Halloween is around the Corner!

I just love Halloween! It's such a fun holiday. Everyone from children to adults can dress up as whatever they feel like for the year. I just love the jewelry and accessories we add to our daily lives for the month of October too! So may things we can do to subtly show our tribute to All Saints Day.

I've made a pendant just for Halloween. My little cat. He's made of an abundance of wrapped silver and black wire. The cat is black, of course, with Swarovski crystals making up his color and a Topaz crystal eye for that "glowing eyes in the dark" look. Then the little guy is flying on his witch's broom. I haven't made her yet, but she's in the works.

Cat's Pajamas Art Show

Visit the Artists of Eclectics Gallery!

We'll be hosting our annual Halloween Show with various arts and crafts perfect for the Fall season. If you don't find what you're looking for, ask the artists if something can be made custom for you. Be sure to give them time to make your item.

 

Eclectics Gallery

7015 Oak Street

Kansas City, MO

816-361-6643

Margi Posten Trunk Show (Ceramics)

Meet Margi Posten

Margie began her career in the Radio and Television business, using her talents for a local commercial for the May's and Worlds of Fun or in industrial films for Hallmark Cards and Products and Kansas City Power and Light. She has been in radio and theater for years. Now see her talent grow in the world of ceramics.

Eclectics Gallery

7015 Oak Street

Kansas City, MO

816-361-6643

Summer Rain Etsy Treasury List

A few weeks ago, we finally had a break in the heat in the form of a summer thunder storm. The items below remind me of that Summer Rain.

Moonstone Necklace, Rainbow Moonstone Necklace with Leaf Accent by CircesHouse on Etsy - "Mirkwood" by CircesHouse

 Enchanted rain, antique Gold Art Cameo Pendant with crystals and agate by Ewasaj

 Ozone Handmade Soap - JUMBO SIZED vegan bars made with pure coconut milk - from Arcadia Aromatics by SoapStore

Fine Art Print, Giclee Archival Print, Photomontage, Collage, Painted Photographs, Rain Dance.... by ImagineStudio 

See more Featured Artists in my Summer Rain Treasury List.

Katie Kwo Gerson Trunk Show (knitted wire jewelry)

Meet Katie Gerson

Katie makes fabulous knitted and wire-wrapped jewelry with custom pieces available. Visit Eclectics Gallery Friday evening September 9th to have one of her beuitful works of art as your own!

 Let us know you'll be coming.

 

Eclectics Gallery

7015 Oak Street

Kansas City, MO
816-361-6643

Amanda's Garnet Ring

 This little beauty is for Amanda. She ordered a custom ring for her birthday and this is what I created for her. The ring began to develop a life of it's own with weavings, swirls, and small garnet rounds.

 

Edited: Art Unleashed Auction 2011 - Humane Society of Kansas City

Thank you to all who bid on little miss below. She was auctioned for $55. All proceeds go to the Humane Society of Kansas City to help those animals in need.

I love animals. I love jewelry and arts and all kinds of crafts. It's a great thing when you can combine the things you love in life.

The Humane Society of Greater Kansas City is hosting a Live and Silent Auction of original pet-themed artwork. The Art Unleashed event will take place Friday August 26th at Hale Arena beginning at 7:00p - 10:00p. They have asked local artists to donate their pet-themed artwork for this event. You'll be able to see artwork from Eclectics Gallery Members, paintings by Karrol Combs, ceramics by Melissa Moore, jewelry by yours truly, and many other types of arts and crafts.

My Donation: This isn't the best picture as I took it with my phone. The deadline for artists to submit happens to be today so I haven't had a chance to take this puppy ;) home and photograph her properly. She is made with feet upon feet of silver wire in various gauges with Swarovski Crystals in Black and Crystal AB caught in a wire net within the silhouette.Since she's a beautiful girl, she was given three freshwater pearls for her collar.

