Another Language

A friend from Knoxville and her husband came over to Eppie's yesterday and visited with us for a bit. A very welcome break from researching packaging, in fact... As we all talked, of course, the subject of entrepreneurship came up. 

Our friend's husband has had a business in the medical software industry for 15 years, as have we had an art business for that long. He has just gone through the process of rebranding, well, what a coincidence! So have we...

As he described his feelings of excitement mixed with trepidation about the many ways he is shaking up his standard way of doing business, I couldn't help but know exactly what he was talking about. I love how entrepreneurship has a language and set of experiences that can bond the artists, scientists, landscapers, acrobats- anyone who has to be tenacious and GO GET IT themselves! - Julie

Dragging out the Old Blog Carcass...

Wellllllllll...  We have grown in leaps and bounds this past year!   Remember when we did the logo for Her Point of View... and got to be part of two amazing independent films...

The Upside of Down

and got to work with Emmie Lou Harris and her awesome cousin Pudd at Woofstock?  

Woofstock

Remember when we helped lead an innovative group of young entrepreneurs with our friend Luke Duncan of Eli Mason and did the Pumpkin Fest in Franklin TN?  Remember our loads and loads of fairly bad photos that we subjected you to until we forced ourselves to learn some product photography basics.  Remember our visits to the Entrepreneur Center of Nashville and the mentors we were assigned from SCORE of Nashville, the incredible Cheryl and Joan?  Remember the hours and hours and hours our friend and mentor Michelle Schwantes spent with us, thinking and thinking and thinking and then helping to mold a business?  Remember the first nice website we ever had, designed by our amazing graphic designer/friend Daniel Brown?  Remember when we were finalists in the Martha Stewart American Made Awards and you all stood behind us and faithfully voted day after day for an amount of time that seemed like eternity?  Remember when we spent the week on the Nashville show set...  Remember when we hit record sales this Christmas?  We certainly do.

Wellllllll... We have resurrected this old blog, blown the dust off of it, shook out the cobwebs and recommitted.  We have things to say and progress to report and we have seen this year that you care about us and might not mind lending us a figurative ear.  If you are an old friend, you know that we have faithfully reported on Facebook, Instagram and our old website.  If you are new to the whole Pro Boh world, rest assured, we have not been absent since 2013. :)
Hello to our old friends and welcome to our new!  Here we go into 2015 together!!!    

Happy New Year! Watchword 2013: Efficiency!

Happy New Year from Zephyr Art!

It is that time of year where we all get our thoughts together for the brand new year that we are given. 

Julie's been reading a lot of English royal history and was intrigued with each monarch choosing a word or phrase as their "motto" for different events. Well, Zephyr Art's collective and individual motto for 2013 is Efficiency. We want to be more efficient in our art, business, teaching our children, even house work! In the soft light of the dawn of this new year anything looks possible :).

Zephyr Art is planning and working, in separate locations again :(, for our best year ever. We will amp up our craft show choices and schedule, we add to our toy and art line and we will try to locate ourselves a little closer together! 

We hope to see you this coming year and that you achieve the goals and dreams that you craft this January and beyond.

Handmade Toys and Toy Safety

Almost everybody would agree that when it comes to toys, handmade toys, using natural materials, are probably as safe as you can get.  It is also reasonable to think that makers of handmade toys are personally 'handing' their toys over to their friends and family and are very particular about what goes into those toys.  Here, at Zephyr Art, safety is VERY important to us.  When we were predominantly using button eyes we sewed them on by hand until we were SURE our toddlers could not pry them off with their little razor teeth.
We were told, and we read, that 'safety eyes' are safer than buttons and, though we don't necessarily agree, we have incorporated them into our designs.  We reinforce each safety eye with glue, and for the very small eyes, glue and and a few strategic stitches. (...and we highly recommend that all crafters do this, as we have seen these eyes dislodge, especially when used with polar fleece.)  We have switched to using all new materials unless we find recycled items that are clearly labeled as natural fiber (cotton or wool), and we have made sure to design with little hands, mouths and curiosity in mind.  We have watched our children try to eat, pull apart and strangle themselves with a slew of store bought toys and have tried to avoid designs that might, in any way cause alarm and, we are confident, will not cause harm.  We believe that most crafters, artists, and makers of handmade toys do all these things as well.  There is no fortune to be made in the making of 'handmade' anything and it is almost always a labor of love.

Due to the major influx of factory merchandise we have seen strict safety laws put into effect in the United States.  Fortunately there are organizations that are fighting for the makers of handmade goods and there are some exemptions that make things easier to comply with the laws.


 
We are happy to announce that all or our toys are now safety compliant and labeled as such.  We have jumped through every hoop and can offer our toys in the most discriminating markets. :) Our registration numbers and safety info are now listed on our tags, which are sewn into our toys.

We believe that our toys have always been safe and we believe that handmade toys, made in homes and studios throughout the United States, though certified or not are safer than mass produced factory toys.  We believe that they are worth the investment it takes to make them and the higher prices that they must demand for artists to continue to make them.  We appreciate all those that buy arts and crafts, homemade items, local items, products made in the USA and other sustainable, even though often more expensive merchandise!  Thank you!

Porter Crossing Holiday Market

Last Saturday we went to the Porter Crossing Holiday Arts Market in Nashville, behind the Family Wash (quintessential Nashville, TN restaurant/ music venue).

