DARE to be Phenomenal Holday Extravaganza

DARE to be Phenomenal, a women's networking group, is hosting a Holiday Extravaganza on Tuesday December 1st from 6-10PM at the Wyndham Hotel in Andover, MA. I will be there, vending and networking. (Successfully, I hope!) There will be appetizers, a raffle, and more. Tickets are $25 and must be purchased in advance - I have tickets available for anyone who is interested. Drop me an email or leave a comment here!

Insights & Observations

On October 9th, I attended the opening reception for Insights & Observations at The Loading Dock Gallery at the Western Avenue Studios.



Featured in this exhibition are artists David Barton and Jessica Cohen. David is a mixed media artist who loves to recycle old mannequin pieces, jewelry, machinery, fabric, and other items into fanciful and textural sculptures. Jessica focuses on painting and drawing, and her pieces in this exhibition are sketches of people in everyday life. Both show how insight and observation can lead an artist down a variety of artistic paths.







The exhibition runs through October 25, 2009. The Loading Dock Gallery is open Wed-Sun 11AM-4:30PM.

September 2009 Newsletter

* Upcoming classes
* Stock update
* Lowell Open Studios and Arts Festival this weekend
* First Saturdays Open Studios Saturday October 3
* Quick Poll about the Newsletters

-----

Fall was here for a while, but summer is making a comeback. I've been riding my bike on the new rail trail that starts near Crosspoint Towers in Lowell and currently ends in the Westford/Acton area. Eventually it will extend to Framingham! What have you been doing with your last warm days?

-----

Remember, you must sign up in advance for all classes. Give us a call!

Upcoming classes:
Thursday September 24: Pricing Your Jewelry To Sell, 7-9PM, $15.
Wednesday September 30: Jack-o-Lantern Earrings, 7-9PM, $20.
Thursday October 1: Craft Show Booth/Table Setup, 7-9PM, $15.
Sunday October 4: Spiders & Bugs! 10AM-noon, $20.

-----

Stock update! We have a bunch of new seed beads on the wall, a large Czech glass order slowly making its way to the wall, some new Bali silver getting up there too, and restocks of basics like crimps and Softflex. I've also refilled the giant bead bin that so many of you love to pick through.

In mid-October, my stone vendor will be here and you will see new stone beads hitting the wall before Halloween!

-----

Lowell Open Studios is held once a year and features artists throughout the city of Lowell. This year there is also going to be an arts festival downtown.

Over 100 artists at Western Avenue are participating in this year's event. We will be open 11-5 on both Saturday and Sunday, September 26 and 27. Please stop by and visit our vibrant community, which now includes a cafe!

For more information: http://www.lowellopenstudios.org/

-----

Not to be confused with Lowell Open Studios....don't forget that the Western Avenue Studios building is open the first Saturday of every month. For October, we will be open on Saturday the 3rd from 12-5.

http://www.westernavenuestudios.com/

-----

A quick poll: If I started sending out more photo-heavy newsletters, would you like it better, worse, or the same? Email me and let me know! info [at] lushbeads [dot] com is the address.

July/August Newsletter

In this newsletter:

* Open Studios this Saturday 12-5PM
* Lowell Quilt Festival Aug 6-9, 2009
* New class schedule in about a week
* Knitting with Beads book signing and class, Saturday August 22nd
* Lowell's Biggest Yard Sale, Saturday August 8th 8AM-3PM

-----

I think I am suitably recovered from the Lowell Folk Festival now. It was a fabulous event and the weather cooperated. That thunderstorm at the end of the day on Sunday was not well timed, however....

-----

Join the artists of the Western Avenue Studios for First Saturdays on August 1st from 12-5PM. I plan to be serving fresh squeezed lemonade. Unless I get lazy, and then it will be Newman's Own lemonade, which is sorta close. :-)

-----

The Lowell Quilt Festival is less than 2 weeks away! The entire city transforms itself for this wonderful festival that is taking place from August 6-9, 2009.

At Western Avenue, Friends Fabric Art and Lush Beads will be open for quilters to come and browse, chat, and purchase items for their projects. Our hours will be: Thursday 10-7, Friday 10-7, Saturday 10-5, and Sunday 12-4. Please join us!

-----

I am hard at work on the class schedule that will carry us through the end of the year. If you have any requests, now is the time to email me! Drop a note to info@lushbeads.com. The schedule should be done in about a week (which in Liz "i hate doing the schedule" time is probably 1.5-2 weeks).

-----

Knitting with Beads workshop
with Judith Durant, Author of "Knit One, Bead Too"
Saturday, August 22nd
12:30-3:30PM
$40 plus materials
at the Hub Mills Store, 4th floor of the A-Mill, Western Avenue Studios

Book signing from 11:30-12:30PM - FREE!

Sponsored by the Hub Mills Store and Lush Beads. Refreshments will be served. Prior knitting experience required. To sign up, please contact us or the Hub Mills store.

Kits will be available for sale - check back for pricing!

