Birthdays, Craft Fairs and More!

Whew! Well it has certainly been a crazy week and a half. I shared with you all the first day of my craft fair adventure. Let me share with you how it all turned out.

I'm late, I'm late for a very important blog

The Farmington Founders Festival has certainly seen better days. As I kid I remember riding my bike downtown to meet up with friends and explore the miles and parking lots of booths. Back then it was four days long and the streets were packed with people not only from Farmington but from all the surrounding cities too.

Unfortunately these days the festival isn't as epic as it used to be. Now only two days, Friday and Saturday and it's much less of a draw. I really could complain about the organizers of the festival. Many people (citizens and vendors alike) were confused about the schedule. Some people thought it was still open on Sunday, others thought it was open Thursday too. Some vendors didn't even know there was a parade on Saturday. Also, they decided to have the festival on the same week as the Ann Arbor Art Fair, which is the biggest art fair in probably a 100 mile radius.

The last night of the fair

I don't want to bash the festival, or give you the impression that I didn't have tons of fun. I loved my experience there. I saw some old friends and met some great people. I had an old high school friend who lives out of state send his mother to my booth to say hi. She even bought a pair of earrings. It was pretty adorable actually, and amazing humbling that friends I haven't talked to in so long are still trying to be supportive. People...they're generally the best part of anything I do. I had a sign out indicating I was a local artist from Farmington and lots of people came in wanting to support their city. It was pretty cool.

My family was pretty amazing too. They dropped everything over the weekend to help me set up the tent and booth. My mom helped me gather all the supplies I needed. My step-dad ran around trying to find the right size tent. They were there all weekend, giving me breaks and bringing me food. My lil sister, who is 15 and on summer break from school, woke up early on Friday and came down and helped me set up the booth. She hung out with me all morning. Unlike most teenage girls I can think of, not once did she complain or bemoan having to get up early and essentially work.

I made this custom necklace for my sis as a thank you for helping out at the booth.

I even had two aunts and my grandma stop by the booth. My business really is a family run affair. They are always behind me 100% and I could never ask for more from them. I am an amazingly lucky girl. :)

On to other news....

Monday was my birthday. I'm 28 now. lol

It seems super weird to me ever year I get older.  I was told as at a very young age that I had a lot of hurdles to jump and living to a ripe old age like everyone else was going be pretty difficult. Now that I am almost thirty, each year I get to be older feels like an epic accomplishment and a great gift.

I give most of the credit to my mom, who is my biggest supporter. But again I have to say I am truly blessed to have the family I do, and even more fortunate to have the network of friends who are just as supportive. If you are a family member or a friend and are reading this, I hope you know how much I thank you :)

Sometimes my life feels like a fairytale...Apple anyone?

Farmington Founders Festival

Greetings from the Farmington Founders Festival!

Well, it's that time of year again. The Farmington Founders Festival is in full swing. I've lived here all my life so it always feels special to me when I can take part of something so big in my own community. I've been at the festival twice before, both were great experiences. And even though things have changed a little since I was a kid, it's still a great time.

One-Of-A-Kind Necklaces

I have all my necklaces, bracelets and earrings laid out on what I hope is a nice display. One thing I'd like to invest in (maybe with the profits from the festival) is some good signage. I feel like it's the one thing missing from my booth. 

The fair has been a great place to work. I brought my big tackle box with me, packed with silver, brass and antique copper goodies. I found myself being very productive as the passersby took their preliminary looks in the booth. You might not believe it, but there are less distractions for me at the fair then at home. Maybe that's just due to the fact that Bella my pup was not there to draw my attention away with her cuteness. 

Dino Earrings! Rawr! My new favorite :)

I'm in love with this necklace.  I might keep it for myself :P

Of course since this is my hometown there was no shortage of friends and family stopping by the booth. My business really is a family affair. My little sister came in the morning and helped me set up (which is no small favor from a 15 year old girl lol). My mother was there pretty much all day too. Even my step-dad came by a couple times (and brought me a much needed tablecloth!). I got to see friends and my friends families too. It's pretty cool, like having my workshop in the middle of town square!

