Back To School!

I am FLABBERGASTED and humbled by the amazing talent represented by the artists who will be in my class at Lilla Rogers' Studio School.  I've met most of them in a private group on Facebook, and now I am running to sharpen my pencils and clear my work spaces and get

 In The Zone 

for the start of this online class tomorrow.  

My work tables in Ocean Isle Beach, where I will be taking part of this course.

My graphics work desk in Atlanta, Georgia, where I will also be  working.

As a participant in the class, we will not only be getting invaluable input from Lilla Rogers and her staff for five intensive weeks, but we will also be entered in a Global Talent search sponsored by Lilla Rogers Studio for the Next Big Thing.  The entrants will have their work judged by industry experts and art directors.  Shivers!

Class starts tomorrow, and I can hardly wait.  

Finding The Floor

I've been silent for so long you probably thought I was quitting my Blog - Not!

 What I've actually been doing is searching for the Floor in my Studio.   

The reason the floor was so hard to find is because it was covered with Stuff left over from my tassel and bag business...
thousands of yards of Trims, 
hundreds of pounds of Fabrics.

Stacked in bins were vast quantities of tassel parts. In every nook and cranny were tassel blanks, wooden beads, wooden spindles, small wooden animals, tiny garden tools and flower pots...on and on and on.

All this because in 1995 I designed a line of tassels that I named Lula Belle Tassels, and starting in 1996, it just exploded.  With the help of a fabulous staff, I made and shipped thousands of Tassels, which we made right here in Marietta, Georgia.  Calico Corners put them in 120 stores and it was Game On!

Then, I designed some handbags for the High Point Market one Fall, and BAM!  We were in the Handbag Business.  I started with a few Bags, and wound up with dozens of styles

-all of which required their own bolt of fabric-

and their own bolts of trim

and cases and cases of handles, bottoms, rivets, etc.

I rented more studio space, hired more seamstresses,

more tassel makers,and a manager.  I added larger bags, which we called Satchels.

I decided that we should make painted French Market Baskets lined with a removable Tote Bag...they were an instant hit, and we shipped thousands of those, too.  So many orders came in that we wound up with a commercial paint booth - big enough to paint a small car in.  
And, of course, I had to hire a painter to paint the baskets.  She was amazing.
All of this was fun, but it had gotten very, very big.

I had a wonderful woman in charge of Packing and Shipping, whose name was Julie.

She thankfully kept us all sane and on task, shooing me aside to organize the orders and direct the tassel making, bag sewers, and basket teams.

Then suddenly, Julie left and moved to North Georgia and somehow, things just weren't the same.  I had been designing Tassels and Bags for years, I had a LOT of money in the bank, 
but I wasn't excited about it anymore.

My Husband had built the Ocean Isle Fishing Center and I wanted to go on up there.  

So I closed the Atlanta studio, stored everything, and opened a fabric store in North Carolina.

It was just a couple of miles from the beach,
in one of the fastest growing "Golf Communities"
in the United States of America - Southeastern Brunswick County, NC.

The store was popular, and we had lovely clients who bought tons of fabrics, trims, and accessories.
 They ordered lots of Custom Window Treatments,
Custom Bedding,
Wesley Hall Furniture,
and came to shop frequently
for their favorite thing:
One of A Kind Pieces
that I scoured the Atlanta and High Point Markets and Antiques vendors for.

I had a lovely, lovely staff of women
that I looked forward to seeing
every single day.

Then, the Real Estate Bubble popped, 
the Financial Markets collapsed,
New Home Building stopped,
and things got Real Quiet.

I got homesick for Atlanta.
So, I sold the store and moved back here with all that Lula Belle Stuff.
Which I've been drowning in ever since.

Every time I walked into the tightly packed studio, I got depressed.  All those stored raw materials and painted baskets made me guilty, like I needed to do something with them.  it bugged me to distraction until it finally dawned on me:
Give it away! 

Yesterday, the last load of Trims, Fabrics, Tassel Parts, Baskets and tools drove off down my driveway.  Next week, four men will arrive to dismantle and move out the Skutt Kiln and the huge Slab Roller.  I have made some people very happy.
They got brand new, FREE Stuff.

And, I found my floor.
Which is delightfully bare, freshly painted, and peaceful.
So, so happy.

Time to Get To Work

I've been in Atlanta for a month now, with my own fast connection to the web (unlike the Beach Cottage, where I share with Husband), and this afternoon, I'm looking at my abandoned sewing room and workshop, wondering why I am spending most of my days preparing Blog Posts.  I'm an artist, for God's sake!  I make things. I'm very physical - designing, drawing, and then procuring the raw materials to make my visions and designs a reality, using the equipment I am so blessed to own.  

I've had a wonderful, beautiful time connecting with friends from all over the world, BUT...Instead of being in the workroom, designing and making new products, I am spending HOURS every day or so preparing a Post.  Which means I must be on an ego trip...to see my words and life out on the global web every week...with responses - which I Love!

I love the preparation of the Blog Post (it's all about the journey for me), and the sweet connections I have made with this medium, but Holy Cow, it is taking over my life.

