Meet me on August 7 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Finally, I am going to show at Brooklyn and this time, it will be led by Harlequin&Lionhead! I am very excited about it! Another thing checked off my summer to-do list.

The market is called "Northside Market" and it is one block away from the famous Brooklyn Flea Market by the East River waterfront. It is the latest addition to the various markets of Williamsburg.

Check out this indoor air-conditioned market with great food, music, and great quality handmade products. Then walk over towards the East River waterfront and enjoy the beautiful skyline of Manhattan at the East River State Park south, which is part of the Edge apartment development.

Date: August 7, 2011 (Sunday)

Time: 10am - 6pm

Location:
135 Kent Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(Corner of North 6th and Kent Ave)

The location is accessible by:
1) Subway
Take the L train to Bedford Avenue. Walk NW along 7th Ave and turn left at Kent Ave towards 6th Ave.

This is a little map to help you along.

Also featured with me at my table is a very talented illustration artist, Jessica who will have art prints and cards from her shop, Hans My Hedgehog. The theme of the line is "menagerie." Each pencil illustration takes between ten and twenty hours to complete. Come say hi to both of us on Sunday!

Introducing Hazel Village, Organic Handmade Woodland Friends

Guess where I went on a 110F day? Outdoor handmade market.

No, I'm not crazy...I'm just a little obsessive. And I found at the newly open Dekalb Market a little friend. The one we now call "PJ" because of her blue checkers ears. Read on about PJ and her maker.

Dekalb Market just opened last Sat July 23, 2011 and is located at the hub of downtown Brooklyn at 332 Flatbush Avenue Ext. It is a market with retailers in repurposed cargo boxes (well air conditioned!) selling NY handmade goods and art, with a nice food area that also turns into a beer garden during the weekend evenings, and every Sat and Sun you can find vintage and handmade goods in addition to the permanent retailers that you see everyday. Click here to find out more.

And it was right there that I bumped into Jane Van Cleef of Hazel Village. She is the fairy queen of these adorable woodland creatures.

Jane uses organic cotton, and stitches all the dolls up on an old industrial sewing machine in her Brooklyn fairy land, then stuffs them and sews all the details on them by hand. Each critter is then dressed up by Jane in clothes that she makes out of the best scraps she can find so nothing goes to waste. Aren't they just sweet - the little tummies are a "handful"...how adorable!

At her table at the market, she actually let me choose the clothes for the rabbit I bought. I picked a little red checkers dress for PJ. She is a yummy peach jam. Oh, and watch out for Jane in a fall market in NY. Details to be confirmed ;)

Ok, I admit, I am going to keep PJ. I think the idea of buying it for my friend's daughter is just an excuse. Come on, I need another rabbit! Click here to see Penelope Rabbit, which is probably related to PJ...

Beware, it is a great gift for kids but it will end up staying with you...(cue the scary music...exit)

How can I still need more time in a day?!

Jumping rabbit clock by Brainbow on Etsy.com

So I've been missing on my blog and my fb for a little bit. Let me apologize - I was away spending some quality time with my husband while he was home for a break. Meanwhile I have joined a really cool group of handmade artists on Etsy called the NewNew team, and got a little too busy paving way for a crazy August with craft shows.

More to come on that...but I figure I recently have NO time to craft which is a bad bad thing. Not only do I not have much time to make things at home, I haven't been able to go to the studio to work on Harlequin&Lionhead. With August looming and new collection due to come out, I need to think about time management seriously.

OK, so here is a breakdown of my current hours and what needs to be fixed - all other crafters, if you have any suggestion, please feel free to chime in.

Activity	Time now	Time future
Researching online+networking+craft show application	6	3.5
Social Media Push (i.e., treasury, blog, FB, Twitter)	3	2
Production	2	5.5
Family Time	3	3
Personal Time	2	2
Sleep	8	8

Well that's a target to work towards. Certain days I'll bring the online time down and bring up the production hours. And weekends will be pretty much family and production hopefully.

Can't even think of the quarterly book keeping time how everything will change. oh I feel sick...

My very first fabric print

Yes, finally I make a print design. It's about time.

Using the motif of Bunnies Can Dream, that is me the girl, Toffee and Charcoal to created a big teal green heart, this print is first going to be printed as on a linen-cotton canvas fabric, which I will frame up and display it at home. If this comes out great, I will create a few different color versions.

Oh, or I can create a little greeting card with a special jewelry attached as a gift set, or little tote bags with this print someday, with a little charm pin that I design...

Why not? Afterall, bunnies can dream and they do!

Harlequin&Lionhead - New collection update

Sneak preview is available now! Click on the picture to find it out more ;)

The artist behind my avatar

Some of you who have known me for awhile know me with this image as my avatar. A few close friends would know that this is an image very close to my dear old friend Toffee, who passed away in 2009.

Well little did I know when I found this image on the internet, that it is actually a drawing by Mary Richmond, an artist who has a shop on Etsy. Well, today I was contacted and sadly this little guy will retire from representing me (illegally :P) but I will be able to buy a print of it soon so I'll always see Toffee, or whoever was the model, on my desk for a long time to come.

Thank you Mary for painting this beautiful critter ;)

Treasury post for June

Here comes the eye candy!

My curation of some really interesting and beautiful pieces...

Well, this particular treasury is quite close to heart recently. I curated collaborative work on Etsy in this one. There are more of it if you search by the word "collaboration" on Etsy but a few to keep you inspired. A specific note to the Stick Me "Art is us" sticker book. There are actually 2 of them by now, featuring 16 illustration artists in the most adorable form. 

A must see!

This one is for the summer! A highlight is the 3rd one on first row. 

It's by Yaelfran showing you how to tumble! So much fun.

I love illustration as you probably can tell by now :P 

So this one is for you artists and graphic designers out there.

This is a quick one for the new 5 Boroughs Team members in May. 

I will try to make one for June soon ;)

OK, treasuries featuring my work...

This is by FourviereHill featuring my "A Midsummer Night's Dream" necklace.

This one is by Tyramade, featuring my "Seaside" coral necklace.

This is by MamaBetsy, featuring my latest macrame hoop earrings, "Lady's Mantle".

This is by BrianWT108, featuring my "Fireworks earrings - Holly".

This is by SistasJewelry, featuring my latest macrame hoop earrings, "Mandarin Tree".

This refreshing treasury is created by MamaBetsy again! It features my "Lantern" earrings.

Last but not least, this is created by Jascamille, featuring my "Persimmons" earrings.

Remember, more to come and look for "Treasury" tag to find these postings from June onwards.