Happy Owl Glassworks

Been a while, and could be longer...

2009-08-21T13:13:00.002-04:00

Yes it's been a while since our last post, and that's because hecticness and time constraints of late have been more conducive to quick Facebook status updates than with all-out blog posts. I hope you forgive! We are a mere two weeks from our due date, and recently the doctor told me that I'll be going early (gulp!). I've been scrambling to get all of my orders out, and I think I'm finally caught up. But for now you should become a fan on Facebook to get all of our mini-updates if you're interested. We'll be sure to post photos once the baby arrives! Thanks a million for your patience during this busy time! :)

Cheers from the Happy Owl Glassworks family...

Working hard

2009-08-09T13:51:00.002-04:00

I'm in the studio a lot these days, trying my every last effort to get orders out in a timely fashion (and, more important, before the new baby arrives!). Although I used to wish this baby to come "any day now", I am now hoping to get all of our wholesale orders out that were placed at the show last weekend (retail orders fear not! I have a separate stash for you and all orders are shipping quickly!). I've made great progress this past week...

Above are a bounty of little animals destined to become badges & badge-pendants! This is just one shot of the many, many critters we've been firing. Luckily I'd stocked up on nightlights before the show, so they're ready to ship!

I digress into the bizarre signs from last weekend's BMAC show... at most of the convention center's lady's rooms I'd stumbled across these cryptic signs. Upon further glance I realized that they were maps of the restroom inside... just in case you're the type to get disoriented upon opening a door:

Thank goodness I know where those sinks are located!

I also thought this quirky "don't touch" sign was a hoot:

Hope you're enjoying your August! Now we're back to work...

BMAC in a nutshell

2009-08-04T13:09:00.004-04:00

The other day I mentioned a small part of our weekend, which was the much-anticipated viewing of the documentary, Handmade Nation. Loved it! I've known Faythe for years (incredibly it's been since '04), and it's wonderful to see the result of her hard work. And surprisingly Happy Owl Glass (moi) didn't make the cutting room floor! You can see me make some badges in the beginning of the film, intercut with other interviews. Boy I was young then! Afterward Faythe had a q&a, here she is in all her q&a glory:

Faythe and I before the screening:

The always-fun gals from Art Star before the screening, who were there peddling the Handmade Nation book and supporting the film:

Thanks to Art Star and the BMAC show for hosting and helping out. It was great to see the turnout, Faythe said there were over 200 that showed up!

Over the course of the weekend, we also met a few people who we're happy to call new friends. Beth and Greg, of Freshie and Zero, have the sense of humor similar to our oldest friends, so we hit it off quickly. Also met the nice gals (and a fella) over at the New York Etsy Street Team. And we saw some familiar faces, like Elijah over at Figs & Ginger and Kelly of Biggs and Featherbelle.

All in all it was a great show. We acquired lots of new retailers (always a good goal) and took a few re-orders. We're relatively new to the wholesale show "scene", but we're getting the hang of it!

Philly: looking for our camera adapter...

2009-08-03T11:45:00.002-04:00

It's been a whirlwind of a weekend with the big show and a screening of the film, Handmade Nation. We were thrilled to be a part of this fantastic documentary, and to be able to see the final product--with Faythe, the filmmaker, present--was a treat. Everyone was so inspiring!!!

Unfortunately we haven't located our camera adapter (we probably left it at home, oops), so we'll get photos up tomorrow. In the meantime, thanks to all the people who turned out to view it, and to Art Star and the BMAC show for hosting.

Busy!

2009-07-29T13:04:00.003-04:00

Could anything else be piled on our plate? We just finished moving into our new apartment after a short move into the new studio space. We are now preparing for our wholesale show, the Buyer's Market of American Craft, in Philadelphia. If you're a retailer (or know a retailer) please come visit. The show is open to the trade only.

Below are a few photos from our recent apartment move as well as the new studio space.

Building shelves in our "random" room (very excited that a room exists in our new place!)

Completely unsettled, with tons of boxes to unpack. Love the blue wall.

Our new studio space, though it may not show in the photos, is more organized...

View from the glass area down to our owl sign, where we get orders together.

Our Etsy site is closed down for the time that we'll be at the Philly show, but our regular collection is just on delayed-shipping mode. We'll re-open the Etsy site as soon as we return.

Toddler spy-cam

2009-07-19T10:23:00.001-04:00

We've been super busy getting settled into our new apartment. Photos to come! In the meantime, a quick diversion...

We are now in a 2-level apartment, and Maisy has gotten comfortable enough to head upstairs on her own now. Today she went up there and I could hear her singing and chatting to herself, and then it was quiet. Too quiet. So I crept up carefully (camera in-hand of course), and spotted this:

She was cooing "wash hands, wash hands" and giving her baby a bath. So sweet! It's the simple things that entertain me.

Getting ready

2009-07-09T07:29:00.006-04:00

Been packing all week, and I feel like I'm drowning in a sea of boxes (even though we're moving right across the street). Witness...

But I've also been packing and shipping orders, thanks to all who've purchased from our regular site and Etsy site during our de-stashing sale!

As mentioned in a previous post, I've been trying my hand at re-finishing this little children's desk for Maisy.

It is old, heavy, and formerly very rusty from being left outside for many years. Sanding it down, then spray-painting the metal and re-staining the wood made it a suitable desk for a kids room--or, our plan, the living room...

I'm so happy with this little diversion, I may just seek out furniture to re-finish now! It was highly satisfying giving new life to this old desk. Maisy really seems to enjoy it!

Have a splendid weekend! We'll be back after the short-but-still-exhausting move.

Monday, and the sun is shining

2009-07-06T15:14:00.003-04:00

We had a great holiday weekend, and hope that you did, too! The sun finally decided to shine, which gave us a chance to spend time outside (without getting wet and muddy). Canoeing, swimming, and multiple stops at the playground... good times. Couldn't ask for anything more (oh yeah, and we also participated in a requisite holiday bbq).

In biz news, I've added loads more miniatures to the Etsy site! Looking for a particular creature? Check out the list below and see if your favorite is for sale!

bat (white), bat (brown)
damselfly (orange), damselfly (yellow), damselfly (blue)
dog (pink), dog (orange), dog (green)
elephant (yellow)
fawn (blues), fawn (blue), fawn (red)
fox (blue)
frog (orange), frog (pink), frog (green)
giraffe (blue)
kiwi (blue)
ladybug (red)
lamb (green)
lemming (pink)
markhor (green), markhor (lilac), markhor (blue)
moose (yellow)
mountain goat (lilac)
naked mole-rat (blue), naked mole-rat (aqua)
okapi (red)
orangutan (orange)
owl (aqua), owl (green), owl (teal)
penguin (greens), penguin (sparkly green)
pig (aqua)
platypus (green)
pufferfish (lilac)
rabbit (pink)
reindeer (pink)
rhino (aqua), rhino (orange)
robin (pink), robin (aqua), robin (green)
seahorse (red)
snake (yellow)
squid (aqua)
squirrel (red)
vulture (blue)
walrus (purple)

I have also been diligently working on re-finishing this old children's desk.

The metal was chipped everywhere, from having lived outdoors for years, and the wood was in poor shape. Once it's complete I'll post again--I'm having fun on my first spray paint project!

Vermont weekend

2009-06-29T08:39:00.003-04:00

We went to Vermont for a couple days this past weekend to visit some friends. Gabe has an amazing house on a hill with a huge garden. Maisy has met him before, but she hasn't seen him in a while and she took a huge liking to him. She was his shadow the entire time.

The weather called for storms both days, but we were lucky to have a nice dose of sun on the first day, so frolicking in the grass seemed just right.

The farmer's market was filled with delightful aromas and delicious treats. The strawberries were heavenly.

I was also able to score some lavender rose kombucha (after many samples of other flavors, this was by far the most complex and tasty!). I loved how it wasn't too fizzy or too weak. It was a perfect little baby bear of kombuchas, and now I have a whole quart of it to myself.

We did get rain on our last day, and we were lucky enough to spot a rainbow on the drive home. It was a nice-but-short diversion from the daily routine, but now we're back in the studio building inventory for the upcoming leave that we'll be taking once the new baby arrives.

Thanks for supporting our Etsy sale! I'm still adding more miniatures daily, so keep checking back for new creatures and colors.

ETSY SALE!

2009-06-25T07:22:00.004-04:00

As noted in a previous post, it is our 4-year Etsy anniversary! I am celebrating by putting loads of stuff on sale over there. One could say that I'm "de-stashing"... I have a ton of miniature pendants, and I'm adding more as the days go by. Below are but a few...

I've also added a few small nightlights. These are just a little smaller than my regular size nightlight, and for only $18 they're a steal!

Hope everyone is having a great June thus far. We've been inside for so long, it seems like eons ago that the sun shined. New England is having a monsoon, it seems! Poor Maisy isn't getting her usual dose of summer. Now, off to do a sunshine dance...

Holiday Extravaganza weekend

2009-06-22T16:30:00.004-04:00

What a fun-but-exhausting weekend! Not only was it Father's Day, but it was Maisy's 2nd birthday! Mom was in town, too, to partake in the toddler's festivities, and even gave us a chance to see a film. We chose an art film, "The Hangover". ;) Pretty funny, and Zach Galifianakis stole the show. We saw him perform in LA years back before that highly memorable Dog Bites Man series (anyone else remember this?). He is hysterical.

In any case, the rain forced everyone indoors this weekend. But we were able to make it outside for a bit to check out the Printing Arts Fair at the aptly named Printing Arts Museum. Though I was skeptical, it was terribly fun for us adults.

