love, martha at Lill Street's Holiday Art Fair! Yay!

I'm pleased to announce that I'll be participating in Lill Street's Inaugural Holiday Art Fair!  It is Friday November 30th from 6 - 10pm.  There will be cocktails, live music, and me!  And a whole bunch of other folks too of course.  I'm busy beading to make some fun necklaces for the holidays, so be sure and drop by if you can!

adventures in beading

Oh, summertime.  The time to have plenty of excuses for ignoring this blog of mine.  I've been relatively productive in the creativity department I suppose.  My latest obsession is beading.  I've done some beading on my necklaces, but it was always a little haphazard and didn't really have any sort of pattern.  I really wanted to create a beaded pattern that was symmetrical and you know, done the right way!  I took inspiration from my trip to Architectural Artifacts last winter, specifically a lovely art deco lamp.  I had sketches in my notebook for ages and then thought, I should probably use them for something worthwhile.   So there you have it.  I think it turned out pretty nice.  Though it's not quite as symmetrical as I would have liked because I'm lazy about measuring things... but for a first attempt, I think it went pretty darn well!  And there will be more to come!  These wooly felt bib necklaces will be lovely for fall and winter!

the new year/ holiday wrap up!

Hello all, I'm a little late on my new years post, but I guess after the holidays I've needed some time to readjust to reality or something.  I was pleased to have a few commissions this holiday season which came from a couple of good friends.  And now I can finally share them with you!

The first necklace at the top was for my friend Paul's mom.  They went to the Alexander McQueen exhibit over the summer so he wanted something very high necked and kind of over the top for his mom.  He gave her this necklace in tandem with this book.  The next necklace was commissioned by my bestie for her soon-to-be sister-in-law.  I think it's just perfect for her and am very happy to have been a part of her holiday!

I have to admit, making these commissions this season made me a little nervous, but only because I think to damn much about what people think.  Then I stop and remember that these people are my friends!  Something I need to work on in the new year, not worrying so much and to make more necklaces and things.  In general, I'm going to try and be less lazy about making clothing and accessories.  Hopefully by the end of the week I'll have some more necklaces to share with you!  Okay, I definitely will!

more awesomeness at Anthropologie

When I got my most recent Anthro catalog, I fell in love with these scarf necklaces.  Seriously, I may have to marry them.  I like the one with darker beads better, but the coral is nice too.  I really honestly think that Anthropologie is one of the most magical places on earth.  I know many of you may agree with me on that one.  They can do no wrong.

where the "magic" happens

I always enjoy looking at pictures of artist's studios, so I thought I'd share mine with you!  Of course it is shared with my husband and is technically our dining room, but a studio none the less.  And as a bonus, the last photo is a project I started today.  I decided I needed to do something super ruffly and dramatic.

love, martha officially launched!

photo by the lovely & talented Kaitlyn McQuaid

Well, ladies and gents, it's official!  My Etsy shop is open!  I even had my first sale to a lovely friend, which is the necklace in the picture posted above.  It's quite fitting really because this is the first necklace I made when I started this project.  I'm sad to see it go but so happy that someone else loves it as much as I do.  So yeah, things are going pretty well I suppose.  I've been getting lots of great feedback on my work which is always greatly appreciated.  And after my long holiday weekend, I'm looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow on some new pieces.  Please take a chance to go look at the shop if you haven't already.  Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!