Post Christmas post

So how was your Christmas? Mine was suitably full of food, presents, and christmas cheer, sprinkled with family and love. It's been such a long time since I've been home, September-eek I'm such a bad daughter, it was lovely to see my family again. All the kids look so grown up, my dad looked really well, and everyone seemed so excited that we were together for a happy reason after the crappy year we've all been through. Santa brought me some lovely things, some great books, and easily the most comfortable pajamas I have ever worn(and am wearing right now). I think the biggest surprise was my present from John. He got me a voucher for Danny Bulmans tattoo studio!I already have a large tattoo on my back that for years I have been saying I would finish and bring all the way up to my shoulders. Now that I have the funds I'm half excited/half aprehensive, which is odd cos I'm always black and white about everything. I think it's cos I'm such a wuss when it comes to pain. Either way it was a very thoughtful present.

In other news, keep an eye on my etsy shop over the next week as I now have time to update it after all the holiday madness. I also have to get it looking extra fantastical for all those hits I'll get from being on RTE this coming Monday. In case you don't already have it pencilled in, this Monday 5th Jan I will be on RTE1 on Nationwide at 7pm.

Bleary eyed but happy

I did it!!!I finished my first order for Olive, the new shop in Ennis that is selling my clothes. I wanted to have pictures to post, but it was down to the last minute...I was still sewing in buttons in the car on the way there. So hopefully that will be the first of many deliveries. Within an hour I sold 2 coats, which I must say is pretty exciting. So the first hurdle is over, now I just have to get over this weekend and then I'm free to sleep and drink as much as humanly possible. If the sewing fairies would arrive early that would be the best xmas present ever. I've been awake now for 32 hours(and working for most of it), I'm gonna stay up for another 4/5 and finish a few things for tomorrow.

On a happy note I woke up yesterday to find that my wonderful boyfriend had walked across the whole city with a christmas tree on his back just for me!! So I took a wee break to decorate my beautiful mini tree. Whenever I walk into the dimmed sitting room I get a little flutter in my heart, the lights, the smell, it's all so evocative of another lifetime.

Ruth is not Dead

No I have not died, or ambled into an unseen ditch, or climbed into my wardrobe for a very long sleep. I'm still frantically spinning my xmas plates.I've let a couple drop, missed a deadline or two, stopped blogging, let my etsy shop go to crap. But I've also started 2 new markets, been captured by the magic of television, and the BIG NEWS, got an offer from a local boutique to sell my clothes, cards, and mirrors. As thrilling as the whole tv RTE thing was it has been eclipsed by this. I'll actually be selling in a real shop, with other real designers. It was a proud moment when I rang my mother and told her about it. It's been a crazy month. In fact now that I think of it it's been a crazy year.

Year in Review:
Quit my Bar Job
Got waitressing job
Started my business making clothes
Did a diploma in graphic design
Did a cetificate in web design
Friends got engaged
Dad got Cancer
Big sis returns from New Zealand
Went to electric picnic
Went to Edinburgh
Taught art to kids at Summer Camp
Friends got married
Siblings got pregnant
Got a credit card
Opened my etsy Shop
Made my first online sale
Was filmed by nationwide for RTE
Invited to start selling in a boutique
Was featured in 1 newspaper and 2 magazines
Taught John how to use photoshop

Things not achieved;
Didn't learn to drive
Didn't win the lotto
Didn't get a weeks holiday away with John
Didn't bake a cake

RTE Nationwide

Part of my mad busyness lately is due to a recent email I got aking if I would be interested in being on Nationwide. For those of you not in Ireland I'll explain. It's a programme that has been running on national television forever, and it showcases different business and community topics around the country. Most friends that I told admitted to me that they secretly are addicted to watching it. It has the image that only grannies and watch it, but it's actually watched by a huge amount of people. So you can understand my bewildered excitement at hearing this, and for the past few weeks I've been in a bit of a tizzy trying to get things organised. I got a phonecall today saying that they will be filming this Sunday at the market. So if you ever wanted to pop down and have a look, Sunday is the day to do it, I need bodies at my stall, please. Also in a couple of weeks they will be calling to my apartment and filming me and some models in my apartment. So the first thing on the list was to get the place organised. So after 6 hours of myself and my sister cleaning yesterday, we got about half way there. I'l post photos later in the week to show you how beautiful it looks, at present it looks like it was attacked by bears.

