Post mortem...partum...whatever.

Soooo?

How'd it go?!

You know. The party!

Was it a success? Was it a flop?

Are you crying over piles of funky jackets and cardigans and handbags?

Is that why you haven't blogged in foreeeever?

Quite the opposite my friends.

Quite.

The.

Opposite.

(Do I do that extra periods for emphasis thing too often or what?)

Blackbird's first annual Clothing and Accessories Event was a HUGE success.

Honestly. Everything sold.

Every clutch, every cardigan, every coat, every scarf, every purse (except for one. I won't buy yellow again until summer that's for sure), everything.

I did have some jewelry pieces left and a few hats but, honestly, I was kind of thankful because the shop was empty.

We opened the doors at about ten to 6pm and by 7:30 the place was looking seriously picked over.

Vultures!

Needless to say I will definitely be doing this again.

On a bigger scale over a longer period of time.

It almost got dangerous in there as far as building capacity goes.

Not to mention the lethal combination of deal crazed women, free cocktails and open flames from the tea lights at the complimentary nail bar.

As always, watch the horizon for what's going to "pop up" next.

Back to business though. Seriously.

The Handmade Harvest Craft Show is less than a month away and it's a wonder my business isn't going down the tube with all the extracurriculars on my plate.

Everything's coming together just fine.

It's just a ton of work.

Most of which we can't even tackle until the night before the show.

You know we'll pull it off.

At least making this event a success isn't something that's resting solely on my shoulders.

Colleen and I just have really high standards for ourselves.

First impressions are important if we're going to move forward with a Spring Show. Go big or go home. All that.

Also, we're still pumping out workshops and being moms.

Sometimes in that order.

(Who are these women who can get buy without a husband at home to keep things together? Do they have to wear super hero garb or is it capes optional?)

This week we made Halloween Wreaths.

The pictures don't do these feathery masterpieces justice...but Lia seems to like hers.

I did actually manage to make time for family stuff in the midst of the madness.

Brad and I, and my parents took Clemmie to the pumpkin patch for some good old fashioned fall time fun.

She especially loved the animals.

We picked out three pumpkins and a baby gourd (mom, dad, Clem & baby Gord) and promptly took them home to wreck them with a hot mess of glitter.

They didn't turn out to be quite as glamourous as I produced in my pre-helper days, but we had fun doing it.

And I wasn't too disappointed when the glitter washed off in the rain the next day.

I'll redo them when she's sleeping and let her think they dried that way.

Or I'll tell her Sophia did it.

She could never be mad at Sophia...

Until next time.

Em

Pop Up Shop

So I'm really taking a bit of a risk here, but last time I was at the gift show, I had an idea.

What if I started selling clothes?

Not all the time. Just sometimes.

Like Spring (beginning of the warm season) and Fall (beginning of the cool).

I have this concept for what I'm calling (until I can think of something better) "Pop Up Shops".

I could hunt all year for great clothing and accessories and then rent an empty store front here in Almonte and sell it all over a two week period.

Maybe a month. But I want to have that sense of urgency so things move quickly. I would price things to move, make some quick coin and create a little buzz.

It's all about the buzz.

Whatever doesn't sell I could put in Blackbird, or online, or...gosh. I'll think of something.

It'll all sell.

Let's just assume.

Power of positive thinking and all that.

I saw so many great things when I was shopping for the store back in August and, honestly, I'm sick of having to be so darned sensible and resisting things I KNOW you would love.

So I'm having a party.

It's a little test market project for this idea and if it flies, maybe you'll be seeing me actually do it at some point next year when the dust (read: baby powder) settles.

I might have a kid strapped to my back, but that's not really the kind of thing to stop me.

For one night only - Thursday October 7th from 6pm to 10pm in my dad's new gallery space at 14 Mill Street - we'll have near wholesale pricing on everything from handbags and clutches to jewelry, cardigans and even fall coats, free mini manicures courtesy of Carmelized (come with polish free nails if you'd like to partake), chocolate fountain goodness compliments of Appleton Gift and Basket, cocktails and great music.

