Surprise! MD Home and Garden Show

So I just found out this week that I'm actually showing at this years Spring Maryland Home and Garden Show! I had been wait listed because I had forgotten to apply until the last minute and it had filled up fast (this winter was crazy!) so I'm super happy that I'll be participating, however since I assumed I was not in, I went ahead and gave a large portion of my inventory to a store last week. It figures, one should never assume :) 

Luckily I have pulled some all night miracles and I'm completely if not overly ready for these next two weekends! So come out and see my new work and get in the mood for warmer weather :) 

My booth this year is C224! This years garden theme is called "Color my World" so it should be a good display! I'm also looking forward to visiting the Baltimore Bonsai area because I just can't resist tiny trees :) hope to see you there this weekend or the next! 

Xoxoxo - Amy 

Here's some photos of what's being packed up for this weekend:

First Show Recap

Wanted to say thank you as always to all of my wonderful customers who stopped by the show on Saturday! :)

I love this show because it is held in my old high school. It always brings back good memories. Since this was my first show of the season being close to my house and being a relatively short show was nice. Despite that, I was still exhausted afterward and ended up taking a two hour nap haha!

Now it's time to clean my studio (and house) and get ready to send a collection of my work to New York for the summer!


My next show will be in the heart of Towson at Towson Town Spring Fest!

Xoxoxo - Amy

Treasury Feature

Happy Friday! Just wanted to share this stunning treasury curated by EverGreenGarden

that features my Whisper Necklace!

xoxoxox - Amy

Artist Feature : Murmurs of Spring

The ground murmurs warmth and delicate pink whispers. It's time to renew and refresh. A beginning and an end. Tender green plays among a quiet awakening. Spring is here. 

DeLoop - Flower cascade crown

Peraboom - Cold spring photography

Moonlightmicrofarm - Sprout seeds

ChickensintheTrees  - Princess Annes Lace photography 

Twoinspireyou - Tulips door wreath

TheBrokenHouse - Robins eggs 

ShopClementine - Sapphire bracelet

OriginalDesignsbyAR - Mauve scarf

Bonfortune - Tiffany blue straws

JLynnCreations - Herb stakes

CarolynCochran - Flower photography

ModernFlowerChild - Resin bangle

SunShowerStudio - Pink magnolia watercolor

FairyFolk - Easter egg ornaments

MyMiniatureGarden - Air plants

SucculentOasis - DIY succulent garden

xoxoxox -Amy

Show Preview

Oh la la! Pretty new packaging and some pretty, well just plain pretty, new designs! Im just about set for this weekends show. These and more will be looking to find a new home. Also there is going to be a giveaway this weekend... So be sure to check back later for details! hint: like us on Facebook if you haven't already :)

Ouch!

Ahhh! Of course 3 days before my show I have inevitably injured my hand working! For some reason I still manage to gouge a nice piece out of my pointer finger on my left hand on a fairly regular basis. So much so that this time it almost didn't hurt lol. Still looks terrible though! Oh well, it was worth it because I made these awesome dream catcher earrings :) I will be at Towson Town Festival this weekend so come out today hello ( if it's not raining that is)

Xoxoxo - Amy

Photo Update

Finally finished the second pair of the vine earrings. I'd been sketching these babies for about a month and never even attempted to make them. Lots of trial and error and here they are!

 

Look who grew a lot bigger! Also, the mystery is solved: the middle plants ARE morning glories! Who knew? :)

 

...Ta da! Here is a middle photo of the business nook transformation. It's coming along nicely, remember how terrible it looked before? Just a bit more elbow grease and it should be finished.

 

and actually, I sort of tore up my whole studio and had an extreme home makeover moment. I'm super happy with how it is turning out. I was subsisting on coffee and bananas that week and just wanted to move some furniture. I'll have to post some photos after the dust settles. It's looks verrrry different than before. In a good way.

 

I thought these chains were pretty. 

Plus, Loch Raven was a wonderful show like always! After coming off the 5 day Home and Garden show I appreciate the one day shows immensely more. It was lovely to see you all and I even had some surprise visitors too! You know who you are :) Thank you all so much for making last weekend a blast!

