A HOT Show...

I was invited to do an art show with a fellow glass artist this past Sunday @ Hawk's Cay Resort just north of Marathon. Veronica Guitierrez is a stained glass artist in Key Largo, dabbling in mosaics. To me, she's a "master" glass artist... having been involved with glass for over 20 years!

Anyway... it was BLOODY HOT, as I like to say!! It was a trial show for the resort, they offered it *free* to Keys' artists, whoever wanted to come out and BRAVE the HOT Marina area for the whole weekend. Keys' artists don't generally do Summer shows here because it's just too hot all around; that's why many travel up to New England or the Midwest & do those shows -- it's A LOT cooler! '-D I don't know... maybe they do down in Key West, but they may be on the waterfront where it might be cooler. I believe 7 artists showed up on Saturday, and only one came back on Sunday (Gyotoku - fish prints). We did the show on Sunday... so there were only 3 of us there. We did well... made a few customers, Veronica gained a new student (thanks to me), and a possible commission (also thanks to me, I think!). I'm hoping that when I step on the scale tomorrow, it'll tell me that I lost a few pounds due to all the sweating I did that day! LOL

It was FUN to do the show... I haven't done one for several years and that was when I did the jewelry shows. I enjoy seeing customers, but I really don't enjoy all the set-up and breakdown and sweating it out. But this wasn't a bad one considering there were only 3 of us there... the odds were with us! '-)

These ring colors are popular these days:

Trying some *New* Things...

I've been away... went up to NJ to visit family and had a really NICE time! Also enjoyed visiting my favorite shopping area: New Hope, PA... an artsy quaint town in Bucks County, PA, right on the Delaware, across the river from another favorite town, Lambertville, NJ. I met a friend in New Hope, besides having lunch, we perused the shops. I hadn't shopped there in 20 years!! LONG TIME!! LOL But... it was fun to see which shops had stood the test of time and which ones moved on or closed entirely. This was the type of town that had the quintessential bong shop (and I think I still saw part of it in the Vintage store on the corner!) amongst other artsy shops, eateries, and of course, the best ice cream shop in the valley!

A wonderful shop we stopped into was Strawberry Jam... the owners have been running this beautiful little shop in the same location for 35 years! It seemed like a quaint shop with lots of exotic cards, glass, vintage jewelry, and bath products (my kind of store!). Most of the bath products weren't organic or handmade, but they sure did smell good! They featured a soap from Portugal -- HUGE bars with very colorful wrappings and wonderful scents... but a little on the pricey side. One product from Stonewall Kitchen in Maine was Lavender Mint soap... had to bring a bar of this home to try. I just checked out their website... and they have SO MUCH MORE than just soap! :-D Lots of yummy looking pancake & waffle mixes (m-m-m-m-m!)... seems like they have lots of cooking/specialty foods, things for the kitchen/home, and I finally found the soap... under "Fine Home Keeping"... that's a New one (shown at right)! Lots of all natural products and essential oils in this soap plus Shea butter. They also have a nice selection of gifts for Mother's Day, which is right around the corner!

Another shop we stopped into called Heart of the Home had a lot of pottery from various U.S. artists, unique handmade purses w/rather exotic pictures, soap & body products (another +++ for me!), handmade jackets, 2 garden rooms with outdoor treasures, two floors of perusing -- I LOVED IT!! LOL My original reason for going into this shop was for a handmade mug I saw in another store (being used by the owner). Although I was interested in possibly purchasing this handmade mug, it was a little out of my budget. Instead of a handmade mug... I found this collection of organic soap that I found on the internet a few weeks prior called "Fraiche" (pronounced "fresh"). A little on the pricey side, but I figured this was my (only) opportunity to try it -- bite the bullet & buy it!! As soon as I do try it, I'll fill you in. But the Set of 3 soaps I purchased (similar to that shown above right): bare naked/lavender fields/soothe me smell really awesome, and are all finished off naturally on the top portion of the soap (Bare Naked bar at left). You'll see more when you visit the website! These are definitely organic soaps, and they promise "an unforgettable bathing experience"! I'll let you know... :-D LOL Another product I found that I did purchase for my Mom was a Lotion Bar made entirely of Shea butter from Footbridge. What a WONDERFUL bar this is (shown at right)! Just rub it right on to your dry skin and the shea butter sinks right in! She loved it and I can't wait to get one for myself! '-D LOVE the Dragonfly!! LOL

I perused a few of the shops on my own after my friend left to go back to the Philadelphia area. I lingered as long as possible, enjoying the cool air and the warmth of being in an area of which many past fond memories were created... always wanted to live there, one never knows what the future holds! '-) But I hope it doesn't take me 20 years to get back there again! LOL

Conclusion(s): The Fraiche soap: Bare Naked. Very nice soap, no grittiness, nice scent... great on my dry skin. If the cost of it doesn't kill you, try it! Actually, the best way to try it is to buy the "Trilogy". Then you get (3) 1/2 bars and you pay roughly $6.25/bar. Each bar lasts approx. 5 days on the average person. :-)

Note: I also found the Fraiche soap at The Gallery at Morada Bay in Islamorada.

Visit: Strawberry Jam, Stonewall Kitchen, Fraiche, Footbridge, and Heart of the Home