Learning Shibori Dying

Getting my hands dirty is something I look forward to. Dying my hands blue….well, that was new for me until recently. I took a Shibori dying class this weekend, and as always, learning something new and unrelated to anything else I’m involved with, tends to inspire me in unexpected ways. Not only did I learn about the historical significance of indigo, but also practical information about working with natural dyes. I can admit this now, after the fact, that I didn’t realize indigo was a plant. I guess I always assumed it was a mineral or chemical compound, but it’s actually a crop, one that’s making a major comeback on American farms. Who knew! Well, you might have known, but I certainly didn’t.

The class was organized by The Maker’s Collective, taught by Catherine Cross of the Summer Blues Indigo Dying Workshop, and hosted at Knack here in Greenville, SC. Our group spent the first hour watching demonstrations of different techniques, learning an overview of Shibori dying, followed by two hours of our own hands-on experiments. We used clothespins, rubber bands, clamped plywood, and lots of other random stuff to resist the dye in certain areas, creating all sorts of interesting and unpredictable patterns on test fabric, and eventually “real” stuff like clothing. I brought some white leather scraps from my studio, just to see if it would work, and was thrilled with the results. It was such a blast!

A few of my finished pieces

Some of my pieces turned out beautifully, but most did not. I couldn’t get the dye to do exactly what I wanted, but it’s nice to give up control sometimes. Here’s why my so called failures are actually good for the health of my creativity:

I need freedom to fail sometimes. I need freedom of process, to experiment with new mediums that may or may not complement the work I do for my handmade business Once Again Sam. My average day is filled with production, making finished items to fulfill orders, all of which have to look a certain way. My business is booming, which is exciting, but I don’t often have time to just dabble and screw around in the studio like I used to. I have to be diligent with my time and make make make, otherwise by business might fail.

The thing is, my business won’t fail just because I took a few hours one Saturday afternoon to go learn something cool like Shibori dying rather than working on orders. It’s healthy to get out once in awhile and try something new, just for fun, just to keep my creative juices flowing. Experimenting with different mediums is how my business started, and I have to step back and remember that, and choose to pursue more of it, because it will help me grow. Afterall, I’m a maker (who currently has blue hands), not a factory.

American Made Finalist

I was finishing up lunch with my husband at our favorite Indian buffet when I got the email informing me I was a finalist for the 2015 Martha Stewart American Made Awards. I read the email several times through before the words truly sunk in. Once they did, I got lightheaded and my hands started to shake. I never expected my delicious chicken makhani to come with a side of such incredible news.

Thousands of talented makers are in the pool of nominees each year, and just small percentage make it this far. The program puts the spotlight on emerging makers, those who have dedicated their lives to their craft, and are striving to succeed as creative entrepreneurs. It’s a huge honor to be a finalist in the Style / Jewlery category this year, regardless of what happens next. Being recognized in a national competition of this caliber is a pretty big deal for a little business like mine. These things don’t happen everyday!

Because of my big big news, I was lucky enough to be featured on Studio 62 with Jamarcus Gaston recently, and share about my media experience in a blog feature with the ever-so-informative Academy of Handmade. I was also able to share my story on local talk show Your Carolina. 

Martha Stewart and her panel of 16 judges have gotten me this far, but the rest is entirely up to voters like you. Would you please take a moment to send some votes my way? We set up an easy-to-remember sub domain that takes you directly to my nomination: www.vote.onceagainsam.com and once you create a login on the Martha Stewart American Made page, you’ll be able to vote up to 6 times per day until October 19th. Winning something like this would change my business forever, in so many fantastic ways.

Thanks a million!

Indie Craft Parade 2015

The 6th annual Indie Craft Parade was this past weekend, and as always, it didn't disappoint. Far from it! This highly competitive, well-organized regional craft fair showcases 80 artists and brings out 6-7,000 attendees in Greenville every September. I was pleased to participate once again this year, and just as in years past, it was one of my best shows ever. How does that keep happening? This particular craft show is just THAT good!

I saw so many familiar faces, people who have been coming to my booth year after year. I always enjoy seeing "vintage" Once Again Sam jewelry in the crowd, pieces I made several years ago, still being enjoyed. That's probably the coolest part of the weekend - having happy customers come back again and again.

This is a big weekend for my business, so I spend a good chunk of the summer preparing for it. I'm proud to say, this was the first Indie Craft Parade when I didn't run out of bags or dollar bills. In previous years, I vastly underestimated how many shoppers would come through, so I'd double up on supplies the following year, and of course the number of customer would double up too, so I still had the same problem. Not this year! I took $150 in singles, and over 500  paper bags (which I hand stamped one by one) and it seems I finally have a feel for just how to prepare for this show. It only took me 5 years to get it right! 

