Add a Little Shri

By Eliza Lynn Tobin of Art Asana

In yoga, the term "shri" means beauty and refers to the divine beauty within all things, including ourselves. This time of year is all about seeing the beauty in things and in others. We make beauty by lighting candles, cooking, crafting and decorating for the holidays. We share beauty when we offer meaningful gifts to others. We see beauty in the first few snowflakes that hit the ground, in twinkling lights of shop windows, in evergreens, berries and in the tendrils of steam off a hot mug of tea.

This time of year reminds us how to cultivate, create and see more beauty in the world around us.

I love things that remind me to look for the beauty, to look for the Shri. So this year, I decided to create these pendant necklaces from my original painting designs as a way to share more shri with the world. Each pendant encapsulates the idea and energy of the original painting and can be worn year round as a small reminder of beauty, of "shri". It was my intention that each one would add a little light and shri to the wearer, who already possesses this kind of natural beauty within.

{Bloom Necklace~ This necklace was created from a delicate and tiny print of my original painting, “Bloom”. It embodies the idea that as we step more into the space of light, we can allow more holding space for the dark. Do the best you can to appreciate the budding as much as the bloom.}

{Evolve Necklace~This necklace was created from a delicate and tiny print of my original painting, “Evolve Mandala”. A mandala is a circle representing sacred space and this mandala is inspired by the idea that we are ever evolving and becoming each day anew. When we embrace our changes rather than struggle against them, we step into the flow of the sacred circle of life.}

{Infusion Necklace~This necklace was created from a delicate and tiny print of my original painting, “Infusion Mandala”. This mandala (sacred circle) is infused with blue, purple, and turquoise, punctuated by a brilliant pink. To me, it feels like the deliberate calm of a sunset, like the sun infusing itself into the horizon in solstice celebration, like the infusion of love-energy flowing between earth and sun.}

{Root Affirm Necklace~ This necklace was created from a delicate and tiny print of my original painting, “Root Affirm”. The painting in this piece was inspired by the centering effect of repeating affirmations for the Root Chakra. Affirmations like, "I accept myself as I am", "I choose life", "I belong here" "I am cultivating a supportive structure", "Wherever I go, I belong."}

You can find these necklaces along with many other beautiful gifts for those on your list this holiday at the Boston Handmade Downtown Holiday Gallery! Add a little more shri to lives of those you love!

All I want for Chrismaka

by Jessica Burko of Reclaimed to You

Even though Hanukkah 2010 has past, you should still feel free to give me gifts for Christmas, Kwanzaa, Solstice, and New Years. Really, don't hold back. If you're wondering what exactly will make me extra happy, please let this Boston Handmade wish list be your guide...

This organic, vegan shoulder bag made by Pansy Maiden is loudly calling my name.

I'm loving these new hand embroidered pendant necklaces made by The Merriweather Council. This one would go with everything in my wardrobe.

One can never have enough yarn, and this delicious tencel and merino wool blend hand spun by Lady Dye would be good company for the rest of my stash.

Aaahhhh. Handmade dreamin' over a cup of tea on a blustery day. What's on your handmade wish list this year?

Monday Mosaic - Yuletide

1. Elephant Power Necklace by Art Asana
2. Fenway Park's Green Monster Seats 5x7 Print by Fraske Designs
3. Spearmint Green Tray by City By the Sea Ceramics
4. Organic Vegan iPad Messenger Bag by Pansy Maiden

Product review- Silhouette SD

By Leah of cricicis design

I'm a big fan of tediously cutting patterns out of paper by hand with an exact-o knife. My business cards are tiny hand-cut envelopes that hold stickers. I cut all my note cards with an exact-o knife as well- I've never even owned a paper cutter. But I have come across a great little machine called the Silhouette SD- a digital cutting tool that is so precise, and so easy to use.

Although it won't replace my exact-o knife, I find playing around with it pretty fun. What it does is connect to your computer like a printer, but instead of ink cartridges, it has a little blade that cuts text, or silhouetted images or patterns, cleanly out of your sheet of paper. It
even cuts into cardstock. The great thing about the Silhouette machine is that it's a lot like a
die cutter, but it doesn't require the physical die- which are expensive and hard to store. Because it's digital, you have an endless supply of shapes to cut- whatever you can imagine up. The machine works with it's own computer program which grants you the ability to
use drawing tools (although not on par with Adobe programs) to make shapes. Even better, you can drag in your own images and vectorize them right in the program.

I've been having a lot of fun having the chance to play with the positive/negative space in cut paper. Here are some of the first things I cut out and photographed:

I found the machine at the PaperSource but most of the components, like replacement blades and cutting mats, are available online at the Silhouette web site. They even sell vinyl with adhesive backing! I recommend checking this tool out if you're crafty with paper and want to try out something new.

Bounce rate, lower it!

By Danielle from The Merriweather Council

Lots of times i get pretty confused about the "analytic" terms and basically do not really understand what I am being told in my google analytic reports. One thing I do understand however, and that is pretty important, is bounce rate. According to google definitions, bounce rate is: ...The percentage of initial visitors to a site who "bounce" away to a different site, rather than continue on to other pages within the same site.

