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 314 & 315 (And let's face it, 316)

One of a Kind Show is now one week away for Needlings and the amount of things left to do will require a bit of a miracle to finish but I know it'll happen! Because blogging duties have been prioritized away a little bit and I've missed the last couple weeks of recaps, I just wanted to stop in a let you guys know what's been going on around here!

I will be back when One of a Kind Show is over and life can go on as usual but until then, feel free to keep in touch or up to date with Needlings on Facebookand Instagram where I will no doubt be taking and sharing pictures of the process of the rest of the pre show prep and then the show days too of course! Wish me luck! I hope to see some of you there!

In the Workroom Recap : Week 313

Hi guys! 3 more weeks until One of a Kind Show! No problem, I'm ready, no big deal, super casual, whatever.

So I'm silently freaking out here just a little bit but I'm still plugging away anyway and slowly building up stock and getting other little jobs crossed off the list one at a time. So far so good!

This week had a little birthday break at the end of it but I managed to finish up a bit batch of little Owlings as well as some other little display to-dos and regular orders so I think I deserved it!





Just a few on the go there, no problem! On to more littles this week and maybe a couple dolls here and there, just so much stuff!

Then birthday stuff! I had a couple lovely friend visits and family times and I'm happy to start my 30s with some of the best buddies ever who helped me with boring jobs like packaging cutting and tag stickering! Yep, pretty crazy party time.




I even got the cutest little portrait pillow from my dear from Lisa of Nerdbiskit! I love it!


30! It was a lovely little break weekend and now I'm all Needlings all the time from here on out! 


See you all next week, friends! Wish me luck!

In the Workroom Recap : Week 312

Hi guys! If you're visiting from my One of a Kind Artisan profile (there have been lots of you lately), thanks for checking in! I'm spending the month on a marathon sewing kick to have lots and lots of goodies for the show in December! I hope to meet you all there!

     

Last week had a fun little Halloween break in the middle of it but was mostly spent finishing up my last store restock order until post-One of a Kind life after December 8th! 12 Owl Mamas for Kid Icarus!


(I realize there are only 11 owls in this picture but one was in the box already before I realized I needed a photo! I have a lot on my mind lately guys.)

So once they were on their way to Toronto, I took about 5 minutes to cut some jack-o-lantern parts to pin to my orange dress. Instant pumpkin costume? Perfect.



Maybe next Halloween I'll have time to do something a little more interesting but this did the trick!

After my big restock order filling month, the supply closet was in desperate need of replenishing so I made sure to take care of that before a bit of a crafternoon of cutting parts!



After supplies were replenished, I took some time to work on display pieces for the show booth! At the risk of ruining some sort of surprise, my plan is to essentially cover my booth in pom poms so a plan needed to be made!




Nothing like a few extra lofty goals to add to the show prep final stretch! Luckily I've had a bit of a head start so I think it might be doable! We'll see anyway! Eventually anyway! There's still almost a whole month left. So that's good. I can do it. Right? You're right, totally doable. 

Luckily I have my wonderful mom and friends to help out a bit! The week ended with a great crafternoon with my crafty friend Lisa of Nerdbiskit who kept me company over a pot of tea and snacks and helped out with some little cutting jobs here and there. Best help ever! I could get really sappy about it but I'll spare you (this time)! There's a lot of happy work put in to Needlings and that makes me very happy. Oops, sap. 



Lots and lots of little Owlings are in the works this week so I better get back to sewing! I'll see you guys for this week's recap next week! Happy November!

In (mostly out of) the Workroom Recap : Week 310 & 311

Hey guys!

It's been awhile, hasn't it? I'm officially back to real life after my family vacation out East and have tons to do in the next month before the One of a Kind Show so you might be seeing me a little more around here.

I brought a big bag of goodies to cut and sew while I was away for 10 days but with the two day drive on either end and the general great time visiting with family I haven't seen in years, I'm happy to say I didn't cut or sew a thing! If you know me at all you know I don't often go multiple days without sneaking at least a little Needlings work in - so I did good! And it was really lovely. But back to work now! I am really glad I had the chance to go with family and hang out and take pictures and have a good solid break before the final stretch until One of a Kind.



