Don’t forget that this weekend is “My Home For The Holidays” Home Show!
Both Saturday 11/19 and Sunday 11/20 from 10:00am-6:00pm.
Whether you’re starting your holiday gift shopping, splurging on yourself
or just hanging out on my sofa, I’d love to see you this weekend!

If you need my home address, just send me a quick e-mail to
gary@firewhenreadypottery.com

So last night my new postcards arrived… as well as my chocolate cake!
So this morning I’ve been labeling & stamping postcards, and eating cake…
with the hopes of getting them into today’s mail. Then it’s back to the studio
to make more pots. Looking at the calendar, I think today is going to be the last day
to throw wet new work if I hope to stamp, trim & dry them in time for next Tuesday’s
bisque kiln. Which then leaves me just a couple nights to glaze & wad for Friday night’s
soda kiln loading. The holidays are coming quick… and I’m already running out of days!

I just found out from one of my faithful blog readers that my friend Sarah Chapman
is featured prominently in the new SOFA CHICAGO 2012 catalog.
Apparently, an image of her work is in the full page ad for Lillstreet Art Center on
page 254. Click below and check it out. Her work is incredible, and it’s great that she’s
getting exposure such as this. Well deserved Sarah!!!

SOFA CHICAGO 2012 Exhibition Catalog online – search for page 254

Also, as a quick heads-up… Sarah will also be having a Trunk Show at Lillstreet just in time
to kick-off the holiday shopping season. The show opening will be on Thursday,
November 17th and run through the following week with beauties like these…

With November right around the corner…
I’m becoming a little overwhelmed with the idea that my Holiday Home Show
is now less than three weeks away. So I’m in the studio trying to crank out as much
work as I can to fill another soda kiln before then. At least now I’m one step closer…
I just designed my postcards and sent them to the printer!

Sure, I’m running a little behind schedule on these… but with expedited shipping,
these will get out into the mail just in time! But until then, mark your calendars now!

“My Home For The Holidays” Home Show 2011
Saturday, November 19th – 10:00am-6:00pm
Sunday, November 20th – 10:00am-6:00pm
More details to come…

Three weeks from today… and three weeks from tomorrow…

“My Home For The Holidays” Home Show
Saturday, November 19th – 10:00am-6:00pm
Sunday, November 20th – 10:00am-6:00pm

Mark your calendars now for my annual Holiday Home Show.
On the north side of Chicago in the Edgewater neighborhood.
It’s the perfect chance to start your holiday shopping…
or just stop by to hang out on my sofa for the day!

It’s my biggest pottery sale of the entire year. Every room of my condo
is decked out and filled with pottery. The biggest selection of pots you’ll see
from Fire When Ready Pottery all year long! With food & drinks in the kitchen…
and the annual “Tired Of Shlepping Sale” on the back porch.
More details to come… or e-mail me for specifics : gary@firewhenreadypottery.com

It’s always great to get pictures from your customers of your work.
Actually seeing your work being used and loved in their home… or campsite!
I got these pictures from Amy Higgason who organized the ART DETOUR.
One of her friends had purchased one of my candle votive cups!

And here’s the message from Sally:
“Just getting to this now! loved your Art Sale! So nice to have such talent presented
so wonderfully! Look how wonderful the votive holder was for my campout!!!

If any of you have photos to share, I’d love to see them!

A couple days after I got home, I had a chance to finally check in on Facebook…
only to find this wonderful & insightful posting from our friend Pam.
I’ve known Pam, and her husband Pat, for a couple years now. Pam has been in
my pottery class, and has become friends with Amy while in the Northwoods.
So Amy & I have had plenty of time to hang out with Pam… but I think this was
the first time that Pam has actually watched a group of artists go through the
“glamorous” part of packing up after a long art fair weekend. So many people
think that these art fairs just kind of happen by themselves, and that it’s all
fun & games for the artists. Let me just say that it’s not.

Well… here’s Pam’s comment she posted on Facebook!
Thank you Pam for noticing all we go through, and taking time to share your insights…

Last weekend Pat and I had the good fortune to spend time with a few very talented
artists at ART DETOUR hosted by Pigeon Road Pottery in Northern Wisconsin. As well
as fun, good conversation, lots of laughter, and gourmet s’mores we were able to witness
just how much goes in to participating in an art fair. Countless hours of perfecting the art,
buying and making displays to exhibit the art, finding the perfect containers to transport
the art, hours of set up every day, hours of tending to the customers and manning the booth followed by hours of re-packing all the pieces and fitting them back into the car/truck/van with all the display shelves/cases/tables and the now dismantled tent only to return home to attend to tons of paperwork, returning customer emails, collating your customer mailing lists, inventorying what you have left, planning what you need to make for the next art fair…
Next time you pick up a handmade bowl, necklace, watercolor painting, etc and look at the price please consider all that went on behind the scenes for YEARS before it was created and you saw it. It is an amazing amount of dedication these artists have to beautify your world and feed your soul. Be honored to be able to take a piece of that home with you.

_______________

Thank you Pam!!!

Since it was the last day of the tour, I felt that Sarah had to take a spare moment to
enjoy the surroundings. So we went for a VERY short hike on our way back to Amy’s place.
So we stopped off along the McNaughton Trail for a little snippet of nature.

