photo shoot : behind the scenes

 Photo credit: last two pictures by Autumn Noah Lea.

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 Last week we did a photo shoot in the park with a bunch of our new earrings and some necklaces too. I took over a thousand pictures that day! (I'm still organizing and sorting them.) Bracken liked the swings, made himself a fern crown, and enjoyed some watermelon (and offered some to our models.) We even got some family pictures at the end, with Bracken just wanting to make silly faces as usual. Here is a little peek behind the scenes. More soon. 

learning curve (the laser)

We've been pretty excited about something around here. Not long ago a bit of unexpected money came my mom's way and she shared some with my sister and I and saved some for her retirement. It was such a huge blessing for all of us. My sister and brother in law needed a working vehicle. And Jeff and I needed to get some tools to help us in our business. I wrote before about Jeff's sciatic pain and also briefly mentioned his tennis elbow. Basically Jeff and I knew that hand carving and hand wood burning constantly, day after day, was not sustainable for his body. He couldn't work his body like a machine any longer because it was taking it's toll. So, with that in mind, Jeff and I talked a lot about what tools would be most helpful for us. Jeff did a lot of research. What he really wanted was a laser machine. At first we were both a little bit resistant to the idea. We love all the energy he puts into each and every piece, making them so special, the essence of handmade. But the more we learned about laser machines and the more we talked about it, the more it felt like the right decision for us. First he looked for lasers made in the United States, but the ones we needed were way out of our price range and as far as we could tell all of the parts were made overseas anyway. He found one overseas that was exactly what we needed and also in our price range. It was delivered in a giant crate to our house. (Our neighbor had to help Jeff lift it onto a table.) Jeff immediately started working with the laser and figuring it out. The one downside was that the manual was very poorly translated, so he's pretty much had to figure everything out for himself. It's been quite a steep learning curve, but he's done an amazing job of figuring things out (a lot of experimenting mixed with some research) and has been creating the most beautiful things. It's completely changed our business in such a short time. Jeff's elbow and wrist that were in so much constant pain have now had time to rest and recover. What would take him days and days to create before takes so much less time to make now. And he still sands each piece by hand, spends lots of time on designs, sets stones... basically, there's still a whole lot of handmade love in everything he makes. Only now he can have the help of a machine to create his art rather than using his body like a machine.

Above are some recent earrings in our market booth that he used the laser to burn the designs in the wood. Both Jeff and I have been having so much fun coming up with new designs, getting out our paper and pens and drawing away. Before I used to draw the words on every single one of our inspirational wooden magnets by hand and then Jeff would woodburn them. Now I can put a lot of time and energy into a single design that we can burn over and over again with the help of the laser machine. Jeff has been able to copy some of his old scrimshaws and burn them into wood. Many of our designs are original creations by us, but some are not (like some celtic knots and the flower of life design shown above, for example.) Jeff has been really inspired by old wood cuts lately. (The 'All You Need Is Love' hoop earrings were inspired by my mom. When I told her Jeff was making wooden hoop earrings, she said that she would love a pair with that saying on them. I drew the design with her in mind and the first pair was sent to her for her birthday. Her creative idea brought those earrings into being.) Today I just showed earrings, since that's what he has been making the most of lately, but he's been making lots of other things as well. I can't begin to say how grateful we are for our laser machine (thank you mom!) and what a difference it has made for Jeff's work. It feels like the beginning of something wonderful, it opens up so many new possibilities for us.

saturday market booths: pottery & glass (part two)

And now for part two, with pictures from previous sunny market days. (You can see part one here.) Less words this time, I'll mostly let the pictures speak for themselves. I didn't intend to have part two be comprised of only pottery and glass, but realized I had so many pictures of the two, that it worked out great that way. And yes, there will be a part three. Enjoy some more handmade love from the Eugene Saturday Market....

.:Teapots, plates, and bowls by Amy the Potter.

.:Glass marbles by Mazet Studios.

.:Bowls, vases and containers by Brown Pots by Nicole.

.:Dichroic glass pendants by Blessed Bead.

.:Pottery windchimes by Pat Brooks.

.:Handblown glass by Infinite Cosmos Glass.

.:Wee vases and dishes by Elise.

.:Borosilicate Glass Pendants by Conan Phillips.