Our Booth - Design Ideas

Working on a booth design is hard work. You have to plan it out, get a design feel, then find all the components. Although fun, it is very tiring. Now that we have a list of Art and Craft Fairs in the KC area, we can decide on which ones we'd like to attend. Next on the ever growing list of things to do....Design the Booth! This is very important. Having a layout, a display design, color scheme...all helps to make set-up go quicker the day of the event. In preparation we've done some more research and done our own design.

Once we get all the compentnets, we'll set it up and get pictures taken. Hopefully all goes well and as planned.


The Canopy - A Must Have:

We were so excited when we got this canopy, we just had to test it out. It's perfect! Just the right size and definitely easy to get set-up (just takes 2) ... just like the box says. It came with a roller bag, awning, name sign, side walls, stakes, and weight plates so we can use it on concrete. EZ UP Canopy sure knows what they're doing!


Our Booth Layout and Design:

This design is two 5 foot tables and two 4 foot tables. The center table probably won't be used since it reduces the amount of space available for customers to peruse. 

A basic design based on the booth designs we liked and found inspiration from.

When we went shopping, we found several display tools we just fell in love with. Since we are going for an elegant design in black and white with accents of purple, these fit in well and add a extra touch of color.

We also have the Shoji screen for earrings and pendants. This will be a great display tool with folded earring cards and to use the verticle space in the canapy. On the back table will be the raised boxes for necklace displays and jewelry sets. The front table will have some of the display dolls and one or two round plates. The plates will have the diamond shapped confetti (plastic) to hold small rings and bookmarks etc.

Some Booth Designs we Like:

 

This one is our favorite. Found it on Jewelry Display Ideas website.

Spring is on your Wrist

To celebrate Mothers Day and make a few pieces for Eclectics Gallery's Mum's the Word event, I made a new bangle and a small set of earrings to match. This will match a ring I had made a few months ago with a small flower.

I hope you're ready for Spring! This set....bangle, earrings, ring...will help you get in the mood.

 The bangle is in progress in this photo. I finished it late the other night and didn't get a picture of the completed bangle. You can see the finished product with the ring at Eclectics Gallery tomorrow.

 Earrings to match.

 

 

  The Summertime Flower Ring

Mum's the Word Event

Friday April 15th

5:00p - 8:00p

Eclectics Gallery
7015 Oak
Kansas City, MO 64113
(816) 361-6643

Art and Craft Fairs List

Over the last few months, we have been working on a list of Art and Craft Fairs in the Kansas City area and surrounding areas. The list is ever-growing, but we've found several promising shows that we'd like to try this year. Of course, we can't go to all as some are over the same weekend, but we have a beginning.

Suggestions and information on the various shows are always welcome. If you know of one, please send it in. We'd love to add it to our list.

June

2nd-5th Old Shawnee Days Shawnee Kansas http://www.oldshawneedays.org/

-          Unknown booth size/price

4^th Liberty Arts Squared – Liberty, MO

-          Apply on Zapp

-          Attendance – 5,000

-          Application Deadline 4/21

-          $75 for booth

-          $25 to be juried

-          Required 5 photos of product

-          Required 1 photos of booth

4^th Handmade in the Heartland Craft Fair – Wichita, KS  (July 2^nd & August 13^th) http://wichita.craigslist.org/eve/2267297669.html

-          10x10 booth

-          $45 (includes 8ft table & 2 chairs

-          All handmade crafts welcome

4^th-5^th Art in the Park – Columbia, MO  http://artinthepark.missouri.org/info.html

-          Closed – no longer receiving applications

-          Attendance – 18,000 ppl

3^rd-5^th Down Town Days….Streets Alive! in Lee’s Summit

-          10x10 booth

-          $250 for a Handcrafted booth

-          Deadline to apply – April 1^st or cost $275

-          Electricity $30 for 110v

-          Tent Rental (if needed) $220

-          Required 5 photos of product

-          Required 1 photos of booth

17^th-19^th 2011 Town Art Show at town Center http://www.townart.org/

-          10x10 booth

-          Required white tent

-          $250-$300 – Booth fee goes to the Parkinson Foundation of the Heartland

