Buttons for Sewing in Art Deco and Nouveau Designs

It is that time of year again when Heather's Fabric Shelf holds their (7th) annual quilt show at their new store location in the Brock Shopping Centre on the north shore in Kamloops.  The quilt show itself will be set up in the Brock Activity Centre right across from Heather's.  Donna's Yarn & Craft Center relocated their store to the same shopping center as well and so this year we will be set up in their store this coming Sunday to demo our clay and show off our new spring button and snap jewelry collection.

Here is a peek at some of our new Art Deco and Art Nouveau button designs.  These buttons have a metal shank for sewing and a silky smooth finish which are perfect for those hand knit sweaters.

Metal shank for sewing

Mica Shift Buttons and Snaps in Blue Raspberry Sorbet

We just finished making a large batch of our Sorbet Flower Buttons as a custom order for Heather's Fabric Shelf.  They will be used in a special kit that she is putting together for her store.  They were made using Dan Cormier's mica shift technique using his peeler which is such a helpful tool.

We had some patterned slices left over and were wondering how the mica shift would look as "snaps" for our jewelry so did a bit of experimenting.  We added some Swarovski crystals which gives a bit more depth and were quite happy with the results.

The cool thing with the interchangeable snaps is that any technique can be used for them which makes them so versatile.

We are slowly adding more snap findings to our online store and if you would like to know about any new items added, sales or events, you can sign up for our news letter here.

If an invite does not pop up when visiting our site you will find the form on the front page here.

Donna's Yarn & Craft and Heather's Fabric Shelf New Locations

We managed to drop in and see Donna and Elsie at Donna's Yarn & Craft Centre one more time before they reopened yesterday (Monday).  Was nice to see the shelves filling up and all their unique items finding spots in their new location.  I had to admire all those glass shelves and I admire them even more now after helping Elsie put this and another double tower together.  They took a lot of hours to put together (I only helped a bit) and one can only imagine how much work there is in a move such as this.

Shelves filling up with yarn at Donna's Yarn & Craft Centre

Part of the bead section at Donna's Yarn & Craft

Was nice to see the one rack with our handcrafted buttons was already filled and organized.  Yes there is even more of our items at the store.  In fact, Donna has the largest selection of our handcrafted items available.  We also do special or custom orders for large projects through her store as well.

2GoodClaymates' Buttons

The cool thing about Donna's new location is that she is now in the same Brock Shopping Centre and almost right next to Heather's Fabric Shelf who also relocated there.  We popped in to see their new store and was nice to see how spacious and well organized it was.   They also now have more space in the back for their classes and operating their "Long Arm" machine.

Heather's Fabric Shelf

Heather's Fabric Shelf

After the Quilt Show

We had a fun time at our first show of the year yesterday.  It was another successful quilt show put on by Heather's Fabric Shelf and there were lots and lots of fabulous, beautiful quilts to see.

This quilt, titled "Gone with the Flow" was created by Sheila Crowe, and was our absolute favorite.   It was in direct view of where we were located so had a chance to admire it all day.  It is a hand quilted piece from a postcard design.  You can see the postcard picture above to compare how similar it looks but when you get up close it has so many more features which makes it so unique.  It is more of a multi-media quilt as it has other textures added such as real feathers used for the hair.

This is the main part of our display.  It was our first showing of our new interchangeable jewelry and we are still working out the best way to show it off and were interested to see how it was going to be received.  The response from our customers was very good and we received a lot of positive feedback.

Dave taking a moment out during set-up.

Donna and her mom Elsie of Donna's Yarn & Craft were also there and set up right next to us.  They had lots of knitting and crochet type samples there to provide plenty of inspiration for some fun projects.

The photo below is one idea that Donna has been working on together with Mary Anne, who is  another local polymer artist.  Mary Anne hand sculpts all these adorable little kids buttons.  She is a a retired veterinarian so you can see why she does the animals so well.  These are decorations combining crochet or knit flowers and using Mary Anne's buttons for the centres.  I forget what they all represent but perhaps you can figure out some of them -- There is a Black-eyed Susan, a Ger"bear"a Daisy, Dogwood, and I think those little babies are cabbage patch kids.  These are a fun idea to add to a child's sweater or add to their slippers.

