Ornaments

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!

The holidays are here! My personal appearances start  this weekend at Saks Fifth Ave across from Rockefeller Center.  This is always my favorite time as I get to see again those collectors who come back each year.  It is always an honor for me to see everyone.  This year I will post pictures to my blog , so  stay tuned!

I am also excited to be introducing my new dog lineand as a special treat- my little pug dog Posey Pugglesworth will be joining me  at my Bergdorf Goodman appearances.  Dogs add so much to our lives  and I hope that I have captured their spirit in the ornaments.

Here are the dates again for November:
Saks Fifth Avenue
November 7, Saturday; 1:00-4:00 pm
New York City

Lord & Taylor
November 10, Tuesday; 5:00-8:00 pm
Fifth Ave. at 38th St.
New York City

Bergdorf Goodman
November 14, Saturday, 1:00-4:00 pm
New York City

Bloomingdales
November 21, Saturday; 1:00-3:00 pm
Lexington Ave.
New York City

Waldorf Astoria
November 27, Black Friday, 10:00am-12:00 noon
New York City

Bergdorf Goodman
November 27, Black Friday, 1:00-4:00 pm
New York City

Saks Fifth Avenue
November 28, Saturday; 1:00-4:00 pm
New York City

Borders Bookstore
November 30, Monday; 6:00 pm
Park Ave. at 57th St.
New York City

At the end of November I will be emailing  my December dates.

Also of note- I  designed  a cover for the 2009  Fiction  Nobel Laureate winner Herta Muller. Her book is called The Appointment.

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!

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!