The Content of His Character

Today, the direction of the United States will change forever.

We will have a new President. One who, I believe, listens to the collective voice of the American people. One who is not there for his own personal gain, or to fight for the wealthy. One who has selected a cabinet of advisers who are wise and smart, and know many aspects of the workings of the world. One who placed a former opponent in a key position, because she was the right person for the job.

As I watched Barack Obama and Joe Biden during their train ride to Washington for the Inauguration, I was struck by how they got off the train at various stops and went straight into the crowds, Talking to people, hugging them, connecting with them.

I know I might have readers who supported the other ticket. And I have readers in other countries who couldn't vote in our election. But today is a day for the majority, and a banner day for people who look in the mirror and never before saw no hope of ever becoming the leader of anything, let alone the free world. We all have that hope today.

The true voice of the American people was heard in this election. I am struck by the incredible grassroots movement that brought us to this era of change. This is a team that understands the power of the new media - blogs and Twitter and Facebook and blackberries and texting. They reached out, often asking for just a $5.00 contribution to make it all possible.

Welcome to Washington, President Obama and Vice President Biden. Welcome to the new Administration to all the new Cabinet members, and all of the members of Congress. Welcome, celebrate and savor the moment. The truly difficult task of restoring our country starts now.

I have a DREAM Today!

I have lived in the Atlanta area for over four years. I always meant to go and see the King Center, but it was my six year old niece who got me there.

When she heard I would be moving, she wanted to come back and sleep in her room again, and she specifically requested to see Dr. King's house.

Her teacher had come here last year, and shared photos with the class. Of course we took her.

As we toured the Center and his childhood home, hearing the stories of his family from our wonderful guide, Marty (on the right), Dr. King's famous words kept echoing inside me.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

Thank you, Dr. King, for your insight and valor. Thank you for your courage to stand up, and to lead others to do so as well. Thank you for your commitment. For not giving up when you were jailed. Thank you, sir, for your sacrifice.

For a full text of the "I Have a Dream speech, please go to American Rhethoric. For many years I have read the speech on his birthday. What a wonderful inspiration it is!

If you have a holiday today, please remember it is a day on and not a day off. Do something to help another person. And remember this great man and all he stood for.

Marketing Tip Monday. . . .A Little Delayed

Who's Talking About You?

As a matter of routine, you should know who on the web is mentioning your business.

Google(tm) has a free service available for this. Through their main page, you can set up a tracker to get once a day updates (don't get them as they happen - your email can get bombarded) .

Head over to Google. On the upper left-hand side of the page, click "more." Follow the pop-up to "even more." This will bring up a page with a wide variety of options, but you want the first one - "alerts."

Put in the word or phrase you want to track. Set it for how often you want the alerts sent to your email account or your feed. You will then be automatically notified if someone blogs about you. Remember, you can set this for more than one alert. For example, I have it set to track "FunkyQuail" and also "Funky Quail."

You may also find that some of the things you say on the web show up here! That can be very good to know.

Once you know who is chatting about you, it's easier to make a plan to get more good things said about your business. More on that later!

photo courtesy of www.publicdomainpictures.net

Knit it up for the Little Ones

Baby Knitting Rocks!

If one of my friends has had a baby in the last few years since I took up this hobby, chances are I made them one of these adorable sweaters.

Babies are fun to knit for. They are tiny, and their little hats and sweaters don't take much time. Their clothing, toys, blankies are automatically cute, especially when made by hand.

Cute, cute, cute!

And yay, Amber is having a baby, so guess who gets to cast on another project tomorrow?

I can hardly wait!

Awesome Artist of the Week - Une Petite Etoile

Talent in Design and Sad Statement about the CPSIA

Seeing the beautiful creations for babies and young children that come out of the studio of Une Petite Etoile is very inspiring for me.

You see, when you sell handmade clothing, you can't just run down to the store and buy a pattern and just start sewing. That's not legal! No, you must make your own patterns.

So imagine, you want to make a dress. You have to draft the pattern and make it in a variety of sizes. This requires MATH.* And trial and error. What if the sleeves are set too high? Or under the arms is cut wrong? You have to start over!

Then you make mock-ups. Is the pattern correct? Will it work in every size?

After that, you have to choose fabrics that work with the pattern. And if multiple fabrics are involved, make sure the colors and patterns go well together.

The beautiful renderings for children that come out of Une Petite Etoile's studio are gorgeous, fun, and colorful. They are the kind of clothing babies would want to wear, if they could express an opinion. I just know that.

