Since I have decided to open up for actual retail next week I have been looking for products to carry. The criteria are:
1. I have to really like it. The store is Oh Wow!! and the product has to make me feel that. Or the artist does. Usually if the artist does, so does the art. My store is about fun and I want the stuff in it to reflect that.
2. It must be made by a local artist. I am putting up bios of the artists with their stuff. I want customers to know the person behind the creation.
This week a few things will come in, more next week and in Jan, Feb and March. Those are the people I have confirmed. A couple of others I am checking out to see if we can work something out. I have met some very interesting people. People who make me smile and who's work makes me happy. I want to share that feeling. If I had the $$ I would rent a giant space and set up a gallery. Well, probably not. That does sound like a headache, but you get the idea.
As I get stuff set up I will post a few sample pictures online for everyone to see. Better yet, stop by and see it for yourself in person.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Expanding
Now that we have the space I am going to be adding gifts to the store. I've also decided to drop the Balloon Boutique part and just go with Oh Wow!!.
Why? Because for years we have wanted to have a store where we sold the stuff that makes us go "Oh Wow!!". We still don't have tons of space, but we're going to fill what we have with really cool balloons and gift items that are unique, fun and make us say "Oh Wow!".
I've started the gift area with things that I have made. Hats, scarves (on sale, 15% off this month) a few bit of jewelry and the things I'm most proud of, fantasy flowers. Those are flower sculptures made from uninflated balloons over wire. They make great balloon weights. Flowers don't last, most balloons don't last, but combine the two and you have a fantasy flower that WILL last.
I will have the work of local artists for sale. LOCAL artists. I have to be able to meet with the person face to face. I know that leaves out a lot of really cool people, but there are so many talented people right here in KC. One exception to the KC part. A woman from Iowa that is still close enough to meet with. If we can work it out she does AMAZING quilled jewelry.
Our main focus is still balloons. Did I mention that they were REALLY COOL balloons? Dan's current balloon dress is still on display, but probably not for much longer. Tomorrow is new display day. Something cool will be replacing it.
Come by to see it!
Why? Because for years we have wanted to have a store where we sold the stuff that makes us go "Oh Wow!!". We still don't have tons of space, but we're going to fill what we have with really cool balloons and gift items that are unique, fun and make us say "Oh Wow!".
I've started the gift area with things that I have made. Hats, scarves (on sale, 15% off this month) a few bit of jewelry and the things I'm most proud of, fantasy flowers. Those are flower sculptures made from uninflated balloons over wire. They make great balloon weights. Flowers don't last, most balloons don't last, but combine the two and you have a fantasy flower that WILL last.
I will have the work of local artists for sale. LOCAL artists. I have to be able to meet with the person face to face. I know that leaves out a lot of really cool people, but there are so many talented people right here in KC. One exception to the KC part. A woman from Iowa that is still close enough to meet with. If we can work it out she does AMAZING quilled jewelry.
Our main focus is still balloons. Did I mention that they were REALLY COOL balloons? Dan's current balloon dress is still on display, but probably not for much longer. Tomorrow is new display day. Something cool will be replacing it.
Come by to see it!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Good Deal
A while back I spent $13 on a single skein of wool yarn. Good yarn can be expensive, but I usually try to find a good deal. This WAS a good deal. It was half off. Normally this yarn is $26. I got a great deal. It would have been a pretty good deal at $26. So far I have made a pair of felted slippers, a felted bowl, the trim on a child sized hat, a felted child sized hat, several felted leaves and I still have enough left over to make a change purse or maybe a pot holder. Keep in mind that felted items are made bigger than you need, so they take more yarn. I bought one other skein of the same of yarn in a different color. Now that I'm making stuff for craft shows I'm very very happy I decided to spend the $$ on the yarn.
I'm a bit of a yarn snob. That's why I have to look for good deals. I could buy cheap acrylic yarn and save a ton of cash - but you get what you pay for. Ever see that stiff, itchy crochet at craft shows? Maybe on the back of your grandmother's couch in afghan form? That's what you get when you cheap out on the yarn. I look for good deals and use the good stuff. A yarn has to feel good when I work with it. Most of what I use are wools and wool blends. My favorite is Lamb's Pride from Brown Sheep Wool. (wool/mohair blend) I also use cotton, bamboo and other natural fibers - I even use a bit of acrylic. just not cheap, stiff acrylic.
I'll post pictures this week of the stuff I have been making. I need to post some on etsy, but just have not had the time.
I'm a bit of a yarn snob. That's why I have to look for good deals. I could buy cheap acrylic yarn and save a ton of cash - but you get what you pay for. Ever see that stiff, itchy crochet at craft shows? Maybe on the back of your grandmother's couch in afghan form? That's what you get when you cheap out on the yarn. I look for good deals and use the good stuff. A yarn has to feel good when I work with it. Most of what I use are wools and wool blends. My favorite is Lamb's Pride from Brown Sheep Wool. (wool/mohair blend) I also use cotton, bamboo and other natural fibers - I even use a bit of acrylic. just not cheap, stiff acrylic.
I'll post pictures this week of the stuff I have been making. I need to post some on etsy, but just have not had the time.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
I feel better now
As I was posting my previous rant happy things were happening and I didn't even know it. I went back to look and sulk, when I found reason NOT to sulk. A customer from about 3 weeks ago posted a review that was glowing. Now I am less sulky. Give me an hour and a cup of coffee and I'll be totally chipper!
