The Whole Package

Please do not interpret my silence here as laziness or assume that I'm being inattentive! On the contrary, if I've been neglecting to blog, it's only because I've been busy making so many books. My friend, Erika, recently passed along my contact information to a friend of hers who happens to be opening a boutique here in Lakewood that specializes in selling locally handmade arts and crafts. They were interested in having my handmade books for sale in the shop and so, naturally, I have spent the better part of the past couple of weeks making books specifically for that.

The place is called Crafty Goodness and they're located at 15621 Madison Avenue. As I mentioned before, they'll be selling handmade goods by local artists and they'll also be offering affordable classes and workshops on different crafts and art forms. Their doors open for business on Saturday, March 5th. If you live in the area, please stop by and support this amazing local business!

I'm really excited about having the opportunity to sell my books at Crafty Goodness. Other than my Etsy site, I've never sold my items at any shows or boutiques before. I had to drop my items off this morning and so I spent a good chunk of time last night working on my packaging, which is something I've never had to consider in the past. I purchased some cellophane bags and used some ribbon and business cards to create professional-looking and inexpensive packaging. I think it turned out really nicely, but you can judge for yourself:

There's more to see at Crafty Goodness, along with tons of other great items from some very talented artists and craftspeople. Go check it out!

Productivity

Productivity is an issue for me. Even doing something I enjoy, like bookbinding for instance, takes motivation that I sometimes lack. While I don't have any great tips to combat procrastination or remedy a lack of motivation, I will say that guilt can be a powerful incentive. Sometimes the only reason I get to working on a project is because I know I'll hate myself later for not working on it. Luckily, I've been pretty focused for the last week or so. I made a handful of new books for my Etsy shop, including some accordion fold books, mini notebooks, and a Coptic bound sketch journal.

The most difficult to make out of these items is the Coptic bound sketch journal. The Coptic stitch is good for a variety of reasons; it's visually pleasing on an exposed spine and it allows the book to lie completely flat when opened, making it ideal for constructing sketch books. I learned how to do this stitch this past summer while I was living in Washington, DC. The Utrecht art supply store there had a ridiculously inexpensive ($5) workshop one afternoon and I attended. It wasn't hard to learn but it is hard to master and it takes a great deal of patience, which is something else I often fall short on. However, based on the way the journal (pictured above) came out, I'd say I'm getting it. You can expect to see many more sketch journals soon in my shop. If you like what you see, please don't hesitate to contact me about custom orders.

In other news, one of my products was included in another Etsy treasury, this one featuring items in primary colors. Having my work recognized is a good reward for getting so much done lately. I guess I'd better keep it coming.