Now I'm back to working on finishing up a big restock batch of Owl Mamas to send to Kid Icarus in Toronto but took a small break to finish up a little custom robot order!



Bowties! I was happy to get around to making this little guy because I have been thinking about robots with bowties for a little while now. Deep thoughts.

So back to work! Owls then bunches and bunches of goodies for One of a Kind! You know the drill.

See you soon!

In the Workroom Recap : Week 308

Another week over already if you can believe it! It went by extra fast but I still managed to get a big chunk of the restock done for Kid Icarus in Toronto while still keeping up with regular orders and One of a Kind Show prep! (In other words, tons of cutting! There are parts of things everywhere around here lately!)

These little faces though are for my little owls as well as my iPhone sleeves so I plan to bring a stack of these when I go away next week so I can try to keep up with stocking things for One of a Kind show (which I know will be here before I know it!). But for now, I've been moving along with the restock for Kid Icarus before heading out of town next Wednesday!




(Creepy mug!)



24 little owlings all ready to go to Toronto! - as soon as the remaining 72 items on the list are ready to go with them of course. Luckily most of the parts are cut and lined up so they will come together quicker than you would think! Luckily I also love it so every little batch of these guys is still fun for me. 

At the beginning of the week, one of my dear friends, Crystal, who I have known since our high school theatre prop making days, stopped by to donate to me her old but now not-used sewing machine which just so happens to coincidentally be almost identical to mine! Needlings has run one Kenmore machine's motor in to the ground already so the one I have now is the back up for that one (which was also pretty identical but purchased new when I was 16 instead of from a newspaper ad from older woman who no longer used her's) so this makes three for me. I have to make sure bases are covered if another one gets sick of the daily abuse I put them through and decides to conk out on me! So thank you so much to Crystal who helped me fill the next back up position with another one and saved me from scouring those classified ads again! I'm so lucky to have such sweet and supportive friends. 



Speaking of those sweet and supportive types, Lisa of Nerdbiskit.com and I had another lunch/sewing date on Saturday where I got started on kitties (after a lunch and latte at Williams on the water in Hamilton) and was eventually able to finish them to start this next week off fresh with a bunch of owly keychains!




The weather was dreary but the pumpkin spice latte was warm and we had a lovely time as always! It's always nice to take my work on a little field trip so I'm not stuck in the workroom all the time! I love fall. I might have mentioned it last week...but you may hear it a few more times before it's over!



Perfect fall day. My favourite!
Then on to more kitty sewing of course.





And the kitties are finished! That makes 32 down and 60 to go on the Kid Icarus restock!

Speaking of restock - I also received my Needlings card restock so that's one more thing checked of the One of a Kind checklist! Hopefully 1000 of these will do the trick. Which also happens to be approximately the amount of things on my to do list! It's going to be a busy couple months, you guys!



Luckily my hands are still functioning and everything is going as planned. So I will see you after another week is over!
This will will be spend sewing away of course with a quick field trip on Wednesday to participate in a fundraiser for Burlington/Hamilton United Way put on by the Canada Centre for Inland Waters in Burlington! It's a great cause and I can always bring some handsewing with me, right?! Right.

See you next week everyone! I hope you're all enjoying all the leaves changing and pumpkin flavoured things as much as I am!

In the Workroom Recap : Week 309

Week 309 is all wrapped up! The rest of week 310 and 311 will be spent out of the workroom while I head out to New Brunswick tomorrow to visit family so this is it until the end of October. I'm planning on bringing some handsewing and cutting to work on while I'm away of course but significantly less so it still counts!

These last couple weeks have been busy ones around here but the big important things are taken care of and as soon as I get back I'll be working away on more stock for One of a Kind Show!

This week has mostly been spent finishing up this big store restock for Kid Icarus in Toronto! The big Owl Mamas will have to be put on hold until I get back but I'm happy to say these are all on their way! Whew. 



