Sleepless in... Portland?

After a fabulously fun night at Kelly's for her birthday party, (also where I left my camera -- whoops), I'm now home not sleeping at nearly 1 in the morning. That's mostly due to the 2 hour evening nap I took after I got home from the Love Your Mama craft fair in SE Portland, (practically Gresham, btw). I'm not one to complain about a slow craft fair, but let me just say this one was painfully slow, like more often than not --more people working their booths than actual customers. Still, I did better than broke even, met a really nice and knowledgeable jewelry designer, and got teamed up with a great photographer to share a booth at my favorite fair, the Mississippi Street Fair in July.

The lovely chica whom I met is Amy Burgess, and her work is beautiful! I perhaps shouldn't be promoting other people's jewelry on my blog, (created mostly to promote my stuff), but I love it, and a lot of it is quite different than my work, anyway. She uses a lot more gems and precious stones than I do. Her work is on another level, and it's worth writing about! :) She had some beautiful pieces at the fair today. Pictures don't do her work justice, but here they are... ; )

The necklace above is called "Joann", and it's actually a lot bigger than it looks. Amy oxidized all the sterling used and wrapped up this beautiful green amethyst briollette as the focal point. I couldn't put this one down at her booth! Jealous! :)

I'm also loving these earrings with citrine and turquoise pieces. Amy handmakes her own beautiful foraged sterling hoops in a variety of shapes for earrings. That's my next plan -- getting in on the hand foraging of sterling. She told me it's actually pretty easy, so I'm excited to begin that work, maybe later this summer. She also had a lot of helpful advice as far as supply web sites, and I'm looking forward to expanding the work I do as a result! :) Thanks Amy!!

Checkout Amy Burgess Jewelry HERE

Another great artist whom I met today is the photographer behind House of Six Cats. Bill is a talented photographer whose work I love, but he's also got a great marketing strategy for his work. Not only does he sell prints and framed work, but he's really got a lot of other great ideas for showcasing his talent. He's got his photographs on everything -- from night lights, to coasters, to business card holders, jewelry --you name it! It's all beautiful, and I can't wait to share space with him in July! Check out some of my favorites below... each photo is available on a variety of products...

Seaside Memory Print (another beautiful through the viewfinder photo...
I've blogged about how much I love this technique before!)

Acid Olde Tyme Rose Art Night Light

Acid Rose Ceramic Coaster Set

Be sure to check out House of Six Cats on Etsy HERE!

Anyway, that's it for tonight. It's after one o'clock on Mother's Day, the first Mom's Day without my Mom, so I'm not too fond of being awake any more than I have to today. I'm happy to report, however, my Grandma was with me all day at the craft fair Saturday... so I'm very glad to have shared some good, quality time with her. My Mom's Mom will certainly do... now that Mom's gone.

Love,

Katery