My event with Kathie Lee Gifford has been rescheduled for Wednesday December 15th from 5-6PM at Lord and Taylor.  However, I will still be there tomorrow on the 9th signing my custom Lord and Taylor New York City ornaments, tabletop, and book A Very New York Christmas. If you come on the 9th and want an Angel Blocks ornament, I can reserve it for you to be signed by Kathie Lee.

Some of the proceeds from Angel Blocks will benefit The ABC Foundation, an organization creating model programs for vulnerable children and their families designed to permanently break the destructive cycles of abuse, neglect, sickness, and homelessness.

Meet Kathie Lee Gifford and me at the signing event in New York City at Lord & Taylor, December 15h from 5-6PM.

I look forward to seeing you and wishing you all the best for a joyous season.

Michael

Join me throughout December for a series of exciting book and ornament signings in Chicago, New York, and Long Island.

Look for my book—the one that musician John Legend had in his hand and that Katie Couric Tweeted about—A Magical Night Before Christmas. It is paired with the 2010 Gund Bloomingdale’s bear. My coordinating trim and ornaments are in all Bloomingdale’s stores nationwide.

I have collaborated with Kathie Lee Gifford on an ornament to benefit The ABC Foundation, an organization creating model programs for vulnerable children and their families designed to permanently break the destructive cycles of abuse, neglect, sickness, and homelessness. Meet Kathie Lee and me at the signing event in New York at Lord & Taylor, December 9th from 6-8PM.

Look for my custom ornaments in Bergdorf Goodman in NYC and my art work from my book A Very New York Christmas as a backdrop in Santa Land at the Plaza Hotel.

Subscribe and get the latest news, updates, and collector’s information on my blog Sketch Upon a Time at http://www.storrings.com/blog/

Give your family and friends a unique holiday gift, signed and personalized for each recipient. I look forward to seeing you at these events:

NOVEMBER: MARK YOUR CALENDAR.

Bloomingdale’s
December 4, Saturday 1-3 PM
Michigan Ave, Chicago

Bloomingdale’s
December 5, Sunday 1-3 PM
Oakbrook Store, Chicago

Lord & Taylor
with Kathie Lee Gifford
December 9, Thursday 6-8PM
New York City

Waldorf Astoria
December 10, Friday 6-8PM
New York City

Bloomingdale’s
December 11, Saturday 1-3PM
Lexington Ave.
New York City

Bloomingdale’s
December 12, Sunday 1-3PM
Huntington Store, Long Island

Bergdorf Goodman
December 18, Saturday 1-5PM
New York City

The Plaza Hotel
December 19, Sunday 11-2PM
New York City

Check out my website http://www.storrings.com/news.html
for the latest times and events.

michael@storrings.com
Blog: http://www.storrings.com/blog/

A Magical Night Before Christmas available at the events or online at http://www1.bloomingdales.com/search/results.ognc?Action=sk&pageid=1&startpos=1&Keyword=michael+storrings&cKey=1&sortOption=*&resultsPerPage=96

A Very New York Christmas available at the events or online at www.amazon.com, www.borders.com, or www.barnesandnoble.com

Ornaments available at the events or online at www.s5a.com, www.bergdorfgoodman.com
or www.bloomingdales.com

Join me throughout November for a series of exciting book and ornament signings in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Tampa.

My new book A Magical Night Before Christmas and coordinating trim and ornaments are in all Bloomingdale’s stores nationwide.

I have collaborated with Candy Spelling on an ornament to benefit The Lange Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to saving homeless and abandoned pets. Meet Candy at the signing event in Hollywood, California on November 6 and 7th.

Look for my custom ornaments for Magnon Jewelers in Tampa and Bergdorf Goodman in NYC.

Subscribe and get the latest news, updates, and collector’s information on my blog Sketch Upon a Time, at http://www.storrings.com/blog/

Give your family and friends a unique holiday gift, signed and personalized for each recipient.

I look forward to seeing you at these events:

NOVEMBER: MARK YOUR CALENDAR.

Dee’ s Flowers with Candy Spelling
November 6   6-8PM
November 7  12-2PM
Studio City, CA

Bloomingdale’s
November 10, Wednesday 1-3PM
Century City, CA

Bloomingdale’s
November 11, Thursday 1-3PM
Las Vegas, NV

Bloomingdale’s
November 12, Friday 1-3PM
San Francisco, CA

Magnon Jewelers
Friday, November 19 11-3 PM
Tampa, FL

Bloomingdale’s
November 26, Friday 1-3PM
Lexington Ave.
New York City

Bergdorf Goodman
November 27, Saturday 1-5PM
New York City

Check out my website http://www.storrings.com/news.html
for the latest times and events.

Stay tuned for more events in December!

michael@storrings.com
Blog: http://www.storrings.com/blog/

If you will not be near Hollywood and want it to support the Lange Foundation, ornaments can be ordered by calling 818-769-3000 .

Tampa ornaments can be ordered by calling Magnon Jewelers (813) 872-9374.

A Magical Night Before Christmas available at the events or online at http://www1.bloomingdales.com/search/results.ognc?Action=sk&pageid=1&startpos=1&Keyword=michael+storrings&cKey=1&sortOption=*&resultsPerPage=96

A Very New York Christmas available at the events or online at www.amazon.com, www.borders.com, or www.barnesandnoble.com

Ornaments available at the events or online at www.s5a.com, www.bergdorfgoodman.com
or www.bloomingdales.com

2010 has been exciting  year so far and busy. My 2010 ornaments are in production and I am gearing up for  a busy Fall.  Lots of events are planned  and for those of you who subscribe to the Landmark newsletter already know that I will be doing a five city tour- including stops in Tampa, LA, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Chicago, and NYC. Stay tuned for more in upcoming blog posts.