Ooo one last note: I got a Swiffer for my birthday from my Mom and I'm so excited to Swif today! (and make banana bread from these really old bananas that have been on the counter!) 

xoxoxoxo -Amy

Growing Fast!

Wow! Must be the steam from the sink because the lettuce and flowers I planted just 3 days ago have sprouted! It was supposed to take 7 -14 days, hope they are what I planted... It's been so lovely out that I set these little pots outdoors to soak up some rays. Also, went for my birthday lunch with my favorite New Yorker, Jen and she got me the cutest little chickie timer! I'm going to bake some chicken cookies tonight just so I can use this little guy. Love it!

I'll leave you with a photo of my soon-to-be business center. This is the before shot, it looks drastically different right now so I'll try and post an "After" shot later!

so cluttered and colorless! blaaa! but not for long!

xoxoxox -Amy

Weekend Recap

This weekend I displayed some of my newest creations! I don't know if it was the weather or the soy latte but I was just filled with inspiration this last week. Above are some photos of my new designs. I was really surprised that my new beads collection was received so well, I think all of the new combo necklaces I designed found new homes this weekend.  I have to say that this years MD Home and Garden Show was the nicest I've shown at in all 4 years. Thank you to everyone who stopped by and it was a real pleasure meeting my newest customers of the year :)  Next I'll be showing my wares at my old Highschool: Loch Raven Spring Craft Fair! So come out on the 24th from 10am - 3pm and shop around for something handmade!

Now I have to attend to the house which, like always, is a mess during the show. Opening the windows and letting the air come in! Hope you all have a lovely Monday!

Hello!

I recently had to take photos of myself working for a show application and afterward I realized how very few photos I have shown of myself on this blog. So to help put a face to the girl behind Sun Ah Blair Jewelry, here you go!  I'll even throw in a few random facts about me and my work:

1) The first show I ever did was at the Baltimore Zoo

2) While in Japan I picked up some amazing cookie cutters that I currently use in my work.

3) Sophia Coppola's Marie Antoinette is a constant inspiration for me when I'm in a rut.

4) Although I love working in clay, I'm OCD about getting the stuff completely off my hands after work.

5) I must be vigorous in hiding my earring stands from my kitties, they enjoy carrying them off behind 

my back :)

I'll try harder to share more about myself and the inner stories of my business !

-----------------------------

I'll be at the MD home and Garden show this weekend and the next so come by and get inspired to do some spring planting and say hello and take a peak at my new Spring work as well!

xoxoxo -Amy

Current Obsessions

Over the knee boots

Latest volume of my Japanese fashion mag

Shaking it up with online Zumba classes for ps3!

What's you're latest obsession?

xoxox -Amy

Maryland Spring Craft Recap

As promised,  photos! This was the first year that we  attended both weekends and we will do it again next year. I always love this show because of all the kind and wonderful people we meet, both artists and customers. I just want to say another thank you to all of you I had the chance to chat with and get to know!  I also left  (of course) with some lovely items from other vendors including an awesome glow bowl from White Caterpillar, a gorgeous Japanese maple leaf necklace from MetalledWith, the loveliest soaps from Possum Hollow Farm Soap, and a to-die-for scrumptious Chocolate body scrub from Down to Earth Body Shop. Check them out if you get the chance, you won't regret it!

It's really tiring and a lot of work getting ready for a five day show but after each day and realizing how many awesome people I had the chance to really talk to and connect with, I know I wouldn't trade this for anything :).  During this last month of preparation, I have really moved my designs into some new territory. I realized  that in just a few weeks I'll be celebrating my official one year with my new collections. Changing my business image and work  has been both a crazy and rewarding journey and I'm super excited to begin this second year of shows. 

Come visit us  at Loch Raven High School and show your support for keeping Craft Shows alive in Baltimore County Public Schools! 

