alankarshilpa

Monday, July 11, 2011

Craft Fair- Is it Worth It

The Craft Fair – Is It worth It

Craft fairs for artisans are a way of life. You pay the booth fees, mail your best pictures, and then anxiously wait for the passing score. Okay, you pass. Then you e mail one hundred friends and fans (!- well they really don’t care you come to know that gradually, yet this is the rule of the game. You shrug off and do that again any way).

Then for a week or so you worry if you have enough inventory and stay up until 2 pm until your eyes burn and neck falls off. Then in the morning you panic – do you have enough white space! So, you keep on practicing the display on your kitchen table disrupting your family life annoying everyone, and then you make several trips to Jo Ann and Michael’s craft stores brushing your credit card over and over and then get upset with your own self…

Then the final day comes. At the dawn break you haul your tent, tables and all that and get ready for the elbow grease. You put up the tent successfully. Yeh! (By the way, my crafty friends, I bought a new tent after extensive research and it has made us quite happy so far)

Before it all starts

My friend, Kathy (another jewelry artist) and I usually do the shows together. I don’t know what I would have done without Kathy! No, we are not at all threatened by each other; our styles are rather complimentary, not competitive. That makes our neighbor, Ann (another jewelry artist from the next booth) and the others from close proximity pause to think and then they nod in approval. True, we all have unique styles, and people do need lots of jewelry. So now we all feel confident and comfortable and wish each other.

Our Booth is done

It’s warming up. The music is in full blast now. I don’t know if I can take this rap until 6 pm. But I see Kathy is swaying with the beats. A bunch of teenagers enter with ice cream cones in their hands. One of them humming “baby baby…” Is it part of this same song? I can’t tell.

All these happy humming, swaying, people laughing and having good time kind of bring a positive mood in me too, they wash away my doubts and I am kind of liking this punk rock or whatever...

Kathy says, “I am glad that they are not playing country”

They are frying fish or something. It’s delicious and my stomach is growling. Besides, Nina told me I should not miss Bake Sale Betty. But people are coming like crazy. And you know what is sweeter than honey!

Visitors are coming

So we munch on dry almonds and trail mix and sip water. It is not polite to talk with your mouthful and you may have to do that any minute. I am glad things are moving from Kathy’s table too quite swiftly.

You need to take a potty break. But there is a long line even in front of the port-a-potty. So you have to decide to stop sipping water.

I crane my neck out the tent when it is a bit less busy. There are so many vendors with so many cool things. But there is no way I can go check them out. We are all busy with our own booths. So many of them are in wheel chairs selling hand made products. We out source jobs from this country. Now, this is another America I see. I would not have known it had I not involve me like this.

An elderly lady approaches. She is looking for earrings. I think she spotted one. A young girl exclaims “ Nona, this one!”

“YES”!

It is an earring I made last year with a Breast Cancer Awareness bead and a twisted wire design that is actually an error, a deviation from the tutorial instruction I was trying to accomplish. But I liked the mistake and made a few earrings in this style.

The lady asks for a mirror and then with a happy smile brings the earring to me.

“I had been looking for something like this for a long time. This is the best one. I want to buy this.”

I was touched. “Is it going to be a gift?” I ask.

“A gift to mysel"' she replies " to celebrate my first anniversary from Breast cancer. One year cancer free today”

“In that case I give you a 10% off”

“God bless you” she said.

“You be healed completely soon” I say.

She nods with a smile. Kathy and I exchange glances as she walks out. We feel our eyes misty.

“She made your day” Kathy remarks.

After the show, this morning with the morning cup of tea in hand my husband comments – “Boy, you slept like a log “ True, I did. I was sooo tired.

The way your adrenaline flows …before, during these craft fairs …it’s something. It takes a lot of energy, physically...”

“Physical, emotional spiritual…” I add.

Is it worth it? I wonder.

Absolutely yes. One hundred times, for sure.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Champoussin - a charming village in Switzerland

Champoussin is a charming village in western Switzerland. Where is it? Well, you may not find it in an ordinary map but it is close to Geneva airport- about two hours away in car or train. If you find Geneva try moving eastward along the lake Geneva. You may find Lausanne, Montreaux and in a smaller font a spot called Aigles.

You may take a AOMC train from here. This rather tram like train will take you to Val d'Illiez station in forty minutes. Then you take a bus up to the Champoussin village.

We landed in Zurich airport and took a train ride to Aigle. It took us about three hours. The view from Lausanne to Aigle is spectacular. The train track is right next to the lake.

We saw tiny back yard gardens, tranquil lakes with boats floating on them. Then again, even Switzerland has its share of concrete walls and graffiti on them. But I found them artistic.

When we reached the Val d' Illiez station we expected to find the bus at 4:30 pm, but today it is Saturday and there are no school children, so no bus!

We were assured that there will be one at 6:30 pm though, the last one. We were hungry and thirsty. A lady came out of a restaurant to help us out and made us cafe latte and a very delicious dish of grilled cheese on thick bread. She knows as much English as I know French but we made it finally and she made a call for us to the hotel to confirm that we'll reach with the last bus. When the bus finally arrived, she went and told the driver to wait for us. We were the only two passengers.

Champoussin is awfully pretty and tranquil. It is an out of the world place. The little log cabin room where we stayed in was very cute, comfortable and basic. You can see the snow capped mountains from the little veranda and the rolling green hills. It is so quiet here- with only occasional cow bells tingaling from time to time . There is a farm on the top of the hill where they also make home made cheese.

There is no wifi or telephone in the room, but you may find them at the hotel lobby .

