Published June 14, 2010 | 
I went to the Panther City Bar Bazaar at Lola’s Saloon in Fort Worth this past Sunday. The artists there were absolutely amazing! I know the heat or other obligations kept some people from coming out for the Bazaar, but they really missed out if they haven’t seen the artwork from these DFW area artists.
I love going to festivals and bazaars so I had a great time, plus they had a live band playing that kept everything festive. I loved that the band wasn’t so loud you could actually talk to the artists too. This bazaar was really well thought out. When you arrived and paid admission to get in, they had a comfortable wrist band so if you wanted to leave and come back, you could. Not that you would need to leave – you could get food and drinks there, and even donate to the Fort Worth Burrito Project by buying a burrito and chips and salsa. Most of the artists’ tables were arranged away from the stage (and speakers). Because they had such a good response for artists, they had to put some of them outside (of course no one knew it was going to be this hot so early in June! thankfully there was a breeze to keep most of them cool.)
One thing that stood out for me about the Bazaar was the attitude of the artists themselves. If you go to many art festivals, you know what I’m talking about. You walk up to an artist’s table and they’re sitting there texting away on their cell phone or reading a book and they never look up. I understand the monotony of being a vendor, especially at a slow bazaar or festival. But one thing I can guarantee with 100% certainty – the vendors that never bother to even speak to a single customer are the ones you’ll find complaining at the end of the day about what a bad show it was for them. (You thought customers don’t hear the complaints? Believe me, WE DO.) And this was what was amazing about the artists at the Panther City Bar Bazaar. Every single vendor there was friendly, engaging and actively interested in their customers. Every one. That, my friend, is Rare. Even the artists who were outside in the heat were happy to be there, and laughed off when the breeze blew their cards off the tables. They were all excited to talk about what they do. Not only that, but the artwork itself was truly incredible. All handmade, and top quality work. If I weren’t a poor, starving artist myself, I would have bought something from everyone there! (That’s a hint, people! Go check out my site and buy stuff so I can go buy their stuff!)
Here are just a few of the wonderful artists that I met.
Shelli of Neke Designs has some beautiful hand-crafted wire jewelry. As a wire-wrapper, I can tell you, she does more than “just wrap stones” with wire. She looks for a truly unique way of hammering and fastening the metal together in a way that is aesthetically pleasing to look at and would be great to wear. Many of her pendants are offset so it doesn’t just “hang” around your neck, plus she combines copper, brass and silver in a way for each metal to complement the other. It’s like wearing a delicately hammered piece of art.
Karla from the Soap Addict makes all natural, vegetarian soaps, and lip balms. I was immediately drawn to her Lavender Palmarosa, which I didn’t get out without buying before I left the bazaar. The scent is a combination of lavender (my favorite, and all I ever wear) lightly accented with rose, and the soap itself has essential oils that are great for your skin and face. It was tough deciding between the Lavender Palmarosa and the Oatmeal Lavender with Honey soap, which has a much more subtle, soft scent. Her eco-friendly soaps and balms are a great alternative to just buying soap at the store and handmade soaps always last longer, so it’s well worth the price.
Posted in Reviews | 
art, bazaar, Etsy, Fort Worth, handmade, Lola's Saloon, recycled, retro, review, unique, upcycled | 
Leave a commentPublished October 24, 2009 | Starting back at the beginning: What from my original Ideal Day 15 or so years ago worked out? What was most important and what could change?
I don’t live in a 2-story house on the Texas gulf coast (a future goal for a vacation home perhaps?), but I do own my own home in a historic artist community.
My current business is online, though I have co-owned a (successful) gift shop in College Station. I say successful because we were earning a profit when we made the decision to close the shop so myself and my co-owner could both move away from College Station.
Supporting other artists is still an integral part of my goals, and now thanks to affiliate marketing, I’m able to do that.
Living in an artistic community is also still a priority, which is why I chose the house and neighborhood where we live now – walking distance to an arts community, glass-blowing studio, deli, restaurants and bars, and festivals twice a year – not to mention live (usually jazz) music almost every weekend. None of this was expected and now I couldn’t imagine living without it.
What priorities do I still hold dear?
