joy in my actual life.
So here are some of my current favorite things…not from websites, but from my daily life and work.
Cheers!

Our first show is at the elegant Bellevue Club, Bellevue, WA; Saturday, November 5. This is a new venue for us and one we are very excited about. The show boasts it’s largest collection of artists and artisans to date making for an exciting event. Please come and visit not only Full Circle Studio, but all the other creative talents that will be selling their wares. Please click on the show link to get all the details and directions: http://www.bellevueclub.com/holidaybazaar/

Next on the show roster is the ever fabulous Artists Studio Holiday Sale on Mercer Island. The show takes place at the beautiful home of artist Leslie West. Opening night is Thursday November 10 from 6 to 9pm, Friday November 11 from 10 to 6pm and Saturday November 12 from 9 to Noon. This year the show will include over 12 regional artists including jewelry designers, mixed media assemblages, glass art, ceramics, hand made cards, wine…and of course, Full Circle Studio’s decoupage switchplates, flour sack towels, linen hand towels, paperweights and magnets. Please visit our show website at: http://www.wix.com/fullcirclestudio/artiststudiosale#! for all the details.

Please note that we are including a food drive to fill the shelves of the Mercer Island Family Services Food Bank. Please bring a few non perishable food items with you when you come, so we can help make it a joyful holiday for everyone!

Granted, I am at that stage in life where if it isn’t on a post it or pinned to a board or openly showing on my magnet board, it’s lost in the ether. At first I have to say I found this frustrating…now I realize, it is another great opportunity to create little collage sets of information all around my home and studio. To that end, I just finished designing our new line of magnets.

As you all know, there are a lot of magnets out there. Which I actually find comforting…makes me feel like I am not the only one who has to keep life’s details on the front page in order to get them done. But I did find a few things lacking in most of the magnets out there…for example: they have to hold lots of paper and not slip off the board ( or refrigerator). And since these magnets are part of my new “absolutely can’t forget this” collage series, I wanted them to be fabulous looking…worthy of being featured on a daily basis. Which leads me to the gift packaging…who do you know that doesn’t need a charming and useful accessory to help manage daily life? I thought the tins did just the trick.

Please take a browse through our new MAGNETS! section on the website…and as always, enjoy!

For over 11 years, I have been happily and easily producing a line of decoupage switchplates and paperweights…no trouble getting the product blanks, no trouble finding fabulous artisans to make the product, never had a back order or had to call a customer to say “sorry, I can’t fill your order for another two months!!!”….not ever. Until I ventured in to the world of cotton…flour sack towels to be specific. The goal was to create a beautiful, functional towel that anyone would delight in using everyday, didn’t want any slave labor involved or small children to be exploited in Third World countries. It all seemed simple enough.

Well, suffice it to say, it isn’t simple…it is really difficult. I could rant on about how the cotton market pales in comparison to OPEC..I could tell you that I now know about cotton being hoarded and prices going up 70%…I could tell you that their is a hierarchy as to who gets their allotment of cotton and what they have to go through to get it. You start to feel like you are brokering in contraband and scramble the globe to find any one…any where with the goods.

Finally, the dust has settled and we have a solution for our flour sack towels. They will not be 32″ x 36″ because if we made a towel that large it would cost $20 to $25. And if we could make it that size, we can’t be assured that the cotton delivered was not at the expense of a child, woman or impoverished country. What we can make is a 30″ x 30″ towel, in the same quality flour sack cotton and at the same price of $16…and no one was harmed in the process.

I know a lot of you loved our ultra over-sized towel and I am sorry we can’t continue offering that size. But I am proud and satisfied that we found a great over-sized towel that will be created with our same designs, same great weight of cotton and with no guilty conscience.

Here are a couple of the new designs I am working on for July. I hope you enjoy them!

With gratitude for all your patience!

Psst…the next blog will be to announce our fabulous new line of linen hand towels…great for kitchen or bath!
Kate

It is a book for children and it is called “The Dot” by Peter H. Reynolds.

Why am I writing about a children’s book? Because it carries a profound message to everyone…of any age. I first read it to my daughter’s kindergarten class when I was the art docent. In an effort to ease the children into their own creative expression…no matter how it turned out or what it looked like…I found this glorious story.

It is about a young girl who feels she can’t draw, isn’t as talented as the other kids around her and is feeling frustrated. Her teacher invites her to look at her blank piece of paper and “to make a mark and see where it takes you”. She makes a dot. The teacher picks up the paper with the dot and then asks her to sign it. The next day the little girl comes in to class to see that her signed dot has been framed by the teacher and is hanging prominently in a beautiful gold frame. The little girl is then inspired to make an even better dot…in fact, she goes on a “dot fest” and creates lots of paintings with all kinds of dots of various sizes and colors. Her dot paintings are then displayed at the school art show and much to her delight and surprise, folks think they are pretty cool. A young boy comes up to her saying he wishes he could draw like she does. And yes, the girl invites him to make his own mark, a squiggle, and then to sign it. Needless to say, the young boy goes from desperation to delight.

So here is my New Year’s wish for all of you…make your mark! It doesn’t matter if it is something you paint, draw, sew, play, collage, write, photograph, cook, drink, wear, arrange, make, grow, sing, dance or design. Just do it, for you. The world will be a better place because of it.

And if you are stuck, you can always go to our “Lesson in Decoupage” and start there.

Thank you Peter H. Reynolds!

This is not to say that when I pass a billboard of the MegaMillions jackpot tally, I don’t think about all the fabu things I could do with 25 million dollars…honestly, I think I would make a great millionaire. That said, I would still subscribe to the simple treasures mantra. A small item, filled with delight, that I use every day.

Full Circle Studio was founded on this principle. And that was almost 11 years ago…during another “economically challenging” time. Had I been a more avid follower of the news, I would have known this and thought better about starting a completely new business based on my limited artistic skills. But being more devoted to reading People Magazine than the New York Times business section, I didn’t factor that particular fear in to my new plan. As most of you know, it started with switchplates. Mostly because that was what I new how to make, having just redone the switchplates in my home because they were ghastly. What I discovered was a simple addition to an ordinary object that I use several times a day.

Then I read an observation by the founder of Revlon: his experience was that in economically challenging times, lipstick sales soared! Why, because lipsticks were an inexpensive little luxury that made you feel good. I have often said that switchplates are the home decorating equivalent of a new lipstick. ( Sorry gentlemen, I don’t know what the male counter part is). I keep this motto in mind as I add new products to our line…whether it is a paperweight for your desk or flour sack towel for your kitchen…a small, useful item that brings a smile to your heart as you go about a busy day.

Just think about this as we enter this season of gifting….simple treasures!

What are your “simple treasures”?

P.S. Special thanks to clever Lois at The Sparrow House for her great idea about wrapping the towels with a wooden spoon to make an even greater gift idea! Please visit her website at http://www.sparrowhouse.com.
Enjoy