Technicolor Dream Coat Takes Flight

I had months to think, plan and plot for a big photoshoot I had coming this spring. I wanted more professional pictures that really grabbed a lot of attention; "Show Stoppers" I called them.

So, I found a studio to rent and had a photographer friend come and shoot the pictures. The plan was already leaps and bounds above the pictures I had in past seasons. But I wasn't done plotting....

I wanted to make my signiture piece, my Technicolor Dream Coat, FLY! In my mind I was thinking of dracula's cape. I brought a big box fan to the shoot thinking I could turn it to the highest speed, point it at the coat and VOILA. Unfortunately, the crocheted floor length coat is very heavy and it wasn't flying anywhere ...not even with several box fans.

It's a good thing my model (and good friend Lie Shia Ong) was a good sport. She pirouetted, twirled and spun until she was dizzy. We were able to get this picture and many other great shots to make the coat FLY!

Check out the video:

My Story Ends...

My story ends when I land a spot in one of those giant craft fairs I have coveted since I started this venture. I think my strategy is solid: professional and stunning photographs ...CHECK MARK! Also, I have knitted a series of pieces I am calling "show stoppers" that will surely grab the attention of those juries. I am sure this will give me the edge I need to be selected. And that's how my story ends ...but it's really only the beginning.

In the Middle of My Story...

In the middle of my story I am strategically plotting to be selected to vend at one of the giant craft fairs in the Pacific Northwest. Every year the "juries" that select artisans to sell at these well-publicized and well-attended events recieve more than 500 applications. There are only around 200 spots. It is important to stand out and grab the jury's attention. I've got a big photoshootcoming up. It will be at a professional studio (wow, huh?) I'm hoping this will launch my pictures into the "stunning" and "attention grabbing" category.

My Story Starts...

My story starts when I made a purse for a friend for Christmas. I consider this friend the ultimate fashion diva, so when she was astounded by this gift and insisted I should make more and sell them, I took her to heart. The key words she said to me were, "you could make a lot of money." Those are hard words to ignore. That's how my story starts and that how I began creating beautiful knit accessories.

Butter Home

I just dropped off my second order at Butter Home ...a fabulous new store that just opened inside the Melrose Market on Seattle's Capitol Hill. I had time to look around and see everything in the store and I'm very honored to be one of the vendors selected by owner Claire Corley. She has such a fantastic eye for quality and uniqueness. It's a tiny store, but it's jam-packed with great finds and everything is displayed perfectly to keep you moving through the small space. From the recycled-Maine-fishing-rope rugs to the California art student's newspaper bags to the photographic magnets by Seattle artist Shelli Engels, it's got a little of everything and EVERYTHING is worth looking at. I promise to take pictures the next time I'm there.

EtsyRain Pre-Holiday Craft Show

The first 50 shoppers get a free swag bag and I hear they are the BEST swag bags given out any any show. Packed full of USABLE goodies! The ScarfCity contribution is a felted flower hair clip and I made 100 of those babies.

Anyway, the craft fair is just in time to get a jump on that holiday shopping ....and maybe grab something for yourself. I've seen the list of crafters and the selection with be a lovely variety of jewelry, clothing, accessories, children's items and so much more.

The ScarfCity table (that's me) will have handknitted and handcrocheted scarves (of course) as well has hats, capelets, ponchos, felted flower headbands, headwraps (very hard to find a cuter one anywhere) and my newest item ....wrist and arm warmers! It's going to be very excited!

Craft Fair Schedule

October 16-17 ~ EtsyRain Pre-Holiday Craft Show, Intiman Theatre 11-5

November 6 ~ Mountlake Terrace High School Holiday Bazaar 10-4

November 20 ~ PLU Yule Boutique, Memorial Gym 9-5

November 26-27 ~ Follow the Star Craft Fair, Edmonds Masonic Center 10-4

December 4 ~ Punk Rock Flea Market, Underground Events Center 10 am - whenever I get tired

Northgate Festival

We've got our booth assignment for the Northgate Festival. My partner Cheryl Zettler of Classic Beadwear and I will be all the way at the end of the craft row, which is at the end of the festival. I encourage shoppers to keep walking and keep looking because we've got a tent full of wonderful things to try on and buy when you get to the end.

Plus, Northgate Festival has quite a few events to keep you busy in the mean time. Live entertainment on two stages, a classic mustang car show and a huge area for the kids to play. They'll be a health fair and food there too.

It's at a new location this year. They're closing down 103rd street between Northgate mall and the new Thornton Place Plaza. Hours are 11am to 7pm. Weather forecast says few showers and 66 degrees. Perfect Seattle weather! See you there.

