My New Booth - out with the old!

No More Black Booth!

Spending a long cold dismal day at the Art on the Mall in Kalamazoo last month, with few shoppers venturing out in the rain, provided me with lots of time to think about re-designing my booth.  I've had the same ole' black booth for 5 years now and have made changes here and there but the black remained.  Well, I can't take it anymore, out it goes!

I've been wanting to get smaller tables that were more manageable for me to use and didn’t take up as much room as the heavy ones I had.  I was also concerned that I might loose a lot of display room if I went to smaller tables.  I decided I just needed to start from top to bottom and do a complete booth makeover; new tables, new layout and new table covers. Oh my!

So a shopping trip was in order; darn it all, hehe!!  Sam's Club had smaller tables with telescoping legs that I loved so I got 3 of them; now I needed lots of fabric to cover them, what was that gonna cost????    Off to Shipshewana I went and checked with my friend Gigi who sells fabric there, hoping I’d find something reasonable for making the new table covers; boy did she have a deal for me.  I wasn’t sure of the color at first but at $3.00 a yard I couldn’t pass it up and bought the whole bolt.   Then I was off to South Bend for new props where I found some great stacking boxes and some more fabric at Hancock Fabrics.  The color scheme was coming together and I was loving the plan forming in my head.

Armed with all my new supplies and fabric, all on sale by the way, I headed home and  quickly cleared our deck of the table and chairs and set up my art booth.   I opened the new little tables and worked on a layout until I had what I wanted. 

 Then out came the sewing machine and I cut and sewed new table covers and also made a special cover for my storage bins too.  Oh my, it was all coming together. 

Even our cat Grateful and dog Kay got in on the action while I worked away!

Of coarse, it was one hot sweltering day out there as I worked and sewed but I was determined and so motivated to see my new plan come to fruition. Would be as good as I thought?

The neighbors were wondering what I was up to and little by little they all had to come over inspect as the day went by. The transformation was coming around nicely and I got lots of compliments from the everyone that stopped by. One lady thought we were setting up for a party!



                    The table covers and drape were done and now it was time to get out all the new props out and begin arranging a new layout.  The stacking boxes are wonderful.  They allow me to use what I want and store the rest if not needed.  My stands and busts look great on them and also add height so customers can see things better.
Even though I eliminated a lot of my old display stands, which I don't like anyhow, and a few of my old props, I actually have more jewelry display room than before, another bonus.


Now I only need only 3 storage bins instead of 4!

I love my new work table that I made for behind the booth! (See bottom photo)  It's not a table at all but I found that if I stacked the 3 storage bins on top of each other that I use to haul my stuff in they were the same height as my display tables.  Is that great or what?  Off to the sewing machine I went to make a cover for it. 





Can't believe I got all that done in one week!

I've done two shows with my new booth design and I couldn't be happier with the layout or the workability of it all.  I even like the color! I'm not done yet and still have several things I want to do, but the big part is done -  the layout and color scheme!

One of the biggest problems at outdoor shows is the wind!   Lessons I learned hard at the Kalamazoo show this year when so many of my displays took a ride down the street. My next plan of action is to magnetizing my tables and display stands so things stay put!  Hopefully with a little help from my hubby and dear friend, Scott Duck, I will get that done next week and have it ready by my next show at the end of the month.  I'll post more pictures later when I get the new stands done - for now come visit and see my new display at one of my upcoming shows! 

The Last PMC Conference...

It’s been two weeks now since I headed down from Michigan to Kentucky for the last and final PMC Conference; I was filled with mixed emotions - joy and sadness.  Spending 3 days with insanely talented artists from around the world is just an incredible treat; however, knowing that this would be the last conference presented by the Guild made this bittersweet.

The PMC Guild was founded in 1997 and every two year has hosted an international conference that brings the metal clay community together for three program packed days of incredible education, inspiration, and sharing. Much to our dismay the Guild announced this year that it had made the decision to fold, feeling they had meet their goals. We don’t all agree with this decision and much could be said, however, I am thankful for the dedication and hard work they have done over the years. 