Inside we were able to watch loads of different printmaking processes, and we scored a couple beautiful prints. One of them you can see below: I chose the "D" for dingbat print!

There was also steamroller printing:

Since it was Father's Day, we were able to make our own letterpress card for the papa of the bunch. Maisy was a little young for the roller, and I even had a hard time, being roly poly myself and handling it with one arm:

As I mentioned it was a blast for the older kids, but Maisy liked the puddles outside best... and following this photo, the recently printed Father's Day card went into the puddle...

Happy Birthday to our now-two-year-old. Times flies.

Stay tuned later this week for a super duper Etsy sale--it's our 4-year Etsy-versary soon! I'll leave you with a few more images from the Printing Arts Museum:

Busy week

2009-06-20T11:19:00.002-04:00

This week has flown by, with lots of preparations for the current weekend and a fun diversion thrown into the mix...

Getting ready for Father's Day, I had to plan around a certain toddler's birthday--which happens to be the exact same day. In addition, my mom is coming to town to spend time with Miss 2-year-old Maisy. It will be a busy and fun weekend, I'm sure (and hopefully not too rainy, as the forecast says).

Late in the week I got together with my friend Tomoko of Tadworks. I haven't seen her in a long time, as she took an extended trip to Japan, so it was delightful to hang out with her. She even cooked me what she considered to be a 'light lunch' but I felt like a princess when I arrived seeing the food she prepared. Sadly, I didn't bring my camera to photograph the spread, but let's just say that plantains are one of my favorite foods, and the chicken was heavenly. To top it off, she made homemade chocolate pudding... you can't do much better for this pregnant lady! We also had a great time perusing the food-goods at Russo's in Watertown, too. Now I know where to get galangal and banana blossoms in the area.

Oh and did I mention that I moved studios this week? Whew. It's been crazy. The place where I sublet is a bit funky, and my landlord required a space to showcase her own work. Since I don't need such a nice, appropriate-for-retail space I am moving to the far, back corner. It's different, but I'm up for the challenge and change. Below, my former, lovely light-filled space:

The empty corner that I moved into:

It's not quite "finished". It doesn't have quite as much character as the other corner, but as I mentioned I'm up for the change. And at least I only had to switch corners, and not studios completely.

Have a great weekend, and a Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there!

And just like that...

2009-06-15T14:20:00.002-04:00

Our summer shows are over. We finished yesterday with our last retail show of the summer, the Mass Market at Mass Art. Since I forgot my camera, I give you their lovely image of the poster designed by Brian Butler:

Though we were looking forward to the West Coast shows, I think we made the right decision considering everything going on in July. If you are a retailer or know of a retailer (spread the word!), we will be participating in the Buyers Market of American Craft in Philadelphia on August 1-3.

Also, I just stumbled upon the Second Storie show via Whip Up. We will probably apply for this, being that Rochester, NY just happens to be one of our favorite cities, and the handy grandparents-who-babysit just happen to live a do-able drive away. Just wanted to share the link (it's been around a couple of years, but sadly we're a bit out of the loop!). We love Rochester!

Hope you all had a great weekend ;)

Mass Market and the loot

2009-06-12T08:58:00.005-04:00

We've been settling into our undisclosed location in the Adirondacks quite nicely, but now it's time to head back to our digs outside Boston. Don't miss us at the Mass Market show this weekend! Here are the details:

Sunday JUNE 14th, 2009
11am - 6pm
Massachusetts College of Art, Pozen Center
621 Huntington Avenue

Also wanted to share with you our deals we got at last week's Renegade Craft Fair! I was happy to be able to get this adorable poster for Maisy's room over at the Nate Duval booth:

Below is a photo of all the loot I scored for Justin and myself...

1. Simple, subtle necklace from Lauren Haupt
2. Men's tee from Black Sheep Heap
3. Super soft "Friends and Flowers" tee from Species by the Thousands
4. Owl mug from Danmade

I also made a fantastic trade from Nora of Sheriff Peanut (I love trades!). Maisy happens to like it, too:

We have a bit of a drive ahead of us today, and lots of unpacking to do tomorrow. But we hope to see some of you this Sunday in Boston. If not, have a great weekend!

Brooklyn in a nutshell. Now we're tired!

2009-06-10T13:02:00.011-04:00

Brooklyn Renegade was a fantastic show in so many ways: the weather, the people, our sign...

We had a solid line of traffic both days. At first the increased size of the venue worried us. The sheer vastness of the event could have resulted in watered down sales, but in that last hour on Sunday we nearly sold out of nightlights. Somehow, though, we couldn't move that last lonely owl.

Our display received lots of compliments – always nice to hear. We hacked off some slabs of cordwood and made use of an old type-set organizer for some items.

There were plenty of old friends selling their wares. We dropped by our good pal Dabney at Mogo to discuss their amazing home renovation. Check out the project on their blog if you haven't already.

Kitty-corner to our booth, Alison Tauber was selling her fantastic clothing line. Tracy's stacked up two of Alison's shirts in less than a month.

We also stumbled upon some great new-to-us vendors. Our favorite was Mandalina Rossa who creates a colorful, fun, yet meticulous line of children's clothing. Fitting considering her own cheerful persona.

We also were visited by some old pals who we haven't seen in a long time. So nice to have surprise visitors! Many thanks to everyone who stopped by on that sunny weekend.

So after a successful weekend we're now trying to drag ourselves back into the daily work routine. Our Etsy site has opened back up, with our regular seconds and one-offs at discount prices. Over at happyowlglass.com you'll find the rest of our items.

Finally, if you're in Boston this weekend drop by the MassMarket show this Sunday the 14th from 11am to 6pm. We'll be there for another round of person-to-person sales!

Ciao!

Brooklyn Bound

2009-06-05T20:41:00.002-04:00

One day until the Brooklyn Renegade and we're so excited! As of today it looks like the weather is going to be decent all weekend long. The past few days have been spent dusting off the old show tent and constructing our new sign.

We're especially pleased with how the latter turned out. What started out as a simple foam-core silhouette evolved into this:

Keep an eye out for it in Brooklyn -- that's us! See everyone in NYC tomorrow.

Renegade Brooklyn Preparations

2009-06-03T10:02:00.002-04:00

This week is geared toward getting ready for the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn. I hope you all are planning on a visit if you're in the area! We always have a fun time at these shows, even with 'extreme' weather that we encountered at last year's fair. Below, a bit of the aftermath...

We're also very sad to say that we won't be able to participate in this year's Renegade SF show! :( We have the opportunity to move into a 3-bedroom apartment, and with the arrival of Maisy's sibling in September we feel like we can't pass this up. Our tiny attic apartment is nice, but it will be great to have a room to spare when the "help" visits (i.e., the grandmothers!). The move-in dates just happen to fall right between the LA and SF shows, but luckily we can still swing the LA show on July 11-12.

We had such an amazing time at Renegade SF last year--it's our favorite city! Show was fun, people were supportive and friendly, sales were fantastic, AND it was Maisy's very first Renegade!

We will miss you, San Francisco, but we hope to see you again next year.

Paper n Stitch

2009-06-01T13:31:00.002-04:00

What a lovely weekend! I hope yours was as nice as it was here outside Boston. With sun and temperate weather, it called for a canoe ride on the river that's just across the street. No photos were taken (someone has to hold onto that water-loving toddler!), but it was a fun, relaxing time. For the writer of this blog who did not paddle...

In other news, we are excited to share that Happy Owl Glass is now part of Paper n Stitch's newest exhibition! We've always been a fan of their shops, and we're pleased to be among such great company. Stop by if you get the chance, and we'd love to see your comments on our work. Every little heart-of-love helps!

Sourdough diversion

2009-05-29T13:28:00.002-04:00

Totally un-glass-related: I've recently started a sourdough starter. Again. A couple years back I intended to try to recreate Cheese Board pizza. While I never expected it to be exactly like their delicious pies, I thought they passed quite well. Helping us clean our apartment that summer before a move was my mother-in-law (bless her helpful heart), who threw out what she thought was a moldy, nasty substance in our fridge. I was so sad when I found out that she tossed my sourdough starter that I'd worked on for months and thought I finally got right. I haven't tried again until now. This starter recipe I got online and I'm so happy I found the Wild Yeast blog. So far my concoction is growing splendidly. View the stinky sour bubbles!

My first thought was to make bread, but I forgot that my stone broke a few months ago. And since I'm too anxious to make something, I opted for an English Muffin recipe I could cook up that night. The more sour the better, for me, so I chose this "tangy" version...

I love how they cooked up! While they weren't filled with nooks and crannies like I'd hoped (probably due to my over-kneading), the flavor was delicious. It's getting humid out here in New England, why not try to start your own? Hope you all have a great weekend!

Holiday Weekend

2009-05-26T08:32:00.003-04:00

Hope that everyone had a decent holiday weekend, without much in the way of traffic or bad weather. It was pleasant here in New England--a nice break from the heatwave that hit us earlier in the week. Maisy even got to play in the sprinkler, which she loves beyond words (or squeals, rather):

I got a lot done in the past few days. I've been stumbling over display for the shows this summer, so upon lots of pondering last week I took a shopping trip to a few places to snag some supplies. I'll post photos in the next few weeks. Since my studio is still a mess, I'm going to wait to clean it up to really dive into some serious display experiments.

I also took photos of some of the samples from my Woodland Pendant series. I've begun listing them on Etsy, and just a few are shown below. Many of them are just one-off color samples that I love, but they didn't fit into the final series.

