Christmas Comes Early

Hello everyone! I wanted to let you know that over the past 9 months Aaron and I have had a pretty important side project, which is why we haven't had a chance to do much to update the website and I haven't been able to do many shows. We're thrilled to announce that Mia Felicia Abbott was born on Nov. 26th at 5:51am. A whopping 7lbs 4oz and 19 1/2 inches long. We're all doing fine and loving every minute of this new experience.

Pinch Me!

I was still riding high after the ventilation was installed and much to my suprise the electrician called Tuesday night saying he could be out Wednesday to install heat and outlets! He should finish today and so the bulk of the studio will be finished! The last part is for me to run the propane hoses to the torches and I am just waiting on some parts to do that. I think by next week, the studio will be open for business! In the meantime, thought I would share a couple pictures of the kitties.

We have Ventilation!

I'm so excited to tell you about my weekend! My dear friends Doug and Aline Peterson came to visit from Cleveland to install ventilation in my studio for me. This is becomming a ritual. Everytime we move they come and save the day and make sure I can make beads safely. Ventilation is important to pull any fumes that are produced from the combustion of the torch or use of metals away from me and outside. Here was the process:

First, I ordered a bunch of supplies and learned a bunch about duct work!

Doug cut a hole in the ceiling where we wanted the ventiliation to be.

Then he went up into the tiny attic. This is where the blower motor was installed. It sucks from one opening and blows out another.




Hi Doug!



Doug had to drill a lot of holes....
And finally we turned it on and Aline tested the sucking capacity!!


Thank you Doug & Aline!!

Trip to NYC

Last weekend my brother and his girlfriend had an open studio sale so we ran up to Brooklyn to see the show (they are both photographers). It was part of a larger festival where there were many open studios and installation shows going on in the DUMBO Arts area. I took a picture of Aaron with this lady who said she was a 'walking museum' and she lit up all over and was pulling a car battery in her rolling suitcase for power. The other image is from one of the gallery installations.

I've lost the charger to my camera battery and am waiting on one to arrive that I found on ebay - so more pictures to come as soon as I can! We have a new roof on the garage/studio yeah! Plumbing leaks are fixed (sort of). I'll explain later!

Shopping Cart & Bead Fest

I wanted to give you an update that Aaron has been working tirelessly on the new shopping cart system, so hopefully very soon we will not have the troubles we've been having.

Bead Fest was this past weekend and my last show of the year! I had a fun time catching up with my bead friends and buying beads of course! I didn't sell many beads, but that means I have a lot of inventory to put up on the website.

Stay tuned for new products and an easy new shopping cart!!

Hot Time in the Mountains

I have been asked to give more frequent updates on my blog! I'm so sorry - it's just been a busy few weeks.....that turned into months....you all know how that goes!

Anyway, I was down in Asheville, NC over the weekend as a guest demonstrator for Hot Time in the Mountains, which is a glass bead retreat at A Touch of Glass. There were about 30 of us and we had a wonderful time! Here is a group shot.




This is Marcy Lamberson giving a demo on how to make a gorilla:).


This is a really cool wood sculpture that was on the wall of Mountain Glass Arts a company that sells lampworking supplies.

And here is an update on the kitchen - larger hole, still working with the plumber to finish up the repairs.....ugh!


This weekend I'll be an exhibitor at Bead Fest at the Reading Convention Center, please stop by and say hello - this is my last show of the year!!

Updates

Hello!

It seemed as if after we returned from VT we were slammed with things and I haven't had a chance to say hi. I spent Saturday at open torch with my PA guild friends. This is where we all come together and make beads. It's really nice since we mostly work in isolation so to be able to make beads and talk to friends is a treat! Sunday I went to the Jersey Fire Devils meeting in NJ and that was great too. I didn't have to drive (thank you Merle) and Jeri Warhaftig gave a demo using her new puffy mandrels and I realized that using these mandrels makes making the one eyed aliens super easy! I'm always struggling with popping the hole in the hollow bead and this mandrel lets me super heat one spot and blow a hole from the inside out! TOO COOL! I'll try to have Aaron take a picture next time I do it to show you.

Speaking of Aaron he is still working on painting the studio, but it is closer to being done. Hopefully, we can have the electrician come back in early October to install the baseboard heat and outlets.

The plumbing continues to be problematic, but an end is in sight. We have to have one last section replaced, which means a larger hole in the ceiling and more mess...ugh!

OK, that's all I can think of to update you on. Have a great week!

Our trip to VT

We headed up to Vermont last weekend to see my Cousin and had a great time. He is a carpenter and builds timber frame structures. Pictured below is his house and garage. It was really pretty there, the air was so fresh and clean. No trains blowing their whistle or fire engine sirens. My cousin and his wife are homesteaders, which means they grow or raise almost everything they eat and have solar power and well water. They have a cook stove where they use firewood to cook and bake with (no microwave for them!). It felt a little like camping to me...ha ha ha!!

Update

Well, the plumber finished putting in the new drain pipe on Friday and we spent the weekend cleaning up the kitchen. It was a mess! I don't think we're out of the woods yet, but hoping that the small leak that is happening now is an easy fix.

We're making progress on the studio too. I'll post some images soon of how it's looking. I'm still trying to get the contractor to show up to put the new roof on (we've been trying to get the roof done since February...)

We're headed up to the Pocono Mountains this weekend for another guild show. Please stop by and say hi if you can. Follow this link for directions and show times http://www.pacrafts.com/pacrafts/site/default.asp

What a Beauty!