-----

Lowell's Biggest Yard Sale will be held in the parking lot of the Western Avenue Studios on Saturday August 8th from 8AM to 3PM. Take someone else's trash and make it your treasure!

If you would like to host your own booth, contact Chris Arnott at chris@lowellhumanesociety.org for more details and information. Rental cost proceeds go to the Lowell Humane Society and the Friends of Western Avenue Studios. Bring your own tables, tents, chairs, etc.

The Lowell Humane Society will also be accepting gently used items to sell at their booth. Items will be accepted at the Lowell Humane Society on: Wednesday August 5th, 5-8PM, and Thursday August 6th, 5-8PM.

Boston Handmade Marketplace this Saturday!

Join the friends and members of Boston Handmade as we host our 2nd annual Marketplace at Union Square in Somerville. The event happens on Saturday July 11th from 3-7PM.

From the website: More than 25 artists, artisans, and craftspeople will be showing and selling handmade jewelry, clothing, accessories, housewares, art, photography, toys, and sculpture along with hands-on craft demonstrations from The Common Cod Fiber Guild and The Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts.



I will be vending there along with my friends Made In Lowell and The Intuitive Garden. The weather is forecasted to be wonderful, so come out and support your local handmade artists!

June/July Newsletter

* Revised hours for July 4th weekend
* "Christmas in July" classes all month long!
* Upcoming craft shows
* Upcoming bead shows

-----

Our revised hours for July 4th weekend are as follows:

Friday 7/3: 10-5
Saturday 7/4: 12-5
Sunday 7/5: CLOSED

Lowell is having its fireworks display on Friday the 3rd at 9PM - head on over to the Sampas Pavilion on the Boulevard and watch the fireworks from the river! For directions, go to: http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/northeast/llhp.htm

Saturday 7/4 will be First Saturdays Open Studios at Western Avenue, so stop by and say hello!

-----

Next month, get a jump on your holiday crafting by taking one of our "Christmas in July" beading classes. We will be teaching Christmas Tree earrings, Beaded Ball Ornament, Netted Snowflake, and Undulating Waves - Santa! All classes held on Wednesday nights - check the website for details.

-----

See owner Liz Stewart at the following craft shows in July:

July 11, 3-7PM - Boston Handmade Marketplace
Union Square, Somerville
Put on by the fabulous Boston Handmade!
http://bostonhandmade.org/2009Marketplace.htm

July 25-27 - Art in the Courtyard at the Lowell Folk Festival
Between Market Street and the Dutton Street Dance Pavilion
Fri 5-8PM, Sat 12-7:30PM, Sun 12-5PM.
I'm sharing a space with Petter Zimmerman Designs in Glass.
http://www.thebrush.org/AIC2009/index.html

-----

Local bead shows in July include:

July 10-12 in Marlboro, MA
International Gem & Jewelry Show
Royal Plaza Trade Center
181 Boston Post Road West
http://www.intergem.com/

July 18-19 in Nashua, NH
BeadFiesta
Courtyard Marriott
2200 Southwood Drive
http://www.beadfiesta.com/

July 25-26 in Concord, NH
Innovative Beads Expo
Courtyard by Marriott
70 Constitution Avenue
http://www.innovativebeadsexpo.com/show_details.php?id=123

Ugly Necklace contest results!

We had a great turnout for our first Ugly Necklace contest - thank you so much to everyone who submitted pieces and voted for our winners!

We received 14 entries that were put up on the walls of the 3rd floor A-Mill:



We received over 200 votes in the contest! Here's how the voting for the Ugly Necklace went:

58 votes for "Double Ugly" by Pat Wymore - First Place!


37 votes for "Hawaiian Lei From Hell!" by Horribly Wonky Jewelry - Second Place!


28 votes for "Tonto's Revenge" by Ilene Richard - Third Place!


25 votes for "Trees & Toast with Flies"
13 votes for "To The Pain"
12 votes for "'B' is for Beautiful"
7 votes for "The Nancy"
6 votes for "This Necklace is made of FAIL"
6 votes for "Double Strand Horrendousness"
4 votes for "Ocean Tsunami"
4 votes for "SeaDreams"
3 votes for "Animal Stew"
2 votes for "Absolutely Normal Chaos"
1 vote for "Twisted"




We also asked voters to indicate if their were any necklace(s) they secretly liked or would wear. Here are the results of that section of the ballot:

36 votes for "Twisted"
30 votes for "Ocean Tsunami"
13 votes for "Hawaiian Lei From Hell!"
12 votes for Absolutely Normal Chaos"
11 votes for "This Necklace is Made of FAIL"
8 votes for "The Nancy"
8 votes for "Tonto's Revenge"
4 votes for "Double Ugly"
4 votes for "Animal Stew"
3 votes for "SeaDreams"
3 votes for "Double Strand Horrendousness"
1 vote for "Trees & Toast with Flies"
0 votes for "'B' is for Beautiful"
0 votes for "To the Pain"