Next Show ....Northgate Festival

You'll hear me moan and groan a lot about how my items don't really sell in the summer, which is why I don't do a lot of summer shows. Knitwear ...it's just too hot to even think about chunky hats and scarves! But this year I got a flyer from the good folks at the Northgate Festival (in North Seattle) to be a part of their street festival. Luckily, it falls in September. I figure, even if it isn't cool enough for hats, at least it's fall and buyers will be thinking about staying warm in the months to come. I'm very excited and have been knitting furiously for weeks. I'm sharing a booth with my good friend and talented crafter Cheryl Zettler of Seattle Chic/Classic Beadwear (link http://www.classicbeadwear.com/). I'll be debuting several new pieces from my fall line including a new Infinity Scarf, a crocheted Newsboy Cap, and a new version of cowl scarf, the Cable Cowl. Plus, I'll have my very popular headwraps. As well as capelets and ponchos and other hats and scarves. CAN'T WAIT!

The Northgate Festival

Saturday, September 11am - 8pm

Located at the new Thornton Place Plaza

EtsyRain Holiday Art & Craft Show

The EtsyRAIN Holiday Art & Craft Show will be held in the lobby of Intiman Theatre (201 Mercer Street) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, November 21-22.The first 50 people in line each day will receive a swag bag filled with awesome stuff from our EtsyRAIN members. EtsyRAIN members like to help the community as much as they like to help each other. For each show, they choose a charity to support. The featured charity for this year's holiday event is Treehouse, an organization that fills the gaps for kids in foster care, providing services that no other agency addresses.Admission to the event will be a suggested donation of $1 that will go directly to Treehouse or an article of warm clothing for a foster child in need.Check out our website: http://www.yelp.com/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.etsyrain.com

North Beach Craft Fair

It was the first of the season for me. I figured it was cold enough in Seattle to venture out with my thick and chunky knitwear. Shoppers were very responsive. I heard lots of ooooh's and ahhh's as they touched the warm and cozy yarn. I had a few new items that got their debut: My new CHUNKY connected scarves are a giant loop of cuddly goodness. They can wrap once or twice around your neck for several different looks all in one scarf. And my convertable scarf is a hood and a scarf in one. It's long enough to pull over your head but it will scrunch up to just be a cowl. Also, it was my first chance to try out my new gridwall display. After a little tinkering initially, these things are WONDERFUL! I highly recommend them for any new crafter looking to improve their setup. All in all, the North Beach Elementary School craft fair was a success and very fun. I will definately sign up again next year. Thanks so much to my consultant, sales guru and buddy Lisa P. for being there ALL DAY with me. What a trooper!

A shout out from KIRO's fantabulous Traffic Anchor

My co-worker, friend and traffic diva Jenni Hogan placed a big order last Thursday, for a bunch of my crochet earrings. She was scrambling for something fun to try for Fashion Friday

when she wears a new outfit and lets viewers decide whether it's the outfit's debut, or final swan song. She picked out a stunning orange sweater with gold fasteners and I went to work making the perfect matching pair of earrings. Well, okay ...so it was a coincidence that the pair I'd made went well with the sweater, but it all worked out, which is what really counts. It was so fun waking up early (okay, okay so I watched the KIRO morning show on my DVR when I woke up from my sleeping-pill induced haze) to see the gold earrings I'd made, on the air sparkling and blinging away. I tested out a new double-threaded pattern and purchased a ton of new beads, so now I'm inspired to make more to sell on my website ...and maybe a new pair for myself!

Spring Knitwear -Stay or Go?

Spring Knits ...should I stay or should I go? Last year I decided to launch my first ever spring line. It included knits and crocheted items that were made mostly of lightweight cotton. The line featured capelets, spiral scarves, beach hats, and bikini tops, among other things. I did several spring and summer craft shows which were a complete BUST. If you're a knitter, I don't have to tell you how much work it was to compile 15 to 20 items of each thing in different colors. So I have been asking myself since then, was it what I made, or was it that knitwear in the summer is just UNAPPEALING, even if it's light weight? Now, I've been asked by one of the stores that has experienced GREAT success in selling many of my items, to make some spring/summer stuff. I guess it can't hurt to give it another try right? In limited amounts ...two or three of a few select items. Then more if they sell! But WHAT? Hmmmmmm.....

Virtual Trunk Show

ATTENTION! ATTENTION!Roz's Sax will join Etsyrain in the Etsy.com Trunk Show!Etsy.com is going to make craft and internet history on November 13th at 4pm Pacific Time. On this day, Etsy sellers from around the world will get together to show their wares to a live audience in Etsy's Virtual Labs. Here you'll be able to meet the maker, learn about the process and even see them live in their studio via webcams! With the help of Etsy Teams, like EtsyRain, Seattle's Etsy Team, this is going to be the handmade shopping event of the season, and is not to be missed!