-          $30 Jury fee

-          Can get corner booth for $50

-          Deadline to apply – April 1^st

-          Original work only

-          Required 4 color slides of work – label artist name & size of media (can be digital)

-          Required 1 color slide of booth (can be digital)

July

3rd-4th Kansas City Riverfest(firework show) http://kcriverfest.com/ (waiting for updated site)

- 10x10 booth size

- $300 for the booth

August

6^th-7^th Powderhorn Art Fair – Minneanapolis, MN http://www.powderhornartfair.com/

-          Apply on Zapp

-          $210 for 11x11 booth

-          Jury Fee $25

-          Required 4 photos of product – no booth photo required

-          Deadline to apply – May 1^st

-          Art fair profits go toward community programs (teen center, pottery kiln, photo lab)

25th-26th-27 Bonner Springs Tiblow Days http://bonnersprings.org/comm_info10.html

-          Unknown Booth size and price

September

2^nd-4^th Art Show at the Fest, Kansas City Irish Festival 2011 (Labor Day Weekend) www.kcirishfest.com

-          Apply on Zapp

-          $300 for 10x10 booth

-          $25 Jury Fee

-          Deadline to apply – June 1^st

-          Attendance – 100,000

-          4 vender passes w booth (free festival admittance)

-          White tent required – provided w 2 outlets for lighting (300 watts)

-          Required 3 photos of product

-          Required 1 photos of booth

8th-10th Old Settlers Days Olathe, Ks http://www.johnsoncountyoldsettlers.com/

-          Handmade Only

-          10 x 10 booth

-          $150 – includes electricity

9^th-11^th Art Westport http://artwestport.net/

-          Apply on Zapp

-          Exclusively for KC area artists – must live within 40 miles of the downtown KC post office

-          Apply between March 1^st-May 1^st

-          10x10 booth

-          $300

-          No commercial or manufactured work

11^th Lawrence Fall Arts & Crafts Festival http://lawrenceks.org/lprd/specialevents/pdf/fallartsandcrafts2011.pdf

-          10x10 booth

-          $55

-          $20 for electricity

-          No Commercial Jewelry

-          Can rent a table for $10 each

16^th-18^th Mosaics – Missouri Festival for the Arts, 2011

-          Apply on Zapp

-          $225 for 10x10 booth

-          $25 Jury Fee

-          Deadline to apply – May 30^th  

-          Attendance 90,000-100,000

-          Required 4 photos of work

-          Required 1 photo of booth

16^th-18^th Zona Rosa Arts Festival 2011 http://www.zonarosa.com/Events/EventDetails/tabid/3340/ArticleId/2550/8th-Annual-Zona-Rosa-Arts-Festival.aspx

-          Apply on Zapp

-          Jury Fee $25

-          Required 3 photos of work

-          Required 1 photo of booth

-          Deadline to Apply – July 5^th

-          10x10 booth

-          $200 for booth

23^rd-25^th Country club Plaza 79^th Annual Plaza Art Fair http://www.countryclubplaza.com/Events/Plaza-Art-Fair

-          Apply on Zapp

-          Jury Fee $35

-          Required 4 photos of work

-          Required 1 photo of booth

-          Deadline to Apply – May 1^st

-          12x12 booth

-          $100 extra for a corner booth

-          $400 for the booth

October

 9/30-10/2 Longview Art and World Music festival 2011

-          Apply on Zapp

-          $245 for 10x10 booth

-          Jury Fee $25

-          $74 for corner booth

-          Required 4 photos of work

-          Required 1 photo of booth

-          Deadline to Apply – July 20^th  

1^st-2^nd  Weston Mo. Apple Fest http://westonmo.com/visit/main.html

8th-9th (2nd full weekend of October) Sugar Mound http://www.moundcity.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94&Itemid=163

 - 10x10 booth

- $100

3^rd (22^nd-23^rd) weekend in October – Maple Leaf Festival http://mapleleaffestival.com/index.htm

-          10x10 booth

-          $25 for electricity

-          $100

-          KS sales tax number required

-          Photos of booth required

-          Deadline to apply – June 1^st

-          Handmade only