In the Workroom Recap : Week 329

And by "see you next week," I meant, of course, see you at the end of next week obviously... One of a Kind Show is now officially 19 days away so there is plenty to do and the usual not enough time to do it in. So quick blog time:

Tickets arrived! It's coming!

Robot sewing!

Workroom helpers:

Sew, sew, sew!

I'll be (continuing) finishing up more little robots, kitties and owls this week and am lucky enough to have some more workroom help this weekend so things are coming along! I am trying to be very "zen" about the show this year. Sometimes living the full-time craft life means going through a sort of panic for months before a large show because I think we never feel like we did enough but this time I'm just going to work hard, do what I can and hope for the best! (Which is always my goal anyway.) 

See you lovelies soon!

In the Workroom Recap : Week 328

Week 328! (I think) We missed a few in there but if my math is correct, I'm pretty sure we're in the 328 neighbourhood.

Things are still a little slower than usual around here but I did manage to get a big batch of phone sleeves all finished up for One of Kind Show, with the exception of a small stack that was waiting on me to restock my supply of yellow rick rack. They're next on the list!

Just packaging and 7 left to go! In the meantime I'm a little more disorganized than usual too, working on multiple stacks of things at once (it's good to have a few things ready to go that I can work on by hand if I have to head down to the hospital) so I have a few robots I've been sewing, kitties cutting, and more owl faces sewing for little owlings. There's just about one month until One of a Kind but I'm hopeful I'll manage to have a full booth with lots of goodies available!

Luckily I am lucky to have a few lovely helpers to help me along the way! Parts cutting and packaging help is always amazing. Plus we get to hang out and have tea and treats! Best job, right?

See you next week!

In the Workroom Recap : Week 323

Hi guys! Things may look a little different here at Needlings.ca but nothing too crazy. In fact, new things and the very first Needlings blog entries from way back in 2007 are all in the same place now. Full circle stuff! Most of them are completely embarrassing to me so read at your own risk. It is though kind of fun to see how far Needlings' has come since then.

This week, more time than I would care to remember was spent on boring behind the scenes internet stuff involving a lot of stuff I don't really love doing. But it's mostly done! Yep, mostly!

It started with a little fun cupcake order which I was happy to have the chance to make!

Then I took some time to package and ship some orders before getting back to some more studio organization and parts cutting.

So many scraps! I'm happy to say they are a little more condensed and there are a lot more pieces cut and ready to turn in to various Needlings goodies.

I hope you all have a lovely week! I'll see you when it's done!

In the Workroom Recap : Week 322

Hey guys! Week 322 was filled with a little early Spring cleaning, which really just involved a little rearranging of the workroom, and finishing up Needlings brand new line of fancy kitties and bunnies! It was fun to work on something new before getting going on restocking to prepare for the Spring One of a Kind Show in a few months (ah!).

At least I can start with a relatively clean workroom before the stacks of scraps and parts grow bigger and bigger...


Reorganization done! Then I got back to sewing work!



Which isn't always a tidy job...



Notice the start of a schedule for all the little guys that have to come together in the coming weeks! I'll try to take my own advice and just do what I can with the time I have! This will be my second year of doing such a big show so it's nice to feel like I have an idea of what I need. Which is a lot! I am happy that I will have some new Spring-y additions to the booth in March though!



Over the holidays I came across an old dance recital video (yep) where baby Needlings was dressed as a ballerina bunny hopping around the stage to "Cats and Rabbits" from Alice in Wonderland. I guess I was super inspiring. I also haven't been able to get that song out of my head so I may have sang a bit about cats and rabbits residing "in fancy little houses" while I sewed these little ladies up. We'll see what happens Needlings-wise when I come across that "I'm the Scatman" jazz dance performance from a few years later...

But until then, cats and rabbits! Or Beatrix Bun and Madeline Minou. Now available in the shop!



Speaking of cats...



Gus decided he found a fancy little house to reside in himself after I made use of some new shelves on my worktable. And when I closed the door on that one...



He just found another! 

I will say Gus normally does a really good job of staying clear of all the Needlings goodies but he just couldn't resist these ones. I can't really blame him. I guess I'm stuck with hiding things away in these drawers now which seems to have solved Gus' problem of deciding if he should sleep in his usual favourite spot or check out the new soft spots I seemingly created just for him to sleep in. You're welcome, Gus.

Cats!
(and rabbits.)

See you next week, friends!
 

One of a Kind Holiday Show and Sale 2013 Recap

Well, it's been a week since the show so I guess it's time to reflect on the gloriousness that was my first One of a Kind Holiday Show experience in blog form. 

I laughed, I cried, and then finally I slept! The week was amazing and I really want to thank everyone at One of a Kind Show and Sale Toronto for putting on an amazingly well organized huge production with smiles on their faces, all the lovely people who came by the booth to purchase a Needling or chat about my work, all my show neighbours and fellow vendors for being overall wonderful, and my amazing family and friends for visiting, helping and supporting me all the way through it! I really couldn't do this without all of you and I can't thank you enough! I feel like the luckiest maker in the world on a daily basis and I really appreciate each and every one of you for being a part of that. Holiday hugs all around!

