New Year, New Improved, New Embroidery...ummm...New...
Happy New Year Friends!
What did everyone do for New Year’s Eve? What did I do you say?! Well, first I opened a bottle of wine, then I jumped on a rocket-ship which took me to superman’s palace where we partied with my cat Nigel and Swamp Thing, Then I was really tiny and running away from reindeer droppings and THEN I woke up because I was in bed and asleep by 9pm New Year’s Eve… It’s not because I’m boring - jerk, it’s part of my do nice things to myself effort and one of those nice things is not waking up with hangovers and wondering if being alive is worth this pain.
And so, in the spirit of nice things, I thought I’d give you guys who are interested a run-down of some of the fun and not so fun – but still good things The Monsters Lounge will be taking on in 2017.
I’ll keep it brief but if you have any questions or suggestions then comment below or just hit me up with an email.
Year Round Floral Name Hoops
Starting with something good! I’ll be opening up the small and medium Floral Name hoops so that they’re available without having to book yourself a custom slot. I loved doing these and have missed them terribly since I’ve been so focused on larger pieces. As they’re pretty small, the most you’ll have to wait for one is two weeks so I figured what the hell. Here’s a link to the medium listing with some example pictures.
Reduced Custom Houses & Floral Quotes
Something less good - although my fingers don’t agree! Unfortunately I need to reduce the amount of custom house and quote orders I take. I know, it sucks because I had already reduced the amount I was taking. It may seem counter intuitive since they are my most popular items but I have genuinely been struggling. I'm incapable of reducing the amount of detail that I put into each one so I have had a hard time, this past year getting them out to you on time.
I hope you’ll find this a positive thing because it means that I will be devoting all of my resources and attention to making your house or quote look as beautiful and gorgeous as possible. This might even lead so some of the best work since we’ll have more time to play around with ideas.
I’ll be taking one a month for the next 5 months on a first come first serve basis. I’ll be on vacation in May (more on that later) then I’ll open up slots for the rest of the year. Booking the slot will be the same as last year – I’ll put the listing up and let you know. Make sure you’re subscribed to my newsletter for a little discount!
E-book
After that downer, some excellent news. Although no, I won’t be able to make as many beautiful embroidered houses as I would like to…maybe you can!
For the next few months I’ll be working on an e-book which will outline for you crafty stitchers, all of the processes, sneaky tricks and suggested embellishments to make your very own embroidered house. I’ve been making notes over the past year of all the different techniques that go into building these homes and I’m really excited to have come to a point where I can share that with you. So if you’re feeling ambitious, want a new project or a lovely sentimental handmade gift to give stay tuned!
Patterns
Speaking of patterns, in January and February I’ll be furiously designing and listing a bunch of new patterns to the Etsy shop. To include but not limited to those sweet little floral monograms, the tap pattern and that paint-can rainbow that spills off the hoop. These are perfect projects if you have (and I know you do) mason jars filled with left over thread that you can’t bear to throw out.
Supplies
And if you are in need of embroidery supplies for those new patterns, I’ll also be adding a bunch of items to the supply section of my etsy store. Starting off, I'll be adding glow in the dark thread and some thread savers.
I’m on the continued hunt for new, interesting, quirky and useful embroidery supplies so if you have any suggestions you’d like to see just let me know!
Artwork
This will also hopefully be a big year for developing my own artwork.
The coolest work I’ve made has been as a result of working with you guys on your custom orders. This has meant my own ideas have been on a bit of a back burner, not that I mind at all since I would never have expanded my skills and knowledge and capabilities without your incredible ideas and creativity.
So I think this will be the year for both! I’m hoping to make some much much larger pieces that I’d like to submit to galleries and shows.
AND…segwaying smoothly into my next plan…
Collaborations
2017 will, cross your fingers be the year I bring to you all the wonderful, sentimental stationary offerings from a dear friend of mine. She is the one behind the carousel and those adorable, heart clenching mini hoops I spoke about on Instagram. We are hoping to finally work together on a few projects that include embroidered cards, calendars and the like.
I am also in talks with one very talented young illustrator to work with her on making a shared piece of art. This wont be the only collab piece I make this year, so I’ll be putting the feelers out there for other artists or creatives who want to work together on creating something magical.
If you or someone you know might be interested in working together on something, just drop me a line!
Blog Guests
And continuing down the slope on that Segway – I’ll also be putting out the call for some blog collabs. Guest posts from the huge amount of talented embroidery nuts there are out in the world.
We won’t just be talking technique, but also looking at world embroidery, culture shifts, embroideries impact on people’s lives, anything.
I am genuinely interested in hearing from you on this. Even if you think you suck at writing but have something to say about anything embroidery – as simple as look this is my first piece and this is why it makes me happy. Just contact me and we can schedule you in. Trust me, so many people are interested in what you have to say.
Trip to England
Finally, in May we’ll be heading back to England to attend the wedding of the sweetest most spectacular human in the world – my best of friends.
While I’m there, I’m hoping to have time to visit and bring back photos of some of the rich cultural history of embroidery that England has to offer.
One of the things that first attracted me to embroidery was the practice of stumpwork which is a 17th Century English technique of raised embroidery. I know our museums have an array of examples.
I’ll also be dragging my mother to some craft shops to pick up a bunch of beautiful embroidery frames and notions, so if you have been looking for some high quality embroidery supplies steeped in history – keep checking the Etsy store after May!
That’s it for the first post of 2017! Thank you all so much for being a part of this community and for supporting small artists like myself. I know you think that clicking like or signing up for a newsletter is nothing at all, but connecting with you that way has brought me an immense level of joy. I appreciate everything that you have done for me whether it be buying from me, commenting on an Instagram post or simply following along. You have all my gratitude. Here’s to a wonderful and happy 2017 for each and everyone of you.
Much of the sweetest love
T