Polymer buttons created by Mary Anne, Kamloops, BC

The spring season was off to a good start for us and we have several more shows coming up over the next few weeks so will keep us busy for a while.

Quilt Show at Heather's Fabric Shelf in Kamloops

We have been busy working on our new interchangeable jewelry line for this year.  We should have a nice selection ready for our first show in Kamloops coming up this Sunday on April 12.  The quilt show is put on by Heather's Fabric Shelf and is at the Holiday Inn just across the parking lot from their store.  We will be set up in the main lobby again together with Donna and Elsie from Donna's Yarn & Crafts.

Here is another sneak peek at more of our interchangeable jewelry pieces.

The art beads interchange on the pendant shown below and the pendant clips onto different types of cords for a different look.

The art bead cabachons can be switched out in the necklace base shown below.  Same necklace base but different cabachons give it a completely different look.

Are you curious about how these are created?  Well we are really excited about it and love this new concept.  So much so that we are already writing our tutorial and will be available soon.

Quilt Show Over for Another Year

Another great quilt show put on by Heather's Fabric Shelf in Kamloops is now over.  We were set up in the Holiday Inn Hotel lobby again which gave a really nice and relaxed atmosphere.  We were able to show off some of our latest button designs along with our jewelry line.

Our scarf jewelry was the main attraction again and this year we featured a pattern that Donna from Donna's Yarn & Craft put together to knit your own scarf.

We had a clay demonstration table as well which drew a lot of interest as you can see Dave here explaining to the ladies how a millefiori cane is made.

We had a great time but were totally exhausted after packing up and arriving home.  We spent today resting up in between unpacking and reorganizing.

Quilt Show at Heather's Fabric Shelf

We are getting ready for our first show of the year which is the Quilt Show 2014 put on by Heather's Fabric Shelf in Kamloops, BC.  Each year it has been getting larger and this year the hours are even extended to accommodate the flood of people who participate and attend.  It is on Sunday, April 13, 2014 from 9am to 4pm.  It takes place at the Holiday Inn & Suites that is across the parking lot from Heather's Fabric Shelf store where there is more to see there.  Click on the photo below to go to their site and read more about it.

We will be set up again in the Holiday Inn Lobby along with Donna and her mom Elsie from Donna's Yarn & Crafts.  They will have some cool new ideas and supplies for your knitting, crocheting and crafting needs.

Just a sneak peek of what they have been up to, these are some adorable "Ruffled Baby Booties" that Donna crocheted and we added our Toglet buttons to.  Donna will have the pattern and yarn available at the show and later in her store but if you do not crochet or have the time, I am sure she could make a pair for you.

There are a few other new ideas that we have been brainstorming together and will give you another peek before the show.

Custom Work

We find inspiration for creating our works in many ways - our beautiful natural surroundings, taking a workshop or tutorial, through many hours of repetition and when we are forced outside of our comfort zone to do commissioned or custom work.

We find now that much of our work has to be done on a deadline.  We deal with over 15 stores that sell our work now and we try to see them at least twice a year.  This means we have to show them fresh ideas each time.  We really try to have as much as possible, unique designs for each of the stores we sell to that come from the store owners' input.

We also do many custom orders.  At first we were wondering if it was worth our time and effort  and at times we found maybe it wasn't but we always found one idea lead to another.  Sometimes an idea opened up that we had never thought of before resulting in a best seller.

Most of my inspiring work has come as a result of being forced to explore an area of my mind where I hadn't been too much before.  Because my mind isn't the same as my customers', I enjoy getting inside their ideas and creating something that I never would have thought of.  This always helps me expand my horizons.  For example, when I started 10 years ago, most of my bead-work was in the color green.  I didn't realize this until my husband pointed it out to me.  We then started adding some of his colors and then our colors.  I guess working together has opened me up to the idea of working with our customers as well.

