Dover Arts Market - Debuting Sunday, June 2nd

I am very excited to announce that Lofted Designs will be part of the inaugural Dover Arts Market this coming weekend, a brand new juried, outdoor artisan and fine arts market!

This Sunday, June 2nd (and every Sunday through October), you can find a very talented group of artists, crafters, painters, potters, sewers, and more gathered in the Cocheco Millworks Courtyard at 421 Central Avenue in Dover, New Hampshire.

SUNDAY, JUNE 2nd

9am - 3pm

The Dover, New Hampshire arts market is the newest in a well-established series of reputable artisan events run by Katy Solsky, who has been operating the Concord Arts Market for six years. She is all about quality and variety, so you can expect to discover some really great handmade finds!

Katy is also (quite ambitiously) starting up the Claremont Arts Market this summer. And all this in addition to launching her own fabulous new company Simple City Dress featuring handmade skirts, dresses and more. Simple City Dress will make its market debut this weekend at both the Concord Arts Market on Saturday and the new Dover Arts Market on Sunday.

You can read more about the Dover Arts Market in this recent Seacoast Online article. Hope to see you there this Sunday!

Fiddlehead Ferns

I recently curated a treasury on Etsy devoted to my second favorite vegetable: the fiddlehead fern (my absolute favorite vegetable is the beet, for those of you who are new here).

Fiddlehead ferns are in season for a very short window each spring, and their rarity on supermarket shelves makes me covet them all the more. An elusive delicacy of early spring, they taste like a cross between asparagus and bitter greens (think broccoli rabe) with an earthiness unlike any other vegetable I've tasted.

This treasury includes knits, jewelry, men's accessories, photographs, soaps, textiles and more. It's great to see so many other people inspired by this amazing veggie! Please take a look and share with your friends.

Reflections on Running

I know I'm not the first person to blog about running this week. And I won't be the last. But today is special for me because it's my one year "RUNiversary". Exactly one year ago today, I shook off my "I hate running" mentality and began the Couch-to-5K® program.

In all honestly, I didn't think it would stick. I thought I'd try it out, confirm the hatred bred into me by torturous one-mile mandatory runs in high school gym class, and move on with my life. Yet here I am a year later, still pounding the pavement. And you know what? I don't hate it after all. I actually kinda, sorta, almost like it.

So, why in the world did I start running in the first place if I hated it so much? Because last year in 2012, I attended the Boston Marathon with my husband and two of our close friends. I was so moved and inspired by what I saw there that I needed to give it a try and see for myself. We watched the 2012 race from three different locations and took it all in, starting in Brookline, then hopping on the T and watching from mile 25, then finally making our way on foot to the finish line.

It was exciting to watch the elite runners speed past. But then came the families running together. The very young running alongside the very old. A father running and pushing his wheelchair-bound son. The groups of friends running for charity or in memory of a lost loved one. And the crowds – constantly cheering and rooting for complete strangers! I'd never seen anything like it. It was all so heavy and meaningful and overwhelming. Of course, it wasn't all smiles and rainbows; I witnessed tangible pain and sickness and struggle in the incredible record-breaking heat. But through it all, I could feel the energy pulsing through the city that day. And the triumphant expressions on people's faces as they neared the finish line – well, that was the closest I've ever been to witnessing that much undeniable, genuine human happiness at once. Huge smiles. Tears of joy.

I cannot even fathom or begin to process this year's horrific incident. I look at the images and they don't seem real to me. I can't reconcile the scene I witnessed just last year with the scenes on the news. It doesn't add up. Who would ever want to spoil something like this. How could this even be real? It doesn't make any sense. And it probably never will.

It is not lost on me that I was at the finish line last year at almost the exact same time this year's bombs went off. These photographs, taken at the flags directly across from the bleachers, bear a time stamp of 2:42pm – almost exactly one year before the explosions. Almost to the minute. 

We were supposed to go again this year, but I was unable to take a day off work.