Happily exhausted

Hi everyone! So I've done it again: neglected to blog in my insanity of preparing for my shows! Well tonight I don't even have the energy to load photos, but I will tomorrow when I get the chance. I just wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to all the wonderful new people I met and had a chance to chat with these last two weekends! Such a lovely show. What I will post tonight is what awaited me on the front page of Etsy when I came home: The prettiest treasury of Asian art inspired beauties! Now I'm off to make up for my lack of sleep this past month. See you all in the morning!

xoxoxox -Amy

Work, Play, and a bit of Gardening

Hope everyone is enjoying their January as much as I am! A lot has happened while I've been away from the blog, and now I'm ready to start in again as the new business year begins! I have so much to update that I'm not even going to try and do everything at once, or in any particular order. It will just come out as I think of it :)

Right now I'm busy with some custom orders, filling some shop requests, and finishing a batch of new pieces which are currently cooling upstairs in the studio. I like Christmas shows, but my favorite season to create for truly is Spring. I've already filled up a notebook worth of ideas during these past few months with my new line up which includes inspirations from Japanese Kanzashi flowers, carved woods, and vintage kimono fabrics. Super excited to share these new creations as they come!

Show wise, I'm currently applying for all of my Spring/summer show line up and will post my schedule as I find out on the website.  (crossing my fingers for Arts Scape this year!!)

In other news from my crazy life, I've been really pondering hard my sustainable garden design for this year. As you know, I'm sort of obsessed with the idea of self sustainability especially in terms of food. I've planned a second raised bed for this year and have been pulling inspiration from Native American garden designs as well as more modern hydroponics systems. The goal this year is to plant earlier and more efficiently so that I can have food at the table from late spring thru the late Fall. I've also been delving into the possibility of bee keeping.  So, a lot to think about! What Spring plans have you all been daydreaming about?

This is a long, picture-less post and I apologize, but I want to end with some of my resolutions for my business this year :

I resolve to :

1) Update my Etsy Shop (more than last year at least :) )
2) Put more effort into the business part of my business
3) be smarter with my resources and work with what I have rather than purchasing something new
4) Be more transparent in my blog posts
5) Read/ work my way through the book : I'd rather be in the Studio! by Alyson B. Stanfield

Shigoto Shigoto....

Shigoto ( 仕事 ) means "Work" in Japanese, and that is all I have been doing since about 6am! It's only the afternoon and I already feel like my eyes are puffy :( So I'm taking a break to show some photos of what I've been doing! 

One of the greatest feelings is when a design from my brain goes from sketch to reality, so here is a fun before and after of just that!

1) dreaming sketches for the shape of the frame

2) After soldering a clean up

3) Ta Da! Finished piece! (sounds a lot faster and easier than it was...)

This piece is part of my spring collection and is handcrafted from start to finish in Sterling silver and hand pierced brass.

It's back to work!! Shigoto, Shigoto...

Like a Machine

Today I spent a good 3 hours making hundreds and hundred of silver head pins! What did everyone else do? It's one of those things that I hate doing, but it must be done so that I can move onto more enjoyable things. It's such a repetitive process that I sometimes feel like  a machine. If there was a head making machine that was somewhat affordable, I'd buy it!

Speaking of Machines, if you haven't seen La Machine's Giant 2.7 million dollar robotic spider, then you should! It's pretty amazing.  It stands 50 feet high and can crawl and spray water. It's been on tour  for the last year and was last shown at the 150th anniversary of  the Yokohama Port in Japan. Pretty crazy stuff! (Photo by Mathew Andrews)

On a less robotic note, We found a robins nest in our bush by the house, I can't wait till they 

hatch!  Happy Spring Everyone!

Back on... Again!

So I've fallen off the blog train...again. So here is a simple start...again!

This is my new signature for my pendants:

This is part of my Spring collection pendants I'm currently working on:   

This is the new mask from  Seikisho that I'm trying out today!

 

Hooorray for blogging again! Hope everyone has a wonderful Friday and a Happy Easter!

Polyvore Makes me drool

So today I decided to collect some items in the happy color of yellow for to express my anticipation for Spring on Polyvore (my other new addiction). It's one of those things that made me say, "why didn't I think of that!" or " I wonder how much money the creators are getting..." but thanks none the less :) I really love combining the zillions of products onto the blank page and seeing what magazine like creations come about! What it really makes me realize though, is there are more yellow dresses out there on the web than I was ever, ever, EVER aware of... but somehow I want them all. is that bad?