heartfelt notions

...boxes of buttons, tidy hand-stitching, neat seams on old cloth, vintage thread and needles...fabric, felt, emery...these are things of inspiration for Debbie Hartwick. They are her heart's desire, her mind's wanderings and the soul of her wonderful "Hartwells" creations.

As a textile artist, Debbie imbues each of her creations with her charms as fabric to a frock. Penguins don party hats, squirrels dance atop circus balls, and giraffes pose stylishly in velveteen waistcoats and ruff collars. While each of her festive creations is worthy of good use at the hands of a seamstress -- they are after all functional objects masquerading as toys -- for me, one completely inept with the needle, her soft sculptures, pin keeps and pals are at home among my collections and displays.

….More wonderful goodies have arrived at Earth Angels from Debbie’s Greenbelt, MD studio. Pincushions and fabulously festive critters, delicious textures and yummy vintage fabrics… Debbie's work is impeccably made with her unparalleled skills and are so very sweet on the eyes. I am totally thrilled to welcome Debbie to Earth Angels…and so pleased to be able to offer her original work to our customers.

Like so many people in my life, Debbie walked in one wonderful day as a new friend and is now in my heart forever. Debbie is a great gal pal to Stacey Bear, so I already knew I would love her... Though I had long heard her name in Stacey's gal pal tales, I met Debbie for the first time the very same day I met Laurie Meseroll, Lori Ann Corelis and Kim Stout...What a day to remember for sure!

Debbie's page of "Hartwells" should be up on our website soon...In the meantime, e-mail if you'd like to see more images of her latest work.

I have to say a big whoops for missing my post last Saturday...I did run away again. As promised, it was once again to Stacey's! Thanks to Stacey for Rory's yummy birthday cake... and to Doug and Carson too for a magical weekend and such great hospitality. We all really needed a break from the construction mess that's here...the kids and Micah love being with the Bear's as much as I do!

xxoo Jen O'Connor

Earth Angels Toys

Hello Blackbird

There's a funny moment when a bird is about to land...it considers the possibility of exactly where, and may circle again until it finds that perfect spot.

It took a while for Deirdre Friebely and I to land ourselves together. She lives is in Jacksonville, Florida, not a lunch date away. And here I sit in Warwick, New York. We went back and forth over the months, each of us with our busy lives, trying to find a moment in stride to even have a conversation about her Blackbird Designs.

But like the bird for whom her fetching works are named, she has a mellow fluted call and the persistent and happy song of her creations won me over. In the time it's taken us to make arrangements for her paintings to be presented by Earth Angels, the texture of her work has matured... and if possible, become even more delightful!

And so, Deirdre Friebely has landed herself and her sassy style at Earth Angels with total aplomb! I am convinced she creates on canvas what a muse can only hope to do in prose. Deirdre's paintings beg you to look at them and consider their song.

Each is marked by a flurry of bright shapes and often cheerfully painted diddies. With a confident application of color and deftly shaped compositions, she lures her prey to read her tilted writing. Then, she hunkers down in wait while your chuckle emerges. Her work exists just where the aesthetic meets funny bone, pure whimsy.

As you can tell, we had great fun together. Deirdre is as fun and spunky as her work; I liked her as instantly as I liked her creations. Getting to know her is a real treat, so I especially thrilled we will be working closely together to offer her work on an exclusive basis. Her webpage will be up on our site soon so keep a keen eye! (...by the way thanks, Paul, with the new DNS the site is SUPER fast in loading all those pages and images!)

I have to mention that we had just a few of Deirdre's pieces hung at the party in May. Laurie Meseroll and Lisa Kaus were the first to purchase paintings, and Leslie McCabe was attracted, too....not knowing that Deirdre was the daughter of her folk art show pal, Diana Card, also a painter!

....Pack up all my care and woe
Here I go singing low
Bye Bye Blackbird .....
When somebody waits for me
Sugar is sweet, so is he
Bye Bye Blackbird .....

...but ever better than "bye bye", please join me in saying...

"Hello, Deirdre!" ....and if you'd like to be on her sneak peek list to see her latest Blackbird Designs, just email me at jen@earthangelstoys.com

xxoo Jen O'Connor....Earth Angels

BIG NEWS - Gallery Events

BIG NEWS!

We are thrilled to announce the launch of Earth Angels' "Gallery Events" to celebrate our favorite artists and their contemporary American Folk Art...

....AND YOU ARE INVITED...

We've just made arrangements with "The Country Life Gallery" in downtown Warwick, New York to host three events. This fabulous gallery space is owned by our friends Ken and Debbie Kroslak. I want to thank them for this amazing opportunity to showcase our artists and wish them the very best as the open their store...

