Barefoot Contessa

MelonHead's baby pirate hats are now available at Barefoot Contessa in Vancouver.

Barefoot Contessa

3715 Main Street, Vancouver, BC, V5V 3N8

604-879-1137

The adult pirate hats will be available next week. Shop local for the holidays.

A Clean Slate

and here it is.


This was immensely therapeutic. To be able to wipe the entire chalkboard of the count and the obligations placed on myself before the show. I am going to be more thoughtful and realistic about the current wall list. As well as things "I have do do". I will block in some time for new designs and "things I ache to do".

The task of cleaning the studio is daunting. I've walked away from it on three separate days.

At least the shelving is back up and I can see the floor in several places. Currently, there is nowhere to work. I left for the nearest Blenz and a three shot Americano. Suddenly there was calm. And beautiful hand dyed merino twisting in my hands. Lace weight yarn and my heart equally as light.

Back to the pirate hat stack. The order should be ready for shipping in the next day or two.

Ten Things I Learned from the Show

1. No matter how many times you wash your hands, you WILL get a cold.
   
2. I don't deserve my friends.
3. I will never get a 20ft booth again. It was just too much pressure.
4. I will never buy another piece of carpeting for the booth.
   
5. I will wear Pearl's felted clogs at the show instead of my fancy lady shoes.
6. I will never, ever, part with my Frances Felt Yarn skirt.
7. Borrowed furniture means I get a new display every year.
8. The hat "tree" and my attempt to improve on nature was a flop.
9. John is an excellent sales person but prefers the job of inventory control.
   
10. My hand spun yarn makes people happy.
    

This will be followed up by my list of 10 things I need to fix in the studio or I will never get all of my custom work finished this season.

It is almost 9am and the sun just came out. It's a sign. This chick is on her way to the studio.

Show's Over

This is all that's left of that extreme effort to get a great booth together.


Gratitude and love (in no particular order)

• Pearl
• John
• Toni
• Kim
• Joan
• Jean
• Mike
• Kate
• Brett
• Circle Craft Volunteers
• The carpet guy

Now the real work begins. I have one enormous wholesale order for Colorado and then my custom orders from the show. As well, I have one day of experiencing the Culture Crawl with Joan and a vendor advisory meeting on Wednesday. It's a full schedule without including putting the studio back together. But these are all things I am really looking forward to.

The evening ended beautifully at Tropika... You have to try the pineapple rice.

Show Stopper

It's the last day of the show!!!I am looking forward to getting back into the studio to start all of this amazing custom work. Yes, I know what I said about doing custom work, but this is all things I loved making and just sold out of.

There was a lot of playful dress up in the booth. Sometimes you just have to try it all on.


And here's some late night studio work.


I guess it's time to throw myself in the shower. It will wake me. Then I can have my coffee, complete my resign application for next year and get myself to the show. There will be a lot of helpers today so I may even get a chance to shop from some other vendors.

Show me the Money

You go to shows to make money and pay the rent. It's intense and a bizarre way to earn a living. In production most of the year and then rolling the dice for the big payoff.

The show has been incredible this year and I can't deny it. But something bigger than having a good show has happened for me this year.

It makes sense. All of it. The hours, the stress, the late nights......are because I love this.

For every hat that is tried on, for every knitter that has the perfect project for my yarn, my heart grows just a little bit bigger. I have an incredible sense of pride in how much happiness my small items can bring to people and this year it all came together like a giant fuzzy hug.

So, I did not knit anything last night when I came home. I did not spin. We had a nice late dinner and talked about the show. I read some beautiful emails. Even went to bed early.

Sweet.

It's Show Time!

Exhausted, elated....I feel like I have been beaten with a bag of oranges. I can't even think today as I did not leave the booth once yesterday in 11 hours.

Not sure if the four hours sleep I got last night will do the trick. Here's hoping.