Busyness pre Christmas

Well it seems I've turned into a crazy busy worker bee, and a few things have suffered because of it. First to go my will to clean the flat, it was never that strong in the first place so I'm no too surprised. Second was my love of blogging, which I gave up unwillingly. I suspect I will be working 7 days a week until Christmas. Between now doing 2 market days, working in a busy restaurant and making all of my stock I definitely won't be idle. Somewhere in there I've to squeeze in a a design for a brochure, a single cover, and I may be doing 2 additional Christmas fairs in the University of Limerick. During last week I got some amazing news that I will be featured on tv with my clothes. More news will follow later when I have concrete dates. But lets just say I have to transform my flat and studio into a presentable place of work, at the moment it looks like its post burglury. So at present I'm really excited that things are going so well and my stuff is selling. But I lie awake at night stressing that I won't be able to keep it up and all my dizzying spinning plates will crash to the ground.

In short: I'm happy but stressed to the gills.

facebook

Oh no I have caved to the evil pressure.
I joined Facebook
I don't even know how to use it. I'm told I will be totally addicted, my life will end, and I will become a wizened old lady sitting at my desk waiting for new friends.
Link

Dino-phwar,I'm in love

I just found this shop,Carrot Fever, online and fell in love. I just need to fugure out who to give it to for Christmas. Is it ok to buy lots of them for myself, even tho I've no space for them and no money?

Saturday Market

It's been a good week for this little 'nice day' girl. After recovering from the aforementioned wedding, and the nasty cold that followed it, I had a pretty productive week. I made 4 jackets, and eventually organised my display for my handmade broaches. The best piece of news is that I have at long last gotten a stall at the Saurday market. For those of you who don't live in Limerick I'll explain. The Saturday market is seen as the real market, everyone goes to it, and it's thronged with people over the Christmas season. I was told that there is a waiting list of 120 people to get a full sized pitch there, and people wait years for it. So since I don't have a car, I got a half size plot where I'll be selling my handmade cards, broaches and other little bits and bobs. It looks like I'm going to have to turn into a crazy little worker bee for the next 2 months. Between the 3 days in the restaurant, 2 days of markets and somewhere in there I've to make all of my stock. Well it's better to be too busy rather than looking for work. I can't wait to get started, this week will be my first time selling there. Fingers crossed I make some cash.

The broaches are 15 euro each or a bargain at 3 for 30 euro!

A Long morning and 5 minutes

Just a short hello to anyone who had the misfortune to call down to me at the market today. It was a late night after the wedding on Saturday, so that made for a very grey and grumpy Ruth. So sorry to anone if I seemed a little rude or green in palour. It was an amazing night, a very big congratulations is due for Jenny and Brian. More news and shennanigans of that night will follow soon when my brain decides to start working again.
Another thing, I've been featured as the '5 mins with' interview in the limerick event guide, check it out if you want to find out more silly things about me!

Words Words Words

This word pic rocks and you can get one too compiled from all the text in your blog. Just go here.

Do you Tip?

As some of you may already know I'm a part time waitress, I don't do this because I love it, but to make cash so that I can spend the rest of my time trying to start up my design business. When I started last year I totally underestimated how unbelievably hard it would be. It's lots of running up and down a very large restaurant while carrying needlessly heavey plates. All the while having an inside out knowledge of the menu, with a sunny pleasant disposition. As I said I don't love my job but I 'm good at it because being good makes life easier and less stressful for me and the customer.

When I first started the tips were pretty great, I saw it as a viable job to have for a while to save cash, but still not have to do a million hours a week. But I have a very big bone to pick at the moment. There is an ever increasing epidemic of a lack of tipping. Now I know Ireland doesn't have the same tipping culture as America, but really guys a 400 euro bill with no tip??! I'm not talking about tables that are unhappy. These are people who I have taken care of, who said they were very happy and had a great time. It happening more and more. I know the recession has a big part to play but, in my opinion, if you can afford to spend 400 quid, you can afford to tip. I understand the odd occasion people may not have change etc,etc. But I would really like to know what these people are thinking? What do you think about it, do you tip? Irish readers I'm especially interested.

