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!

Maker Faire - Getting your Geek on!

I volunteered at the Maker Faire yesterday.   What a blast!   The fabulous weather brought out all sorts of people.   It was one of the excitingly diverse crowds that New York excels at cooking up.   Steam punk meets Family meets Artist meets Scientist.   Bonding everyone was a love of technology and creativity and the fact that the twain DO meet!   If you like to build stuff, create stuff... this was the venue to find your soulmates!  

Neat toy for the back yard..

Bust set up a Craftacular in one zone while the others were set up inside the New York Hall of Science and on the lawns and parking around it.   While it was a slight trek from the city, being on the far edges of Queens (out by Shea Stadium), I'm so glad I went out there to see the sights and meet the people.  As a volunteer, I worked at the Maker's Shed and an information booth so I had lots of encounters with faire goers who were all fun, excited, and having a great time.   Get a little taste of it with the pics!

Annnnnddd heeere we gooo....

 

parts....

and what you make with parts

whaaaat???

And this brave soul sat down with Nelson.....

if you could have only heard the noises from that machine!

But where do you sit?

 

 

 

Chariot race winner

Chariot race loser

Chariot still to be raced... wonder if it eats its opponents?

Lifesize Mousetrap???

Want some cheese?

If you missed it, the website has a ton of gems and info.   And, with the turnout and the excitement of the crowd, I feel sure this will happen again.   Keep an eye on Make Magazine and the NY Hall of Science.

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!

The Amazing work of Heather Smith Jones

I've just been hit by a thunderbolt.   It's name was Heather Smith Jones.    She is a fellow pinhole artist.   You can see her work at www.heathersmithjones.com.   She is my new hero.   I thought I spent a lot of time punching holes...  wow!  This women (who's been at this far longer than I have) puts me to shame!

Samples of her fabulous work:

Small pinhole formation, two

Leaf and its pattern

I don't know that I'll ever do anything to match her work.   I certainly don't want to copy it. I want to make my own version of pinhole art, but she has certainly set the bar very high!

Making it BIG

My first commission of a large scale lampshade.   Learned a few things.  Like, these big things are BIG.   This shade was 14" in diameter by 15" high.   My NYC Skyline lampshade is a mere 6" diameter by 8" high.    When I look at the picture of the original BIG shade next to the NYC one I have to laugh.... it's like Papa and Baby!

Now that I had this frame home... I had to get brutal with it and strip off that frightening (plastic) ribbon that was bound around it.   I needed to get a sense of the scale and what was underneath.   This made for a perfect shot of it 'caging' the NYC Skyline shade.   It made me realize, this wasn't just 2x's bigger....   this was more along the lines of 4 times bigger than anything I'd tried before!

But I persevered...    And punched and punched and punched holes and more holes into a strip of paper that was almost as long as I was tall!   The final results were a lovely, sophisticated shade with my "Snowfall" pattern.  At home I could only see it on a chair, but the texture looked lovely in the natural light from the window.

When I brought it to my client and they were kind enough to let me photograph it lit up in their place.   Hurrah!  The big guy is done and home!

He's traveled around New York - Manhattan to Brooklyn and back again, but I think the makeover was well worth it all!

Helping clean up the oil spill in the gulf

You will notice that I've added a National Wildlife Federation "Oil Spill: Help Save Wildlife", badge to my site. I've been looking for ways I can help. If this one little thing gets them some more attention, then I'm thrilled.  I'm also following them on Facebook and Twitter.



I've signed up with several organizations to volunteer down there.   Unfortunately, they really need people with specific oil cleanup/HazMat style training which I don't have.   But maybe they'll train me...   or they need people to do other stuff.  I don't care if it's filing or cooking for the crews.  If I can free up one person with the proper training by doing that sort of work, then it's worth it.

I'm on hold for the moment...   so I'm on the look out for other options.    I've been flipping through sites like The Bargainist for more ideas.  I know there isn't a human around who doesn't get nauseas when they see the pictures.  Or even worse, feels helpless.   Sending $10 just doesn't seem enough...   but it's a start.

ABC News coverage of the NewNew on Governors Island

Yesterday we gathered on the island to meet and greet the press and get the word out there about our Treasure Chest opening this weekend.    We were all thrilled to have ABC news come out to do a piece on our little shop.   Check it out!

Discover the local treasure chest on Governor's Island