Upcoming Craft Shows - Coast to Coast

I'm excited to announce that this spring you can find us at craft shows on both coasts! Our first show of the year is this upcoming weekend in Pittsburgh, PA at Handmade Arcade, which takes place on Saturday, April 16th from 11am - 7pm. I've heard nothing but good things about this show and their site states that they normally have 10,000 attendees - in one day! If you are anywhere near Pittsburgh, I highly recommend attending (and maybe getting an early bird pass, to avoid the crowds).

Also, I'll be re-uniting with some of my favorite crafty ladies from Baltimore Craft. Oh, how I miss them!

Just a few weekends after Handmade Arcade, I'll be traveling down to Portland, Oregon to participate in Crafty Wonderland. This is a mega indie craft fair, featuring almost 200 crafters. Holy moly, that's a lot of crafty goodness. I also think of Portland at the epicenter of indie craft, so I am both excited and humbled to be participating in this show. This show is also one day, and takes place on Saturday, May 7th, the day before Mother's Day - which seems like a really smart day to hold a craft fair!

Here are the details for these two shows:

Handmade Arcade:

Saturday, April 16th at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA
11am - 7pm. Early bird pass hours are from 10am - 11am.

Crafty Wonderland:

Saturday, May 7th at the Oregon Convention Center, Hall D in Portland, Oregon
11am - 6pm

Hope to see you at one of these shows!

Made by Hank

Have you ever wanted something for a long, long time? Like for a couple of years? Well, I've wanted a Made by Hank bag forever. But seeing as how this designer is amazing, like red hot, it's hard to snag one. She posts her bags every-so-often and then they dissapear quickly. But not this time! This time I snagged myself this little number.

This little pouch will be perfect in my Moop bag, which I currently use as a diaper bag. This way, when we go into a cafe and I don't actually need the diaper bag, I can grab this sweet pouch and feel stylish. Which is rare these days. This mama needs a little style.

Oh, and I really, really want one of these. But, these bags go quick. One of these days I'll get lucky and get a big bag too. Fingers crossed!

You Say Hello

Sam, age 4 months

Most people write their new year posts in January, but February seems like a better time for me this year. We've got some big changes going on with my little business and family. For one, we've just moved back to Seattle. With our two dogs, baby, no house and my husband quit his architecture job (yes, in this economy). Crazy, right?

Our new start, falling so close to the new year, sort of feels like a resolution. A resolution that says: life is short. If you are not living the life you want, just shift your perspective. Also, now that I have a wee one, I feel very strongly that we should live our lives passionately. What kind of message would we be teaching our son if we stuck with something that wasn't working, just because it is comfortable?

With this change, I am in a new city where I don't know very many other artists. In Baltimore, I was very involved in the indie craft community. I did all of the Charm City Craft Mafia Shows. I was one of the founding members of Baltimore Craft. I got to know some amazing people in Baltimore who helped give me the courage to grow my jewelry business into a full time gig.

Am I scared a little bit right now?

Yes.

Do I think we're just a little bit crazy?

Maybe

Am I excited?

You bet


I would love to hear from you all about something risky or just different that you've done lately. It doesn't have to be anything drastic, like moving your family across the country. It could be something really small, like changing from pens to pencils. Or walking to the store for groceries instead of driving. I would love to hear what you are doing differently this year.

Where did the summer go?

new work!


I've come to realize that I've been a very neglectful blogger this summer. I think the heat and all the summer shows just got to me and I never even got a chance to share all of the fun I was having with you. And, did I tell you? I'm expecting a baby in about 3 weeks. Yes, 3 weeks! So, there really has been a lot of excitement around here.

Some highlights this summer here at Elisa Shere Jewelry:


-FREE SHIPPING and 10% for blog readers! Since my shop will be closed for part of September and October, I thought I'd give you a great opportunity to stock up on your favorites by offering you free shipping. And for my blog readers? How about an extra 10% off. Just use code: 'blog" at checkout and I'll send a revised invoice to you with the discount. This offer is good until I close shop for baby (could be any time!)