Check them out, but check them out soon. I am not an authority on this topic, but I do know that if the CPSIA goes through as written in February 2009, don't expect to see these fashions, or many other handmade kid items available to you. Unless the items go through expensive testing for lead, they will not be able to be sold.

The total effect of this law was clearly not thought out well. I know many people are working to change it. Let's hope so. I am completely for child safety, but also believe in individual responsibility. And the last time I checked the manufacturer-supplied content labels, fabric and thread does not contain lead. Let the manufacturers of the supplies give the artists the assurance they need on their products, and with that, forget the requirement of having the end product tested.

Meanwhile, take a look at this beautiful piece! Perfect for the next baby shower you have to go to!




*really, I have a graduate degree, but no MATH was required. Thankfully.

Marketing Tip Monday

Consistency in Your Business Brand Image

With the new year, many of us who sell on-line are looking at our Marketing Plans and reviewing 2008, and making plans for 2009.

Your first start should be a review of your logo. Are you consistent? Do you have a shop on Etsy and one on ArtFire? Are the names the same? Do you own your webname?

Example:

http://FunkyQuail.com - we own it and it currently re-directs to the Etsy shop named http://FunkyQuail.Etsy.com. Then on Artfire, we also sell the knitting shirts and some of Becky's painted shirts and that name is http://FunkyQuail.ArtFire.com.

I am a member at Ravelry (an on-line knitting community. My user name? Funky Quail, of course.

Then I am on Twitter. My Twitter name? FunkyQuail!

Oh, and looking for my Flickr page? http://Flickr.com/FunkyQuail

This is all a deliberate effort in branding.

Consistency is the key.

Now is a great time to review your branding. If your Flickr page is one name, your Etsy shop another, and ArtFire yet another, it's time to consider if that is the best strategy for you.

If you have different names, perhaps that is best for your business. Maybe you carry very divergent stock in your different shops, or perhaps one is for supplies and the other for paintings and another for ceramics. But it should be a conscious decision and not one ever done without really thinking about how you want your customers to perceive your business.

And of course, you *do* own your own URL, don't you? NO???? Then get to http://GoDaddy.com and buy it, before some nefarious person snatches it right out from under you!

Becky was Owly before Owly was Cool

Owls are the New Black. . . .

But Becky was there first. She's liked them for at least as long as I have been married into the family (and probably longer).

So WHO better than her to draw owls.

This beleaguered guy is Geoff. To quote from her shop,"the Geoff Owl is the distant cousin of another challenging bird, the Henry. Much like the Henry its attributes are poor judgment, frequent memory loss and a vacant expression. As this specimen shows, much to hubris’ chagrin, it has forgotten that it is eating a mouse’s tale and also forgotten that it should not eat mice as it is a Herbivore. Cousin Geoff simply doesn’t know any better."

He's 5" x7" on illustration board and has real plastic googly eyes.

The technique used is gouache, which is a technique of painting with opaque watercolors prepared with gum. I had to look that up! So writing about what Becky does is highly educational for me.

(Becky, to refresh your memory, is my step-daughter who also created the art for our knitting shirts. She can draw and paint and all that fun stuff and has a BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design. I can't draw a decent stick figure. It is not fair, but I am learning to get over it.)

You can check out her blog at http://OwlFactory.com or peruse her Etsy shop at http://OwlFactory.Etsy.com.

A Little Bit of South of the Border. . . . .

Ole'!

Last year, in a fit of creative insanity, I worked on a messenger bag. Since I never sell from a commercial pattern (it happens to violate copyright laws), I have to design my own.

It took some trial and error, but I finally got it down.

These lovely ladies, from an Alexander Henry fabric, adorn the mid-sized Le Sac Essentiel (tm) bag*.

Today is a rainy, grey, winter day. But I am thinking these bright smiles would be cheerful for anyone.

*as seen in http://FunkyQuailToo.Etsy.com.

Some Days I Can't Stop Knitting. I am a. . . .

Needle Junkie.

Yes, it is true. I can get into the zone. Totally engrossed in my project. I knit in the car (while Mr. Quail is driving, of course), while listening to the television, and bring my knitting anywhere I might possibly have to wait in line.

This is why I need more than one project cast on at once. Many places I knit don't lend themselves to conducive pattern-reading. So I usually have a hat or scarf cast one, leaving the more complex charts for longer bouts of knitting time, such as on a plane or sitting on the couch at home.

I am not completely addicted. After a major knitting frenzy, I tend to put the sticks down for a short while, and take a breather. Then, of course, a needle of another kind starts calling my name, and I am back in front of the sewing machine for hours and hours.

