Thanks to EEFM for featuring garbella in the January issue!  Check it out here:

We were thrilled to be included and featured and we are getting really excited to participate in their first annual Fashion Show at the end of March! Look for new designs to be released mid-March and some to be debuted at the East End Affair on March 31st t the space above Construction Junction in Pittsburgh, PA. More details to come!

Ok, I better get back to printing!  This is such a busy, fun time of the year!

Today, I am thankful for being able to do what I love everyday as my job.  I would not be able to do this without all of the support from: my family and friends, all of the shops that carry my work, all of the show organizers who allow me to vend, and of course- all of you!

I am relaxing with family and (lots of) good food today.  I hope all of you get a chance to relax and enjoy some good company today!

Many thanks.

Shoppers in the rain at Crafty Bastards

Wow.  First of all, Amy of redraven studios and I were so stoked to be accepted to Crafty Bastards this year for the Oct. 1st show in Adams Morgan, Washington DC. My sister joined us for the trip and she is the hardest working, best sister you could ever imagine!  Thanks Brooke!  We road-tripped down to DC from Pittsburgh on Friday and got up bright and early Saturday morning.  Load-in was a breeze.  Maybe because we got a great load-in spot or maybe because we were hustling to load-in before the rain started! Either way, we loaded in quickly, moved the car and popped up the tent moments before the raindrops started falling.  Hooray! Well, not ‘hooray’ for the rain, but we were happy to cover our gear before the rain started coming down.  We put he tent side-walls up and never took them down. On the East Coast, I think this was the first real cold-snap, damp, chill you to the bone kind of days.  That being said, DC folks must be a tough, hearty bunch because the people still came out en masse to shop at Crafty Bastards.  They were even smiling!

This show was a non-stop shopper event… I can hardly even imagine what it would have looked like on a sunny day!

We ran into lots of Pittsburgh natives and current PGH folks and had visits from some other friends and crafty vendors. It was a whirlwind, fast day that ended with some delicious, authentic Mexican food…. and then wine and dessert (in bed!). We were so exhausted and really just wanted to feel warm and dry,  so we headed back to our hotel with some wine and dessert.  It was perfect, really.

On Sunday, we slept in, went to brunch and then hit the road. Thanks to the Crafty Bastards organizers and volunteers for an awesome show!  We hope to be back next year!

This summer really flew by! Highlights from the summer:

• I got married!  It was a gorgeous day flanked by a week of rain on either end.  We are super lucky to have an amazing group of family and friends that made our DIY wedding come together in the best way.  I hope to post in more detail about that at some point. Summary:  super sweet day- the best.

• I organized the 2nd summer of a Youth Cycling Program (Positive Spin) for the MGR Foundation.  I hope to post more about that soon too, but Steevo did a quick write-up on our 100 mile bike/camping adventure with 52 middle-school students in the pouring rain!  Really though… it was awesome.

• We visited Asheville, NC and surrounding area (Blue Ridge!) and hiked, biked, and ate lots of good food.
• We went camping at Raystown Lake in Central PA with lots of good friends- swimming, mountain biking, campfire good times with a herd of cute dogs.
• Stayed busy with all of that and a few craft shows interspersed throughout.
• Managed to plant a few things in the garden and we are enjoying the delicious tomatoes now!

Now, I am just about caught up with orders and getting ready to apply to lots of Fall/Holiday craft fairs.  I am also working on designing/screen-printing wedding invitations for some friends and getting ready for the Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago, IL. This is one of my favorite shows!  This will be my first time sharing a booth at this show, so my friend Amy from redraven studios are working on figuring out how to best display our wares. My sister is making the road-trip to Chicago with us and we are all really looking forward to it!

I am excited to be heading to Chattanooga, TN this week for a 2 day indie craft show (Chatty Crafty)with my friend Amy of Redraven.  I’ll report back after the weekend!  I recently visited the Asheville, NC area and I am excited to be heading South again.

Craft show/Travel/Biscuit reviews to follow!

signs of spring

Well, it is almost officially Spring. I was born on the first day of Spring, so I feel pretty connected to this time of year. I also typically start to feel refreshed at the start of Spring. I hope to feel this again this time around, but it is hard to tell because there is so much happening this year!

Major Changes/Events:

• I took the leap and quit my day-job to pursue my dreams of a self-sustaining career. garbella is now my focus! It feels great. I am still teaching 2 programs/evenings per week to stay connected with young people and education (something else that I am passionate about), but I am going to be able to bring some more focus and energy to garbella.  I have set big goals for this year!
• I am getting married in 67 days. We are planning a DIY affair for 200 people and the ‘To-do’ list is hella long.  Major task this week… design and screen-print the invitations.
• I am signed up to run the Pittsburgh half-marathon.  This will be my first half-marathon. I’m excited and trying to stay injury-free.
• Spring/Early Summer Shows are starting to send out vendor announcements, so I hope to be busy with a couple shows. Handmade Arcade is already on the books! Pittsburgh folks- stop by to say hello to me! and check out all of the awesome vendors.
• I completed a 28 day yoga challenge in the month of February at my new favorite yoga studio- The Yoga Hive! This was the most consistent yoga practice I have ever had and it felt really amazing.  It also felt really great to set a goal and accomplish it.