Thank you to Kerry Vine, one of my customers, who sent in this picture of a necklace she created using a focal bead I made. Isn't it lovely!! You can see more of Kerry's work at www.dvinedzines.com

Never a dull, or dry moment

Well, our latest adventure has to do with our house. We had a stain start to develop in the kitchen ceiling and so we called the plumber. He started by just replacing the seal on the upstairs toilet, but the stain kept growing. Since we couldn't tell where the leak was coming from, we now have a wonderful 2 foot by 6 foot hole in our kitchen ceiling and plaster dust everywhere!! The leak is coming from the drain pipe that is as old as the house (80+ years). Everytime we flush the upstairs toilet the person in the kitchen gets a shower....ick!! Aaron put up a make shift bucket to catch the water. I think we'll be eating out until this is fixed!!

NYC Trip

My parents came to visit on Sunday and so we ran up to NYC to see my brother. We had a great time at the Museum of Natural History. The exhibition about Darwin and evolution was really interesting!

We also had pizza and ice cream down by the Brooklyn bridge across from lower Manhattan. I loved this sign at the ice cream parlor!

Gathering Images

Howdy Everyone,

I'm back from the Gathering and I think a good time was had by all:). I had a miserable time getting home (United overbooked all the flights from DC to Philly so I ended up having to rent a car to drive home!).

Anyway, Here are some quick shots and I'll have more once I unpack all the goodies I traded and purchased.


Some of my friends from the board


My Table at the Bead Bazaar


The anniversary gift Aaron bought me (artist Milon Townsend)


The bead show at Aesthetica Gallery


The beads I had in the Gallery Show

This Week

I'm heading out for the Gathering tomorrow for the next week and so I won't be able to fill any orders or respond to emails until July 24th. I have the camera packed and will take lots of pictures! I'm going to be in board meetings for the first couple of days and the conference starts on Thursday evening. I have been working night and day to make beads for the bead bazaar and am hot and tired!!

Aaron said the shopping cart was back up and running for now. He's going to be purchasing a new system soon that is 'more reliable'. Hope you all have a great week!

shopping cart snafu

Thanks to those of you who alerted us to the fact that our shopping cart server was down. We've contacted the company and will try to figure out what is going on with them. Aaron had a few choice words to say about them and is ready to switch to a new host, but just doesn't have the time right now to do it. For now, if you would like to purchase something, just email me and we'll do it the old fashion way:)

katy@abbottglassdesigns.com

Thanks!

Woodstock

Hope you are all enjoying a long holiday weekend! I wanted to share some images we took this weekend when we went to the inaugural concert at the new Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. It is a state of the art outdoor amphitheater built on the site of the 1969 Woodstock Festival. The New York Philharmonic was sounding fantastic and the fireworks after the show were spectacular! If you would like more info go to

We're not flooded - thankfully!

I'm sure you've seen the images of the flooding in Philadelphia and I just wanted to let you all know that so far we're ok. Thankfully, we're up on a ridge and not near the Delaware or Schuylkill rivers. Manayunk, where we were for the art & craft show last weekend, is flooded and hopefully we won't be getting more rain in the future.

Wet Weekend

We spent the weekend getting rained on at the Manayunk Art and Craft Festival. We had fun, but could have done without all the rain! Two of my new PA friends were also selling and didn't have a waterproof tent - ugh!. Kathy and Annette, I hope you've dried out!!

I'm now turning my attention to making beads for the ISGB Gathering, which will take me to Kansas City, MO in July.

This weekend we're going to head up to NY to see Aaron's parents and to go to a performance at the new Woodstock performance arts center. I'll be sure to take the camera!

Progress!!

I'm so excited! Yesterday we had the electrician and driveway guru out to dig up our drive in order to lay a new electrical conduit between the house and the garage. This was the first step to having power in my studio! You'll see the trench, patch, and new electrical panel. It was quite a sight.

New Postcard

I wanted to share an image with you that I'm using for my 2006 postcards. My brother took the photo for me (shphotography.com) and I can't wait to get the cards next week. I'm sending 400 to the International Society of Glass Beadmakers (ISGB) so they can be included in their postcard collection, which is a fundraiser for the organization.

Great time had by all!

I had a safe trip back to Ohio this weekend for the show. The weather was wonderful, even a bit chilly! I was able to stay with a couple of good friends, which of course meant I stayed up too late, but we just had so much to talk about! I took a couple of quick shots of the show and my booth.



While I was gone Aaron put primer on the studio walls!! So we're close to being able to paint and the electrician is planning on coming Thursday so I just might be able to move into the studio by July 1 after all!

I'll keep taking pictures so I can show you the before and after images!

Headed back to Ohio!

Howdy Everyone,

Again, I find myself apologizing for not writing in a very long time. I have a really good excuse, but you'll have to come see me at the Chagrin Falls Show this weekend in Ohio to find out what it is. If you can't make the show you can email me and I'll tell you, I'm just not ready to tell the world yet:).

If you need directions or times of the show just go to my "shows" link from the main page of my web site.

I'll give you a more detailed update after the show!

Back up on eBay!

Well, it took four people to get me back up selling on eBay. Here is an image of my husband (Aaron) working at the computer and my brother (Steven) taking pictures of my beads!! Steven is a professional photographer who came down from NYC with his girlfriend to visit last weekend. It was a huge effort to find all our photography equipment, set up a new area to shoot beads, and update all our eBay information. Hopefully, we'll be able to do this much quicker from now on!

International Flameworking Conference

Here is a group photo of a bunch of beadmakers with Paul Stankard



I gave a presentation on the Past, Present and Future of Glass Beadmaking in the United States




Nancy Tobey gave an amazing demonstration


Here is a close up of the bead


Wheaton Village had a booth


Here I am with my jewelry for sale by Wheaton Village