I FINALLY remembered to take my camera with me on a visit to my newest business venture with MissNissCraftworks!  As you can guess by the title, I have stepped into the brick and mortar world of selling goods.  The more I grow and learn as an artist and seller the more I realize that connecting to my local community is necessary for success.  It may have its trials, but in the end my customers know who I am and what I'm all about.

The place I chose to begin my journey is the Quad Cities Food Hub which is located in the Freighthouse on the river in downtown Davenport, IA.  The reason?  I have a strong connection to their mission statement:

"To support local food production, connecting producers and consumers; cultivate education and training programs; preserve and expand sustainable agriculture; foster local economic development; and promote healthy lifestyles through use of local foods, including underserved individuals and communities."

While I do not sell food at the food hub, homesteading with these values is another part of my life.  I feel the match was a perfect fit in mindset and product.  I'm beginning with selling my garden inspired flower bathroom and kitchen goods.  The Food Hub is more than just food, local goods like mine are supported there as well.

Another beautiful thing about consigning with the Food Hub is that I have the opportunity to provide educational experience and do meet and greets with MissNissCraftworks.  This is something I haven't been able to do in the past and am excited for the opportunity.

So, here's to new adventures and a positive experience!  Head down to the Food Hub anytime to get one of my flower inspired, hand made washcloths or scrubbies for your kitchen or bathroom!  They are a wonderful addition to any home and are a treat to use.

Good Morning, all!

At least, I hope your morning is going well.  Mine is fairly quiet and a lovely change from this last weekends bustle at the craft show.  The rhubarb festival didn't go quite as planned, but it was a learning experience.  I met a few nice people and got to try rhubarb soda, so not all was lost.

But, enough about that!  What I really wanted to share with you today is the apron I sewed myself for craft shows.  I was getting a little tired of not having my money very accessible, not having pens and paper on person, and simply not being hands free! 

I looked for a few examples of 'vendor aprons' and 'utility aprons' online and came up with my own little pattern that fit my style and would show off my sewing and embroidery skills.

The very first thing I did was to embroider my logo onto fabric.  I chose a natural color muslin to do it.  I like the sandy look and the fabric has lose enough fibers to create a small cross hatch which helped me keep things even.  Here's the finished product below

I actually had another vendor comment on my apron the day of the show.  She liked it and I let her know I did it all myself with the embroidery done by hand.  She was floored.  I was floored that she was floored!  She was surprised that it was done by hand and showed her husband, too, saying "You know that $1300 machine I just bought for embroider?  Well, she did it herself by hand!"  I admit, I'm happy with the way it turned out.  It's not absolutely perfect, but it's well done.

The next thing I did was picked out a couple other fabrics to compliment my logo and reflect my personality.  I chose a cute pink polka dot pattern fabric that was as close to my color palette as possible and a neat gray wood pattern fabric to connect with my love of nature.

For the rest, I knew I wanted a big pocket in the back and several little ones in the front.  The large one would allow me to store larger items and the smaller pockets could hold pens, paper, and business cards.  I backed the whole apron with the gray and used the pink to create a long ribbon tie.

I found that this apron style to be very useful in addition to be attractive to wear.  If you're someone who sells at craft shows or even farmers' markets you definitely need one of these!  I am contemplating sewing more aprons in the future, so keep your eye out if you'd like one from me someday!  :)

It's officially strawberry season here!  That means I get to pair strawberries with all sorts of foods with our meals.  Breakfast, dinner, and supper -- strawberries will be there. 

As the harvest increases, I will also be preserving, freezing, and dehydrating our little red gems.

Strawberries also mean inspiration!  So, I crocheted up a few lovely strawberries in celebration of the crop harvest.  I based them off of the light bulbs I do for Christmas, added yellow yarn for seeds, and a small green topper of leaves.  I've only made up a small batch with a basket that I'll have for sale at the Rhubarb Festival on June 6th. 

Later on I may offer the pattern to you as well.  :)  For now, I'm busy preparing myself for the next show.

Enjoy the eye candy!