[that which is not]

...Well ya know it's been a long, long time...

noreply@blogger.com ([nancy + andy]) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:41:00 +0000

Ok, ok: Yes, it's been about 2.5 years (!!!) since we've written anything in here - But we do update, I swear - It happens on our Facebook page. Just easier, especially for quick, relatively brief newsbits. But, so much is going on now that we felt it would be best to write a bigger chunk of info here, rather than on FB. [And we do still email a quick blast of info but usually it's just for events - Short and to the point, more like reminders.]

Now that we have The Peanut as our third member, we have seriously trimmed down our art/craft fair schedule. Last year we went on what we think of as literally a tour of the country (no regrets, lots of adventure!) and went from coast to coast, coming back to finish off the year and catch up on a lot of missed studio time (that type of tour is NOT feasible if you make all of your product yourself and you need a lot of it for shows & wholesale & online retail) and home time. We will look forward to future road trips for purely pleasure and not work, for sure :)

So far, we have this as our Spring/Summer event schedule:
- The Art Girls Spring Pop-Up Shop in May
- Wells Street Art Festival in June
- Bucktown Arts Fest in August (still waiting to hear jury results)
- Renegade Craft Fair in September (still waiting to apply)

That's it :) We're sorry about not coming to Wisconsin or Minnesota this year, but when it came down to it, we realized we needed to just focus on a more simple studio-forward game plan (that didn't require a lot of travel). We are keeping ourselves plenty busy with wholesale (thanks to them and the people who still buy our ware and request us) and more new shape design. Last year there was simply no time for it (and you all know more or less how we do it, you know it takes a bit of time)! Sugar & Creamer set? On the list. Butter Dish? On the list. Salt & Pepper set? Whoa there, it's on the list, but for next year. We also have a new press we want to make, new graphics, new glazes. So onward to our wholesale/shop news...

Nordstrom & Fab production work

Nordstrom work continues, huzzah! We're going online with a couple handfuls of ware, soon - and we're working on their first reorder for the Woodfield location. Can I just say how THRILLED we are that our ware is doing its thing and charming people? And that the sales staff likes our ware too and sells it? Soooo, so nice.
Our second Fab sale was a success, and it caught us a little off-guard [who knew black cats on an aqua/blue-green would be crazy popular?!] We probably won't be doing another one (which would make it our third) for a while due to conflicting interests, but that's ok. We'll have our Cyber Monday sale like we did last year and that was actually based on our Fab sale prices (and it went great!)

Our new tumbler, which debuted at our Fab sale in February

Speaking of sales...It's April which usually means either an open studio/Slightly Unsightly Sale. This year, because of all the work we're doing, we're holding it off until October (which is when we usually do our Fall open studio & the Slightly Unsightly). And we'll continue to have it online as well. I have a few ideas to make it even cleaner & easier that I'll try out prior to launching it!
What else...

We're working on stocking up our local brick & mortar shops The Coffee Studio, Virtu, Sacred Art (mostly our *that which is not* image-kissed commercial white-ware) & Ipsento (they use our ware in their coffee shop, not for retail), and some special projects that are slowly getting worked on, like these two, which are pretty dang rad imo:

Remember this? We'll be working with WMSE again, w00t w00t! This work will also be for a pledge drive, and these will be of course special edition, catering to one specific show though - So they won't look like the one pictured here. I'll post the info once they've shot it; we're sending over a finished piece for their photoshoot soon (the drive is coming up in a couple of weeks!

And remember that Bake&Destroy ware we made for our friend Natalie and her upcoming cookbook? Well, the book's out in August, and we will be making most of the pieces seen in there available for sale. We'll launch them in conjunction with her cookbook, and I heard tell that there will be a giveaway of some kind, and oh, yes! We will be one of the giveaway items :)

photo by Celine Steen

And lastly, we just wanted to acknowledge some really nice mentions we got over the past 2 months:

Refinery29 added us to their Chicago Etsy Makers list TWICE (awesome!) one for Circa Ceramics & one for That Which Is Not.

