I'm increasing my sales at local craft shows and galleries. I'm selling some of my metal work at the Tucson Botanical Garden and Flagstaff Arboretum gift shops. They're carrying my bird feeders. The Arboretum at Flagstaff is also carrying my hummingbird trellises, and my ocotillo sculptures.
Hummingbird trellis': Hummers just happy to be in
cooler climes at Flagstaff
This summer (2017) I am participating in the Botanical Blacksmiths exhibit at the Flagstaff Arboretum. I entered one of my ocotillo and hummingbird sculptures. June 10th they will host a reception for the artists and we will be allowed to sell some of our work there.
Ocotillos complete with hummingbirds at the Arboretum at Flagstaff
I'm currently making hummingbirds. I've put them on a tripod stand which will allow them to be freestanding in a garden, on a patio, or used as a trellis to allow vines to wind around the hummingbird. I'm also incorporating the hummingbirds into my existing line of ocotillos.
Bird on red tube/seed feeder.
Local house wrens getting their vitamin C
The seed feeders are now powder coat painted to better stand up to the outdoors in the desert. A rawhide loop in the top provides a way of hanging the feeder from either a tree limb or a shepherds hook.
The fruit feeders have been redesigned to include a hook for hanging the feeder and a cholla skeleton perch has been incorporated for the birds to roost on while feeding.
I've started making hummingbird feeders. I learned how to make one variety at my Festival Forging class last summer using a wine bottle. However, since I don't drink it turned me into a "dumpster diver" to collect wine bottles. After talking to a fellow crafter, she put me onto a glass company that makes glass hummingbird feeder containers. I ordered a few and then worked out a design for a holder. A couple of interrations later I had a holder I could confidently say "I designed and made that!". I then powder coated them in bright red.
Show Schedule
With the coming summer in Tucson, I've stopped doing craft shows in the Tucson area. If the Arboretum in Flagstaff has their Botanical Blacksmiths exhibit I will participate in it.
I've stopped selling at the Plaza Palomino Farmer's Market because of my neighbors insistance on strutting around with a gun on her hip. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. A gun has no place at a farmer's market with small children running around.
Gee Mom, look what else I've found!
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"We all do better when we all do better." |
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