Runners are a community built on health, strength, determination and good will. It's a community I am very proud to be a part of. I will keep running and hopefully celebrate many more runiversaries. But now I'm running with a little more purpose. Running for those who lost their lives in Boston on Marathon Monday. For those who were injured. And for those who came so close, but didn't get to cross the finish line that day. I'm running for them.

Graduation Jewelry - Order Early!

It's almost that time again – young people across America are deep into their last semester of high school and getting ready to head off to college next fall. Or perhaps a bright young student you know is finishing up college studies and getting ready to enter the real world. 

Now is a great time to think about ordering a unique, early graduation gift they can show off during those final weeks and days of senior year. Custom graduation rings and necklaces for the class of 2013 start at just $45 and will surely be cherished for many years to come.

Custom graduation necklaces are crafted from a hand-cut circle of polished sterling silver and stamped with "Class of 2013". You can also include the school name, graduate's name or initials on the back and beads are used to represent school colors. A sterling silver chain, polishing cloth and gift box are included so you receive it ready for gifting. Order a necklace here.

 Custom rings are available in multiple styles (thin or thick, wide or skinny) and finishes (brushed, polished or hammered) and can be stamped with a name, nickname, school name, graduation year, or simply "CLASS OF 2013" (any year is available). Stamp it on the outside to show your pride or on the inside for a more discreet look. Order a ring here.

Please allow up to two weeks for custom orders to be shipped.

Loft BED ≠ Lofted

The best. Meant to share this awhile ago.

Fun with Flatware

Around the holidays, a friend approached me with a fun idea. She had been collecting pieces of antique silverware and wanted some special messages added to the handles. We sat down to brainstorm a list of appropriate (and some inappropriate) words and phrases together and I got to work with my alphabet stamps. 

She gave out several pieces as holiday gifts and they were a big hit! Have a fun idea of your own? Let's chat. I love custom projects!

Geek Love - Custom Binary Rings

Just in time for Valentine's Day! I recently had the opportunity to create custom his and her rings for a couple with "I ♥ You" spelled out in binary code. How sweet and nerdy is that?!? (For those of you who aren't super nerds, binary code is a computer language where  data is represented digitally using zeros and ones.)

To create these bands, I first measured and cut strips of bare metal sterling silver to size for each ring. I then hand-cut the tiny hearts and stamped the code using 0s and 1s:  01101001 ♥ 01110101.

The next step was to hand-forge and solder each ring. Then they were polished to a shine and shipped off to their new owners.

The couple was very happy with the finished rings and can now proudly show off their love for one another every day.

Interested in your own custom his & her rings? Contact me today via Etsy or email me directly to talk about your ideas!

UPDATE - October 2013: 
Binary code rings are now available in my shop all the time!

Before & After - Post-Holiday Clean Up

The Loft - Before & After

December was downright insane in my tiny loft studio. Don't get me wrong, I totally knew where everything was (most of the time). My work space was just, shall we say, creatively re-arranged for awhile. When my jewelry-making time is very limited but in high demand, there just isn't time to neatly put things away between projects. In fact, there is no such thing as being "between projects". I was making no less than ten different items at a time with constant overlap, so to put things away would be undermining my productivity. At least, that's what I told myself every night around midnight. 

But inevitably, the orders from my online shop slowed down after Christmas and I took a moment to look around. I was horrified. How did it ever get THIS bad? Every surface was covered in metal shavings and silver dust. Every tool was out. Things were even overflowing from my workbench onto the FLOOR. 

It had gotten way out of control. So I did what any sensible person would do in this situation...I avoided the studio altogether for several weeks. :) When I was finally ready to face the mess, cleaning up was such a rewarding project.

Behold! The clean studio!

Of course, it won't stay this way for long. Craft show season starts in a couple of months, not to mention the flurry of Valentine's Day orders hopefully coming soon. But for the time being, everything is in order and all is right with the world.