Flickr Favorites

1. IMG_2443, 2. Untitled,
3. Valencia train station, 4. dipping my toes in Lake Annecy

Don't you love watching the birds migrate to warmer places? Flocks of freedom. I need a heater to warm our place & I think I'd rather escape. Wouldn't mind being at the trainstation in Valencia or with my feet in some lukewarm bluegreen water.
The saying 'every scar I have makes me who I am' is a reminder how daily life has a lot of influences on who you are being it positive or negative. I think it's good to be reminded of that sometimes.

Next week is the first Tuesday of the month so we play by theme. I'd love to see an art inspired mosaic. If you have a nice theme for next month, don't hesitate to let me know.

In the mean time...

I'm working on orders and just finished one for Tokketok.I decided to make custom packaging for these custom labels...

Merry go round

Every last friday of the month, I jump on the 'Merry go round'. What is the Merry go round exactly? Each month, a group of craftswomen from around the world join together and give their reponses to the same question/challenge.This months question is about 'Customer Service'. How to take care of customers. How to relate to customers. Do we and should we treat all customers the same?

I strive to give the best customer service I can which means that I treat my customers the way I'd like to be treated myself. Good communication is essential so that's always the beginning. If there is any problem concerning the order, I will always try work with the customer to find the best solution. I love custom orders and if they are requested within a reasonable timeframe, I will try to make it happen. It's not easy as I have to translate in 3D what people have in their head and that might differ in reality. So in this case, communication is very important and a continious process. I heart my return customers because they are the best feedback I can get on my work. By coming back for more, they let me know that I'm on the right track. :)

Want to know what the other Merriers have to say about customer service? Hop over to their blogs. Please bear in mind that the members will be posting at different times of the day, depending on which world time-zone they are in :)

Laura at Blue Terracotta
Monika at Red2White
Ruth at Birdland Creations
Kim at Vilt a la Kim
Sara at Crafts of Texture
Samantha at Vintage is for lovers
Mariana at Florcita
Agathe at Le Bar du Vent
Jen at Painted Fish Studio
Bethany at Dirksen Dabbles

Work in progress

The other day someone asked me if I was able to glaze a small part of a feeling.
Euh? The feelings are normally unglazed because I think it distracts from the actual feeling.
But this request did make sense as it is for someone who works in a Pharmacy and in Belgium, most pharmacies are depicted with a green cross. A first time for everything I suppose.
I hope this little fellow will come out of the kiln OK. I'm always a bit nervous about glazed ware as it's always a surprise when you open the kiln.

Flickr Favorites

1. star, 2. MILK, 3. IMGP6589_0, 4. the ingredients

When the weather turns colder, I tend to get baking vibes. I love the smell of freshly baked bread, pie or muffins in the house. And there are so many beautiful food photographers on Flickr. All these pics just make me drool. I came across daitoZen's pictures the other day: glorious food images. I really want to run to the kitchen and start making & baking now...
Do you like to bake?

Fabric fair

Yesterday I went to a fabric fair for the first time (stoffenspektakel in Leuven). I didn't really know what to expect and was quite shocked to see so many people going crazy over fabrics.
Did I say crazy? I meant C.R.A.Z.Y. !
The place was crowded and oh my, if you know me a little bit: I really dislike crowed places.
I did manage to squeeze myself through the crowd and buy some fabrics. Don't know when I will use it all but it was just too good of a deal to resist... *sigh*

A few meters of cotton for my stash. Don't have a project in mind for these yet. Just loved the happy colors.
This soft velvet aubergine fabric will become a comfy skirt.A more classic piece of fabric - perhaps for a skirt too but most likely it will end up as a bag or will be stuck in my drawer for ages...
And some beautiful green knitwear I intend to make a dress with.I also saw a much wanted cone thread holder so of course that ended up in the basket too.
But as much fun it was to go with 3 of my friends, I was really happy to be back home in my quiet studio again. What a crazy place the fabric fair is but so many great deals that I probably will be going back next time. :)

Work in progress

Making porcelain labels for Tokketok is always sweet! Fun times in my studio.

Happy weekend everyone!

Working hands

Anna making

Mitsy making

Last week I picked up Anna from the airport and the days that she spent in Belgium just flew by. We've been working together for over 2 years now and it felt like we knew each other for a long time. We really enjoyed spending time in my studio and at the fair and even though we worked a lot it was great fun. Being able to work on our designs together was super and soon you'll be able to see some of them too.

I didn't take any pictures at the fair as there were far better photographers there, so go check out Elza D.'s Flickr if you want to have a peek.

Touched

Feeling free

Whenever I go to a fair and take my feelings, I always see people looking at them and thinking 'What is this?'. I always try to ask if they would like me to explain the project a bit. Very rarely people are a bit afraid that I'm trying to sell 'em something and say 'no, thank you, I'm just looking'. I respect that of course.
Most of the time, people are intrigued by the work they see or plain curious and take the time to listen to my little story. I'm always thankful for that because I value the feedback I get and it's great to start a conversation although there is not always a lot of time for that at fairs.
So I usually start explaining that I made the feelings in a period of 3 months and made one every day to show on the outside how people sometimes feel on the inside.
The best part for me is to see the change in expression on their faces when I tell which ceramic object is which feeling. Mostly it is one of wonder and astonishment. It is so heartwarming to see and it is truly the best feedback I can get on my work. I love it!