Another good thing about doing custom work is that it is already presold and because we have collaborated with the buyer, we know it will be very much appreciated.  Making that special art piece for someone really increases one's artistic self-esteem.

One good example is when we were asked to make a special button that would go along with a new line of fabrics.  I was given little swatches for color samples and told to make a design featuring the landscape of the Kamloops area.

I had no idea as to what the fabrics really looked like as it was kept a secret until the "unveiling".  I wanted to create a scene where we could make quite a few buttons in a similar pattern but where each button would come out somewhat unique.  I experimented with a stacked mokume gane technique and created some samples of a summer type scene representing the Thompson Rivers Valley and the unique dry hills surrounding the area.

After proofing and okaying each stage, via e-mail, I was given the final approval, with much relief.  But then I was asked if I could make some more, but this time create a winter scene?  So back to the drawing board and with some tweaking and adjusting of colors a winter version was born.

Kamloops Button

This button has turned out to be our best single selling item ever.  It is something I could not have seen myself doing without being asked.  It was a struggle both time wise and creatively but I am ever so glad that I was pushed into it.

Kamloops Button - summer scene bag

Kamloops Button - winter scene bag

Kamloops Button Now in a Pendant

Our "Kamloops" button has been extremely popular and by far our best selling button.  We discovered that many people who were purchasing the original button were buying them as souvenirs and gifts for their friends.  Dave suggested I create a pendant using the same design and so now there are some available for sale at Heather's Fabric Shelf in North Shore Kamloops.

For those of you who are not familiar with the area, Kamloops is a beautiful city built around two rivers (North and South Thompson) that come together.  The main area is in a sort of "bowl" with the unique hills surrounding it.

I created the pendant in a similar manner as making the buttons.  I wanted to capture an image that represents Kamloops the best which includes the river and the semi-arid and dry looking hills.  These hills are  beautiful shades of green in the spring but as it gets hot in the summer, they slowly turn to a reddish brown and will stay that way for the rest of the year.

To create the scene, I used a stacked clay "mokume gane"  technique similar to what I learned from Julie Picarello.  (For those who have taken Julie's workshop or purchased her book, would have already recognized it, I'm sure.)

To create my scenes, I made my own shaped cutters for the hill and the river.  For my stacks of clay, I used 2 different color mixes, one for the summer and the other for winter.  I then impressed the clay stacks with  my handmade cutters to create the pattern.  I then sliced my clay stack to reveal different color and design variations so that each piece comes out totally unique and one of a kind.

Doing the Happy Dance!

We are frantically doing last minute preparations for the BC Quilt Show that is this Friday and Saturday.  We like to do a practice set-up in our home to be sure everything is going to fit just the way we want it.  Dave already started packing the car as he wanted to be sure everything will fit and there won't be any last minute surprises.

We have had some really good news this week so have been doing the happy dance.  One of the things is that Heather from Heather's Fabric Shelf informed us that our Kamloops button has again almost sold out -- a week ago she had only 2 left in stock.  I was totally blown away and could hardly believe it.  This is by far  our best selling button with no signs of a drop off in the near future.

We have been busy making more and will have them for sale along with some of Heather's "River's Edge" bag kits at the Quilt Show.

The other good news was our Floral Collar necklace was featured on The Daily Polymer Arts Blog today which was a real honor.  If you haven't been following Sage's blog, I definitely recommend it as she has some real inspiring stuff.  You can sign up and receive it directly to your e-mail on a daily basis.

Black and White With a Touch of Red

The gigantic concave leaf buttons we created have also been a big hit.  We had a request for them in black and white and I love how the red lady bug really pops.

The fun thing about making buttons for both yarn and quilt shops is that each type of store prefers different styles.  Some tend to go best with the yarns and other natural fibers where others work well with the larger quilt patterns.  Some of our buttons happen to cross over and are popular in both areas such as these. They are quite large so would make an awesome accent for either a quilted or felted bag.  They  would also be fun to add to a sweater or quilted jacket.  These are available at Heather's Fabric Shelf in Kamloops as well as  the Falkland General Store in Falkland and Linda's Quilt Shoppe in Kelowna.