Thank goodness for big bags of recycled bubble wrap!!! Today’s a packing & shipping day… always better with recycled supplies! Well that, and the bright colors streaming through Retta Hentschel’s beautiful stained glass piece in my window!!!

With the early-morning sun streaming through the windows… Rhonda & I are replenishing for Day Two of BOWLS & BUTTONS Holiday Home Show. It might be freezing outside, but we’re nice & toasty here with snacks & hot apple cider to take off that chill while you shop! We’re open today from 10:00am-6:00pm… c’mon by!

1353 West Rosemont #3, Chicago, Illinois 60660

BOWLS & BUTTONS : We’re officially OPEN!!!
Plenty of holiday gifts for everyone on your holiday gift list… including yourself!!! Lots of pottery & handmade button jewelry … handmade by myself & Rhonda Gurgone. We’re here at my condo today until 6:00pm… and again tomorrow from 10:00am-6:00pm. C’mon by!

1353 West Rosemont #3, Chicago, Illinois 60660

Another dinosaur arrived in the mail!!! So excited to now have TWO of Brett Kern’s annual dinosaur ornaments for my tree… adding to the all-handmade vibe of my tree!!! Check him out Brett Kern Ceramics! I’m two-for-two… already can’t wait to see next year’s dino!!!

Just a quick reminder that this weekend is BOWLS & BUTTONS… my Second Holiday Home Show. Perfect for all your holiday shopping with pottery in every room of my Christmas decorated condo!!! Plus food & drink in the kitchen & the back porch is my “Tired of Shlepping Sale”. Big discounts on lots of pots!!!

As an added bonus, my talented friend Rhonda Gurgone will be at my place too with beautiful jewelry she makes out of vintage buttons. So unique… and the perfect gift for that special someone… or yourself!!!

Stop on by Saturday & Sunday from 10:00am-6:00pm.
Come with your holiday gift list to crank it out… and bring a friend or five!!!

Don’t forget the happy little things! Like handmade pottery & jewelry for all of your holiday gifts! Here’s a quick preview of some beautiful jewelry made by my friend Rhonda Gurgone… who will be my Guest Artist this weekend at my condo. All made with antique buttons… and she knows the backstory of every vintage button! So come on by this weekend to do some holiday shopping… pottery & jewelry for everyone!!!

What do you do with a bunch of beautiful vintage buttons?!

Well, come to my condo this weekend to find out!!!
It’s my Second Holiday Home Show. And my talented friend Rhonda Gurgone will be there with her fantastic jewelry made with antique buttons. Plus she knows the history & story of every button!!! Crazy cool, right???

Coming soon… another HOLIDAY HOME SHOW for those who need to do a little last-minute holiday shopping! I’m restocking the pottery shelves & prepping for another go-round. And this time I will also have a jeweler friend of mine joining me. Rhonda Gurgone makes her jewelry out of antique buttons from around the world. And she knows the history of every button… most of them over a hundred years old!!! So mark your calendars… and start making your holiday gift shopping lists!

Well, look who’s ready to greet everyone who comes to my place this weekend for my HOLIDAY HOME SHOW. It’s the “King Of The Raccoons” from the “The Animal King-dom Exhibition.” Amazing animal sculptures by my friend Deana Bada Maloney… each with a sense of whimsy… and you know hoe I LOVE whimsy!!! This little cutie came home with me from ART IN THE BARN this summer… and is anxiously waiting for his big debut next weekend!

Check out more of Deana’s amazing work – https://thebadacreative.com/

On our way to Seward, kinda taking the turn near Anchorage, we stopped off at a wonderful hidden pottery studio in woods of Bird Creek. Just a few turns off the main road… if you know how to find them… is the pottery studio of Peter Brondz. We pulled in to find a few kilns under his kiln sheds. And then the “Welcome” sign that invites you inside (after you take your shoes off) to his honor-system Pottery Gallery. With a couple other potters showing along with Peter’s pots, Theresa & I started admiring & shopping. But then we heard something… a little noise on the other side of the wall. We pondered… and then out walked Peter Brondz himself.

He was in his studio working, but was more than willing to chat with us & give us a tour of his place. And his studio space is AMAZING… so warm & cozy with a beautiful view right there where he sits to make his pots. It was a wonderful surprise to find some more local art, to meet Peter himself… and to bring a couple new pots home to add to my mug collection!!! Thanks again for the tour Peter – so nice to meet you!