Our friend and fab photographer Erica Barraca who came to us at the last minute to shoot pictures of us (press release images? Wha?) wrote a sweet follow up of our shoot :)

A great little Instagram pool from Martha Stewart Living called American Made (@americanmademsl) added us to their photo pool of makers (always nice to get a nod!)

So that's our update. It's difficult doing what we do and trying to keep all of our media outlets updated (you know - Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Tumbler) when everything you do has you in dust, water, or some other messiness; the last thing you have with you at your work area is an electronic device (and especially now that we have a toddler. Yeah, uh, NO) - But we'll keep trying! The Instagram has been pretty awesome, and we have that shoot off posts to Tumblr & Facebook & Flickr. Maybe here too? I haven't looked into that...yet. It's on the list. -Nancy

Baby on Board - or - What happened to the last couple of months?

noreply@blogger.com ([nancy + andy]) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 00:27:00 +0000

Yes, we've been awful with our blog. We've been quiet here since April which is right around the time we found out that we were having a baby. We kinda freaked out about this unexpected change in our lives but continued to work as if nothing was going to be different.

Once we started doing shows we noticed all of the artists in various stages of child rearing and we began to realize that with a little determination we could continue on with our business. Having a child was not going to ruin our lives.

It was one of the most challenging summers in our 10 year career, but it was also the deepest bond that we have ever experienced. I've always known Nancy to be a strong Woman but after a few summer shows I began to witness a strength that I have never seen in her - it was truly beautiful.

The last trimester of pregnancy moved very slowly and again those fears of not being able to craft our livelihood started creeping back into my thoughts. Luckily we were soon heading to the hospital to deliver our new baby boy and those thoughts have been put on hold. In preparation for this birth, we had taken one crash course on babies the Saturday before our due date and I can't believe how different reality had turned out from what I had expected. The delivery went very smooth and we were both surprised by how calm and focused everyone was during the 17 hours of labor. Our baby boy came out at 9 pounds and measured just over 20 inches. Nancy was worried about delivering an 8 pound baby.

From not wanting any children we are now joking about pulling a Jason Jones and Samantha Bee - having 3 children in 2 years! Just kidding, we'll see how our lives change with just one child for now :)

open studio 2010!

noreply@blogger.com ([nancy + andy]) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 17:38:00 +0000

open studio 2010! copy
Originally uploaded by circaceramics

Greetings people!

So, there it is, our announcement for our open studio. We haven't had one (not connected to the Ravenswood Artwalk) since 2008.

We're breaking this one up into sections here - In cleaning & rearranging the studio this winter we realized we amassed A TON of ware. We're talking work from 2004 to now. Everything from cafe order overruns to patterns that didn't quite make it into production to glaze tests.

So hopefully, you'll see our evolution on these tables and partake of the sale. We'll also have our current lineup of ware on display so you can marvel at how things change (like we do every day!)

Hope to see you here!

-Nancy

studio 10.09

noreply@blogger.com ([nancy + andy]) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 21:31:00 +0000

studio 10.09
Originally uploaded by circaceramics

We like to challenge ourselves from time to time - It keeps us on our toes, and there's nothing like healthy self-imposed competition as motivation!

We are finally, FINALLY, going to reorganize our studio for a more efficient use of space. The challenge is to get it done in 16 days. We've been in this space since May of 2002. We have *a lot* of stuff. Andy & I tend to hoard, which is why this will be a challenge :)

It wasn't until earlier this year that we realized that our current layout is awkward for what we do, and all of the different processes we go through all need dedicated space.

So...We're basically going to flip the studio around & shift some things over, all for the sake of a more productive studio environment.

We'll be building some things too, so if we can, we'll take pictures of all the different projects going on, and before and afters.

ok, go!

n.

ceramic & paper

noreply@blogger.com ([nancy + andy]) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:47:00 +0000

ceramic & paper
Originally uploaded by circaceramics

We're truly in the midst of our holiday season makings over here - Thank you patrons!

I did want to share this with you, though - They're for a wonderful show/event @ Ferrin Gallery out in Massachusetts. They were kind enough to ask us to participate, and also to wait on them.
If you're out in that area, check out the show! 100 plates by 100 artists/artisans, and also a charity dinner. Check it out here.

