You know, I’ve often said…  “I love having talented friends.”

And this weekend is a HUGE art weekend all over Chicago.
Lillstreet Holiday Opening, Cornelia Arts Holiday Show, local bazaars and more!
With the biggest one being the “One Of A Kind Show” at the Merchandise Mart.
I won’t be exhibiting at “One Of A Kind”… but I will be going to help & support my friends!!!

Sarah Chapman – my favorite metalsmith…
I’ve known Sarah for several years and have quite the collection of her pieces!
I love her designs, her textures, her patterns, her mixed metals… I love it all.
Many of you may have met Sarah over the years as we are neighbors every summer
at the Evanston Lakeshore Art Fair. And she’s frequently my guest artist at my second
Holiday Home Show… which coincidentally is Saturday, December 11th with Sarah!
I’ll be helping Sarah throughout the weekend as it is a really long show with long hours!

Rebecca Zemans – fine silver jewelry
Rebecca is a studio member at Lillstreet as well – and she always makes me smile.
Her energy is contagious. Her smile infectious. Her metal work incredible. I even got to
“play with her” two summers ago when we were booth neighbors at the Hinsdale Art Fair.

Brad Pogatetz – fine art photography
Again – incredible photography of rust, organics, contrasts, forgotten industrial spaces…
and did I mention rust?! I met Brad a couple years ago at the Barrington Art Fair and have
been coveting his photography ever since! Especially this picture…

Melissa Banks – Rapt In Maille – chain maille jewelry
Okay… I have quite the wide collection of Melissa’s work as well. Nothing better than
geometric repetition and metal linked together than feels incredible?! Like fabric!
Many times she has been more than willing to “custom fit” a bracelet for me right there
on the spot! My Mom even has a pair of Melissa’s earrings that she wears ALL the time!

Karla Wheeler – jeweler
New kid on the block… so to speak, but making quite a name for herself on Etsy!
In fact, Karla will be part of the Etsy group of artists at “One Of A Kind.” Apparently,
one of her most popular pieces is this “binary code” bracelet cuff. For the techno geeks
out there I guess?! Her other pieces are great too… like the same cuff with pi written
out to the gazillionth digit, or something like that?! She makes “regular” jewelry too!!!
And her Mom share the same birthday with me too! Go figure…

Rebeca Mojica – Blue Buddha Boutique – chain maille
Another chain maille artist – but this one I’ve actually taken chain maille classes from!
Geomtric repetition, turning a lot of something into one really cool new thing! Love it.

So with this many incredible artists at the “One Of A Kind Show” you really should
stop by and do some holiday shopping for yourself!!!… and others too?!
If you do stop by… make sure you say hi for me too!

“One Of A Kind” Chicago… this weekend at the Merchandise Mart
Thursday, December 2nd – 12:00pm-9:00pm
Friday, December 3rd – 11:00am-9:00pm
Saturday, December 4th -10:00am-7:00pm
Sunday, December 5th – 10:00am-5:00pm

So this morning was cold.
But not a “damp cold.”
So it was actually quite nice.
So I head out on my bike for another cold morning bike ride along the lakefront.
It was a bit windy… err, let’s say windy… so much so that it was tough to keep my
camera steady at times! But with a lot of clouds forming out over the lake, I was
expecting big things… and I wasn’t disappointed.

It started out dark with a layer of bright colors along the horizon. And as I pedaled
further, the sky lit up and the lower clouds took on some beautiful shades of pink
while the higher clouds were darker puffs on the blue sky.

As the clouds overtook the sunrise, I figured the sunrise had peaked… and I started home.
Enjoying the tailwind. Enjoying the ride. And then I looked over my shoulder…

Only to find that the sunrise was indeed NOT over.
Instead the sky had lit up with vibrant colors all across the entire sky! Incredible!!!

Tonight I had a wonderful dinner at my all-time favorite restaurant!
It was a long-overdue-belated-birthday-dinner with my birthday-sharing-friend Nancy.
Tonight’s pasta special was chicken & portobello mushroom filled ravioli with cilantro-cream
sauce, pico de gallo and crispy tortilla strips. INCREDIBLE!!!