It is time to get back into the studio.  Time to get to work making my equipment hum.  Sourcing out my raw materials.  Going to Markets.

I love what Blogger has created, but I need to stop the diary, and get back to work.  Doesn't mean I will stop Blogging, but does mean that I am going back to physical, real-time studio work, and putting the pedal to the metal.  And the Blog Posts will be less frequent, but more intense. 

Time to Get To Work.

I Love You All, and hope you will continue to read my updates, but it is time to Rock 'N Roll in the studio.

Atlanta Studio, just ready for me to get back to work.  Poor Sewing Machine, with the cover on!  And the Cutting Table, all empty!  With about a Ton of Fabric, stored away...just waiting to emerge.

And the Beach Cottage Studio, which I spent months arranging for production for books and stationery...all silent.

See what I mean?  Time to get away from Blogging, as much as I ADORE it, and Get Back To Work!!

Love You All So Much,
Linda

Time Out for Strawberries

So, now that we are "at the beach", time changes in odd little ways from the way it works in Atlanta.  It's almost as if you are on a game board, and the roll of the dice determines what you will do, and at what speed!

I discovered that Tideline Fabrics is now closed on Mondays to give Todd and Sally a break, sew up some window treatments, and tend to their beautiful store so it will be ready for the Tuesday-Saturday dance.  Being unable to go take photos for you, I used Monday to pack up more of the studio for transfer to Atlanta, cleaned out my closet in preparation for the upcoming renovation, and strolled on into Tuesday, hoping for more control over my day.

Delightfully, I lost all control again, this time to Strawberries and another Grandma party!  Visiting Holden Brother's Produce out on Hwy. 17 yielded baby lettuce, baby spinach, and these lovely berries:

Husband and daughter-in-law, Amy, had declared an impromptu party over at Grandma Mac's, so I sliced these beauties up and headed over to the event with those yummy little retro shortcakes that come in a cellophane pack - and of course, some squirt-on whipped creme.  We had a take-out sushi feast, followed very quickly by a dive into the strawberry bowl.  Just yummy!  Of course, the squirt-on whipped creme was exhausted very quickly, and licking fingers was the order of the day.

Then home for some couch time before bed with a regular spur of the moment visitor -  Old Grand Dog:

Who demands his own blankie for the wood floor, and position right under the TV so that he can listen and doze at the same time...

Today, I am declaring a studio day.  Period.  More later to show you the progress on the bags!

Cranking the Engines

So, now it's time to work!  This is what I've been doing since coming to Atlanta...cleaning out six years of neglect, mold, mildew, dust and -UGH!- rat and squirrel poop from my poor house.

Here's a before shot of the graphics and sewing side of my workroom/studio on March 3:

Pretty awful.  Just open the door and throw it in for years while I tended to the store in North Carolina.  After a couple of day's work, this is what it looked like:

Getting better!  So, today, after spending ALL DAY yesterday cleaning up the new office area I will be using for the graphics and computer work, I decided to crank my creative engines and get started on some multi-panel table runners:

I'm going to make these quilted runners about 90" long and they'll finish out at about 14" wide.  Now that they're all cut, I'm going to put them in the washer for a few minutes to take the sizing out.  After they've dried, I'll start sewing them together and figuring out what to use for the backs.  And the binding!  I have to find enough fabric to be able to cut it on the bias without buying any more fabric.  That's the rule.  I just sold a fabric store, for crying out loud!                                



                                
                                    

Stars and Guardian Angels

I was born at a tiny little clinic in Leighton, Alabama.  The doctor who had delivered me was the only one in attendance besides my Dad, and as he was cleaning me up he smiled and held up my foot to my Mom.  "Look at this", he says.  "She will always be lucky in life!"

What he was pointing out was a perfect five-point star, made by lines converging on the bottom of my foot.  When I was a teen, I stared at that star many times, wondering where the heck the luck was.  More than once, Mom told me that it was the sign of my Guardian Angel, and that he was watching over me, never fear.  When I was barely 20 years old, I got married and left my parents and childhood home and flew away to live in Hawaii.  Right about then, my Angel went to work, and hasn't stopped since.

After I ended my last post on November 14, I got in the van to go to Jamie's Spot Fry and saw messages on my cell phone.  Heading down the street, I listened to them and learned that a young couple was driving around the island, trying to find me.  What followed next has changed the track of my life at exactly the right time in my life...which can only be attributed to that good old Guardian Angel who put his stamp on my foot and claimed me while I was still in the womb.

They wanted to buy my fabric store, Tideline Fabrics, which is located in Shallotte.  We talked for about an hour in a parking lot (I missed the Spot Fry) and to skip over all the details and get to the present, we are moving toward closing in mid-February.  

That will release me to move my home base back to Georgia - to my beloved home, gardens  and studio there, and most importantly, it will release me to be with my husband 24-7 as he enters the battle against cancer.  He was diagnosed November 30, and last night his surgery was scheduled for February 17.  He has chosen a doctor in Atlanta rather than Duke...see how all this works?