When in Doubt, Be Human

We read a line in a post by Seth Godin, quite a few months ago, that I wrote down on my war room wall: When in doubt, be human.  I don't even remember the exact story he told to explain what he meant by that, but he spoke of how we often try to deal with work related things in ways that might be deemed 'professional' but might lack empathy or compassion or simply 'human-ness'.

 We were laughing today at how different mine and Julie's personalities are.  I tell EVERYTHING.  I am an open book and I ramble, complain, rejoice and inform.  Julie is more private.  She shares, but discretely and only what she wants to share.  The thing is, each of us are 'real' in own way and to force ourselves to be different would be somehow false.  I am learning to shut up and she is learning to speak up as we get to experience more and more business successes.  Best of all though (through this baby business and our relationship with all of you) we are learning what it means to be human.  We thought we would be so much more professional at this point.  We thought we would 'learn how to be successful'... It's funny to us that one of the biggest things that we are learning is, when in doubt, (simply) be human!

-Epp

A Few Words on Focus

As artists, we are convinced it’s all about the art.  As entrepreneurs, we believe it’s all about the ideas… the vision.  As the blossoming businesswomen that we are becoming, we are learning it’s all about how good we are at sales and how efficiently we run our business.

... but perhaps, ultimately, it’s not about the product, or the price points, or even the art or vision; it’s about who we are and maybe, most importantly, how well we can help others communicate who THEY are.

-Epp

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!

If You Are Scared of Zombies, Don't Read This!

Okay, we admit, we've been bitten by the zombie craze. Every Sunday evening finds us watching The Walking Dead. (Hello, Rick! We miss you, Sophia!)

Since we are being candid with you, zombies kind of scare us, too. So ZA decided to create some zombies of our own that are freaky but cute(ish).

The way we deal with anything scary is to find some humor in the situation to calm ourselves. So we introduce the Zombie Emoticons illustration: Shoo! We are feeling braver already! 

We put this on a t-shirt so we can take our courage with us. (Thanks, Tony Mowery and Arowyn for the FaceBook brainstorm and idea!) 

And for Mia Monkey... a sweet? cute? scary? Monkey Zombie.

Now, off to watch reruns of Saturday Night Live so we can sleep tonight.

A Zephyr Art Year in Review...


Eppie and I want to thank all the people that dealt with our business obsessiveness this year. (Other years as well, but we're talking 2011 right now...)

A Moon Fairy getting her tags applied

Our studios went from clean to a mess every day.
Okay, they might not have been clean EVERY day.

It always amazes us that, so many times, when one of us gets a strong feeling the other will bring it up first. Well, we each had the strong feeling at the beginning of the year that we needed more from our business. More purpose, more products, more money :). 


So, we got really serious this year: made a solid business plan, started production of a major line, did some shows in Nashville and spent a lot more time traveling to and from TN and PA. 


Our girls, Mia (14) and Arowyn (9), helped us immensely, sewing, giving input on designs and watching babies and young boys. 

Mia and I watched a lot of The Walking Dead while we sewed...

As we look ahead:
We are hoping in the upcoming year to do 4-6 indie-type craft shows, continue the plush creature line, create a line of simple clothing for children and women,and other such forward moving goals. We hope that you will keep in touch with us along this ride. Our customers and friends are a constant source of encouragement and inspiration that we are truly glad to look back on- and to which we are excited to look forward in this new year. 

Sweaty Little Mustache Monkeys

 Moon Fairies make way for Mustache Monkeys

We have been creating designs for labels, signage, displays and our web presence and have been particularly relieved at having many little Mustache Monkey faces to stitch whenever we have needed a break.  Zephyr Art Mustache Monkeys are made from recycled cotton sweatshirts and each sport a removable mustache, tie and toupee.

Here are a couple of 'tie and toupee free' monkeys showing off their snazzy mustaches... until they are suddenly whisked off their faces.  Who are these mean, mean 'whisker whiskers' and why would they remove such beautiful facial ornaments from these cute little creatures?

 Here is a relaxed Mr. Monkey.  He looks so stoic and wise...  maybe he is wondering what happened to his tie and hairpiece...  or maybe he is just longing for another banana.

We have been busy, busy, busy.

Making messes and drinking tea...

Sewing and sewing...

And drinking more tea. 

These little guys are Moon Fairies. 

They are the ones keeping us busy. 

These are the new and improved version of our ever popular Moon Fairies. We have a version for babies, with embroidered eyes, some geared toward children and also a type for adults or artsy types.   

 

They are little more refined, a little more hip, a little more of what we think people like us want in a rag doll. 


Here you go 1%.

Zephyr Art TN: The Making of A Dummy. (Duct Tape Dress Form)

So. I need some display mannequins for Zephyr Art garments. I looked on Craigslist this morning and didn't find any that were current listings. So, I posted on Face Book that I was in the market for some and then set out to the store to buy some colorful duct tape to make my own for fun and to make do for a bit. I googled the process and it seemed easy. I texted my sister-in-law, Tiff to see if she'd help me tape up. She was game. She's always game!

If you ever wonder where your lumps are, cover yourself in duct tape, you'll find them.

Tiff and I covered my torso in tape. We wrapped several layers in different directions, crisscrossing over the bust area. It got harder and harder to breathe. Then, we felt good about the layers and she cut me out, thank goodness. My daughter, Mia saw it and said "Wow! You made a shirt?!" She liked it as a shirt. Perhaps I have raised her too creatively...

Tiffany holding the shell of me.

The inside of the duct tape shell.

We stuffed the inside of the form with polyfill and taped up the armholes and neck hole. For a temporary base, I knocked the arms off of a display thing that I don't use and placed her on there. I think I will make one of Mia tomorrow, if she doesn't insist that it be her shirt.

PA: Anyka Marion Bailey and A New Direction

Anyka's here!! She was born July 3, 2010, 8lbs. 8ozs.

Along with Anyka, some other changes are coming to Zephyr Art's collective lives.We are in the process of launching a full website with (we hope) a more interesting format. We are launching a line of children's clothing, toys and accessories, continuing work on ecclectic fashions for stage and life and continuing works in all of our Art media.

We have been wondering about what your thoughts are on Art, style, creativity, design, business, education and lifestyle, so we thought we'd tailor our posts to learn more about what is on your mind as well as share our philosophy. So, we look very much forward to hearing from you and hopefully our adventures will inspire, motivate or encorage you to live your most creative life.