Setting up shop in a school & in someone's home...

These chiyogami pendants are fresh, varnish still drying. Needless to say, they are far from the kitties' reach...

I made this batch because this Friday, I will be going to an elementary school where my friend Rhiannon works, to set up shop in the staff room. She invited me out there last year around this time since some of her colleagues liked my work, and I ended up selling much of what I had brought with me in the 90 wild minutes I was there. It was kind of overwhelming, but great! I had heard that school staff rooms are a great place to sell jewellery and other hand made items, since teachers are often looking for gifts, or a little treat for themselves, and last year's experience definitely supported that!

So they're allowing me back there again this year (yay!), and then that evening Rhiannon is hosting a home jewellery party featuring... me!

We had talked about the possibility of doing this earlier in the year, but I wanted to leave it up to her since it would be in her home and the burden would really be on her. I'm so happy it worked out, and even if it ends up being a quiet evening with a few friends passing by, I'm really looking forward to just trying out this format. I've read about other jewellery makers' experiences and wish I had a big enough (and nice enough!) apartment to host something like this - one day...! But for now, I'm so grateful for good friends like Rhiannon, who is also a very enthusiastic supporter and wearer of my work (I get kind of embarrassed by her compliments) and she's really looking forward to this Friday too! I'll let you know how it goes.

In case you're interested in doing something like this yourself - or with other jewellery makers or artisans (would be neat to host a mini-craft fair, don't you think?), here is the invitation I put together for this Friday's party. It's meant to be sent out by the hostess. Please feel free to use it for ideas for your own invitation (click on it to enlarge).