Tag: farmer’s market

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Best Customers Ever

Anodyne Design at the Market

I spent a lovely day at the RiverFront Market on Saturday. It was hot, and humid, and that part really wasn’t so great. But the people at the market make it so worth it.

To the customer who came to buy a new wallet for her husband, and showed me his very well-worn one she bought from me before, thank you. I love seeing something I’ve made put to such use that it’s literally falling apart. And to know that it was so well loved that when it did fall apart you came back to get another one just like it is so wonderful.

To the customer who came by to tell me she bought a Little Hootie Owl mobile from me awhile ago and that she and her little one love it, thank you.

To the customer who bought a wallet from me two weeks ago and came back to request a custom order, thank you. I am so glad the first wallet was such a hit!

To the customer who looked familiar, because I’ve seen you so many times before, because you’ve bought from me on many occasions, thank you.

Little Hootie Owls at the Market

I can’t think of a better testament to my work than the fact that you came back to tell me you still love what you bought and to buy more. I truly have the best customers ever. Thank you for the wonderful day at the market.

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Not a snap to be found…

When I went to get out my snaps to finish off this pretty stack of card wallets, I discovered I only had 3 heavy duty snaps left. And they’re apparently not so heavy duty anyway. The first one I installed broke off the first time I tried to pull it open. Anybody got a good heavy duty snap recommendation?

Update: Nevermind. My heavy duty snaps are just poor excuses for snaps. I tried with some simpler pearl snaps, and every wallet is now finished, and plenty sturdy. First dibs at tomorrow’s farmer’s market. Second dibs on the website probably on Sunday.

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Vertigo (and Cookies)

I’ve had vertigo all weekend, but I’ve still managed to make it somewhat productive. Saturday, I went out the farmer’s market, and despite the heat it was a good morning.  Of course, then I wasted most of Saturday afternoon taking a post-market nap. I used up a bunch of CSA veggies making Curried Chickpeas and Rice (tasty, but I think maybe it needs a can of diced tomatoes added next time) and Kale with Sundried Tomatoes and Chickpeas. We are big chickpea fans around here.

Today, I started working on 18 new card wallets made from recycled fabric (a.k.a., old pants. Recycled fabric sounds nicer, doesn’t it? The pants were fine, just a little frayed at the hems, and perfectly clean, but still… which would you rather, “recycled fabric,” or old pants?)

I also finally got myself out to see the last Harry Potter movie, and was surprised to see I wasn’t the only one at the theater. I was a little wary about going to a movie while feeling dizzy, but fortunately if I stare straight ahead, I do alright, and there were only a few dizzying scenes in the movie.

I’m wrapping up the night by baking Pumpkin Spiced Cookies (no icing necessary), after getting all inspired by JCasa *handmade’s post mentioning pumpkin chocolate chip muffins and finding a can of pumpkin hiding in the back of my cupboard.

Now, if only I could lose this vertigo. I don’t know where it came from, but it’s been hanging around for a few days now, and I’m tired of feeling at sea.

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Some New Things…

A couple of new things I had at the market this weekend:

Pouches made with osnaburg fabric and appliqued with bunting, trees, or owls.

Little Hootie Owl Mobiles!

This week I plan on making some more card wallets and maybe some new bags. I seem to have a hard time getting started on projects when I come home from a long day of work, so we’ll see how that actually goes.

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Another Market Day

I don’t normally share photos of my entire booth at the RiverFront Market, because I always feel that everything going on in the background sort of takes away from the aesthetic quality of the picture. But here’s a picture of my booth at the market today anyway. It was about 20 degrees cooler today, and so much better than last week! I worked on more Little Hootie Owls all day, and most of them are ready for stuffing. I expect to finish a lot of them while I’m at Sommerfest tomorrow. And once I finish this batch of owls, I’ll have them in enough colors to start putting together some owly mobiles.

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Market Season Begins

Today was the first RiverFront Market of the season. The sky was blue and the weather was warm, and it was nice to see familiar faces again. After making what felt like a million little hootie owls for a friend’s wedding last fall, I took a bit of a break from owls and had almost none left. I finally sat down this past week and made a whole mess of them. A few have already gone to new homes, but there are still plenty waiting for that special someone. Soon, I’ll be putting some of these little guys into mobiles. A whole parliament of owls is always better than one, right?

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and said hello at the market today! I hope to see even more familiar faces (and new ones) next week. I saw sugar snap peas, and lettuce, and tomatoes, and fresh herbs this week. Even if you don’t need a little hootie owl, a trip to the market is worth it.

I’ll be down on the riverfront again next Saturday, from 8am until noon. And Sunday, I’ll be out at Sommerfest in Hickory Grove Park from noon – 5pm. Sommerfest is an annual event held by the Peoria German American Society, and is a fun way to get out and enjoy some German food, music, and beer. And arts and crafts. And air rifles. How could you miss that? See you next weekend!

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Another Post-Market Post

Where has the week gone? I took a bunch of pictures at the farmers’ market with the intent to blog about them, and now it’s almost time for another market! Actually, until about 5 p.m. today I had it in my head that it was Wednesday. So the week has gone by extra fast for me, because I just lost a whole day. So before it gets any later, let me share some of the pretty things you might have missed at the farmers’ market (we will ignore the ugly things, like the unbelievable humidity!):

Strawberries at the RiverFront Market
Fresh Strawberries and Cherries
Turnips from White Chimney Farm
Ornaments from Toraason Glass

I have a few more pictures from the market on Flickr. I’ll be out there again this weekend (fingers crossed for no rain and low humidity!) If you come out, stop by my booth and say hello. I’ll have some new items this week… maybe I’ll post a peek at them tomorrow.

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Action Shots of a Different Sort

You may have noticed by now that I’m a fan of photos of Anodyne Design items in “action.” Most of these photos come after someone has purchased the item, but it has recently come to my attention that there is whole other realm of possibility for action shots: wandering photographers at craft show and farmers’ markets. Farmers’ markets in particular seem to be especially appealing to the itinerant photographer, and apparently even photographers cannot resist the cuteness of the Little Hootie Owl.

This photo of the Little Hooties recently appeared in the Bloomington Farmers’ Market weekly newsletter:

Little Hootie Owls at the Bloomington Farmers' Market
Photo by Gemma Billings

And this one was taken at the recent craft fair at the FRC:

Photo of Little Hootie Owls by Natural Habitat
Photo by Natural Habitat

Thanks for taking, and sharing, such lovely photos! Oh, and if you happen to be the sort of photographer who’s drawn to farmers’ markets, check out the flickr pool I created for photos taken at the Peoria RiverFront Market. The Market starts up again the first Saturday in June. Bring your camera.