-n.

tile pron! 11.2.09

noreply@blogger.com ([nancy + andy]) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:37:00 +0000

tile pron! 11.2.09
Originally uploaded by circaceramics

Don't these look pretty?

We're just popping in to say hey, we're busy getting ready for holiday shows and completing our orders (all of them!). These tiles here are going to Philadelphia's Clay Studio, for their gift shop/holiday show.

We hear our tiles and magnets do well, so we're plying them with our newest larger images and of course, the fresh porcelain magnets we've been making!

Ok, back to work :)

-n.

shiny new domes of goodness, part 1

noreply@blogger.com ([nancy + andy]) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:28:00 +0000

glazed.
Originally uploaded by circaceramics

I've been trying out new ways of keeping all of our services updated (Facebook, Flickr, Twitter) and have settled on Ping for now - Though it isn't accepting updates for tweets at the moment :/

Anywho - Here's our new magnet! So now we're all porcelain. Hooray!

-n

september.

noreply@blogger.com ([nancy + andy]) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:32:00 +0000

Huge apologies for not keeping the blog up to date - We've been avoiding the longer posts and just using Facebook fan page updates & tweets to keep our activities visible. And even then, we're having a difficult time handling those outlets - We've been freakishly busy (hurray!!!), and the art/craft fairs have been great this year (thank you dear patrons!!!), thereby keeping us in the studio working away to replenish our inventory (especially our Chicago Flag cups - We're very sorry we ran out @ the Bucktown Arts Fest!) So, yeah, sometimes 140 characters or so can suffice :)

Amy & I went over to pick up our Ravenswood Art Walk paperwork, which included maps, postcards, and posters, and it hit me that dang, that's next month already - We're planning on working our tushes off for Strange Folk and our open studio (which is held the same weekend as the Ravenswood Art Walk. 2 birds w/one stone and all that), and then I realized, DANG, I haven't even sent an email out with events and such. Oh, the to do list keeps growing long & strong!

Anyway, Andy & I both have posts that will be published in October:
- Our experiences with a new kiln element supplier (so far very good)
-testing our newest pigments for new glaze colours (seriously a headache but we love making them just the same)
-a new cone 6 porcelain clay that Andy purchased to test (from Matt & Dave's Clays - It looks wonderfully creamy!)
My reviews of the events we've participated in, starting off with July and Coterie @ Pitchfork, through to Renegade Craft Fair/Starving Artists' Show which are this weekend (!)
- Our other newest experience/Etsy addition, the [that which is not] shop, where we have all of our smaller objects and odd projects
- The crazy awesome Etsy Chicago Meet Up that's tonight - Looking forward to it! We'll get to see people we haven't seen in awhile + meet new Etsyans. I've already charged up 2 sets of batteries for this, so watch out :)

So that's where we're at currently - And I do have a bunch of images to upload on Flickr, but I haven't had a chance to edit them - See? To do list :)

Talk to you soon!

-n.

june.

noreply@blogger.com ([nancy + andy]) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 18:02:00 +0000

Well, this month has certainly almost come and gone - We've been in two fairs already, and we've got one more to go, Fountain Square in Evanston next weekend (27+28). Quickie reviews of both 57th Street Art Fair & Wells Street Art Festival:

57th Street Art Fair

I am almost afraid to say that it was one of the easiest load ins we've ever had, you know, because it might jinx it for the next gig - But the easy load in could be because Andy & I woke up at 8-freaking-am. We were supposed to be there at 8am :) Our back-up alarm also malfunctioned (read: Nancy threw it into a laundry basket to quiet incessant beeping).

Chicago was still dealing with freakishly cool weather, so the weekend was cool at times, with rain. We saw a lot of customers we haven't seen in ages, and that was pretty awesome! Also, Andy had a really great chat with Paul Eshelman, our hero :)

Summing up: People came out, we sold some work, it was a great show! We do hope to jury in next year and be out of the Newbie Artists Corral - We didn't even know we were in it until customers started to point it out! Not a bad area to be in, to be honest, but still - There were pennants marking our area. Big red ones!