-Favorite shows: My favorite shows this summer were Pile of Craft and the Pennsylvania Guild summer show. These shows are quite different from each other - Pile of Craft is put on by the Charm City Craft Mafia and is considered an indie craft show. The shoppers are superb and so are the Craft Mafia folks. I really enjoyed myself and sold lots!

The Pennsylvania Guild show is a more traditional craft show. These shoppers were serious art buyers and knew what they were looking at. I just LOVE shoppers that know how things are made and ask pointed and interesting questions about technique. Plus, the folks that put on this show were as sweet as can be.

-New Shops: I just sent off some work to Tilde in Portland, Oregon! It's a sweet little boutique in the the Sellwood area of Portland. I'm so excited to have some work in the Pacific Northwest - as some of you may know, I lived in Seattle for 11 years and hope to move back someday. I have some friends that live near Tilde and they said my stuff looks great and the folks running the shop are very enthusiastic about my work. Yay!

-New Work: I've been making lots of ceramic charms and working on my mixed metal series. Folks have been responding well to these pieces, so I must be doing something right!

I hope to write a couple more blog entries before our little bundle arrives!

Springtime in the Garden

It's been soo long since I've done a blog post, I have missed you! Some of the things I've been up to: developing a new ceramic line of jewelry, selling at my first few spring craft shows, growing my business, walking my dogs, sniffing flowers and sometimes helping my sweetie in the garden. Pretty much in that order, too. I wanted to share this first crop of lettuce with you, can you believe we grew this? I can't. It's so pretty and it made a delicious, fresh salad. We owe the cool, wet spring for our bounty.

I plan to share more of these moments with you and some photos of the amazing rural property where we live. It really inspires me. Hopefully, it will inspire you too!

xo,

elisa

Fresh New Work

At the ACC show I introduced many new styles. Some were one of a kind and some have found a permanent home in my collection. I uploaded the following styles to my Etsy shop yesterday. These pieces are still very texture oriented. I've been experimenting with a scratchy, almost cross-hatched finish to my oxidized pieces. These are inspired by my former life as a drawing and printmaking student. I'm also continuing to work on adding some color into my work. It is almost spring, after all!

Please let me know what you think of this new style of photograph, with a simple white or cream background. It's a departure from my usual earthy style.

Organic Cherry Blossom Dangles $46

Sweet Scallop Necklace with Vintage Black Flower $60

Organic Teardrop Post Earrings $48

Organic Teardrop Necklace with 14K goldfill $78

I survived ACC!

Elisa Shere, originally uploaded by tigerlillyshop.

After spending the first two months of this year preparing for ACC, I'm happy to say the event came and went with great success. If you are not familiar with the show, it is the largest fine crafts show in the country. I was very honored to be included in the AltCraft section, which is for emerging artists that work in alternative materials/subject matters.

The things I loved best about this show:

-Although some shoppers were confused about what the AltCraft section is, they were all very positive about what they were seeing. I received many compliments from shoppers regarding our section, they were impressed with the level of talent. Many said that my work was equal to what they were seeing on the main floor, which is an enormous compliment. A great deal of the vendors on the mainfloor are master craftmen who have been exhibiting at this show for years. The quality of metalsmiths is particularly high.

-Many shoppers had made things at some point in their lives and were interested in my process. Of course, I could talk about making stuff all day, so I loved answering questions.

-There was a lot of interest in my new line of bezel set ceramic pendants (there's a little peek at them in the photo above, on the right). That made me very happy, as this project has been swirling around in my head for some time and I was excited and nervous about debuting this combining of my two passions - pottery and metals

-I was very pleased with the lighting, chains and table provided (although, it was a bit wobbly). The chair was nice and high, so I could sit and talk with shoppers at the same time

-I did well with my higher priced items, which is always desirable.

Things that I didn't love so much about this show:

-The roped off AltCraft area. This was very confusing to shoppers and is just weird. So many shoppers asked me why we were roped off in a pen. I just told them it baffled me too, as this section is a great asset to the show and should be better integrated. It brings in a new type of crafer and shopper that this traditional show so desperately needs.

-The name AltCraft. It could mean anything. When asked what it meant, I just said that we were emerging artists that had never exhibited at ACC before and wanted to get a taste of what it was like to be vendors at this show. It seemed to be the simplest explanation to me.

