Spring Open House – MARCH 2 & 3, 2012

February 23, 2012 | Filed under: Uncategorized

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A PILE OF JEWELLERY

February 22, 2012 | Filed under: Uncategorized

The tangerine coloured petal on top is part of a necklace. The petal is an actual orchid petal that has been treated and coated with resin. A conversation piece.

New images on Gallery page

February 17, 2012 | Filed under: Uncategorized

There are new images on my Gallery page. Have a look see.

I am thinking that I might do a High-Low series for this Spring Open House.
My example is a pair of freshwater pearl earrings that are about 16mm. in size and set with sterling silver. These would retail for about $75 plus. Same or similar design with mother of pearl would retail for about $32. There is a new show on HGTV that is called High Low….Monday nights at 8 p.m. Rooms are designed with higher and lower budgets. It works.

Spring Open House – Friday & Saturday, March 2 &3, 2012.

February 13, 2012 | Filed under: Uncategorized

The notices for my Spring Open House have gone out today.  With some luck and hope, they will arrive shortly.  For the Christmas Open House, a number arrived after the event, even though they were mailed 3 1/2 weeks before the sale.  Amazing service from Canada Post.

New Images Coming…and Spring Open House…..March 2 & 3, 2012

February 7, 2012 | Filed under: Uncategorized

 In a few weeks there will new images coming to my Gallery page.  The image with this post is one with 3 necklaces.  The white one consists of freshwater pearls, then the next 2 are onyx with the 3rd having clear quartz.  All are complemented with sterling silver.

My Spring Open House is coming the first week end of March……Friday and Saturday, March 2 and 3 from 11 to 5.  I look forward to showing you my new collection.  Tangerine is the colour of the year and there are pops of that.

I find it truly amazing that I can add images of my work now, to my posts.

 

 

Quatrefoil….in Dundas…the middle of nowhere!

January 27, 2012 | Filed under: Uncategorized

Quatrefoil resto has been named one of the best 10 restaurants in Canada. A Toronto magazine referred to it as “being in the middle of nowhere.” I suppose that only Toronto counts for location, location, location. And Quatrefoil is excellent. My daughter and I have dinner there every 3 to 4 weeks and enjoy it immensely. Frasier, the chef knows what he is doing and does it exceptionally well. A group of us were there for this past New Year’s Eve. This is our second New Year’s and we have not regretted it….not only the food, but the ambiance, the staff, who by the way are very well trained and know their stuff. Judging by how busy Quatrefoil is, the middle of nowhere has become very well known.
My daughter and her husband joined some friends at Scaramouche in Toronto. This is considered the best resto in Canada…and they were looking forward to the evening. Frasier, the chef at Quatrefoil, spent some time at Scaramouche. Their assessment was, and they are all knowledgeable foodies, that Scaramouche was excellent and Quatrefoil was its match. In fact, all thought that the sauces at Quatrefoil were better. There you go….in Dundas…a world class restaurant! I love this town!!!

Breakfast in Dundas, Ontario

January 22, 2012 | Filed under: Uncategorized

As I posted previously, my husband and I decided to have breakfast in all the restaurants in Dundas that served it. We would go about once a week, have breakfast which was then followed by a walk. In many cases a very good idea.
Generally, I might state that breakfast is a meal of plenty. Most of the restaurants we tried offered up lots of food for reasonable prices. Tammy’s on King St. was our first stop. A well known place that always seemed to have a lineup and specialized in breakfast. It closed a few days after we were there, in the middle of the week, and were waiting in line. No one seems to know why. Our choices were an omelet, with home fries, french toast, and coffee. And there was lots! But we found the food very greasy. My brother and a group of friends would always have breakfast there on the morning of the Christmas Tree Hunt. We can’t go back, it is closed, but then we wouldn’t. Friendly staff.
Next we dropped into Espresso, on King St. at the corner of Foundry St. No breakfast menu, but we were in a rush and there was quiche so we stayed. Micro-waved quiche, doesn’t cut it but the coffee was excellent. We noticed quite a group of what appeared to be regulars. We would go back for coffee for sure. And the lunch offerings might be better. Our next venture is a lunch tour.
Then it was breakfast, at the Valley Grill (I think..the sign is very faded on both sides), on King St. at the corner of Mill. It was one of my invisible days. The owner came out and greeted my husband with a “How are you today, sir?” Orders were taken at the counter, cash only and then delivered to our table. Again plentiful food. One order would have been enough for 2 of us. But….we won’t go back. Again, lots of regulars.
Detour is on King St. and fairly new. It started out as a coffee venu and branched out into a cafe. Excellent coffee always. Here the breakfast offerings were more varied and there were half servings available. More expensive but then better quality. Great atmosphere.
Adelina’s on King st. in Grafton Square between Osler and Ogilvie, was next and we have never eaten there before. Very sparse inside, but in terms of the typical breakfast of omelet or eggs or french toast, it was the better than most. And reasonable.
Our last stop was at Domestique, the cafe on Mill St. We had baked oatmeal with maple syrup which was delicious. The coffee is always excellent.
We did not go to Macdonald’s or Tim Horton’s. We all know what their breakfast is like.
Next…Lunch in Dundas.

Looking back on 2011

January 16, 2012 | Filed under: Uncategorized

Here it is the middle of January, 2012 and in some ways that hasn’t sunk in. Tomorrow, I am off to Greg Fess Photography Studios in Waterloo, Ontario, to have pictures done of my pieces. These should be on my website in about 2 weeks. There is nothing to replace professional photography….I don’t care how good you think your pictures are…. Greg Fess is one of the best. I always receive positive comments about any pictures that I have on my website or that appear in print.

