A Salad Story: Best Lettuce in Greenville

Not all salads are created equal.

This summer has been stupid-hot, and all I really felt like eating for the last few months is a light & tasty salad at every meal. Pretty simple craving to deal with, right? No, not at all.

There’s a lot of crap salads out there, sprinkled with disappointment and dressed in gross-ness, and I’ve eaten them all. This summer, I made it my mission to find & eat the best salads in all the land (Greenville, SC specifically) and now that October is here and those 100 degree days are hopefully over, I think I’m finally ready to share my top 10 list.

10. "Watermelon Salad" from Tupelo Honey: it includes sweet watermelon, spicy arugula with honey yogurt dressing, and it’s topped off with country ham crumbles and candied basil. Never in my wildest salad dreams would I have put those ingredients together, but it’s outstanding.

9. “Asian Salad” from Fresh to Order: All the things I like, presented in an elegant way- mixed greens, avocado, mandarin oranges, ginger, candied walnuts, and I usually I sub out the dressing for the apricot ginger vinaigrette.

8. “Pop’s Caesar Salad” from Luna Rosa: It’s gotta be the dressing. This simple classic (topped with grilled chicken, of course) has never been better, and it doesn’t hurt to chase it with a little gelato. Unfortunately, my top 10 gelato picks will have to wait for a future blog post.  

7. “The Toscana” from Caviar & Bananas: mixed greens + crispy prosciutto, + vanilla poached pears and a bunch of other gourmet ingredients tossed in a chianti vinaigrette = one gloriously flavorful meal that’s unlike any other.  

6. “Smoky Salad” from Sidewall Pizza. Don’t get me wrong, they have excellent pizza too, but their salads are phenomenal. The “Smoky” features roasted corn, broccoli, grape tomatoes, onion, candied walnuts, and a fantastic basil dressing. Oh, and order the small portion if you’ve got a fairly normal appetite. The large will feed a village!

5. If you’re picky like I am, and you love to do the whole build-your-own salad thing at restaurants, be sure to check out Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar. I know, I know, a burger joint for a salad? Trust me! The ingredient list is long, and has ALL the good stuff. My personal concoction includes romaine, red peppers, chick peas, kalamata olives, avocado, fresh mozzarella cheese, grilled chicken, and balsamic vinaigrette.

4. “Strawberry Chicken Salad” from Stax's: this one is practically a dessert. You’ll get strawberries, blueberries, caramelized Georgia pecans, and grilled chicken breast over a bed of mixed greens, and a really interesting merlot vinaigrette.

3. “Greek Salad w/ Shrimp” from Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe: this restaurant is making their way across the southeast, and my husband and I are HUGE fans. Ever since they opened in Greenville, we’ve eaten there at least once or twice a week. On paper, Taziki’s Greek salad sounds pretty standard I suppose, but in person - in your mouth - it’s by far the best Greek salad I’ve ever had. Top it with grilled shrimp, chicken, or salmon - you really can’t go wrong.

2. “The Baja” from Caviar & Bananas: romaine, cucumber, tomato, avocado, corn, cotija cheese, and something called “jicama” that I’d describe as a sweet ugly apple that grows in the ground, all mixed together with a chipotle lime vinaigrette and topped with citrus grilled shrimp.

1. “Summer Peach Salad” from Sidewall Pizza: this is a seasonal special that makes me long for summer, even though I hate summer. The salad is full of perfect southern peaches, candied pecans, red onion, cheese, and a lovely basil vinaigrette that’s so good you’ll probably do something embarrassing to clean your bowl when you’re finished.

Bonus round!

Here’s a few favorites from national chain restaurants you can get in just about any city in America.

“Quinoa Salad” from Zoe’s Kitchen - it’s crunchy, it’s healthy, it’s good. The end.

“Mango Chicken Salad” from On the Border: sometimes chain restaurants can really surprise you! This one has mango, beans, corn, jicama (it must be a trending food?), romaine, and grilled chicken.