My inner packrat

What I mean by 'inner' is that it's something I try desperately to both hide, and stay in denial about. I do the obligatory "purge" of my closet, my junk room, and my refridgerator. Yet, somehow the junk trickles right back in. My mom is a neat freak. I'm talking you could walk through her front door at any given day or time and it would be SPOTLESS. No dishes by the sink, no discarded clothes near the shower, not even a pillow out of place. And junk piles NEVER seem to accumulate anywhere in her house. If she hasn't used or worn something in a few months, it's gone! So it's not like I picked up these bad habits from her. But I still have clothes that I haven't warn in years, stashed away in 'under the bed' storage or some box in the back of the closet. And the stuff I will never wear, you know those pieces that still have the tags on? They're taking up prescious space in my overstuffed closet. Did I mention I'm also a shopaholic? I'm guessing those weaknesses usually go hand-in-hand. My dream closet is one that is packed full of stuff for every occassion, lined up with outfits that will never let me utter the words, "I don't have anything to wear." But whose isn't right? Don't even get me started on my office/junk room/craft room. Sometimes I have to move stuff out of the room, just to be able to get in. Sigh... there's no hope! I think organization is a chip that I am missing --and will never be able to download.

My Olympic Experience RUINED!

My 'day job' is actually a graveyard shift. I'm a News Writer at KIRO Television. The hours make it much less glamarous than it sounds. What REALLY bugs me about it lately is that it's wrecking my Olympic Experience! I'm a big Olympics junkie. I watch all the major events, know the players ...even read the previews and bios. Unfortunately, because I have to go to bed early, I have to watch it all on a DVR-delay. For the past couple days ...that hasn't even been possible.

Let me set the scene for you ...so you can feel my pain. When I walk into KIRO, there's TV's EVERYWHERE!!!! There's a giant string of televisions mounted up high on the wall, can't miss them. There's also AT LEAST ONE on every desk. There's two at mine, and another one at the next desk. We're very 'plugged in' to what's happening on the tube.

So Monday, I walk in and the sight of Michael Phelps flexing his muscles and letting out a roar I could just image was heard throughout the The Water Cub (Beijing's new Olympic Pool) drew my attention. How could I turn away? The boy is CUT! Since he was standing with a few other guys in those cool NASA swimsuits --I could pretty much tell the relay team had 'done good.'

Then today, I come in and announce that I don't want anyone to tell me the results of the men's gymnastic team finals. It was bad enough those cute little Hamm brothers weren't competing. Then the men's team had been given slim hopes of doing anything worth anything. But I at least wanted to SEE them not do anything for myself. This time, I turned on the television at my desk and there was the men's team captain holding up his bronze metal. ARGH!

I guess the only good news is, it takes the pressure off and my nails don't get eaten off while I'm watching?

Smigel's New Haircut

My Chihuahua Smigel is just like a child to me. I take her EVERYWHERE, spoil her rotten, and I protect her at all costs! So, she's never been to the groomer ...because I didn't want to leave her there for hours while she's tortured with a shaver. But she's been panting like crazy in the last month of warm weather in Seattle, so I decided it was time! Luckily, our favorite groomer Kevin lives in my condo building and agreed to make a house call. It took a lot of patience on his part, and an hour of holding her down and coaxing her to lift legs and expose the belly, etc. Now she's BALD and lovin' it! The fur was everywhere and Smigel was a little traumatized, but she'll be so much cooler for the rest of the summer, and it'll all grow back by the time she needs it in the winter. The only thing is ...she looks so WEIRD! I kept asking her (yes, we talk all the time) who ARE you strange dog?

Fall Spiral

Ever since I thought up the idea to beef up my line of scarves and start a new website on Etsy JUST for that purpose ...I've been thinking about what fabulous new scarves I could create. The one that I dreamed of the most is a fall version of my spiral scarves that I've been making all summer in light-weight cotton. I picked three scraps out of the giant pile of yarn in my craft room ...and went to work. I'm SO pleased with the results. I like the combination the most --of the different colors that blend to together ...and of course the FUZZY piping I added to make it POP! I hope everyone loves this one as much as I do. I can't wait to make more!

Getting Started

A little more than a year ago I decided to turn my hobby into a business. My grandma grew up in Germany, where she learned needle arts in grammer school, and taught me how to crochet when I was about 10. It's been like a religion ever since. I started by making Christmas gifts ...potholders, slippers, scarves and pillows. Eventually I moved on to bigger projects! Then, when ponchos came back in style ...watch out! I learned how fun it was to wear something you've made by hand. Jump ahead to Christmas of 2006 when I made a couple of felted purses for friends. "You have to sell these," they raved. Roz's Sax Seattle was born!

Now I'm launching a new website in September for my most popular item to date ...SCARVES! Not just the boring ones that every first-time knitter makes. I've got Scarflettes, Boas, Cowls, and braids. The soft launch to www.scarfcity.etsy.com is already underway!