The Huffines Show in Richardson

The last art show of 2011 was in Richardson. This was the Huffines Show last weekend, Oct 22 & 23rd. Now this show is notorious for having notable weather. Cold fronts blowing through, rain storms surprising everyone, you name it. This weekend was no different. Sunday morning at about 1:00 a.m. a front came through complete with wind and rain. Several tents full of artists' work blew down and some artists lost a great deal of work. This is always a sad sight to see.

For Windsongs,the show was good and of course our product is made to survive all types of weather. Philip went by himself to this show. Our friend, Dave Piper was there to sell his sandals too.

So... now it's time to get ready for Christmas selling season!!

October Art Shows

Georgtetown Art Show
We were in Georgetown on October 15 & 16. Philip did this show by himself last year. I was in Virginia helping with the birth of baby Donovan, Jenny's third. The weather was great. The show had some good quality of art/crafts. Lots of retired folks were there, lots of folks from Sun City who said "we aren't allowed to have windchimes"! But we had good sales anyway. We also ended our second day with a nice visit to the home of old friends who used to live in Boerne. Also, on Sunday morning, along came Philip's niece, Sarah and her husband Jared and their new baby, Audrey. She is a cutie!

Notice, our booth is showing its age. Philip has always taken meticulous care of it, but alas, the sticky tape on the back of our sign that hangs at the top in the front, has lost it "stickines". After the last show of the fall, we will have to repair that!

Georgetown is an interesting place. Lots of old buildings that have been updated and are quaint looking homes to businesses and personal residences.

Many of the buildings have iron staircases leading to upstairs loft apartments or businesses. Some of the staircases were very unique.

The art show was held in the streets surrounding the courthouse.

Here is the lady of justice atop the roof of that courthouse.

A Well Deserved Vacation

OK,,, all vacations are well deserved,right? And this one is a trip down memory lane as this is a place we used to come somewhat often and then skipped for a few years. Some things have changed for the better. Some things have changed and we miss them. But... all in all, it is still great diving. We always stay at Captain Don's Habitat.

The accommodations are great. We are staying in the new section overlooking the water. As former owners of an iguana for many years (not something I would do again - for the iguana's sake), we are partial to these guys. Well, they are plentiful here. About 10 of them hang out on the low sea wall that borders the open are restaurant especially every morning.

So, other than our (my) lost luggage tragedy and PD's repiratory distress (a cold) he was recovering from at the beginning of the trip, things are going great. Here, on Bonaire, "Diving Freedom" is the motto, so taking a couple of tanks and driving up the road to a dive site on your own is popular. Here is your bellmaker coming out of the water, looking like Lloyd Bridges from an episode of Sea Hunt from dive site called Margates earlier this week.

Midland Art Show

Well, this show has come and gone. Sorry there are no pictures. I wasn't there and PD was too busy all alone to take any shots. All went well though. Business was good. This show is put on by the folks who support the local museum. I can't even remember how many years Windsongs has been a presence at this show.
I do remember that years ago when the whole family went to the show, Carla caught a horned toad that ambled into the booth. Little did we know that these little creatures were a protected species. But we found that out the following Monday when Carla took her little guy to school for show and tell! We did a quick release out into the wild soon thereafter!

On Vacation

Windsongs (ok- Philip and Judy) has taken a short vacation. We are currently in VA visiting with daughter, Jenny and her family. For those of you that have been reading your postcards all these years, this is the daughter who married, Michael (son of old friends). They have three kiddos now and live in VA.
So, we came for a visit and so far, we have seen one cemetary,gone to three museums, eaten gourmet foods, been to the movies, been to swimming lessons, took a boat ride on the Potomac AND played with grandchildren. Here are a few photos to substantiate our fun:

We are not so sure the newest babe has decided whether or not to stick it out with this clan!

Rockport on Fourth of July!!

Happy Fourth of July to everyone.
Another good show. In fact, a great show!!
One never knows about Rockport. We have melted, been blown around and been in some bad storms in our years at this show. This year was hot, but not unbearable. Lots of people were in Rockport this year, so business was good. This show has a nice artists party on Friday early evening in the art museum. It is a chance to eat and talk with the other artists. This group of museum staff and volunteers is one of the nicest groups we work with. They work very hard to make sure the artists are comfortable and have everything they need.

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Our friend and wonderful jeweler, Steve Kriechbaum, was there there year and wowed the jewelry buying crowd!

"The Bird Guy" was present, as usual. At 10:00, on Saturday, when the gates open, people RUN to his booth to snatch up the beautiful birds he creates from narly pieces of wood. This year was no exception. People ran from both gates to converge on him. For the rest of the morning, you could see people walking out with 2-3 of his pieces.

Rockport is a show where everyone comes to visit us. My sister, Jan and her husband, Alan come up from Victoria. Our friends, Jen and Drew from San Antonio spend the weekend visiting us and the town. Our friend, Jeff, who lives in Rockport comes by to hang out and catch up. Plus, since we are close to Victoria, friends from our school days come by. We also just enjoy Rockport. I strolled over to the little harbor and took some pictures of:

the harbor

the birds

and the jellyfish!






No more shows now for a several weeks. Philip will still take orders over the internet and by phone. We will fly to VA to see Jenny and family. Hang out with Carla and family in Boerne and go to the lake in Austin as long as there is water.

Father's Day Weekend in Nashville

This is the weekend every year we spend in Nashville at the American Artisan show. We left Boerne on Tues,got as far as Austin, spent the night on our boat and then took off early on Wed. The goal was to make it through Memphis by Wednesday night, thus avoiding the early morning Memphis traffic. Then the trip into Nashville is easy and we can leisurely set up the booth and be ready for Friday opening at noon.
We saw water and green grass and trees as we got into Tenn.