Wells Street Art Festival

Ah, Wells Street. We have a ton of friends who also jury into this show, and every year we cringe as we discuss how bad we think the load in is going to be.
The way it's set up, it actually makes sense: Artists are all given a time to arrive, check in, and drop off their booth and work in their assigned space. The organizers set it up so it starts off with 6am load in, from the center of the festival, then later times work out from there. See? It makes sense.

But unfortunately, it always goes horribly wrong, and even if you arrive at your assigned time, there are inevitably always 30 artists whose load in is at 7:30 that are there, at 6 arguing to be let in. And so begins the clusterf- Uh, congestion. I meant congestion :)

So here we are, 6:05am, already checked in, rolling through the gates, and we get stopped. Bottleneck due to food vendors, corporate sponsor trucks and the totally selfish inconsiderate artists that decide to not just unload their vehicle ONE PIECE AT A TIME, but to also proceed to set up their booth, their propanels, shelving, carpeting, register.

Did I mention it was raining? Oh yes, it rained.

While we sat there, waiting for the bottleneck to clear up, we had the pleasure of watching a gentleman in an apartment building's vestibule begin to unzip his pants and drop them, so as to relieve himself. We then watched as the doorman tried shooing him away, and then 5 minutes later a squad of 5 police officers showed up to ease his departure. By then it's 6:45.

In spite of this unfortunate beginning to a rather long weekend, the show was great - We got lucky and had a really sweet jeweler (Molly Bitters) & a very Zen painter (Ronnie, whose last name escapes me) as our neighbors, plus, most of our friends were really close as well!
Sunday was the better day in all ways (great sales, great customers, great weather). Hopefully we'll jury into this show again next year.

That's pretty much it - We've also been taking in wholesale & custom orders, and the only shop in Chicago that carries our work, Sacred Art, is going though our inventory at a good clip - Hooray! Thankfully, we hired back our studio assistant, Julia, and that has helped us keep up quite a bit.

Sooo...Next up, Fountain Square Art Festival (I hope to NOT write a report like I did last year) June 27th + 28th!

-Nancy

Claybody Alignment Chart.

noreply@blogger.com ([nancy + andy]) — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:42:00 +0000

Lawful Good

Cone 10 Porcelain

Neutral Good
Cone 6 Stoneware

Chaotic Good
Cone 6 Porcelain

Lawful Neutral
Cone 10 Stoneware

Neutral
Terra Cotta

Chaotic Neutral
Raku Clay

Lawful Evil
Any Buff Clay

Neutral Evil
White Earthenware

Chaotic Evil
Egyptian Paste

You're not the only one...

noreply@blogger.com ([nancy + andy]) — Mon, 11 May 2009 22:59:00 +0000

Andy & I are usually greatly amused whenever we hear stories about plagiarism, especially on NPR.

The latest reminded me of this commentary Andy made last year about an image we had wanted to do - The idea of the image, mind you, not that exact image. Anyway, read on (audio highly recommended as it's about what may or may not be musical plagiarism):
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103933616

-n.

The Day of the Donut returns April 23!

noreply@blogger.com ([nancy + andy]) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0000

The Day of the Donut returns April 23!
Originally uploaded by jakerome

I just had to post this because this is kinda important. It's about donuts.

Friend Natalie aka Bake and Destroy started The Donut Database with her listing of places worthy of your dough. Then there's this group on Flickr called We Demand Donuts.

Please, go to the We Demand Donuts Flickr pool, and admire all that is within. Perhaps partake in some of the activities listed.

Then take a moment, go the database, and visit one of these places on April 23rd. Seriously. And if you know of a place where kick ass donuts are being created, please let Natalie know.

Because knowing is half the battle.

-Nancy

April is the cruelest month...

noreply@blogger.com ([nancy + andy]) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 23:39:00 +0000

This time of year when the Midwestern air is constantly fluctuating between dry and damp, warm and cold producing work in the studio always presents a challenge. Tiles that only a month ago would dry nice and flat now curl and crack in only a few hours or they can sit for days without losing any moisture.