I'll see you guys when I return where all that and more will be on the worktable yet again before One of a Kind!

In the meantime, enjoy the rest of your October! I'll see you in a couple weeks!

In the Workroom Recap : Week 307

Hey guys! There's only one day left in Needlings' anniversary month so the giveaway is over and a winner has been chosen! Congratulations to Susan! I hope to get another little giveaway going very shortly because so many of you entered it was hard to draw just one winner!

I also definitely plan on making more of the little kitty-eared girls before the One of a Kind show this December so keep an eye out for those too if you were one of the many people who asked me about them! 

This week, though, I started off with finishing up a fairly owl heavy (shocking, right?) restock for White Rabbit in Iowa City! White Rabbit is one of the first stores that carried Needlings and one that holds a very special little place in my heart because I lived in Iowa City for many years and it's one of my favourite places. As someone who didn't live in their birthplace hometown very long, I can say after most of my high school years were spent there, it is one of my adopted hometowns for sure. Hamilton is definitely feeling more and more like home every year so you can add my current city to the list.

So back to business! Phone sleeves were first on the restock list because I had zero left after Supercrawl! Thank you so much to all the Hamilton area folks who walked away with a new little owl to keep their phones safe!




Then I had to add some bookmarks, pins and Owl Mamas to the bunch before packing them all up and sending them off to White Rabbit! Lucky!



We also set up a new cutting table in the Needlings workshop this week because, with more restocks ahead, and One of a Kind show coming up in December - there were lots of parts being cut and batches of things on the go and not quite enough places to keep them. Problem solved - works like a charm!
Gus loves a clean table too.



On the weekend I got to spend a little time with my dear friend Lisa's kitties, Greta (pictured below) and Rico, (and Lisa too of course) when we had a little Needlings cutting session after a lady lunch date and stroll on James North in Hamilton. I have the best friends! I'm looking forward to another similar day next Saturday - it's so lovely to have a little extra help here and there - I couldn't thank Lisa enough, who supplied the Pumpkin Chai tea and cut a few (felt) kitties for me!




I'll be spending the week now working on a big restock order for Kid Icarus in Toronto before getting ready to head out on a little family trip to visit extended family in New Brunswick in mid-October. I must say, while I love my job very much, I'm excited to pack up and head out for a little change of pace on the East coast! Autumn road trips are the best!
But I will of course see you all before then for a couple more Needlings recaps! Have a lovely week, friends!

In the Workroom Recap : Week 306

Another week over! After my two big summer shows, this week was a little bit slower on the making and involved some organizing, paperwork, planning, and shipping some goodies off to Cincinnati to be a part of the Plush Team booth at Cincinnati Maker Faire!

This will be the third big American show I have the Plush Team to thank for setting up a little Needlings presence. I'm excited to see photos from the event pop up after the show on October 19th! If you're in the Cincinnate area - be sure to go check out the booth that will be filled with awesome plush from plush artist from all over the world! For more about the event, look here: http://cincinnatimakerfaire.com/

Next on the list was lots of reorganizing and scrap tidying so I could get to work on a little project I had planned for Needlings' sixth anniversary giveaway! The actual anniversary is September 27th when I started my Etsy shop way back in 2007 but I was making Needlings ahead of time so the month of September serves as my vague anniversary month celebrating! This time, after a big owl giveaway last year for my fifth anniversary, I went with kitties! And included an art doll of course.









Feel free to enter if you'd like! A winner will be chosen at the end of the month so you have the week to enter and rack up up to 10 enteries here: http://bit.ly/19pspSU Good luck!

I know I sap it up over here on a regular basis but I really can't say how much I appreciate all the support and love I've got through Needlings over these last six years. They have changed me for the better, I've grown up with you, and truly feel like a happier person excited for the future and endlessly thankful for the love I have and for finding something I love enough to never want to stop doing and putting my love in to. Whew, emotions! I'm such a sap! 

But really, thank you.