yep, I did it again..

Sent out my first app of the year with 1 hour to spare. Literally. The PO closed at 5:30, Russell dropped off my app at 4:30. I was going to be sooo organized this year. Well, one false start does not a season make. Allentown is due in a few weeks. Maybe I can get that one out a day early. Baby steps.

The first app, as usual, is for 100 American Craftsmen at the Kenan Center in Lockport. I've written of this show before. I love starting the season there with the Spring show and ending there with Christmas. I've only been shut out once, and that was wait list, not an outright rejection. But I sweat it every year. Some really wonderful people are turned away. I'm lucky that my medium is an unusual one.

This year was especially difficult because of the dog thing and being so depressed. Plus, they always have the deadline so close to Christmas. There is no time to regroup. At the artist meeting last year they made a huge deal about jury slides and how we really need to send new ones every year. More pressure. I pulled out some pictures I took during the year and I made a new mirror that we ended up photographing this morning at 8:30. I had to be a work at 9:30. Livin' on the edge, I am. A rebel.

So, anyway...here are my jury slides for the first app







And the booth shot



They were totally obsessed with booth shots at the meeting last year and the app had a whole page devoted to it. How to design your booth, what to avoid, people who would "mentor" you, etc. OK. I noted that we had built new shelving for the left wall and added a screen. I did not write "please, oh please, love me" that was implied.

So, I have dipped my toe in the cold water of maybe/maybe not for the coming year. They will come at me fast and furious for the next 3 months or so. I am truly going to organize it all this weekend. Truly.

I was" invited to apply" to be in the Junior League Decorator Show House gift shop this year. They have invited me before but I never followed through. This year I was approached by one of the women associated with it at the Gilda Show and she said she thought my things would be well received. I know friends who do well there and, actually, it is nice to be asked. Now, for this jury, you bring in your actual things, they take you to a display area, you set up and leave and then they jury your stuff in person. Makes me twitch. That's in a few weeks, too. Oh man.

Plus, I want to get my web site up and send out some marketing materials to libraries for the book pins. I still have to close out the books for last year, file the stuff away and break out this year's charts, graphs and grids. None of which I will actually use, but it will make me feel so businesslike.

Better get to it...