Getting the ideas out!

This last month has been a whirlwind of activity with Sarabee Designs!  Moving into Dreaming Tree Studio, an upcoming *yet to be announced* big event is on the horizon (I should be able to announce next week!!), the holiday season is upon us and orders are coming in by droves!  It’s amazing!  One year ago, my business was just starting to spread it’s wings and I was happy if I got a sale every other week.  Now I’m printing postage and heading to the big blue box every few days!  I’m so amazed by what this small “Let’s see if I can do this” venture has become.   The amount of contacts, both local and abroad I’m making are really encouraging.  

So here I sit today… with the need to bulk up my stock staring me in the face and ideas shooting through my head faster than I keep up with them.   And I must bottleneck them into a consistent stream of thought or they just might start some kind of fist fight in my head… so get in line ideas… time to get some of you out on paper so the rest can continue to grow.  

I have the cutest little pink journal.  A recent gift from my husband.  It has quickly become a sketchbook, a list book, a random idea book.  It’s nowhere near legible for outside onlookers… so no worries about any Slugworths trying to steal my candy genius.  It’s my brain… in cute pink journal form.  I’ve been getting artistic advise from some and it goes in there… random to do and thank yous that need to be made… they too, go in the book.  And then tomorrow, like a mad scientist I’ll be pouring through the pages of chickenscratch, trying to remember what that acronym meant… but mostly, thankful that I wrote it down so that it wouldn’t become another fleeting “could have been”.  

I can guarantee you, your way of getting your thoughts out is better than mine… for you.  Being married to a very organized person has led me to understand that although my husband is a Godsend to me… without him I’d be lost and overbooked in my everyday life.  I’m terrible at forgetting dates and feel like I’m living 15 minutes behind the rest of the world most of the time.  But it’s also led me to the realization that I’m organized creatively.  I can find that 13th hour… I can create that 13th hour!!  Whatever works for you… do it!!  You know you.  Don’t try to work a system that is geared for the person you aren’t.  If it’s keeping a jotting journal like me, then cool… if it’s keeping a detailed list of to-do, go for it… if it’s keeping an open document on your desktop and just adding to it  in sections then live it up!!  But find someway to not let your ideas go to waste!  They came to you for a reason!  Get them out!

 

New beginnings…

I got to stop by today and see Desiree for a few minutes on the Grand Opening Day!  So very exciting!

  She was such a busy little bee!  They may need to invest in a revolving door!  There was traffic the whole time I was there.  So very cool!  It was so neat to see their dream come to fruition and neat to be able to share in just a few moments of that.   After all the hard work, time, planning… it’s paid off!  There’s so much to look at… so much to buy!   It’s a brilliant store… a brilliant idea come to life! Having a display in this store is an absolute honor.

There’s been so many cool things happening lately.  Life affirming things.  I love love love the fall.  Not so much a fan of the time change.  I used to adore that “extra” hour of sleep… but now I have children.  Children who can’t tell time or appreciate the extra cherished moments of rest (or any moments of rest for that matter!).  

 But I do get to catch small moments like this… a quiet moment, coffee in hand with my husband… watching the moon set where we usually see the sun do the same dance.  I love fall.  I don’t mind the cool weather… crisp air and red leaves are totally worth it.  

Autumn is such an unique season… it stands starkly in the face of summer.  Even in the loom of the impending unknown of winter, it dares to be outrageously beautiful.  Wild colors and cool weather that cause us to snuggle closer to our loved ones, but doesn’t completely drive us inside… allowing us to enjoy the sights. 

I love fall.  Love love love.  New things.  Boldness and beauty in the face of the unknown.

 

So grand!

Happy Grand Opening Dreaming Tree Studio!  Desiree and DeAndra, you’ve made it real!  :) Congrats!

 

 

coolest.cake.ever. a gift to Dreaming Tree from the Winchester Opera House

 

Desiree- one of the brilliant owners and myself!

 

 

finishing touches…

I am finishing up one last fingerless mitt and then I’m off to Dreaming Tree  to place some last minute touch-ups on  my display.  I am unfortunately out of printer ink… so that means #1 all my etsy packages will be hand-labeled and I’ll be visting my ever-so-friendly post office for more than just a quick drop off. Ah well.  Such is life.  I will conserve gas and pick up ink while I’m out and not bother driving back and forth and back again.  Green points for me today.  