Feeling sad

The other day at Stiel & Stijl, I had an experience that moved me tremendously, gave me goosebumps and made me cry too. I felt a bit of a wimp when tears just fell onto my cheeks in front of everyone but I couldn't stop it. It just happened. The family I was talking too expressed so much warmth & love that it touched me right in my heart. And they were complete strangers to me - I never met 'em before.
In case you don't know, my '99 feelings' were initially not created for selling. It was a very personal project and because so many people inquired about reproductions, I decided to share the love. So the selling part is just a recognition of the work and thought I put in.
Most important is that I love hearing what the feelings provoke. It is those experiences that make it all worth it for me and of course I won't easily forget moments like this. *sobs again*

Feeling touched

So, here's a BIG thank you to all of you who have adopted one or more of my feelings over the past years. I'm so glad to know that they are loved and looked after and that they are part of your family/life. It makes my heart grow and glow...

Flickr Favorites

1. De kleine snoeper, 2. berry smoothie,
3. You're frozen when your heart's not open, 4. Peaceful Dream

When I make mosaics, I usually start out with one picture that I love and start looking for other pics that go with it. This week, it was the little girl on the chair that caught my eye. Not easy to find dusky pinks to go with it but there is always the multicolor search lab of course.
How I love Flickr tools that make life easier.

Ways to stay creative

[ Via Frederik Frede ]

Organize your art

When I came across the work of Swiss artist and comedian Ursus Wehrli I got instant happy. His 'tidy up art' is funny and clever and it reminds me a bit of I myself try to organise things sometimes...

For those who know me a bit better, they know that I'm very color sensitive. V.E.R.Y.
And even though I can be very messy, I love everything organised, lined up or piled up neatly.
You can call me freaky but I tend to organise by color: white, yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, blue, green, black. And it always makes me happy to see a lovely rainbow of color whenever I finish. Even when there are only 3 or 4 colors, they will always be put in the same color order.
I think it makes life happier. I actually applied Ursus technique to my happy field. :)

Don't you get instantly happy from that? I do!

Talk about organised, my partner and I sometimes discuss how much easier it would be to shop by alphabet. Since I don't do the shopping around here, I make lists. I try to make the list in that way that my partner can go into the shop and grab everything as he goes. But it would be supercool if we could just make our list in a spreadsheet, sort it by alphabet and go to the Alphabet-shop. :)

Details matter

Cupcakes

The other day, I decided to try out my cookie stamps for cupcakes. Can you believe I never made cupcakes before? The sugar fondant is completely new to me and I can see why people love to make & decorate cupcakes now. How much fun!
I just pressed my cookie stamps into the fondant and applied it to the cupcake. I can see this work perfectly if you have to make a lot of cupcakes for a special occasion as you can get maximum effect with minimum effort. Although I would prefer to add a bit more color to them as well. Must try some more of that cupcake playing soon - so much fun.

Sewing

Made a new skirt yesterday. I was meant to clean but they cut off the water in our street and the skirt was on my list of things to do so I didn't hesitate to start sewing. Ha! What a burden! :)
And zippers are such a piece of cake now. What was I ever afraid off?
I already bought panty's to go with them. Fabric is from IKEA and panty's are from Veritas.

Flickr Favorites

1. ., 2. ., 3. porcelain spoons, 4. Crabeater Teeth

Just some random favorites today. I've been superbusy in my studio and can do with some cooling down. But still lots to be done I'm afraid but the end is in sight.
On thursday evening I'll pick up Anna from the airport - very exciting. And since I don't want Anna to spend her time with dustbunnies, the house will need a massive clean. Yikes! I hope the house will be like a fresh breeze when I'm done! :)

The missing cloud...

Last week I posted a picture of my new cloud brooches. When I was editing the pictures, I realised that I forgot to photograph one. That's why I thought to ask you if you could guess which one it was. And oh my dear, I got so many lovely suggstions that I instantly started to make some more.
You guys are awesome! Thanks so much! After Stiel & Stijl I'll add 'em to my Etsy shop.

No one guessed it right but it doesn't matter as I did randomly pick a winner out of all the answers. The winner gets to tell me which word he/she would like on the cloud brooch & then I'll make it especially.
The randomizer picked number 1 from all the comments.
Congrats Saskia! Please let me know your address and choice of brooch you would like to have. :)

The missing cloud was this one:

I loved the following so I made 'em too.*** oops, gloomy picture again ***

Thanks again & keep your head in the clouds this week! Have a happy one! :)

Fabrics

Anna told me she is bringing fabrics to Stiel & Stijl next week.
Oh no, poor wallet... ;)

Work in progress

These will be glued onto ring bases and make their first appearance at Stiel & Stijl.
I love the patterned rings! Can you spot a new color too?