I hope in the future I won't always have to start my blog entries and emails with apologies for not writing sooner. Imagine that?!...that will be a wonderful world to live in! This time of year always has me busy, and it's hard to find time to post, but even by my own lax blogger standards...it's been a while! So once again: All Apologies for the delay!!
Fortunately, there is an upside to my current madness and all-over-the-place-ness. If all goes as planned this will finally be only a "temporary" predicament. As I said on previous posts, I'm changing the way I do business. Once and for all we're gonna try to get out of the always-behind-schedule-hole we've been living in. Me and Aaron are phasing out all of the totally handmade, made-to-order stuff and replacing it with ready to ship matted prints, batches of already made artwork, one-of-a-kinds, shop updates, etc... We just know it will work and that the future will provide those work-free moments we've been craving for so long.
And what I'll do with those work-free moments is....work! But voluntarily. On new stuff, on blog stuff, on swap stuff. Stuff that doesn't keep me up all night sweating bullets. You guys all know the drill I'm sure. You've got the work you MUST do...and you've got the work you WANT to do. So right now I'm just in the sloughing off phase. I'm trimming the fat and laying out the groundwork for the brighter future. That means I'm knee deep in older orders while trying to get the new stuff off the ground. But soon the older orders will be gone and they won't come back...we'll only have new orders, new work, and new art!
I'm imagining the illustrations you'll always see in the newspaper around New Years. 2008 is represented by a cane wielding, hunched over, long bearded, very old man...while 2009 is personified by a fresh faced, rosy cheeked, infant with a tiny curlicue of wispy hair atop his cherubic head. It's such a perfect way to illustrate a new start. Right now me and Aar are still totally in the hunched over old man phase...with the weight of our past bearing down heavy on our bones. But soon...POOF...that rosy cheeked little chubby baby will take over and the future will be ours to discover and to own.
Fortunately, there is an upside to my current madness and all-over-the-place-ness. If all goes as planned this will finally be only a "temporary" predicament. As I said on previous posts, I'm changing the way I do business. Once and for all we're gonna try to get out of the always-behind-schedule-hole we've been living in. Me and Aaron are phasing out all of the totally handmade, made-to-order stuff and replacing it with ready to ship matted prints, batches of already made artwork, one-of-a-kinds, shop updates, etc... We just know it will work and that the future will provide those work-free moments we've been craving for so long.
And what I'll do with those work-free moments is....work! But voluntarily. On new stuff, on blog stuff, on swap stuff. Stuff that doesn't keep me up all night sweating bullets. You guys all know the drill I'm sure. You've got the work you MUST do...and you've got the work you WANT to do. So right now I'm just in the sloughing off phase. I'm trimming the fat and laying out the groundwork for the brighter future. That means I'm knee deep in older orders while trying to get the new stuff off the ground. But soon the older orders will be gone and they won't come back...we'll only have new orders, new work, and new art!
I'm imagining the illustrations you'll always see in the newspaper around New Years. 2008 is represented by a cane wielding, hunched over, long bearded, very old man...while 2009 is personified by a fresh faced, rosy cheeked, infant with a tiny curlicue of wispy hair atop his cherubic head. It's such a perfect way to illustrate a new start. Right now me and Aar are still totally in the hunched over old man phase...with the weight of our past bearing down heavy on our bones. But soon...POOF...that rosy cheeked little chubby baby will take over and the future will be ours to discover and to own.
And speaking of future...I'm sure a lot of you are already hip to what the future looks like...and I'm sure you know the name of it as well...but it case you haven't I'll spill the beans here: LOLLISHOPS! It's not just a brand new place to shop...it's THE new place to shop! The tagline is: "a frou frou friendly marketplace" and it's all that and more. It's like Etsy but with a whole lot of editing... and a super personal extended community....there's a Blog and tons of interactive stuff going on. If you go over there click on the link named NiNG...you'll happen upon an endless supply of featured projects with detailed instructions, supply sources, artist profiles...It's really a big time, multi layered, artistic outlet and community and even though it's a newborn, still in it's swaddling clothes it has the feel of a well oiled, fully formed entity. And like I said...it's edited...It's purposely niche. And it's my kind of niche. The gal behind it is Sadie Lou and she is dedicated and passionate. I've known her for a while now and from minute one I got a very clear sense of how seriously she takes the plight of the artist and the marketing of their art. There really is no better person to helm the art ship. She's a tireless advocate/promoter/watchdog and all around supporter of art and artists. So when she let me know about this idea she'd been cooking up...this little place called Lollishops...I told her I was onboard for sure. Fastforward a few months and Lollishops is launched. Sadie Lou's idea is not only realized...it's big and it has the potential to be HUGE! I'm so thrilled to be one of the artists onboard. You have to make some time, click over there, and shop til you drop. Or, if you're so inclined, join the artistic ranks and set up a Lollishop of your own. I'm super duper psyched to be the featured artist on the Lollishops homepage today. See what I mean about Sadie...we didn't ask to be featured...she decided to promote us all on her own. And she's a mind reader....or to be totally blunt and dare I say, a bit tacky...she's a wallet reader. She knows mine is empty and that I've still got Christmas shopping to do...so big thanks to Sadie for putting some wind in our holiday sails/sales!!!
