handmade in pa!!!

Thank you to Tara of Handmade In PA for featuring me today!!!

click here t0 read the interview
I am so happy with the interview I want to use it for my about page on my site!

I was having a pretty down day but this sure picked up my spirits : ) look out for a web update this evening, I'm photographing now - and it will be a nice update!

oh monday

Once the kiln cools, all of this will be ready for new homes. There are a few new items for my site for spring. This week is vase week, big platter week (more on that soon) and I am starting on a new project that I hope to reveal very soon as I am super excited about it. For now, look out for a site update in the next day or 2.

slow mornings

I enjoy the quiet in the morning, I usually have so much to do that it is nice to move at a slower pace before I dive into all of the days to-do's. Today is dreary which is a key ingredient to an extra lovely slow morning. So a bit of clicking on the nets, a bit of drawing and then glazing that sea of lovelies for today's firing. I am just 5 weeks away from the next show. Which will be the official start of show season for me. A time when I just need to stay focused on all things little flower. Which means I need to enjoy my slow mornings more than ever.
Some favorite clicks this am:
coconut records
handmade in pa
design sponge guest blog - go Marichelle!!!
enjoy!

fresh for spring part 2!

It's been quite the day! I am so excited to share 3 more new pieces with you.

You've all been so sweet to this little thief! So here is a special offer for you!
I tweaked this design a bit for the next batch and put the platters on sale at a special price. But I only have a few of each so hurry if you'd like one of your own.
Above: Soaring Swallow Flag Thief Rectangular Platter
Below: Soaring Swallow Flag Thief Round Platter
And below is a bonus platter!
The Curious Bird Platter,
please welcome him to the internet!

fresh for spring part 1!

Introducing the snazzy new soaring swallow flag thief serving bowl and vase!
The first in the series to make it into the shop with a super introductory price on the bowl!
I do hope you like them!

Update! I will now be adding the platters on wednesday afternoon and will add one more design to make up for the delay.

sign of spring

Finally, a sign of spring! The crocus are popping up all over.

I've been working on a site update and realize I need a bit more time to launch things. So, in order to keep things managable, I thought I'd follow nature and let my new work pop up thoughout the season! Fun, right?? I hope you'll follow along.

The first pop will be on monday : )

Have a sunny weekend!

handmade philly

handmade philly 3-18-09, originally uploaded by littleflowerdesigns.

I joined a group! I've been wanting to join in on the Philly handmade community in a bigger way for quite some time and found the new Philly Handmade group. They are a group of makers who started as the Philly Etsy Team but are now changing the format a bit so it is not etsy exclusive. I love the entire concept and hope this will be a fun way to network outside of shows.

Ruth of flying fox design and a Handmade Philly blog writer was kind enough to feature me today. Keep an eye on this blog - I have a feeling it will become a great source for all things Handmade in Philly ; )

eire, St. Paddy's day

Happy St. Paddy's Day!
For those that know me, I'm irish, and if you knew me in the mid-90's you might have tired of hearing me say "when I was in Ireland..." But seriously, I had an awesome summer in Ireland and still hear myself say those words. So in honor of this very lucky day, here are a few snap shots from my Ireland album.Cliffs of Mohr, St. Bridgid's well
me with my sculptures in the castle, materials used were found around the construction that was going on at the school. top right- tar paper, rope and stuffed with saw dust; bottom left - lead stitched with found wire; middle - copper water tank cut apart and re assembled then stitched together with wire; bottom right - found wood strips, b/w photo (a self portrait assignment)

around Ballyvaughan

I attended the Burren College of Art for a summer way back when. The program was basically an independent study where I had an entire sculpture studio to myself, I spent time sourcing materials from around town and from the construction that was going on at the school. We also had a history teacher that acted as a tour guide. He took us around to view ruin's and told us the most amazing stories. This experience was a true taste of Ireland, if you ever have a chance to visit, be sure to take me with you!!!!

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

13th

So, it's friday the 13th. I tend to be superstitious about so many things, but not this date! Or the number 13, unless it relates to flying. There are exceptions to everything right? Anyway the weekend is here, and I am so happy for that. Completely un-related to the date, I wanted to share a picture of my new table sign in process. I realized I never followed up with pictures from prepping for the ACC show - sorry. The new sign was a project I had planned for almost a year, and I am beyond happy to finally have completed it. The materials are linen and microfiber. And here are the steps to create it!

• print out the letters on the computer - I used my logo font
• roughly cut out the pattern letters
• pin it all down to the microfiber only
• then cut and cut and cut until all the letters are cut out
• lay it out on the linen so it's perfect
• pin it all down carefully (pictured above)
• machine sew the letters to the linen
• then using spray starch, iron it like mad
• complete - see it here!

I am so happy with my table sign, it's simple and will hopefully get me through many shows. Next I will share printing my bags! Oh the wonders of running a small business!

I have a busy day planned in the studio and sunlight is pouring all over my work table! I will be launching the new designs next week for spring and need to have a few things completed in time. Having a bit of sunshine is helping to build the excitement.