And one more thing you probably didn't know, the government is now taking 13.5% tax off our service charge and credit card tips! So thanks a million to the big fat cats.

Helping Hand

I just had a strange Enid Blighton moment on the street.Picture it; Pregnant lady struggling down the street carrying lots of heavey bags...oh no what do I do? I'm not posting to show what a do-gooder I am, I'm more appalled that I considered not helping her! Isn't it a sad state of affairs that our community becomes so alienated from each other that we think twice about a simple act of kindness. What did I think she would do, be insulted, get angry!? Well thankfully I got over my sillynes and helped the poor woman,but I'm still a little ashamed that I paused.

Aural Assault

I was walking down the mainstreet in Limerick the other day and one of the department stores was pumping out special offer prices on loud speaker. This wasn't coming from the shop but actually piped out onto the street. Does anyone else find this a bit creepy in a 1984 kind of way. It's bad enough that advertising has permeated every part of our day to day, but now we are aurally assaulted while walking down the street. Am I being an old curmudgeon about this?

Spooky Wedding

I'm going to a Halloween Wedding this weekend, and it's fancy dress! It's a small low key affair which I really respect. I understand that some people really want a big traditional wedding with all their famliy, but the cost of it is what seems insane to me. As of late it's a hot topic of conversation as I'm at that age where a lot of my friends are starting to think of the chimimng of bells. Essentially a wedding is a party where all of your friends and family turn up. Then things like hotels and planners get involved and suddenly you're 30,000 in dept. So this couple have just rented a room to have an evening celebration, so no paying for a big meal, simple but it sounds great to me.
I spent about a week mulling over what I would dress up as. While I was in Scotland my friends convinced me to buy a corset that on later consideration I knew I would never wear. So me the Queen of repurposing based my costume around this gold corset (somehow it's more acceptable to wear this boobalicious corset as a costume). It has evolved into a Marie Antoinette type thing, including large brown frilly skirt. I just got the bulk of it finished about an hour ago, and I must say I'm pretty chuffed with it. I just have to add an extra supporting hoola hoop to the skirt and some lace to the end and collar. I kind of hate the day after halloween, I wish I could dress outlandingly all the time. It would be pretty fecking strange to buy a pound of butter down at the local shop in this dress, but a large part of me wants to.

Photos will be added soon as the boyfriend still has my camera in London at the stag weekend(I just got a call appently he broke a tooth!)

New Mirrors

I've just put in an order with the fantastic etsy shop kungfucowgirl for another 1000 badges. Believe it or not I've just about run out of the other ones, and I think these freebies make my stall that bit more memorable...which is what it's all about. Along with those I'm getting 250 1" magnets with my images and website on them. I know they may not work out as well as the badges but I couldn't help myself, they look so cute. Lastly I'm getting 50 custom made 2" pocket mirrors. I'll be selling these at about 3 euro each (or maybe 4 depending on how nice they look). At the moment I'm in the middle of designing a selection of pictures for the backs of them. The boyfriend is away on a stag weekend, and I feel a little sorry for my neighbours as I've been wailing away to Ani Difranco for hours full volume. When he is here I'm a tad more restrained with my cat cry singing, but while the mouse is away the cat will screach.

Here are some previews of the designs for the mirrors.

Limerick Leader Article

Well it's out and on sale in local shops, the feature on yours truely. If you want to check it out just click here. It's also the weekend edition of the paper so it will be out all weekend. I'm really happy with it, Aine Fitzgerlald did a really nice job of it. The feature itself got the front page photo on 'Leader 2' suppliment, with the article on page 2. So thanks to Aine, and Gingergirl for prompting the idea to the Leader.

What not to Forget

Well it's just after 4am and I'm having an unfortunate case of insomnia.After staying up late to insure I was extra tired,and read a fair bit of my book, I then proceeded to listen to my boyfriend snoring for over an hour. I've heard getting up and doing something is recommended in this case. So if I can't rest I'll blog.
In my cozy warm but restless bed I decided to compile a list of things I bring to the market every week. After a year of forgetting stuff this might be helpful to newbies who may be starting out at a market over Christmas.