-Gross food smells. I never thought when I exhibited at the biggest and possibly best, fine crafts show in the country I would have to deal with food frying right next to my booth. At an outdoor festival, I've come to expect this. But not at ACC. I survived 4 days of strong blasts of garlic smells. Made for funny jokes/conversations with my shoppers, though.

-Extra retail day. The extra day of retail on Thursday was a bit of a flop. There were very few shoppers, although I did score a great wholesale account that day. The show should really consider going back to three days - Friday - Sunday.

So, overall a VERY positive experience. It was so nice just to be at that show for 4 days, I love it so much. Met some fantastic new people, and had great times with my BEST girls. And came home with some great trades and purchases.

A Confession

I have a confession. One of my guilty pleasures is shopping online for wedding dresses. I know, this is totally ridiculous, I've been married for 3 1/2 years and already own a wedding dress. And, I'm not even that kind of girl (as a little girl I never fantasized about getting married - ever). My wedding was very simple, and small, but elegant. Lots of personal touches. But, and I'm about to be super corny here, our wedding really was one of the best days of my life. So, perhaps that's where the wedding dress nostalgia comes from. And with that, here are some of my favorites right now.

Amazing dress from The English Department, a design team out of Portland.

Appropriately named Honeychurch, one of my favorite heroines from one my favorite movies - A Room with a View.

Stunning dress from Etsy superstar, SarahSeven. Her dresses are so romanic, simple and modern. Love everything in her shop.

This New Year

Selling, originally uploaded by tigerlillyshop.

Well, it's my first official day at work this year here at Elisa Shere Jewelry. Since this is a time of reflection, I am taking some time to think about my jewelry, and my business and one thing is clear: I've always taken this jewelry business seriously, even from the beginning. Since the moment I opened my Etsy shop exactly 3 years ago, I always had a plan of making this full time, and created designs that could be reproduced and that I want and love to reproduce. Did I think I would ever have the guts to quit my day job? No. But lucky me, my day job quit me in early 2009 and here I am.

As I reflect upon 2009, here are some of the highlights of things I achieved in my first year running this buisness full-time:

- did not quit, or giveup and get a dayjob. although I was close a few times.
- turned my business into just about 100% green. not an easy or inexpensive task.
- made a profit
- made enough of a profit to cover rent for the year (my goal)
- was accepted into and kicked ass at the following craft shows, which I had dreamt of doing for quite some time: Art Star, Crafty Bastards, Renegade, Holiday Heap, Craftland and many more
- wrote my business and financial plan, though 2011
- had fun, made friends and worked my butt off

The next step is 2010. One of my goals this year is to focus my product line a bit more, I've been making an effort to focus my line in 2009, but it's still a little bit all over the place. It's hard for me to be disciplined about this, since I'm always coming up with new ideas and they don't always fit in with what I'm currently making. But, nonetheless this year I must: focus, focus, focus!! The ACC show next month will actually help with this, as I need to present a cohesive product line at this show.

My second goal is to work on generating media exposure. This is an area that you'd think I would have spent more effort on in the past, considering that my former day job was in marketing communications. But, it's somehow much harder and scarier when it's me. But, to grow my business, I need to get my name, my product and my story out there. On a national level.

So, that's 2010. Growing and focusing my business. And getting my name out there. I feel very proud and grateful that I was able to achieve so many of the goals I set out for myself in my first full time year of business. One thing I know for sure: I could not have done this without the support my my husband, family and amazing crafty friends, mainly from BEST. I really am a lucky girl.

In a Nutshell...

In Chicago at the Renegade Craft Holiday Show - check out the travel display!

Well, as I suspected, it's been a wild month. Completely manageable, but wild nonetheless. One month = 5 shows, etsy, wholesale for a total of about 200 pieces of jewelry sold. That's a lot of metal work! Yesterday was the first day I didn't have any sales in my Etsy shop, so I can really say for the first time that it's time to kick my feet up. And when I say kick my feet up, I mean organize and do year end calculations like mad!