.:Plates and mugs by Yogagoat Pottery.
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Thanks to all the artists who make the Saturday Market such a colorful place!

a soggy saturday (and lots of wows)

Our market day had a little surprise: rain! It was fun walking around the farmer's market with Bracken in the rain and getting soaking wet. There were people in tank tops and shorts saying "I wasn't expecting this!" Once we went back to our booth to warm up and dry out a bit, we discovered our tarp (the roof of our booth) is in worse shape than we thought. It was leaking everywhere and there was hardly a place to sit without getting soaked. So Jeff sat in the one dry spot he could find and Bracken and I headed over to the coffee shop for a bit. After being in there for awhile, we came out with a warm peppermint tea and the rain had stopped. I think Bracken's highlight of the day was the performance at the market stage. At the last Holiday Market Bracken saw a dancer balancing a candle on her head. (I mentioned it briefly in this post.) So, ever since he has been pretty obsessed with balancing things on his head. Sometimes he dances while he does so and tell us whatever is on his head at the time is a candle. On Saturday there were some belly dance performances and one of the dancers balanced a sword on her head. You can imagine how much Bracken enjoyed that. You should have seen the look on his face while he watched, completely mesmerized. Our friend Kim mentioned the fact that he said the word "Wow" over and over, throughout the entire dance. That pretty much summed up how he felt about it. I've never heard him say that word so many times in my life. As soon as we went back to the booth, Jeff heard all about it.

august saturday market booths (2014 part one)

I've been taking pictures at The Eugene Saturday Market throughout the month of August, to show you around a bit. It's been awhile since I've done a post like this. (I was doing one a year. Here's 2011 and 2012. I think I skipped last year. )  It's fun to give you a peek in some of the booths. This is but a small sampling, there are so many more booths with so many creative handmade things to look at and enjoy.

.:Antler earrings with turquoise and fabric buttons in our booth, Mystic Orb & Wooly Moss Roots.
(I took a picture of a friend's Eat More Kale shirt when they visited our booth and then noticed the look on the girl's face as she is looking at our earrings in the background. I like to think that she was saying to her friend "these earrings are just so beautiful I think I'm going to cry!")

.:Windchimes and bracelets crafted from old silverplate silverware by Teresa's Phantasmagoria.

(I  think her windchimes make great gifts and you won't believe her prices.)

.:Wooden boxes, spirit shakers (great baby rattles), and hair barrettes by Earnest Efforts.
(And Bracken's silly faces sandwiched between Heather and I. Showing them his marvelous pouty face while we show our hair barrettes. I wear mine all the time and they have a liftetime guarantee! Thanks to Jolaine for taking these last two pictures for us.)

.:Leather baby moccasins and adult moccasins by Sole Mates.
(Bracken has been wearing handmade shoes by Jolaine since he was born. How special is it to have your shoes made by a friend? Pretty special. Her booth is filled with marvelous things, just showed the footwear this time.) 

.:Handmade earthenware tiles by Terra Madre Tile.
(We have one of Jude's lightswitch plate covers in our home that we love. I love her bright colors and designs.)

.:Yarn and wool creations by Timberwolf Farm.
(I want to touch the soft yarn every time we visit Inge in her booth. Bracken wants to touch it all too.)

.:Hand-printed t-shirts by Fancy Clancy.
(Her shirts are so soft. Bracken loves his "lion shirt" and always shows Amy whenever he's wearing it.)

.:Felted wool "felties" by Eliel Fionn.
(Bracken has some wooly friends from this booth. And those wool vegetables are just too cute. You can watch Eliel needlefelting in her booth when yo u visit.)

.:Organic Loose Leaf Teas by Labrang Tea Traders.
(Can I say how nice it is to visit Angela's booth on a hot day and try samples of her cold herb tea? She happily gives Bracken many samples. We love many of their blends and just tried a new one- Fennel Spice- and it was really yummy.) 

.:Purses and bags by Lara Howe Designs.
(She has all different styles and colors. Lara also does hairwraps and happens to be our Holiday Market booth neighbor.) 

.:Mica night lights and botanical light shades by Innerlight Lamps.
(We have a few of Janie's night lights and a light shade in our house and love them. You can also find Janie regularly on the market stage making music on her saxophone.)

.:Handwoven pine needle baskets by KneedleKnacks.
(Yes, Linda happily invites Bracken to visit her booth and lets him practice balancing baskets on his head. He loves to balance things on his head. I took two baskets out of her booth to photograph them because all the pictures I took in her booth turned out blurry.)

.:Prints, journals, watercolor paintings by Bright Creations.
(I've written here before about Nancy's inspiring artwork. Each painting that graces our walls is a blessing to look upon. Our family loves her artwork.)

.:Stoneware by Off-Center Ceramics and journals by Pulp Romances.
(Bracken loves to point and identify all the different animals on their pottery. Frank and Denise also happen to be set up right next door to us at the market.)

.:Handmade women's clothing in natural and sustainable fabrics by Belle Weather. 

(Lovely, lovely clothes. Both Fiona and Jenna are talented artists and have joined together to create this new clothing line. I love seeing all the new pieces they come up with.) 

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Okay, those are just some of the booths around Eugene Saturday Market. More next time in part two! (I still have so many pictures I might need to make a part three. And if you are a market vendor and would like to be featured in the next one, let me know.) It's an amazing market and we feel so grateful to be a part of it!