1 Long foldable table(purchased in woodies DIY as a wallpapering table)
1 lime green oilcloth table cloth(easy wipe for those rainy days,stays looking new for ages)
3 perspex office table organisers(purchased in Easons,used for displaying cards)
1 Table easle(purchased in argos,used to display mirror)
1 Mirror
1 Kiddies blackboard easle(for displaying broaches)
1 folding deck chair(for my bum,the ones with cup holders are better for the essential morning coffee)
4 green lightweight tab curtains(used as a makeshift changing room)
lots of bungee chords(useful for transporting luggage and hanging display clothes and changing room)
4 folding clothes rails(purchased in argos)
lots of crocadile clips(used for hanging things)
1 large lamenated sign with logo etc
1 curtain rail(to keep lamenated sign straight and in place)
1 ball of twine(tying up sign and various and endless other things)
lots of safety pins(for putting on labels,attaching clothes to hangers)
lots of paper bags(for alll my millions of sales)
1 Scissors(handy in a boy scout kind of way)
1 roll of cellotape(attaching signs etc)
1 pack of tissues(for the inevitable runny nose)
1 bag of felt and thread(so I can be sewing samples while I wait for the sales to roll in,and it grabs peoples attention)
1 Bag of badges(to give away free as promotion)
lots of business cards( for those customers that are web phobic and want a ph number)
2 Suitcases full of clothes
1 bad of cards
1 float of money
10 extra euros to spend on water,coffee and food
1 notebook to record sales
1 pen
1 trolley to attach it all to
1 able bodied man with patience to help me walk to the market with all of the above

1st Sale

Woohoo! On the eve on my interview being published with the Limerick leader I make my first sale on etsy. I know in reality the balance of the hours I've spent promoting versus the money I'll make doesn't make logical sense but it's still a giddy thrill. So here's to a future with healthy real life sales with a back up of online ones. I sold this dress to a lovely girl in the states looking for a Halloween costume.So let's hope this is the start of the ball rolling.

Nice things Said

This lovely lady had nice things to say about me in her blog today.

Well I've been doing lots of self-publicising as of late. Last week I did an interview with the Limerick leader, after which I got a phonecall saying they are going to run with my feature on the front cover of their style and culture section. It was very exciting to hear that, but it meant that they re-shot the pictures of me in my studio today. It all went fine, I'm not exactley the most relaxed person in front of a camera. I also was in touch with the Limerick Event Guide, and they will be running an ad for me, the '5 minutes' interview, and next month putting me in their top 5 buys. It's all very business like, and timely coming up to Christmas. It makes me feel a bit silly that I didn't organise these things sooner. Ah well live and learn.

I just wasnted to say thanks to Declan, first for answering all those probing questions for the feature I did, and also for all the extra traffic I've gotten from his blog.

Declan Shalvey Feature

Declan Shalvey is the first among a sporadic series of featured artist that I'm going to do. I first met Declan in when I joined the print deparment in art college in 2001. He was a year ahead of me and regularly loved popping in to see the first years and impart tidbits of wisdom with a mixture of genuine helpfulness and silly bravado. Over the years we have become good friends who meet up on the rare occasions to talk all things drawing and techy. It's with great sense of pride that I tell people of my friend who is making a living being a comicbook artist. He stands for all the hope that everyone had in college; to graduate and stay doing what you loved in the real world. Here's what he had to say for himself....

Frankenstein Exclusive! (colours by Jason Cardy and Kat Nickloson)

What is your general working method?
Well, if it's a comic, first of all, i read the script. I give the script a good read though and do small thumbnails as I go along, trying to rough out a solid page layout, or the best way to lay out the story in panels. From that, i do A5 sized layouts (either in pen or pencil) and work out the composition of the page, work out placement of speech bubbles and draw in all the figures with certain levels of detail. Not too much, but enough to know where everything needs to be. In order to keep the page as close to the layout as possible, I scan the layout, blow it up on photoshop and trace the layout on to an A3 sized art board. This helps the finished page to keep the spontaneity of the original layout. Since the page is just lines of rough composition, I then refine the drawing in pencil. Once happy, I ink the page with pen, brush, indian ink and a tipp-ex pen where necessary.