Other exciting news, I've been accepted into the AltCraft section at ACC. This is such a major milestone for me. For the last two years that I've lived in Baltimore, I've always gone to the ACC show and just gazed in wonder. And then went to the AltCraft section and gazed some more and thought, I belong here. And this year I will be there!! I have exciting plans for a new line incorporating some of my ceramics into my metalwork. I've been wanting to do this forever and think this is the perfect venue to debut these pieces.

Ms. Ladybug - our only picture, since she's afraid of cameras

And lastly, we have a new addition to our family! Ms. Ladybug, a gorgeous and funny and sweet Basset House & Beagle mix we adopted from the SPCA. There's never a dull moment with this Lady, but she gives us so much love - we are all crazy about her, even Louie.

Here we go!

Well, it's hard to believe, but this weekend is my first show of the season. That's right, in just three days. The show is called Holiday Heist and it's in Vienna, Va. at the Soundry. It's my first year doing this show and I have to admit I'm a bit skeptical. It seems like there are A LOT of jewelry artists and at least 4 metalsmiths that I know of, and that's out of 30 some vendors. Hmmmm. Anyway, if you are going to be there be sure to check your goodie bag. There's a 10% off coupon to spend on your purchase at my table.

Also, remember that picture of the empty cardboard box (pictured below). Well, it's filling up with finished jewelry! I'll be sure to post a picture of it soon. You'll be amazed at all the goodies I've produced. I will do my best to keep you all posted during this super busy holiday season. And did I mention that I'm offering free shipping until the end of the year on all purchases from my Etsy shop? Just a little something to make your holiday shopping easier.

Production Time

Yes, I've known for quite some time that the holiday season was coming. A time when I need to have lots and lots of jewelry ready to be snatched up on Etsy and at the craft shows that I'll be doing. But then the acceptance notices starting rolling in and now I have 5 shows, one of which is a two day show and Craftland, which is this amazing month long show in Providence, RI. So, I sat down and started to do some figuring and came up with this awesome chart:

Basically, this chart says that I need to make over 200 pieces of jewelry. In the next 5 weeks. Luckily, I've gotten a good head start on that goal, so I think I'll be okay. I'll likely be working some late nights and weekends, but it'll totally be worth it to do these amazing shows. Seriously, check out this line up:

Saturday, November 21st: Holiday Heist in Vienna, VA

Saturday, December 5th: Holiday Heap, Baltimore

Saturday, December 5th & 6th: Renegade Chicago

Saturday, December 12th: Squidfire, Baltimore (sharing a space with Sugar Paperie)

Sunday, December 13th: Last Minute Maul at School 33

Here is my new inventory box, just waiting to be filled (don't worry, I have a whole other box of inventory already made). I'll keep you all posted on my progress. Beer and coffee will help get me through (and lots of face licks from Louie, my faithful studio companion).

Surprise! Crafty Bastards

my display

Well, remember when I wrote about doing the Fenton Street Market last week? Well, instead of doing Fenton on Saturday, I got the opportunity to be a Crafty Bastard instead! I had been on the waiting list, but it's such a great show that they weren't able to make room for me (because every single person that was invited said yes). That is, until someone cancelled the day before the show. Fortunately, I happened to have lots of stock on hand, so I was able to say yes to this last minute opportunity. And I'm so glad I did! The shoppers were wonderful, I received many, many lovely words of praise about my work and people were gobbling it up. The whole day was like a craft show dream come true, including the weather. Not only that, I but I shared a booth with Monica Stroter of Sugar Paperie. She is so sweet and her note cards are so lovely. She was a source of calm, which was nice on such a hectic day.


So, thanks to Sara and Kim of Crafty Bastards/Hello Craft fame. You guys run a pretty fantastic show and were so great to work with. I am really so thankful to have been given this amazing opportunity!

Fenton Street Market - This Saturday!!

Now that I've recovered from pneumonia (yes, you heard that correctly) and my vacation, I'm back in the studio and have all manner of shows and other opportunities lined up. This Saturday, I'll be selling my goods at the Fenton Street Market in Silver Spring, Maryland. This is a new street market which premiered last month. Word on the street is that it was a hit! You can find me sharing a booth with my super talented and sweet friend Jen of Yummy and Company. She makes really cute flower and botanical accessories made from polymer clay.

