Trip to NYC for the Tabletop Show

I just returned from a wonderful Tabletop show in New York last week. It was a busy few days of meetings and I had a wonderful time reconnecting with old and new clients as we discussed exciting new projects and reviewed samples of beautiful new fabrics and tabletop items hitting markets in the coming year. I also managed to sneak in a few fun times with friends while in the city – dinner with friends, a museum visit, and even a K. D. Lang concert Saturday night!

Atlanta Gift Mart

I just returned from a wonderful weekend at the Atlanta Gift Mart. It was a very busy weekend of meetings, signings, and showroom visits. As always, we had a wonderful time catching up with many of our friends in the industry, sharing our newest designs, and meeting new friends at the gift signings. We were able to see so many wonderful new products that are soon to hit the market! Check out these photos for a sneak peak of some of the wonderful items coming soon.

Faith and the Stock Market

Psalm 9:9-10 – The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

I know that for many of us this week, our hearts and minds have been focused on the trials of the recent stock market and our struggling economy. During these trying times, when many are feeling the weight of this economy firsthand, searching for employment and struggling to ensure family savings, it is hard to be joyful in prayer and hard to thank God for his many blessings in our lives. But, it is in these difficult times that I remind myself of the importance of trusting God to guide us and not forgetting that He is good in all things, that we are always in His care.
Trusting anyone or anything is difficult when dealing with the current uncertainty of the stock market, but I know I must continue to trust God as he guides my life. It is when I actively include God in all aspects of my life – work and play – that I notice His ever presence the most. God shows His face in the oddest, seemingly most insignificant places. I find immense comfort and joy in these moments. Time and time again I find that when I make an effort to seek God’s guidance, I am assured of His love for us and know that if we put our trust in Him, he will provide.

A California Visit

Last week I took a trip to California to meet with a company called Teacher Created Resources. They are located outside of Los Angeles in Westminster, CA. What a beautiful part of the country! Teacher Created is an educational publishing company that has created many products including banners, bookmarks, bulletin board art, expandable pocket files, notepads and stickers with our school themed designs. As the new school year is now getting started, it was a perfect time to meet and brainstorm about new classroom products and new design ideas. Click here to visit our online store, featuring many of our Teacher Created products.While in California, we also took time to visit our ar

tist friend Lowell Herraro and his wife Janet. Lowell is an amazing artist and they have a beautiful home that connects to his studio. His paintings are large with gorgeous rich colors, often depicting scenes of the vineyards and olive grove (Lowell and Janet produce their own olive oil!) that surround their home. We had a wonderful visit with them and enjoyed the chance to tour his home and studio.
Lastly, we visited a few vineyards around Napa Valley before returning home. I am definitely inspired to paint for our Lang Wine Country calendar, now! The rolling hills and inviting roads of the vineyards are absolutely gorgeous. It was a great trip all around; I hope to visit California again soon!

Atlanta Gift Show 2008

I just returned from the summer gift show in Atlanta, Georgia. I attend this show every year and am always excited to have a sneak peak at all of the latest designs from hundreds of artists around the world. It is also exciting to see some of the studio's designs on products for the first time that are being displayed in different showrooms. Some of the new programs included Winter Wonders, a melamine collection by Keller Charles, Let It Snow, a collection of cookie and hot cocoa mixes by Brownlow Gifts, Birds and Butterflies, a home decor collection by Crazy Mountain and Morning Song, a collection of woven items by Manual Woodworkers and Weavers. Also, I had the opportunity to do a signing at the Manual showroom this year and met so many wonderful people! The shows are always fun as we meet with many of our friends in the industry and enjoy their company as we plan art direction for the future. There are many new designs from the studio coming out soon!

The Atlanta Gift Show

I just returned from an incredible four days at the Atlanta Gift and Home Furnishings Market. The market is filled with hundreds of company showrooms, displaying their latest product designs for retailers from across the country. It is always an exciting show as we get a sneak peek at the upcoming trends and designs for the year! This year our latest sketchbook style excelled which features our new birds and butterflies artwork. We were thrilled to see our designs with this program in several showrooms. I was fortunate to have a signing and giveaway of Certified dinnerware, Keller Charles melamine dinnerware and Ne'qwa ornaments. I saw many friends that were equally excited about our new designs. I feel blessed to have made so many dear friends in this industry and for the continued success of our studio's creative designs.
Be on the lookout for our birds and butterflies designs coming soon!

Susan

Visiting Our Friends at Lang

Recently I made a trip to visit Lang Corporation in Delafield,
Wisconsin with one of my longtime artists and best travel buddies,
Jeannie. We had a great time, catching up with our old friends and
making new ones as well. This is our 26th year with Lang!
Their display room was gorgeous and we had the best time looking at
all of the new products and designs they had for us to view. We also
discussed plans for our 2010 line of calendars, as we are always
designing ahead and looking towards future trends to best please you,
our valued customer! It was a tremendous visit overall.
There are many great calendars and products to come through our
partnership with Lang… so keep your eyes open and be sure to view our
current Lang products by using the "Let's Go Shopping" link on our
website.

Susan