It's a joy and a curse!

Lucky for me, Becky Dreistadt captured this addiction quite nicely in our "Needle Junkie" shirt with the adorable kitty! Because, of course, this type of needle use is a wonderful thing!

Shirt available at http://funkyquail.etsy.com and http://funkyquail.artfire.com

A New Year, Full of Hope and Promise!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

As we start 2009, my thoughts turn to putting away what did not work for 2008, and building on a better 2009. For my friends and family, I wish you health and joy. May we work together for a peaceful world, where hunger is eradicated, financial troubles improve, and the change we worked so hard for comes to fruition.

William Ellery Channing summed up my resolutions for me:

I will seek elegance rather than luxury, refinement rather than fashion. I will seek to be worthy more than respectable, wealthy and not rich. I will study hard, think quietly, talk gently, and act frankly. I will listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with an open heart. I will bear all things cheerfully, do all things bravely await occasions and hurry never. In a word I will let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious grow up through the common.

To you and yours, a wonderful New Year.

And because today is my birthday, please have some cake!

photo courtesy of http://freedigitalphotos.net

Knitting Up Through the Generations

Barbara Abbey, Friends and Knitting Connections One of the cool things about knitting is that while it is an old craft form (yes, art form, too, but that's another blog post), we knitters can take those skills and put a very modern twist on them.

It also means that there are not many new tricks we can learn from the modern knitting literature. New patterns, new yarns, cooler knitting shirts, but the basics really haven't changed that much.

In 1971, Barbara Abbey wrote "The Complete Book of Knitting" (Viking Press, 1971). I picked up this book used a few years back and it was sitting on my shelf (along with just a "few" other books on the topic) when my sister spied it and said "Hey! You have Elan's Grandmother's knitting book!" Way cool, since Elan and I had our first knitting lesson together (thank you Jessica!) around Marty's dining room table.

When I really started reading this book, I realized what an excellent guide it was. Not only to teach the basics, there is a wealth of stitch patterns documented there. Radical that I am, I decided to knit something for myself (a rarity) from the book! I selected "#5 small check" on page 144, a nice soft purple yarn, and got started.

I am very pleased with the result. It was my first attempt to make anything from just a stitch pattern, it's my favorite color to wear, and it's a tie back to a friend AND one of the most thorough books on the topic I have read.

So, Miss Maisy, to answer your question - check out eBay and get a copy of this book for yourself as you learn to knit in the New Year. I would send you mine but there's this great Cockleshells pattern on page 162 that I am anxious to try. . .

Passementerie Jewelry - Awesome Artist of the Week

Courtney Laine - Jeweler and Artisan

It is rare that I meet a 24 year old who impresses me as much as Courtney Laine, the creative force behind Passementerie (r). That was the case two years ago, when Courtney and I met in the forums of a sales web site, though. Her stunning jewelry collection, clear vision, marketing savvy and determination made me think I was speaking with someone much more mature.

Courtney's beautiful eye for design and color, combined with her skill with precious metals and an encyclopedic knowledge of gemstones, have created one of the freshest jewelry collections on the market today.

One of my prized possessions is a lovely gemstone bracelet from Passementerie, with soothing sea-blue tones. I wear it on days where I need to feel a bit special.

You can view her entire collection at http://passementeriejewelry.com. You can also visit her year-end sale at http://www.1000markets.com/users/passementerie through 10 January 2009. And remember, my birthday is Thursday, but it's OK to be a little late with such a special gift. She'll let me know there's a little box from you on it's way.

Funky Quail on Art Fire

Expanding the Scope

Yesterday we opened a studio on the new sales site, Art Fire.

We put Becky's hand-painted shirts there, as well as the basic line of knitting tees and hoodies. More items will be added in the future, but we have a good start so far.

Art Fire is in beta, which means they are still working out the kinks. They still have a long way to go to create an effective search, but they are offering STATS for the shop. As a marketing professional, this is very important to me. I need to know where shoppers in my store came from, in order to create a solid marketing plan. The fees are reasonable, too. I won't be hit with constant fees for relisting, just to try and stay near the top.

An important caveat in real estate is "location, location, location." It is a lot like that on the web. It's not who you started with, or who makes the best cupcakes, or even choosing one over the other. It's simply a matter of being where the customers are shopping. And in our case, that means branching out and trying new opportunities.

Check us out if you have a chance! http://FunkyQuail.ArtFire.com

Talent in the Family

Becky Dreistadt

One of the fun things about being a step-mom, is that you get to write the biographies for your step-daughter, and talk about her artistic talent.