If you're in the area, please swing by. Did I mention that they also have hot mini-donuts? Mmm.

Saturday, October 3, 2009
9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
rain or shine
Corner of Fenton Street and Silver Spring Avenue
*Free parking in public lots across Fenton Street*

Our opening market will feature more than 60 vendors with an exciting array of fine, unusual, imported, and handmade goods...plus live music and hot mini donuts

Ahhhh, Seattle!

After taking 10 days away from the east coast, followed by 5 days in bed sick, I am back! I had a lovely, lovely time in Seattle with dear friends and family. But really, my best friend of all on this trip is the city of Seattle. Remember how on Sex in the City, Carrie has a date with NYC? Well, that's sort of how it was with Seattle on this trip. It rained buckets the first few days, but that didn't stop us from making little jaunts into the city and we even spent a day up in Vancouver. Here are some highlights of our trip, you may notice that most of these center around food, since I really like to eat!

Bakery Nouveau: A fantastic bakery filled with baked goodness in West Seattle, a favorite neighborhood of mine. It's like a little escape to France, and the is owner famed for his baguettes. We enjoyed slabs of pizza, served very much like in Italy, and double baked almond coissants (yeeeesssss!). And, how cute are these pictures of our jaunt there?


bakery nouveau fun!

Sushi and the Pike Place Market: I went for super yummy sushi with my dear friend Leo, a graphic designer, semi-professional ballroom dancer and musician, at an sushi place that I can't remember the name of. Afterwards, my sweetie Jeff and I strolled the Pike Place Market and purchased tea at Market Spice and all manner of goodies at Delarentis italian deli. We even ran into a friend!

Vancouver, B.C.: Jeff, my lovely in-laws Dave and Judy and I piled in the car and drove to Vancouver for the day. We spent most of the time on Granville Island, which is like the Pike Place Market, except that there are tons of amazingly talented crafters and artists in addition to the yummy treats and produce. They have these beautiful galleries with working artist's studios in the back. . The Gallery of B.C. Ceramics has long been a favorite place of mine and so inspirational to me as a potter. I scored a stunning mug by B.C. potter Jackie Frioud there. It's just so sweet and simple and lovely to hold and looks so cool on my desk. After Granville Island we strolled around Stanley Park and then ate dinner at one of my favorite restaurants ever, Delilah's where we indulged in martinis and yummy food. It was a perfect day!

ivy covered beams under the bridge on Granville Island

Madison Park: One night we went to Madison Park, which is a fantastic neighborhood on Lake Washington, just near Capital Hill. It has restaurants and cute shops and it's fun to walk along the water. It was one of those sunny days where the water is glistening and we enjoyed margaritas and butternut squash and goat cheese enchiladas. Mmmmm.

not in Madison Park, still funny!

Nordstrom: Okay, I couldn't exactly go to Seattle without going to Nordstrom. The Nordstrom in Bellevue Square is one of the best in the country. It's about 5x the size of the Nordstrom stores here in MD and has so many pretty clothes and shoes. They even have entire section (the size of a shoe store) of sporty Nikes/Pumas/Adidas for the ladies. I swooned, but walked away with only one denim skirt.

Barbecue at Judy and Dave's: Our last night in town my previously mentioned really sweet in-laws hosted a barbecue for us and our friends. We had a great time catching up with lots of folks that we haven't seen since we moved away. The food and the conversation were perfect and it was a sunny 85 degrees, rare warm weather in mid-September. Hooray!!! A perfect end to a perfect trip.

My (very cute!) husband Jeff and his dad and beer

Hold the Meat

For a long time now, both my husband and I have toyed with the idea of giving up meat. We love animals and have often made veggie and vegan meals for ourselves. We also have had a penchant for the Hamilton Tavern's tasty bacon, egg and cheese burger and for fine cured meats. Nonetheless, a few weeks ago we threw in the towel and actually gave up meat. And you know what? We both feel great! Besides, there are so many yummy, yummy foods that don't have meat in them. Here are some examples of my favorites:

-Guacamole/avocados

-Salsa and Chips

-Pizza

-Gnocchi with pesto

-Chocolate

-Peanut butter

-Beer

The picture at the top of the post was my lunch today, and it was so tasty. It was half of a toasted homemade English muffin, soy sausage, basil from the garden and fresh mozzarella (melted). So simple and incredibly satisfying. I'd love to hear about your simple veggie meals.

