New Items added to the Shop

I've been a busy bee...check out the new items listed in the Shop:

Craft for a cause

From the Women's Home of Houston Website:

Be Creative & Benefit The Home

Do you enjoy creating beautiful and imaginative gifts? Are you “the crafty one?” If so, HomeWorks is for you.

HomeWorks gives volunteers and friends the opportunity to create custom gift baskets, boutique items and specialty foods. These exceptional gifts are sold at corporate and church fairs and auxiliary events. All proceeds benefit The Home and support our growth.

Every Thursday of the month, this group meets at 607 Westheimer. A willingness to help others and have fun is all that’s needed. Everyone works on the same project, and instruction is available. And if you want to help, but making crafts isn’t one of your strengths, positions are also available on our “sales” team at local shows and bazaars.

The Women's Home of Houston was founded in 1957 as a part of the United Way charity group. Residents live in the either the Home's dormitory, one of four transitional houses, or "A Room of Her Own Apartments." Also on campus is a non-denominational chapel, the administration offices, the Life Learning Center and the Cottage Thrift Shop. Residents of the Women's Home receive clinical care (including a substance abuse program) and vocational training.

For more information about the Women's Home, or to donate or join, visit their website, email them, or call 713.521.3150. To apply to be a part of the HomeWorks program, or to donate goods or services to their fashionable and crafty charity events, contact Marcia Tapp, Director of Volunteer Services & Community Outreach, at 713.328.1975.

Rara Avis to be a part of September's "The Sampler"

Okay, so if you don't know what "The Sampler" is, then here's the quick rundown. You make stuff, you send stuff to The Sampler, the Sampler sends you a great little package of handmade goodies and information. Even if you don't make stuff, you can still subscribe for a small fee. Then you just get to sit on your couch and wait for your package of goodies. How cool is that??

I decided to participate for the September package. I'm sending in 50 pair of medium charm hoops (Made of brass... You want gold? Go buy it!) from my EUTECTIC line, so if you subscribe, you may be one of the lucky people that get my sample. I'm planning on continuing to send in stuff (maybe a charm for the hoops next time, or a handmade holiday card), so stay tuned.

Cheers.

Order up!

Thought I'd brag a bit on who else...me! Here's my first order packed up and ready to go out to Hella Good. If you haven't been by their shop, take a peek. They have some REALLY cute indie stuff.Or you could wait until the end of next week to visit (b.c my stuff will be there ready for you to buy!). Cheers.

Resources for networking

I've recently joined two online community sites that have helped me find new Houston artists and crafters to post about. Here's the info:

Spacetaker.org
This online community for Houston artists lets you build a free profile and link back to your website. Free is good, linking is good...this site is just plain good!! I've found so many cool people from this site, I can't wait to post about them!

I really like two things about this site.

1. You can browse by artist TYPE (i.e. jewelry, art car maker, chef, musician...). And they include all kinds of art types, not just visual. good for us who aren't considered typical "artists."
   
2. It has an awesome calendar to which you can post your events and openings. People looking for art in Houston can see where you're going to be. How cool is that?

Here's a link to my profile if you want to see what one looks like.


TalentDatabase.com
The title says it all...this is a database for talent. Photographers, musicians, models, designers, and artists can create free profiles and network. I found Marilyn Cassidy and Sophisticated Bitch there, and I've got a few more people to post about coming up. You can search by city and by type, which is neat. Plus, they let you put up a lot of artwork.

Networking is an important part of the DIY and indie communities. Since our advertising budgets are generally low, we have to create our own buzz and followings. Putting profiles out there is one way to do it.

Now get busy and go network! :) Cheers.

A little "Mintd" with your tea today?

Browsing around the www, I came across a community/shopping site called Mintd. It's a place that designers and crafters can put up a profile and sell their stuff. It's more specialized than Etsy, and you actually have to pay for more than 3 images (I'm cheap...I only have 3), but it's a place to go to get the word out. Signing up is free, and the commission they charge won't put you out entirely (especially if you price your stuff correctly!).

I did a search for Houston designers, and I came up with a few profiles for jewelry, stationery, accessories, and other cute stuff. Some of them didn't have stores, but if you click the previous link to the search, you'll see all the listings.






Now go shopping! Cheers.