I hope they find good homes over the next few months! I'll also be peddling them at shows this summer.

Family of Colors

2009-05-21T12:46:00.004-04:00

It is hot here today, so we're spending a lot of time outside, in the shade and running through the sprinkler. We live in an attic apartment so it's not the most pleasant place to be on hot days. It's supposed to be a short 'hot spell', so I'm enjoying it while I can.

As mentioned in a previous post, I've spent little time at the studio this week due to Justin's day-job responsibilities. But that means I get to focus more effort on computer work that I can do around the house. I have managed to nail down a family of colors for the ornaments I'll be adding to my site later this year. At first I was just imagining my favorite color combinations, but they looked atrocious when seen together! That lead me to a nice, cohesive collection of colors that look smashing together:

The plummage and face details will be added when I'm actually working with the glass, but it's fun to play with the different options in Illustrator. I'm still going to make my previously mentioned "favorite" color combos (a few are below), but I'll make them as one-offs/limited editions and sell them at Art Star as well as on my own site.

Hope you all have a sunny holiday weekend ahead!

Blog press!

2009-05-19T12:32:00.006-04:00

Happy Owl Glassworks was mentioned today on Meighan's lovely blog, My Love for You is a Stampede of Horses! Check out the site here...

Her site is full of people and work that I adore--please check it out if you care to be inspired! Thanks Meighan!

One more thing: I am swooning over this little owl:

I can't recall where I first found the link (was it on Flickr?) since I've been online too much lately. But boy, he's cute!

Weekend recap

2009-05-18T11:14:00.004-04:00

This weekend was the best of both worlds--the sun and the rain. After a torturous winter, we have been basking in the sun most everyday--Maisy loves the new playground!

Perhaps we've been overindulging, some may say. Thankfully, yesterday we were given a healthy dose of rain and I was finally motivated to work on re-finishing my nightlight display while Maisy napped (nearly 3 hours!). What started off as a plain, faux wood display ended up being a regal, more attractive place to show the lights complete with its own "wallpaper".

The before and after, below, which I didn't necessarily hate, but I thought the wood background was a bit too light (no pun intended), given that it's for displaying nightlights which will be in a dark room--more contrast was needed. And let's face it, those outlets were ugly:

My foamcore panel and trusty brayer for the paper:

Et voila!

I love how the flocked paper creates a nice home for the lights, and without any sheen, it makes the lights stand out even more. A most satisfying little craft project: done!

Hope your weekend was fun and productive too! We have a busy week ahead, as it's the last week of classes for Justin. This means I won't get much time in at the studio--only the critical runs like shipping out orders and the like. But come next week it will be fun ahoy. I'm already going to start on my Christmas ornaments--not even June! How prompt I am this year!

Cufflinks sale!

2009-05-15T09:28:00.003-04:00

To celebrate all-things-dad a bit early this year, and to serve as a reminder (I know I occasionally forget this holiday), we're having a sale on all cufflinks: $32/pair until June 21 (that's the actual holiday, need I remind you?)...

Shown below are the moose, but there are eight creatures to choose from:

Twist Fair Northampton!

2009-05-14T16:04:00.003-04:00

A couple weeks back we did this new show we've never done before, the Twist Fair in Northampton, MA. We'd heard nothing-but-good so we had our sights relatively high. Luckily it turned out to be a solid show and though the weather threatened rain all weekend, we were spared and it turned out to be a lovely day on Saturday! Here is the booth in all its glory

There was even an afternoon lull where I got out for a walk in the sunshine and visited Liz of Sticks and Bricks:

Her shop was so nice--Liz refinishes furniture and I was all envy when I walked in (have I mentioned my desire to learn re-upholstering and furniture fixer-upping?).

We were situated between two of the best neighbors, both of which we'd never met before. Stage-left was Alison Tauber who screenprints her beautiful designs on the softest tees (I managed to score one by show's end). Stage-right was Twigs and Heather, who make fantastic jewelry--some of my favs are the maple seeds and twigs. They'll both be participating in the Renegade Brooklyn show, so hopefully we'll see some of you there!

Happy Owl Grand Re-opening

2009-05-11T14:35:00.005-04:00

You may have noticed a certain lack of blog postings as of late. We have a few good excuses. Really.

For one, we've been earnestly toiling away at a completely new site design!

As a result of some wonderful collaboration with Aeolidia and numerous late nights of monitor work, we are now the proud owners a user-friendly HappyOwlGlass.com that is chock full of handy features. Some of our favorites include:

> A wishlist function that allows you to share your favorite Happy Owl treats with clueless friends and family. Perfect for thwarting boring socks and discount novels as last minute gifts.

> Gift certificates in any amount! Can't decide if your friend would prefer the skunk or the elephant shrew nightlight? Send them a gift certificate by snail mail or email.

> A site-specific search engine. Need an okapi gift A.S.A.P.? Just type Okapi into the search field and see what pops up!

These are just a few of the extras we've piled on. We're also excited by all of the time this new site will save us on the back-end of things. With its inventory and coupon capabilities we can track our items more easily and setup special sales whenever the mood strikes. Be sure to visit often to catch one!

The time-saving is a big help as we're also working on other things in the Happy Owl workshop. We're excited about the arrival of another little Owlet in the near future to join the family. Expect some downtime from the site around Labor Day!

We hope you enjoy the new site. As always, be in touch with comments and questions!

It's been a while...

2009-01-28T14:29:00.003-05:00

Wow. Yes it has!

Things are going by quickly this January, and it's surprisingly almost over. The sale over at the site has been extended through the end of the month (lucky you!), and following the sale you'll find all our items over at our Etsy site. This is a temporary measure we're taking, as we'd love to redesign the site to reflect the new line. I hope you are patient with us--we're sure it's going to be something good!

I've already begun stocking the Etsy store with lots of items: miniatures, recycled pendants, woodland pendant seconds (part of the new line!), and prints from days past...

We have a big February ahead of us, including a wholesale show smack-dab in the middle. We're also already looking forward to all those Renegade shows this summer! But then, maybe we're just ready for this very-snowy winter to end...

Take care for now!

Happy New Year

2009-01-07T11:58:00.004-05:00

Looking forward to a good year...

I'm having a hard time getting back into the swing of things. Taking time off is wonderful and relaxing, but returning to the studio is difficult sometimes. Anyone else have that issue? We had such a good time over the holidays, visiting family and friends. And watching Maisy enjoy the snow. Justin's dad made Maisy this amazing sled-sleigh-thing:

There was also so much snow that we all built a snowman. Following the photo, we made a snow-mama and snow-baby. The next day? They all melted with the warm spell that came through. Such is the nature of snow...

In any case, I've found time to make a sale on my site. I do this every year, and every year is as successful as the last. I'm happy to discount last year's goods in anticipation of the new stuff I'll be unveiling later this month. This sale will last until January 21.

I also added a bunch of miniatures and the larger woodland pendants to the Etsy site:

Hope you had a Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-22T12:38:00.003-05:00

Well, it's getting to the end stretch over here at Happy Owl Glass. We will be closing our website from December 25 through January 5 for a much-needed break. We will return in January with our annual sale-on-everything. We'll keep our Etsy site open in that timeframe, but may not get orders out until early January.

We are now in the Adirondacks where the snow keeps piling up. Luckily we don't mind getting cabin fever for a bit, especially when there is a fireplace to warm us up. Plus, it is Maisy's first experience with snow as a wide-eyed toddler, and she gets to break in her snowsuit!

It may not show in the photos, but there is over 2 feet out there! I wish we'd remembered to bring our snowboarding gear (though with all the other necessities they may not have fit). There is always renting...

Have a wonderful holiday with whatever you do, and we'll be back in January!

More new items + express shipping

2008-12-15T09:11:00.003-05:00

Got some more new items up over on the Etsy site, including the always lovable skunk (in coaster form).
Later today I'll be adding an express shipping button to the site, so that you can all rest easy (yet pay a bundle) for fast shipping during this busy holiday time.

Also, did you know that Renegade Handmade in Chicago now has an online store? Check it out!

New Etsy Items

2008-12-12T10:19:00.004-05:00

Just a quick note to let you know about our new goods over on the Etsy site. We've posted quite a few things leftover from the Bazaar Bizarre (seconds galore!), including the Woodland Creature pendants that we're making for next year. I made so many of these, exploring different color options, sizes, etc., and I have a lot of them for sale as seconds or samples. I'm slowly adding them, so look for more in the coming days/weeks:
There are also our animal coasters for sale on the Etsy site, available as sets of two:
Plus, "seconds" cufflinks also leftover from the Bazaar Bizarre:
All this stuff is discounted, as they may have tiny flaws (each listing will say why it is considered a "second").

Hope you have a great weekend! :)

News!

2008-12-10T14:15:00.003-05:00

Art Star in Philly has now posted the remaining owl ornaments on their website (I happen to think there are a couple really nice ones!):

Get one before they're all taken!

Also, I have donated to another giveaway. This time it is my tiny dishes to the Paper + Stitch blog. Check out all the loot and comment over on her post if you want to win! This giveaway ends on Friday December 19 so hurry on over to Paper + Stitch!
Lastly, I am humbled to be written about on the inspiring blog, Daily Imprint. Check out the write-up/interview here. Natalie writes about some creative, super-talented folks that make my head spin. Somehow I got in that mix... so thanks, Natalie!