For some time, I have felt strongly that the artists with whom we do business, and have celebrated in the posts to this blog, should receive serious attention for their work. Folk art has surely blurred the line between fine art and craft. It celebrates what we love, our homes and our memories, and it breathes a fresh energy into decor. As my pal Debbee Thibault said back in May when she addressed the guests at our Spring Soiree, it will emerge triumphant, as the art of our age.

So without further ado, let me say that we hope you can join us at our upcoming events to celebrate the art we love! Please save the dates...

GALLERY RECEPTION

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15TH
2PM – 7PM Open to the Public

“Bounty”

Celebrating the art of Jennifer Lanne and Jill Wiener
A showing of Jennifer Lanne’s original paintings complimented with a showcase of “EarthGirl Pottery” by Jill Wiener

“The Country Life Gallery”
40 Main Street, Warwick, NY


GALLERY RECEPTION

“Mud-Cakes and small stories studios”

SATURDAY, November 3rd

Noon- 2pm
Private Showing for Earth Angels’ Customer Friends

Reservations Required

2PM – 7PM
Open to the Public

Celebrating the art of Laurie Meseroll
A showing of Laurie’s “Mud-Cakes” paintings and collages complimented
with a showcase of mixed media and paper art by Cheryl Kuhn of “small stories studios”

“The Country Life Gallery”
40 Main Street, Warwick, NY

"heART of Winter"

February 2-3, 2008

An Artists Trunk Show

...details to follow...save the date...

“The Country Life Gallery”

40 Main Street, Warwick, NY

Of course these events will have all the signature style of our Earth Angels parties....plenty of good cheer, yummy food, fabulous friends and wonderful art to appreciate and to perhaps take home...

ANY QUESTIONS….

....feel free to call or email with any questions. We have directions and overnight accommodation info 8am-8pm NY time (845) 986-8720

AND ...special HAPPY BIRTHDAY wishes to RO!

We hope to see you there!
xxoo Jen O’Connor
Earth Angels Toys

Momentos of our trip

If I ever run away from home, look no further than Stacey's. I could while away the hours playing with her treasures, riffling through stacks of books, and running my hands over sumptuous piles of fabric in her studio. Her dining room is one of my favorite rooms on the planet, with wide plank floors, stone walls and the flow blue that is original to the house. Never mind the buttons, all those buttons, and the dollies, the collections...and Stacey herself.

Truly, my weekend at Stacey's each summer is better medicine for hyper busy me than any spa vacation. Time with her and my gal pals is delicious, as with any great friends. I am at ease, stilled and ensconced in an orb or acceptance that impatient, sassy and oh so idiosyncratic me, should never undervalue!

Like her friendship, I treasure her work. If you've been to my home you can see it is all about me. (Please read what I wrote about Stacey back in April when I dedicated one of my earlier blog posts to her.) Her pieces are as meaningful as good memories; they are Momentos, soulful and inspiring.

Thanks to Stacey for her kindness, her wonderful hospitality and for the talent she shares in her awesome creations. She sent me home from my jaunt to York filled with new ideas for decorating, plans for outings with the kids and my gal pals, and some thoughts on ways to grill pizza!

I am totally thrilled to share her latest work with you; I hope it gives you a glimmer of that wonderfully fresh feeling of inspiration. Some of her jewelry has just been posted, and the new larger pieces will be up this weekend. We should add, the website will be moved to a new host this and you will note, a GREAT INCREASE in SPEED!!

Thanks to you Stacey for the Momentos of a wonderful trip.

xxoo Jen

Earth Angels

Treasure Trip

...this is post 1 of 2 on our annual antiquing trip to York and our visit to gal pal Stacey Bear, artist extraordinaire, and creator of Momentos...

I would love to say I could take you there, but with Stacey driving and my mind on the next great find, I am clueless to the back roads and byways we travelled. I can tell you the collection of antique shops, malls and vintage marvels we encountered is not to be surpassed. Even better, the company of good friends on our shared mission will long be remembered.

Let's see...the journey started at 4:30 am when Lisa and I roused ourselves and set off to pick up Ro in New Jersey. Our first stop was Adamstown, PA to hit the Sheds at Black Angus (not unlike a religious pilgrimage I try to make a few times each year...)

I should mention that I almost got us thrown out of the Quickie Mart on Route 222 shortly after 7 am ... I just could not fathom why I had to enter my breakfast order on a touch pad doo-dad when there was actually a human standing behind the counter with whom I could converse. Besides a general loathing for techno stuff (I do not even own a hair dryer), I doubted there was some magic button to order a toasted sesame bagel with Swiss and hot peppers. Thanks to Ro we made it out alive, and with our breakfast! (...I digress, but keeping four ladies fueled up on food and caffeine was a big part of the weekend...After all, having fun is serious business and surely burns those carbs!)

