KM&V Countdown - Week 8

Just a tiny little update this week, since we went away with the girl's school class for the weekend and I am exhausted! I keep forgetting how much noise a room full of children and parents can generate, and what it does to my head. Phew!

Anyway - things I got done:
another torchsession (beads are in the kiln, pics below later)
final payment of booth fee paid
return payment for the gift bags recieved (okay, I didn't actually do that)
blurp for the show press center begun (about halfway through)
sketches for handmade bails with lots of swirls (because I've always loved swirls, and being around Karin Castens is inspirering :)

Things with a deadline fast approaching:
Blurp for the press center (send by thursday)
Picture for the catalogue (send by thursday)
An article for the catalogue (not likely, but send by thursday)

Also to consider:
order new giftbags + tissue paper
order bails for all the pendants + possibly sterling chains
set up timeline and deadline for large prints for the walls + perhaps business cards
start to seriously consider what type of display to buy/build

... and a million other little details.
(Argh!?)

Love,
Lene

-Aha, there it is :)

KM&V Countdown - Week 9

This week, more pendant beads.
I tried out the Kalypso and it is delicious. I made the same type of beads with different Double Helix glasses, and they are all yummy with each their special colour.


This is Helios, like I used last week. See the little curl at the tip? I love it, but I'm not quite sure how I got it. Must try to replicate.



These are Kalypso,





this is Elektra,



and this is Psyche.



all on a base of Ivory. See how the Elektra and Psyche does not fume the base, and the Helios and Kalypso does? Quite a bit actually, and I think Kalypso fumes the most, so cover it up quickly if you don't want fuming around the beautifull purples. I rather like it, so I'll just keep doing what I have been doing.

This week I also asked my sister, the photographer, to help me. I need a portrait, product shots and some torch-action shots for the show catalogue and other preparations for the show. She makes me look good. Yay! She even makes me smile :)


I also had to return the gift bags, which is annoying, but I still have time to get new ones, so I am not overly worried. I have never returned anything before, so this is a whole new experience. Yay for that at least.

Now I have to write a bit for the catalogue and be done before september 1'st. Hm. Not something that comes easy to me, but I'll do what I can.

See you next week,
Lene

KM&V Countdown - Week 10

I love getting mail :)

This week I recieved both the displays and giftbags I ordered last week and also a fresh bunch of glass, Yay!

I can't work without my favourite base colour Ivory, so I had to get some more. And while I were at it, I also got some new to me Double Helixs, the Kalypso and Helios.

I got to try out the Helios today, and I must say I love it. It fumes a lot, and when I made pendants, like the ones I have been making recently, but with the Helios instead of Psyche, I got lovely browns with a whisp of pale purple/light blue. They are very fall.
The beads are still hot in the kiln, so I can't show you until later, but I were very pleased with them when I put them in for annealing.

So this is just a short update, pics will be included later.

See you then,
Lene

----------------------------

Later is here!
And so are a couple of pictures. Aren't these just delicious? I am still very pleased, can you tell? :)
I love these shapes. Nicely melted half-way in, looking juicy and voluptuous. Very organic. Yup, this is what I have been after :)



And my new displays look like this. Stylish!


The foot is weighted so it doesn't fall over when you look at it which is nice. There is room for a pair of earrings up there in the middle, but I don't make earrings much so I will not need that. The pendants will present them selves better higher up, so I'll see if I can secure the chain somehow on the backside.
Hmm, I may need to buy more chains. I'll put that on my list.

Bye for now!
Lene

KM&V Countdown - Week 11

Okay then, only 10 more weeks to go.
This week I have (yet again) spent recovering. This time it was the back-to-work and get-up-earlies that got me.
Yes I admit it. I love staying up late and sleeping in in the mornings. And since vacation time is the only time I get to do it for days in a row I may over do it a bit. Lets just say that a 3 week vacation can shift my rythm with about 5 hours, which makes it a bit hard to go back to early mornings.

So, what did I do to get closer to a fabulous and well prepared show in 10 weeks?
Well - I have been looking for a nice way to display my pendants. So far I have been laying them on a polished black slab of stone. It is a very nice stone, but it really doesn't do much for the pendants.

This week I got a special offer from BoxDisplays on a standing display I have not seen before. I can't find it in their pages now either, but I have ordered some and will show them off when they get here. I hope they are all I imagine and need them them to be ...

Also I have realised for some time now that I have no nice packaging for my larger Ladies, and that simply will not do at such an occation. So while I were at it I ordered a whole lot of giftbags with handles.
They are black and with a matt surface, which I imagine to match my jewellery boxes perfectly. I will stamp them with my logo and they will be all lovely and nice, and if I get a folder or postcard ready there will be plenty of room in the bag for that too.

In conclusion, I am very pleased to have these two problems mostly out of the way (there is still the stamping to do of course), but once more I must admit that I have quite a sinking feeling about the most important part - my actual glass products.

This week I plan to go shopping for a bit of glass. I have run very low on light ivory and it's the base of pretty much everything I do so it has to be taken care of, and quickly so I can continue my quest of creating a forrest of lovely Ladies.

P~

KM&V Countdown - Week 12

What a great week! :)
Not only am I still vacationing, not only did I manage to make my (almost) first fabulous hollows ever ...

Check out the size of this set! I were very impressed with my calm patience. If this is what happens when I torch in the morning, I really have some prioritizing to consider.

These are made in ivory and covered with Zimmermans fabled Z-99 purple. I love the stuff, it keeps prolonging my purple period. My stash will last for a while, but it's really too bad they don't make it anymore :/


I'd like to add that these are made by building discs only, not on a hollow mandrel. There has been no blowing involved, as you can see by the unevenness of the beads, or should I say the wonderfull rustic and organic shapes ;)

I also tried adding a bit of very chunky frit, which I have never tried before. It was not easy to get it to stick, but I am very pleased with the colour. I might like to crush it into smaller sizes of frit, but for this is was good.
Isn't that a lovely purple/blue planet full of little islands? There's even a crater :)


I am a bit undecided about wheather all these should be silvercored, but I suppose I'll have to see if they will fit my tool and let that be the deciding factor.

SO - not only did I get to make these lovelies, I also got a kick in the butt from the wonderfull Karin Castens of Castens Gallery (blog / website). I love what that woman can do with a little bit of silver, gold and precious stones!

But back to the kicking part - it led to me visiting an art gallery down the street from Karins shop, presenting my glassfigures to the owner, and voilá - on saturday I delivered 3 figures and 3 goddess pendants to be included in the gallery. Yay! :D

The gallery is called Gallerie Eros. It is the only gallery purely of erotic art in Denmark, and in a couple of days she will have pictures of my ladies on the website.


The gallery has a mix of old and new, explicit and understated, and you can read all about it on the gallery website!
The owner, Bettina Sinnet Fornitz, was very optimistic and now I am too, so a double yay! and many Thank You's goes out to her :)

A lovely week. Just lovely :)
P~