Off to the Golden Globes!

On Jan 13-14 the 2012 Golden Globe Awards extravaganza will take place. And during that time, my lovely little felted alpaca cuffs will be gifted to ten lucky members of the press at the GBK Productions Luxury Gift Lounge. I am beyond excited! And beyond thankful for The Artisan Group for all they do to make opportunities like this possible for artisans around the world. They are simply amazing! It doesn't seem real at this point, and it's been quite the journey. I have no idea what will happen, but my hope is that I'll get increased coverage on my business and make some sales. This really is a wonderful way for me to get my name out there! I've learned a lot. Not the least of which has been to have pride in myself and my talent as an artist.

Here is a little taste of what the press will be getting. And if you ever have the joy of coming up with cute little packaging, my word of advice. Plan it all out before purchasing anything if you can. I spent loads of time an energy and money buying the perfect things. Some I used, some I didn't. I learned along the way, but had I been more efficient, I could have saved some money!

Handmade envelopes from handmade, seeded paper. I didn't make the paper. 

Labels for the envelopes ready to go. They'll help seal the whole thing up. 

My hangtags. It includes material, care and benefits of felt. Usually these get pinned to my product, but I felt it would be better in this case to put them in the envelope. A fellow artist prints the tags. 

uniquefavors on Etsy.

Front and back view of my Bio Card. They'll go in the envelope too.  Thanks Zazzle for some lovely cards!

Front and back of my business cards. I use Zazzle to print off all my cards, except for the hangtags. 

Envelopes folded and partially glued. I used rubber cement on the labels and delphinium flowers only. You only need to tear the labels to open the envelope. 

The back of the envelopes contain info on the product and its special name. Each  cuff type has a different name. 

My lovely collection (from left): Cherry Blossom, Pink Carnation, Swirling Snow, Bittersweet,  Fire and Ice, Bluebells. 

I rolled each pair of cuffs and pinned them so the shape would hold. 

My bags are made from sinamay, an all natural fiber. The "ribbon" is paper.  I love how you can see the pattern of the cuff through the bag. 

10 bags almost ready to go! 

Renewed Determination and Energy

Some BIG news at the end of this post!

So, I've been gone for awhile. As in, over a year. I had gotten to the point where blogging, if I'm being totally honest, seemed like a bit of a waste of time. Yes, everyone was doing it, but I had very few followers and it was taking time away from things I needed to be doing (creating, working a part time job, taking care of my family, volunteering at the school, getting my business where I wanted it to be, and all the other things in daily life). Well, none of that has changed. All those things are still there (except for the part time job). What has changed is that with the support of my family, I've decided to take that leap and make this hobby a business.

I spend most of all days creating, marketing, getting my name out there, bookkeeping, etc. I still do all those things around the house and with the family too. I miss my other part time job (teaching environmental education preshcool) at times, but I had to make a choice. Something had to give. I decided to put my efforts into making my business a business.

It has not been easy. I see other adults less (I've really got to work on this, and plan on joining a knitting group in the near future). There are days when I have to really push myself to get things done. But that's the case with any job. It's still fun. I still enjoy it.

I think one of the biggest things that has helped propel me forward, is a wonderfully supportive group, The Artisan Group. They are great people to bounce ideas off of. And are a wonderful source of inspiration. This exclusive group connects its members with the GBK Gift Lounges for high class events such as the Emmy's, Golden Globes, Oscars, etc. Members can gift to the press, celebrities, provide gift cards, etc.

The big news: I will be gifting to lucky members of the press at the GBK Gift Lounge for the Golden Globes, January 2012! 


I can't tell you what yet. Well, I could, but I won't. You'll have to check in later to find out. There will be the option to buy through my shop.