Bazaar Bizarre in a nutshell

2008-12-09T10:30:00.008-05:00

This past weekend came and went in a flash! The Boston Bazaar Bizarre proved to be great--a lot of people were unsure, being that it was in a new location (oh yeah, and that little news item... something about a recession...). But people turned out in huge numbers to shop handmade, as in years past. It was wonderful to see!
It was also nice to see old pals. We loved our location near Faythe (Handmade Nation):
Dabney (Mogo):
and of course local friend Tomoko (Tadworks):
We were among good company, though the corner we were in was so cold!!! We all tried to stay warm (note Faythe's fuzzy hat and Tomoko's scarf) whilst chatting it up with customers nonstop. It was very busy! Thank you to everyone who came out and braved the chilly weather! And additional thanks to the organizers of the show for giving us a great new venue.

Check us out!

2008-12-05T13:11:00.003-05:00

A few quick notes...

First, don't forget the Bazaar Bizarre if you're in the Boston area this Sunday, December 7! We'll be in the Happy Owl/Handmade Nation/Tadworks/Mogo corner. Visit us! It's going to be a great show!!!

Second, have you stopped by Design*Sponge today? I've finally found my true calling... food writer. Okay, so I like food and was thrilled to write a post about it, but I'm probably not going to change careers. But it was fun to shoot the photos (and eat)!Lastly, it is the final day of our '09 Preview sale! Nine new nightlights, each makes a great holiday gift. Our Etsy site has been replenished with a few last ornaments as well, so get them while they last (you can grab some of "all of the above" at the Bazbiz, too!):
Have a great weekend! :)

Sneaky Peeky + New Ornaments!

2008-12-01T08:32:00.004-05:00

From our newsletter...

Hello dearest customers!

Since you've been so good to us over the years, we are pleased to give you a sneak peek of our '09 nightlights. These will be available for sale only through Friday, Dec. 5! Pass this secret page on to your friends who are fans of Happy Owl but may not read these updates or be on our mailing list! Consider it a big thank you for 5 fantastic years...

We've also had time to make more ornaments that were so well-received last month. Check out the new batch on our Etsy site, and stay tuned for a few more to be posted later this week! Below is one of my favorites in its super-70's colors:

Last but certainly not least, we will be hawking our glass goods at the Boston Bazaar Bizarre this Sunday, December 7! We'll be selling TONS of seconds and regular items at a huge discount. Hope to see you there!

New ornaments

2008-11-29T15:31:00.003-05:00

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Ours was just splendid. We spent time with our neighbors who have a 4-year old, and Maisy had a fantastic time. She was asleep in my arms as I carried her home past her bedtime, and she slept until 8:30 the next morning!

The past few days I've been busy in the studio making more items for the Bazaar Bizarre, and making new ornaments as well...
They're a bit different from the first batch, being that their faces are screened directly onto the body glass. But I'm just as fond of them and hope that you enjoy them, too. I'll be finished with them at the end of the weekend, and will upload them on the Etsy site.

Giveaway!

2008-11-25T16:28:00.002-05:00

Hi there!

Head on over to the Indie Fixx blog! This year we participated in Jen's 12-Days-of-Indie-Shopping, and you have until tomorrow at 3pm eastern time to win a complete set of my prints. Go go go!!!

Avoiding the cold

2008-11-21T12:37:00.002-05:00

The past couple of weeks have been filled with sickness and work. Though I was trying to get to my studio as much possible to stock up for the Bazaar Bizarre, Maisy came down with a cold. Then diaper rash. And we were all weathering the storm that comes along with a toddler not sleeping well because of those things. Since then Justin has gotten sick. How can it be that I've managed to escape this virus? I can only think that I'm doomed for a Thanksgiving curled up in bed. Luckily we were going to keep it low-key this year, so it won't be too big of an issue if I end up sick.

To keep my sanity during the lull of everyone around me not feeling well, I started making these lovely ornaments. I was so taken with them when I first saw them, and I had most of the supplies on-hand already. So why not try? Well, I was quickly reminded that I'm by no means adept at embroidering...

I call it my disease ornament (I'll keep this one for myself). There is something about those circles that remind me of sick cells. Plus it seems fitting since I'm currently living in a den of sickness. Hope you are staying healthy this season!

Departure

2008-11-10T19:15:00.003-05:00

This past weekend wrapped up a workshop I took in metalsmithing. I love taking classes that are in materials other than glass but also, if possible, incorporating them into my work. I have no intention on making silver pieces to be part of my line, but it is fun to see the results of mixing the two! This first piece was just a test of my bezel-ing skills. Silversmithing is not my forte, but I'm learning...
It's my naked mole-rat! In capsule form! Wrapped in silver! A fun project with one of my favorite creatures. I made it into a pendant when all was said and done. Silver is so pretty, I just wish I had more time to take more classes! I also made this funny piece:
I call it my "nose pendant". I just chose a random rock and didn't see the nasal connection until I put the bezel on it. I love it!

Morning at the Museum

2008-11-09T13:06:00.003-05:00

Friday was spent in Cambridge with my friend Tomoko of Tadworks. It is always a pleasure to meet with other creative-types, and one that entertains Maisy is like icing on the cake! I love getting away for lunch sans-toddler, but a visit to the Harvard Museum of Natural History without Maisy would have been downright criminal. Going there is loads of fun & inspiration for myself, but it's delightful for little ones, too. In case you've never been, it's chocked-full of dead animals:
I seem to find something new every time I visit. This time it was some sort of antelope with bizarre proboscis (missed the name & location of it):I thought his expression was so gentle and charming. As with any toddler accompaniment, in the end it turned into a glorified game of peek-a-boo...
Good times were had by all!

Studio visit!

2008-11-07T08:10:00.004-05:00

Earlier this week I was visited by the lovely Meighan of the blog My Love for You is a Stampede of Horses. Her first studio visit! (I'm humbled)...

I met her back in the spring and we hit it off like old pals, and it was good to see her come out to my studio (a bit of a drive to the boondocks, considering she's in JP!). Check out her blog if you're not aware of it already; it's a smorgasbord of inspiring artists. Check out the post here. Thanks, Meighan!!!

Sale!

2008-11-04T07:12:00.003-05:00

Over at our main site we're having a sale...
Just as the birds head south, so do our prices: enjoy savings on all our bird-related items, shown below... take 30% off until November 14! All items below are on sale:
We've already sold out of our owl ornaments on Etsy. Thanks so much! But we still have lots of lovely little miniature pendants available, as well as mystery packs of badges.

Now go and vote! :)

Introducing...

2008-11-01T08:22:00.002-04:00

Baby Yeti!
I have to admit, I'm pretty proud of how it turned out! And I'm happy it wasn't too warm outside--it was a very hot costume. Happy Halloween everyone!

New item idea!

2008-10-27T21:02:00.004-04:00

I don't know why this didn't occur to me sooner... I just added a new item to my Etsy shop. It is a mystery pack of 3 badges that I consider 'seconds'. These badges are most likely slightly mis-shapen, but some are just a little too small or too large to fit into the regular family of badges. I sold these at the Bazaar Bizarre a few years ago, and they did very well. I have even thoughtfully packaged them for you so as not to reveal their colorful badge-ness. Perhaps they'd make a nice stocking stuffer come December. :) I hope you enjoy... otherwise look for them at this year's Boston BazBiz!

Fall and the Family

2008-10-20T15:29:00.003-04:00

We got to visit with many good friends this past weekend, and I forgot all about the business for a couple of days. It's always nice to have an excuse to get away, and when it's with friends in the Fall (in the Catskills) what could be better? It was a perfect opportunity to snap a few shots of Maisy in her first year of walking through the forest. I love how she looks like she's actually using her prized stick as a walking stick (what a born hiker!):

Though this lovely weekend has past, it's onward full-force toward the holidays, isn't it? Upon our return I promptly added more ornaments to the Etsy site, and shipped off the most recent orders (way to go!).

I can't believe that October is coming to a close soon, and that the weather has gotten so chilly. Here's to hoping you had a delightful Fall weekend, as well.

Here's to a great weekend ahead

2008-10-17T09:32:00.003-04:00

We're about to leave for a much needed get-together with friends, but I wanted to post that I've begun to add a couple of the ornaments from the Art Star show to my Etsy site. You can check them out here, or wait a few days when I'll be adding more...
Have a great weekend!

SOWA market

2008-10-14T09:08:00.004-04:00

Big thanks to Tomoko of Tadworks for sharing her booth space with us last Sunday! I had a fantastic time chatting and soaking in the sunshine... talking shop and fanny-packs, smelly food and cute babies... and watching the hula-hoopers (correct word?) across the way. Tomoko seemed like she wanted part of the action, but I think my camera threats may have swayed her decision. Here are a few images from the beautiful day:

Tomoko and her goods:
My little display:
Hula-hoop corner:

And if you also want to laugh at my fanny-pack, visit this image.

We also happened to be situated right next door to Pogibabies, who made Maisy a lovely little hat a few months back. Check out her Etsy shop! She is an excellent crafter of hats for the little ones in your life.

And as promised, there is a small sale happening over on my site and Etsy site! Badges are just $5 (marked down from $9) and miniature pendants are only $15! These are prices I have at shows, and I decided to extend the in-person discount to all of you not in the Boston area on Sunday. Enjoy! (sale ends tomorrow!)

Visit us!

2008-10-11T13:21:00.002-04:00

Just a quick-type post to let you know that we're sharing a booth with the wonderful Tomoko of Tadworks tomorrow at SOWA Market in Boston! This was sort of last-minute, weather- and health-pending, but right now it's a-go. Hope to see some smiling faces there, should be a delightful New England fall day! :)

(next up: small sale honoring booth prices to come next week!)