Updates for "a rare thing"

I've added a couple of new things to the sites...just thought I'd let everyone know:

• Stumble It! - If you like a post or an artist that you see, "Stumble It!" Let's get this PR monster going!
• RSS Feed - You can now subscribe to my RSS feed by clicking the button on the top left corner of the blog. Now you can have your news delivered. I use Bloglines to read my Feeds.

More to come, I'm sure, but I thought I'd point these out for now. I promise to post about a Houston artist soon (scout's honor). I've been working my own PR monster lately and am all blogged out. :P

Happy 4th of July! Cheers.

Absolutely smashing, dah-ling!

EUTECTIC handcrafted jewelry is now available at Smashing Darling, a marketplace for clothing, accessories, vintage wares, and jewelry made by up and coming indie designers. Yea, me!

Now go shopping! :)

Four Eyed Monsters

You gotta watch this film. It's 71 minutes long, so pause it and let it load a bit before you view. Go surf their website for a while and then pop some popcorn, prop up your feet, and enjoy.

Join Spout | Buy DVD | Watch Video Podcast | Get Code

These guys aren't from Houston, but I posted anyway because I think this film is important. It will speak different messages to everyone who watches. I left my feedback as a comment. Let me know what you think too.

Cheers.

T-minus one month and counting...new website for EUTECTIC to launch soon

It's alive, it's ALIVE...well, almost. I hope to soon have up the website dedicated to my jewelry line, EUTECTIC. I'm working with a company called i4vision to produce my website and shopping cart, and we're hoping that the site will be done by mid-July. Here are a few screen shots from the proposed design that I created:




If you'd like a sneak peak at some of the designs in the Signature line, check out my Flickr page. I'm in the process of sending out the press kits and information to local boutiques, so that's why I haven't been posting so much. And I was in vacation in Florida last week (where they don't believe in high speed internet), so I was deprived of my technology! Ah well...

Back to work! Cheers.

The grass really is greener on the other side

I like to shop, mostly because it gives me the opportunity to find new designers and boutiques. While doing my daily hunt for cool stores in Houston, I came across greener grass design and gift, a web-based Houston boutique that has both a clean, crisp look and a great stock of unique and nifty items (both big +'s in this surfer's notebook).
"Rather than support the further standardization of design, we want to seek products which
can have added value, be beautiful, functional and have lasting significance," states the authors in the "About Us" page of the site. The site has stuff for your home, your pet, your kids, and you; the products range from just the plain weird "Cube Clock" to eco-friendly organic cotton "Onsie and Beanie" set.

My favorite pieces on the site are the "Fireplace for the Tabletop" by Carl Mertens and "Eddie's Cat Room" by The Pet Project.

Happy Shopping. Cheers.

Eureka...Eutectic??

It's alive...it's alive!! I've finally launched my jewelry line, Eutectic. Trying to be both webmeister and artist and designer is tough, so it's still in the beginning stages. I hope to have everything up by the end of the month in time for my "coming out" party (basically me and my husband watching TV...just a normal day).
I will also have the Etsy store updated fairly soon...that way you can buy the pretty things!

Great handmade goodies...for free!

Much like the Sampler, the Happily Handmade Giveaway is a great way to discover new designers and to get some pretty nifty stuff. But it's one step better...it's free! Each quarter, 50 + 1 grand prize winners are chosen from a random drawing of entries to receive a basket of all sorts of handmade goodies.

Their site has links to all past and present contributors, so go check them out and enter the contest through one of the sponsor sites (you can't do it directly from their site). You might uncover a great new designer along the way.

Cheers.

Sites I love to surf

Here are my top favorite sites right now (today, at this instant...they may change later):

Blogs:

• Oh Joy! - a blog about a girl named Joy and what she finds interesting and pretty
• WhipUp.net - a blog about handcrafted stuff from all over
• Design Sponge - a blog all about design...store fronts, magazines, fashion, art, etc.
• Cupcake Bake Shop - recipes, photos, and everything cupcake. Diet..what diet?

Shops:

• Elsewares - recycled, indie, and handcrafted furnishings, clothing, paper goods, and other fun stuff
• Branch Home - everything here dedicated to sustainable living. Go on, plant a tree.
• Unsung Designers - Mostly clothes, but some acessories and wares from indie artists
• Stars and Infinite Darkness - ditto the Unsung description

And that's it for this particular moment in time. Go check 'em out.

Cheers.