Feeling Chipper now, so you'll just have to wonder what I was ranting about. Deleted it since stuff happens and I'm over it.
Feeling Chipper now, so you'll just have to wonder what I was ranting about. Deleted it since stuff happens and I'm over it.
Hwy 71
I live near the 150th exit off of hwy 71. This winter is going to suck big time. They couldn't close that exit during summer, spring or fall - nope they did it in WINTER. So much traffic down the access roads as people try to get on or off of 71. The narrow, barely plowed, no guard rail access roads.
If people would make some small attempt to drive carefully through the construction I would be less worried, but they aren't. Even with 71 down to two NARROW lanes and no shoulder, just concrete walls, speeding and tailgating are still the norm. I find myself going way out of my way to avoid the construction area. If it snows I'll have to go down 150 to Byers and then over to Highgrove before heading back to 71. Fun, fun, fun. That plan assumes that Grandview plans to plow Byers. Otherwise I will just stay home. I don't do snow very well, especially in the tiny car I have right now. It's more like sledding than driving with it.
Kansas city isn't the first time hwy 71 has been a headache and the people who drive it have been a headache for me. I went to college in Fayetteville, Arkansas and my grandparents lived at the other end of the state. To get there I just took 71 south. 20 years ago there wasn't a bypass like there is now. Leaving Fayetteville to go most places south meant driving on the twistiest highway I have ever been on. With sheer drops and steep inclines. Oh, and tractor trailers too. Can't forget the semi trucks hauling goods over that road. Speeding and tailgating was the norm there too. For awhile the state posted a sign at the beginning of the twisty area that said how many people died on that road in the previous year. In the winter that part of 71 can become impassable. Not that I would have been foolish enough to be on that road if there was any chance of snow. I would have rather gone into Oklahoma and then down to another part of Arkansas than take 71 south.
Today there is a bypass so you can skip all the icky parts and get down from Fayetteville to Ft. Smith pretty quickly. If the weather is nice I will still take 71. All the trucks, speeders and tailgaters are on the bypass and now it's a beautiful lazy scenic drive.
This is an interesting (to me) article on Hwy 71 in AR. http://www.nwanews.com/ozarksidentity/story.php?storyid=110
I hope that the mess on 71 south in Grandview does eventually become some glorious highway construction that improves life for people south of the city. I have to wait at least 9 months to find out. It's kinda like being pregnant, only you get to watch the baby being constructed.
I found this on Reader's Digest
Spitting Image
Driving her Chevy Malibu on U.S. 71 one day, Kansas City motorist Robbin Doolin, 31, opened her car door to spit. “I leaned too far,” she confessed to officers. And she landed on her butt. Not one to be deterred by a tumble, Doolin hopped up and, according to an amazed witness, chased her car down an embankment and into a construction site, where she finally caught up with the runaway.
If people would make some small attempt to drive carefully through the construction I would be less worried, but they aren't. Even with 71 down to two NARROW lanes and no shoulder, just concrete walls, speeding and tailgating are still the norm. I find myself going way out of my way to avoid the construction area. If it snows I'll have to go down 150 to Byers and then over to Highgrove before heading back to 71. Fun, fun, fun. That plan assumes that Grandview plans to plow Byers. Otherwise I will just stay home. I don't do snow very well, especially in the tiny car I have right now. It's more like sledding than driving with it.
Kansas city isn't the first time hwy 71 has been a headache and the people who drive it have been a headache for me. I went to college in Fayetteville, Arkansas and my grandparents lived at the other end of the state. To get there I just took 71 south. 20 years ago there wasn't a bypass like there is now. Leaving Fayetteville to go most places south meant driving on the twistiest highway I have ever been on. With sheer drops and steep inclines. Oh, and tractor trailers too. Can't forget the semi trucks hauling goods over that road. Speeding and tailgating was the norm there too. For awhile the state posted a sign at the beginning of the twisty area that said how many people died on that road in the previous year. In the winter that part of 71 can become impassable. Not that I would have been foolish enough to be on that road if there was any chance of snow. I would have rather gone into Oklahoma and then down to another part of Arkansas than take 71 south.
Today there is a bypass so you can skip all the icky parts and get down from Fayetteville to Ft. Smith pretty quickly. If the weather is nice I will still take 71. All the trucks, speeders and tailgaters are on the bypass and now it's a beautiful lazy scenic drive.
This is an interesting (to me) article on Hwy 71 in AR. http://www.nwanews.com/ozarksidentity/story.php?storyid=110
I hope that the mess on 71 south in Grandview does eventually become some glorious highway construction that improves life for people south of the city. I have to wait at least 9 months to find out. It's kinda like being pregnant, only you get to watch the baby being constructed.
I found this on Reader's Digest
Spitting Image
Driving her Chevy Malibu on U.S. 71 one day, Kansas City motorist Robbin Doolin, 31, opened her car door to spit. “I leaned too far,” she confessed to officers. And she landed on her butt. Not one to be deterred by a tumble, Doolin hopped up and, according to an amazed witness, chased her car down an embankment and into a construction site, where she finally caught up with the runaway.
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