My etsy store is open!

A day ahead of schedule, the store is open for business. I've only listed a few products to start but I'm super excited. I have applications for holiday shows due on Monday, so it's up and ready for them in time! Have a great holiday weekend!

http://www.scarletfig.etsy.com/

Productive day!

Well, today was a good one. I finally got some product photography. The lighting in my apartment is pretty lousy so still need to work on that, but here are some work in progress. The images still need to be cleaned up a bit (ragged edges)...

Pillows

Some collage pieces that I'm thinking about having printed as notecards.

Stuffed trees for the holidays

I have a small forest of them in the apartment in different holiday patterns. I am battling with the cat to keep her off of them!

And last, but not least. here's a peek at the website. www.scarletfig.com. I will be selling my stuff through Etsy.com, so once that is up (hopefully within 1 week) I will direct traffic to the store.

Making progress

I know that I've been absent from posting since I arrived in Austin. It's been a whirlwind of activity. I've been sewing and creating like a crazy person and loving every minute of it. There are some holiday shows here in Oct/Nov/Dec and the deadlines for submissions are looming. So I'm creating as fast as I can so I have some samples for my applications.

So far, there have been some winners and some losers. Pictures of everything will be shot this weekend, so I will get them posted soon. I promise.

I've been making some pillows that I really love so those can go in the winner pile. The baby quilts were a disaster. I couldn't sew them fast enough to make production realistic, so they are going on a back burner. I've been doing some collage that I'm pretty excited about. I think I am going to scan them in and get them printed as notecards. I've ordered some yardage of some fabric I designed so am anxiously awaiting it's shipment from North Carolina.

I've also been working on getting the website built and getting my online store ready. I will have something up by this weekend. I'm still waiting on a bunch of materials so it will be a small sampling to start, but you have to start somewhere, right?

My friend Brian has been amazing and has built me the prettiest logo, business card and header for the website. And my new company's name is...

I will send out an email to everyone once the store is officialy up. Again, thanks for everyone's support!
--laurie

Getting settled in Austin

Well, we finally made it! Coming to you from my little balcony here in Austin and it feels great to be back. It's been so fun to get to see my friends and see all the familiar old haunts. And of course all the yummy Mexican food. It's amazing how quickly I feel at home here. It was a scary decision to leave and come back here but it just feels more and more right every day.

The movers were a nightmare (ripped couch, broken furniture, crushed boxes etc...) but I'm no longer seething (I do wish a pox on them though...) and am focusing my energies on making my new home comfy and getting started on my new venture. I should have everything put away once I make a pilgrimage to Ikea tomorrow. And I will be sewing by Monday! Can't wait to get started. I'll post pics next week.

Does anyone have any suggestions for business names?

Ahhhhh....Texas

Finally crossed the state line today and am posting from Waco, TX. I will be in Austin tomorrow! That's an 1800 mile drive!

As a diversion from the trip have been catching up on some online reading. Fun game all over my favorite daily blog reads so I decided to play along.

The Game:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Big Huge Labs Mosaic Maker.



The Questions:
1. What is your first name? Laurie
2. What is your favorite food? Mexican
3. What high school did you go to? Coronado
4. What is your favorite color? kiwi green
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Patrick Stewart
6. Favorite drink? Guiness
7. Dream vacation? Tibet
8. Favorite dessert? Crème Brûlée
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Happy & Healthy
10. What do you love most in life? My family, friends & my pets
11. One Word to describe you. Goofy
12. Your blog: lauriewis.blogspot

Almost there

Will cross the Texas border tomorrow. What a doozie of a drive. I'll be in Austin by Thursday. Can't wait to get there. And the dog and the cat are ready to be there too.

Texas bound

Movers finally, finally, finally got everything loaded. Wow they were slow. Wouldn't have made it through the day with my sanity had my sister not been there to keep me from freaking out. Thanks Wendy!! I'm really going to miss you! We got the dog and cat loaded into my car and I finally hit the road late in the afternoon. I was very sad to be leaving NY. Thinking that I will stop at the Quilt Museum in VA tomorrow. Off to sleep!

Rain pouring down

Movers not moving quickly. And now there's a torrential rain storm. Delightful.

Bye Bye Brooklyn

Waiting for the movers to arrive. Sad to be leaving Brooklyn but excited about what's next.

A nice stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge

Beautiful morning here in Brooklyn. Started the day with a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Clara was less enthusiastic than I was.

Less than a week left in NY

Cannot believe that I have less than a week left in New York!! The movers are coming this Sunday, so I'm running around like a crazy person trying to squeeze in everything 'one more time' before I head out for Austin. Today was a very productive day.

Started at Cotton, Inc. to speak to them about fabric sourcing and 2009 color forecasts. It will be interesting to see if any of the colors feel inspiring to me as I work on additional designs.


From there I went to the Neue Galleries to say goodbye to my favorite Klimt and see the jewelry exhibit. Followed that with a long stroll through Central Park and the upper East side.

It's been so hard to say goodbye to everyone! Rick threw me a lovely going away dinner (Thanks for the Brazilian Shrimp Stew recipe Rick. It won't be the same when I make it. The company is always part of what makes it so delicious!)

And it was so great to see the whole team from Ogilvy last week. I will miss all of you little chickens. Please come visit Austin.

And Renee and William had a glorious, delicious dinner for me in their beautiful garden. I still have no idea how you ever leave that paradise each day.

Thanks again to everyone for all the love and support. It's time to get back on the phone and continue discussions with printers. Stay tuned...

Stars aligned

On a whim, checked on my horoscope for this month. Love it when these things are spot on.

I am off to my exit interview. In 9 minutes, I will officially be self employed!

Strive for excellence this month while contrasting planetary trends can motivation you. Additional practice upgrades your skills and enhances the value of your work. Take the time to hone your talents to their highest levels rather than racing through your duties haphazardly. The extra attention necessary to refine your methods will pay dividends in the long run. You’re a fire sign and you need sparks of excitement to sustain interest in any lengthy process. Fortunately, it looks like those will be plentiful this month, too.

Keep in Mind this Month: Free your mind, open your imagination, and be creative.

Horoscope courtesty of tarot.com