The one where I am inspired by artists at the New York international gift fair

I'm back from New York, the gift fair was pretty great. 3 whole days of 9 hours of shopping and I did not even finish looking. I blame it on the handmade section and all of the super creative and talented artists there. I spent way too much time studying every little detail that the collage artists, and other artists put into their work. Amazing. These photos are from all different artists. It's kinda like they raided my shop for all of the little vintage goodies used.

It was so inspiring, and I realized I need to take the shop in a different direction. Not away from what it is now, but more towards my original goal of handmade art and lots of my own art. I always have so many ideas bouncing around in my head, and lists of projects to work on, and I know I have all of the materials needed to incorporate into my designs. I have been amassing them forever, with stashes of paper and tidbits of fun that aren't much on their own, but will someday be a special work that hopefully will go to a good home and make someone happy every time they see it.

The above collage is by an artist in Fredericksburg named Joni Ulman Lewis. She had a great one titled "harold and the purple crayon" that I loved.
This "ladder" collage and the clock beneath it are by Debra Dressler, from Minnesota. She was so into her work, every little part had so much meaning to her, and every piece was like her child. The bingo clock and 3 other super cool clocks should be here in the next couple of weeks. Below is a wonderful collage by Clare Goddard, from Finland. I loved her work so much and she had hundreds of collages to look through. Sadly I had to step back and not take any, because I just couldn't shell out what they really were worth.
This page below is by Kim Smith, a San Francisco artist. I have some great collages and artwork in cute metal frames on ribbon by her coming in. She also wrote a book filled with pages just like this with the best stories. This chick is funny and a great writer.Below is a diorama by Christine originals. She makes many of the teeny tiny people and objects and mats and frames them beautifully. I only purchased one of these, so far, called "leaving home". It's black and white, with a young girl headed down a long road, and her dog by her side. I have no idea why it made my cry and I had to have it.

I am super stoked about this artist. She used to live in San Francisco and now resides in Vermont. I've ordered some amazing handmade dishes and vases and can't wait to get them in! You'll have to wait until they are here to see the artist, a good shopowner has to protect her sources :)

Last but not least another San Francisco artist who makes jewelry from recycled items, like bingo balls, guitar picks, and pocketwatch keys. Amy Pfaffman is super cool, and I'm excited about ordering some stuff from her, some for you, and some for me.