And what a lovely book it is

2008-10-01T12:36:00.005-04:00

I received my copy of Handmade Nation in the mail yesterday, and it is so beautiful. I haven't been able to sit down and give it a thorough reading just yet, but I'm so impressed by everyone who contributed (not to pat myself on the back or nothin). Nikki McClure, Jill Bliss, Jenine Bressner, to name but a few who inspire me... to peek inside everyone's studios is fascinating. I love looking at the set-up, colors and organization of fabrics, pens, etc. [It's the little things.] Great job, Faythe and Cortney!

Okay, so Maisy wanted her Goodnight Moon routine back, but give her a few years and she'll be down with diy.

All my new little owls

2008-09-20T13:54:00.003-04:00

I've finished the ornaments!
Super happy with them. I love how spooky and glazed-over they look in the right light. Now all I need to do is package them and ship them off to Art Star. Hope that everyone is doing well! I know there are a few shows that happened recently are about to happen (namely Renegade Chicago and Crafty Bastards in DC). Wish we could have participated this year, but our plate is just too full. Hope that the weather is fantastic next weekend for Crafty Bastards!

Hooray!

2008-09-17T13:36:00.003-04:00

Well, it was what seemed like a long time without 'big kiln', but the new kiln arrived and I promptly broke it in:
She works great! I've been working like crazy, stocking up for the busy season and all the shows that go along with it. In addition, I've been making ornaments for the annual show at Art Star. The girls there are so sweet, and I was finally able to meet them this summer (it only took 4 years). Here are my owls in progress...
Top row are the bodies of the birds, and middle row are the head-feathers. Wings are on the bottom, all waiting to be ground down.
Shown above are all the little 'body parts'. I'm very pleased with them so far. Will show a photo of the final works soon. I love doing the ornaments--each one is different and it gives me a chance to take a break from the production line that the rest of my work sometimes feels like. It's like a breath of fresh air, just like this most recent wave of delightful Fall weather in New England.

Oh, sadness!

2008-09-06T09:43:00.002-04:00

My kiln just died today. The "big" one--the one on the left.
I've had this kiln for 8 years now, and it's been with me through 5 moves across the country, from SF to MT to LA to now Boston. I knew she wouldn't last forever, but I'm a bit sad to see her go. I've been meaning to get a new one anyway, I just wasn't expecting it to happen so suddenly.

R.I.P., big kiln! It was a good run.

Spontaneous Sale!

2008-09-02T12:56:00.001-04:00

Now through Friday, September 12 our Badge-pendants are just $20!

Also, new miniature pendants have been added to our Etsy shop! Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! :)

We're back

2008-08-26T17:04:00.002-04:00

After settling into our Adirondack digs for a few weeks, we finally made it back to the Boston area. It feels good to not have to drive, and even better to be "home". We may cut out all road trips for the next 2 years, seeing as how we logged around 10,000 miles this summer... It was fun, but damn we're tired.

In Happy Owl news, Tracy is now offering a design-your-own miniature pendant over on Etsy. You choose the creature & color of these dainty little pendants for just $23. These are only offered on our Happy Owl Etsy site. All 56 creatures:
And these colors:

Tears in Texas or A Georgia Peach or District of Cheerfulness or The End of the Road...

2008-07-28T08:12:00.007-04:00

We left the New Mexico desert with a sense of excitement as the asphalt of Route 20 pulled us on into the heartland of Texas. Route 20 was to be the final interstate running East/West that Tracy and I had yet to travel.

The saying "save the best for last" does not apply here.

Now I'm not out to offend Texas. I'm sure there are plenty of things to see along this stretch of highway, but Maisy's increasingly loud car-seat protest was beginning to wear on all involved and we decided to skip the detours and beeline it straight for Atlanta, our next oasis of relatives and rest.

Not allowing time for sightseeing, our exposure to Route 20 was a mixture of oil fields, bad coffee, and quite possibly the worst Motel 6 room in the world. It was the one time we ever requested a refund on a room. Odessa Motel 6 - clean your sheets!

We did quickly realize that marathon driving sessions were not improving Maisy's temperment in the least and made plans to drop by a zoo - any zoo - for some distraction in the afternoon. The city of Abilene provided a close approximation to our request.

Things seemed fishy at the Zoo of Abilene from the get-go when they offered crackers with our admission tickets. "What are these for?", I queried with bewilderment. "Feed the animals", she replied as if I was from another decade.

Feed the animals?! The phrase was so general but I assumed it would be obvious once we were inside that the crackers were limited to a cute petting zoo section. This was not the case. I even spotted one man giving a cracker to his son so he could feed the lions !

We restricted ourselves to offering the Giraffes some snacks.

Now I don't want to harp on the Zoo of Abilene too much - it seems like they were making a sincere effort to keep the place alive in a rather difficult environment - but we did spot something rather disturbing in the reptile house.

The above photo is healthy turtles with their alligator pal. Nice enough...but this poor guy...

...was dead, possibly for weeks. His carcass was flaking off under water and it was placed at eye-level for Maisy to study closely. After that encounter we settled for a less adventuresome and way-more-tacky method of providing entertainment for Maisy: The Walmart toy aisle.

I'm sure we're not the first parents to resort to this and Maisy sure enjoyed the idea that all these toys were her personal stash. In our defense, we did purchase a toy and box of diapers for the two visits with Maisy. Regardless, you could tell we were getting desperate to reach Atlanta, which we did.

Maisy was enthralled to be staying with my Aunt Bev and Uncle Gary.

And we were pleasently surprised to see that my cousin Dylan was quite the baby whisperer. He tricked Maisy into eating an entire jar of green beans. Nice!

After the hell ride that was Texas, we reached our limit of daytime driving with Maisy and tried a new approach for the long stretch to Washington D.C. - the night drive. We hadn't done one of these in years and were both wary of the 10.5 hour run.

Successful but exhausted, we arrived at 8am in time for Maisy to meet some more kin from Tracy's side of the family. Fortuntaly, her cousin Amy and her son Gabe had plenty of energy to make up for our complete lack thereof.

Gabe had this super-cool balance board thingy that kept us all entertained for much of the two-day visit.

They also introduced us to a lovely swimming hole!

Despite a great time, the finish line was pulling us back toward Upstate NY, our resting spot for the better half of August. Eight hours of traveling was once again done during the graveyard shift after the success of the Atlanta-D.C. journey. Fairing just as well, we considered making this our go-to method for future trips. If you ignore the day of zombie living after the drive, it's not such a bad way to get around with a toddler.

And so we come to a well-deserved rest in our beautiful undisclosed hideout somewhere in the Adirondacks. We'll recharge for three weeks and then consider the final leg East and home to try on the domestic lifestyle once again.

The Turning Point

2008-07-20T16:21:00.004-04:00

We've been covering plenty of ground in the past couple days, partially because our clock is now ticking to get home in time for some friend's weddings but also partially because the wear of the road is starting to get to us. If my calculations are correct - which they never are - we've been on the road about forty-odd days now. That's enough to make a person start seeing things.

But we weren't seeing mirages at a rest-stop near California's "Grapevine". I'm not sure how long it's been since our faithful readers have perused the 25 cent machines - which are now mostly 50 cent machines - but this little oddity caught Tracy's eye:
That's right, fruity bubble gum isn't enough anymore. If it doesn't rap it ain't goin' in my mouth.

Meanwhile, Maisy and I took up a new addiction.

I've know they're bandits but I can't help but try to win a stuffed animal for Maisy. So far I've sunk at least two bucks into these darn machines and no luck.

As fascinating as the rest-stop area was we had to move on to Los Angeles where a few more friends were waiting to host us.

I knew we'd be best of pals with Eric and Silje when we first moved to LA and heard of their dirt biking adventures. Having been a "twist-of-the-wrist" addict myself back in high school, we immediately latched onto their company.

Being July in LA and with Silje expecting baby number two, we didn't get to rev any engines but one can still admire the plastic and metal.

LA was also a time for seeing old AFI friends as well including Josh - editor extrodiniarie who took us to some excellent Korean BBQ. While the food and company was wonderful the east coast was beckoning...

Here's Maisy and I celebrating the offical Eastward direction change.

Not pictured is Tracy, our loyal photographer. She did capture this nice moment:

Yuck. That's about 50 degrees higher than my preferred tempature. Palm Springs residents - I just don't get your attraction to desert living.

Passing through Arizona we spotted the most bizarre campaign being pushed by Burger King:

I opted for the salad paired with a chocolate shake. Apparently my taste buds aren't sophisticated enough to appricate the nuance between a Whopper with a Coke vs. a Whopper with a Sprite.

Our campsite that night was nice enough and gave Maisy and Tracy time to practice winking...

...before moving into New Mexico and making contact with aliens at the Very Large Array or VLA as people in the know tend to call it. Just of Route 60 you'll find this gigantic collection of radio telescopes that were made famous in the film Contact. Contrary to Jodi Foster's method of use, the radio telescopes do not require headphones to operate: The signs told me so, otherwise I'd go on buying her riveting performance.

Even the bathrooms caught the radar fever:

Our resting place for the night was my personal favorite destination of the West - my grandpa Fiato's house!

Maisy finally completed her collection of Great-Grandpa photos with this one:

The old man has bigger biceps that I do though I suppose that isn't too much of a feat...

Renegade Two: A total failure at trying to be a disaster.

2008-07-16T15:26:00.007-04:00

For you logic hounds I need not explain that the title of this post equates to a success!