And speaking of Lollishops...we've got a SALE going on over there ...and also on Etsy . These 5 x 7 mini plaques are a big part of our future artistic output. We've been making batches of them and they've been moving as fast as we've been making them. I just love this size. They're almost like postcards made of thick wood. We were able to shrink down a lot of our artwork to fit perfectly. Many of our paintings seem like they were born to be this size and some images that we've grown used to, now seem to have a brand new vitality. So the sale we're having is 72.00 for any three plaques...free shipping in the USA...(regularly 28.00 each) We think they just look fab when grouped together so we figured we'd have a sale to encourage multiple purchases. A whole wall of these would be awesome. And we plan on doing a 5 x 7 version of all of our future paintings...that way a collection can grow indefinitely. I can't wait to paint new paintings!...but like I said, we're still in our old old man phase and we've not yet earned the time to put brush to canvas.
And now I just want to express my uttermost appreciation for all of your heartfelt comments that you leave me on this here blog! Every time I sit down to post a new blog entry I pull up the last entry so I can just refresh myself with what I last said and what you guys said last. Wow, I'm all teary and warmed all over again from reading your comments. I wish I could respond individually and I wish I could answer every query but I'm simply unable...maybe the Baby New Year me will be up to the task. Often, I'll get questions asking if a piece of artwork is still available...sometimes I don't answer but right away I'll make sure to re-list the item if I can. So just check our shops often to see if stuff is there that wasn't there before. But like I was saying....your comments. I'm really warmed all over knowing that so many of us are on the same page. We're weathering this crummy storm together and keeping positive. And I've taken the advice that many of you had passed on and I've turned off the news. Since the election is over we've all turned off the news. So now those talking heads can spout off about the bad economy all they want....they're just so many solitary trees falling in the forest. Maybe they don't even make a sound. We've replaced the news with music and random TV...sometimes Lifetime movies, sometimes forensic cop shows, cold case files, old Law & Orders (though we've seen 'em all)...but like I said before...we don't actually WATCH any of it...we've got our eyes on our work...the TV sound in the background is just to move the day along quicker. It's amazing how much our culture is in love with crime and all it's accoutrements. Me and Aar are totally guilty as charged and can't get enough of the stuff. Aar takes it a step further and reads crime fiction. Well he reads ALL fiction but lately he's hard on the crime kick...the vintage stuff. The Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett type stuff...private detectives...trench coats...dames... golden age Hollywood. Anyway, I talk to a lot people...artists, crafters , and all around lovers of pretty stuff. And I think it's so funny that we all pass the time of day with crime. I guess it's just the ultimate in escapist entertainment. Since we're all so far removed from it we can watch it and listen to it in total safety. Although the subject matter is decidedly negative it just rolls off our backs as we render things pink and glittery and whimsical. I'm not philosophizing here and I've got no moral to extol about our society's desensitization toward violence etc...I just think it's funny.
So, I guess I'll sum up and make sure to post again soon. The holidays have come way too quick and we're working hard to get through them in one piece. This year is extra special over here on the family front. Aaron's brother and his wife are at this moment over in China adopting their new baby girl. They emailed us pics but I don't want to post them until I get permission from them. I've posted pics on this blog of their son Adam (our favorite nephew)...well he's gonna be the big brother. For the past couple of months he's been pointing to a globe and telling us "Dian Dian is from here!" and he points directly at China..."Dian Dian is my sister!" he says as he holds the printed out photos of her. We can't wait to smoosh the both of 'em together. Mom and Dad arrive back home with Dian Dian on the day after Christmas so the festivities will be delayed and stretched out a bit for us. Aar's parents can't wait to see their new granddaughter. So yes, things are all up in the air over here but for once...in a good way! I really can't wait to post pics! I hope all you guys are well and that you're all spreading joy and love to those that matter most in your lives. We've got stormy weather here in Jersey...it was supposed to be snow but we got nothing but rain and a bit of slush. I was sorta wishing for a snow day. Alright, hope you all are keeping warm!
I LOVE you all to bits! xoxo, Jenny
