Been gone a long time...

I haven't posted in a long while, and I admit that I feel really guilty about that. I have my excuses and you probably don't want to hear them...but here we go anyway. I recently costumed another show at a local college (Dowling College), a production of "Little Shop of Horrors". This was a fabulous and rewarding experience. I really enjoyed working with a group of older actors who conducted themselves in a highly professional manner, as well as working with a director who really appreciated what good costuming could bring to a production. It was hard work, but worth it. And I got paid....which was also nice.

Then I did a "Sheep to Shawl" festival where I demonstrated felting all day. This was a fun day, as the sun was shining for a change and I managed to not only educate many people about the range of things that can be done with felt, but also sunburned my HANDS. Yes....just my hands. That is what happens when you wear a long shirt, floppy hat and sunscreen, but have your hands in soapy water all day in the sun.

I did hand out a few business cards and actually got a couple of convo's regarding some of my items which I had for perusal at the demo. Unfortunately, I think that when I mentioned price, it scared off some prospective buyers. I fear that is what often happens in the land of the handcrafted. Folks love the idea of a thing, but when they discover that the thing they love took 26 hand hours to create and (gosh) actually had material costs involved and so will have a price aligned with that fact, they no longer love the item so much. It is tragic, but I won't be a sad crafter who feels compelled to lower my prices just to move that item off my shelf. My integrity is worth more than that....thank you very much.

I am also busy making some new felt for an exhibit at a local library. I will keep more posted on this as it comes available.