You can understand why you would want your bounce rate to be a Low number, that means, more people are staying within your site rather than "bouncing" out. Less than 50% is great!

If people come to your online selling venue from another source, let's say, anything that isn't them typing in your web address from your business card, they may not be super familiar with your work or recognize what links on that site will take them to more of you! I know lots of people sell on other venues, but for now i'll focus on Etsy since that is what I am most familiar with, but the ideas can be applied anywhere, even your own domain!

This is so simple, it doesn't even make sense not to do it! Simply LINK back to your main shop page, or a specific section of your shop in each of your listings! Maybe people like the one thing they happened upon - either through a front page exposure spot, a blog post, a search term or google shopping - but they want to see more. Lots of people aren't familiar with Etsy or Big Cartel or 1000markets or your personal website. Help them out! Lead them back into your shop through each listing, this will lower your bounce rate and people will see more of your work!

So simple, and it really will help!

Jamaica Plain Holiday Fair Report

by Kerry Hawkins of KhawkinsPhoto

Jamaica Plain Holiday Fair took place on December 4th at the First Church in Jamaica Plain. Boston Handmade was well represented with photography, jewelry, sewn goods, greeting cards and more.... Boston Handmade members included Lucie Wicker Photography, Marla of Sea Glass Things, Sharon of Stray Notions, Melissa of Pressbound, Stitchy of Stitchy McYarnpants, Amy of Bumble Belly Designs, and Yours truly, Kerry of Kerry Hawkins Photography.

Marla and her daughter, Taylor presided over her wonderful sea glass creations. Marla was also trying out new packaging and presentation to great results.

The crowd was lively and enjoyed shopping all the vendors. There was music and treats to buy. Having done this show last year, I am not surprised at the quality of the work that is at this show.

Left: Lucie at her booth. She was showing her cards, photography and ornaments. The ornaments were really popular and make a great gift or maybe a treat for yourself. Right: We had a table set-up with Boston Handmade and Etsy Swag.

One of the things I love about our group is people are always making things, even at shows. Sharon of Stray Notions kept her hands busy throughout the show.

Left: This is my table, I have tried a new set-up this season. I am trying to get my work so it is easier to look at and closer to the eye. I am still working on my set-up but I think having my work placed differently helped my sales. Right: The lovely work of Amy of Bumble Belly Designs. I love the whimsical quality of her work.

An attendee of the fair bought one of Lucie's fun ornaments and put on his jacket. It was great to see him wearing this. Lucie got a quick shot of him wearing his new fashion accessory.

Left: Stitchy McYarnpants booth, she had hand sewn bags, buttons, bottle openers and more...
She uses vintage images to give her pieces flair. Right: Melissa of Pressbound. Most of her designs are inspired by Polish paper-cut folk art known as Wycinanki. She sells cards and journals, hand-bound books and albums, and digital art prints, all beautifully made.

Sharon of Stray Notions sitting at her colorful booth. She had on display pins, bags, ornaments, pencil holders all made by her. I love that her work is so cute and hard to resist.

It was a fun day to talk with shoppers and be with people from the Boston Handmade gang.

Design Nearby This Friday

by Laura Collins of Pansy Maiden

Mark your calendars for...tomorrow!
This Friday Pinkcomma Gallery plays host to the 4th annual Design Nearby Event. This stellar exhibition and sale runs from 6-11 PM and features 20 + Boston-based female designers, three of which are Boston Handmade members! Each artist will present two to six pieces, with originals and editions available for sale. And don't let the "ladies only" language fool you. This refers to the fact that all the artists are women. So bring those men!

Don't miss the work of Boston Handmade members Amy from Bumble Belly Designs, Lucie from Lucie Wicker Photography, and Laura (that's me) from Pansy Maiden. I have prepared a limited edition collection for Design Nearby called "The Bedford Falls Collection," an homage to my favorite black and white Christmas movie, It's a Wonderful Life.

Downtown Crossing Holiday Gallery Update

by Jessica Burko of Reclaimed To You

The Boston Handmade Holiday Gallery season in Downtown Crossing is in full swing! We have new handmade gifts arriving weekly from all 25 of our local exhibitors, our displays are bursting with holiday cheer, and we would love to help you find that perfect gift for everyone on your list.
The gallery is located at 505 Washington Street, right between Temple Place and West Street, in the heart of Boston's Downtown Crossing neighborhood. We are open Wednesdays through Sundays from 11am to 7pm each day.

In addition to our annual gallery, there is another location where you can see work by members of Boston Handmade during this holiday season. Boston Handmade member Cristina Hurley has recently opened her own studio/gallery for fine jewelry and local crafts located in the center of Canton, MA (at 3 Rockland Street). Cristina designs and creates original, fine pieces of jewelry in silver and semiprecious stones right in her shop and this month she is featuring handmade work by other members of Boston Handmade. If you are looking for special, handmade crafts to give to your love ones, make sure to pay visits to both Cristina's shop in Canton and the Boston Handmade Holiday Gallery in Boston. Support your local artists this year and buy handmade this season!