Followed by my favorite bread pudding with some hot caramel sauce. The best ever!!!
Really, the bread pudding is just the vehicle to get the caramel into my mouth faster.
Tonight I even got a free “refill” of caramel sauce!!!

And oh, but wait there’s more… also my complimentary birthday dessert of pear lasagna
with even MORE caramel sauce and to-die-for pumpkin ice cream!!! Yummy.
With the best service ever – thank you Catherine for another wonderful meal.

Here’s the details…
Rose Angeli’s – 1341 West Wrightwood, Chicago, Illinois 60614

Homemade food always tasted better on handmade pottery.
Especially pumpkin pie & pumpkin cheesecake!… yummy!!!

Of course I had to “test” out this theory a couple times!

Yesterday: Gray & gloomy.
Today: Sunny & clear.

Yesterday: Temps in the mid-60’s.
Today: Temps in the low-20’s.

Yesterday: Bike shorts and a long-sleeve jersey.
Today: EVERY layer of clothing I could find!!!… and I was STILL cold!!!

Such a simple thought. But such an important message.
My friend & potter Amy Higgason of Pigeon Road Pottery made this quick poster
as a subtle reminder which is so important this holiday season. And I found it somewhat ironic
that it came out just as I was completing another successful Holiday Home Show.

Thanks to Amy – and her talented friends top to bottom & left to right…
Roberta Polfus, Emily Murphy, Gary “me” Jackson, Kathy Furda, Katlyn Koestler,
Amy Higgason, Wendy Powalisz and Debra Ketchum Jircik.

And special thanks to Amy for including my handmade holiday ornaments!
They were big sellers this weekend… only a few left!

Another Holiday Home Show has come and gone. Day Two is now complete.
Another long day chatting it up with friends & pottery-lovers! Yesterday was a bit more
focused on the “big-on-a-mission-shoppers” who were there for some serious shopping.
Today’s traffic was a bit slower, and the customers were a bit more chatty.
More friends stopping by for a quick visit and some festive holiday cheer!

Thank you so much to all of you who stopped by this weekend, and shared some holiday
cheer with us. Everyone was so supportive & encouraging. I couldn’t continue to do this
with such supportive friends & customers. And special thanks to my parents and my friend
Nancy who worked so diligently all weekend! I couldn’t do it without them either!

Feels good to be done with another year’s Holiday Home Show!
And luckily, I still have some great inventory for the rest of the holiday season.
Next up on my holiday schedule, the Lillstreet Holiday Open House
on Friday, December 3rd from 6:00am-10:00pm.

Well, today was a great success! And so much fun!
The day started out with a rush of customers right at 10:00am! Some of my “regulars”
were there bright and early. And they all know the drill. They come in the front door
and head directly out the back door – to the “Tired Of Shlepping Sale.” Once they fill up
a box full of bargains, then they head back in to shop “the real stuff.” It was a day full of
friends, family and some of my favorite “groupie” customers! So much fun!!!

We sold a lot of pieces – but we still have a lot of great stuff for Day Two!
So tonight I need to do some replenishing, restocking & rearranging!
Getting ready for another fun day tomorrow!

You know how things pile up that you just need to get rid of? How at the end of the art fair
season there’s a pile of pieces you’re just plain tired of carrying around from show to show?
What to do with your class teaching demos? The last few pieces of a production line?
The flawed? The seconds? The ‘I’m just tired of them’ pieces?

Well, I save all of mine all year long and put them all in my “Tired Of Shlepping Sale.”
Because that’s what I am – tired of shlepping them, show to show, up & down stairs, etc.
Instead I’m making drastic markdowns & bargain reductions on a LOT of pieces…
just I never see them again and can make room for some new stuff!!!

Stop by “My Home For The Holidays” Home Show today & tomorrow for some
great holiday shopping – and some great deals on some “Tired Of Shlepping” bargains!!!
Saturday & Sunday from 10:00am-6:00pm. C’mon by…