NYC Skyline lamp donated to help Education

This Monday I am proud to be a part of the charity event hosted by the Children's Movement for Creative Education.   I have donated one of my handpunched NYC Skyline lamps to the silent auction to raise money for this non-profit, non-denominational, tax-exempt organization that helps children overcome the upheavals in their lives through art and education.   By being better informed about world events and other cultures children connect their individual lives to the larger world community.

To donate or purchase a ticket to the event, click here.

I hope my little piece of New York City will raise a little bit of money for this great cause!

Selling warpeDesign in stores

Selling at craft shows is tough.   You're lucky if it is only a 9 hour day... on a weekend.   It's lots of standing.   And I don't always eat too healthy.   (Those darn cupcake & chocolate booths are my doom!)

As an alternative, I've started looking for some bricks & mortar locations where I can vend warpeDesign.   It's great for customers who need to think about a purchase.  They don't have that worry that the item they want wont be there tomorrow (hehe... unless it sells!).   I know this is especially true for the lamps.  It's hard to buy one at a show.  You want to make sure it fits your decor... and your budget.   I'm all for making good decisions with your money and your home.   By getting my products into a few select places, I hope to give you the opportunity to take that time.

To start you can see the tea light covers at Clay, Wood, & Cotton in Beacon, NY.    They've been there for a few months.   The store is pairing each one with a free candle & glass.   It's an awesome deal.

And as of last week I have lamps at Homebody Boutique in Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY.   At the store you'll be able to purchase a full lamp - not just a shade as on Etsy.   They are running from $120 to $140 depending on the size, materials, and detail in the shade.   It's another great deal.

I'll do my best to keep posting new locations and products as they get out there.   Have fun shopping!

Shows for 2010

So I'm finally getting myself booked into a couple of shows this year.  Yay!   The best part about doing the shows is meeting all of you.   As lovely as any sale is online, I find the direct sales much more satisfying.   I get to see you flip through the boxes of cards.   I see you touch the samples that are out.   I hear your discussion with your spouse/friend/sister/etc about which card would be right for x, y, or z...   And I get to answer all your questions about how I make the punctured paper artwork, what inspires me, what challenges me, and what motivates me.   It's your chance to get to know me.

and then I turn the tables and ask you questions.   Yes.  I do ask.  I want to know:  what pulled you to my booth?  What you look for in cards?  What do you like about the lamps?  What else would you like to see me make?   The information flows both ways and we have a chance to get to know each other as people rather than just buyer and seller.   It's pretty great.

Sooo... .next opportunity for a Q&A will be this very weekend at the Maker's Market.  I will be there from 11 to 6 with cards, lamps, and tea light covers on Sunday, Feb 7th.   I'll be back on Sunday March 7th for another go around.  

Next big show after that will be the Brooklyn Lyceum Craft Fair on May 1st & 2nd.

I will start posting other shows on Etsy at least a month in advance and I'll get my blog calender updated soon!   Hope to see you soon!   To tide you over, enjoy a little bit of love from warpeDesign!

The challenges of booth set up at Gifted

Last Wednesday I had the pleasure of spending the day with Felicity of Wish by Felicity and Debbie from Milk Made at the Brooklyn Flea's Gifted show.   The {NewNew} team had arranged to purchase a table that their members could share for the day.   For those of us with a thin wallet but big hopes, this is a fantastic opportunity.   The challenge was how we'd fit us all on one table!

We're each used to having at least a 2'x4' table to spread out our goodies.  At Gifted all we had was one 2'x6' table.   Which, divided by three people, gave us each 2' square.   It seemed ridiculous.  I know I thought it'd be a disaster.

But it turned out great!   Limitations sometimes push you.   And this pushed each of us to find the essence of our lines.   As you'll see in the pictures below, we found ways to make our products look great while keeping the table top from falling into chaos.

Walking in from the front door, we were towards the back wall by the Lafayette Street side window which gave us fabulous light (which my poor lamps fought against...).

 

Felicity had fun rearranging her set up all day, but she really caught the essence of her fun and colorful jewelry with these pieces.

Debbie and Felicity's work is very different, but since I was the 'non' jewelry person (and the last one to show up for set up...heh), I got the pleasure of setting up in the middle of the table.   It actually worked out well as your eye seemed to rise UP the table following the increasing heights of our displays.

And then there was Debbie's milk bottle cap inspired jewelry mountain holding down the end of the table.   I love that she brings along an old fashioned milk bottle with cap.   I didn't know you could even find them any more!

The view for us was pretty great too.  We had a good angle to observe the crowds and see people shopping handmade!

If you were one of those people... I hope you had a fun time and found lots of goodies!

Mother of Invention is in the Gut

I started making lampshades a few months ago using basic circle wire frames. At it's simplest, it consists of two rings set a certain distance apart with paper wrapped around them to form either a column or a cone. The wire circles dictate the shape as well as supplying the support and method of attachment. Add base and bulb and - TA-DA -You have a lamp!

A few weeks ago I was working with a piece of paper I'd punctured (say that 3x's fast!) with the pattern I call "Melting". It was supposed to fit around a 10" diameter wire frame but somewhere I'd measured something wrong and it was too short! There was no way I could hide a 1" gap. But there was also no way I was going to junk this beautiful paper I'd spent hours creating!

I happened to have a 6" diameter frame sitting out for another piece. I had laid down the "Melting" paper beside it. Without thinking too much, my hands reached for both and began assembling... (The mother of invention must be in the gut, not the brain!) There was a good chunk of painstakingly punched paper I was going to have to cut off for this smaller frame, IF I made it into the standard column. If. If. If...

And that's how I created the Melting Teardrop Lampshade!