So after 5 long hours of driving, and a few missed turns, I arrived at the Drawbridge Hotel.   I couldn’t wait to get settled into my room as the photos I’d seen looked so inviting, was I in for a surprise!  The rooms were old and antiquated, OK I can deal with that I’m not a princess you know.   I thought I’d get some ice but when I grabbed the ice bucket I found some sticky red stuff inside & changed my mind.  Off to the potty I went, NO WAY HOSEA!  I’m a pretty hard core girl but it grossed me out and I was off to find room service.  They apologized and cleaned the bathroom ASAP.  So, I figured that was it.  NOT! The air conditioner squealed all night; however it did drown out the large reunion group that partied hardy down by the pool.   Little did I know the adventure had just begun!  Night number two I crawled in bed & was looking forward to a good night sleep but was joined by a band of partying fleas that gnawed on my ankles.  UGH!!  I ripped the sheets off my bed and tossed them in the corner.  I could go on and on, the food, the coffee, all disappointing.  This hotel at one time was a grand ole’ place but not anymore; it sure left a lot to be desired.  Ok, now that I got that off my chest I can get on to the good stuff, the Metal Clay Conference.

I had a hard time deciding which workshops to attend. The list of workshops was OK, but not what I had expected considering this was the “last hooray” for the PMC Guild.  I took a workshop led by Tim Creight and Ellen Wieske, “Designing without a Net”, and I must say that I truly enjoyed this tag team duo and their approach to design.  Not only were they fun to listen to, I gained knowledge of my own habits in the design studio and now am looking into changes that will make me more productive.

Then there were the Demo’s!  I loved the tag team demos!  The “Jersey boys” Chris Darway and Terry Kovalcik were a hoot to watch.  Seeing the two masters of design demonstrating their techniques (Terry using Polymer clays and Chris combination of metal clay and titanium wire) was brilliant and inspiring.  Their demo was great but when I entered the world of Barbara Becker Simone and Vickie Hallmark for their demonstration -  they blew my socks off.  OH MY, what a great demo!!!  I learned so much from these girls who shared freely their techniques and explorations in glass and metal.  Loved, loved, this demo!!!!

Of course no conference is complete without the Vendors room full of jewelry supplies and tools. I must say I did my share of shopping but was very reserved and calculating in what I acquired.  

One thing I found disappointing was a slide show presentation that highlighted jewelry designs by the PMC Guild Chapters from around the world.  Why was this tucked back in the corner of the vendor room?  For years the Guild promoted the formation of group chapters where PMC artists from around the country and around the world gathered in small groups to share ideas and enlarge their experience of PMC.   The photos presented in the slide show were brilliant and should have been included in the last morning session that highlighted just a few chosen artists.

The highlight of the conference is the people!  During the 3 days everywhere you looked, there were groups of people talking, laughing and sharing ideas.  For me this is the best part!  

Kathy Prejean, Me and Paul McDowell

The conference had to come to an end and did we ever party down at the gala bash hosted by RIO.  Do they know how to put on a party!!!!   A great selection of hot finger foods made for a fun dinner along with the ice cream and chocolate fountain bars.  A DJ played music and the open bar flowed.  The food didn’t run out and it was actually good!  There was the photo booth, someone drawing our caricatures, a palm reader and our own metal clay artist, Donna Penoyer, who wandered around on her towering stilts dressed as a cowgirl providing entertainment and lots of laughs throughout the night!  For a few brief moments the night turned melancholy as a touching tribute to Tim McCreight was presented.  His life has been such a huge impact on so many jewelry artists and metal clay artists throughout the years and he will never be forgotten! 


I had a great time overall and look forward to a new beginning for a worldwide metal clay  community!  Let the adventure begin!