Back when we were making our ware out of earthenware clay drying wasn't so much of a problem, occasionally a plate would get that ugly hump rising up in the middle but for the most part it was make it and forget it. Even when we made the switch to a tighter cone 6 porcelaneous stoneware clay the pieces would pretty much dry well on their own. It wasn't until we started working with the really tight (under a percent absorbtion) porcelain clays that we had to start paying attention to our drying processes. What was once a nice round bowl would suddenly come out of the kiln transformed into a disheartening, unwelcome ovoid shape.

Finding a working solution to this problem was no easy undertaking and it took a painful amount of time. We would make a batch of work, analyze the drying process, and then wait until after 2 kiln firings to study the results.

To complicate matters, researching the problem revealed an amazing amount of misinformation that lead to many dead ends - the tried and true bag it and let it dry slowly for weeks and weeks just doesn't work in a production setting. Luckily there are easy to understand methods that have been developed by the ceramic industry. I was reminded of this by a recent article published over at the Ceramics Industry Website. The great thing about an article like this is that it provides enough information to help you find your own solution on a much smaller (and monetarily attainable) scale. Here are some links to other similar articles that helped us gain insight into the mechanisms of drying clay.

http://digitalfire.com/4sight/education/the_black_art_of_drying_ceramics_without_cracks_196.html

http://www.kilnman.com/tech/tech.html

-Andy

The Last Gocco Screen.

noreply@blogger.com ([nancy + andy]) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:40:00 +0000

3.19.09 - The Last Gocco Screen
Originally uploaded by circaceramics

We flashed our last Gocco screen on March 19, and that marked for us the end of a 5 year era. We'll be going back to a more usual screenprinting method using the ol' Diazo kit available at Utrecht (or Pearl, or Dick Blick - Whoever has it in stock, really).

For those of you asking, "But why quit the Gocco?", it's all about the finances here, and the fact Gocco supplies have, ahem, gone up *quite* a lot since the announcement that the bulbs were no longer going to be manufactured, and then that supplies were going to cease being shipped to the US. Another reason is the hit or miss nature of flashing screens - For the past year we've been purchasing an extra box of bulbs just to cover all the dud bulbs we were getting! When you invest in a piece of equipment you expect a certain level of performance and sadly this kept going down.

Old screens? Maybe. Old bulbs? Maybe. The operator? Maybe. But after trying all tips-n-tricks (and coming up with a few of our own), you start to acknowledge that fact that you are ok, the tools are not.

So, we're getting our screenprinting setup ready (again), trying meshes out (it really IS like riding a bike) and getting ready to start up screening (again).

Nothing like switching methods right at the start of our production period, in preparation for fair & festival season - Keeps things lively!

And speaking of which, we have an idea of what part of our year is looking like:

Itinerary, part II (Updated 4.28.09)

may
nope - no open studio! we don't have the inventory, plus our super-secret new shape won't be ready - so we softly canceled it.

june
6+7 = 57th street art fair (we just heard on Sunday about this one so we're off the waitlist - Yippee!)
13+14 = wells street
27+28 = fountain square

july
TBD:
11+12 = art fair on the square
We're waitlisted for this one (WAH!) so we'll see.

august
1+2 = market days
29+30 = bucktown artsfest

september
12+13 = renegade craft fair (TBA - The apps don't go up till June for this one)
13 = starving artists' show (we just heard - Hooray!)

So there :)

-Nancy

Move over Gene Simmons

noreply@blogger.com ([nancy + andy]) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:50:00 +0000

Two unrelated (?) stories I heard today:

(warning - if mouth sounds like slurping and gurgling disgust you then this story is not for you)

Coffee connoisseur (4:30) | PRI's The World

What does a news outlet do when they have access to a tongue insured for 14 million? Make it taste really bad coffee.

And the second interesting news bit; there's a third less billionaires in the world today.

Time for me to make my move...

Posted using ShareThis by Andy

itinerary.

noreply@blogger.com ([nancy + andy]) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 02:57:00 +0000

Oh boy.

We usually dread this time of year: It's like you're applying for a job but you pay them to take a look at you. And you pay a lot.