Come, bring a friend, and treat yourself to some good, old fashioned FASHION fun.

Hope to see you there!

I wouldn't miss it if I were you.

Emily

Chipper Skipper

I'm feeling pretty chipper today.

Like so much so that I'm probably just a tad annoying to be around.

Luckily (well unluckily considering I'm trying to make a living over here) there IS no one around. And I'm hammering away at a bunch of freelance stuff that's been piling up this week.

It'll likely be short lived.

These moods of mine usually are, but for the time being, let's read about it shall we?

First of all, workshops make me happy.

On Wednesday night Colleen and I taught a wire wrapping class where we made nest pendants and rings.

It was a barrel of laughs.

I actually didn't do too much if I'm being honest.

Colleen ran the whole show and I gabbed it up with the ladies (I wonder if she had the same fun I did...hmm...I don't think I'll ask).

Look at them giggling over there.

That's not staged you know. They're really having fun.

Have you come to one of our workshops yet? You should. But first, you'll have to join my mailing list.

Our next one will be Tuesday October 12th.

We're making Halloween wreaths with black feathers and eye balls. They're pretty fantastic.

Just LOOK at the gorgeous stuff these girls made!

Secondly, family.

Brad, Clemmie and I spent last weekend in Kitchener visiting my sister Meghan, her hubster Jeff and my nephew Cohen for his first birthday.

Clem loves spending time with her cousin.

Especially when there are cupcakes and a bouncy castle involved.

She must have licked that thing for 45 minutes.

She likes to savour things this kid.

She'll probably be one of those kids who still has a few pieces of Halloween candy in her closet at Easter.

She's brilliant my child. You realize that.

One and a half and already she's reading at a 2 year old level. Maybe 3.

I had to take her to the doctor this week because I was afraid she might have croup and while the Dr. was listening to her chest she said to her "if you can say stethoscope I'll give it to you".

My girl just looked at her and said, clear as a bell, "Stethoscope". (We'll just take that thank you very much!)

Touche to you Doctor! I said Touche!

While we were in Kitchener we were able to sneak off to Toronto on the Saturday night to visit with old friends and celebrate sweet Melissa's 30th birthday.

We had so much fun.

Despite being pregnant, I even stayed up past my bedtime and didn't hit the hay until about 4:30am.

I won't be doing that again any time soon, but it was worth it for that night.

We went to a Chinese restaurant on Spadina at about 3am and ordered enough food to sink a ship.

I will never be thin, pregnant or not, with all the good times to be had. And eaten.

Here's a fun little fact for you.

Did you know that if you ask for "cold tea" after hours at a Chinese restaurant they bring you beer in a tea pot?

I think that might have blown a little piece of Brad's mind.

They don't even put it on the bill because it's illegal to serve at that time of night. You just pay what you think it's worth. Which, when you're already intoxicated, can be a lot I imagine.

A good time was had by all, and I'm happy to say we've all recovered from a looooong weekend.

Thirdly, blogs.

My friend Jen writes for a website called Sweet Spot.

Yesterday was her birthday and I particularly enjoyed her Birthday Fantasy post.

Again with The Girl with the Most Cake. Can't get enough of her!

Shout out to Jen! Happy birthday. Hope all four of your boys treated you like the queen you are!

That's it for today folks.

I'll be writing again tomorrow because I have to tell you about the Clothing and Accessories Event I'm hosting in my dad's new gallery space next week.

Thought this might be enough blog post excitement for one day...

Em

Contest Announcement!

I haven't blogged about it too much of late, but Handmade Harvest (our first ever Holiday Craft Show) is fast approaching.

Colleen, I, and our ever helpful jury have made all of our vendor selections, and we're getting pretty revved up about the show.