For a first year-launch, it was a pleasant surprise to see so many eager customers join us for two days at the Fort Mason pavilion. While the hours were long, we had support from unlikley sources:

There's our little Maisy selling our miniature pendants - both baby and pendants were a big hit at the show. Maisy took to the sights and sounds like water to a live wire. Much time was spent playing "Ferby" with other like-sized toddlers. It was also nice to see familiar faces to stop and say hello, since our time was limited and schedules were difficult. So thanks, you know who you are!

Sunday provided an extra treat with the appearance of punk-Marching Band, Muccapazza.

They're high energy music moved the afternoon along nicely and made me pine for my neglected trombone - currently sitting in my parent's basement.

While Renegade kept us busy, we did manage to enjoy some other San Francisco pleasures. One important stop was Golden Gate Park where we found an old piece that Tracy designed back in the day. Our crafty friend Heidi managed to help secure a permanent placement for it in the local playground:

To continue our Golden Gate safari, we took a few hundred steps over to the carosouel; a first for Maisy as you can clearly see:

A visit to the bizarrely flavored Bi-Rite Creamery topped off an excellent week in San Francisco. Strawberry/Balsamic was a personal favorite of our clan.

And an extra behemoth thanks to Steve and Heidi for the shelter, company, and laughs!

A San Francisco Treat

2008-07-09T10:21:00.002-04:00

Well faithful readers, we’ve made it to major destination #3 on our cross-country tour – and we appreciate your company all the way. As I write this posting we are enjoying the cool weather of San Francisco (actually hot right now), our home base for the next week as we prepare for Renegade Show #2.

The travels here from Bishop, CA were by far the most spectacular miles covered yet. We charted a course past Mammoth, onto Mono Lake, through Tioga Pass before barreling into Merced where the kind family of a friend agreed to house our trailer for the week as we moved onto San Francisco – Land of No-Parking.

That same friend, who shall remain nameless, recommended a brief detour on our way up from Bishop to visit a strange geological anomaly – Devil’s Postpile. The bizarre hexagonally shaped formations peaked our interest so we added the stop to our itinerary. Little did we know that the visit would be hell incarnate. See, the problem with Devil’s Postile is that it is beyond Mammoth, summer vacation paradise. Stack a Jazz Festival on top of a major mountain biking destination and you have tourist central. By the time we reached the actual entryway to the monument we had dodged no less than twelve bikers trying to run our car off the road. That’s when the bad news came. A friendly ranger informed us that our two-hour detour was all for not. A mandatory shuttle was the only method available for traveling to this monument. The entire excursion would have added another two hours to our already jam-packed day. Rejected and dejected, we rolled back down the mountain hexagonal-less and toward our consolation prize.
Mono Lake, while no Devil’s Postpile, is a pretty interesting pit stop. The combination of inland salt water and surreal tufas was enough eye-candy to hold us over through lunch. It was, however, hot…very hot. Maisy informed us all that hydration was the key to happiness.

Having our fill of desert climates, we headed west through the well-known Tioga Pass. Of all the roads thus far, this one easily put our Forester/Scamp setup to the maximum test. Second gear was the default as we ascended from 4,000 to 10,000+ feet in a matter of miles. The view at the top is well worth the climb.

We camped over in Hodgdon Meadows, which is sort of the bastard campsite in Yosemite but did us just fine for the night. Having already visited this park a few years back, we hightailed it to the city. After all, Maisy had a prearranged playdate.

Our old friend Sarah introduced us to our new friend Ahmory. Sarah is a fellow glass artist and runs a lovely outfit – Mediums to Masses (link). While the babies discussed various chewing techniques, Tracy and Sarah talked shop and offered support for the weekend, as Sarah will also be participating in this weekend’s craft fair.

We’ll close this posting by sharing a first for Happy Owl Glass. Meet Elaine.

While perusing the cheese at a local Berkeley market, Tracy was complimented on one of our limited Raccoon shirts. She liked the shirt so much that she literally bought it off of Tracy’s back – what a compliment!

Nevada to Bishop to Bristlecones to Bishop

2008-07-06T10:47:00.008-04:00

As mentioned in previous posts, one major motivation for this cross-country trip was to shoot a film in the surreal landscape of the Bristlecone Pine National Forest. We have just returned from an exhausting weekend of doing just that. While most people were sanely enjoying fireworks and BBQ over the Fourth, we opted for high altitude desert-like camping mixed with stressful shooting conditions.

The buildup to the weekend started out easy enough with another plush KOA experience in Ely, Nevada; If you've ever looked at a map of the state you'll note that the stretch of I-93 for Idaho to Ely doesn't offer much in the way of scenic camping. The Ely KOA did offer a few exciting surprises for us though. One was this swing, which Maisy adorded...

Behind the swing, and not pictured, were a pair of burros that brayed throughout the night. It was more charming than annoying.

The second surprise was a really delight for Tracy. Apparently, Ely sits right next to a healthy supply of garnets. We took a drive up to the old "Garnet Hill" and did a little amatuer rock-hounding. Tracy gleaned about six specimins! Maisy and I found squat.

Leaving Ely, we took a shortcut over a country road to get on Route 6. It's not a very well marked shortcut at that, and we ended up deep in some copper mine instead. It spawned a discussion over the beauty/disaster of mines.

The area reminded me of the work of Edward Burtynsky.

A friendly security fellow set us back on course and straight to Route 6, which brought us into the world's premier destination for star gazing - or so their signage declared, Tonopah, Nevada. Sadly, we were just there for a brief lunch siesta.

We had passed through this little town in the hills on previous trips and somehow managed to forget about this disturbing sight:

Motels and Clowns. As tempting as that was, we opted to move on to Bishop for a night's lodging before our ascent into the Bristlecone Pines.

Note that the sign toward the top-left corner is a plague warning! The Clown Motel was looking better and better.

It was at the Grandview Campground that we experienced the first of a series of mishaps with our poor little Scamp. Being the greedy types, we circled the area for the premier campsite. A hairpin turn resulted in an hour's setback.

That's what a bottomed out trailer looks like. It's not a fun experience but did confirm that we knew how to use a car jack.

With the Scamp righted, we settled for the first site we saw and proceeded to hold a marathon shooting session with the help of our friends, Heidi and Steve.

Here's some production shots from our little short.

I can't comment much on the shoot itself since the entire three-days was a blur of f-stop calculations and baby-wrangling. We're excited to send the footage out and see what exactly we have!

On a final note, we caught this amusing photo of our "home" on our return to Bishop yesterday:

Could Raptor be compensating for something or am I just jealous?

If you're ever in Bozeman...

2008-07-01T23:34:00.009-04:00

...and yearning for a fly-fishing excursion, be sure to drop by the Bozeman Angler and say hello to our kind friends, Rod and Pam King! I'm sure they'll set you up proper.

The Kings were kind enough to host us our second night in Bozeman. It gave us plenty of time to see how much can change over the course of five years - the last time we set foot in the place. Certain institutions, like the Bozeman Angler and the Co-op are still around but other areas of the "city" have exploded with new growth, both good and bad. I suppose it's hard to keep heaven a secret for too long.

The extra day also answered a burning question for us. Why are there so many friggin' Airstreams in town? We spotted an abnormally high amount at our first night's campground. Come to find out there were over 800 more in town, all gathering for some rally. It caused quite a bit of drool to form out of our mouths as we dragged our little Scamp among these Cadillacs of the trailer world.

Someday we'll blow our retirement money on one. Only need to save upwards of $80,000.

The two-day stop really seemed to give us all the rest we needed for a big hike on Monday. Traveling south via the Gallatin Highway, we passed through West Yellowstone and onward to Idaho: Land of Arco, Idaho.

What does one do in Arco, Idaho? Well, you can marvel at this:

It's been a town tradition to paint the graduating class' year on the "Number Hill" since 1920. I'm not sure if they repaint the old years but you could still see the 20's up there as bright as the '08.

Arco - for your trivia buffs - is well known as:

Which explained the Experimental Breeding Reactor we passed by on the way into town. We thought it was some weird place where they tried to mate pigs and horses.

While the sites of Arco were tempting, we forged on to our pit-stop for the night.

The Craters of the Moon National Monument has to be one of the most bizarre places in America. The area was created by volcanic activity that took place during "The Giant Rift", which I believe is also (dork alert) a Phish song. I'll let the photos speak for themselves:

We highly recommend a visit!

R&R in Bozeman, MT.

2008-06-29T12:01:00.002-04:00

The wonderful thing about children is that they view the world with an unabashed innocence. It's cute between the hours of 7am and 8pm. It's not so cute between the hours of 10pm and 4am. It was during this time slot that our darling little Maisy decided to throw a party in our third resting spot of the trip: Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Having never traveled the North Route myself - Tracy had passed through this way back in the day for a glass workshop in Red Deer, Alberta - I hadn't heard of this park sporting a presidential moniker.

Apparently, Teddy spent some significant time in North Dakota trying his hand at the ranching business before settling down in Washington. The time spent must have been worthwhile since he's famously quoted (in North Dakota anyway) as saying "I never would have become president if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota."

Another Teddyism:

"If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn't sit for a month."

I like this one. It has a ring of Kurt Vonnegut to it. And perhaps he's right. At the end of the day, Maisy never asked to live in a 13ft trailer for two months. I kept trying to remind myself this as we all grumbled through a sleep deprived evening and following morning. You can see the delight in our eyes as a Bison joined us for breakfast:

Along with the Bison we were able to enjoy some time with a staple of the Great Plains:

The Prairie Dog. What a joke: I'd rather own a standard poodle. At least they can catch a ball. While neither the Bison nor the Prairie Dog are featured in our menagerie, we often try to convince people that our Musk Ox and Meerkat are close enough for their needs. After all, how different can a silhouette of a meerkat and a prairie dog be?

