Red Shoes blog

Before and after....

I wish I could say I was the type of person who could leave well enough alone.
I wish I was that person who believes in the 'if it ain't broke , don't fix it' mentality.
Because life sure would be easier.
But I am not.
In fact, I'm glad I'm not.
I hate being average.
I like to think I am from the 'how can we fix this and improve it' school.
Because everything in life can use a little tweaking now and then right?
So here is my simple little (what I think)
Is an improvement project for today....
A box of plain primitives dolls that came
To my shop last week.
I've kinda got this weird thing about button eyes. I don't really like them.
Only a few of my artist friends make button-eyed dolls that I love. And they are totally able to nail it, but
Most look soul-less to me.
So I decided to rip off the buttons on these soul-less dolls, and give them a face. (not really happy that they have perma-frowns...but that can't be helped)
Probably because they are depressed with their outfits right?! now I like to think they're smiling on the inside. ;)
So in keeping with that theme I felt they needed some brightly colored aprons to go along with their new lease on life.
life should be colorful and fun.
we could all use a fresh pair of eyeballs to look out upon the world with, right?!
So today I'm gonna start with these dolls,
.... see where it goes from there ...because I am quite sure there's more out there that I won't be able to leave well enough alone ;)
Xoxo

Old School Goodbye....

  As I sit here on my Lazy Sunday Morning spooning with dogs and reading my new favorite book that the mailman loaned me (that he in turn got from Roland, the owner at West end grill) I can only think about how sad I'm going to be when My beloved Mailman will have his last day with me on Friday.

In these days of highspeed everything,  he was old school.

He never carried a cell phone till recently ( and still doesn't know how to drive it),  rarely if ever was on a computer, and was perfectly content without those high tech things.

  He'd spend his off time working in his garden, cooking with his wife, or  making his own wheat beers and lagers in vintage bottles he'd save.  At certain times of the year he'd be out in the woods for weeks tapping maple trees, he'd contruct a sugar shack out there in the wilderness where he would boil the stuff for hours to make his syrup. Most nights he'd spend in that sugar shack sleeping under the stars to watch over his cookpots.  The whole process of making syrup is laborious but he loved it.

He would come to the shop always cheerful and with loads of things to say about his life.

some days he would stay and heat up his lunch,  usually something gourmet like a duck cassoulet that had taken days for him to make that he found in one of Julia Child's cookbooks.

 We'd talk about books, and gardening,  or raising heirloom chickens. maybe we'd talk about his time in the Marines, or about his life growing up on a farm with a dad that played in a bluegrass band. sometime he'd even share tips on Parenting.

I always said I wanted to send my kids to his house for the weekend to tune them up because he did things the old fashioned way with hard work, chores and plenty of love. 

He seems to have raised his children right.

  In this day of large corporations downsizing, streamlining, and basically sucking all of the humanity out of a person in order to become more cost-effective, well,  the post office is just like all of them,  They try and steal your soul to make a buck.

  If you ever bought something from me online,  you can be sure that he was part of the reason your package arrived to your doorstep because he would always happily make the extra effort to come back and pick up my deliveries.

  So on Friday,  I'll lose my favorite mailman to some corporate re-organizational shift.

a great man who always had something interesting to say, and made our little downtown community feel a little bit smaller, and in this day of high speed everything,  it's nice to know that there are still folks out there that do things the old fashioned way,

with heart.

Simple things

Spring is a nice time to do a little cleaning, rearranging and shaking it up a bit. It doesn't take much to change the look of a room simply by adding or subtracting objects that you already may have on hand.
I found some cute plates at anthropologie that made my little shop bathroom look cute and springy. One plate hook at $2 and one plate at $25
A folded stack of pretty floral handtowels I already had on hand and a stack of vintage dishes makes it looks cozy and fun to me
Cost = minimal
How it makes me feel= a million bucks
It's the simple things :)
Xo

Sunny inside

Gloomy days require extra effort to make myself happy.
I forced myself to walk the dogs in the rain, I turned up the music...(only upbeat tunes)....and I'm fully immersing myself in my work creating spring like flowers out of metal,paper, paint and glue.
Because I can't wait to fill this old gas can full of flowers..... Turning a yucky old cast off thing into something pretty.
Kinda like the weather right?
Turning the negative into positive....
Ya just gotta adjust the mind to go with the flow :)
Xo

Can't keep me down.