For a sneak peak at some of our participating crafters, visit www.handmadeharvest.com and check out the Participating Crafters section.

So that part is taken care of.

We've got some amazing talent lined up, and we owe it to them to promote the poop out of the show and bring on the shoppers.

We'll have a full page in October's Humm and have been handing out postcards left and right in the shop. We'll have a few articles written about the event in other publications as well but, if there's anything I've learned in my going-on-four-years as a business owner, the best advertising is word of mouth.

And so it came to me.

A contest.

Help us promote Handmade Harvest and you could win one of THREE $50 Blackbird gift cards.
All you have to do is...well...something!

Talk!

I know you're good at it.

If you think Handmade Harvest is a worthwhile event (I'll tell you right now that it is), something you'd like to support, maybe even see happen again sometime, then you're the perfect candidate for this contest.

Some suggestions...

• "Like" us on Facebook here
• Write about the show on your blog
• Add our button to your website (you can find it on the top right of this page)
• Put up one of our posters in your office or neighbourhood (next time you're in the shop, pick one up!)
• Tell your buddy at the newspaper they should write a story about us
• Tell a friend to come to Almonte for the show November 6th
• Send out a mass email
• Tattoo our logo on your forehead
• Whatever!

Just let us know what you've done to spread the good (crafty) word by sending an email to hello@handmadeharvest.com or commenting on this blog post and we'll put your name into a draw to be held at the show November 6th.

Enter as many times as you'd like.

There's no limit to the number of times your name could go in the hat.

Thanks for your help!
xo Emily & Colleen

Something in the air

It's fall.

Officially.

It's my favourite season both in the shop and out. The colours are beautiful, people are going back into their homes to cook things like chili and stew and looking at their doors and thinking "Hey. I need a new wreath for that sad looking thing. I'd better go to Blackbird and see what Em's got in store."

There's really no time of year that I don't feel like sprucing up my home, but there's nothing like cooler weather (and the knowledge that I'm about to get ridonculously busy in the shop) to make me want to get things done around the house.

I'm flip flopping on the idea of moving Clemmie not only into a new bed, but into a new room, and I'm starting to lean toward the idea of leaving her where she is and making the changes to her space while she's still in it.

See, the guest room - which I was thinking about moving her in to - may not be a great choice.

It's kind of smack in between our bedroom and her current room (the one I was going to make the new baby's nursery).

And as much as I would love to count on this new kid being one of those sweet little swaddler babies you just tuck under your bra and go about your business, if life has taught me anything these past 31 years, it's that you really can't count on things like that.

Unless, of course, you enjoy being sorely disappointed.

In the interest of keeping the crying babies to a minimum, I think I might just leave the Clembot right where she is.

This isn't really a problem per se.

It just means I'm going to have to consider decorating both kids rooms.

And that's, well, that's okay.

For this gender neutral nursery, I'm thinking of a Woodland theme.

I know. Not very original as far as trends go right now, but what's it to ya.

That just means there's loads of inspiration to take from.

And lots of product to dream about...

Baby bedding...

Patchwork bearskin rugs (I could make this. Heck. You could make this!)...

Via

Toadstool play tables to die for...

Via

There's just so much cuteness in the world don't you think?

Here's just one more reason I wish I wish I wish I could crochet.

I know I said I wanted a chenille blanket for Clementine's room, but this would also do.

For what it's worth, here's the tutorial. Maybe you could teach me.

Via

So, this has nothing to do with home decor, or babies, or learning a new skill, but I am just so gobsmacked that this could happen that I had to write about it.

A woman was just in the shop with her husband.

Harmless enough.

I told her she looked like a ray of sunshine in her yellow dress on this grey day.

She thanked me politely, and then...well then she farted.

Not so politely.

She let rip one of those real snap crackle popper toots that I generally save for the bedroom (too much info?) and then she just went on her merry way.

She didn't even miss a beat. We were in the middle of a conversation.

And her husband didn't flinch so this is obviously part of this woman's M.O.