While our first national park of the trip was great, despite the baby-insomnia and hordes of gnats, we had to move on to stay on schedule.

As we were already passing through Miles City, MT., we knew that the Range Rider's Museum was a required stop.

Grandpa Bill had been raving about the eclectic collection at this place for years and it would have been a crime not to drop in. Boy were we glad we did.

Not shown is the equally impressive gun collection. I'm not kidding either , they had rifles from nearly every decade since their invention. And just in case you're worried that the ladies were left out...

Over two hundred hats! Apparently, ladies like hats. But the most interesting collection had to be:

After a brief and uneventful stay-over in Billings, MT (Wendy's was voted the "Best place to get Coffee" in 2003) we made it to our old stomping grounds in Bozeman, MT.

Arriving early in the day for once, we immediately dropped our trailer off at the local KOA and headed up to a favorite swimming hole: Hyalite Reservoir.

The view and weather convinced us to use one of our two "wild card" days and spend an extra day in Bozeman. So today we recharge, soak in some hot springs, and prepare ourselves for the descent south through Idaho, starting tomorrow.

Running Out of Gas and Into Trouble At Fort Abraham Lincoln...

2008-06-27T11:54:00.007-04:00

The morning started out fine enough. After our great stay at the overpriced Willow River State Park we barreled into North Dakota. For all you keeping track, this was Justin Bull's final state to conquer. I can now cockily report that I have set foot in all fifty states. Perhaps not nearly as impressive as our friend Adam's quest to run a marathon in every state but hey, I thought, "I'm not a masochist."

Ironically, I ended up running a mini-marathon for anyhow.

That tiny dot up ahead is me.

Let it be known that our user manual clearly states that the gas tank retains 2.3 gallons of reserve gas once the fuel warning light goes on. Subuaru, you are on notice.

Despite the bad judgment on fueling stops, we were pleased to discover that Barnesville, ND lived up to it's promise of "Welcoming You".

While we did miss the Potato Days by a few months, the local watering hole was a lovely sight to be seen. On my long walk back from securing a tank of gas the friendly gents at Rick's Towing offered me not only a ride but a cold brew to boot! I opted out of the beer seeing as how we had miles of travel left to do that day.

Having burned an hour over that little fiasco, we began to hunt for an alternative camping spot since our first choice was now out of reach. After numerous fruitless searches we ended up defeated and cranky and crashed at the beautiful "Wagon Wheel Inn" in Valley City, North Dakota. Here's our sadly unused Scamp on day two of the great adventure.

Note the mosquito breeding grounds in the tire pile to the left.

The next morning we started out bright and early, determined to hit Theodore Roosevelt National Park by mid-afternoon but the alluring signs for Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park pulled us into a long pit stop where we, no joke, received a tour of the Slant Indian Village from none other than a man named Dakota.

Apparently the women did all the construction in this tribe. Dakota liked to point that out again and again as he tried to get a chuckle out of the men over the irony of it all. Ahh, interpretive tour guides.

Maisy was impressed enough to attempt her own interpretive tour of the visitor center. Here she is explaining how this place is considered a State Park even though there are no hiking trails.

Fleeing our lunch break we hit I-94 again in time to capture some beautiful thunderclouds.

Which cleared up in time for our final destination of the night and tomorrow's story: Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the night Maisy decided that sleep was optional.

The journey continues

2008-06-25T19:58:00.003-04:00

A couple of days and several hundred miles since our last blog entry has given our happy caravan plenty of time for activity! We spent the final days in Aurora visiting SPLASH COUNTRY!, a water park hosted by the Fox Valley Park District. Needless to say, our eager duckling took right to the water.
Our pasty white skin was a dead-giveaway that we were not frequent visitors to this amusingly quaint distraction.

With Iowa still a major disaster area, we thought it best to head North for our trek West. While it adds a few days onto the overall schedule, Tracy and her good friend Google Maps created an itinerary that takes us to some pretty nifty spots. By the way, has anyone seen the crazy street level view mode in Google Maps? You can stalk your friend’s front door from the sidewalk rather than the older satellite mode. How do they do that?!

Since it was only an hour and half north of Chicago-land, we just had to drop by Madison Wisconsin, “The Berkley of the Mid-West”. Being former residents of the Berkley area, we approached the city with a cynic’s eye. One could quickly see where the comparisons derive from. Both have CO-Ops. Both have crazy people walking down the sidewalks and both have trendy coffee shops like Mother Fools in Madison.
Not only did we get served a pretty decent cup of organic java but Tracy also opted for the more exotic Kombucha tea, made locally and delivered via bicycle to the coffee house. It was an extremely pungent tea that was fermented and supposedly full of probiotics and all sorts of other healthy junk. We learned this from their cleverly placed bathroom advertisements, which worked like a charm on this family.

Here’s the Scamp parked in front of Star Liquor.
Note the Hamm’s at a discount price! Star Liquor featured one of “those guys”, you know the type: wife-beater, cigarette, and knee high socks. He offered us our first Scamp compliment stating that it was a “pretty neat little camperette.” Apparently it didn’t qualify as a camper to him since it lacked an awning.

Leaving Madison, we headed to the border of Wisconsin and our first campout of the trip. Willow River Falls State Park was a gamble at best. It’s only a few miles off I-94 and was a small blip on the map. Despite its sticker-shocking $34 admittance fee, the site was actually very nice.
It felt like non-stop activity since we arrived an hour before little Maisy’s bedtime but Tracy managed to whip together a tasty meal.
And the morning brought a herd of deer to our rear window!
Sadly, we took this photo as the group was wandering away. The deer looked more like a mule deer than the white tail variety our fawn badge and pendants are based on.

Willow River also had one more plus – a nearby U.S. Post Office! Having the regular and Etsy sites open while we’re on the road requires that we visit some random mailing centers and this was one of them. Many thanks to the friendly staff at Hudson P.O!

Tonight – some random fort in North Dakota!

Happy Birthday, Maisy Rae!

2008-06-22T21:24:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was spent celebrating Maisy's first birthday with the family in Illinois. She seemed to have quite an enjoyable time. The cake was a big hit at first...

Then the belly ache arrived.

Next stop: undisclosed location approximately six hours from here. Undisclosed because of lingering fears that grandparents may follow.

News Flash: Ohio Wins!

2008-06-20T10:59:00.005-04:00

In the closely watched bid for the East coast "Best Rest Stop Food" title, Ohio triumphed by a painfully wide margin. The losing contenders, New York and Indiana were harshly criticized by the judges with their out-of-date offerings of Hardees & Gloria Jean's Coffee Bean (not to be confused with the pretty-decent Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf...)

Says Ohio:

"We knew we had it clinched with our plentiful offerings of Panera Breads and Starbucks at nearly ever stop. Our competition just doesn't get that Interstate 90 has moved beyond the late 80's/early 90's fare of starch and watered-down coffee."

New York and Indiana refused comment.

A sad attempt at seducing weary travelers...

After two meals of pizza, Maisy had this to report:

Turns out that traveling with a baby is fairly simple if you time your journey to their Circadian rhythms. After a departure from New York two days ago, we found ourselves arriving in the greater Chicago area with relativley few cranky periods along the way. It's a five day rest here as we celebrate Maisy's 1st birthday (tomorrow!) with the grandparents.

This stop also gives us the needed time to install electric brakes on our little Scamp and figure out a new route west since Iowa is underwater. Between this and the honeybee crisis I'm thinking of learning a bit more about stockpiling from the Mormons when we arrive in Utah. Speaking of self-reliance...

Our brief stay in Upstate New York gave Grandpa Bull time to do some "mods" on the Scamp trailer for us. The most important being a crib for little Maisy to sleep in.

We'll test the new jailhouse out tomorrow night as we brave the great wilds of Batavia, IL and camp in Grandpa and Gram-Cheryl's driveway.

2008-06-17T08:14:00.015-04:00

The Brooklyn Renegade show: notorious for its heat. We signed up anyhow with hopes of sunny weather and a cool breeze that would make the McCarren Park Pool an oasis of crafty vendors. But hope —it turns out— is best left to little children and fairy tales.

It all started fine enough. We scored a great corner spot near the Tasty Treats truck and enjoyed a constant flow of traffic.

Our handsome display:

But by mid-morning a vicious blanket of heat descended on the pool. It was only relieved with occasional gust. The gust, while enjoyable, helped pinpoint major flaws in our Miniature Pendant pegboard setup.

While the pendants were a hit, the display was not. With each gust, these little critters would fly all over the tent forcing us to scramble away from customers and toward the floor in an attempt to collect as many as we could.

The gust, it turns out, was carrying along isolated thunderstorms. And with the thunder came lightening. There is something disquieting about standing in a pool of water, surrounded by metal framed tents as lighting bolts crash down about you. I pictured the headlines: Hundreds Fried After Crafter Event!

Those selling in the last row enjoyed the history of the McCarren Park Pool as their booths were swallowed up by rising water.

The Sunday morning tent carcasses:

Luckily the whole event was surrounded by a healthy band of shoppers and familiar happy vendors, along with a few new ones. There were our personal favs from Mogo:

Sarah and all her pals from the Egg-a-go-go tent:

We bumped into Faythe and finally met her co-conspirator Courtney; both from Handmade Nation:

Plus we met the lovely face behind Design Sponge, Grace. Also the super-friendly Joi from Stereoette. And, after 4 years of working with them strictly online, we finally met Erin and Megan from Art Star. Here they are attempting to lure customers with an erotic application of suntan lotion:

And as a final bonus, we were reunited with some old faces from our RIT days. It was nice to see fellow Alum at the show.

