Catching up

When I last wrote, I was getting ready for Paradise City Philadelphia. When I got back from the show, I frantically began preparing to leave for ACRE. The preparation pretty much continued until the day I left for Las Vegas. The blog suffered from neglect. Lest it die from attrition, I am here to blog on.
Before I tell you about Paradise City and show you my booth, here is a photo I found of one of my first attempts at peddling my merch. Taken at Rochester's 2006 Harvest Fair, this photo shows my natural ability to make a pleasing, well thought out display. (not)

I love sawhorses!
I'm not one to say "You've come a long way, baby", especially to myself, but it may be a fitting enough expression. Here is my booth at Paradise City:
I promise not to say "I've come a long way, baby". However, I do think it is important for a person to recognize the progress that he or she has made. Often, we get lost in the present and the future, wondering what the next step is: what shows to apply to, what shows to do, what to make, what will sell, etc. We shouldn't live in the past, or spend too much time patting ourselves on the back, but let's take just a minute every now and then to appreciate our own hard work.

My neighbors at Paradise were amazing, as my neighbors usually are. Here is a photo of Jeff Freeman in his booth:I had been in 2 shows before with Jeff, but never really got to talk to him about his work. I just spent the last 20 minutes engrossed in his website. Pay a visit if you've got a little time. One bit of information that I don't see anywhere on his site is the fact that all of the poured concrete slabs in his furniture have "fossils" in them. He'll slice apart old pipe fittings and ceramic fixtures, incorporate them into the concrete, and sand them down with the slab. (I'm probably murdering the process with my very limited perception of what he does, but you get the idea.) The results are subtle, but quite stunning. He showed me photos of a custom countertop he made for a client's kitchen. There are old knives and forks embedded in the countertop. Apparently, guests are always trying to pick them up off the counter, which makes for some amusement after a dinner party.

If I had a more modern abode, and unlimited funds, I would certainly be patronizing this guy. As it is, all I can offer him is a "That's really awesome!", an "Oooh, I like that one!", and the ever inspiring "Your new walls look fabulous!".

Well, that's about 25% of what I wanted to blog about today, but I need to get back into the studio. Have a fabulous day, and thank you for taking the time to read this!