Saturday, May 31, 2008

One More to Go...


Another successful craft day! (See my lovely new banner?) I don't know if there were less vendors this time, or we were all placed closer together, but it seemed like fewer people participating. I must say, my hand-me-down parasol from my sister came in handy today. All day. The sun was BLAZING. It got up to about 92°, and my sunburn is proof. I wore sunscreen everywhere except right under my neck, and oh my god is it red! Another lesson learned. But I met new and returning crafters, exchanged info, and spread the word about the next craft show. Which is TOMORROW! Whew! I was planning on just leaving all my stuff packed in the car, but Drew ended up calling halfway to Brunswick (where he has to commute like 5 times a week to band practice) saying his car broke down. So I unpacked everything and rescued him of course. So please come out tomorrow if you can! It'll be at the Blowin' Smoke BBQ courtyard on MLK from 4-8pm. Wish me luck, and I'll see some of you there!



(I need to get me one of them tent things)

Friday, May 30, 2008

Well, I'm off to another craft show tomorrow. It's in the old Sears parking lot at Henry & Bull again here in Savannah, so please try to stop by! It'll be from 9am-whenever the crowd dies down. I'm making a banner for my booth this time...

I made a major trip to IKEA in Atlanta this past weekend. Aah... IKEA-land... My parents needed to go, and they were renting a U-Haul trailor (!), plus my cousin was graduating high school, so I decided to tag along. And I ended up getting a new couch and new dressers. What?! I know, I know, but I had been planning it for so long, and I actually had an envelope I was saving money up in for the couch. We really needed it, the old one was absolutely shredded from the cats, not to mention disgustingly stained beyond repair. But you'll be glad to know that I'm still getting rid of excessive crap around the apartment, too. (And everything there is so darn cheap and well designed, it's just easier to get it rather than come up with excuses not to.)

Also, while in Atlanta, our family friend and insanely amazing artist Curtis Bartone was having a solo show, and we were able to stop by the reception. If you're in the Atlanta area, it's definitely worth stopping by. It's called Any Given Moment, at Gallery Stokes, 261 Walker St. NW, Atlanta, GA 30313. Stop by Fridays 12-6 or Saturdays 1-5 to see an extraordinary show. And there just happens to be a painting right when you walk in of our lovely bantam hen Loretta! Curtis came over one day to shoot photos of them, and now she's the star of his show! How cool is that!

I'll be pretty busy for the next couple days, as there's ANOTHER craft show on Sunday. This one will be from 4-8pm at Blowin' Smoke BBQ on MLK. I'll try to post again soon after that!



Hunger: double portrait of Loretta being eyed by a weasel.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Oh, Those British

If I ever move to the UK, then THIS is where I want to work. Or intern. Or maybe just be slave labor. It's called Miss Print London (and how perfect is the name?!), and Yvonne and Rebecca Drury run this little print shop. Everything they make, including fabric for their cushions, wallpaper, and lampshades (three of my favorite things, incidentally) are all hand printed by these two women. I found them while perusing ApartmentTherapy, one of my little addictions, and their designs immediately screamed out at me. I make designs like this! I mean, not exactly, but check out my pillows I did for Working Class Studios on my website, and you'll see what I mean (link to my website on right). They combine my two biggest inspirations: mid-century modern & botany. And those colors! Like buttah! Well I don't know if I'll be moving to London anytime soon, but maybe I'll shoot them an email to say hi.

oh, p.s. The yard sale was another success. I've started a New Couch Fund, so the money from yesterday went right into that envelope!


And don't you love their display at ICFF?*


A lampshade from their website, www.missprint.co.uk.


Another photo from ICFF: a juxtaposition of lampshade & wallpaper.*


*These photos are from the lovely ApartmentTherapy website.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Clearing the Clutter

Hi. My name is Cadyn, and I'm a hoarder.

For the past couple months or so (when Drew and I started to seriously discuss moving), I've been going through a material purging phase. It's weird-- not wanting THINGS has always been so foreign to me. I never understood the shopping buddy that could just pass up that really beautiful (and useful) robin's egg blue tea kettle. And it was on sale! I'm a nester, so I'm always looking for ways to spruce things up: rearrange furniture; paint existing furniture; buy decorative things, organizational things, cleaning products, fabric, ribbon, lotion, clothes, shoes, more clothes and more shoes, food, more food, movies, books, new sheet sets; improve my life somehow.

OK, you get the picture. I mean I didn't just buy things blindly. I made sure there was intention behind that purchase. But when I realized I had five (yes, five, although one was broken) different kinds of coffee makers in our kitchen, and I had stopped drinking coffee about 4 months prior, I decided to get rid of some. My parents' neighborhood was having their seasonal community yard sale in a few weeks, and I made the decision to not only help them get rid of some stuff, I was going to start really clearing my clutter.

I've never thought of myself as a hoarder, but in retrospect, I think five coffee makers for someone who doesn't even drink coffee constitutes a hoarder. But I was one in disguise. You'd never know it by looking around my apartment. You see, I was an organized hoarder. Everything had a place, at least. But what I've taught myself in the last couple months is that even if there's room for it doesn't mean I have to own it. I am not ashamed to say that I am a total sucker for packaging. Ahem, check out this Martha Stewart goodie below. Now who doesn't need some adorable boxes to give out your homemade cookies in?

But I can appreciate the beauty of products without bringing them home with me. I love looking though Domino and Cottage Living magazines, and thought I got inspiration from them. But I literally keep myself up at night sometimes wondering why my own nest, my sanctuary, never looks as good as the ones in the magazines. Disregarding the multi-thousand dollar sofas and rugs, it's the lack of clutter that makes those rooms! Duh!

Why had I never seen it? So now when I get an urge to improve my life somehow, I look around and I don't think about what the room needs. I think about what the room can do without. I made $100 at my parents' yard sale from my things alone, and I'm proud to say I'm having another yard sale soon with my friend Orea. I have an ongoing pile on the chair in my studio of things to take out to the sale. It's a slow process, this purging, but it's oddly satisfying. Just a little here, a little there, then wait a couple days to see if I miss those things. And the funny thing is I never do.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Strange Things are Happening...

So a car crashed into our apartment building last week. It's not everyday that I can say that. I was inside the house cleaning when it felt like a mini-earthquake shook the entire place. I immediately opened the front door only to see what you see in the photo below. It turned out to be a police chase, and our entire block was then a crime scene. Being a witness, I had to give statements to multiple cops that I saw a man stumble out of the crashed vehicle and into the space between our building and the next. With his pants down. And his boxers. No one seemed bothered by this little tidbit of information I gave them. I was, needless to say. Ah, only in Savannah.



On a lighter note, the craft show on Sunday was a much better success than the previous one. It is always strange how these things work out. I just never know what to predict. There was much less foot traffic at this show, but it must have been the right kind of foot traffic because everyone that stopped at my table was the kind of customer I wish I could always have! So nice and complimentary, and best of all, buying things! Yay! The photo below makes my table look scatterbrained, but if viewed from a slightly higher angle, it actually made sense and looked pretty cute. And my mom participated with me this time, so it was great having her next to me and being able to chat. I'll be at another craft show at the end of the month, so as soon as I have more information I'll post it!