- Community
- Artistic Creativity
- Artist Co-operative
- Helping Others
- Learning
- Business
- Cooking
- Animals
- Math & Programming
In my Ideal Day, these were all key factors and my day incorporated each with a perfect balance. What I find interesting are the things I included without realizing their importance at the time, much less my own abilities. I had only started making jewelry, but had never painted or drawn anything (not counting grade school, up to grade 6) much less thrown a pot or worked on ceramics. That’s right. Never. These were only things I wanted to do. And since I wrote my original Ideal Day, I’ve done all of them and managed to keep them in my life in one form or another. I didn’t own half the cookbooks I have now, had never written one (or considered writing one) and had never written my own recipe for a cooking contest. Yet, somehow, cooking dinner for friends was a priority then, without realizing how much of one it would become now. I included a database of my own making at the time because I thought I would use an existing program I was familiar with, such as FileMaker Pro
Since my goal now is much the same as it was then, it’s easy to see the importance of Business and Community in my life. I strongly feel you can’t have one without the other. I believe I’m closer than ever before to achieving my dream of financial independence through multiple income streams while maintaining community support and connections. That’s what our sites are all about. 
Published October 21, 2009 | I promised "My Ideal Day" as it was "then" (on my first reading of Wishcraft). I don’t have the written version anymore – meaning I don’t know where it is in my multitude of journals. But I envisioned it so clearly in my mind, it’s become more of a fond memory for me … even though the places and events of that day never fully came to be.
My Ideal Day Then (as it was prior to achieving many of the goals I set for myself. Note that this is past tense, although for Your Ideal Day, you should write it out in present tense.)
I woke up just as the sun started peeking into the lace curtains of my bedroom window (No blinds in this house, that’s for sure.) My bedroom and office were both on the 2 nd floor of a two-story house, situated so the sun would wake me in the morning and I could still look out onto the ocean of my Texas gulf coast home.
The first order of business for the day was to check the computer and print out any orders that came in through the web site overnight – because there were always orders – and respond to emails. Next, downstairs for a cup of hot tea, followed by my cat, who went almost everywhere with me (this was written even before I got Sassy, and that’s just what she would always do.) Finally, dressed and ready to go – with printed shipping labels and receipts from the online orders – I would walk to my nearby gift shop, an easy 5 minute walk from my house, and located just off the beach in an artistic community within easy access for tourists as well as locals.
The shop would be already open by a trusted employee (a local art student), and already filling with customers, as it was the start of summer and a beautiful day out. My shop would specialize in offering the work of local artists as well as classes in the studio located in back. Our studio would be equipped for almost anything an aspiring art student might need, from painting and drawing to pottery to jewelry-making and lapidary.
On this day, our studio had a visiting local artist teaching a jewelry metal-smithing class, which I was looking forward to attending. Before the class started, I took a quick inventory of our pottery because I knew we needed to re-stock a few items soon – some of which I would be making myself in the days to come. In addition, I gathered and boxed the orders for shipping, getting them ready for pick-up by the postman. I also helped a few customers in their choices for gifts to take home – and every customer walked out with a purchase and a smile on their face.
After attending the class (most of which was like a refresher class for me as I already knew how to do it), and enjoying a light lunch with my fellow students – all of whom made a purchase of the instructor’s jewelry from our shop – I helped my employees clean and close up and took the day’s receipts with me to enter into my database at home.
Arriving home, I went straight to my over-sized, farmhouse style kitchen to start preparing dinner for a dinner party that night with the jewelry instructor, my employees and other local artists. (And of course, to feed the cat, who greeted me at the door coming home.) After a wonderful dinner with lots of wine, laughter, conversation and compliments on my food, I went with the cat back to my office where I prepared the day’s receipts and inventory (on a program I’d written myself) and checked email and orders one last time, getting everything ready for another great day tomorrow.
From Wishcraft:
With pen in hand and as much paper as you need (or a tape recorder if you prefer to dream out loud), take a leisurely walk through a day that would be perfect if it represented your usual days – not a vacation day, not a compromise day, but the very substance of your life as you’d love it to be. Live through that day in the present tense and in detail, from getting up in the morning to going to sleep at night. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up? What do you have for breakfast? Do you make it yourself – or is it brought to you in bed, with a single rose and the morning paper? Do you take a long, hot bath? a bracing cold shower? What kinds of clothes do you put on? How do you spend the morning? the afternoon? At each time of day, are you indoors or outdoors, quiet or active, alone or with people?
As you go through the hours of your fantasy day, there are three helpful categories to keep in mind: what, where, and who.
Posted in Business, Wishcraft | art, artists, barbara sher, Business, ideal day, Wishcraft | Leave a comment