Hearts and Keys :)

The Founders Festival ends tomorrow. There will be a parade in the morning which I think will bring lots of people to the booth. At least it will bring by lots more friends to visit. It's a little sad that it's only a two day affair. When I was a kid it was four days long. But I will take what I can get when it comes to a combo of nostalgia and jewelry!

Stay tuned to see how it all turns out! ;)

Excited!! Thrilled!! Enthused!! Optimistic!!

     Well, first let me say sorry. I've kind of been MIA on the blog lately. BUT to say I'm sorry I have some super exciting news to tell you all. First, there are some cool new designs coming out. One line is called Enchanted Charms and uses a simple circle to showcase a collection of charms on each necklace.  The other is called Journey's Guide and features one of a kind antique maps featuring cities and places from around the world. 

"The Parisian"

"Tiger Lily"

     The next BIG NEWS is that KMarie Jewelry will be at the Farmington Founders Festival July 20th and 21st! I'm so excited to be back at a booth at my hometown fair. Years ago when I first started in the jewelry biz (in middle school, see first blog post) my best friend and I got a booth to sell our friendship bracelets. We did pretty good, selling more pops and waters than bracelets, but it was an amazing experience. A few years later I went back and had my first booth with some big sales as KMarie Jewelry. I love being able to be a part of something that is celebrating my community and I am so excited to return to the fair. Okay, I need a thesaurus...but excited is a pretty appropriate word :)

oh, friendship bracelets

     Second announcement. I'm going to be participating in an event in Royal Oak, MI called Magnificent Merchandise Moves. It focuses on pairing local Michigan artisans with small boutiques and independent shops to boost local businesses. I will have the opportunity to sell my jewelry wholesale and get it out in local shops!! I gotta bust out the E word again...I am sooooo excited! lol 

Anyway, I got a lot to learn about wholesale strategies so if any of you got some tips or advice it would be greatly appreciated.

New things coming soon...

     Third...well I can't really talk about the third bit of exciting news. It involves a very inspiring local musician that it amazing and some new ventures for me. I should be able to announce the details next week, so be sure and check back.

"Honey Wheat"

Rain Rain go away!

I feel I bit like this mangled daisy at the moment

Ok so I'm going to mix metaphors for a second.  Mother Nature ruins my best laid plans. I had hoped to get all of my new merchandise photographed and up on my etsy shop by the end of the week. Between the major clothes washing and cleaning I had to do post camp and Mother Natures rash of spotty thunderstorms and rain showers I have yet to take a single picture :(

I should expect no less though. I mean this is Michigan, where weathermen routinely use the phrase "if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes".

I managed to take these pictures at camp last week

So I'll keep a weather eye out and do what I can to get these new pieces ready for you all to see. Maybe I can get some pictures between storms today....ROLL OF THUNDER....maybe not, lol. (Yeah that literally just happened as I typed haha). Well, the silver lining of this cloud is that I will be able to work on a new exciting line inspired by some awesome music, without the distraction of the beautiful outdoors. 

See the lil bee I caught ^ so cute!

How about a little description of the upcoming jewelry lines from KMarieJewelry. Well the first new line is kind of a spin off of my Art Nouveau line. Instead of beautiful ladies in my copper, brass  and silver frames there will be one of a kind antique maps inside each one. They will still have beautiful inspirational quotes and adorned with cute charms and sparklies.

Great colors are always found in nature.

The next new line I like to call Enchanted Charms. They are chain necklaces with a large circle at the center. Dangling off these circles are a collection of charms and beads. For example there is a Parisian Enchanted Charms necklace with a copper chain and center circle that hold a silver Eiffel Tower charm, and a brass fluer di lis charm, completed with a wooden carved key. Keep an eye out for it at my shop. 

Texture can be so inspiring.

So keep your eyes peeled. There's lots of great new stuff coming out from KMarieJewelry. I'll be sure to keep you updated when the weather clears up and I can get some great pictures. Meanwhile, I have to clean up my workspace. I made quite the mess making all this new merchandise. Maybe once it's clean I'll give you guys a peek at where I work :)

See ya soon!