Hiatus: The Forks Farm Shop on Etsy

This is my shop announcement on etsy.

I have placed The Forks Farm shop on Etsy on a type of Hiatus… to allow for some reflection on what my shops message and mission is. Currently you will only find Ready Made – Ready To Ship embroidery items.

Some items will be coming back others will be removed or reworked to a higher level of design. I encourage snooping, please feel free to visit the SOLD section http://www.etsy.com/shop/theforksfarm/sold?view_type=gallery to get an idea of what The Forks Farm offered in 2011.

Paring down the shop will give me some time to step back re-evaluate my inventory and concentrate on what I am creating in a process that gives me freedom to think and not be over stretched.

The Forks Farm also has a website that will feature the items I create over the next few months, ideas thoughts and details about the future of the shop. Stop by http://www.theforksfarmblog.com/ to read the stories and see progress images of projects.

Follow updates on
theforksfarm on twitter
theforksfarm on facebook

Thanks so much,
I hope to see you back in the shop very soon
Tehlia (theforksfarm)

I could have place my shop in “Vacation Mode” but that had a few limitations on etsy that I wasn’t a fan of. So I felt the next best thing was to have a sincere message and leave what I had ready to ship in the shop.

My goal is to take the time to truly love what I create and put those products out. I felt the items I had sold and made in the past were beautiful and lovely designs with quality and integrity however some of the items had taken me over. They were becoming more like work and not so much an extension of me. So to back up and find my love again, create from my soul instead of necessity is something I needed to do for the shop to be a success in the future. There are aspects of having a creative career/business that are work. Social media, marketing, managing money – supplies – accounts and time are all the work side of this business. Those parts cannot be avoided, but I need to strike a balance with my work and my love of the work. Projects will be attempted and documented I hope to have a lot to share over the next few weeks and months as I take a Creating Holiday.

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by Tehlia on February 6, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by Tehlia on February 6, 2012

http://theforksfarm.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/hiatus-the-forks-farm-shop-on-etsy/

Snow Shuts Down The Shop

The recent snow storm in Western Washington, Seattle – Olympia, became an ice storm and wiped us out. As much as we tried to stick it out in our house we couldn’t. The old house, its walls and windows, couldn’t keep out the cold or hold in the heat from our fire. So we closed up the house which meant closing up my work studio and drove to where the lights were still on.

Amazing scenery all around us as we got ready to leave, I couldn’t stop taking pictures. But then the noises from trees popping under the weight of the ice was frightening, and got me in the car. We survived the storm, came home to a warm house and I have finally gotten back into my studio.

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by Tehlia on January 30, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by Tehlia on January 30, 2012

http://theforksfarm.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/snow-shuts-down-the-shop/

Cultivating Art on Stone & Fiber: Valentines Day Preparation

The Holidays of 2011 have come and gone in a flash. Onto resolutions, weight loss, yes I am on that band wagon and getting organized. Being organized also means planning for the next holiday to come. Not that Valentine’s Day is a holiday like Christmas but it is deserving of its own decoration and symbols if only to make us mushy hearted fools smile. So, hearts and words like Love might get thrown around a bit. The other decision to be made, making the Slate Coaster a personalizable item. Exchanging “love” with a person’s name or even a date. I had a customer last week request the word Gun on the Slate Revolver coaster be changed out for her father’s name. Great way to make it mean more to the person receiving it. Now to work on the wording for the Valentine Day Listings.

The new sets to come to The Forks Farm on etsy, Hearts on Fiber  Embroidery Art and Slate Heart/Love prototypes. I will ponder over the next heart inspired design and mix in a little Computer Code mumbo jumbo studying for good measure.

Are you working on resolutions for the new year? Do you decorate for Valentine’s Day?

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by Tehlia on January 3, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by Tehlia on January 3, 2012

http://theforksfarm.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/cultivating-art-on-stone-fiber-valentines-day-preparation/

A New Year

I can’t wait to get started on this new year. Why does it take new numbers at the end of a date to make so many people jump into action? I wish I knew, but it seems to be the way most things work. And I am going to run with it. This New Year brings a start to a web site designing business, learning as much as I can about graphic design, code and building a client base. It means re-imagining my shop on etsy, finding its voice, what direction it will go in. But Today, Tonight I am going to relax. Enjoy my Husbands company have a wonderful dinner and then snuggle up on the couch with a few movies.

See you next year

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by Tehlia on December 31, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by Tehlia on December 31, 2011

http://theforksfarm.wordpress.com/2011/12/31/a-new-year/

The Holidays and Finding Color

I am spending the holidays in the desert with family. There is a chill outside, bright blue skies, laughter around me and food. The ground is dry, tumbleweed literally roll by the house and the nights are crisp.  The only thing missing, my Seattle Colors. Evergreen trees, the red holly bush and birds chirping.