“Green Goddess Salad” from Panera - another chain restaurant does it right! This one is definitely about the beautiful pale green dressing, and if I could get a bowl of it and a spoon, that’d be great.

Indie Craft Parade 2016 Recap

What a weekend. The 7th annual Indie Craft Parade took place this past weekend, and it was, as always, one of the best weekends of the whole year. This festival of all things handmade takes place every September, and it’s extremely competitive to get a spot as a vendor, but it’s a total blast once you’re in.

It’s also a LOT of hard work. I spend every minute of the summer preparing for this show, and when the weekend is over and the dust has settled, it feels like I’ve just accomplished something big, something that’s been months in the making. Today, as I write this, everything is sore: my face (from smiling non-stop for 3 days), my feet (from standing for the better part of 18 hours), my back (from load in load out), and my brain (from keeping track of sales and trying my best to remember names), but I’m beaming with joy. I met so many wonderful customers and fellow artists, and I got to share my work with 7,000 people. There’s something really thrilling about that!

This year was another record breaker, and I’m so thankful for everyone who came by my booth. I absolutely love to see people coming over to shop who are wearing jewelry they purchased from me years ago.

I did lots of shopping as well, and these are my 2016 purchases. 

1. Bird cup from Moonbird Pottery
2. Necklaces from Twenty Two West
3. Ceramic ring cone from Paper&Clay
4. Screen print on wood from Bone and Ink • Drawings by Jennifer Janeiro Allen
5. Painted ornament from Origin Tale
6. Print from METHANE STUDIOS
7. Metal bunny bowl from January Jewelry
8. Large woven wall hanging from WARP & WEFT
9. Angry cukes, Little Rock Caviar, and Drunken Tomatoes from Doux South
10. Bible verse cards & holder from Thimblepress
11. Push-pop Confetti from Thimblepress

As in years past, I’m sharing some show stats, mostly because this event is fun to track from year to year. I sold less items than I did last year, but I earned more, and I also noticed I didn’t do as well on Sunday as I usually do, but I did almost double my usual sales during the Friday night VIP gala. You just never know how things will shake out!

In addition to stats, I thought I’d share a few practical tips and tricks that have worked well for me over the years. These things might be useful to anyone considering doing a craft show, or even the craft show veterans out there.

1. If you’re going to sit down at any point during the show, bring a director’s chair or taller stool so you’re still able to chat with customers and handle transactions without being hidden behind your display. It will feel more natural to talk to customers when you’re eye level with them, even if you’re going to sit. I know some pros say you should never sit (or eat, or be on your phone, etc.) but let’s get real here - you will probably need to do all three at some point!

2. If you know you’re going to be standing for the majority of the show (either because you’re in the “never sit down camp” or because it’s going to be a busy show and sitting isn't an option) bring one of those comfort mats to stand on. Half the time I’m standing barefoot on one of those things and it really helps keep my legs from tiring out over the course of the show (and nobody can see it anyway!).

3. You can never have too many business cards, bags, or dollar bills on hand at a show. Every stinkin year, I think I have more than enough for Indie Craft Parade, and I’m wrong. This year I packed over 400 bags, nearly double what I packed the year before, and darn it, I still ran out. I also took 100 bucks worth of one dollar bills and ran out by the end of the day Saturday. Be prepared, or better yet, be beyond prepared! I have never run out of business cards as of yet (thankfully) but I have seen plenty of vendors who did, and I just hate to see them losing potential follow-up business because their customers have no way of finding them after the show.

4. Pack lots of food and water. If a show is really busy, you may not be able to leave your booth for a meal, and only a handful of shows offer lunch deliveries. Also - when you’re thinking through what food to pack, I find it a lot easier to eat things with a fork (no sandwiches or pizza, etc.), so you can sneak in a quick bite here and there, then get back to your customers after minimal chewing without having to worry about leaving to wash your hands, food in teeth situations, or having to take a long break to eat something big & messy in one shot.