And the nice thing about it is, you can show the artwork and people can see you aren't making it all up.

Becky has been drawing since she could hold a crayon. It's a part of who she is. She was always the girl in school who could draw, who won the art contests and the county fair ribbons, and eventually won a Congressional Art award before attending the Savannah College of Art and Design, winning the Sequential Art award, and graduating magna cum laude this past May.

Now she is living in New Zealand and creating all sorts of fun art. She also started http://OwlFactory.Etsy.com. This is her "Mountain Quail," 5" x 7" on watercolor paper. Cute little fellow, isn't he?

Bagging it All In

One of the fun things about designing bags is making them in a wide variety of materials. I adore the Japanese fabrics that are out - the cute little characters and tiny whimsical animals are so funky and different from what fabric stores in the US carry! Since I travel so much for work, I also duck in to a lot of fabric stores. Even with the major chains, the fabric they carry can vary from city to city.

I also have a good time with vintage fabrics. Using something very few, if any, people have access to can truly make a bag one of a kind.

This tote style is currently what I carry for everyday. I can stuff it with receipts during my business travel, carry a magazine or book, wallet, and even my knitting. My keys no longer sink to the bottom, since I added the key fob on the outside.

Women and their bags are an interesting study. Some days I think I will never make another one, since I can't seem to get the pockets right, or strap length, or the fabric choice correct for any customer. But then a young girl will come along, grab up a pirate bag, or Elvis, or the Three Stooges, or a hawt firefighter bag, squeal that "it's PERFECT!" and I'm back in the game again.

I see the creativity I enjoy using in creating the bags within many of my artist friends. I'll be talking more about them in the coming days. Meanwhile, I better get moving on the more mundane tasks in life - there is new fabric on my cutting table that's been calling my name!

Happy Boxing Day! Back to the Craziness for the Rest of Us!

Christmas is over, we have put away the gifts, and are getting ready for the real madness to begin. Today we are signing the contract to list our house for sale and then start the final touches to make it showcase-ready.

Also this week, we will be heading to Nashville to look at for a new home.

I need to remember to take time to do some knitting over the next few months. It is relaxing for me, and a wonderful creative outlet. I am working on an alpaca-blend scarf that is a gorgeous light mauve.

Looking at this shirt also reminds me that renewing my yoga practice probably wouldn't be such a bad thing, either.

I think I will add that to my 2009 Goals list.

Every Perfect Gift. . . . . .

It is Christmas evening. The house is quiet, the presents are unwrapped, and we have spent the day with friends.

We are fortunate. Employed, healthy, great family, wonderful friends.

People were generous to me. I have some funny gifts, some practical gifts, and some gorgeous gifts.

However, I received the greatest gift of all last week. Patti's lymphoma is going into remission. The chemo is working. This 40 year-old mom of 7 month-old Patrick, with the infectious laugh and wicked sense of humor, will see more Christmases with her precious son.

So while I love everything I unwrapped today, it could all go away and I would have everything I asked for this year.

May you and your family enjoy a wonderful day together today. I hope whatever you wished for, it was in your stocking, or wrapped under your tree, or in some little miracle out there in the world.

Peace and Joy to you.

Love, Funky

'Twas the Knit Before Christmas. . . . .

An early Christmas present for my friend Teri, who was transferred to Minneapolis, Minnesota, US, earlier this year. She had never before lived above the Mason-Dixon line. This ensemble was designed not only to complement her jet black hair, but the hat can serve as a beacon in the snow and the seven-foot scarf can be waved at rescue workers should she be stranded.

Enjoy your Christmas Eve, everyone. And if you don't celebrate Christmas, may you be joyful as we ease out of 2008 and look forward to 2009!

Did you Draw that? Wow!!!

The artist behind Funky Quail

I get a lot of compliments on the shirt artwork and need to make this perfectly clear - I can not draw! The artist is Becky Dreistadt*, a magna cum laude graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, who is currently residing in New Zealand.

Becky took the ideas my sister and I had for knitting tees and turned them in to a reality for us. Each shirt has a very different style. Our best seller is "Ninja Knitter," a sly-looking Ninja who casts her wool upon needles made of swords.

Ninja knitters are pretty much like regular knitters, except they tend to be a little more stealthy about it.

Check out more of Becky's work at http://OwlFactory.Etsy.com


* my step-daughter, so I can brag when I write bios about her.

Happy Holidays!!!

This is to wish a Happy Holiday season to all our funky friends - old and still to be made - with warmest wishes for a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year from The Funky Quail Crew :)