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Textile Design

What It Takes to Get Press

I’m gobsmacked, tickled, stunned by the Where Women Create feature article on my business. It’s in the Spring 2023 edition now available online and at bookstores nationwide. I shouldn’t be so surprised. After all, I sent in an application, submitted writing and...

You Have to Be There!

“I need people’s energy,” said Michelle Obama during her recent interview on Conan O’Brien’s podcast. I sat up straighter when I heard that declaration. “Me too!” I nodded. Her words exemplified what stood out for me in 2022. My most memorable experiences were in...

Spending and Restoring Creative Energy

If I asked you to use a word or a phrase to describe my aesthetic, I have no doubt that an adjective like ‘intricate’ or an expression such as ‘detail-oriented’ would pop up. Once interviewed for a TV segment, I was asked by the host if I knew the Latin phrase...

We Creatives ALL Wear Two Hats

This past month has been devoted to BTS efforts as I prepare to approach the media with my rebranding. BTS - an acronym for Behind the Scenes - reveal what’s beneath the surface, like icebergs, or inside the perfect-looking toe shoes of the Bolshoi ballerinas. In...

My Dyeing Days & Others on Whidbey Island

It all started in April with a Facebook message from a friend, Patti King, whom I hadn’t seen in 30 years. I’ve known Patti since our kids were in elementary school together in Connecticut. She wove rag rugs the same way I decorated eggs – at a museum quality...

Your Reinvention Refresh

The long-anticipated highlight of the past month was a trip to Atlanta for the Design Influencers Conference. Heeding warnings about flight delays and cancellations, I left a day early and spent an extra night at my destination. To fill the time, I contacted two...

Welcome to My Newly Branded Blog!

As I've re-designed my business to feature my art as well as my entrepreneurship and writing, I want to share with you monthly what I'm working on and what's inspiring me. A quick re-cap of July to set the stage for August: I was in full recovery mode after hip...

I Knew Something Great Would Happen

I arrived at the D&D Building in NYC this afternoon armed with a large tote bag filled with pillows not knowing exactly how this adventure would go. I had committed to take images of my handmade designs in decorative settings and thought the D&D Building...

My Form of E – Thank You, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

I read the obituary for Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi this morning and recalled how influential his book, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience was for me when I read it in the early 90s. The Times article linked to his 2004 TED talk which I also watched today. It...

Client Testimonial for My Custom Throw Pillows

How easy is it for you to ask for help? In my experience, it used to be a deal-breaker. I'd rather struggle along solo than risk rejection. What I've come to understand is that I am able move on from rejection, and still be okay. But more important, when I do...

A 10-Hour Blind Date

Following one lead after another, which I do, I was introduced to Melanie Falick, the author of Making a Life. During a phone conversation in early June, she described a friend of hers who lives near Wilkes Barre, PA, who has the most extensive felted wool...

Old School and Proud of It

Visiting my grandsons in New Jersey last weekend, I was taken aback when Owen, the 7-year old, called something I'd done "so old school." Fortunately, my failing memory can't come up with the exact moment he used the phrase, only that I was temporarily startled,...

Stop Waiting for Permission!

I gave a talk early this morning to a group of business owners. The feedback I got was so uplifting and motivating that I decided I need to bring my message to a larger audience. "I should post videos of me sharing my experience, strength and hope to the masses -...

My Word for 2021 – Just Like Bergdorf Goodman’s

If the great city I live in is going to the trouble of providing a decorated tree, and retail stores are filling their windows with special displays for passers-by, the least I can do is be a witness. So last week, I hit the train and made a quick tour of...

A GIFT FOR YOU

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