Modern Magenta for Fall

Our new Magenta and Gold Maasai Beaded Necklace, styled, via Polyvore:

The Gifford Fall Festival

Tomorrow is the Ellen M. Gifford Sheltering Home’s Fall Festival.  The Gifford is a no-kill cat shelter in Brighton, MA, founded in 1884, that houses a variety of homeless cats, either surrendered, rescued, feral, or special-needs.  They take incredible care of the cats, providing them excellent medical care, socialization and affection, and housing them until they can be adopted to loving homes.  Some of the Gifford‘s long-term cat residents have been there for 10-15 years!  As a “no-kill” shelter, they never euthanize animals because of space issues, behavioral issues, curable illness, or because a cat has been at the shelter long-term.

  Recently, an outdoor enclosure was constructed to allow the cats to safely roam outside, enjoy some fresh air and sun, and play, as they were meant to.  The shelter itself allows the cats to roam freely inside, with no tiny cages stacked one on top of the other, with barely enough room for the cats to turn around in.  They’ve also constructed an outdoor facility to house feral cats (cats the have either been born/raised outdoors, with limited socialization with people, or who have been outside long enough to lose their domesticated status).  The feral colony pen offers a safe environment for these cats to live, without the danger of passing cars, starvation, unfriendly folks who might try to eliminate them as pests, as well as gives them the opportunity to socialize with humans and possibly, be adopted some day.

  I’ve been a volunteer at the Gifford since 2004 (nine years!) and will be vending at the Fall Festival Sunday, September 15th, with a portion of my sales going to support the Gifford and their amazing cats.  The Gifford Shelter really is a special place, and I feel great about supporting them and the work they do.  Over the years, I’ve been the Gifford’s ad-hoc cat photographer, and all of the portraits in this post are of the adorable kitties I’ve had the pleasure to meet.  I highly recommend anyone in the Boston area who may be looking to adopt, looking to donate, or looking to volunteer, stop by on Sunday, to see this amazing shelter in person.  You’ll get to meet the kitties, eat some delicious cupcakes and cookies, and support a wonderful charity with purchases!  The Fall Festival is Sunday, September 15th, from 1-4 PM.  The shelter is located at 30 Undine Road, Brighton, MA.  It’s accessible by the the B-line Greenline train, at the BC stop (last stop on the line).  There’s plenty of street parking as well!  Hope to see you there!

- Dara

And on Saturday, the Festival!

Hieropice at Assembled

Zombie Romance

The sun is waning, we're moving away from the "Dog Days" into Autumn.  I'm allergic to sun, so I'm certainly not mourning the end of Summer as most folks are!  I love Fall, and can't wait for colorful leaves, apple-picking, crisp air, pumpkin pies, intense sunsets, Thanksgiving, and busting out my shawl collection.  Yup, I'm ready for Fall, bring it on!
I posted a while back about producing September 7th's "Assembled: A Handmade Arts Market at Assembly Row" arts festival; it'll be my second.  I'm really excited about the vendors we'll have on Saturday; particularly the artists who I'd really wanted to join us for the May 18th opening show, but who weren't available.  Zombie Romance will be there on Saturday, with original illustrations by Kristilyn Stevenson in comic, jewelry, card and print form, as will Uni-T, will t-shirts and prints featuring artist Eujin Kim Neilan's original artwork. Moozydoo will join us, with her handmade cloth shoulder bags in vibrant colors and bold patterns, and Dominique Custeau will be selling her handmade fused glass jewelry.  I am proud to call these artists my friends.  And there will be a lot more, perhaps even a flashmob around 1:30 PM, but you didn't hear that from me.Assembled takes place at Assembly Row (formerly the Assembly Square Mall, in Somerville), at 145 Middlesex Ave., Somerville, from 11 AM to 4 PM, Saturday, September 7th.  See you there!

Moozydoo

 

Little Photo Goodness

I just want to share some new photos taken by friend and fellow artist Eujin Kim Neilan, proprietor of Uni-T at the Natick Mall.  They feature Hieropice's Teal & Gold Maasai Beaded Necklace and Uni-T's yellow Owl tank top.  Eujin was so right that these pieces look great together!  And thanks to Lexi, for modeling!  Uni-T's yellow racer-back owl tank top available here, and at Uni-T at the Natick Mall in Natick, Mass.  Hieropice's Teal and Gold Maasai Beaded Necklace available here, and at Uni-T at the Natick Mall.

