Tomorrow night I will be on the Ottawa T.V. show "Regional Contact" (CTV). This is a half hour show broken into two parts showcasing 2 different local businesses or artists etc. I'm rather excited as I have been watching this show for over 20 years....hard to believe I'm going to be on there myself! :)
Friday, October 30, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Willowbird Designs featured on a T.V. show!
On Saturday Oct 17th I was one of the people featured on the new CBC TV show the "Creative Block" (show on the "Bold" Channel). I feel honoured to have been asked to do this interview. It is a bit surreal to see oneself as a highlight on a show..... :) (scary even lol). Lucy van Oldenbarneveld introduced me and talked about my work, the rest of this spotlight showed me doing all the talking (oh boy) and showing my leather "Whimsical Animal Bags" :)
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Studio Tour this coming weekend
On October 17th and 18th I will be on my second "On Common Ground Studio Tour" in the Mountain/South Mountain area.
This tour highlights the collection of works for sale of 25 local artists and artisans. With a great variety of works from pottery to paintings, silver-smithing to woodwork the "On Common Ground Studio Tour" sustains a high level of juried works within this group.
It's a lovely tour all neatly put together in close proximity of the various studios,houses and farms where the tour members live and produce their works. One could easily drive the whole tour in one day or break it down into two days.
Please see our website for a map and a brief synopsis of the tour and the artists/artisans.
http://www.ocgstudiotour.ca/
This tour highlights the collection of works for sale of 25 local artists and artisans. With a great variety of works from pottery to paintings, silver-smithing to woodwork the "On Common Ground Studio Tour" sustains a high level of juried works within this group.
It's a lovely tour all neatly put together in close proximity of the various studios,houses and farms where the tour members live and produce their works. One could easily drive the whole tour in one day or break it down into two days.
Please see our website for a map and a brief synopsis of the tour and the artists/artisans.
http://www.ocgstudiotour.ca/
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
My Whimsical Animal Bags
These are my leather "Whimsical Animal Bags" that I have created from my own design. I spend a long time designing each bag and use only the highest quality leather or suede hides and hardware to make these one-of-a-kind unique bags.
Depending upon my design the individual bag may be made from either Vegetable-tanned or Garment leather often with a mix of other animal skins or feathers added to the design.
I will then spend many days or weeks hand painting the bag, working on the finer details and then hand-sewing the bag together.
The animal kingdom is so vast that I have unlimited ideas for creating new bags, showcasing the diversity of these beautiful creatures from the land, sea and sky.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Update on my business
It's again been several months since I have last blogged, but I will be doing more now as my business is picking up quite a bit!
Over this past year I have worked on my new "Whimsical Animal Bags" and have quite a few in the painting process. I like to work on several bags at once as it takes a day or so to dry each coat of paint properly between layers. Some of my brushstrokes can be fairly heavy and I need this time to dry it. Thus I'm able to go from one bag to another - alternating the painting days. As well I have other things to do in between such as drafting patterns, punching holes, sewing other bags or working on my Medieval goods.
Speaking of Medieval, I attended both the Upper Canada Village Medieval Festival and the Kingdom of Osgoode Medieval Festivals this past summer. I was a merchant at the Upper Canada one and did very well with my leather business. I had a lot of interest in my looped belt pouches (which not only can be worn with Medieval Garb but with a pair of jeans!). A lot of my leather water bottles with Celtic or Medieval designs painted or burned onto them sold...I was happy to see what types of patterns people liked.
It's always a learning curve to create, some things take off and others simply don't. I love the challenge of experimenting with ideas!
For the second year in a row I will be a part of the upcoming "On Common Ground Studio Tour" in Mountain, Ontario. I will be on stop number 9 at the hostess "Pam Sherrer's" farm house along with Pam and 2 other artists/artisans. I'm quite excited about this, it was a wonderful fun experience last fall!
Here is the link for the tour....
http://www.ocgstudiotour.ca/
Cheers, Barb :)
Over this past year I have worked on my new "Whimsical Animal Bags" and have quite a few in the painting process. I like to work on several bags at once as it takes a day or so to dry each coat of paint properly between layers. Some of my brushstrokes can be fairly heavy and I need this time to dry it. Thus I'm able to go from one bag to another - alternating the painting days. As well I have other things to do in between such as drafting patterns, punching holes, sewing other bags or working on my Medieval goods.
Speaking of Medieval, I attended both the Upper Canada Village Medieval Festival and the Kingdom of Osgoode Medieval Festivals this past summer. I was a merchant at the Upper Canada one and did very well with my leather business. I had a lot of interest in my looped belt pouches (which not only can be worn with Medieval Garb but with a pair of jeans!). A lot of my leather water bottles with Celtic or Medieval designs painted or burned onto them sold...I was happy to see what types of patterns people liked.
It's always a learning curve to create, some things take off and others simply don't. I love the challenge of experimenting with ideas!
For the second year in a row I will be a part of the upcoming "On Common Ground Studio Tour" in Mountain, Ontario. I will be on stop number 9 at the hostess "Pam Sherrer's" farm house along with Pam and 2 other artists/artisans. I'm quite excited about this, it was a wonderful fun experience last fall!
Here is the link for the tour....
http://www.ocgstudiotour.ca/
Cheers, Barb :)
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