Life As I See It

This is what I took to our very first One of a Kind Show. Ceramic shoes and purses.

This is what I took to our very first One of a Kind Show. Ceramic shoes and purses.

It's 10:30 on a Wednesday night and I am mindlessly playing solitaire on the computer. I tend to do that when I get tired but not quite ready to go to bed. About 12 games in I realize that there are so many other things I should be doing. One, write this blog post. I was talking with my business mentor yesterday and it was he who told me that I should get writing. 

The Start of Preparations For the One of a Kind Show

Derek and I have participated in the one of a kind show for 35 years. That's a long time! We started out with ceramic sculpture, moved on to domestic wear ceramics, painted plates, earthenware garden objects and finally metal garden objects. Except for the first year what we showed was really Derek's work with me being the studio assistant. I had studied textiles and weaving at art school and during the mid eighties there really wasn't a market for handmade clothing. At least not for the things that I wanted to make. One thing that was really strong at the one of a kind show were silk scarves. In fact I can remember at one Christmas show there were silk scarf price wars. Bristol board and magic marker signs went up with prices crossed out and a lower price put in. It didn't go over well with management. I think a few vendors had their vending rights revoked. (Nice way to put they got thrown out.) A number of years latter the pottery paté dish made it's way into the spotlight. Derek, along with many other potters made hundreds of them, in fact probably thousands. I never ate any paté so I never really saw the appeal of them but I was happy to make the sales. In the early 2000's (I think it was then) gardening became popular. At that point Derek and I had been making garden accessories for about 5 years. True, dyed in the wool gardeners bought our stuff while the masses passed us by. Suddenly people stared asking us if we were new to the show because they had just discovered gardening. We rode the gardening wave which rose and fell. As it rose gardening object venders came out of the woodwork and flooded the market place. As quickly as them came they left as the wave crested and fell. We watched, kept doing our thing and continue to make garden accessories. Well actually Derek is the only one working in the sculpture studio these days. I have finally found my way back into textiles and after a few years I think that I have found my voice, point of view, my way or how ever you want to call it. I am feeling really good about the clothing that I am making now. 

                                               TraceyAnneMartin                                                  

New business name, new designs, new fabric. All that is left now is to get sewing.

Tomorrow I will start in earnest preparing for the One of a Kind Show