Christmas

What an amazing signing at Bergdorf Goodman on Saturday—It was so special to have Posey Pugglesworth  there as my ambassador. She  was quite the celebrity.

The sales staff and customers were wonderful and the display of my ornaments was beautiful.

Some highlights included a visit from my assistant Lisa, and signing an ornament for a couple  celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. They purchased an ornament to commemorate the event- as I personalized it, I also wrote the number 40 on the taxi cab to make it extra special.

The custom designs are a hit and by the time I left more than half are sold out.

To reserve any before my next signing event call (212) 753-7300 and ask for the holiday shop—and  one of the fantastic sales staff will  be able to help you.

Come and see Posey again on Friday November 27th.

Until the next sketch!

The  wonderful thing about signings is that you never know who you are going to meet or see.   At my signing at Lord and Taylor, I saw a colleague of mine from 20 years ago!  We worked together at Berkley/Putnam publishing and she was out shopping with her mom.

It was a fun night- Lord & Taylor had a beautiful set up in their Christmas Department  and was raising money for charity. It was also a pleasure to meet fellow Golden Glow member and ornament designer Melissa Byrne from Jingle Nog  as well as designer Michael Park.

I signed lots of copies of  A Very New York Christmas and the Lord & Taylor custom ornament.

My next event is at Bergdorf Goodman and should be very special as  Posey Pugglesworth will be making her debut as ambassador for the Storrings’ line!  Come and meet us from 1-4 on the 7th floor!

Until the next sketch!

Saks.com has just featured my Times Square ornament on their holiday main page !

What an honor.  My ornaments are now available  in-store and online from them.

One that you should especially check out this year is  the Saks Custom 2009 design.  It is really fun. I have been doing custom balls for Saks for the last 5 years and normally I feature the building front and center. This year I wanted to switch it up. The theme is the saks elevator featuring  a very new york moment: a stylish mother, father and daughter(hugging her American girl doll) sharing the lift with Santa and the Statue of Liberty.

What you can’t see online are all the other details- the chrysler building and empire state  emerging from a saks gift box, a skating Prometheus by the  Rock Center tree, a newstand, top and bottom are the white snow branches you see on the main floor, the facade of the store  smaller on back, and lots of snowflakes.   The doors are painted with a mirror like silver so they are actually reflective like the doors in the store. It retails for $75.00.

Each is handpainted, taking 3-5 days to complete each one!This is a limited edition of 500 balls- only for 2009.

Also new for this year is a custom Saks dog-  A Maltese sporting a Statue of Liberty hat  while lounging in an Espadrille shoe. A limited edition of 200 and retails at $42.00My first signing at Saks will be on November 7th. from 1-4 PM.

Hope to see you there!

Until the next sketch!

The morning of the last day at the convention  was spent working  in the museum room.   I was in charge of watching the area containing the  Thomas Nast prints. It was great view from my post, as I was able to  look at all that great artwork once again.  Below are just a few images from the exhibit from the areas where I could take photos.

After that I took a trip to Napa Valley  with Jo  from Landmark Creations.

We had  a great afternoon testing samples of various wines at Sterling Vineyards. The 2008 Cellar Club Viognier and the SVR 95 were standouts!

The evening was capped off by a lovely turkey dinner with all the trimmings and Christmas play where snow bubbles  softly fell onto the audience.

I can’t wait until next year when I can see all my new  “glow” friends in Milwaukee.

Until the next sketch!

What an exciting day at the convention!  First off was the newcomers orientation. Kudos to David who did a fantastic job welcoming everyone to the glow.  Then off to set  up for the Christkindlmarkt- a venue people can sell  new things at the convention. From wikipedia “it is a street market associated with the celebration of Christmas during advent,mainly the four weeks preceding Christmas Day. These markets originated in Germany and Austria.”

I had a fun time signing the ornaments and copies of my book A Very New York Christmas

I even got to meet one of the artists that I collect, Debbee Thibault and she is just as warm and lovely as her sculptures. You can see much of her work at Kitty’s. Debbee told me how much she liked my work and even bought a copy of my book.   That is the best compliment I could ever ask for- to have someone whose work you admire tell you that they like yours.

Then off to the fantasy hat contest  and cheesecake and dancing Christmas trees. My friend Patrick was sporting quite a festive hat but  didn’t win the contest. A woman with a covered wagon on her head did.  Fun! 

Until the next sketch!

Convention Day two.

Had a wonderful breakfast with some Glow members from Honolulu, Hawaii, and then ventured off to one of the workshops. First I learned to make a cotton batting ornament with artist Lucy Webber.

These are ornaments made from batting, in this case cotton, which is less than a quarter of an inch thick and comes in sheets. From Lucy’s website “Cotton batting ornaments were made in the late 1800′s by cottage craftsmen of the Saxon Thuringian area of Germany.”

At the end  of the workshop, I had  a cute little Santa!  (whose photo is above.)

Second workshop was on how to make a cotton batting tree with folk artist  Jack Roads.  You start with a wire frame of a tree in a wooden base(or you can use a real tree), apply glue to each branch and to the trunk, and wrap it in cotton batting.  Then you use wallpaper paste to hold it all together and smooth it out.  A photo of  my final product is at top.

Fun times, great instructors!

By the way, I did find that antique feather tree – a small early green  table-top one with tin candle holders… and  guess who was selling it? The couple next to me in the ornament workshop!

Until the next sketch!

Today is my  first day at the Golden Glow convention in Sacramento California. This is going to be  an amazing experience. The people I have met have been so welcoming and kind.

I talked to a really nice woman on the bus from the airport who had  brought with her a collection of WWII Christmas ornaments.  She introduced me to another friendly glow member, Roger, the owner of a store that specializes in traditional German merchandise, called The Christmas Haus.

After settling in my room, I made my way around the hotel and helped stuff convention packets for the arriving members.  I will always be remembered as the  “nut stuffer”( as my role was to place bags of peanuts in each packet). I then went back to my room and  set up for Room Hopping–not as kinky as it sounds, LOL.  It is a beloved tradition where people sell  out of their rooms.  Below are some photos of my room.

Afterword, I ventured down to register for the conference and stumbled on some rooms that were open for the pleasure to hop!  I  found a  lovely woman who is an expert in Dresden ornaments,  Betty Bell.  (Someone needs to do a book with her collection!) They are stunning. From The Glow website– “Dredens were only 2-3 inches in size and were gilded or silvered, although some were painted by artists. Dresdens were primarily made between 1880 and 1910. They were manufactured using cardboard, dampened to make it flexible. It was then pressed in a stamping die, with each piece having an equivalent depression on a counter die. One ornament was often made of several pieces which, when dry, were taken home by cottage workers and assembled.”  I did happen to find a pug- and for anyone who knows me- knows that I have an extensive pug collection. So guess what  is coming home with me… above is a photo of one of her trees. Until the next sketch!

Well,  I thought it would be fun to share a snapshot I found in my parent’s photo album on a recent trip to upstate NY—my first Christmas!  There I am, decked out in full Santa gear.  My brother is holding me in his lap while looking dapper in his Perry Como sweater and my sister is to his side in quite a festive outfit (pre “Lord of the Dance”).  You can see now how from birth I was instilled with a love for the holidays!  Many of the things under the tree are now part of my “vintage” collection.  Love that pink reindeer!  My mom used to get old shoe boxes  and “cotton glittered snow” and create magical scenes.

Tinsel was strewn from the branches in my youth until we got a dog and he ate it and…you know!

With the Christmas convention coming up, I have been reflecting on the wonderful Christmas memories of my past and how much they are a part of me and my art.

Until the next sketch!