We had a good time, we met really great people. Kim Radford, we love you! Duncan Ragsdale, you are awesome! 

We heard terrific music from a band called Paper Lantern. Love the harmonies and energy of this group!!

We tried out a new version of our show layout. Slightly angled, visually interesting...

Now that our Holiday shows are over we are preparing for spring! New designs, fabrics, shows! Winter is sure to fly by...

Holiday Whirlwind...

We've been in a holiday whirlwind, how 'bout you? Eppie has been in middle TN for a couple of weeks now and we have had two great shows, first we joined in the Hillsboro Village Art Walk then we were at Porter Flea Handmade Holiday Market, and now are gearing up for the last of our holiday events in Nashville. We will be at Porter Crossing Arts Market today with sculptures, creatures and other interesting items. Hope to see you there!

It's Been Ten Years But We're Back Again

Zephyr Art's corner of the Antiques, Art and Collectibles Mall in Shelbyville, TN.

It will most likely come as no surprise that Art was my favorite subject in highschool. Also, one of my very favorite teachers was my freshman year art teacher, Carol Price. As I have gotten older, she has become a dear friend.  When she opened the Antiques, Art and Collectibles Mall in 2001 I was one of her first employees. It was the year, also, that Eppie and I had just begun our venture together as the collaboration we call Zephyr Art. I owe a lot to Carol for the inspiration she provided me and the room to paint and create as I worked behind the desk. At one point I even painted as performance in the window, kind of like a moving display. I have so many great memories from working there!

Fast forward four children, times two!, and ten years, Ep and I are still Zephyr Art and the mall is still humming along. (And I still love to hang out there.) When we decided to focus on getting our new line out to the public we had to brainstorm on where to put it. We have things in the virtual world on Etsy and in our friend Olga's shop in PA, but we needed a TN place or two. So we opened a booth at the Antiques, Art and Collectibles Mall. A few of our artist friends have booths there, as well. We are in a corner booth with Becky Shelton (who is usually there painting or doing other artsy things) diagonally across the way and Shawna Jones in a booth beside us. Sherry Warner Hunter has a booth at the AACM, also. It seems like a perfect fit. I am glad to be back there!

Come by and take a look around at all the interesting things in the AACM. You know antique stores, there is always something quirky and cool hiding in plain sight!  You'll most likely meet an artist or two on your trip through, as well.

We are just wondering... Wanna answer 4 questions about our proposed logo? We have a little survey to judge our peeps' opinion of it, because we want to make an image that is representational of ZA and pleases the eye. 

Here's the link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BFT9MWN

We want to use the image on tags, as letterhead, on our blog, Etsy, Flickr and all the other places we have an online presence or need an image to visually represent us. Don't hold back, we really want your opinion! We truly thank you for your time and opinions.  

New Logo

We think our new logo expresses who we are as a business: humorous, colorful, fun... 

In designing the new image to visually identify our business, we turned to an old pal. Dembrook is a true collaboration between Eppie and myself. To steal from the discription on Etsy: "Eppie and I created this painting/illustration together using her gift of modernized old school illustration and my penchant for flowing abstracts. We printed her illustration on vellum and sewed it onto my watercolor background that uses salt and rubbing alcohol to create interesting flow and color change."

What do you think of the new logo?

Zephyr Art TN: One Nearly Finished Coat, The "Jane Austin"

Finished. I like that word. Almost finished, I guess those words are all right, too.  My thrift store blazer turned couture coat is nearly complete. Just need to affix the buttons and it will be Finished. Above is the coat in layout stage.  Ep and I lovingly refer to the two Zephyr Art coats as the "Jane Austin" and the "Swashbuckler". Jane is softly feminine. Swash is wildly feminine. And of course, we didn't plan to create coats like these, per se. We just followed the fabrics and they led us here. 

We try to pay close attention to every detail of a garment. The liner of the "Jane Austin Coat" was hand sewn into what was left of the blazer's existing liner.  

This is the coat without snaps. The rose button is a decoy, the true fasteners will be hidden inside the coat. There is to be another rose and they both need some painting to bring out the colors of the coat. 

Also, we have started a small coat. The sleeves need to be set in and it will be done. It's around a size 3.  Very cute on Dorian, though it is a girl's coat. 

This morning: 

The Bedford County Arts Council set up an art booth at the Calsonic Arena for this week's Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration in Shelbyville, TN. 

Zephyr Art has a nice spot beside artist, Becky Shelton. 

I will be manning the booth on Saturday from 10am to 7pm. Come see me. We have chairs stashed under the table for impromptu visitors!

TN: Moo Business Cards

We have awesome business cards. That is not just bragging, it is true, because we have Moo business cards. These cards get so many comments from other artists on their quality and beauty. They are made on heavy stock that feels so smooth and extravagant and the colors are more vibrant than any other business card I have seen before. Moo has regular sized business cards (we tried these first and loved them!) and mini cards. One can upload, for the image side, up to 50 images for the regular cards and 100 images for the mini cards, perfect for artists and designers. We received our minis in the mail last week. They are around half the size of regular business cards and are just as great. Same vibrancy and quality, just smaller. We will use these to network and as tags on our clothing, toys and art. When we hand these out, people are getting a perfect little art print along with pertinent information, they are so worth it for promotional purposes. I think soon we'll try the postcards. We love Moo.