5. Be prepared for 60 through 90 degree temperatures, because both are possible and you have no way of knowing which. I’ve done shows where the AC was so extreme my fingers went numb and I shivered the whole time, and I’ve also had shows where I was a sweaty mess when the AC wasn’t at it’s best, so dress & pack for both extremes, no matter what time of year it is.

6. Rethink your packaging for busy shows (or prepare it ahead of time). Unless you sell really high end or fragile items, I’d say the simpler the better. I always feel really awkward when I’ve made a purchase and I have to stand there while the artist makes fancy ribbon curls. I know not everyone agrees on this, but I wanted to put it on this list as something to encourage you to think through ahead of time.

7. Bring back up devices for accepting credit card payments, extra battery backup, and all the chargers in the world. You don’t want any technology mishap to shut you down.

8. Pay attention to the questions your customers ask (or keep a list, if that helps), because you’ll catch on to some repeat questions after a while which is a clue you may have something that needs to be addressed. For example, when I first started selling my Curious Cameo pendants, people were always asking if I had longer chains. I never even thought of that until people kept asking about them, so now I keep extra chains if people would like to upgrade to a longer one. Easy solution!

9. HAVE A SIGN.

10. Consider taking custom orders during the show. For the longest time, people would ask for a custom item and I’d give them a business card and send them to my Etsy shop, and never hear from them again. Now, I offer to take their order right then and there, and I’ll even apply any show specials I have going on, so that I’m not leaving this possible future order up to chance. I also make things easy by bringing a color chart to the show so customers can see all the available options and choose exactly what they want.

Collecting Art

Vase: April Schwingle, Woven Pine Needle Basket: Clay Burnette, Bird paintings: Diane Kilgore, Landscape Painting: Annie Koelle

When I try to picture an art collector in my mind, I see a wealthy foreigner and his severe-looking wife strolling into a highly intimidating art gallery wearing their finest furs. They gesture towards a huge abstract painting and say “I must have dis”, then they wire the 80K from their elite offshore bank account.

I don’t know where that visual came from, if it was in some bad movie, or just floating around in my brain with other ridiculous caricature stereotypes I don’t actually believe (but keep around for my own amusement).

Felted Bunny Heads: Sarah Mandell ;-) , Assemblage: Jon Andrews, Landscape Paintings: Annie Koelle

The truth is, many of us, in one way or another, are art collectors. We may not describe ourselves as such, but if you peek into our homes, you’ll get all the proof you need. Anyone can be an art collector, regardless of what it is they favor, and you don’t have to be filthy rich, follow trends, or do it all in one weekend. When it comes to collecting art, there really aren’t any rules, other than buy what you love / what’s beautiful in your eyes / what makes you feel something.

Bird Block Print: Kent Ambler, White Paper Bird: Cara Harris, Landscape Painting: Annie Koelle, Felted Cactus (by me) in Wood Turned Bowl (by Matt Tindal), Mini Buzzard Painting: Canvas Dove, Mini Bunny Painting: Once Upon a Time Co., Illustration prints: Elizabeth Mayvile, Water Tower Mixed Media: Paul Flint, Paper Cat: Jordan Grace Owens, Rabbit Portrait Watercolor: Rachelle Elevingston, Bird Paintings: Diane Kilgore, Abstract City Scape Painting: Jersey's Freshest.

Art is important to me, and I want to be surrounded by it always. I first got the bug when my husband and I married in 2005, and we needed something to personalize the renter’s-white walls in our apartment. However, we didn’t have 80K sitting around in our elite offshore bank account to invest in original paintings, so we found some affordable reproductions and prints, and they made our living space “ours”.

Clay Rabbit Mask: F. Gleason, Assemblage: Jon Andrews, Hanging Terrarium: Amazon.com, Reclaimed Boards: Asheville Hardware

Since then, we’ve found ways to buy original art (guess what, we still don’t have an 80K art budget), and have invested in many pieces we love that range from woodblock prints, to assemblages, paintings, ceramic arts, and much more. Buying smaller pieces and displaying them as collections has worked well for us, because we can always add or rearrange. Buying small because of budget reasons has actually changed my taste in art. I prefer smaller pieces right now, I gravitate towards something I can hold in my hands, and find connection with on a more personal tactile level.

