Things are still upside down at our abode with a courtyard and garage filled with furniture while we wait for the damaged hardwood floors to be repaired and refinished. I’m doing my best to have a sense of humor about the chaos, still I’m looking forward to putting my house back together as soon as…
There are a few home developments under construction in my county so I went to look at the models since I love to gather inspiration from homes that are professionally styled. I noticed a lot of lovely texture and textiles as I toured the homes but the one thing that popped out at me was…
We had a festival yesterday with a lot of pop up vendors in the community space where I have my local shop. I made more sales and met a lot of interesting people. I love connecting with them over topics of travel and design, and studying what kinds of art and ceramics people are drawn…
Whether you travel near or far, from the Florida Keys to French Polynesia, most humans love the allure of an island escape. Tropical style is calming and never out of place in island destinations. There are ways to add a touch of island style to your home without going full tropical or coastal with the…
My new shop has been open for two weekends and so far everything is going well. I feel like I’m in a period of growth and expansion in this moment. Running a retail art and gift shop is just a little outside my comfort zone, but that’s the spot where all the learning happens. It’s…
Happy weekend and Happy Mother’s Day! I’ve been focused on my local shop opening this week and it was a success! I made the official announcement on Friday, and I had several sales and lots of compliments on the retail shop. I’ll share pictures in the upcoming week once it’s styled and photographed. The opening…
Hello everyone! I’m nearing completion of my new art shop/studio in Sonoma County, I’ve been working on it all week. Soon anyone can come visit on Fridays or Saturdays when I’m holding open hours to the public. I sell art prints and ceramics and also destination and botanical themed gifts. My new shop is also…
Weekend hellos! It’s been a bit quiet around here because I’m still in the middle of a move from my old office studio to my new one. The old space had an attached garage that we used for storage and since I’m committed to not renting a new space just to store a bunch of…
I had a two day stopover in Istanbul after I visited the country of Malta and I had a few things on my list that I wanted to see but couldn’t. I missed seeing the interior of the Blue Mosque, it was temporarily closed for renovations. I missed a boat cruise of the Bosporus because…
Yesterday I left Malta and today I’m in Istanbul for a few days before flying home. What a lovely part of the world! Malta is small and easy to see in four days, I’ll share details soon. I’ve been fortunate to visit many countries in Europe over the past two decades and there are cities…
For the last few days, I’ve been in the country of Malta, exploring the towns and seeing the sights. I went on a small group excursion today visiting the famous fishing village Marsaxlokk and the Blue Grotto. I have a little Airbnb apartment to myself where I relax in the morning and evening, but I…
We said farewell to our daughter this morning and put her on a plane to fly back east to finish up her first year of college. It’s always a difficult goodbye, but she’ll be home for the summer so that’s something we all have to look forward to. I leave for my eight day trip…
This week I painted all the walls in my small art studio that I’ve leased for a year. It’s in a giant converted barn shared with eight other artists and it’s filled with natural light and creative people. I’m so happy to be setting up there as a place to work during the day. When…
I’m in the process of moving into a small studio art space, it’s one that will be open to the public, so I’m busy framing and styling with art prints from my online shops (Etsy & dot.com). I’ll be able offer art prints to people in person and also design consulting services, it’s a new…