I am so so so excited for this weekend.  24 hours from right now, Dreaming Tree Studio will be officially opened on Main Street in my little hometown.  Desiree and DeAndra have been working non-stop on this shop and it really shows.  The store is as unique as the handmade items it holds and the time and care that they’ve put in really shows.  Our Main Street has such potential… so many brick n’ mortar shops and family run places.  It’s too empty though and many of the shops are very similar in what they sell… it needs more shops like this one.  Maybe someday it will need a local yarn shop… ahh dreams.  Someday maybe… I did see a little store front for sale just around the corner from Dreaming Tree… now to find a sugar-daddy financier…

For now, I’m thrilled to be one of the many displays within the shop and cannot wait to be in there on Saturday spinning my heart out while the Main Street Christmas Open House rages on!  Come on down and see me if you’re around!  I promise that this shop will NOT disappoint!

 

 

I have a confession…

I’m kinda a blog stalker… In high school I was more than slightly obsessive and if there are two things I have to be thankful didn’t exist in my world then it would be “Twilight” (those poor boys I dated–they had enough expectations to -not- live up to) and blogs.  I could have seriously become a crazed stalker… I think calling someone 8 times and hanging up was all I could handle (this also was without caller ID!).  

Before you worry too much about my mental state this morning… I’m putting my blogsessiveness to good use.  I’m gaining inspiration.  I love craft blogs… I seriously LOVE them.  Right now of course, the ones who I read the most are other spinners and knitters.  I’m finding right now that a select group I’m drawn to are these hardcore, sassy, edgy people who are making some amazing creations.  They have become my superstars… SnowberryandLime, YarnZombie, TravelingRhinos, SpinCycle…they all are very inspiratonal and I love getting a glimpse into their thoughts.  I would seriously ask most of these people for their autographs!

It pushes me forward to make more things… to take more pictures… to dream more vibrantly!  It also makes me want to learn, it makes me want to share…makes me want to be a spinning rockstar too!

 

New Website!

SarabeeDesigns now has an official home on the web!  Check it!

sarabeedesigns.com

 

 

Disorderly…

One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.    ~A.A. Milne

 

 

What is it you do?

photo by the amazing Morgan Gauthier

I get asked that a lot… to be completely honest, I’m still trying to figure that one out!  There are some people lucky enough to have a niche.  They have something they are really good at and the focus enough to makes LOTS of quality items in that spectrum.  Me?  I’m far too easily distracted for that!  I love fiber… I guess that’s why I call myself a fiber artist, b/c that’s pretty all inclusive.

I started out knitting.  21 years ago.  I joked yesterday that my knitting skills are now old enough to drink.  I don’t recommend trying that though… it’s far too easy to drop stitches and make something super wonky while entirely sober .  I then fell madly in love with local yarn shops and the idea of having my own.  I suddenly found myself immersed in craft blogs, knitting blogs… anyone who seemed to be living out their crafty dreams in the blogosphere.  I had to join their ranks.  This led me to a forum for people wanting to start their own yarn store.   This led me to etsy.  From there, I opened my own shop (with a God-given gift from friends) and started dying my own yarns.  This satisfied me for a while.  Then the itch to go farther back in the yarn process hit.  I wanted to learn to spin my own yarns.  So for Christmas, my husband got me a drop spindle while on vacation in TN.  From there, my father and I started collaberating online about different wheels and types of spinning.  We discovered the kick spindle together and I was reminded of where my drive to craft came from… my father!  He surprised me with not only a handmade drop spindle, but a kick spindle that he built himself.  It’s been spinning heaven from there.  Someone asked me at the Pioneer Festival I participated in why I would want to make my own yarn when I could buy it nearly everywhere.  I don’t think I had a good answer then, but after much thought… I have to equal it to why would you want to grill your own burger rather than just eat McDonalds?  McDonald’s is alright, it’s cheap, it’s fast… sometimes you just want that…. but when you want a really good burger, nothing beats one you grill up just how you like it.   Handmade yarn is special… you know that it’s texture isn’t going to be perfect (I’m not a machine for goodness sake!) but the imperfections… the varying widths and weights in one strand make it unique.  What makes a handmade pottery piece more attractive than your average Corelle dish?  What makes a handmade quilt catch the eye so much more than your average comforter?  It’s the art!