Block Loom: Mary Hamby, Section of Original Wood Block: Kent Ambler, Clay Houses: Crave Studio

Everyone is different, and that's what makes collecting art so fascinating. While I may prefer groupings of smaller works for my own home, I still find a single large room-dominating piece to be just as pleasing elsewhere. As we all know, art is a very subjective subject, but that makes it all the more interesting!  

Bee Block Print: Sunny Mullarkey Studio, Bird Print: Sharon Lorenz, Ceramic Bird; West Elm, Carved Pottery Vase: Unknown 

When starting your own collection on a budget, here’s some things to keep in mind:

• Shop local: support artists in your town (student work too!) by visiting craft shows or gallery openings. Most of us probably can’t afford the work of a world famous or historically significant artist, but honestly, there’s incredible work available in your very own zip code, and at a fraction of the price.

• Buy small: you CAN afford original art if it’s what your heart (and wallspace) desires. Look for smaller scale work that fits your budget, and build a multi-piece collection a little at a time. Things can get pretty cool after a few years of buying smaller work and creating interesting groupings, and it’s easier on the bank account doing it one piece at a time.

Mini Bird Paintings: Diane Kilgore

• There’s nothing wrong with prints: I’m still a huge fan of prints, and this is by far the easiest way to bring artist’s work into your home. There are tons of amazing prints for less than $100.

• It takes time: time to save up, time to figure out what you like, time to find that certain piece you can’t bare to leave behind.

I really enjoy curating my own collection, and rearranging what I already own. It’s truly a eureka moment when you find two pieces that don’t have much in common actually work well together!

Rabbit Print: Cory Godbey, Crowd of People Print: Janina Ellis, Mountains Print: Sara Gibson

Here’s some quick tips for curating your very own collection:

• Group pieces by color, even if the subject matter is unrelated. Or...group by subject matter or style, even if the colors are unrelated. You’d be surprised by what “goes” together!

• A focal point doesn’t have to be right smack in the middle. Experiment with layouts that are asymmetrical but balanced.

• Matching frames can help tie in assorted pieces so they feel more connected, but mixing in a wide variety of different frames can add interest too. A unified collection is just as cool as an eclectic collection.

• Before you start putting holes in your wall, make a quick to-scale sketch on graph paper, and plan where each piece might hang, then adjust as needed. Keep in mind room for growth.

• It’s YOUR collection, so buy what you love, display it how you want, and enjoy the hell out of it! When you step back and look at your walls, and it makes you feel happy, or excited about what your next piece might be, then you’ve succeeded as a collector.    

Books Books Books (My 2015 Goodreads Challenge)

I'm a little late posting this, but I finally curled up with a cup of tea and my Goodreads dashboard this morning to see how I did in 2015, rather than finishing either of the two books I'm currently halfway through. I didn't meet my Goodreads challenge for last year (which was 35 books), but I really enjoyed just about everything I read. The majority of the books I spent my time with were fiction, and I'd say over 75% of them were audible books (my favorite way to read while I'm at work in the studio!)

Below is my Year in Books. I couldn't decide on a favorite this time. It's a tie between Althea & Oliver, and My Heart and Other Black Holes. Both VERY good, and I'd definitely read them again in the future. 

For 2016, I'm setting my goal at 24 books. I feel like 2 books per month should be doable, so we'll see how it goes! What are you planning to read this year? I'd love some recommendations if you have any.

If we're not already connected on Goodreads, lets change that! Find me here

Tour My Workspace(s)

My work is a huge part of my life, and my home is where I work. The spaces in which I create are linked to my ability to get work done, be inspired to try new things, and ultimately make a living. Working from home is ideal for me, because I can bounce around from making leather earrings, to needle felting, to laser cutting wooden pendants, to photographing new products, all without having to go anywhere. A lot can be accomplished in just one day!  

Today, I’m inviting you on a virtual tour of my many workspaces. Each room is home to a different part of my process, and is the birthplace of a variety of handmade items. When you make a living making things, it can change your whole lifestyle, and your home ends up becoming more than just a place to live.