The Black Angus in Adamstown yielded 1950s pink-painted kiddie kitchen furniture for my Charlotte, some fabulous chippy benches for Ro and a few beloved old toy doggies for Lisa. I also bought an incredible half size dress form...the one I've been waiting to find since I fell in love with old textiles and dolls as a teenager (...the only other one I've seen like it belongs to Nicol Sayre, and she bought hers from the same dealer a few years back!). From there we headed west to meet Stacey in an obscure parking lot off Route 76. I confess, I did get us briefly lost somewhere near the famous "Star Barn"...but we did find Stacey....and all this by 10am!

Next, we motored up to Lemoyne's Antique Marketplace...and that's when it goes all fuzzy. We were awake now and in full swing...it was antiquing heaven. A thin haze of lust had set in, with us peering around the aisles for something undiscovered and wondrous, gasping at some booths' price tags and chuckling at the bargains in others. I unearthed some divine green furniture buried in a booth so dusty it was akin to an archaeological dig. Stacey hit a tidy jackpot of old trays and Lisa kept herding all the chalkware, ceramic and stuffed doggies she could find. Did I mention that Ro actually got the most amazing pair of chairs for two bucks apiece?

The next day the merriment of the hunt continued with a jaunt to Columbia and parts of Lancaster. If you find yourself there, don't miss the Burning Bridge Antiques Mall. Oh, and can you read the historical marker for me...When did the bridge burn? I am sure I was supposed to take note, but I needed coffee! In between shops we found the best of burgers near the now, un-burnt bridge. By the end of the day there was a splurge, the folk art ferris wheel you see in my arms above, and some steals and deals, including yummy brown transfer ware and a kitschy Statue of Liberty.

Stacey was the perfect hostess and tour guide...ever patient with our incessant wanderings, up and down...all over...back and forth. Thanks Stacey for a wonderful gal pal weekend. You totally spoiled us and I love you even more for it!

I am hoping if I am a good girl she'll take me again next year, and I will carefully note the routes and roads on my own treasure map!

xxoo Jen O'Connor

Earth Angels ps ...watch for my next post on Wednesday...I'll be giving you a peek inside Stacey's amazing home and studio....

pottery play date

Have you had the perfect summer day? ....The one where time feels as frozen and immobile as when you were a child.... Those long, sweet childhood days were longer than any I now know.

I remember when time was suspended and there was no agenda, no plan, no "to-do" list. The hours slipped by with no quantifiable measures of moments, they just were. That was when life was on "play" instead of "fast forward". Summer is a fabulous time to find a few days like that once again...and it might just be possible if you know Jill Wiener!

We just had one of those days at her Earth Girl Pottery Studio. Jill gave my kids lessons on her wheel and I strolled about while Laurie Meseroll arrived with her teenagers (reluctant to come and then long to leave the party). We sat drinking coffee and watched our children paint pots with Jill's help. We played on the dock, counted tadpoles and paddled a red canoe across the pond. Divine!

Jill Wiener lives in a her own paradise of old barns and well tended cutting gardens 12 miles from the nearest chain store. Her wonderful home and studio are in the middle of the prettiest nowhere I have ever been. It's the perfect spot for the ultimate playdate... (Sigh... I write this with good memories of a day well contented with a constant feast of friendship and fun....)

Beg, borrow or steal the time to play...even just a little... this summer.

xxoo Jen

Earth Angels

ART & FRIENDSHIP WEEKEND

...August 25-26, Pottery Studio Tour & Gallery Breakfast

Plans are in the works to bring 20 collectors and enthusiasts to Jill's studio On August 25th for a POTTERY PLAYDATE! If you are interested in joining us, please e-mail me for details as space is limited. We'll also celebrate with a breakfast on Sunday, August 26 to launch our gallery showing of work by Jennifer Lanne and Jill Wiener in downtown Warwick, New York!

Angels For Brianna - SPECIAL POST

…Angels for Brianna Auction… Earth Angels Participates along with …Angel Artists ...Laurie Meseroll, Nicol Sayre, Christine Crocker, Cheryl Kuhn, and Ulla Norup Milbrath...

More than 70 artists and crafters have donated angel-themed creations to a silent auction currently underway. The auction is in memory of Brianna, a 17 year old whose life ended in June after battling the disease MDS. Brianna was a lover of the arts and was the founder of the National Art Honor Society at her High School.

Proceeds from the auction will be used to fund this group and provide financial relief to her family for medical and burial expenses.

Earth Angels has just donated a piece in conjunction with Laurie Meseroll to this auction and we invite you to view it and the other items available.

The auction ends on Saturday, July 14th. Please view this link for full details.

http://www.angelsforbrianna.blogspot.com/

Thank you for your kind support of this effort and please bid generously.
xxoo
Jen O’Connor

Earth Angels Toys