Shows, the Beach and New Work

After 3 super fun, but crazy days at Artscape, followed by my final business plan being due, followed by another show, I took a much needed couple of days at the beach. I was too busy relaxing to take many photos, other than the one above. I got to spend time with my adorable nephews, my fun sister and brother-in-law and a had great time at the Lewes, Delaware beach, just relaxing. We even drove over to Rehobeth beach to get some Nicobolis (mmm), beer and boardwalk. It really doesn't get better than that.

Now that the vacation is over I am (surprise!) focusing my time in the studio. I'm fascinated with hand-fabricated cabochons, the metal-on-metal 3D possibilities are really interesting to me. I've posted this necklace, but also have about 2 more charms half done sitting on my bench. I can't wait to see where this will take me.

"Grafitti Bezel Charm" $72

Oh, and also, one of my classmates from my entrepreneurship program wrote an article about my jewelry and earth-friendly material and studio practices. Yeah!!! Check it out for yourself: http://www.examiner.com/x-4019-Baltimore-Pop-Culture-Examiner~y2009m7d23-Are-you-practicing-the-three-Rs-This-local-jeweler-is

Never Want To Let You Go....

Like the song, I never want to let these new pieces I've hours obsessing over go. I'm usually so busy producing quantities of work that I don't normally get too attached to any one piece of jewelry. However, I recently discovered not one but two totally unique, Montana Agates that are so gorgeous, they have these lovely inclusions that give them a sense of movement and have a subtle modern transparancy about them. I'm so happy with the settings I've crafted, I've been doing a lot of scalloped edges lately and they seem to work so well with these pendants.

Also, as it turns out Montana Agate isn't actually mined, but instead is found in gravel bars by the Yellowstone River in far eastern Montana and then hand gathered. I am so excited that something so pretty is earth-friendly and conflict-free.

I've been wearing the necklace shown above since last night and refuse to take it off. I will try to part with it, as I would like to feature these two pendants at Artscape. They will be priced between $120 - $14o.

New Galleries!

Good news! I've been approached by the coolest, prettiest small boutiques and galleries lately to carry my jewelry. I feel really, really lucky. Just this week I dropped off my first order from Red Tree in Hampden. It's a really beautiful store full of great home goods, furniture and great gifty items. They also carry the most amazing jewelry from Figs and Ginger, Liz Matthews and Imogene - plus other favorite crafters of mine like Biggs and Featherbelle and Pink Kiss. I'm especially excited about Red Tree, because they were my number one choice for a local gallery. Yeah!

Made Gallery in New Orleans is also now carrying my work now. I sent off my first order to them just a few weeks ago. They are a really nice independent gallery that sells original art work, gifts and accessories. They are super nice and really active in the community, and sell the jewelry of fellow BEST member Tigerlilyshop's sister - Maria Fomich. If you are in New Orleans, be sure to check this place out.

I'll also soon be sending off some work to Magpie in Boston. They are a super duper cool indie fashion boutique and I'm excited about that opportunity, as well.

A City Girl and Her Garden

Now that I live in the bucolic countryside north of Baltimore, I've decided to take up gardening. Both my sweetie and I have dreamed of a vegetable garden forever, but have only had the room to grown herbs up until now. This year we've planted cucumbers, red peppers, two kinds of tomatoes, sweet peas and of course, lots of herbs. Everything is doing really well, especially now that it's getting hot. We've already enjoyed the sweet peas, but can't wait for fresh Roma tomatoes and sweet cucumbers mixed with our mint and basil. Mmmmmmm. If only we could grow fresh mozzarella, too!

You can tell that we're having a hard time letting our city ways go, since we planted everything in planters. Some habits die hard, but our patio sure looks cute with all the veggies around. I wish it could be early summer all year long.