OMG HEY

Hey yall!

Well well well, I'm done hopping around our wonderful city with a car load of stuff for this year! Bring it on 08'!

Last weekend ( Dec 10) I participated in a show called the handmade invasion in Gulfport, Mississippi. The event took place at a Flea Market and was originally scheduled to be apart from the actual market, unfortunately I was the only attendi, and after a couple short hours I decided my weekend was better spent at th beach. Yes, the beach this is the south yall! I also went to Bay St Louis for an artwalk which was alot of fun too. Props to Mallory for her efforts with the market and crafty fabulousness all around though, and maybe the next will be a huge and wonderful success. =]

Yesterday was the Bywater Art market- with rain and cold in the forecast I was prepared for the worst. The few clouds that rolled in, rolled out before 9am, and our day was clear, sunny, hot even! A ton of people came out to shop and enjoy their day, and the rain held off till the market was all over.

All in all it was a great way to end my year! To all my fellow New Orleans Estyers, good luck to you in the following weekends, I hope your days are sunny and warm too!
I will see yall in O8!

Maria... cause ya betta' don't.

Festivus and such

So Etsy New Orleans? How are you feeling this Monday Morning. Not sure about the rest of you, but I'm ready for January. The art markets have been great so far, but I am so tired. I know Inexplicable Confetti did well this week, and as I walked around and talked to some of our best ETSY friends, they seem to be doing well, keep up the good work.

I have also been displaying our ETSY New Orleans banner at my booth, and it has sparked some new interest. This months meeting should bring some new faces, and hopefully new ideas.

Now the most important part. The back page of the Anti-Gravity. Did you see it yet? If not you can see it online. Otherwise, pick up some copies and hand them out to random people who look like they might like to buy on ETSY.

Finally. If anyone is taking pictures at art markets, can you send me a couple of your best. I have been too busy printing shirts to remember to bring a camera, and I think the blog would look a lot better with some pictures, because with some pictures of your art, people would have something too look at, and they may even be tempted to read my ramblings.
--Phillip

Etsy New Orleans Steet Team celebrates Festivus

How to spin wool by Gina from Twisted Fibers Shop on Etsy

The Quick and Easy Way to Spin Wool by Hand
It's starting to get a bit chilly around here and time to think of dreamy fall sweaters, mittens, hats and scarves. We ran into Gina from Twisted Fibers not too long ago at the Freret Market (along with her adorable son Austin) and her gorgeous wares of fibers that she sells in her etsy shop: http://twistedfibers.etsy.com and also online and in wholesale accounts.
She had this gorgeous bounty of wool and other fibers that she hand dyes but also spins this wool while we were standing there talking.
She let me take this step by step tutorial so I could figure out how to do it at home. She starts with a big bit of puffy wool that she has carded(?) from her goats (yes she has goats.You catch a bit of the wool through an eye hook at the top of the spindle and just begin spinning it in your hand.
In a bit of DIY heaven, her *husband makes these spindles for her* out of wood and she just spins away. As Gina explains, it really is a simple process.

One can only surmize that the hardest part must be getting and caring for the goats.I wanted to buy every one of Gina's gorgeous handmade spun fibers that came in silk, cotton and of course, wool.

To recap the process:
1. Get the bit of wool that needs to be spun.
2. Insert a bit of the wool into the eye on top of your spindle.
3. Begin twisted your spindle in a clockwise fashion.
4. Fill up your spindle and you are done!Begin again!

If you are looking to make unique knitted items for your sweeties this holiday season, you've got to check out this Violet,Louisiana artist, Gina from Twisted Fibers.

Yea, I blogged First.

Alright, as promised at meeting number 2, I am now blogging. Please be kind I am doing my best. So fellow Etsiers, we finally had our first group show; The Marigney Home Tour Art Market (or something like that). It featured the greatest Etsy artists ever, such as: Bayou Salvage, Nola Cooks, yabettasupadont (the newest overused word in my vocabulary), Inexplicable Confetti (that's me (see how unselfish I was not to put my own stuff first)) , Whitmore Photos, NOLA Salvage, and Between Piety and Desire. The tent looked good, the people who were running it were great (thanks to Maria and Kathy for sitting there all day), the sales were UUUhhhggg. Well, a couple of people sold, but I talked to most of the vendors there, and the sales were poor all around. The good thing was that we all got our cards handed out, and people are soon going to be using New Orleans Street Team as a household name. Maybe this Mardi Gras someone will even dress as the New Orleans Street Team (don't count on it being me).

Next on the (oh so important) agenda...

The ad on the back page of the . There is still a (very) small amount of time to get in on it if you want. We are splitting the cost. Currently it's 50 bucks a person to be in the ad. If more people join in, the price will be re-divided and be less. The ad gets you a small circle with one of your products and of course your website. So please all of you who claim to want to be part of the Street Team that is New Orleans, e-mail us at(whitmorephotos@gmail.com) and get involved.

That's all for now, though you can look forward to hearing from me every week (sorry Teena).

--Phillip

PS. Check out some more pics from the Marigney Show: