When I got to the show, it was both good and bad: Good--I had moved all my jewelry to bins the night before so none of it got wet, it was still only drizzling, and it was a lot warmer than Saturday. Bad--The tent roof still leaks, even after spraying the hell out of it with waterproof spray both at the last show and Saturday morning, I had to rearrange the tables to accommodate the leaks, and while it was warmer, there is a vast difference between wet cold and dry cold.*
I only opened a little bit late, but so did everyone else. Sales were slow, but I noticed that those who were spending were generally spending more, so I had fewer but larger sales. (I sold very few of my $6 kid's necklaces, which are a sure thing at most shows.) The drizzle let up late in the morning, and the tent stopped dripping around noon. I did have the Ancient Broom--bought my first year in Austin--which proved useful to me and several other vendors in getting pockets of water off their tent roofs. One of those vendors gave me an ornament as a thank-you. :-)
About 4,
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
dremiel showed up to help pack up, and about that same time, both the nephew and the World's Best Niece called to see if I needed any help. I told the WBN no, and told the nephew to get his butt down there (still a bit steamed after being stood up on Saturday morning). dremiel seems to be a good-luck charm! While we were packing up, one of my lookers came back and bought a necklace and 2 pairs of earrings! That rolled the day over from "eh" to "pretty decent".I took the kids (nephew brought the girlfriend again) dinner, and we dumped all the wet table covers, etc. on the porch for me to deal with tomorrow. I have too much to do on my day off tomorrow.
* I drank way too much hot chocolate. The verdict--while I like to Buy Local, Starbucks is still the best commercial hot chocolate I've had, with McDonald's (I KNOW) coming in second, and the all-natural organic whatever from the coop a distant third--too much sugar.
IT WAS VERY VERY COLD THIS MORNING AND I WANT TO REGISTER MY OBJECTIONS WITH THE MANAGEMENT.
Seriously. When I got up it was 20F and I found a good 1/4 inch of frost on the car. Took me 20 minutes to scrape and defrost the windshield.
But I persevered, and made it to the new site--right in front of the store! (Wheatsville is a local food coop.) It took me longer than usual to set up, since I don't work very well in very cold weather, and my nephew backed out on me at the last minute.
Sales were decent, and I got many compliments on my work. The crowds seemed thin, though. I think (hope) that folks were wary to venture out when it was pretty chilly all day--it may have hit 50F but I'm not sure--and that there will be more feet on the ground tomorrow.
I just finished another batch of coin bracelets, as they are selling well. I'll take them out of the tumbler in the morning.
The ever-amazing
dremiel is coming to help me tear down tomorrow afternoon, so maybe I can get my laundry done and go to bed at a decent time on Sunday. I have Monday off, yay!- Mood:
accomplished
I am taking tomorrow and Monday off to burn off the last of my extra vacation time. As a cost-cutting measure, the company I work for decided we can only carry over 40 hours of vacation from year-to-year, so I decided to make my life easier and take the days off around my last show of the year. Not having to get up early after 2 days of non-stop selling is very, very nice.
I still need to wrap several things in wire and I should really make a couple of silver bracelets.I will do so tomorrow, after I sleep in. Setup starts at 7 am on Saturday and it's going to be about 30F. brrrrrr. I'm glad I have my sheepskin hat to wear.
- Mood:
artistic
- Mood:
apathetic
Dr. appt (and chest x-ray)
Bathroom cleaned
I replaced a headlight bulb on the car
Started enamels--cleaned and ground copper pieces, holes punched, base clear enamel on 20 pieces
Cleared path/cleared area for workbench move-in
WORKBENCH MOVED into the workshop, along with the metal bench my brother gave me (Nephew did most of the heavy lifting)
Bought cat food/cat litter
Took visiting sister out to Half Price Books and spent a lot of money on her
Bought 3 more Christmas presents
Acquired Supernatural seasons 2-3 at Best Buy ($15 each)
Still to do:
Finish all enamels
Move things into the workbench
Make lots of other things at home (wirework, mainly)
Go out to Thanksgiving dinner with the fam
Feed a friend's pets
Contemplate buying a Blu Ray player and a DSi.
- Mood: accomplished
Let's see:
I have a ticket to see Walking with Dinosaurs on Thursday night,
I'm going to the Texas Renaissance Festival on Saturday with the World's Best Niece--and possibly
dremieland her son, Tuesday I get my "new" shop equipment--I scored a gorgeous huge workbench and some tools from a lovely woman who is liquidating her late husband's jewelry business (and who seems to have taken a shine to me),
I have all of next week off to
I'm taking a metal etching class on the 28th and 29th,
The Wheatsville show is the 5th and 6th,
I have to bake for the Thanksgiving Potluck on Thursday at work and for a birthday on Friday,
I need to make room in the workshop for the above equipment,
Thanksgiving is in there somewhere (I vote for eating out!),
...and my sister is coming into town tonight.
Awesome!