Looking forward

It's a sunny Sunday, and I am beat!  Vended all day yesterday at Assembled, and the evening prior, celebrated Afro-Brazilian music and dance with Uhuru Afrika, an amazing DJ/drummer collective that performed at Naga in Cambridge.  Lots of Carnival-style dancers in full regalia shaking everything, conga and dengue drums, strobe lights and Afro-Brazilian beats.  You know how I know I'm getting old?  Every muscle in my body was sore the next morning.  But that's a great sign that you've had a lot of fun, right?  Being sore the next morning!
I'm going to produce another Assembled market on September 7th.  I am really excited about it because many of the vendors whose products I absolutely love, like Kristilyn Stevenson of Zombie Romance, who couldn't join us for the May

Art by Kristilyn Stevenson of Zombie Romance

18th opening show of Assembled, will be there for September 7th!  YAY!  So, in a really selfish way the September 7th Assembled will somewhat be a live version of my Etsy favorites list or my Xmas shopping list, but, you're just going to have to trust my taste, folks!  These vendors really are exceptional, they're stars in their own right, and we really are lucky that they're going to be there!  Here's a preview of some of their fantastic wares!
  Maybe you have no idea what Assembled is or why you should care, so let me back up a little and explain; Assembled: A Handmade Arts Market at Assembly Row is a weekly outdoor arts market that takes place at the Assembly Row development at Assembly Square in Somerville.  Assembly Row is kind of the re-birth of an old, delapidated strip mall, which has been razed, and will be turned into a brand new, swanky destination, with a movie theater, a collection of restaurants (Legals' C-Bar, Papagayo, JP Licks, etc.) and outlet stores.  They're even building a T-stop (public transportation in the Greater Boston area) at Assembly Row, to increase access for the public.  It's major, because frankly, Assembly Square was a bit of a waste before.  There was, and will still be, an art supply store there that I shop at all of the time, but the area just wasn't well-kept, there was nothing of interest to do or see there, and it wasn't inviting. 

Fabric Bag by Moozydoo

I'd drive there to grab supplies, then high-tail it out of there as quick as I could.  Now there really will be a reason to visit Assembly Square and stay to hang out.  They've already put up a brand new Starbucks with a ton of outdoor seating, and Assembly Row actually has an oft-ignored waterfront which they're cleaning up beautifully.  At the first Assembled show on May 18th, a lot of people who live in the area came by to check things out and inquire, and the overwhelming commentary was that they were grateful for something cool to do in the area, and that the development was getting some much-needed attention.  The Assembled market is such a great way to draw folks to the area, AND support local artists, and allow us to connect with customers.  So I'm happy to be producing another Assembled show.  As the show approaches, I'll post more about the artists who'll be there and the things they make.  Assembled takes place at Assembly Row at Assembly Square, 145 Middlesex Avenue, Somerville, Mass, Saturdays, 11 AM to 4 PM.

Tribal

Just wanted to share a new Treasury List I put together..  I've titled it "Tribal."

And what's new is....

Everyone's out and about these days, enjoying the sunshine (which lasts about 5 minutes here in New England!), myself included; I spent last Saturday sweating it out at Assembled in Assembly Square, and so appreciate all the folks who came out to visit and shop!  I'll be back at Assembled this coming Saturday, July 27th from 11 AM to 4 PM, so if you're in the Greater Boston area, stop by!  There'll be food trucks (Bon Me and Frozen Hoagies, to name a couple!) and a live band and Hieropice in our new spiffed-up tent.  Think carnival-style bunting.

  If you haven't checked out Polyvore yet, you should.  It's a wonderful resource for fashion/style ideas; think a collection of crowd-sourced digital fashion collages.  But, with things you could actually buy.  Without mortgaging your house.  Polyvore users have been virtually-styling Hieropice jewelry in the coolest ways, and coming up with ways to wear our pieces that I'd never thought of!  You can now see some of the collections Polyvore users have put together in our Facebook album, "Hieropice Styled."  The image above is one of the many Polyvore collages featuring Hieropice.  Snap snap Polyvore.
  Citrine Yellow Maasai Beaded Earrings.  We want to make sure you can see our pieces in all their glory, even if it's only virtually!

We've also got some new photos up for Hieropice's Maasai beaded pieces, like our
  And, finally, Hieropice pieces will now be featured at Uni-T in the Natick Mall on an ongoing basis!  Two months were not enough, we just couldn't let go!  So now all of you brick-and-mortar shoppers in the Natick area can see Hieropice pieces in person, try them on....and then buy them.  Cause that last part is important.  :)  Happy days!
See you on Saturday!
Dara