But the contest isn’t quite over. This week, the 9 finalists from April, May and June will be judged by Seventh Generation co-founder, Jeffrey Hollender, for a chance to win the grand prize of an additional $25,000 small business grant. The judging criteria are simply to find the business that is “most loved by its customers, vendors, employees, or local community.” I have taken a look at the other finalists, and I think it’s going to be a tough call to make. In the spirit of looking to the future of Anodyne Design, whether I were to win the grand prize or not, I have given some thought to how I might best use $25,000.

In addition to my original plan focused on developing the online side of Anodyne Design, I would also start developing an online indie boutique that would provide a home for small, local businesses engaged in environmentally responsible design. As a maker myself, I am always searching for the most eco-friendly materials, and I particularly like to create items that are designed to be re-used, to last, and to replace something disposable. As a shopper, I am looking for the same sort of items, and I don’t think I am alone. This venture would require a new web presence, branding, and advertising.

An extra $25,000 would also make it possible for Anodyne Design to participate in larger in-person events, such as the Renegade Craft Fair and Strange Folk Festival, which require entry fees, travel, and a significant investment in time. One of the joys of being a small business is in being able to interact one-on-one with individuals who share my love of handmade, and I would love to be able to pursue that beyond the bounds of my small town.

I would also be able to invest in some new equipment that would help me to be more efficient and to create items that so far have just been waiting in the “someday” pile. In particular, I would be adding a new serger and a die cutting machine to my arsenal of tools. I will also be able to continue using top-of-the-line environmentally responsible materials. And perhaps most importantly, $25,000 would definitely make it possible for me to expand the space dedicated to my business, which for the moment is only one-half of a small office I share with my husband. I can just imagine how much more productive and creative I could be if I had a little more space.

So this is my plan of action, whether I jump into the fast lane with the grand prize grant, or whether I take it slowly. Either way, it’s going to be awesome. What do you think? Did I miss something, should I being paying more attention to one part of this than another? Like I wrote in my last post, Anodyne Design isn’t much without you, so your input is really important to me as I grow. Let me know what you think!

Last month, I signed up to participate in Intuit’s Love a Local Business contest. Small, local businesses sign up and then their fans leave comments about the business. Each comment counts as a vote, and at the end of the month, 3 comments are selected and the businesses win a small business grant. Amazingly, and thanks to your kind and generous comments, Anodyne Design was one of the June winners! Thank you to everyone who left a little love for Anodyne Design, and to Intuit for having such a cool program!

I have been thinking hard about how to best use the grant to grow Anodyne Design, and I have a few ideas. But I would also really love to hear from you about how you would like to see Anodyne Design grow and improve, because it if weren’t for all the wonderful people who support me with their love, nice words, and occasional purchases, there would be no point to Anodyne Design. So I’ll share my plan with you, and I’d love it if you would share your ideas in a comment.

In the past month, I have been thinking about the best direction for Anodyne Design. I have been wanting to focus more on developing the business online. In particular, I have been working behind the scenes to create an online shop. I think the small business grant will provide the perfect resource for improving the online end of business. In particular, I am planning to use the grant to:

• Invest in a higher quality camera to improve product photos
• Invest in a proper lightbox (and lights), also to improve my product photography
• Hire a web designer to help me with my online shopping cart
• Develop a comprehensive online marketing/advertising campaign

All of this will help me to launch a lovely new online shop that should provide the best possible shopping experience, and also help me to help spread the word of Anodyne Design and handmade accessories in general.

I am also planning on using the grant to engage in a few less-exciting, but important tasks, including repaying a small business loan and hiring someone to help me make sure all my taxes are nice and orderly. And finally, this grant should help me to start working with more environmentally friendly (and sometimes more costly) materials, such as organic cotton. I always try to make the environmentally responsible choice for Anodyne Design when I can, and a little more capital is going to make that a little easier to do.

So that’s my plan… what do you think– is it a good one? Would you do something different? What do you want to see from Anodyne Design? Please let me know!

