editing...

Here's what I've got so far in the 'about' section of my Etsy site.  If anyone's got any editing suggestions I'd love to hear 'em!

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Welcome! 

My name's Jen and I live and work in the vibrant city of Rochester, NY.  I left the flat, cow-covered fields of Ohio back in 2006 and decided to stick around after finishing my university studies in studio arts and marine sciences.

I am the proud adoptive mom of a rescue pit-bull (Harper Marie) who spends countless hours exploring the studio while I fiddle around with fabric and paper.  When I'm not in the studio or working one of two art-related gigs you can find me out adventuring.  I enjoy running around the beaches of Ontario Lake with my pup, mountain biking on the hidden Rochester trails, climbing at the local rock gym, devouring empanadas at the public market and playing card games with friends.

As for my craft - I adore items that have had a previous life.  I scour antique stores, flea markets and friends' attics for the perfect materials to create garlands, bags, dog toys and other textile pieces.  Design, sustainability and quality are quite important in my every day life just as they are with the products I create.

If you'd like to learn more about me I keep a blog at: beeswaxhorsehairandsutures.blogspot.com. 

Thanks so much for visiting!

online shop

It's high time I get my Etsy site up and running. Last night I put my limited graphic design skills to use creating a banner for the online shop. Not exactly what I envisioned but it'll do for now. Next up is writing a description (not my favorite past-time), photographing (I'm dreading this as well) and posting. No wonder I've been putting this off so long... I just want to make things and have someone else handle the rest.

beeswaxandhorsehair.etsy.com

dog toys

I've decided to make a line (or two) of dog toys.  The first line will be Marine Critters.  I've always had an obsession with the ocean and for many years was studying to become a marine biologist.  So far art has won out, but having the chance to combine two of my passions is exciting!  Here's a sample of one of the drawings I've created for the line.  I'm hoping to have a few completed by this weekend (but they all need to be finished by opening night!)

business card: check

With the help of Rachael and Jake my business cards are finally done! I'm pretty darn happy with the way they turned out. It was a ton of fun to design them and choose the paper and ink color. They'll be used both as business cards and as tags for my shop items. I'm official now.

I've been keeping an eye out for items to (usefully) decorate my studio. I came across these old milk crates and some other wonderful items at Rehouse. I'm going to attach the crates to the wall as shelves.

color scheme

I've finally settled on a color scheme for my ... business?  I don't know what the right word for it is, especially since I haven't sold anything yet.  But nevertheless I have a color scheme and that's exciting.

white, dusty aqua, mustard yellow and gray!

My nerdy love for color combination means I spent days perusing magazines, old sketch books, photographs and design websites to figure out what I was looking for.  Yellow and gray is my absolute favorite color combo but I wanted to get a softer vintage/antique feel.  So I added the aqua and white!  I'm half-way through printing my business cards with these colors.

My studio mates have printed beautiful invitations for the opening of their shop, Pistachio Press, letterpress + local.  November 4th, don't forget!

And of course what would a Beeswax and Horse Hair post be without a picture of my studio mascot, Harper.  She got to play with her best friend Dolly last night.  

Harper and Dolly

new studio. new product.

Surprise!  I've moved into a new studio... and it's going to have a retail space!  My studio mates and I recently moved from our 4th floor studio in Anderson Alley down to Booksmart Studio on the first floor.  Our space is gorgeous!  I'm working on designing my work environment and will post more about that when it's closer to completion.

The most exciting aspect of the new space is that my studio mates are going to be opening up retail space for their letterpress business in the space.  It will be called Pistachio Press, letterpress + local... and I get the chance to try and sell some of my own products!  We are having the grand opening on November 4th, 6-10pm at 250 N Goodman Street.  Stop on by!

I've been working hard to get my creative butt back in gear.  I just finished designing new business cards and will be personally letterpressing them this week.  There are a few new bags and I've also been making these tactile garlands out of collected paper.

In non-studio news:  Harper is almost a full-grown dog.  We've been having weekly adventures to various areas of Rochester.  Yesterday morning we ventured out to Lake Ontario and spent a few hours running around on the beach.