The show was somewhat similar to years' past. The originator of the show was Nancy Saturn who was a breast cancer survivor and used part of the proceeds to support cancer research. Nancy always fed the artists on Friday night at her house. The house was full of arts and crafts that she had collected over the many years. Her husband, Allen, was also very active in th life of the show. Both of these people passed away two years ago. One of their daughters is working to keep the show going. It was a good show for us this year. Our booth was in the same place. Our friend, Dave Piper, was there to sell his great sandals.

We stayed in our ususal Holiday Inn that backs up to Vanderbilt campus.

We ate (several times) those delicious pulled pork sandwhiches at Hog's Breath, which is luckily located just a few yards behind our booth.

We saw lots of old friends, lots of great customers, and saw RAIN!!
Our friends, Carla and Bill Puckett, took us out to eat and listen to a band called The BOOMERS one night. We were in the cool music area of Nashville. The food was great and the music was from our youth.

The show ended at 5:00 pm on Sunday and we were home by midnight Monday evening. The ride home is always longer, right?

Memorial Day Weekend - Texas State Arts and Crafts Fair

This was one windy, hot show. I probably should highlight the word "windy". The hot, dry wind blew constantly! This show has evolved over the many years we have been in attendance. In fact, we coutned the years - over 30! We started the show over on the Schreiner U. campus. It was packed with artists and with customers. People traveled from all over Texas and spent the whole weekend in Kerrville. They purchased many, many great craft pieces and works of art.
All things change - and so has this show. It is now located at the local fair grounds and is only two and a half days really. The crowds are down. And while there still are some great crafts present and a little bit of fine art, there is some not so great stuff. And people attend, but not from far away spots in Texas.
Some artists sold very little. Others did ok. We did alright. The show is close to home, which helps with expenses. But the weather - yikes!
Our booth was in the same spot we have been in since we moved to the new location. At the end of one of the big tents.

We rotate neighbors almost every year on one side. Dave Piper with Piper Sandals is always behind us. This makes for great conversation. But don't get him started on politics.
Carla, Julien and Sascha come for a visit one day. Sascha just slept through the whole thing.

Carla and Julien rested and snacked....

.... and rode a pony.

So, another year done. We reminisced about all the artists who have done this show over the years. We missed Ed Worland's presence and his beautifl chairs that sat under the trees. We missed Audie and Annette, past directors. But, there is new blood, new younger artists starting out in this business. Hopefully, good shows will continue.

Fayetteville, TX - A Well Kept Secret

Art show number three took place in Fayetteville, a very quaint little town in east Texas (near La Grange).

This is our second year to do this show. It takes place on the town square. Because of that setting, it is very easy to set up and tear down the display. The folks who put on the show do a great job and work hard to take care of the artists. Lots of "Houstonites" have second homes in Fayetteville and they come to the show. Visitors from Austin and other towns near Houston, come as well. Their is usually a bike race early on Saturday morning. The riders come to the show once they are back from riding.

Last year, we spent Friday and Saturday night at the very old, local hotel. It was right above a restaurant, so we were awakened by the smell of coffee and bacon early in the morning. Unfortunately, thast hotel burned during the year, so this time we spent our nights in a great little bed and breakfast. The house was quaint, and well maintained. However, things were a little on the small side. Philip banged his head often on the low door frames!

All of the buildings around the town square, as well as many houses in the community have colorful trim or bright background color. Here are just a few pictures.

Our Second Show - The King William Faire

On April 16th, we were a part of the once day show in san Antonio at the King William Faire. This is always a great show. Great because it is one day, great because it is part of the San Antonio Fiesta Celebration and great because lots of people come to the show and buy bells! You can go to this link to see pictures of the show from this year and a few past years as well.

http://www.kwfair.org/index.php/photo-gallery

The parade is a hoot. Always late in starting. Lots of homemade floats. Lots of dog dressed in all sorts of costumes. And finally, King Rea Feo (the Ugly King).

This is the official logo of the show for the 2011 year.

Philip working hard to sell a bell to everyone!

Spring '11 Art Shows

The first show this spring was in The Woodlands near Houston.

Like any show that occurs in a crowded "town" area, navigating your vehicle into loading spaces is never something one looks forward to. And since this show is ON the waterway in The Woodlands and our booth space backs up to the Marriott, one can imagine the difficulty unloading and reloading might present. But, two things helped this year. Philip managed to get everything into the back (and front)of the truck, so we did not need the trailer. AND.. the art show folks had a good system in place so that artists could get as close as possible to their booth space, they had staff driving golf carts around to assit you and finally, the security folks were great about helping you problem solve difficult situations.

This show has a dinner and auction (of artists' donated pieces)on Friday night, held at the Marriott. As usual, the food was great. PD donated two samller bells as one gift and then a 6dot as another. We were happy to see that the bells were chosen pretty early in the auction process!

Overall, the show was great. Sales were very good and you always meet interesting people in Houston. Customers were from everywhere - Texas,of course, but also England, Scotland, Brazil, Mexico and Canada!

Across the waterway from our booth is a condominium complex. It's always interesting to watch people come out onto their patios and eat, entertain, etc. It is also nice to see the two residents who have purchased bells from us and hung them out on those patios.

Our friend, Dave Piper, was exhibiting as were many other artist buddies. For us, this was a good start to the 2011 season.
We also had a great vew of a little duck family in the water. We watched mama duck keep her eye on her babies,then finally she and Papa got in the water with them and take a little journey down the waterway and back.