This weekend was Rhapsody in Bloom, so I got to spend both days enjoying art and nature in the Luthy Botanical Garden. The predicted rain did not materialize, the garden plants and creatures were lovely, the art was lovely, and it was wonderful to see so many people come out to visit the garden and check out the art.

I loved meeting so many new people, and seeing some familiar faces from the RiverFront Market and the Peoria Heights Art Fair. I keep trying to make new things, to keep things fresh and interesting, and this weekend was no different. I stayed up way too late on Friday night making new straight-sided cosmetic pouches. I broke out some of the fabric I have been saving for “just the right project,” and each one was embellished with fancy French velvet ribbon or ric-rac.

Three of the pouches in this picture are gone, but I have a few more in the works, and hopefully I’ll be getting a few listed online in the next two days. And they will definitely be putting in an appearance at this weekends’ RiverFront Market. (I loved doing Rhapsody in Bloom this weekend, but I did miss my weekly market time, especially the tomato man and the lettuce guy. I’ll be happy to see them this Saturday!) I hope you had a wonderful weekend, too, and that this week shapes up to be a good one!

Fresh Strawberries and Cherries

Turnips from White Chimney Farm

Ornaments from Toraason Glass

I have a few more pictures from the market on Flickr. I’ll be out there again this weekend (fingers crossed for no rain and low humidity!) If you come out, stop by my booth and say hello. I’ll have some new items this week… maybe I’ll post a peek at them tomorrow.

Anodyne Design at First Friday in Galesburg, IL

This morning was not quite so nice, weather-wise. But a little rain is no reason to miss the first farmers’ market of the season, so we braved the weather and set up downtown. It was clear the rain kept quite a few people away, but I think that just speaks more to the awesomeness of those who did come out. It was nice to see some familiar faces and to make some new friends.

One of my favorite things to do at a farmers’ market or other event is to people watch. It’s endlessly interesting to see the variety of people in this world. (And to see their pets. There were definitely some cute dogs out at the market today.) Some of my favorite observations from this weekend:

Stilts at First Friday in Galesburg, IL

- watching an older woman dance un-self-consciously to the First Friday band, while everyone else just stood around. It was absolutely refreshing to see someone so much enjoying herself regardless of what anyone else was doing or thinking.

- witnessing a Walk of Shame. The parking lot for the farmers’ market has signs clearly stating that no one is allowed to park in it overnight on Fridays, because we need it for the market early Saturday morning. Not everyone always follows the signs though, and sometimes we have to work around the cars. There was one such car right next to my space today. About halfway through the market, we watched a young woman enter the lot in some fabulous heels that were clearly too fancy for a rainy morning of produce shopping. She quickly walked straight to the car next to us, and drove out of the lot with her hand over her face. But she did have awesome shoes.

- watching a man on stilts gently hold his companion’s (who was not on stilts) hand. And then watching that man on stilts be “stalked” by a gaggle of little boys, who would scream and run with delight whenever he turned and saw them.

- I also met a man with a laugh just like Amadeus today. It was marvelous.

Tomorrow, I plan on checking out the Junction City Art Fair. Some artists who are there that I love: Joan Furilla (fine silver jewelry), Razorberries (quirky watercolor illustrations), and metalME (more pretty jewelry!). And perhaps best of all, it should be sunny, or at least not raining. Hooray!

P.S. Help Anodyne Design grow a little, by nominating it to win a small business grant on Love a Local Business. All you need to do is click the link and leave a comment describing why you love Anodyne Design. If love is too much commitment for you, I’d happily settle for “like a lot.” I love being a small, local (and online) business (although you don’t have to be local to vote!), and it will be easier for me to keep doing that, and doing it well, with a little love from you. Thanks. :)

Ali McCarthy, who runs Urban Art, was kind enough to send me a few photos of my handmade items in her shop. Currently, you can find Anodyne Design wristlets and card wallets, fabric covered journals, keychain pouches, gift tags, and magnets in the shop. Oh, and of course, Little Hootie Owls.

Photo by Ali McCarthy

Photo by Ali McCarthy

If you are near Collinsville, which is right by St. Louis, you should really stop in and check Urban Art out. There’s lots more to see there than just what’s in these pictures, and the frequent classes they offer sound very cool. You can find out more about Urban Art on their blog or Facebook.