I hope you all have a great weekend! And happy St. Paddy's day for those that are going green this weekend!

site update!

I've been quite busy with all sorts of Little Flower businessy to-do's. One of those tasks was to update my site with "in stock" notes for all in stock items. Ok, so I did it! My site is a manual endeavor which is a simple way to run my site and business. And now that I've combed over the site a few times, it really won't be too time consuming to make the changes. If you are looking for a nice gift, maybe for Easter, a birthday, a WEDDING, or like to shop early for mother's day, I have lovely items that are ready to ship. Just visit my site: Little Flower Designs I also updated my etsy shop - if that's your shopping preference!

In the past few days I've not only gotten my to-do's in order, I did have a chance to make a trip quick to the beach and visit with my parents : ) They live near the beach! I've also been working on the new series I mentioned featuring birds and their finds. And I will be launching a new flower design sometime in April - I need to test the colors. Hope you are all having a great week, xoxo, Linda

flags, banner, garland, bunting

Happy Friday!

This has been quite a week and I still haven't touched any clay. There was unpacking to do, inventory to take, packing and shipping orders (thank you!!), paper work, show applications, strategizing, dog walking, tv watching, sleeping, cleaning, laundry, snow shoveling, organizing, bill paying, whining about bill paying, shopping, and many other things filled my days to the point I wondered what in the world have I been doing! Because I still have so much more organizing and cleaning to do, oh and shopping (i need a new chair).

So, now that I am actually ahead for the first time since I started on this clay venture I thought, wow! can I maybe take up something new like guitar playing or concentrate on water colors? Maybe both? I need to take some time to do something other than clay. Mostly because I just want to but perhaps it will help to inspire me. I doodle quite a bit but would like those doodles to be beautiful water colors instead of just stuffing them in a box or in my sketch book. I also think I finally have the patience to take on an instrument, I strum pretty well and can wing it a bit. Ahh, the guitar, from pretending to play John Denver songs as a kid to punk as a teen, we've had our moments. Maybe now would be a good time to have one of my own, any tips on buying an acoustic guitar? All I know is that I want steel strings and a cool strap!

Anyway, I just wanted to pop in to wish you all a nice weekend, spring ahead already! And spring is coming so quick. I will be launching a few new designs, like the one above for spring 2009. I can't decide what I want to call the flags, I am leaning towards flags. This one was actually inspired by balloons stuck to a light pole. After doodling for a bit I decided ballons just weren't me so I switched to flags, and the concept of doing a series on things birds steal. What do you think?
Have a happy weekend, maybe a trip to the beach is in order - it's going to be sooo nice this weekend.

guest of honor!

guest of honor!, originally uploaded by littleflowerdesigns.

Last week amid the chaos of preparing for ACC I received the nicest e-mail from Wendy who writes the pARTsy blog. She featured me as the guest of honor! Thank you Wendy!
http://thepartsy.blogspot.com/2009/02/ceramics-x-little-flower-designs.html

back from ACC

I'm back from the ACC show in Baltimore, I took 2 days off to relax, ahh!
First I need to thank everyone who came out to support the show, thank you for making it such a great experience. And to my customers, Thank You!!! I hope you love your new little flower wares. Also, Thank You to the show organizers who did such a great job and my friend Sue for staying with me during the entire show!
I was in the AltCraft section which gave a newbie like me the opportunity to try out a show like this with a smaller set-up (pictured above) at a smaller price (great for my small budget.) Everything went so smoothly from the drive down, to setting up, to all 3 days at the show. Friday was amazing, the serious shoppers were out, they strolled the show making lists of what they want and engaged in such great conversation. Friday was a seriously professional craft day! My guess is that the collector's of fine craft come on Friday before the weekend crowds. Saturday and Sunday were a little different, the show was packed with lookers, families and had a different vibe. Although I managed to do well in sales, it seemed to be more about coming to see the show. We had many people ask what AltCraft is and why we were separated from the rest of the show. As the weekend progressed I started to wonder what AltCraft was too! I don't think, when you get down to it that there really is a difference. We are all makers, we are all small business owners, and we are all working to make a living at something we love that comes from our hands. My explanation went from describing the difference between indie and traditional crafts - which lead to puzzled looks. To explaining that we are new to the show and were juried in to do this smaller section in the hopes that we do so well we come back next year in a full booth. Which was my hope : ) Although I do not feel I did well enough to justify the costs of a full booth and staying in a hotel. I do feel that the show was a success for the section I was in. My new designs were well received and people seemed to have a real interest in what I am doing. I was also able to invite people out to my next show in Baltimore which seemed to stir up alot of interest.

Thank you again to everyone that made this show a good experience and to my fellow AltCrafters for sharing the weekend with me. I've posted some photos of the weekend here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/littleflowerdesigns/sets/72157614795540934/

I will be sorting through my bins today and updating my site and etsy. Look out for a major restocking : )