You may or may not get the job, and the really sucky thing about it here is, you don't usually get a chance to apply for another, because by the time you find out you didn't get the 1st job, the deadlines have all passed for your 2nd & 3rd choice jobs.

Let me reiterate: We DREAD this time of year.

But, there's also something really exciting about a fresh new year of events to show your work at - New faces, hopefully new work from you - So it's not too horrible :)

Below is our dream list of art/craft fairs/festivals. If you're reading this and you've come to some of our shows in the past, you'll see that we have, yet again, trimmed the fat (so to speak) - There are a few events we'll be taking a break from this year, a few we believe we've exhausted (hey, it happens - It's like eating too much of your favorite ice cream), and a couple of new ones. We've already submitted our images & app for jury to 57th Street Art Fair in Hyde Park, and it (the application deadlines) snowballs from there.

Wish us luck!

[dream list below]

april

cc spring open studio
dates tba

june

6+7 = 57th street art fair
13+14 = wells street
27+28 = fountain square

july

11+12 = art fair on the square

august

1+2 = market days
or
1+2 = evanston lakeshore art festival
8+9 = morning glory craft fair
29+30 = bucktown artsfest

september

12+13 = renegade craft fair
13 = starving artists' show
26+27 = lakeview east festival of the arts

-n.

heads up!

noreply@blogger.com ([nancy + andy]) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 22:29:00 +0000

Today on "All Things Considered" on NPR, we heard some stories from listeners about how hard times are, and one stood out from a jeweler, Carol Savage out of DC, who shows at art/craft festivals - Had to put it out there because as I was writing out the space saver post, we heard this, and it made us laugh :)

[audio]
Signs of the Recession

n.

the friendly space saver_on winchester @ cullom, chicago

noreply@blogger.com ([nancy + andy]) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 22:06:00 +0000

the friendly space saver_on winchester @ cullom, chicago
Originally uploaded by circaceramics

Where DOES the time go?

I figured I'd better put these up now, since I'm procrastinating printing out shipping labels and the like - I even popped in on Facebook to befriend high school people I haven't thought of or seen in years - Luckily our high school was bulldozed for condos so I have no dreaded reunion obligations to deal with :)

Don't get me wrong, high school was, for me, not such a bad experience - Just really awkward :) I hung out with geeky boys from the boys school, played video games, and ate 2 Big Macs after school. See? Awkward :)

These here are 3 space savers we've seen around the neighborhood that actually have some thought put into them - I hesitate to say artistic merit - But they are a part of our urban landscape; site installations would be almost right :)

- The Friendly Space Saver seen at Cullom & Winchester:

- The Monochromatic Space Saver at Damen & Montrose:

- The Tank Trap Space Saver at Damen & Cullom:

And here's an image of what we call The Average Joe Space Saver, down the road a piece from the Tank Trap:

And now that the Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow, I'm sure we'll see a few choice Space Savers over the next few weeks :P

-Nancy

space savers abound!

noreply@blogger.com ([nancy + andy]) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 05:36:00 +0000

I've been meaning to post this because I thought it was too funny to pass up - It has nothing to do with our work, except maybe indirectly, as it's something we absolutely enjoy talking about and making fun of.

Our alderman, Gene Schulter, has an eblast that goes out every week, more often if there's a storm/funky weather, etc. Mostly about going's on in the hood - And I full of glee when I saw the term 'space saver' being used in his email - I like it way better than 'street furniture', and it conveys the purpose of these installations perfectly! They have been really noticeable as of late, though - It seems like there are at least 3 on every block.

So, we're going to take pictures of the more creative space savers we've seen before they get dragged away by the city :) It is such an odd practice - Part of me can kinda understand why you'd want to save the space, all of the shoveling, you have this perfect, clean spot for your vehicle - But another part of me is like - "what the hell happened to being a good neighbor and just giving up the damn space when ya leave?" It's kinda like holding the door open for the person in front or behind you - You don't let it slam in their face. Simple manners and little bits of courtesy! [eor]

n.

recently read: apartment therapy: chicago 1.4.09

noreply@blogger.com ([nancy + andy]) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:12:00 +0000

We came across this Apartment Therapy entry for today, in and out predictions for 2009, and though we had our chuckles, some of the reader comments were far more interesting and disturbing - Especially the China bashing. I think people forget that we pretty much invited and embraced lower priced goods, not just from China.