Then I found this little guy. Gymnocalycium mihanovichii friedrichii otherwise know as Rubra, Hibotan or Moon Cactus.

Bright red, little thorns and a deep green. I found my color.

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by Tehlia on December 24, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by Tehlia on December 24, 2011

http://theforksfarm.wordpress.com/2011/12/24/the-holidays-and-finding-color/

Mad Dash Towards a Vacation

My Husband and I have decided to join his entire family for a holiday vacation. I am looking forward to it. The part that has me standing in my living room procrastinating… housework. I like to go on vacation and come home to a clean house. Clean as in fresh kitchen, no trash in the bin, bedrooms straight and bathrooms fresh. It is never fun to go away for a few days or weeks and come home having to work and erase all of that vacation goodness.

I should just do it. Clean the house in a whirl wind and be done. But then there is this other side of me that wants to curl up with my computer, shocking I know and get to work on the next phase of my creative career. I am getting all my T’s crossed and I’s dotted by taking classes on how to create amazing websites. My brain in slowly getting filled with HTML and CSS code. My google search is full of photo editing searches, online classes and local classes to attend.

And in true fashion I want to absorb it all now, yesterday and two months ago. I want to start running with it all. But the dishes mock me, the bed is cracking up and the bathrooms are far from crisp. Things have gotten a bit neglected with the holiday rush of handmade goods and running TWO etsy shops. I guess this means I am getting off my duff, will be happy to clean a house that provides shelter and holds our laughter. Plus once it is done it is done and the sooner I can get back to the geeky fun I really want to have.

While I am on vacation I want to say Thank You to everyone who comes by and peeks into my corner of the world. I can’t wait to start the new year with you and share more of my creations with you.

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by Tehlia on December 21, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by Tehlia on December 21, 2011

http://theforksfarm.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/mad-dash-towards-a-vacation/

Making The Holidays Personal

I like the idea of giving gifts that took some thought. That involved a little more effort then walking through a department store and picking out a tie or box of chocolates. Now, they are still good gifts if you know your sister really loves chocolate or dad has a pension for pinstriped ties. But when they don’t and you take a moment to help create something they might love, it makes me smile.

Initials on Stone

Making something personal can be as easy as putting an initial on it, favorite phrase or quote. Perhaps the date you met them or a favorite image from childhood. Although time might be running out to get some of the personalized items on etsy made to order you might be able to find a few artists that can work with the time constraint. Who knows you may find that one item your best friend can’t live with out. Search Personalized on Etsy and see what happens.

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by Tehlia on December 13, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by Tehlia on December 13, 2011

http://theforksfarm.wordpress.com/2011/12/13/making-the-holidays-personal/

Finding My Why

What do you make and WHY do you make it? Why do you sell it? Why would I buy it?

All good questions and all can be tricky to answer.

Finding my why. What does that mean? I keep reading on other craft/entrepreneur sites that you need to know WHY you do what you do, WHY would anyone want what you are creating if they don’t know your WHY? It is such a tricky question to answer. I make and create because I have to. Something in me drives me to make. And when I am not making I am off. If I am in a bad mood, cranky, sad or feeling blue I can usually relate it to whether I have created anything recently. But I think what the question is also asking is WHY do I make and sell this or that thing in particular and WHY would someone buy it?

My big answer… I make what I make, designs and patterns on stone, fiber and the internet because I want to share it. I want to share what is in my head with others. I want to stand on the highest roof in the neighborhood and hold it up for all to see. The things I create make me smile, make me happy and I think they might make you happy to see them as well.

Does that sound arrogant, make me seem full of myself and needing attention. Perhaps. Does that mean I think I am Perfect? Not at all. What does it mean? That I am proud of it, think it is my version of perfection and why wouldn’t I want to show it off. Brag a little.

 

I invite you to brag with me.

Show off what you make and WHY you make it in the comments below.

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by Tehlia on December 9, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by Tehlia on December 9, 2011

http://theforksfarm.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/finding-my-why/

Always Having to Think of the Future

When you create to sell and make a living you have to think of the future and what will sell. You have to think of the Holiday season that may come up, the time of year the next big sales event might happen. And although we have just passed Thanksgiving (barely) and Hanukkah & Christmas have yet to arrive I have to remind myself that Valentines day is coming. Then Easter will be here and before you know it Mother’s Day.

Tattooed Heart

Hearts of all shapes, sizes and designs are starting to catch my eye. Colors of rainbows and butterflies. Things that might look amazing on Stone or embroidered in red. But in the tradition of Nordstrom stores I will tackle one holiday at a time. You have been warned, once Christmas passes you might be flooded with images of love and an occasional black fiber or drawn thing.

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by Tehlia on November 30, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by Tehlia on November 30, 2011

http://theforksfarm.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/always-having-to-think-of-the-future/

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