We're back, amazingly enough, in the exact spot where Markel and I met 15 years ago
today! For anyone who doesn't know, the Ann Arbor Fairs are an extravaganza, the largest art fair in the country, the world, as a matter of fact. There are 4 major fairs and 3 or 4 unofficial fairs, plus every merchant in town either rents out their sidewalk space or exhibits their wares, outside, themselves.
We have been busy with our store(s) for the past 8 years (one on Liberty Street in Ann Arbor and then two subsequent locations in Key West), but now that we have closed all of the stores we are back to doing art fairs. Hal Stevens, who used to run the Ohio Designer Shows and knows us from there, called us and offered us an exhibit spot last winter. Of all of the thousands of spaces in this whole town that we could have been offered it just so happened that he offered us the spot where Markel and I first met and fell in love.
We have been back in Ann Arbor since last Fall. We have been wrapped in a cocoon of our own making, rejuvenating, recuperating from the devastating loss of our beloved store. What can you do but pick up the pieces, reassemble them, learn, and make something of equal or surpassing beauty.
We have been selling wholesale for the past 11 months to the wonderful galleries from around the country who loyally buy from us again and again. This was the official beginning of our return to doing art fairs, made more auspiciously special by magically occuring in the exact space where Markel and I first met and began our lives together as a family and as collaborating artists for the first time exactly 15 years ago today.
In spite of the fact that we didn't advertise, we were amazed and flattered by how many of our loyal and enthusiastic collectors found us. Scary clouds filled with tornadoes swirled around us on Thursday causing damage in nearby towns, and a very shaky Michigan economy dampened overall sales somewhat, but all in all we had a good show. It was like a 4 day reunion party, running into our friends who stopped by to visit and sit in our extra chairs, friends who didn't know we were back in town who were surprised to find us, and customers who have been collecting our work for years, some since we first began showing, came and added pieces to their collections . Thank you so much everyone who came and said hello and bought from us. We are truly glad to be back in our beloved and bustlingly thriving, Ann Arbor.
Is there anything lovelier than an art fair morning, strolling with coffees and a bagel. The weather was gorgeous after the storms passed by on Thursday.
You can see our work in the background. We were beside a lovely display of fountains by artists from Arizona.
Everything was a big hit.....Now on to Charlevoix Waterfront Fair on August 11th. In closing, a couple of little quotes that have helped me through the hard times.
Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you're a vegetarian. -Dennis Wholey
...and
Growth begins when we start to accept our own weakness. -Jean Vanier
We're back, amazingly enough, in the exact spot where Markel and I met 15 years ago today! For anyone who doesn't know, the Ann Arbor Fairs are an extravaganza, the largest art fair in the country, the world, as a matter of fact. There are 4 major fairs and 3 or 4 unofficial fairs, plus every merchant in town either rents out their sidewalk space or exhibits their wares, outside, themselves.
Is there anything lovelier than an art fair morning, strolling with coffees and a bagel. The weather was gorgeous after the storms passed by on Thursday.
You can see our work in the background. We were beside a lovely display of fountains by artists from Arizona.
Everything was a big hit.....Now on to Charlevoix Waterfront Fair on August 11th. In closing, a couple of little quotes that have helped me through the hard times.
Well, off they went, our last two little boys, with an adorable family.....sigh. This is Allene with her two grand-children. She came for one of the puppies and left with two!!! Her daughter and grand-children had a little bit to do with that....but, we are actually thrilled with her decision because Angel and Corky loved to wrestle and play with one another and then would curl up together to sleep. That's why Allene took them both. She wanted them each to have a playmate and dog companionship. I've always thought dogs who are pack animals are happier in pairs. I think they are going to have a charmed life, wintering in South Carolina and summers back in Ann Arbor.
We just got the final wholesale orders out the door and down the road and now we are in full swing for the Ann Arbor Art Fairs in mid-July with the Charlevoix Waterfront Art Fair in mid-August close on Ann Arbor's heels. (Don't worry Lisa, we're working on your small flower, which will be gracing your garden soon....)
Mini-mermaids for Somerset Gallery in Ocean City, Maryland. 
It's all about the shi-chi's for a minute because we have two shi-chi's for sale. I have listed them in the Ann Arbor News with a link to this blog. ( If you're looking for art, don't give up, scroll down, or click on one of the labels on the right hand side of the page).
This is Jack, the handsome 9 pound shih-tzu father of the puppies. Lucy, their 7 pound chihuahua mother is shown below. Lucy is the daughter of a 5 pound short hair chihuahua and a 7 pound long-hair chihuahua (a litter mate of a dog owned by Madonna).
I put the ad in the Ann Arbor News classified just a few minutes ago with a link to this blog. It will start running on the 1st of July, this Sunday The time has gone by so quickly. Our good friend took one of the puppies already, the person who owned the grandparents of Lucy, shown here with one of the pups for sale. If you're at this site specifically to see the puppies, click on the link below, that says shi-chi's