 It's Hard for me to sit still.

kind of hard for me to pay attention too.

I jokingly refer to myself as A.D.D. all the time,  but truth is,  I prefer to describe myself more like a quote I read the other day as

"having a serious love of Distractions"

That sounds so much better doesn't it?..... and couldn't be truer for me.

 I'm easily distracted by so many things....How can you NOT be with so many delicious visual images coming at you all the time, not to mention a ton of emails, facebook, twitter, tumblr, and my new love....Pinterest.

oye!

anyways,  Life is always that delicate balance of trying to fit it all in,  trouble is,  I've always had a hard time just focusing on one thing.

in fact I  want to do it ALL...squeeze every last little bit out of life.

  So the past few weeks have been a whirlwind as usual,  It's always interesting to look back in photos and see so much of what's been done in a short amount of time. (and to try and not flip out over all of the other billion ideas running around in my head trying to get out)

SO these past couple of weeks have seen...

  New things being made, 

things being  ordered and coming in shortly, 

amazing rings and necklaces

Adorable magnet sets in a bunch of different colors and styles.

just to name a few.

 

in fact,  Some things are already here...

 





Adorable children's books, super cute cotton twine in delicious colors, decorative tape, and super cool T-shirt's from Local magazine 'Found'

you can order them here

(teenager approved) ;)

I've also had a Trunk show to introduce a wonderful new line we will be carrying here at Red Shoes,

Be Sweet/Mielie   a lovely company that was founded on the principle of being sweet and kind to others.

They use socially and environmentally friendly yarns and produce goods that have been made by hand by a small group of women earning a fair wage  in economically depressed regions.

These goods are made mostly by the female members of the Xhosa tribe in South Africa.

Be sweet works with several empowerment groups that gives artisans the confidence and means to support themselves.

So not only can you sport a lovely, stylish handbag , but you can feel good about it too knowing what a difference it's made in someones life!

 We have a nice little selection on hand right now and can order more in any style you choose, come see them!

besides all of that, I've continued to teach classes,  with more being conjured up for the next couple of weeks.

  So as usual I have a ton of ideas rolling around in my head about the future of Red Shoes.  what I'll be doing,  which direction I'll be spinning.

  We all know about the bad economy here in Michigan. of course Red Shoes is not Immune to that, frankly I am just happy to be one of the lucky ones still in business!  but instead of dwelling on the negatives,  I prefer to look at it in a different light.

  Everything changes and happens for a reason.  So being the person that can't sit still,  or keep things the same without shaking it up once in awhile,  it's only fitting that things should change here too besides just the displays. 

 I am deciding to move back to my roots,  and what this whole shop was founded on in the first place,  which was the Art work,  made by myself and my artisan friends... all surrounded  with just a SELECT group of retail products and vintage goods.

  I am kind of burnt out on retail and would rather focus my energies on creative persuits,  it's what my clients seem to want from me, and I am happy to go in that direction.   I've even thought about doing shows again,  and taking my goods on the road to all of those fairs I read about in magazines. 

wanderlust has always been in my heart.

so that being said,  things are indeed changing here.

No I am NOT closing the shop, i'll never do that.  I am just thinking about other ways to get out there in the world...and thinking out loud with YOU.

I Love shaking it up,  doing things slightly left of center as usual.

cuz who wants to be the same ole same ole all the time?  certainly not me!

So if you are interested in being a part of the future with me and would like to have your art on display here at Red Shoes drop me a line,

send me an email. let me see what you've got.

Just please don't drop by the shop to have me look,

because I can't keep still,  I can't be held down.

I want to have time to savor your work over a cup of warm coffee all to myself in the morning.....

because I have a serious love of distractions :)