Guitar & Wine Bag Update ....

So far, so good! The most important thing I learned starting lessons again is .... if the instructor is wrong, it's not you - go find another instructor!

I lost all hope after my first lessons 8 years ago. I thought that this was one thing that I could never master (understand this though ... I don't think that there is anything that I can't master, it may take me time and I may not be the best but I will surely give it my best!).

Anyway, things got busy in life back then and I wrote myself off as hopeless, at first. In the back of my mind I knew that I would try it again but still believed that something was wrong with my ability to understand.

The only thing difficult about guitar lessons now is building up the strength in my hands and getting them to go where I want them to go. I am back on track and ready to play a few songs this summer on my back porch ... even if it will only be for the birds, our 3 dogs or my husband to hear ....

While I'm at it ... here are more wine bags ... making them should help with strength training in my hands .... right?

Wine Bags

A necessity and more popular than anticipated. Yes, I'm working on wine bags ...

My husband makes wine; and, ironically, racked his this weekend when I released my first planned wine bag, embellished with one of my ceramic buttons of course.

A few people have ordered theirs and I started production last night.

I love the feel of them and they are very strong, providing a nice bumper/buffer for the bottle - not like some of the whimpier wine bags on the market. They are a great accessory too! I feel a little more pulled together carrying it into a BYOB restaurant ... knowing it's one of a kind puts a spring in my step.

Guitar lessons ...

OK - so the first lesson was great ... but the responsibility lies with me to practice. I practiced tonight and beat myself up for being such a goof ... my brain and my fingers are not working in concert. Funny, I can sculpt, create with my hands and experience such difficulty keeping my fingers on the right string ... grrrrr! Maybe my frustration will be short lived if I keep at it ...

Oh my aching wrists ....

Last night I was working on more buttons (applying terrasigilata treatment to greenware - this involves applying the clay mixture and buffing to the highest shine I could get) while watching the Oscars. I worked the entire show .... yikes! This morning I had a hard time driving because my wrists and arms were hurting. Didn't expect that ....

Here are some finished buttons and I'm ready to pit fire a bunch more along with some beads. The weather is getting warmer and for me not condusive to working with fire ...

I have others which I will photograph in groups soon that are grey/blue. Those photographed here came out brown/black/gold with some of the white stoneware showing through. I think that they are AWESOME!!! Little sculptures ....

Ceramic, Pit Fired Buttons & Embellishments ...

Well, shut my mouth ....

Another color lesson for moi.

My bags are on display at the bookstore where I work (Bogart's Bookstore & Cafe, Millville, NJ). I took down the brightly colored selections to display my neutrals because the neutrals seemed to be in demand this winter season and I wanted to give them full attention before I decided to switch things up for Spring. Well, my hanging display became invisible and lost it's vibrancy ... all because of color, and the fact that they are in a funky little bookstore with soooo many other things to look at.

I learned that the color differences actually complimented rather than detracted from the display in this particular environment. I had to view it for a few days in this state before I (and others) got it. Interesting! The outcome probably broke some marketing/display rules spouted by the experts in some classroom somewhere but that's just what we found with this unplanned experiment. But, I think that the thing to remember here is the environment in which they are being sold - highly competative visually, so the display had to be equally attention grabbing.

And, you might think that the differences make it difficult for the consumer to shop or make choices ... it seemed to actually help and focus their thoughts on their own unique style and that of friends or family who may also be interested in the product - it made them think and realize that maybe I could satisfy different tastes and they should keep checking in ...

2009/2010 Gallery Photos

Lessons learned ....

Ok, I've been away from the blog for a while. But, I have still been working on my craft and learning ...

Color has been the focus and I have learned that I need to stay true to my passion but appeal to my customers. It's not easy and I found out that if you lead, they will follow and you will probably have less difficulty with sales if you are confident about your vision. I tried to inject color into the product because I thought that would be more appealing if people were going to purchase my felted wool bags in the heat of the summer ... it just didn't seem possible that they would unless I made them somehow feel "summery". So, color has to be the key, right? Not necessarily.

I'm more of a neutral and it seems that most people feel the same way. If they buy the bags, they are thinking about fall because they are wool and if the color is right, they will buy it at any time of the year, knowing that it's one of a kind and may not be available if they wait.


Consequently, I learned to stick with my preferred colors and am happier with the designs. Playing with brighter colors was great and I loved the bags that were produced but narrowing down the color to neutrals helps me focus my designs and create a more unique style.

Speaking of style, I decided to create my own ceramic embellishments rather than buying ready made. The results will be posted later but here is a photo of one of my neutral bags with my handmade white stoneware, pit fired ceramic buttons.