In summary, 2011 is looking like it is going to be an awesome year, with lots of exciting changes.

Also, happy pi day! 3/14.  Check out this cute Pittsburgh project from pi day 2010! They delivered little pies by bike to houses, apt., and offices with 314 addresses!

Upcoming Holiday Shows: Stop by and say hello!

I Made It! for the Holidays
Dec. 3rd-4th 2010
Pittsburgh, PA

Detroit Urban Craft Fair
Dec. 4th-5th, 2010
Detroit, MI

Union Project Unwrapped
Dec. 11th
Pittsburgh, PA

Rengade Craft Fair- Chicago
Dec. 4th-5th
Chicago, IL

Bazaar Bizarre: San Francisco
Dec. 11th-12th
San Francisco, CA

Renegade Craft Fair: San Francisco
Dec. 18th-19th
San Francisco, CA

Here we go:

April: Visited LA and San Diego with Steevo.  Got to spend lots of quality time with my brother and his GF.  Also, got to eat lots of good Mexican food and enjoy the sun.  Went camping in Joshua Tree National Park (so fun!) Crafty Supermarket in Cincinnati, OH.  Awesome show!

San Diego Beach Walk

Camping in Joshua Tree!

May: Vended at Art Star Craft Bazaar in Philadelphia, Beautiful venue-Amazing show!  Super Windy- made for an exciting (albeit a lil’ stressful day)

Art Star Craft Bazaar

June: Friends got married (congrats Bobby and Amy!) Day-job continued to be very busy. Enjoyed the back yard and garden.  Hosted a back-yard party. Steevo and I decided to get hitched (also known as got engaged!)

photo by Matt Dayak (thanks Matt!)

July: Visited San Francisco (Thanks Tom!) and vended at San Francisco Renegade Craft Fair, Day-job was mad busy implementing  Bicycle camp for 40 middle-school students. Organized “Business of Craft” workshops for the Pittsburgh Craft Collective.

August: Took 24 middle-schoolers on bike tour and overnight camping adventure.  Absolutely exhausting, but also absolutely awesome!  Crafts ‘N At craft show at Soldiers and Sailors in Pittsburgh. I Made It! Leslie Park Pool Show- Bikefest edition….lots of fun, but I think I seriously had heat stroke.  That pool was baking!

bike trip!

September: Got to visit with Jenne in Pittsburgh (a rare moment!)  Bike wheel got stolen (bummer).   Vended at Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago: one of my favorite shows!   ~My brother got married! ~ (Congrats Brian and Maureen.) Lots of fun wedding festivities with family and friends.  Spent time with Dana in Pittsburgh (also rare!)  Excellent month!

Pre-Wedding Family Shot (thanks Matt!)

October: Vended at Craftin’ Outlaws in Columbus, OH- great show!  Traveled to Missouri and Kansas for a wedding (Congratulations Bethany and Gordon!) Flew to San Francisco for a week to hang out with one of my favorite ladies!  Dressed up like a Prom Zombie and went roller-skating.  First Day of self-employment!

November: Returned from San Francisco and returned to the studio. Lots of work to do!

All Caught Up! That felt really good.  Now I can move forward.

Amy of Red Raven Studios exhibiting at POOL

We got to meet a lot of great designers, small-biz owners, and entrepreneurs- all of whom were really smart, inspiring women from Pittsburgh!  It is funny that it took going to Las Vegas to meet local Pittsburgh people!

It was striking to see how similar indie Craft Shows are to tradeshows, yet how some aspects were very different.  The community of vendors seemed to be just as friendly, open, and supportive as the indie craft fair community.  There was a good amount of overlap at this show, meaning I had seen or heard of maybe 20% of the vendors through the indie craft fair scene.  There were also larger brands and higher end designers who wouldn’t quite fit the market of indie craft shows.

The buyers seemed to be the most strikingly different component compared to an indie craft fair.  Many buyers were operating on a tight time budget and were on a mission.  That is not to say that the buyers are not friendly; we met lots of super nice buyers.  There is just more of an understanding that they buyers have designers to find, orders to place, and a shortage of time.

All in all, POOL tradeshow seemed to be a really great venue for designers and makers that are new to the tradeshow scene.  The organizers were friendly and helpful, the other vendors were great, and there are affordable options.  POOL offers different tiers including Cash and Carry, Emerging Concepts, Co-op and Showroom.  This set-up seems to allow for younger brands and veteran brands to find a section that suits different needs and budgets.

I have been trying to find vendor stories of tradeshow experiences and tips from veterans.  I know that exhibiting at a tradeshow for the first time will give me lots of ‘real-world, first-hand’ experience, but I think it is important to be an informed consumer.  Here are a few resources that have been helpful to me:

http://www.designspongeonline.com/category/biz-ladies

http://craftmba.com/

Three Tips for Using Wholesale or Trade Shows to Boost Your Biz

by Tara Gentile and Megan Auman

Any resources or tips that you want to share?