Oh and the show went great! It was an exhausting, magical week and I can't wait to do it all next year! (Ok, I can wait.)



It was such a packed six days that there seems to be so many things to mention about it even though it all went by in a flash! The amount of work and lack of sleep that lead up to it was all worth it! I really must say it took the whole of this week to recover while still working away on custom orders. It was exhausting but the best kind of exhausting.



It was so much fun to see all the little kiddies run up to the booth and plop down on the floor and start playing with things! In a show with so much beautiful and somewhat untouchable art and fine craft, I'm glad to have provided some soft things to throw around.



This little guy's name was Gus and when he picked up my little Minou Kitties it melted my heart (and also made me think about my sweet little Gus the kitty back at home who I missed all week)! I had so many cute little conversations with little customers (and their parents) which was really the highlight of the show! Being able to meet and talk to someone who is buying something that you made with your two hands is a pretty magical thing. Having six busy days of it was really quite special.

As in the Spring show earlier in the year, I was lucky enough to have some Needlings featured in the kids fashion show again! I popped over to get a few pictures of these cute little ones carrying an art doll and a shy fox. Pretty adorable stuff!



In addition to meeting so many sweet new folks (including fellow vendors and neighbours that I will have to dedicate an entire blog to at a later date), I had the best visit and support from dear family and friends! My mom who was with me through the whole show I don't think knows just how much I appreciate her support. To have parents who encourage my creative endeavours and even want to participate in them is something I could not possibly take for granted. Even my dad who I spoke to every day on the phone while I was at the show was excited to hear any little detail I had to share about the show and I didn't go a day without hearing an "I love you" and a "I'm proud of you." I know that I am truly lucky.

Lucky for having such sweet friends too! Lisa and Tandy visited on the late night shopping day to say hello and I was so happy to see their faces! And there were so many other great visits from friends I didn't get pictures of throughout the week!


Despite not having much sleep that week. It really was easier than I thought it would be to keep a smile on my face the whole (well, most of the) time.

Thank you so much again for all the Needlings' support! I really could not do this without my family, friends, and customers! 

See you soon!

In the Workroom Recap : Week 224

Ok, so this post's title may have you wondering where the previous 223 weeks' posts are. Surprise! This is the first one! I tricked you.

No but really, through some rudimentary math, I figured out that I have been in the Needlings biz for (approximately) 224 weeks. Of course this doesn't include various silly sewing projects of an unfocused girl with a sewing machine but I opened my Needlings etsy shop on September 27th of 2007 and continued from there.  Thank you to Etsy for documenting this date for me as I am not very good at the remembering of important (or unimportant) dates.  I, of course, didn't realize I would be writing about this important date four and a half years later.  I think if I did, perhaps I would have written it on a calendar somewhere.

So these four and half years have been pretty great for me, not only had I found something I loved to do that would take away my ability to feel bored at any given time, but after a few years in to it, I was able to create a full-time crazy job for myself.  

So I'm a toy (and other things) maker.

Which means that I keep pretty busy making things!  For at least the last couple years, I have been photo-documenting my worktable change over partly in an attempt to remind myself what I've been working on recently and partly to remind myself of how productive I'm being so I don't feel guilty taking a day off here and there!  

So anyway, all that introductory drama aside, here's what I worked on this week:

I sent this little restock batch of owl goodies to Kid Icarus in Toronto, a great little place in Kensington Market.  Hm, perhaps in the future I'll do some posts about the great stores that carry Needlings. Blog-brainstorming.

I started work on a batch of Owl Mamas for Nice Things Handmade in Philadelphia and took a break to make a little Cupcake Snap Pouch for a customer in LA.

Worked on a few more little goodies for customers and received these little ladies back from Plush You 2011 at Schmancy in Seattle.  I put all three up in the shop then finished up the goodies before mailing them out to another very sweet customer.

I then finished and sent out that restock batch of Owl Mamas to Nice Things after a special work weekend of getting together with some girls for what has been dubbed "Crafternoon."

So, on to the next week!  This will be the last work week before a little vacation for me but fortunately the last few productive weeks have taken care of most of my post holiday season restocking of shops.  Still lots of behind the scenes paperwork and other boring junk to do - and then more sewing!  

Thursday Work

Packing owls for various shops and still working on that little stack of them in the back there.

The days are getting away from me closing in on comic con and hoping I have enough stuff and enough time to keep making things. I never think I have enough time. I'm the type that leaves way too early for things...or conversely way too late. I guess they say creative types have issues with time. Well, that's me.

I hope you are all seeing and liking the little beginnings of spring happening. I love this time of year. I don't even mind all the mud.