I thought maybe I should blog about something other than cats . . .

I'm trying to write more about my creative process. I really don't know what to say when people ask me questions about my where I get my inspiration. I have so say something, so my closest truth is that I just get inspired by the vintage objects themselves. I'm drawn to certain odd bits and bobs, detrius, flotsam and jetsam. For example, my dream vacation would involve a trip to Dead Horse Bay.

Romantic, no?

Here's my last vintage score. When I get a batch of new (old) objects, I get inspired. I posted this batch on flickr, and added notes on all of the objects. If you're interested, check it out.

People seem to really enjoy visiting my studio - ooohing and aaawwing over my curated collection of objects. My cabinet of curiosities.

I might possibly take it for granted. But if I think about it, it really is my retreat, my working space, and my wonderland.

Sometimes, around the holiday season, it looks like a craft fair bomb went off...


And sometimes it is actually, mostly clean . . .



Sometimes I'll take photos of works in progress . . .



Sometimes I find weird thing on the street outside my studio door . . .



Sometimes there is a magical rainbow outside my studio window . . .



My studio is where I get to hang my kitchy art . . .



Sometimes I'll wait on the corner for taxi (to take me to a market) with all my gear and my trusty companion "Justy."



Yeah. I guess I am pretty lucky. Now if only I had a studio cat . . .

The great Studio clean up - again!

For those of you following along, you may remember the big studio clean up of last year, right around this time. It went from looking like this - to this.

Nice, right? Well, I had the opportunity to move my studio next door to a slightly larger space with a storage closet so I jumped on it. Last August. And I haven't organized it since! So - get ready for the great studio clean up of January 2010! Here's the before photos. Yes, I have been working in this messy space since August! I'll post the "after" photos soon. (hopefully!)

My commute . . . full of kitties . . .

I just got back from New York and Toronto - a business trip to rummage and pillage all the vintage stock I could find. I stayed in the West Village in New York and it seemed like everyone has dogs there. I do really like dogs, but I really really LOVE kitties. It's weird, but I found I totally missed seeing cats while I was in New York.
In Vancouver, my commute to work involves walking about 10 blocks. And the best part about it is that there's a bunch of kitties that I may be lucky to see and pat along the way. I know most of them by name, and those I don't, i just make up names for them. That squinty one in the photo above? I call her Magnolia after the huge magnolia blossoms I first photographed her under.
These are the cats I know . . .
This is Mr. Mittens. (yes, that is his real name - I only wish I made that up)Liam - a Scottish Fold. A rare sighting, he tends to keep to himself.Liam's wife, and Mr. Mittens mom.
This is Bishop. I just photographed him today smiling in the sun. As we were chatting, another kitty-friend came round and flopped down.Then they had a little cat-fight. Then they were friends again.
This is Dom. You'll see him roaming around on Main St. Sometimes I invite him up to visit my studio. Lucky me!

A clean studio!

I managed to get it all cleaned up in time for the interview yesterday! It should air April 9th, 2009. I totally had to set up a display for the camera, hence the banner and jewelry on display. This will eventually come down... but I will be keeping the new type case organization methods. I had these old type cases kicking around my condo for ages and I can't believe I didn't think of this before!

Check out more studio photos here.

Messy Studio

I've always admired artisans who have a clean, lovely, organized studio.
Since I have had my studio (3 years) I have always shared half of it, leaving me squished into one L-shaped area. So my creating table more often than not looks like this:

As of January 1st, my sub-letters moved out and I have decided to take the plunge and keep the whole studio to myself. Here's how the whole space looked after they moved out:
Yeah....
I wanted to do a big clean up anyway, but I have had the extra added push of being filmed in my studio for the Steven and Chris show (CBC) on Jan 9th! Yes - that is tomorrow! I've been busy cleaning and organizing in preparation. In fact - what am doing here at home blogging about it?! I should be at the studio now! I"ll post the after photos tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Big thank yous from BuenoStyle!

A big thanks to all of you who came out to support me at the many markets I've done in the last month. (A market every weekend since Nov 30th!)

Now that my computer is upgraded and I can post photos (Finally!) stay tuned in January for The Big Studio Cleanup. Yes - I finally have my studio all to myself and will be posting before and after photos of the major transformation.

You might be shocked by the before photos - my studio is a complete insane mess right now!

Best to all of you for the new years, happy holidays and check back in January for some fun!