So what exactly do I do?  I make things.  Right now, specifically I make and dye yarn.  I also use those yarns to knit and crochet wearable and usable items.  I try to use natural and eco-friendly fibers as much as possible in my work.  I am aware of some of the weird looks I get when I explain my career path as an artist… trust me, it sometimes feels very foreign to even speak it all outloud.  But mostly, I’m living out what is inside of me.  I’m proud of that!

In the future I’ll be posting some knitting and fiber jargon so for those of you interested, it may give a little more insight into what makes what I do unique.  Some of you could care less about what makes Merino wool different from other types, trust me, the wool sweaters you may have itched your way through childhood in… that will make you want to know the type of wool you are wearing!   I was amazed how many different breeds of sheep there were and how much their breed effects their use!  For those of you who could literally care less about the jargon… I’ll post pretty pictures

 

Movin’ on in!

Today was my big move in day to Dreaming Tree Studio.  I’m so so thrilled to be a part of this shop!  I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be a part of it!

To first of all, acknowledge myself as an artist has been a very very long road.  I like to craft… I like to give gifts.  I like to make crafts for gifts… but I’ve always felt somewhat lacking.  A dear friend of mine from childhood recently sent me a large batch of notes from junior high and high school… things I had written her, given her, ect.  Case in point I realized that I was a lot more dramatic than I thought I was in the moment… I will file that away to recall in my next dramatic moment  Secondly, there was one small note that was a guarantee notice for an item she “bought” from my first ever small business… the friendship bracelet making biz.   I laughed so hard… I had completely forgotten the countless rec times that I sat under a tree with my box of embroidery floss and macraméd my little heart out.  But that was kind of the start for me… I love to craft and I want to make my life about making things I love.  Who doesn’t want to love what they do??  Fast forward to a couple summers ago… starting my etsy venture… fast forward to the Pioneer Festival this last Labor Day.  I have wanted to be a part of that festival for 10 years now, but really had literally nothing to bring to the table.  Suddenly my whole focus became the festival… I had no idea or foresight to what was to come of my yarn biz AFTER the festival… but that led to a chance meeting with DeAndra who was also seeking to do what she loves (which by the way… is FANTASTIC handstamped jewelry).  And then fast forward to today.  I haven’t had my cry yet… it is coming… once i let myself realize what just happened…. but this moment… selling my yarns in a physical location… surrounded by other amazing handcrafters… there’s a certain sense of affirmation.  Like life giving, classic Molly Ringwald-80s movie, coming of age affirmation.  

I cannot begin to say thank you enough to DeAndra and Desiree for what they are doing with this shop.  If each of the other consigners felt a fraction of what I do… it’s giving us as artists… or at least me… reason to keep creating!  Again… not to be overly dramatic, but sometimes it’s easy to get down on yourself if you have a dry spell… sometimes all it takes is someone to let you know you do good work.  It’s been 

a dream of mine since moving to Winchester to have a shop downtown and I feel like being a part of this shop is a dream come true.  I can’t wait to see all the cool things that come in and out of the store.  I can’t wait to see people embrace the handmade revolution (it really is the new green ya know!).  I’m just excited to be a part of something with these two sisters who are so excited themselves to dream big and encourage others to do the same!  

The Grand Opening is November 5th!  Come on down, I will be spinning yarn in the shop during opening weekend and giving mini-tutorials as needed with the yarns and drop spindles.  Come on down and see the amazing shop… my stuff is only one small part… there is stuff for everyone on your holiday shopping list!  Support handmade artisans… I promise you won’t be disappointed!

PS… Super big shout out to Tara… I love you friend.  It was perfect timing for you to be in town this week… you helping me move in meant a great deal to me.  Can’t wait to move you in tomorrow

 

New Spindles…