* They were very late in informing the artists this year, but I was juried into the "main" area closest to the co-op. They've decided to use parking lots all up and down the block instead of the park, which will get us a lot more foot traffic.
- Mood: busy
My father was a member of the US Army Air Corps in WWII, and served in the South Pacific. He never spoke to me of his service, but I do know he tried to re-enlist for the Korean War, but was "too old". (He was born in 1913.) He was a pilot and a small aircraft mechanic, and he taught me to shoot a rifle when I was five. I miss you, Daddy.
My mother worked for the Navy during WWII, "vetting" photos to be released to the press. I never thought about it much until I saw some of the uncensored photos from that time, and realized that a teenager (Mama was born in 1925) was looking over them every day. So, yes, I consider her a hero.
My oldest brother was a Marine in Vietnam. He was literally in one of the first battalions to hit the beach after war was officially declared. (His words: "We were coming back from maneuvers in the Philippines and instead of turning right at Hawai'i we turned left.") During his tour, his jeep drove over a land mine, throwing him out; he landed on his radio (he was the radioman), and broke his shoulder in two places. He passed away from a brain tumor before he turned 51.
My other brother was (and is) in the Navy (Reserves, now). He's a doctor, and for most of his career he has been attached to the Marines in one way or another. He was in Desert Shield /Desert Storm, setting up a Marine field hospital. He was also involved in Operation Iraqi Freedom, which he has described as a "lot of waiting around for people to decide if they needed doctors or not". He's a Captain in the Reserves.
My great uncle, who fought in WWI, commanding a "Negro engineering battalion". He gave me all the coins he'd collected and told me many stories I was probably way too young to hear.
Others: My brother-in-law, who served 4 years as an Army tanker in Germany. My first ex-boyfriend, who spent 12 years in the Navy. Another ex-boyfriend who became an emergency room doctor after serving in the Navy. Two different roommates who went back to Israel in order to serve their compulsory military service. A friend's husband who did two tours as a submariner. A good friend from college who became an Army Ranger. Another friend who served in Vietnam at the same time as my brother.
And my many, many relatives and ancestors, who fought in WWI, the Spanish-American War, the Civil War (both sides!) and the Revolutionary War.
I salute you.
- Mood:
contemplative
It never let up, and about 5, the show coordinator came over and let everyone know that they could close and pack up, but we couldn't move out until the last band finished--and since the other stage where they normally did the last two shows on Sunday had no roof, they moved the last two shows to "our" stage--so we couldn't load out until 8.
However, the Nephew showed up with the on-again, off-again girlfriend, and by the time I could bring in the car, we had everything just about ready to go and we were out of there in 30 minutes.
I came home to find that some douchebag had parked in my reserved parking space. I left a rather large, emphatic note to that effect on the windshield. :-(
Tomorrow:
Wash and dry ALL table covers.
Do other laundry.
Set tent out (if it's sunny) to dry.
Get my mammogram (yay).
Take my deposit to the bank (YAY).
Put show stuff in the storage unit.
Clean the damn apartment (riiight).
- Mood:
bitchy
I had a very good day, sales-wise. Many of my colleagues and friends came by, once with hilarious results: "You know her?" "Yeah, I've known her forever. How do you know her?" "I know her from work." Weird. Plus the best friend of an old friend of mine came by and asked if I knew this person. When I said yes, he was all "I'm so glad to meet you! She talks about you a lot." (I see this person maybe twice a year now? Granted, we both worked in the trenches at a head shop in the 80's...)
I collected many, many compliments to keep me warm while working in the workshop or in front of the TV. :-)
Then, I changed shirts, raced up to UT, and came in to hear Louden Wainright on maybe his third song? He's a hoot. And makes the greatest faces when he sings. Then Richard Thompson came on. I love Richard Thompson, and it made the whole evening worthwhile. When I was leaving, the parking attendant commented that he really liked the Cactus Cafe folks; we are so nice. "As opposed to the football fans" he whispered when he gave me back my change. Well, yeah, we aren't blind drunk and high on violence!
Stayed up way too late making things to fill holes on the table. Now I'm about ready to go and boy, is it foggy out there. I foresee a lot of polishing in my future.
I finally did the smart thing and took tomorrow off, yay!
- Mood:
chipper
The Nephew came along and did most of the lifting and toting to do my show setup today. It's outside with electricity, so that means a tent and lamps. It's funny. He's much, much better at figuring out where things should go in the store to improve sales than his sister is.
So, everything up, went to grab another good halogen desk lamp, as the last of my crappy Target sale lamps finally died. I've tried replacing the bulbs in those and the lamps are simply Not Having It, so a much better lamp it is! My ratty 3-light pole lamps are still going strong--they're the ones that come broken down into pieces and you screw everything together and then put in the bulbs and the light covers. (I've always said you can spend just as much as you want on show fixtures, and frankly, no one ever notices.)
