Good Things Ahead

I haven't posted in a while, not because I forgot about this space but the pace of life is so busy sometimes I don't document it fast enough!

I have news.

I'll back up a step. In my community there is a family who has been on a long and terribly sad journey. Their little boy, Kai passed away last night in his mother's arms. They have been blogging about their days here. As a part of the extended community coming together to support the family (and the Jimmy Fund) a craft fair has been organized (fb event here). I was asked by a friend to face paint and then I added a vendor table.

I haven't done craft fairs in many years as a vendor. Most recently I've organized and advertised them which is an organizational skill but not about me having products to sell. This challenge has me thinking and making...  my list is a bit long but I'll have a table full of my creations and next to it a face painting space (creating art and selling art at the same time!).

This opportunity (plus a few others that have fallen in my lap) has pushed me to make Isabelle Jane a real business. I filed my dba and opened a business checking account just yesterday. As of today I can accept credit cards on my iphone and have a system to keep my art separate from my personal account. For me this is a BIG step.

So, as I create in the next 2 weeks, I'll post items here and everything that doesn't sell on the 8th will be added to my etsy site just in time for Christmas.

The beginning and an introduction

Updated - March 2012. I originally wrote this back in August of 2010 and it took me all this time to get my act together! A bit about me: 

I've been a dabbler and a starter all of my life. Jane of all trades master of none so to speak. My resume can be quite comical if I really lined everything up. Last week when I got a phone call (wrong number) looking for me to calibrate their plasma tv I learned that I didn't really know everything.

Over the past 10 years, I've done craft sales, holiday shops, gifts for friends, some etsy sales, commissions but nothing has taken off in a sustainable way. I would say mostly due to my lack of focus and my love of so many different materials I bounce around. I like the idea and the creative process. The production and detail not so much.

Fast forward a few years and I'm in need of a creative outlet and something to keep me organized and accountable. I have three daughters, one dog, two chickens and a whole lot of chaos.

So to begin my online journal I'm hoping to put out one or two posts a week focusing on my latest creative endeavors and to help shape some of my big ideas, maybe even get some of those projects finished. I reserve the right to dig something out of the studio, dust it off, take a pic and revisit the idea...like the hand sewn snowflake cards, or the piggy banks, or the turtle shot glasses.

Welcome to Isabelle Jane - the window into my creative energy and the mess that comes with it.
~Emily