I, on the other hand, am still flinching.

Ray of sunshine.

More like field of livestock.

Anywho.

I don't know why I shared that with you.

I'm sorry if you would have preferred I didn't.

Frankly I would have preferred to stick to the nursery theme myself.

Until next time.

Em

NEW Workshops!

I really missed doing workshops over the summer.

I like to perform.

And without an audience it's just not the same.

And you just know Clemmie is totally stealing my spotlight at home.

I don't have much time to chat today, but I wanted to let you all know about our first fall workshop.

We have 9 of 12 spots left as of this very moment so if you want to join in the fun, send me a comment or give us a call at the shop at 613-256-9669.

This time we'll be making (and baking) funky accessories using shrinkable plastic, pencil & ink, jewelry findings and your imagination.

The cost is $40 per person and includes all materials as well as snacks, refreshments and a $5 Blackbird gift card.

Wednesday September 15th from 6pm to 9pm at Blackbird (79 Mill Street, Almonte)

$10 deposit or credit card number required at booking.

Cash or cheque only. Payable to Colleen Hewitt.

Not quite sure what the heck I'm talking about? Here are a few inspirational pics to get you dreaming of all the lovely things you could be making...

Via

Via

Via

Via

Okay so this last one might not be doable in a 3 hour workshop, but at least it shows you what's possible with shrink plastic!

To tempt you, we'll be sure to have plenty of DIY Take Home kits ready for you to purchase.

Sneaky sneaky.

Hope to hear from you ALL! :)

Em

Where do I get off?

Where do I get off going and having another kid?

I can hardly manage one.

Today started off pretty rough.

Leslie (our out-of-this-world-amazing caregiver) has been off on vacation since last week and I am way too scatterbrained to have my regular schedule messed with like this.

She asked for a week off back in May, a request to which I replied something along the lines of "Oh my god, of course! Whatever you want!" and reminded me two weeks ago to be sure I'd remembered, to which I cooly responded "Oh yeah. We've got it covered. Have fun!"...but do you think I really remembered though?

Nope.

Not so much.

All the trouble started when I lost (read: Clemmie lost) the dry erase marker to my fridge calendar.

Who knew I relied on that crummy little Dollar Store purchase so much?

August never made it to the calendar and so far I've missed one doctor's appointment, stood up a friend for dinner (I hate myself) and forgotten to find care giving not once, but twice.

Including today.

I work Tuesdays all day.

I look forward to my full days in the shop so I can catch up on emails and administrative stuff and, let's face it, have a little time to sort myself out without having to have snack breaks and read One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish eleventeen times.

This morning I was on my own (Brad's was at a work thing in Montreal overnight) and I was all over the single mom thing like it's my job.

I even set the coffee last night so it was ready to go when I woke up.

I had both of us dressed and fed and cuddling on the couch by 8:30am, and was waiting outside with my lunch packed and purse in hand for Leslie to show up by 9:30.

By 9:45 I started to worry.

She's usually here by now. I better go check her note from back in May (she keeps a sitter's journal. Of course she does.) and see if I have my dates mixed up.

Sure enough.

She's off until the 2nd.

Shit.

At this point I had 15 minutes to get to work and open the shop, and bringing the rugrat simply isn't an option.

It was Emily's (my part timer) last day before she goes off to University yesterday, it's Colleen's kid's birthday, both my parents are at work, Brad's away, and I. AM. ROYALLY. SCREWED.

In tears (I mean, if I cry over spilled milk, you know I'm going to be Niagara Falls in this kind of pickle) I called my friend Andrea who will be starting to look after Clem on Mondays soon to see if she could rescue me.

And rescue me she did.

We were at her place in less than 5 minutes and, truly, I welled up at the sight of her I loved her so much in that moment.

So we're good now, and I'm trying to turn my day around.

I've been promised a back rub for my troubles so at least there's that to look forward to.

To better days,

xo Em