Come on in, welcome to my home!

The Workshop: this is the first stop on the tour because it’s where my husband / operations manager and I have spent the most time renovating and improving lately (lighting, ductwork, wood paneling, etc.). The unfinished basement is about 900 square feet and is where a lot of production work occurs. All the things that make big messes (like the lathe, sanders, saws, laser cutter, etc.) live down here.

The Laser Room: In an 8x10 side room, a room that was once used as a children’s play area when we hosted a Bible study / small group a few years ago, is now the the “laser room”. I recently upgraded my 40 watt hobby laser cutter to a humongous and awesomely powerful 90 watt pro model. It’s pretty friggin’ cool! We could barely move this new machine into the house, it cost as much as a used car, and requires serious ventilation, but it was well worth it. My jewelry designs (done in Illustrator or AutoCad) are intricate, but the laser can handle it. I could never dream of doing these cuts successfully by hand, so by adding this high tech tool, I’m able to remake my designs over and over, which allows me to do large orders and keep my prices reasonable. Having a machine like this changed my whole business model several years ago when I took the plunge and bought the original laser. In this room, I also keep some leather, wood, and tons of supplies. We’ve got a small tabletop CNC router on order so that will be a welcome addition very soon.  

* Favorite things about this space: the workbench with “paint store” that my handy husband built for me, and my way-cool splatter paint carpet that’s fun and light, but hides everything (because let’s face it, it’s not clean, and some of those paint splatters are actually paint splatters).

The Studio: From the basement workshop, walk up two flights of stairs and you’ll find my studio. This is the room where final assembly, finishing touches, photography, and packing orders occurs. All of the hand-cut leather jewelry is made here, since I still have have a number of designs that use basic hand tools rather than high tech machines. In the closet, there’s shipping supplies and about a dozen articles of clothing. Not my clothes. Clothes I got at thrift stores and intend to chop to pieces and turn into jewelry. I love to repurpose leather and will buy just about anything, as long as the color is right.

* Favorite things about this space: My “leather drawers” ;-) The leather scraps in these drawers are organized by color, and I get inspired just by looking at all the bits and pieces and all the possibilities they bring.

The Office: Go back down one flight of stairs, and you’re in the office. It’s funny, the workshop, studio, and office are all in the same exact corner of the house, so the views are identical, just at different levels. The office is shared with my husband who works from home, and is where I do all of my correspondence, Etsy shop maintenance, photo & video editing, blogging, and accounting. Since I don’t have a physical brick & mortar store, and in-person craft shows are only seasonal, I end up doing the majority of my business from this spot in the house.

* Favorite things about this space: being near my husband. We “bother” each other a lot, but it’s actually a huge blessing. There was a time back when we lived in the DC metro area when we only saw each other about 2-3 hours a day during the week. It sucked. We have a completely different lifestyle now and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Also, his title of “Operations Manager” is 100% accurate - he keeps the biz up and running, so it’s nice having him nearby.

The Couch:  Not kidding! I spend several hours a day needle felting on the couch with some sort of nature documentary, depressing indie film, or audio book going in the background. The living room may pass for fairly normal at first glance, but if you look closer (like in the bins under the couch, the basket under the end table, in that dark wicker hamper sitting discreetly in the corner), you’ll notice there’s a whole flocks’ worth of sheep’s wool all around you. I have my roving in containers organized by color, so it’s easy to find what I need. Besides (a lot of) wool fiber, there’s really not much else needed for needle felting. I have a 2” thick foam pad that sits on my lap while I felt, a variety of needles, plus a portable work light, and that’s about it.   

* Favorite things about this space: being able to learn something new / think about something else unrelated to my work, while I work. My hands may be felting, but at the same time I can be learning all about the Altiplano in South America and the fascinating flamingos that call it home, or reading / listening to The Electric Michelangelo by Sarah Hall for the 50th time.

So there you have it. The spaces where everything is handmade, by me, under one roof!