Here's the rundown of my weekend in numbers, just as I shared last year, plus a peek inside my shopping bag at my fabulous finds. I always enjoy supporting other artists, and at a show like this one, you truly have to restrain yourself! There is so much talent, so many gift ideas, so many splurges to consider. In the end, I brought home items from 12 other artists. 

My 2015 Indie Craft Parade purchases will full artist list below:

1. Origami flowers by Paperform

2. Mixed media block art by Heather Murphy

3. Ceramic bowl by Daniel Bare

4. Paper wall art by Paperform

5. Lip balm by Hello Soap

6. Weaving on woodblock by Twenty Two West

7. Mixed media assemblage by Jon Andrews

8. Wood block paintings by Sunny Mullarkey Studio

9. Brass stud earrings & ring by Melting Sun Apparel

10. Print by Elizabeth Foster

11. Painted wood sign by Olive + Grey

12. Handbag by Hawks & Doves

Best French Fries in Greenville

Attention health nuts: read no further!

A French fry is a glorious thing. These salty wonders made from something as unassuming as a potato are amazing enough to be their own food group. No matter how you slice, season, or dip them, there is no greater sidekick to your entree.

I’m a lifelong fan of pommes frites, and I can still remember my parents bugging me to eat the rest of my meal, because all I really wanted was the fries. Although I do make an effort in moderation these days, I enjoy those little sticks of Heaven whenever I can. Since I’m very serious about my fries, I recently embarked on a research mission here in Greenville, SC, to determine which restaurant was responsible for producing the valedictorian of local French fries. Let me just say that I’m not a licensed fry expert, I have no food critic creds here, just an intense love of fries, and I simply wanted an excuse to try them all (in the name of science, of course!!).

Let’s start with the runner’s up, a group of extremely tasty and respectable fries that almost took first place in my book.

Truffle Fries: The Lazy Goat

Sweet Potato Fries: Nose Dive

Shoe String Fries: Tupelo Honey Cafe

Crinkle Fries: Culver’s

Tater Tots: Southern Culture

Waffle Fries: Firebirds

Curly Fries: Como's Pete’s #4

Fast Food Fries: Freddy’s

There was a clear first place winner for me, and that was The Green Room. This Main Street favorite has won the triple crown of best French fries in Greenville, in my humble opinion. Try their truffle fries, sweet potato fries, and classic shoe string fries (notice I said “and” and not “or”). The texture is perfection, the flavor exquisite, the size, shape and texture are exactly what a French fry should be. You won’t find a better fry in all of the upstate.

A Week at The Folk School

Learning a new craft is irresistible to me. I suppose that’s how I wound up with such a long list of interests, and an even longer list of things I want to learn in the future (which ranges from loom weaving to learning to ride a unicycle). Earlier this month, I did something way out of my comfort zone, and took time off to learn something I knew nothing about. It wasn’t really a vacation, more like an intense work week that left my hands stained and sore, but I’m so glad I didn’t talk myself out of it. I had a pile of reasons to cancel my art camp plans, but the part about “it might be really cool” was what got my butt to Brasstown, NC.

I chose to take a jewelry metalworking course at the John C. Campbell Folk School, a place full of history, simplicity, music from another era, misty mornings, and practically no cell reception. This is the kind of place where you can learn blacksmithing one week, and traditional basket making the next. During the week of my attendance, there were about a dozen other classes occurring simultaneously. My time was spent in an area called “Studio Row” in a building dedicated to jewelry & metals. I’m still blown away by everything I learned in such a short time, but now I feel pressure (the good kind) to continue to take classes whenever I can, because I have an awful lot of things to learn, and an uncertain number of years left to learn them.

I’m already comfortable designing and making jewelry, it’s part of how I earn a living, but working with metal was 100% new to me, so it was a humbling experience to start from scratch, not knowing what would work and what wouldn’t. The instructor, Cindy Moore of www.cooltoolchick.com was extremely knowledgeable and patient, and I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to the medium.

In just a few day’s time, my class of 8 got to try out embossing metals on the rolling mill, torch enameling, forging, soldering, the hydraulic press, cold connections (like rivets), plus cleaning & finishing techniques. We were permitted to focus on our own projects after general instruction, so I was able to skip things like wire working and making beads out of old coins in exchange for more time with the torch annealing and shaping copper, or experimenting with texturing enamel (my personal favorites, out of everything we learned). The curriculum was fairly open, which was perfect since everyone had different interests. I was thrilled to have the option for additional studio time in the evenings after dinner, which always went by way too quickly. That’s how you know you’re having fun - when having to eat or sleep becomes a major bummer because you don’t want to stop working!!

All in all, I made 32 pieces of jewelry. Some aren’t very good. Some I’m extremely attached to, and would love to add to my jewelry line in the future. I’m already making plans to invest in some of the equipment so I can continue material explorations in my own studio with my new found love of metals. I will always work in leather, wood, and wool, but I think metal is the missing element in my work, and I’m thankful to have had the chance to dabble in it just long enough to know I need to dabble more soon.