summertyme rolls... in another six months from now*

with the Winter Solstice hanging in these deepfreeze prairie skies, i'm daydreaming of summertyme.
in particular... the Festivals, whose applications are spread upon my drawing table like amuck mayhem.

******
this is a pic from NessCreekMusic Festival 2009 that i attended with my pal Allison from "Who New Creations".
this is my grassroots home for vending which i am loyal to attend each year since 2000. up in the woods and bush of Big River, Saskatchewan (that's in Canada, ya'll!) the four day festival boasts an intimate gathering of musicians and prairie bushwakkers gathering under the Aurora Borealis starry skies swilling fresh air.
they have a wonderful permanent shelter for the market, and keep it for a small amount of vendors & handmade only.
space is 8x8, more or less. haha... i spilled over a bit ;)
but planning the setup is a hobby of mine, and something i try to think moderately about before i get there and am too busy meeting neighbours, setting up camp, and hugging strangers to struggle with where everything will fit for maximum feng shui.

planning starts kinda like this :
on the CAD program.
part of my signature setup is the lattice you see on this computer generated image : it represents these beautiful 6'x4' screens intricately handcrafted from willow. they weigh lighter than a feather too!
because they are in panels, i have the capability to arrange them in a variety of ways depending on the space and landscape that is available on-site at each festival. in this case, they are triangulated to support the thick dowelling (clothing bars) and also to section off a small changeroom that is enclosed with wall tapestries. the "door" for the changeroom has loops sewn to one end of the tapestry that allow it to slide easily upon a dowel (like the clothing bars) to open & close.
the laundry basket you see there beside the chairs is where i ditch all the hangers... oh how hangers can make me feel grumpy!

here's behind the "till" area (another willow creation : a sofa table that resides in my dining room when not at the Festies). lets see : more of Ali's bags on the top in baskets, directly under that is a basket containing my cashbox, x-tra businesscards, scissors, needle & thread... you know... booth stuff!). next to that are extra wall hangings which i wrap up my clothes in each nite and haul them to the safety of camp. then you can see a glimpse of my son Nael's stash (hackie sak, devil sticks, water bottle, walkie talkies). 
on the bottom fits a milk crate perfectly, which is full of more booth stuff, and then there is our lunch *hehe*, and then lastly is a basket with my "personal" stuff in it (towel, waterbottle, sunscreen, camera, whathaveyounot)

******
and now that you've had the tour... it's back to snowshoes and snowangels for me! i look forwards to reading all about about YOUR festival daydreams and setups ; in the forums!

Copyright Corner: The 20% Myth

Hullo team!

For the next few weeks, we are going to spend some time digging into copyright laws.

There is a common notion that if you take a design and change it by 20%, you have made it your own. This is false. It would never hold up in a court of law. 30% won't do it either.

Example:

The red fox jumped over the mossy log yesterday afternoon.


Here the original sentence has been altered by 20%:

The red fox leaped over the fallen log yesterday afternoon.


Here the original sentence has been altered by 30%:

The quick fox leaped over the fallen log yesterday afternoon.

Look for more tidbits in our new series ~ Copyright Corner ~ and please feel free to bring up any questions in this discussion on the forum.

Stepping outside my comfort zone

As most of you around here know, I am a stitcher by trade. I love my fabrics so much, that sometimes I just want to lay in them and take a little cat nap.

I have spent the last two months month working on a collection for my shop using my scraps of fabric. It was so much fun, but mentally and physically exhausting.

While deep in the rabbit hole of creation and my sewing time was done for the day, I still felt wound up like a clock. My little hands still wanted to craft. My mind needed to unwind and enjoy some quality time with my man.

My knitting needles glistened from the dusty corner. The cotton yarn I bought ages ago surfaced the top layer of my sewing studio.

Eureka!

I taught myself to knit with a Thread Banger video tutorial last year. If there was a term for less than novice, that would describe my knitting skills. I have only made two things, ever. I do not feel nimble with knitting needles at all. Nevertheless, I decided that I was going to hone my “skills”by making a bunch of reusable and machine washable cotton pads for facial use.

It was revitalizing to craft carelessly, especially because I was making something for myself. All of my fellow crafters know how seldom that actually happens.

Maybe someday I will learn more about knitting and maybe even crochet, but for now I will watch and admire my fellow Gypsy Road Mamas doing their thing.

fluffy hugs

<3>

Vintage Christmas - Gingerbread Kids

Big News From Gypsy Road

Hello from your fearless leader, team members!

I'm posting this on the blog in addition to the forum so that everyone is aware of a few major changes regarding our team.

I am currently working on some guidelines for Gypsy Road. This includes a clear mission statement, a monthly roll call, and an acceptance of policies for new members and old. The life of a small business owner is a busy one, and in order for our team to be a powerful force then it is essential for our team members to check in regularly and participate. I understand that this doesn't necessarily fit in with the schedules of everyone--it's important to determine what your priorities are as a business owner and I will not be offended if you decide that Gypsy Road isn't at the top of that list.