The technical approach is the same if i'm doing illustration work, but the original thumbnail drawings require a different thought process. If it's a cover, you need to think about storytelling, but in a different way than you would with a sequential page. The trick is to tell a story, while coming up with an eye-catching image. Illustration work doesn't require as much thought as regards storytelling, but there is always a certain idea you want to communicate, so the initial brainstorming is very important.

Frankenstein (colours by Jason Cardy and Kat Nickolson)

What inspires you?

Other people's talent. When i see art by someone else that makes me sigh and think "I'll never be that good..." it makes me try and do better with my own work. Talking about technique, approach and process with other artists always gets me excited to get back to the drawing board too. I get a lot of inspiration from film and music too. Sometimes melody, or lyrics, or a damned good tv show or movie makes me want to get off my backside and create something.

What got you started as an artist?

Well, as a kid, it was cartoons and comics that made me want to draw. I always wanted to be better at drawing no matter how good I was. I was always relatively good at drawing for my age, so that was always encouraging. I always wanted to draw comics, so all my life, i've had an aim to work towards. That eventually let to professional work. So, when I really think about it, I guess the real answer to your question is that I just drew one day, kept drawing, 'til eventually one day I turned around and realised I was 'an artist'. The actual start happened somewhere inbetween...
Who would you like to work with?

Good writers! There's a couple of writers I'm huge fans of, like Garth Ennis and Ed Brubaker, who I'd love to work with. If you're working from a good script the end drawing will always reflect that, I think. I've never worked with an inker; it's something i'd be curious to see, but i'd only like to see someone with a really interesting technique interpret my pencils. Someone like Jason Shawn Alexander, Guy Davis, or Stefano Gaudiano. Saying that, I think they'd be better off doing their own work! I'd love to work with a colourist who could do great stuff with flat colour too.

Where would you like to be in 5 years? Both location and professionally.

Well, I guess in 5 years time I'd like to be in Ireland after having been away for a year, settling down with my discreetly pregnant supermodel girlfriend. Just kidding.... that's where i'd like to be in 10 years time. Professionally, well I'd really like to have had a body of work in American mainstream comics. It's not likely I'll be 'snapped up' anytime soon, but I would really like to think that in 5 years time, I will have done some US-based work for either of the big companies over there. I guess I would also like to be nearly finished a graphic novel of my own by then too.

Your highlight so far professionally?

To be honest, I've had a lot of mini-highlights that have kept me going over the last few years, but the main three highlights would have to be winning the Eagle Award for Hero Killers last year, also being nominated this year for Favourite Newcomer was an amazing surprise. The most recent though would be just a few days ago when I got a copy of Frankenstein; my first graphic novel. I'm just delighted with it.

Advice to new beginners?

Make contacts! Make as many as you can. Someone you meet today could be a huge help to you in a couple of years time. Be friendly, approachable, polite, and above all, professional. Don't ignore criticism! Take it all on board and use it to improve. Of course all this is only to back up the talent you must have. Actually. 'talent' is the wrong word. I really don't believe I myself am talented. I think I've worked long and hard and have become skilled to a degree as a result. I hope to become more skilled as time goes by and the only way to do that is to practice. You must to the same. Draw everything around you, even the stuff that bores you. Especially the stuff that bores you. If you want to draw comics, you need to draw everything, not just superheroes.

What still excites and challenges you?

Every script I get and every sequential page I draw challenges me. Doing research and gathering reference for a story, coming up with ways to interpret the script, trying not to repeat yourself, etc. Every page, every script is different, so as a result every page I do is a unique challenge in and of itself.

Other artistic mediums, or areas that you find interesting?

I studied Fine Art Printmaking in college and still do find it interesting. It's been a while since I've made a print, but it's something I'd love to do again. I find many different mediums interesting, as long as there's a level of technical skill involved. If Art College taught me anything, it's that I have an incredibly low tolerance for conceptual artwork. Unless there's an obvious display of someone mastering their craft, I'm really not interested.

What job would you be doing if not this one?

God knows! If i couldn't draw, i would probably try my hand at writing. Maybe film-making? There would have to be some level of creativity, that's for sure.

Lastly, Some favorite links for music,books,website etc.