Nate and his wife Jill run y.not.me, a great design label. They also pointed out another excellent designer and fellow alum, Andy Pratt.

All-in-all, an exhaustive and excellent weekend of sales in the Brooklyn neighborhood. Now if only we could afford to live there...

"She's enthusiastic about packaging"

2008-06-13T08:27:00.002-04:00

Just a quick post, as we're setting off for Brooklyn for the Renegade show today. The weather is beautiful. Let's hope that it lasts for the entire weekend!

I've been doing some finishing touches on everything. Have I mentioned that I have a penchant for packaging? I always get excited about those little details. I've had these business-card-sized cards hanging around for years. I bought them to make (you guessed it) business cards, but I made a different design so they've been carted all over the country with no use. I'm so happy they're finally getting some love. I gocco-ed some abstract images from photos that we've taken, and then used them as cards for the new miniature pendants. I'm so happy with the result:

The final pieces:

Hope to see you in Brooklyn this weekend, and have a happy Friday the 13th!

And somehow, we left...

2008-06-11T13:36:00.004-04:00

After three grueling days of last-minute preparations, we finally departed and reached our first leg of the cross-country trip. Though modest — a six-hour drive to upstate NY — it was a smooth launch with many hours passed playing the "hypothetical game". Several mind-stretching dilemmas were presented such as:

- Out of all your friends, who would you ask to cook your last meal?
- Would you rather suffer from eternal hunger or eternal need to go to the bathroom?
- Given one-week and unlimited funding for a solo trip, where would you go?

I'm a bit worried that we've pulled out such games this early in the trip. Having used up all the obvious questions, who knows what bizarre situations we'll be posing as we drive through Nebraska.

The next few days will be spent at Grandpa and Grandma Bull's as we prep the trailer. Though the sign probably won't stick as we barrel down I-80 at 65mph, it sure looks nice. One can imagine a flock of kids running to their mothers for spending money as they spot us driving through neighborhoods, blasting a twinkley version of Bright Eyes over a loudspeaker...

Maisy will be staying with Grandpa and Grandma for a 3-day vacation as the parents backtrack for the weekend to NYC for the Brooklyn Renegade Craft Fair; I know... not very productive in our westward journey but we never claimed to be directionally competent.

What are we forgetting

2008-06-05T11:43:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was a lovely visit with Tomoko. It was rainy but the company made the afternoon cheery. We ate at a neighborhood cafe (local for her) that served up some delicious food, especially their desserts...

Maisy agrees. But we went with the Jamaica rather than the Black Forest! Sorry, Maisy. Maybe next time!

Today, gloomy weather again. But we're slowly getting ready for our departure this Tuesday. Lots of things to check off our list. Some items are not necessary... pasta machine? Yes. This may get pushed aside to make room for more important stuff though. But I had visions of making homemade pasta at some random KOA in the Great Plains. It would certainly pass the time nicely!

One week to go

2008-06-03T14:28:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was great: productive and fun. First I met with Meighan of the blog my love for you is a stampede of horses. Super friendly and hospitable, she introduced me to a fantastic cafe in her neighborhood as well as her lovely doggie Shamus... I'm probably spelling that wrong. Sadly we'll be gone for most of the summer, but hopefully we can meet up again upon our return. In any case you should check out her blog which features some talented, inspiring artists. Tomorrow I'm meeting with Tomoko! Way to be social (as she pats herself on the back).

Yesterday also marked the finish of my last wholesale order for the summer! This is a huge weight off, and now I just have to clean the studio. It's a mess to say the least. Packing inventory to keep the business open on-the-road, as well as display for shows is no small feat. I think I'm almost there, though. Please tell me I'm almost there?

Working and walking

2008-06-02T08:07:00.004-04:00

It's been very nice around the area lately--we've been lucky enough to take walks almost everyday. Even had a storm or two, which is something we love here in house of Happy Owl (though not conducive to walking). It's been so nice, and June is already here, that we've extended the sale over at our site until the end of tomorrow...

In addition, our Etsy site has been replenished with more $14 pendants:

And we've also added more miniature pendants to it as well:

Now, it is all about packaging. I have had these business-card-size-cards sitting around the studio for a few years now, with no purpose for them. Given the miniature size of the pendants above, I think I've found their reason for being...

More on those later. For now, I hope you've had a good weekend. And happy June!

Glue fumes and Handmade Hats

2008-05-30T12:53:00.013-04:00

Stockpiling is one of the hidden "perks" that comes prepping for a summer on the road. The past few evenings have been spent gluing thousands of pinbacks onto our signature Happy Owl Badges while listening to the cynical charms of Joel McHale on The Soup.

How he makes trashy television so fun to watch is beyond me...

Our cross-country trip is being fueled by multiple pursuits. Of course, a major inspiration is the dual-coast participation in the Brooklyn and San Francisco Renegade Craft Fairs but to add to our creative binge the family will make a four day stop in the Bristlecone Pine National Forest to shoot a short film.

Maisy is suffering the fate of most children born into a filmmaking household as she will be starring in the short project. Her first costume item arrived in the mail today - A beautifully constructed hat by Pogibabies!

The muted-yellow is sure to pop among the ancient trees and barren landscape. More details to come soon. In the meantime, glue fumes are calling...

Past weekend, a preview of things to come

2008-05-26T10:32:00.004-04:00

We went to visit our dear friend Gabe this weekend. He has an amazing place in Vermont, as luck would have it, and we finally got a chance to check it out firsthand. Plus it gave us an opportunity to get Maisy acquainted with the backseat:There she is, seeing the other baby in the mirror. They never get enough of themselves, those fascinating doppelgangers in the magic glass. It was a good test, and she did well. We left just before her morning nap, so she slept nicely. The fact that it was only a 3-1/2 hour trip made it pretty easy, though.

So first stop was in Burlington to see another dear friend, Adam, who would be running in the marathon the next day. We still didn't meet his mysterious girlfriend, so we'll have to keep imagining her from what Adam tells us (model, architect, very Art Vandelay-esque). It's nice to see when your friends like your offspring. Maisy wasn't quite sure of him at first, but she warmed up to the gentle giant eventually.

So here it is... Gabe's plot of land (life could be worse, eh?). House is on a hill on 20 acres, with breathtaking views of the mountains. Congrats on finding this place. We are now all sufficiently jealous.

The sunset view from the balcony:
Thanks, Gabi for a great time. Looks like life is treating you well.

Now it's off to the studio to continue stocking up for the big trip!

New items up

2008-05-22T09:57:00.003-04:00

Added some of the new miniatures to our Etsy site! Just a few for now, will add more in the coming days...
Plus the new edition of "Baby Owls" print is up!

Das Buch!

2008-05-22T08:25:00.004-04:00

The book that Faythe and Cortney were working on in conjunction with the film, Handmade Nation, is up on Amazon! And Happy Owl Glass is in it!
So excited about it. Can't wait to see it. Thanks Faythe, Cortney, Michaela and the film team for all your hard work. Here is the link to pre-order the book. And visit the Handmade Nation site here.

Happy Birthday

2008-05-21T14:45:00.001-04:00

Miss Maisy is 11 months old today! Happy Birthday, little one...

Maisy awakens from her nap...

2008-05-20T10:11:00.002-04:00

So I must keep this swift!
New pendants on-sale for-sale on the Etsy site:

2008-05-19T09:40:00.004-04:00

We're celebrating the end of May (and the beginning of summer vacation) with a sale of our Badge-pendants...
Also, drop by the site to see our new dishes! Available in a limited edition of fifty, this is the first in a series of 5-year-anniversary dishes. Future editions will be released through 2008 - Kind of like the State Quarters but larger and more fragile....Lots of new items have been added to our Etsy site as well...

-Tracy & Justin
www.happyowlglass.com

P.S. Hope to see you at Renegade Brooklyn!

Miniatures on parade

2008-05-18T18:22:00.004-04:00

Really loving the new teeny tiny series I'm working on for shows this summer! They're so small, a little under 1/2" and so dainty cute. Here are a few (okay a ton) before affixing the silver-plated bails:
Here is what they look like before firing. The animal image is on a clear piece of glass, which is overlaying a colored piece of glass to produce a nice shadow:
Some of my favorites, colorwise:

So tiny!Even smaller than a dime:

I'll be listing a few on the Etsy site in the coming weeks. But look for them in scores at the Renegade shows we're doing this summer.

Working on...

2008-05-16T08:03:00.005-04:00

This is one of those side-projects that always seems to crop up this time of year. I'm finally finished with them and so happy with the results. About 150 dragonflies for a wedding...

Above is the "before" pic.

Going into the kiln for firing.

And the completed badges!

If you're in LA in July...

2008-05-14T10:34:00.005-04:00

Support the documentary!!! We donated to the cause, check out the rest of the artists:

And Introducing...

2008-05-13T12:27:00.000-04:00

This summer we're hitting the road. The long road from East coast to West. Then back again. Wanted to share our little home with you. Please keep in mind that this is the first home we've owned, so be respectful now:

Isn't she beautiful? Okay so we have some work to do before we depart on 6/10. As in we have to get a hitch installed so that our car can even tow our new house. We have grand plans to modify the thing so that it's somehow decent inside (we've spared you the interior pix), but here it is mid-May and nary a modification has been done. Happy Owl Glassworks plans to do both Renegade Brooklyn and San Francisco (our home away from home), and Scamp 13 is making this somehow possible. Wish us luck.