When we finally got to Amy’s place on Pigeon Road, it was a little bittersweet knowing that
today was going to be the last day of fun! We all set up, got the fire started and prepared for
the customers. Sundays are generally a slower day. And it was again. But it felt good.
It gave us all a little more time to hang out and chat. Once again, my friends Pam & Pat
were there for a large portion of the day… helping, chatting and serving lunch!

While we were sitting and playing around the campfire, I learned a new trick. Pam showed
me how to make marshmallow taffy! Apparently if you just keep squishing the marshmallow
with your fingertips, it eventually loses its puffed air… and becomes taffy like!!!

Once the day had ended, it was time to pack up. But first, we had to have some fun
with the signs that had drawn so many people into the ART DETOUR. The signs were
spread out along the highway in the traditional Bermashave style. But the show was over,
and the signs had to come down. And we had to have a quick photo shoot!

But then it was time to get back to work. The glamorous part of packing it all.
Putting all of my pots back into the crate. Breaking down my shelving units. Taking down
my tent. Being careful & working methodically to get everything taken care of. It always
takes longer than you expect. And as night was drawing near, and the sky was getting
darker & darker… we were still packing. And trying to get everything packed back into my car.
Every thing has a place. And every place has a thing. And a HUGE thank you to Pat
for helping me fit everything back into my car… including my tent which came up North
on the top of my car! Now it fits inside… thank you Pat!!!

Once everyone was packed up, and the sky had turned dark, we all finally had a chance
to hang out around the fire, enjoy a bunch of leftovers for dinner and relax. And share stories
of our experience in the Northwoods. The good. The bad. The crazy. And a little ceremonial
“closure” to the inaugural ART DETOUR…

Okay, so the s’mores may have gotten the best of us?!
But if you’re going to do something, be sure you do it in a big way!
So Amy came up with the brilliant marketing plan to hype our sugary addiction.
And after a little friendly “name-calling”… we were all S’morons! … with groovy t-shirts!

Amy was truly getting into the spirit of things… and was “bedazzled” with buttons & necklaces
galore! As part of our clandestine marketing campaign, we thought it would be fun for “our”
Art Detour customers to wear ART DETOUR buttons as they went around on the “other” Tour.
We had ART DETOUR buttons, as well as S’MORON buttons for anyone who made a s’more!
Plus, Amy & Wendi had each had buttons printed to promote their own “brand.” And if that
weren’t enough, Amy was also excited to show off her new collection of necklaces made by
Sarah, Wendi and myself (top to bottom).

But a shirt is just a shirt, and a button is just a button.
And with the addition of some hi-octane sugar, you can see where the real fun began!
Caught in mid-air, and Amy’s going to kill me for this, but I LOVED the reaction that came
after I caught her trying to get the first mouthful of her breakfast s’more! Simply adorable!!!

Plus, we couldn’t keep all of the s’moron fun to ourselves, so we also raffled off a t-shirt
for our customers. And there was enough interest by people who wanted their own t-shirt
that Amy actually started taking orders for t-shirt reprints!

So the fun continued this morning… with fun around the fire!
One of the “selling points” of our marketing campaign was gourmet s’mores!
So we’ve been playing with various combinations of yummy ingredients.
Sure, we had the traditional graham crackers, Hershey’s chocolate & marshmallows.
But we also had an assortment of cookies, crackers, chocolates, spreads and more.
My personal favorite was gingersnap cookie, Reese’s peanut butter cup & jumbo
marshmallow. We even had vegetarian marshmallows (who knew?) and gluten-free
graham crackers. Plus, Amy’s cousin’s wife spoiled us all with homemade graham
crackers & marshmallows!!! Yes, homemade… again, who knew any one would even
take the time to make marshmallows?! Thank You Kirsten!!!

But then this morning, Amy decided to up the ante… with gourmet breakfast s’mores!
Those of you who know me, know that there is nothing too sweet or too rich for me.
I have the palette of a four year old. I could easily eat the whole bag of jumbo
marshmallows right now! But I digress.

So Amy brought out her “gourmet” ingredients.. and the toaster!
Picture this if you will… in order of the bowl “stacked” s’more…

Toasted Eggo Waffle. Chunky Peanut Butter. Hershey’s Chocolate. Bacon Bits.
Then a toasted JUMBO Marshmallow… toasted to gooey perfection!
Another Toasted Eggo Waffle… with homemade raspberry preserves spread on it.
Squish… and then drizzle with Real Maple Syrup! I know.. sounds like a lot…
but it was great!!!

Here’s Sarah making her s’more… which was a group effort to get the layers ready…
as Sarah toasted her very own vegetarian marshmallows!

And here’s mine… with the “real” jumbo marshmallow squishing out the sides!!!

And then Amy made her’s, complete with some spiced apple compote that Wendi made.
Which too was awfully scrumptious – with a kick of hot pepper!

And as if one weren’t enough… I had to go in for another one. So I went “deconstructed.”
With a layer of crumbled gingersnaps, graham crackers, crunchy peanut butter, chocolate,
toasted marshmallow, spiced apple compote… and some more real maple syrup!
Can you say “sugar high”???… Followed by “sugar coma”???