I'm still pretty old fashioned, so I go to actual shops for books and music, i very rarely look for anyinfomation online about that stuff, but i do recommend a podcast that interviews many artists from comics and illustration such as Drew Struzan, James Jean and Jon Foster, called SIDEBAR http://www.sidebar.libsyn.com/

I had a good day at the office

Well my new tactics at the market really worked. I went from a small table of cards with two clothes rails, to four rails and a large table with a wide range of greetings cards. It's hard to get I rish people to cross over that invisible line and step into a stall and how a look around. Today the general public were feeling adventurous, stepped in and liked what they saw. So clap on the back for myself,yey. Hopefully next week goes as well.

I had a photo shoot on Saturday afternoon with my good friend Sharon, here are a couple of things I sold today. I haven't had a chance to process all my pictures yet, so my listing on etsy for my new garments are a little delayed. So if you're reading this Sharon you were great thanks a million!

I've been tagged

So I was tagged today by this lovely person. Basically the idea is when you get tagged you list 7 or 8 random facts about yourself, and them you go on to tag a few other blogs etc.etc. I think it's cute so I'm gonna do it.



1.I've worked as a waitress, bar person, newsagent supervisor, pr agent for an airline, toilet attendant, glass collector, off licence, sales assistant, movie extra, free lance graphic designer....and maybe someday I'll be an astronaut.

2.I'm really messy,I think it was a mixture of having a complete neat freak of a mother, and then years living as a student. On top of that I lived with a flat mate for years who was really untidy, and he broke down any will in me to be tidy. But sometimes at 2am I start cleaning, I think it's my mother coming out in me.

3. I can't watch nature programmes on tv while I'm eating,it makes me want to vomit,and will completely turn me off a meal. My boyfriend likes to tease me and flick them on for a few seconds-he is cruel but I love him.


4. I'm ambidextrous. Not 100%, but enough to fool my art teacher in collge. Drawing is much easeri with either hand than writing. But lets say if I broke my left hand I wouldn't have too much trouble writing. I figure I have an advantage being a lefty, because I live in a left handed world it gives me lots of practice. Although I hate brushing my teeth with my right hand.


5. When I was young I wanted to grow up and be a kangaroo,I'm glad my goals in life have changed.


6.I'm allergic too:Lactose(milk,cheese,yogert,cream,ice-cream)

Dust
Pollen
Make-up
Soap
Any skin care products
Some brands of humous
Spermacide(don't ask!!)
White wine(my eyelid has swollen up)
Alcohol in general makes me sneezey and itchy,but I still drink
...and maybe the world....


7. People always think I'm American,when in fact I'm 100% Irish. My parents are from Dublin,and we lived there for a bit,then I moved to Celbridge in Kildare, and now Limerick, so I just have a general Irsh accent. But people always mistake it for an American, which drives me mental! No offense to any Yanks reading this, but people always say it the most patronising way, like I'm trying to fake it,or I want to be American. They finish off their scathing appropriation of my character with the sentance 'maybe you've been watching too much 'friends'', followed by a sneer. It's at this vital moment that the annoying person has no clue how near death they are cos I may just explode with anger and obliterate them in the blast. If this had happened to me a couple of times I woul think it silly, but it has regularly popped up in conversation for years. Also may I add that this is always said by someone who has the most awful mumbled Irish accent, so they can't understand why I don't also speak like I have a peg on my nose while chewing marbles....rant over.

8. I hate pancakes, the texture of them makes me gag. I've never met anyone else who doesn't like them.

Here are the people I'm going to tag...Declan, Marian, and Mom-o-Matic

Shopping Spree

I have been a very poor blogger as of late,apologies to anyone who stopped by. The reason being is that I'm expanding the market stall this week. Which mean my little fingers have been very busy making lots of new stock. I'm attempting to go from 2 clothes rails, to 4. Being honest i think I've managed 3 and a half, but it's not bad going really.As part of this stall over haul I went on a supplies shopping spree today. The Irish weather decided to play rather a significant role in this excursion which transformed a 1 hour mosey to the shop to a 3 hour ordeal. A mixture of very late buses, soggy damp paper bags, non existant taxis, and very heavey boxes made me a very grumpy lady. So I thought I would share the fruit of my labours with you guys.