There is a grocery store at the bottom where you may find basic things and home made bread. Things are expensive here. Like an egg cost me a dollar! There is also a restaurant, para gliding things and thermal baths. This place is a ski resort in winter time.

But it is equally pretty in summer. The lupins are in bloom. There is a smell of fresh sweet milk and pine mixed in the air. You hear the rustling of the leaves and slow moos of the cows and their cow bells.

It is a happy place with simple beauty.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

A day in Vienna

The ceiling of the Opera House in Vienna- see the 24 k gold work on the ceiling

June 23, 2011- Vienna

Had a wonderful day today with Rinka. Though the day started with a shrill alarm at 5 o clock in the morning and we all had to climb the five floors of stairs, nothing really was that dangerous. After half an hour later everything seemed safe and sound (less- no pun intended) and we all climbed up in the elevator (!). No fire truck really did show up to save the residents in this diplomats’ unit. Any way it was a weird chance to meet Rinka’s neighbors.

Rinka took us to a nice café and introduced me to a drink which was a mix of coffee, chocolate, lots of whipped cream with a swirl of caramel sauce. Yummy. I had a soft boiled egg and roll with all kinds of jams.

We took the tram and came to Belvedere Museum. Here I focused on Klimpt. I love his The Kiss but I did not know so many things about this picture. Gustave Klimpt chose bold rectangles in the pattern around the male figure, and roundish motifs for the female. They have their differences but those differences are trying to melt for something soft, loving… the figures are surrounded by flowers and gold dust. The Kiss is soft and beautiful.

Other pictures worth mentioning are “The Bride”, “Adam and Eve”, “the Meadow “ where he showed how the poppies in the fore ground stood out merging the big tree with oranges in the back ground. There is a picture by Van Gogh- a landscape. He shot himself two days after painting this picture.

The garden is fantastic.

Here you see the inside of the stage of the Opera House - A rare thing. As a holiday there is no rehearsal going. So we could see the inside of the stage

From here we went to the Opera House and we took a guided tour. It is a holiday today so there is no rehearsal and we lucked out to see the inside of the stage.

It is magnificent. The hall, ceilings and the whole place give you goose bumps


The inside of the auditorium

After lunch we had gelato. It was so good. Rinka knows all these little nooks and corners of Vienna. My senses are so stimulated today.

After we came home it started to rain and get cooler.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

My Mommy and Me

My Ma and Me - probably my first picture

On this special Mother's Day I was thinking about my Ma. There are so many memories, so many moments to cherish, laugh about and feel serious about. What message did she leave for me to pass on? consciously and unconsciously?

She was very beautiful and as a young child I used to get awestruck seeing her getting ready for parties. She paid attention to beauty . I remember her saying to me one day,( on one of those morose teenage days) - "Go pretty yourself up" - she even wanted to share her lipstick! "and see your self in the mirror with a big smile" Phew! I said that day. But you know- I found later on - IT WORKS.

She paid attention to beauty around her too. Much before green living became vogue, she taught me - the want less, waste less mantra and to give away generously. She showed me how to pretty up the surrounding with simple things.

She was a great friend, a good friend, my Ma, and when I miss her, deep inside I feel that she is right there inside me. I have not really lost her.

Friday, April 29, 2011

The Help - a book that I am reading

I am reading a book named "The Help" . It is so interesting that I cannot put it down. It is one of those books that you really don't want to end. Therefore my beading, business and other house hold things are at stake.

This is the author's first book and it is going to be a movie I hear. I got it as a birthday present from my daughter.

Lately I did not read much. And I was thinking my concentration is getting poor or some thing. Why can't I just stick to the one I am reading and just finish it? I was kind of mad at my self. I found the answer.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Spring has sprung

Spring has sprung. Look at our wisteria tree and oh, the smell.

I am enthused to create two earring pieces too. The first one, a knitted piece was when I got inspired by a cob web and the dew on it.

The second one - I name it WISTERIA.

I was motivated to do this from Mystic Pesto's blog.

You can join in the celebration by visiting these participating blogs!

Mystic Pesto

BooBeads

Handcrafted Baubles

My Life Under the Bus

For My Sweet Daughter

Thursday, April 21, 2011

What did I do with my buttons?

I'm late, I'm late - I feel like that rabbit in Alice in wonderland. I live in California, so my day starts out a bit later than most of my blog hopping friends. On top of that I spent a whole lot of the day today thinking about the design, then creating my bracelet ( yes, I am one of those last minute persons...I don't want to be...but

When I was kind of satisfied I found the day light is almost gone. Well, still I took advantage of that slanting last beam of the afternoon sun ray on my window sill and I'll show you in a minute what I did.

I started with the lady. I name this piece "She- and her dreams". This button is sent by Cat. It took me a long time to find out what I want to put in here. Then I thought that keeping it most simple, knitting it with waves and waves of dreams and thoughts is what this piece should be all about. I thought of my mom (who has passed away in 2007) as I was making it.

I am so anxious to see what the others have done with their buttons. Please do hop on their blogs too. Here is the list and a short notice from Michelle who kindly arranged this whole BUTTON project.

Here is Michelle's note:

You might also want to tell your readers about the giveaway--if readers comment on any (or all) blogs, they can win a set of buttons. The full rules will be on my blog, but basically, each comment on a different blog gets them one entry. So if they comment on all posts, that would be 25 entries! But if they comment 25 times on Lori's blog, that only counts as one entry! The giveaway is open to everyone.

As always, feel free to contact me if you have questions.

Thanks,

Michelle
www.michellemach.com/blog/

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