News — 30 Second Read

Now that the Xmas holiday season is over I'm looking ahead to my really busy season- Valentine's Day! My paper heart garlands are popular decorations and gifts that keep the holidays hand made right through the winter! As I look back over the years I can see all the different materials I've used to make them, Golden Field Guide pages, National Geographic atlases, girl scout handbooks, sheet music, always vintage and always damaged in some way that lends them to my purposes. But almost nothing is safe from my deconstructing ways- not even my own art work! I made these...

Sunday in Maplewood was a blast! The Bizarre Bazaar 2016 was my best show to date so I'm spending time this week restocking my inventory in between filling orders, 'tis the season! The Shaving Kit bags made from beer promotion banners were a big hit and I'll be making new ones from different banners for the event Drink Till You Shop! the Tierney's Tavern Holiday Pop-up Market this Saturday, 12/17, from 1pm-6pm. This family friendly event features holiday drinks, pictures with Santa, local artists and vendors upstairs at Tierney's. Shop local, drink local, drink till you shop! This year features...

This Sunday, 12/11, is the Bizarre Bazaar, an annual holiday shopping event like no other! Located at The Woodland, a historic venue owned by the Township of Maplewood, the show runs from 10am-4pm. A highlight of this event is the Abominable Snowman who makes himself available for photo ops for a small donation to the promoters, Studio B. What a unique Christmas card that would make! I'll be featuring my snarky zipper pouches including my brand new Pet Pouches line and favorites like "beer money" and "tattoo money". I also look forward to bringing my carefully curated vintage books like...

Selling handmade products online brings many challenges, one of the greatest being product photography. Not only do you need to be expert in your craft, you need to be skilled at photographing your product in order to represent it accurately to buyers through the pictures in the listing. Over the years I have incorporated the town of Montclair into my product shots to show my connection to the community to buyers from around the world. My favorite models have been my daughter and her friends, their energy is contagious and the photos I took with them are among my favorite....

As I look back on my work over the years, I can't ignore one thing that has stayed constant- my use of text as a design element. In high school and college my fine art included handwritten poems or random text, smudged but readable, working with shapes and color, to create the final image. My professional work became product-based, but the materials I use, mostly vintage where possible- sewing patterns, cardboard packaging, vinyl banners, calendar tea towels- enable my love of text. I draw inspiration from artists like Margaret Kilgallen, who loved graffiti and folk art, and Sister Corita Kent,...