I have had an on-going struggle with card display at the stall, but my prayers were answered by Easons, with this nifty perspex desk organiser,at only 15 quid a pop it's a whole lot cheaper than other units I had priced recently.It's also perfect timing to start showing my Christmas cards.

Times 3 it suddenly morphs into a display unit,genius.A table easle to safely display a mirror, the wind is a curse at outdoor shows, so I thought a mounted mirror would be safer than free standing.I got this in Argos for about 26 euro.
I picked up some nifty storage for my very untidy studio. A only 2 euro a pop a grabbed three of them.
Speaking of untidy studios, I eventually took some photos,at long last.

Girlie Rant

Forgive me readers for the following self indulgent rant but I'm truely feeling sorry for myself today. I know it's a fact of life that every month I turn into a pain ridden , cranky bumbling mess, but it still knocks me for six, you'd would think I would be used to it by now after 15 years of periods. But no I'm not! Unfortunately I'm one of those women that suffers from extreame cramps, now I don't mean the 'ouch that hurts, let me take a little rest' kind, I mean the 'oh my god I can't stand up, is it innappropriate to burst out crying in the middle of the street' sort. So my plans for a productive day of taking photos and some handsewing have disolved into me having a bath and going to bed with a hot water bottle and an unrecommended amount of painkillers. I have now resigned myself to the idea that I may just watch some badly written cliche girlie movies,cry a bit, and maybe snap irrationally at the boyfriend...just for the heck of it. Ah well it could be worse, I could be working today, at least I can shuffle about the flat enjoying my self pity without scaring anyone else.

Blog Finds

This week Juicey craftyjuicebroker did a nice write up on my etsy shop, I just wanted to say thanks to her. She has a great blog and a really cute shop, filled with bags and accessories.

In other blog discoveries this week I stumbled across Decor8, a fantastic blog for anyone who loves all aspects of design, it full of stylish picture and it written excellently by

Holly Becker. With 18,000 viewers per day I'm quite obviously not the only fan. It's well worth checking out.

Another Blogger who will be featuring me in the near future is Avie Designs. I must say her designs particularly tickle my fancy, they are so crisp and clean while still having colour and a sense of fun. I also think it's really cute that she has photograhed her designs hanging from a wooden clothes peg.

Merry Market

Me


As you may already know I have a stall at a weekly craft and food market in Limerick city. It's held every Sunday between 12-5pm on Bedford Row and it's been running for over a year. My first hesitant steps were made last Summer when I got a stall selling my handmade cards, and then later I had paintings and illustrations.It was only in February, when we reopened after our extended Christmas break, that I started selling my customised recycled clothes.The clothes have been a great success and people have really come around to the idea that they can recycle and still be wearing funky and unique clothes. Since I started this blog I've been meaning to do a proper write up on the market, and last week I was blessed with the happy coincidence of sunshine and a last minute remembered camera...put the two together and you get bright and enticing pictures.

Vinnie Wall
It's not the biggest markety in the world but Tom, our main man, has ensured that there is a wide variety of quality stalls to choose from. On a leisurely amble down Bedford Row you can find handcrafted jewellery, clothes, gluten free foods, handbags , hand printed t-shirts, beauty skincare products, fresh veg, vegetarian foods, heavenly brownies, fairtrade clothes and products, fresh fruit and veg, beautiful cheese, freshly made crepes, Korean sushi and a whole lot more.
Ginger Girl