Then I Fed The Boy. He led me to a tiny BBQ joint called Sam's Bar-B-Que, and even though the sausage and ribs weren't ready, we really enjoyed what we had. I had a chicken plate and The Nephew, always adventurous, had chicken and mutton. Great sauce, excellent beans, tender meat, even potato salad that I loved. And great banana pudding.
Ran the last of my errands (change, some more display pieces), and made it home before 5. I might get a few things done tonight, but with all my new enamels, I have a nicely full tent. The weekend forecast calls for a slight chance of rain all weekend. Think dry thoughts!
- Mood: hopeful
Me? Smug?
Originally uploaded by LillianB
I was about 10 feet from the stage the whole time. I have never seen so many cameras and camera phones in use in such a small space. This was a very loose set--they mentioned several times that they'd been drinking and had no idea what they were going to play. It's a decent band, but they should have miked Christian better. He was pretty hoarse and needed some boost.
I got Steve's guitar pick! It landed right on my chest. :-)
Click though, I uploaded about 15 pics.
I have never, ever, gone to a concert because of the hotness of the band or the lead singer.
...until tonight, when I am going to see Christian Kane at Antone's.
(hangs head in shame)
- Mood:
embarrassed
I feel much, much better now, and have managed to watch 2 episodes of Jeopardy and dye a shirt pink for the office Halloween celebration on Thursday.
I did get quite a bit done jewelry-wise this weekend. I plan on going back in this week to make enamel earrings and maybe another nautilus pendant! I'll get pictures up tomorrow. Now I need to get some wire work done.
- Mood:
lethargic
I then spent 5.5 hours gluing bails onto tumbled rocks from the Gem Mine, and then attaching them to keychains, pins, and necklaces. It was School Day at the show, you see, and approximately 78573403987 kids wanted jewelry made from their finds. (My fingers are still covered in dried bits of superglue. Ick.) But then I spent another 3-4 hours buying stones and whatnot for my jewelry business, so I ended that trip on a high note.
Was very hungry by then, so
dremielgave me directions to a bunch of food trailers on South Congress. I had a chicken and avocado cone and chile-dusted fries, and then some amazing homemade chocolate fudge pudding in a waffle cup. Not exactly a balanced diet, but it was all so good I honestly didn't care!Tomorrow I get up and go into the workshop for several hours, then I go game. Sunday is more workshop and then we celebrate my brother's birthday. Then it's less than 2 weeks to the Celtic Festival! aieeee!
- Mood: chipper
bw bat earrings (final)
Originally uploaded by LillianB
The final bat earrings.dremiel suggested that I use a darker chain on these, and she was right--as usual. Each bat is black on one side and white on the other.
- Mood: accomplished
blue moon earrings1
Originally uploaded by LillianB
These are my newest earrings. They are copper with cobalt ("darkest blue") enamel, and one side of each also has a spray of bright white.
- Mood: accomplished
It's been 17 years and I still miss you.
- Mood: contemplative
The kiln that EW brought in to the workshop for me to use is awesome. I fired over 20 bats (both sides)--the only bottleneck was the second and third firings when there was already enamel on one side--I couldn't just dump them on the screen and had to use my 4 tripods. *goes off to order more tripods* It heats up much faster than the old one I had in my enameling class, but it takes longer to fire. I'll get used to it before I start making more nautiluses (nautilii?).
Will clean the last bits of fire scale from them tomorrow or Monday. I was using Titanium White for the white side of the bats, but it takes ages to fire. So I switched to Foundation White, which takes 2 layers to cover completely and is most definitely not acid resistant, so no dumping them in the pickle. I'll have to use the flex shaft to get the last of the firescale off in the crevices. Once I get that done, I should have 4 or 5 pairs ready to go. Then I need to work on some pendants and other earrings as well as some other projects.
I'm now trying to decide which is more annoying: working in an un-air-conditioned space when it's 100F and low humidity or when it's 70F and 90% humidity. So far the humidity is winning...
- Mood: accomplished
Had a great dinner last night with
dremiel. She was virtuous and had the noodle salad while I said to heck with it and had chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes. Then on the way home there was a space in front of Amy's Ice Cream, so I took that as a sign and had a coffee ice cream hot fudge sundae. (Just a teeny one, though.)Cold front blew in (literally) last night. Thunder was so loud at points I had to rewind parts of Supernatural to hear the dialog, which was creepy and fit what was going on on the screen a little too well. :-)
Plans for the weekend:
Make bat earrings.
Make pendants.
Get some pics up on the Etsy website and start pushing that.
Get bracelet finished for
pentapusand necklace finished for e_moon60.Go see Zombieland with my friend G at the Alamo Drafthouse as a belated birthday dinner.
Mail off birthday presents for assorted kinfolk.
Clean, etc.
- Mood:
cranky
enamel bat earrings
Originally uploaded by LillianB
These are my bat earrings--they're black on one side and white on the other to create a fluttering effect when they move. There are a lot more pieces, come see.
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- jeweler to the ages
- by Lillian
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