Blue Dome recap

It's been a week now, but I thought I could finally say a word or two about Blue Dome. As you locals know, the weather did not cooperate -- and neither did the "organizers." I'm sad to say this might be my last Blue Dome ever, thanks to the new folks in charge. They were disorganized and did not communicate or give out consistent information. All the same, for the time I was there, I had a great time with the Tulsa Craft Mafia gals, as always! Here are a few pictures totally, shamefully jacked from Tara.

Me and Holly. She is so silly and so adorable!

Shopper with my rings in the foreground.

Booth shot! This year's layout was probably my favorite ever.

Thanks to everyone who came out to see us! We will be selling at the Alliday show on June 26, so come out to the fairgrounds then.

Get your art on

Downtown Tulsa is getting its art on this weekend with three festivals! You could always go to Mayfest to eat a giant cinnamon roll, but high-tail it out of there afterward for the funkier fun and handmade goodness of the Blue Dome Arts Festival. While the bigger festival boasts vendors from pretty much everywhere but T-Town, Blue Dome embraces truly local artists in a carefree, un-homogenized atmosphere. There will also be fun local performers such as Wheat Penny taking the stage. Need another reason to head over to the coolest part of downtown? I’ll be there with the Tulsa Craft Mafia! Come look for us on Elgin, somewhere between 1st and 2nd streets. We’ll be the foxy young gals with the awesome goodies for sale.

Also on offer in Tulsa’s art-deco-filled downtown is the Brady Arts Festival, which is new this year. It will feature Living Arts’ fabulous Art Car parade. I look forward to stealing a few moments to check it out.

Here are Blue Dome’s festival hours:

• Friday, May 14th from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Saturday, May 15th from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Sunday, May 16th from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Make sure to come see us!

Take my poll!

Blue Dome was fun, though it wasn't nearly as profitable as last year according to most sellers. I'm sure the economy -- and Friday's wind-tastic weather -- is mostly to blame, though it's always a little disappointing. For all the gory details, go check out this post by Hollyrocks (whose coverage, by the way, more than rocks.)


Since I'm taking a little craft-showin' break, I'm trying to reevaluate what I sell at these events. What better way, I thought, than to ask all of you? So, if you wouldn't mind taking just a second to respond to the poll at the top right of the page, I'd greatly appreciate it. Bonus: If you respond and then leave me a comment of any kind, I'll enter you in a chance to win some Grey Eye Designs goodies. Ooo! Contest will run now through May 29 at 5 p.m. Happy voting and commenting!

Blue Dome!

It's the start of the big, Blue-Domed weekend. As we speak, my cohorts in the Tulsa Craft Mafia are getting our booth ready to go. I'm headed over on lunch to do some more helping, but I won't be around much today. I still encourage everyone to go out tonight and enjoy the sunshine. If you're the brave, dedicated type, come back tomorrow for shopping in the rain. It'll be a fun, magical experience -- I promise!

After you say hello to us Mafiose in booths 104 and 105, go by booth 55 to see Sara and JD, the Deluxe directors. Make sure to buy lots of goodies from everyone to support the local economy and your favorite indie crafters, too!

I'll see you at 1st and Elgin!

Booth photos

No, not from a photobooth, though I do have some of those lying around. I promised I'd share a few pictures from my booth at the Blue Dome Arts Festival this past weekend. (By the way, I am definitely still recovering from it. It was exhausting!) These are all from Day 1 (May 16), so they are totally different from my booth configuration the rest of the weekend. They also lack the lovely JD Star, who shared with me Saturday and Sunday. If she gets any pictures up on her Flickr, I'll see if she doesn't mind sharing. So on with the show.

(Here's the booth head on. Notice it's in the middle of the street!)

(Here's me and my tummy showing off my banner)

(The left side of my booth. I love the chest and table coverings.)

(The right side. A little less flashy, but it got lookers.)

That's pretty much it. You'll notice the left side of my booth was made famous (ha!) by Ben Sumner. If you like my banner and want one of your own, check out the Branded Butterfly for lots of cool, personalized stuff. And yes, I am wearing red sparkly shoes. Why wouldn't I?

Catch you all again soon!

And breathe!

Blue Dome is done, so I can relax again. I'm sure what I had qualifies as an actual weekend, and I'm unconvinced I should have been forced to work today. Alas, my opinion matters little, for I am in my meat locker of an office, toiling away. Well, not so much toilnig as counting the minutes 'til I head out the door. It will likely be another early night for me again this evening.

So, a recap. The festival was fun, despite the devilish sun, my shoddy canopy, and the long days. I'll post pictures of the booth and such this week. I met and ran into lots of cool, fun people, and I am satisfied with the knowledge that several people around town are now sporting Grey Eye Designs originals. Woo hoo! Plus, now I have incentive to make and list new pieces. I didn't get rich or nothin', but I did make more than double my booth fee. I also got to spend time with a group of truly awesome, inspiring artists. In fact, I'm brainstorming a list of art and craft projects I want to start because of them. These fairs are always interesting. I learned a ton from a marketing perspective, from what I make that people like to the best way to attract traffic to my booth. Fascinating, I say.

And I got interviewed for this past weekend's edition of Up Late with Ben Sumner. If you missed it (and me in my pre-tan whiteness), you can check it out here. I'm in the first segment on Blue Dome. In addition to my little face, there are several product shots throughout. Kind of exciting. I am babbling, but at least I look fine!

Thanks to everyone who came out to see me. The best part of all was chatting with the people I knew, including some of the new faces I encountered. And as I've promised before, look for new items in my shop this week!

Blue Dome!

The Blue Dome Arts Festival starts tomorrow at noon!

Squeal! Cue excitement!

This is only my third show and my first multi-day show. I'm hoping all goes well! Today I purchased a second table, lacy curtains to use as table decor (that I hope will go nicely with my strip of red "velvet"), a collapsible chair in which to sit (which hopefully will not collapse with me in it!), and a set of shelves. I don't really know why I would need shelves, but if I do, I'll have them available. Still to purchase are paper bags for purchases, another receipt book, and concrete blocks. Ah yes, everyone's favorite. I unfortunately cannot lift them alone, especially not four, so my beloved will have to accompany me this evening to get them and then carry them from my car to my booth in the morning. There will be pictures -- fear not!

If you're from anywhere in the area, come on down! Blue Dome is a wonderful celebration of local artists. It's near Mayfest, which happens simultaneously, so you can get your music and funnel-cake fix and then stroll through our neck of downtown to support local art (and the Tulsa economy). My booth is near Dirty's Tavern, just off 2nd Street. I'll be sharing space with the lovely and talented JD Star on Saturday and Sunday, so come say hello to us both. If you work downtown and don't spend Friday's lunch break visiting me, I won't be your friend any more.

Blue Dome Arts Festival
Friday -- 12 to 9 p.m.
Saturday -- 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunday -- 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.