Where To Find The Hudson Valley Etsy Team This Weekend

We're BA-ACK! Well, Elena is anyway. While most of the craft fairs are taking place in the warmer months or around the Holiday shopping season our very own Elena Rosenberg (have we mentioned how proud we are of her winning the NICHE award for best fashion accessories?) is traveling down to Baltimore with her gorgeous knit and crocheted wares. Her pieces are an excellent way to make any outfit special.

Elena Rosenberg

 Elena Rosenberg will be at the American Craft Council Show in Baltimore, MD, this Friday, Feb. 21: 10 a.m. - 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 22: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 23: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Elena Rosenberg

Elena Rosenberg

Hope she'll see you there and tell your friends!
Happy shopping!

Creating Success from the Inside Out: 2 Tools To Help You Climb Out of the Internet Rabbit Hole

You know what I'm talking about when I  refer to The Internet Rabbit Hole so let's just cut to the chase.  

Yellow Bunny Rabbit Monster Doll by Knot By Gran'ma on Etsy

Exhibit A:  I'm on the computer to find a recipe for raspberry cornmeal pancakes and while doing so I find this great app called Razoo on the computer for crowd-sourcing (seemingly unrelated subjects, yes - but my browser history could certainly find six degrees of Kevin Bacon on this)  and I sign up for it.  Per usual, I get the prompt to go to my email to click the link for the final confirmation.  Okay.  Can do.  Once I'm in my email, however, something else catches my eye.  "Oh, look-y, it's a new blog post from Denise Duffield-Thomas!" So I immediately click it, my initial reason for going into my email forgotten for an hour as I learn more about manifesting my dreams and eradicating my money blocks...until finally I see the tab for Razoo at the top of my screen and realize that I need to confirm my subscription.  I do so, make a donation for the care of a sweet little dog whose leg was mutilated, and then head downstairs for a glass of water and something to eat - my stomach is growling.

Whoops.  I was supposed to be printing a recipe for pancakes!

Raspberry Cornmeal Pancakes with Lemon Curd photo and recipe from Nutritious Eats

By the way, the pancakes were yummy!

Sometimes it's okay to fall down that rabbit hole, to wantonly DIVE down that rabbit hole.  After all, humans are curious creatures and there's so much to be learned and known from within the halls of the WWW.

But other times it's just not okay and you know this immediately after you come back from Wonderland and feel downright icky.  Time wasted.  Nothing on the to-do list achieved.  What to do????

There are 2 tools that I can recommend to help us avoid falling down the rabbit hole when we are serious about getting something specific done on the internet:

1. Timer

Your phone has one, so use it.  Consider one item you need to get done and estimate how long you need to accomplish it.  Set the timer to count down when that timer has run out and make sure the alarm is set to something really obnoxious.  You'll be motivated to finish before it rings in your ears.

2. Sticky Note

Write down on a sticky note the one thing you need to do/finish/find on the internet and place it in plain view next to the timer.  This will help you keep your focus on the one task at hand.

You can also keep sticky notes handy so that as you are working to accomplish your one task, you can write down anything interesting that you come across that you can't look at now, but wish to return to at a later date. 

Once you are done with your task, do it again for your next task and so on.  But do yourself a favor - leave yourself some time to go down that rabbit hole.  You never know what wonderful, fantastical adventures and new worlds you may stumble upon.

What do you do to avoid falling down the Internet Rabbit Hole?  Please share in the comments.

Lisa - Merry Alchemy

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day 

from the Hudson Valley Etsy Team!

Our "Hearts" go out to all our friends and customers!

Valentine's Day Mask by Dara Gallery

Rat Heart Pendant by Drusilla

Red Crystal Heart Bracelet by Tink's Treasures

Eye Heart Ewe card by Wishbone Letterpress

Button and Glass Heart Necklace by Shannon Chomanczuk

A Personalized Heart Glass from Amber Lynn

A Filigree Heart from Pulp Sushi

A Heart for your family from Charms of Faith

A Mended Heart from a Studio by the Sea

    Jody

    a Studio by the Sea

Craft Fair Season is coming! VENDORS WANTED!

Ok everyone, let's take our mind off of the snow for a minute.  Let's think about sunny warmer days ahead where we casually stroll through and shop at some of our favorite craft fairs this Spring and Summer.  Which also means it's time to get your dates in order if you're a Handmade seller.

VENDORS WANTED!

We are now seeking vendors for this year's Fine Arts & Craft Fair in Fishkill. Visit our website for more information and application. 

Newburgh's restoration continues with this new market coming to Liberty Street in May.  Check out the Newburgh Urban Market to learn more.

Check out the new indoor market Bazaar-On-Hudson in Cold Spring starting in April and lasting through July.

I don't know about you all but the new markets and return of the larger fairs coming to the Hudson Valley this year has us all really excited to participate and connect with other artists!

Inspirations for 2014, the computer saved the radio!

With the New Year comes an evaluation of the last year, followed by plans to improve the upcoming year.  Lately I have been improving my outlook on the world through many different outlets on the internet.  Many of them have been very inspiring for me to plan my year and take a new look on how I go through my life.

As a busy business owner and mother, it’s hard for me to go to lectures and workshops.  Lucky for me in today’s savvy media world, I can put on my headphones and take a class, listen to a lecture or have a discussion in a topic of my interest.   Radio shows about human struggles and accomplishments can inspire you in your everyday.  Now with streaming, I can listen  to most radio programs on my schedule.  I listen to my favorite programs or podcasts while working in my workshop.  Two I enjoy often are Hidden Kitchens and This American Life.  Don't miss King's Candy: A New Orleans Kitchen Vision.

Ted Talks offers diverse subjects and many inspirational speakers. 

Jarret J. Krosocczka offers his amazing journey from kid to an artist here.

Amy Cuddy’s Ted Talk about body language ends with a personal story at the end that is so inspiring. 

When I want to learn something new and want more then a how to book, I have been turning to online courses. Craftsy has been great. Classes I can watch or rewatch, paced on my own time.  They also offer free courses to get you hooked.

A new site I found is Skillshare.  They have designed their learning experience to be a project.  There are videos followed by assignments that apply to how you want to use the skill they are sharing.  I promised myself that I would become better organized so I needed a system to get all the to dos out of my head so I could be less stressed and get the important things done to achieve my goals.  I got myself set up with a system with Tiago Forte’s Get Stuff Done Like A Boss:Design your Workflow and double your productivity in 21 days.  

I have also enjoyed Jeff Staple’s A Staple of Branding: How to Start Your Fashion Company.

His story with mistakes and successes in business is useful beyond just making apparel.

A friend has started Creative Life Coaching, Karmen Lizzul where she does radio broadcasts with people about creativity.  One broadcast was  with Erin Cochran of Revealing design.  If you have ever found your workspace has gotten a little out of hand this is the lady to listen to.  She has some great ideas and revelations on how to create a space that lets you enjoy and focus on what you do.  

Listen Here

I've got my space cleaned out, my goals set, my inspirations and mentors playing in my ears.  2014 is going to rock!

Karen - LarkPractial