This photo of the Little Hooties recently appeared in the Bloomington Farmers’ Market weekly newsletter:

Photo by Gemma Billings

And this one was taken at the recent craft fair at the FRC:

Photo by Natural Habitat

Thanks for taking, and sharing, such lovely photos! Oh, and if you happen to be the sort of photographer who’s drawn to farmers’ markets, check out the flickr pool I created for photos taken at the Peoria RiverFront Market. The Market starts up again the first Saturday in June. Bring your camera.

Anodyne Design at the FRC Craft Show

Holy cow, I had no idea I could have such bad allergies. Thanks, Illinois. I never had allergies before I lived here. Unfortunately, I had a lot of time to think about my terrible allergies, because this craft fair currently holds the title for Least Attended Craft Show of 2010. To those of you who did come out, stop by my booth, or even buy something, thank you!

On the positive side of things, I met some great people, both shoppers and other vendors. In particular, I met the ladies of Garden Glitz, who were my booth neighbors. They were a pleasure to talk with, and their garden art truly does look lovely in sunshine. Not to mention the fact that they recycle old glass pieces into something beautiful, which speaks to my eco-conscious heart. I heard them mention that they will also make custom garden art with your own glass pieces, if you have something special that you don’t quite have a use for.

I also continued to work on my booth set up, and I think I hit upon a great use for the antique shutters I bought a couple weeks ago. I used them to support little “clotheslines,” which I used to pin up my clothespin magnets. It’s always been difficult for me to come up with an attractive way to display these, so I’m extra happy with this one.

Clothespin Magnets on Display

Next weekend will be filled with a much-anticipated visit with a friend, instead of a craft show. Although I won’t be there, a little bit of Anodyne Design will be at the Bloomington Farmers’ Market next Saturday, sharing space with Yellowdragonfly Designs. The next place you’ll be able to find me is at First Fridays in Galesburg, Illinois on Friday, June 4th, from 5-8 p.m. I hope to see you there!

An army of peanut butter kisses.

Peanut Butter Kisses

1 (8oz) package of Hershey’s Kisses
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup white sugar for decoration

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375F. Remove wrappers from kisses.

2. Beat shortening and peanut butter in a large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup white sugar and brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add egg, milk, and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

3. Shape dough into 1″ balls. Roll in sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately place a chocolate piece into the center of each cookie. Cookie will crack around the edges. Cool on wire rack.

When I make them, I get about 45 cookies. But maybe you want to tell people that it makes a few less than that, so you can keep some just for you.

Anodyne Design at the Fancy Schmancy Market

This Saturday I spent the day at the Fancy Schmancy Market. The market was held indoors, which was a nice change from last weekend’s cold outdoors event. Especially since it ended up raining this weekend! The market went well, although it was not as highly attended as anyone had hoped. Those who did come by were a pleasure to see, and as usual, I enjoyed talking with everyone who stopped for a moment in my little booth.

When there was a lull in shoppers, I used the time to get to know some of the other vendors there. There were a lot of great people and things at the market: Sea of Glass Designs was there with some really lovely jewelry, Carrie’s Crafty Cottage was there with the cutest hand-knit cupcakes, and Razorberries was there (and I finally got some fabulous notecards).

Big Hoots

There were also some new Big Hoots in my booth this weekend. They are twice the size of the Little Hootie Owls, and perfect for watching over the little ones.  Most of them were gone before noon, so I think I’m on to something here. I’ll definitely be making more. And thanks to a special request, I’ve started branching out into owls made with cotton prints, in addition to the felt ones.

Next weekend, I’ll be participating in the Craft & Vendor Sale at the Franciscan Recreation Complex in West Peoria. This is in the same outdoor location that Fancy Schmancy used last May, so I know it’s a lovely place to go for a little shopping. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed for nice weather. We’ve had enough cold, windy, and rainy Saturdays. There will be more Big Hoots there, and some new wristlets, Little Hootie Owl mobiles, and journals. I should probably get to work on those now…