New Lighting!

I recently added some new lighting to the shop!  This large upcycled vintage funnel pendant light!  Love the original sticker on it, showing some great coloring!

Also, I was lucky enough to find two sets of gas station pendant light shades - TWINS!  All are listed separately, but would look amazing as matching end table lamps, or a set over an island!  

Happy National Wine Day!

In honor of this festive day... TODAY ONLY: Receive 10% off everything in the shop by entering coupon code "HAPPYNATIONALWINEDAY" at checkout! 

Photo credit goes to New England Beverage! - I'm a loyal patron  Cheers!

Andover Crafts in the Park

My first outdoor craft fair!

We had 3 hours to set up, and you can be sure that we used every MINUTE of that time!  Thanks to my hubby and sister, everything went up smoothly.  Of course, half-way through the fair we learned that our semi-short tent could actually go up much higher than the 6-foot clearance where we had it, but whatcha gonna do?!  We know for next time!  (Sorry about the many bruises my hubby suffered on his head... poor 6'2" guy, he kept forgetting to duck!)

Love my awesome banner.  Course, I'll have to get some taller poles since the whole tent will be at least a foot higher next time.

And the inside shots, featuring all my varied design interests...

Chevron ottoman, starfish grapevine wreath, and infinity scarves!

All natural soy wax candles made inside of upcycled wine bottles!  I spent many hours perfecting my process on those beauties, to cut, grind, sand, and stain the glass so they're gorgeous (AND won't slice open your hand when you go to light them)!

Also have a nice shot of my upcycled cork flooring wine glass charms at the bottom.

While I love rustic charm, I still require some BLING in my life, so starting at the left we have some very glam Swarovski Bead Accessories (try them as purse jewelry, zipper pulls, or key chains!).  Middle top you'll find one of my wine bottle pendant lights with a vibrant purple cord, and below are some upcycled wine bottle business card holders.  Far right: Scrabble tile wine charms (plenty of every letter, and at only $2 each, you can create your own unique set of charms!

Wine bottle pendant lights!!!

Upcycled vintage funnel pendant lights, as well as vintage gas station shades that have been rewired and ready to hang!

The day started off a little gloomy and rainy, but it turned around quickly.  The sun came out, and I had the opportunity to chat with so many fantastic people!

Looking forward to my next outdoor craft fair, which will be on Saturday, June 14, in Wakefield, MA. To learn more about the Wakefield Festival by the Lake, check out their website here.

Spring is in the Air!

FINALLY!  A "warm" day!  (It's 45 degrees out).  Pretty please, can we get the snow to melt already?!  As much as I whine and moan about the cold all winter long, it's an exciting time when the season finally starts to change into Spring.  There's hope that warmer, sunnier days are on their way!

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been ordering Spring-inspired fabrics, to help catapult me into that Spring feeling ahead of time.  Black, whites, and icy blues, you had your time.  Move over for some bright and spirited colors!

I'm thrilled about these silky chiffon fabrics and can't wait to turn them into infinity scarves!  Pulling out the sewing machine will be a nice vacation from the candle-making experiments (yup, still experimenting, but I swear, they're coming soon!).  :)

I hope these fabrics bring a smile to your face and give you hope that Spring is indeed on its way!

Here's the entire collection:

I'm loving these pinks!  And no, I did not add ANY saturation to this photo.  They really are that happy and bright!!!

These blues make me think of the Caribbean... ahh... Where's my pina colada?

Happy New Year, and on to Valentine's Day!

2013 was exciting, what with my new venture into the business world!  Industrial Blush went live on Etsy in September, and in December I put my items up for sale in the brick-and-mortar store, POSH Design Center, and had my first craft fair!  

I'm looking forward to 2014, which is sure to bring new and exciting projects.  I have more recycled wine bottles than I can count, so the plan is to find new ways to upcycle them.  Hoping to use the bottles as containers for candles!  Stay tuned for news on the candle-making, as I've only just started experimenting with that!

Valentine's Day decor and scarves are already available at POSH Design Center!  As I make more, I'll be sure to list new items on Etsy too, but for now, check out what's new at POSH:

Holiday Happiness

In going through my Christmas decorations, I was struck by how many of them were handmade.  I have ornaments made by me, my grandma, and my great-grandma, as well as a no-pattern-needed stocking, custom made by my mom!  My family is chock-full of creative women, and I’m so thankful that I had them to inspire me to craft and design throughout my childhood. 

The only reason I didn’t seriously consider being an artist as my profession was because sometime in elementary school I heard that artists were always “starving.”  That didn’t sit well with me.  Oh well.

When I was in middle school, I took one of those career aptitude tests and it said I should either: (1) go into agriculture, or (2) be an interior designer.  As a 7^th grader, I wasn’t all that into thinking about being a grown-up and getting a job, so I moved onto something else (i.e. watching “Boy Meets World” or practicing my hook shot with my dad).

Now that I am a “grown-up,” it’s so exciting that I get to be a creative little kid again and spend time every day making art in the form of home decor!  Turns out kid and pre-teen me knew exactly what would make me happy all along (well, except the agriculture thing).  

Oh!  And check out how well my great-grandma’s handmade ornament complements my holiday line!  We obviously share some fabulous design genes.  

 

Great-grandma's Ornament

Just a week and a half until Christmas and I’m feeling incredibly lucky to be loved and supported by such wonderful family and friends.  Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season!

As my great-grandma used to say... 

"With Oodles of Love,"

Cheers,

Sara

My Frist Craft Fair

Since it was my very first craft fair, I wasn't sure what to expect.  I read all the Etsy Handbook articles I could find on the subject, and consulted with several craft fair vendor veterans.  Next, I got my extra supportive sister and hubby to help me out, and I was on my way!

The fair was in an elementary school, on the (wait for it) 3rd Floor.  Oye...  With one pain-stakenly slow elevator to share amongst all the vendors, we ended up taking many trips, arms fully loaded, up the flights of stairs.  And by "we," I mean my amazing hubby!  He claims he didn't mind since he's in a steps competition at work so he was thrilled at the 14,000 steps he'd taken by the time we had packed up after the fair!

I've been to a handful of craft fairs as a buyer, so color me confused at the huge number of little kids running (i.e. SPRINTING) up and down the aisles of vendors.  Turns out there was a children's event of some kind going on simultaneously on the 1st floor.  I was having heart attacks every two seconds as another 10-year-old came running over and grabbed one of my $48 hand-blown glass Swarovski crystal ornaments!  My choice not to have children was validated, once again.

Amongst the chaos of the kids, there were some really fabulous moments!  So many people stopped by and complimented me on my wine bottle pendant lights!  Such an amazing feeling to see others appreciating my designs.  :)

Thanks so much to my sis and hubby for their support in helping me make my very first craft fair a success.  Thanks to their efforts, I am now $8.00 richer.  Yeah... not a super profitable venture, but it was a great trial run.  I look forward to my next craft fair adventure!

Check out my booth set-up!!!

Check out the awesome Industrial Blush t-shirt my sister made for me!

Photographs by Grace Posluszny