Also  this year,  you will be seeing  a line of stationery in stores that I am launching with a  Louie Award winning company called a la cards.

For all of you that know that I also work in Book Publishing- I am now VP Creative Director of St. Martin’s Paperbacks and  continuing to work on packages for  Emily Giffin, Kristin Hannah, Janet Evanovich, Lisa Scottoline, and others.

I am excited to share that I have  also illustrated  a book on the retelling of the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem for New York Times bestselling author Donna Van Liere- who is known for her wonderful book The Christmas shoes. The book is called The Christmas Journey, in stores this fall

As I said, an exciting year for which I feel very lucky.

Looking back on 2009- what a wonderful season it was.   It was so great to see so many of my collectors at my events.  I had the energy to decorate my home withsix trees- photo highlights are posted. As you can see my pugs are always there to help me out…and they are honored with their own tree!

Soon I will be  attending the Golden glow convention in Milwaukee- I hope that I will get to see many of you there.

Until the next sketch!

At my signing at Barnes and Noble on Greenwich Ave, I was asked to give a talk about my  book  A Very New York Christmas and to read from it. This was the first time I had ever done this ( I normally  just sit at the front entrance and sign copies!).

So quick on my toes, I spoke about the origin of the book, my ornaments, working in publishing, my covers, my art , and answered insightful questions from the audience. As I am  a village resident, it was exciting to do a signing there.

My next signing was at Bloomingdales- when I arrived my ornaments were basically already sold out! Very few books were left and by the end of the event, there were none left!  It was  a very busy day there and I got to see so many great people, even a  few of my friends made it.

The 10th signing was  this past Saturday at Lord and Taylor.

Most of my stock was gone, and all of my books of A Very New York Christmas were sold out!

It must be due to the amazing  review from Outblush.com

Until the next sketch!

They are my biggest fans  and come down from upstate New York each year on Thanksgiving weekend to come out and support my work.  They love buying my ornaments, books, and china  as gifts for their friends.

It was a wonderful day and I got to see many of my collectors who come back each year. It is always such an honor to see them.

If you have been to my signings, you know that I keep a book to have  collectors sign to join my mailing list.  At this signing I was honored to have two young budding artists draw me pictures which I  posted to my blog “collage” above.  I love  seeing young people draw, it is so important to encourage and  support that  creativity in everyone.

Until the next sketch!

I had a great time at my events on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

In the morning I was at the Waldorf  Astoria- Diana the store manager did a wonderful job  displaying my ornaments and books.  It was a great  time signing books and ornaments.  I met a couple who run  a very  special organization called Gentle Carousel.

They use minature horses as therapy for children and adults in hospitals, hospices, nursing homes,etc.

In the afternoon, my ambassador Posey Pugglesworth joined me at Bergdorf Goodman. We had a great time and Posey made some wonderful new friends. She even met Joy Behar from the View.   It was great to see my friend, artist William Honkanen. He is an amazing artist and does all of the animation work on the Today show.

Until the next sketch!

It was a great day- and a special one—some customers who have been collecting since the beginning came to see me.  I am  always so honored to see them.

My copies of A Very New York Christmas were selling very quickly and the custom ball & subway car were hits with the customers.

If you missed me at Bloomies  on this day, I’ll be back there on  Saturday December 5th from 1-3PM.

Until the next sketch!

The custom ball for them this year is really fun!  It has the Statue of Liberty driving a taxicab with Santa , two Bloomingdales’ shoppers, and a doggie in the backseat. They are taking home the Empire State & Chrysler buildings in their trunk!

The 59th St Bridge and Cable Car,  a big Brown Bag, Subway Cars, and a Coffee Vendor are also featured on the ball.A Limited edition of only 240 pieces has been produced.

I also produced a limited quantity of ONLY 60 Bloomingdale’s  Subway  Cars! A silhouette of the Statue of Liberty is looking out the conductor’s  back windowDid you know that when the subway train comes into the station platform and stops- the conductor always sticks his arm out and points to  a black& white diagonally striped  painted board hanging from ceiling, called an “indication board.”

“Since the late 1990′s the conductor is required to point to the sign, after the train stops and before the doors are opened. This is for an eight car train. If he/she cannot look straight out from the cab and see this indication board, some of the cars in the train are not in the station. The doors MUST NOT be opened.” (this and other useful explanations of subway signs from the website www.thejoekorner.com)

I will also be signing copies of my book A Very New York Christmas.

Come and see me if you can.

Until the next sketch!

Yes, is the answer!

In my home, I have a large  8ft prelit tree that I have all of my painted ball ornaments along with my molded designs.

I call it my travel tree.  All of my ornaments are inspired by trips that I have had, soon to have , and memories  that have happened.  I am lucky to be able to fill a tree with all those inspirations.

I love Christmas and  even before I started designing ornaments, I collected them—and still do. In addition to my large tree, I have 5 feather trees with different themes and I will be talking  about those in upcoming posts.

My suggestions for decorating trees are as such:

• have  a focus/theme for your tree- it could be as simple as a color that is carried throughout or a shape.  To me  it bestows on the tree a meaning and story- the viewer is able to look at the tree and take home a memory.
• I love feather trees for displaying ornaments- a prelit tree is great as well as the wires do not get in the way.
• mix antique with new ornaments- with my ornaments I mix antique shiny brites that were given  to me by my parents and grandparents. The solids , stripes, and various sizes create a great backdrop for the newer designs.
• you can never have enough ornaments!
• finish your tree off at the  base with an antique fence or beautiful tree skirt. Under my travel tree I have a city themed skirt that  helps anchor  the ornaments.
• find a topper that fits- I actually have in my line a Times Square tree topper- right now only a few prototypes  have been made but I hope to release it in 2010
• most of all, have fun!

Until the next sketch!