i've been featured

Want to know about my little business, The Garbologist's Wife, in a nutshell? I've been featured on a really terrific Web site, Queering Domesticity! Go read it and meander around her site, it's chocked full of other indie artist awesomeness that is not about me, too.

malls = barf

The regular mall out in the burbs make me anxious and barfy; anxious because of all the people in my way and acting a fool in the parking lots & barfy because all of those perfume counters smell sooo bad with the 857 different aromas being sprayed at me as I walk past them. I will let you in on a dirty secret, I worked in a very well known mall in Baltimore county in recent years for a month and the secret hallways behind the stores smelled overwhelmingly like rotting milk. I think I just let two dirty secrets out.

Have you seen Indie Fixx's brand new fancy Holiday Galleria? No?! It's an online gallery of indie goods- like an 'indie mall' featuring a juried mix of indie designers & boutiques. This year you can find my work floating about in it along with some really terrific work by other artists. It however does lack that special barfy, anxious aesthetic if that is what one needs.

oh... hello, pittsburgh

I'm heading to Pittsburgh in December! I'll be selling my wares on December 12th in the Hunt Armory at Handmade Arcade. I'm planning to work double time in the next month to be prepared for this show as well as the 4th Annual Holiday Booty Market in Washington, D.C. on December 19th. I've got a few new things up my sleeve including some garments as well as lots of great accessories... all made with upcycled and vintage materials in sizes small to 3x.

flame toasted toast with white bean goodness

A favorite restaurant of mine makes the most butt kickingly delicious appetizer with a hearty crostini topped with white beans marinated in something vinegary & scrumptious. I decided to make my own easy version at home with things I have on hand or could easily pick up from the grocery store. The result: really yummy & stupid fast! Plus it's also vegan. This will be showing up on my table when friends come over to visit.

2 15oz can of white beans
1/2 cup balsamic vinaigrette
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 baguette of your choice

Rinse & drain your beans. In a medium bowl toss vinaigrette and beans together with the thyme & oregano. Cut baguette into 1/2-3/4" slices. Toast your bread on the grill. OR place the bread on a baking sheet & toast in the oven on broil (it takes less then a minute, flip them over for a few more seconds). *For maximum flavor, allow the beans to marinate for a few hours on the fridge.

what's happenin?

I've been quite busy this week. I've been sewing up a storm for custom orders and a few items to list in my Etsy shop. I have a handful more custom pieces due next week. My Crescent Moon Upcycled Skirt I listed yesterday had such great reception; I have a fair amount of this material so I have been able to offer it in ANY SIZE from small-3x for a few lucky buyers!

Also, I've been researching and considering several more indie craft fairs for the fall and winter seasons. This morning I was invited to be an exhibitor at the 4th Annual Holiday Booty Market sponsored by the folks at Craft Mutiny . It's going to be held on Saturday, December 19th in the Design Within Reach showroom in the Adams Morgan neighborhood in Washington, D.C. What an interesting space to have an indie art fair! DWR's mission is freakishly similar to mine: Good design should be within the reach of EVERYONE. I am honored and excited to be a part of this exclusive group of exhibitors. I'll be sharing more details about this event and any others I plan to be at in the coming months.

BEST is the best!

Did you vote for my team for the Mobbies? I think you did because we won! The fantastic group of artists I am a part of, BEST (The Baltimore Etsy Street Team) is the winner of the Mobbies Art+DIY category from the Baltimore Sun's blog awards.

We are all very excited to be #1! It takes the entire group of us to write these fantastic entries everyday. Who is BEST, you ask? We are a group dedicated to promoting, sharing, teaching and doing craft in the Baltimore area. Our blog is a beautiful reflection of what we do and love. Check out our sweet blog at www.baltimore-etsy.blogspot.com and see why we were chosen.

Come on out to The Metro Gallery tonight at 7pm. The Baltimore Sun will be holding a big celebration for the Mobbies and everyone is invited. I will be there with bells on.
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baltimore is industrious

October is the best month ever! Besides the bright, cooler crisp days, it's free museum season in Baltimore. Free Fall is a terrific month-long extravaganza in Mobtown where museums and events open their doors at no cost. I hit two of them over the weekend.

First I headed over to the Baltimore Streetcar Museum. It's a smaller place with some really beautiful, vintage and still in working condition streetcars. You get unlimited rides up Falls Road in a series of different streetcars; I rode in one that looks like it came from Mr. Rogers' neighborhood.



Our second stop was at the Baltimore Museum of Industry. What a great place; old neon signs, toasters, radios, cars, skis, dustbusters and other fun things. I am a big fan of mid-century paraphernalia, so I was overwhelmed with it all. It's well curated and someone was even doing demos with the century and a half old printing presses. I learned that 95% of everything ever was originated in Baltimore (okay, just a lot of things were.)