I have this fear that all these people who've developed a conscious are going to run to things like 10,000 Villages, Cost Plus, or the newest Ebay project, World of Good, rather than seeking out their local artisan, supplier, etc.

Read the post, then read the comments!

-Nancy

Oh, happy new year!

noreply@blogger.com ([nancy + andy]) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 21:25:00 +0000

Today I've decided to do a huge Flickr image dump - Very cathartic.

We document all of our mis-firings, our new projects, our wholesale orders, odd/special orders, selling events - And it feels great to look at them now and think of all the events that took place prior, during and after, and learn from our experiences - Now in hindsight, not in the heat of the moment, especially for any of the not so happy accidents - And these images provide, at least for us, a great visual diary with our memories serving as silent narrator :)

So that's what I'm doing today - I hope you're doing something that makes this second day into 2009 a good start for you!

-n.

day 3.

noreply@blogger.com ([nancy + andy]) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 21:45:00 +0000

day 3.
Originally uploaded by circaceramics

We're still here - Exhausted, disheveled, but here :)
We'll resume our regularly scheduled postings next week with a summary of activities from September to now (hopefully not too boring!)

Wish us luck on these last few of loads!

n.

When it snows it blows

noreply@blogger.com ([nancy + andy]) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:55:00 +0000

Our first big snowstorm of the season and our scheduled carrier pickup for 30 plus packages doesn't show up. Luckily everyone was stuck in traffic outside the city and the cross streets to the post office were rather empty albeit covered in a few inches of snow.

Sunday night in the universe

noreply@blogger.com ([nancy + andy]) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 01:37:00 +0000

This year the handmade world has been all over NPR.
We started hearing advertisements for Etsy.com all hours of the day on our local affiliate WBEZ - (a great side effect of this is the end of the pronunciation questioning of Etsy vs. Eatsee). We also heard plugs for the ever popular DEPARTment and this goofy Etsy knockoff called WorldofGood (don't get me started on this one). Well, tonight, while winding down the week & getting ready for the next we listened to the program "To the Best of Our Knowledge". The show was termed "reconsidering craft" and we were pleasantly surprised to hear them cover this year's Art vs. Craft! Give it a listen here.

In the first segment I'm not quite sure about the part on the craftsman; Richard Sennet seems like his views are formed by looking at people in a petri dish. He takes the idea of the craftsman and dumbs it down while at the same time intellectualizing it - in the end everything is so generalized that it becomes meaningless. I also have no idea why they reference the creation of the atom bomb - guess I'll have to read the book.
But the coverage of Art vs. Craft is really cool - they express the vastness of the handmade movement while packing in a lot of different viewpoints and its recent history. The best part is hearing commentary by the artists while they are at the show. Some of our favorites: Rar Rar Press on making art affordable and Christina Ward's views about crafting and the local economy. The clip really captures alot of the excitement that was present at the show.

Oh, and Art vs. Craft was amazing - Thank you to everyone that stopped by and we hope to be back next year!

oh boy...

noreply@blogger.com ([nancy + andy]) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 01:32:00 +0000

So, we're kinda of in the middle of our *no sleep for the wicked!* time of the year :)

We've got tons of stuff to write about, but no time at the moment; we will though after the One of a Kind Show here in Chicago - Or maybe during, it depends on how exhausted we are. This weekend we'll be in Milwaukee for Art vs. Craft on Saturday - See, exhausted!

DIY Trunk Show was really great sales-wise, the place was busy the entire day, and we met a ton of people, which is always an added bonus - You can see some images from the show here on Flickr. Unfortunately, I didn't feel like taking pictures (tired Nancy!)

Anyway, enjoy the images, if you're here in Chicago, an eblast with the One of a Kind Show free pass link will be out this week sometime if you're on our mailing list, and we'll be posting updates soon!

-Nancy