any brick and mortar stores out there?

[greenoak]

hey.....would love to hear whats going on in cottage /shabby in your part of the world....ann
www.greenoakantiques.com

[Lisa S]

Maybe I'm out of the "cottage industry loop", but it seems like outsider art mingled in with cottage decor is big out here. Kind of lends a personalized stamp on the cottage look. I like it.

[greenoak]

what kind of outsider art?
i get shop projects from long ago, pedestals and lilttle tables and shelves usually... and sunday paintings, ....i agree, its casual and definitely sometimes a very fun feel...
ann
www.greenoakantiques.com

[Lisa S]

I dunno... paper mache' figurines, paper collages, figurines made from "found" materials, art painted on salvaged windows... Actually, I saw a beautiful table runner at our fabric store. It looked very Jan Brett, Scandanavian style... It had felting and rope felting and very detailed stiching in contrasting primary colors. I saw it and immediately loved it. I'm going to a how to demonstration this weekend. I would spend lots of bucks on linens that have that look.

How is your quest for spindle ideas going?

[greenoak]

so far we are making little tables , like doll size, for store displays, and maybe putting them on the flat front board of a cupboard.looking like a super nice long teardrop applique...
....i would love to see the altered art stuff out there in oregon....i like it so much.im doing a lot in paper collage right now but just for fun......at the chicago gift show i saw old doll heads with old tin can bodies and dangeling legs and arms of pens, etc....it was so neat!!
and victorians made all kinds of wierd collages...ive had some cool memory jugs where pins, buttons, emblems, beads were all stuck on...
its kind of endless...ann
www.greenoakantiques.com

[Lisa S]

I miss going to the wholesale gift shows. Sounds like neat stuff in Chicago.

[gigiG]

We recently built a carriage house on our property, under an old willow tree. My soap kitchen takes up one end...also, this is where my friends meet once a week to do crafts...no set plans~ just bring what you want ~ or just sit & chat. Since I sell handmade soap, people come by & purchase the soap at a really cheap rate because they can take as is "unlabeled", etc... So, in a way it is a "little shop". I am hoping to have a holiday show in the carriage house next year. We will have to use the wood shop because of space. It nice because it is close to our house, at the bottom of our property. Lots of room for animals to run, & grandbabies to climb trees!

gigi
Our Branches are Growing Beautiful Gifts...
www.underthewillowgifts.com (http://www.underthewillowgifts.com)