I’m very excited and have tons of new books available.

I’ve been working on some very small daily books that will only be available at the show!

. . .

Tomorrow I will be at the 37th Annual Heritage Craft Fair.

It will be held at Keefe Technical High School

in Framingham, MA from 10 am to 4pm.

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You can view the rest of my show schedule here.

Hope to see you there!

I only had one color of thread.

White.

Easy, simple, and a necessity.

. . .

As time went on,

I started to experiment

with various different binding styles.

I found exposed bindings

to be my favorite.

So, I found myself  in need

of various colors of thread.

. . .

One grew to three.

Three grew to ten.

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Now, my collection has grown

to 33 different colors.

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Oh my.

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a wonderful sewing and fabric store in Whitman, MA.

They’ve been around since 1919,

and have a fantastic assortment of fabrics and supplies.

They even repair sewing machines!

. . .

I needed some new buttons for my books,

and boy did they have a selection.

Racks upon racks of buttons and a bin full of miscellaneous ones!

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The same sign that’s probably been there since they opened.

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Sewing machines in the front window.

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Bucket of buttons!

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My loot!

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Take a look if you’re near by!

I’m leaving on a trip Friday

to visit family I have not seen in years.  I’m very excited.

So, I wanted to get the shop well stocked before I left.

. . .

I’ll post here again when it’s all said and done,

but for now I leave you with some more photos of my new iPhone case!

(Far superior to those of last night that I shot basically in the dark.)

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See you soon!

Cut paper. Fold paper. Put paper in nipping press. Punch holes in paper.

Cut leather.  Punch holes in leather. Sew books. Put buttons on books.

Photograph books. Post books to Etsy. Pack books. Mail books.

. . .

I’m usually doing one of those things.

Every once in a while I come across a day where there isn’t too much to do.

I’m either waiting for a shipment of paper or leather or just everything has been done.

. . .

Today was a bit of a day like that. So, I began to experiment.

. . .

Here’s a little background:

Most of the time when I go out and see something that I like in a store,

90% of the time I don’t buy it.

Most often these four words come out of my mouth: ”I could make that.”

This usually happens because the item is too expensive for my budget.

It also happens because I’m crazy, and actually think

that I could probably, at least sort of, figure out how make it.

(And it helps me not spend as much.)

. . .

Most often I forget about these things that I could potentially make, and move on.

Today, I decided to make one of these things.

I wanted to make a little case for my iPhone.

. . .

Well, after three tries, I finally came up with this:

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Now I know why things cost money.

. . .

Today I am the featured artist on Handmade News,

a blog about handmade art and the artists that create them.

. . .

Please go here and vote for my article!

If I get over 23 votes, I get on the front page!

Just click on the green thumbs up right above the comments section.

. . .

Thanks!

to everyone that came out

to Holly Hill Farm yesterday.

. . .

The day was a stunning success,

and I could not have asked

for more at my first show!

. . .

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Photo of my booth

with Mark guarding the books!

. . . . .

Here are some installation views from my final critique.

More updates once the show is installed!

Enjoy!

The pledge: I pledge to buy handmade for myself and my loved ones, and request that others do the same for me.

The website: http://www.buyhandmade.org/

I believe that the idea of a handmade life is a great one.  I think that handmade brings an intimacy between the buyer and creator that cannot be achieved with mass produced items.  I’m excited for this new year and can’t wait to get my new etsy shop filled with books and other great things!

Happy making my friends!