My Christmas Open House turned out to be a successful event. And I thank everyone for coming. I have an excellent group of friends who love to help….they really enjoy meeting all the people who come out to see my work. The article in the Spec. also helped. I spoke to one man who said that when he saw the images in the Spec, he knew right away that he wanted to buy one of the pieces as a gift. I love to hear that.
But I have to say that Canada Post let me down. My question is: What is going on with Canada Post?
November was a very bad month for service as far as I am concerned. I sent a bracelet via Parcel Post to Mount Hope. Tracked it and it was delivered a week after the date shown on CP website. 2 weeks for delivery. Another bracelet went letter mail, same time for delivery. I was worried about the second delivery because the piece was not insured. Then I mailed my Christmas Open House cards…first class mail…beginning the week of Nov. 14th. My open house was December 3 and 4. I started to get calls after the open house….the week of December 5th….from several people saying that their cards had just arrived. Yet in December, I could see overnite delivery for Christmas cards. Last week, I got a return for an undeliverable Open House card. For my Spring Open House, I intend to send out my cards earlier.

As I look back over 2011, a lot has happened but that is life, I suppose. 2011 was the first year that I didn’t do any offsite shows or events. I only had 4….a spring open house the first week end in March, then followed by a studio tour in May. A fall studio tour in October, then followed by a Christmas open house the first week end of December. Along with many appointments and requests, this has kept me very busy. It was a big decision for me to downsize the number of events but I am really glad that I did.
My mother who is in her 80′s moved from her house to a seniors’ apartment. This was a grueling experience, I have to say, taking over a month to accomplish the move. Shortly after this move, her car was stolen but fortunately recovered. So now she is settled and all is well.
We welcomed 2 new grandchildren into the family. Our grandson will be a year at the end of the month and our granddaughter, 3 months. We now have 2 of each, so 4 in all. Keeps us very, very busy, as we like to be involved.
No big trips this past year, altho we were in Florida for a few weeks. We are looking forward to going to Northern Italy in 2012 but cruises are not seeming too appealing after this current disaster. We also visited Chicago and then went to Corning, N.Y. to see the glass museum which is fantastic. Newport, Rhode Island was also a stop where we toured early 20th century mansions that were called “cottages”. The last 2 were a great experience and we would like to go back. Chicago was our 3rd visit, so another city is in the horizon.
Now 2012 is well on its way. I am planning my Spring Open House which is always the first week end of March, and planning is going on for the Beyond the Valley Studio Tour which is always the week end after Victoria Day in May.
Pantone’s colour of the year is a pinky, peachy sort of shade. You will see some of that in my Spring Collection. Coming soon!!

PUBLICITY…..can there ever be enough?

November 30, 2011 | Filed under: Uncategorized

I was very fortunate to be featured, this past Monday, in the “Style” column which is in the “GO” section of the Hamilton Spectator, our local newspaper. Michele Steeves is the editor and has often featured the Beyond the Valley Studio Tour of which I am a member. Artists and artisans are a big part of our community and also contribute to its well being. So this support from our community newspaper is very much appreciated and in some ways immeasurable. Although, I have to say that I had a huge number of hits on this website Monday and Tuesday……much more than usual.
Jeff Mahoney, a columnist with the Spectator used to write about the art scene in Hamilton. His articles were entertaining and enlightening.
Currently he writes a column about the different members of our community, their experiences etc. An excellent read. But I do miss his articles about art.
Carmelina Prete has occasionally written articles that are art related. As I mentioned in an earlier post, she wrote about 2 of the artisans on our tour….Paull Rodrigue, who works in glass….and Scott Barnim, a renowned potter. Her writing is also excellent. Hope she continues along this vein.

It is countdown time. Just a few days to go until my Christmas Open House. On Monday, a visit to the One of a Kind Show in Toronto proved to be a good thing. Some interesting and unusual things…such as pigs made out of old propane barbecue tanks. They were absolutely great. Could be planters among other uses. Small tanks were converted to piggy banks and catchalls. (This Little Piggy). Creativity has no limits. Another person took old tin ceiling tiles and framed them.(Tin House Designs). n Just wonderful! One of my favourites was furniture made out of bicycle parts, metal implements. Sounds hokey? Well it wasn’t. Well crafted and very attractive. Phillipe Pallafray who is from Quebec had the most beautiful metal furniture. Hope all went well for everyone. I did hear some artisans say that they were swamped on the week end. Hope that we are swamped here on Saturday.

December 3rd & 4th…Christmas Open House Here

November 28, 2011 | Filed under: Uncategorized

Saturday & Sunday are fast approaching. But life continues to interrupt my life. Off to the One of a Kind Show today. An enormous amount of advertising has been done this year. The most that I have ever seen. And it would appear that the quality of the show has improved. I had noticed this trend a couple of years ago. We hadn’t gone for several years as we saw a decline in quality but have returned as there is definitely an upsurge and once again it is a pleasure to go. This used to be one of the premier events of the year. I can remember going during the week and facing huge crowds. I guess now with so many studio tours, week end art festivals and so on, there is a lot of competition for time and the public’s dollar. And it is not inexpensive to be part of this show. I would think that costs would go from at least $3000 and up depending on where the artisan is from. (never end a sentence with a prepositon…grammar class). Also an artisan cannot be part of another show or event within a certain radius of Toronto in the previous month. I spoke to one woman who said she brought 1500 pairs of earrings. Amazing!
Scott Barnim is having his Christmas event staring Dec. 3rd as well. Dundas could be one stop shopping!! He has 20% off in his showroom. This continues for about a 2 week period.
Now off to the show!!