There are too many temptations for me every week that I'm there, I try to restrain myself from spending any money I make buying stuff at all the other stalls. In particular I have found Flourish-natural cometics to be really excellent. Basically I'm allergic to pretty much everything in the world, and had resigned myself to a life without moisturiser until I came across Flourish's moisturiser, it's fantastic,there are no nasty chemicals in it,it makes my skin look great, and my face doesn't disintergrate afterwards...a revelation indeed. I also have an addiction to Connie's Forbidden Foods, my sunday brunch involves tasty veggie Samosas, or if I'm feeling adventurous some falafel in a wrap with spicey humous.If I feel like making a complete pig of myself I have a mouth wateringly yummy brownie from Ginger Girl, to go with a much needed warm coffee. Other stalls that have helped in last minute birthday present shopping have been Edele's beautiful handmade silver jewellery, high quaily pieces at a really reasonable price. For the a great present for they 20 or 30-something guy in your life Vinnie Wall has some funky handprinted t-shirts of iconic figures and musicians, I haven't met I guy who doesn't think they're great. Do you know anyone who is a celiac? Well Crunchy Granola has a wide range of delicious gluton free breads,cakes, and savoury products on offer, so tasty that even the gluten tolerant among us would be more than happy to munch away on them. Another stall that I call to on a near weekly basis is the fresh fruit and veg from Paul Bradley, he a a great selection at competitive prices, and don't forget to try the chocolate covered strawberries, they are truely addictive.
So if you're in the area pop down, there is a great atmosphere, some fantastic food and crafts to be had.

Back to Life,Back to Reality

I just want to let you know that I haven't choked and died in my sickbed. I'm well on the way to recovery but I'm still prone to a cough that makes me sound like a fourty a day kinda gal. I went back to work, and back to the market this week. A strange and welcome feeling being outdoors,I was kind of getting used to my tv fuelled hermit life. I was going to have photos of the clothes that i made last week but yey for me I sold them on Sunday! I good sales day is always good for the soul, it makes me feel more like a business person and less like a crazy lady with an obsessive sewing habit.
I will be posting a write up on the Sunday market inclusive of picks and links to lovely things to purchase, in the meantime here are some photos of the recycled cards I've been making lately.

Tv or not Tv

So this is my 4th day in the flat being a sick spluttering layabout. It's been kinda fun,I've watched way too much tv, drank endless bottles of sparkling water, cosumed a rainforrest in my use of tissues, coughed out a spare lung, and done lots of blog reading. I also managed to fit in some useful activities, I made 3 skirts and a t-shirt. Photos will follow shortly, as I don't want to invite any models over to the flat for fear that they will catch the plague off me. I also cut out lots of clippings from magazines for my new series of cards that I've been doing. I know I should be thinking of making christmas cards but I really like making these ones so I'm gonna procrastinate a bit more. I was also thinking of doing some hand drawn cards, any opinions?
Since I haven't actually interacted with the real world in days I don't really have much to write about except for tele,so here it goes,the pick of the past few days.

The Family: Ch4 Wed night 9pm. I had been seeing the ad for this all week and lamented the advent of another car crash reality tv show based on a real family. Thankfully I was wrong. Yes it is another fly on the wall,'let's record them day and night for 100 days' nonsense,but this is actually really good. I don't know if I will be bothered to watch to much more of it as I find this kind of tv a bit stomach churning, but what I saw last night was great. There is a central crisis situation between the parents and their 19 year old daughter. All very familiar to our screens but the reality of the struggle between all of them is what make it really effective. Maybe I get it because I remember screaming and shouting at my parents in a similar way,albeit at a much younger age.
Stargate SG1 and Atlantis: Sky1,on all the time: Now to set down some history I must put my hand in the air and say I'm a trekie. Not the kind that goes to conventions or speaks alien languages, but I'm a fan. I would be pretty surprised if there was an episode of next generation that I hadn't seen, or of voyager. So this gives you some idea why I am drawn to Stargate in the first place. But I'm not a regular watcher, so the plot is a bit all over the palce in my head. But it's great, in some ways dare I say it better than star trek,it's written better,not as self important,has the ability to mock itself and has a better central plot. It doesn't give me the same warm fuzzy feeling inside that a new episode on next gen did but I can live in hope. My point is that I'm sure that this show even though it's vastly popular,probably gets tarred with the same nerdy brush, but it shouldn't. It's smart and funny and far more entertaining than most things on tv and it has kept me happliy sane this week with all the numerous repeats on sky1.

May I just stipulate that I have a strange relationship to tv. I'm very much binge and purge. In college I went 3 years without one, and would happliy do it again once I had a dvd player. I think 75% of what is shown is filler, which is a shame because there has been great shows made down through the years; Father Ted, Seinfeld, SATC, Six Feet Under, Star Trek, Antiques Roadshow, Countdown. Maybe it would be better with less stations,less crap, and we all watched the box a little less too.