We are one of the very few teams that requires a formal application that goes through a jury process. Your jury members spend a significant amount of time and energy evaluating each applicant and determining if that Etsian is a vital asset to our community. This is a benefit to each and every member because it keeps the quality of the work represented by our team very, very high. It enables potential buyers to easily navigate the shops of their favorite sellers. It also makes it incredibly easy for buyers to find new reputable sellers that have unique, meticulously made pieces.

In exchange for the unity of this "brand" (for lack of a better word), members will be expected to contribute, communicate, share, and grow with our team members.

Again, I will not be at all offended if this means that Gypsy Road is no longer a good fit for you. This team is more than a band of gypsies--it is a means of marketing, honing our business skills, and creating time-saving, effective ways of making money. We will continue to publicly share our forum in order to be of benefit to those who are not on our team.

Beginning this month, we will have roll calls. I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to do this on a regular basis, so please keep checking in to see what each particular month's roll call requirement is. For this month, your roll call is to send me (the peaceful peacock julie) a private message on our forum.


Members who miss three roll calls in a row will be removed from the team. If you are removed from the team you will have to re-apply to secure your position.

This is the first leg of our changes--our Mission Statement and Policies Page will be released within the next 6 weeks and I will explain the details further at that point.

Thank you for your continued patience and grace--the addition to our family earlier this year has come with its expected (and unexpected) challenges. We are finally easing back into our routine at this point and I feel confident about getting back into the saddle and grabbing the reins of our fair Etsy team once again.

For your roll call this month, please send me a private message through the forum at gypsyroad.ning.com. Again, the roll call requirement will change each month while I determine which method is easiest for me to keep up with.

Featured Seller for September: Amber from Raimbowtree

* Tell us a bit about yourself

I am a nice gal, I love to please people. I have always enjoyed working in retail and selling really great functional and fashionable products. Raimbow Tree was the perfect way for me to supplement my love for creating beautiful things and selling them to others.

* What inspires your ideas?

I get inspired by colors a lot, if I see a nice shade of blue paired with mint green, and a rich chocolate brown It gives me a sense of comfort and big energy boost- I normally go where ever those colors tell me to. All parts of nature and Goddess also inspire my work a great deal, every day I find inspiration in things that I see outside like a friendly butterfly fluttering around my son while he cheers it on and copies its majestic motions.


* How long have you been doing your craft/ how did you learn?

I started felting for the first time in college (maybe 5 years ago), we did a small needle-felting workshop in a class focused on making art with kids. Wool felting is a very fine art form, I soon found out that it was for me after successfully making a small elephant finger puppet free form from wool roving. I like to make my own patterns, it didn't take me long to start creating fun new ideas from wool, like headbands.


* What inspired you to begin selling your work?

I have always been into selling my work, I used to make beaded necklaces when I was a pre-teen to sell at school. A big part in my recent selling has been Etsy, Etsy rules! Blessings oh joyous Etsy. It's so well run and filled with friendly folks who never cease to inspire me.


* Where do you do your crafting?

At home, Raimbow Tree is all over my house. We are always doing fun art and gardening projects.

* Do you have a day job?

Just my motherly duties to my two young boys.

* What one word best describes you?

Amma

* What is your biggest challenge?

Keeping myself centered and stress free while I work, also keeping my studio clean and organized is hard when I am always in there to create.

* Do you have a favorite quote that inspires you while you're working?

I think of so much weird stuff when I work... I think a lot of words people have said and say now inspire me, so I couldn't pick just one.

* What do you see for your business in the next year?

I am making a push to use all handspun and dyed wool, no more commercial yarns for me! I have been spinning yarn for a while now and am taking the plunge to dye my own fiber and make all my own yarn. For this coming year we have plans to do more street fairs and music festivals. After that who knows, we might be planning a big move back to the Pacific NW.


* Where can we find Raimbowtree?

Online mostly, at www.raimbowtree.etsy.com. I am all over this summer doing craft shows, street fairs and music festivals. Find me in Asheville, NC this weekend. Raleigh, NC next weekend and all over NC for the rest of the fall and winter.

Recycling Fibers

I love yarn. Yarn of all (well, most) types. I hoard it. :-)

A few years ago I heard about recycling yarn from sweaters, but never really took the step to start it. Until recently. This is last night's work:



The first shawl was made for a dear friend going through a personal crisis. This is a "hug" I crocheted up for her using recycled yarn. The blue shawl is also recycled yarn. I knit it for myself, but I'm not really a "blues" person, so it may find another home.



To get started on recycling the yarn from sweaters, check out these sites:
Recycling Sweaters
My Virtual Sanity
CraftStylish - How to recycle yarn
Neauveau Fiber Arts