Back From Florida...

...and so much to do! I've only been back from my Passover vacation (photos to come!) for a few hours and I'm already feeling overwhelmed. This week, I'll be finishing details, organizing, pricing, etc. because Sunday, May 4th is the first day of "Artisan Sundays" at the North Market! Yipeee, I am so excited!
Check out the fliers below or visit The North Market's website for more info.



My booth at the North Market will feature several new lines of jewelry:
Microbes: pendants and earrings with hand-drawn cell images and references to the microscopic
Kosher Couture: jewelry and accessories for the lover of Jewish culture
At the Library: pendants and rings with images of books, writing, and text

I also have made many more polymer clay food items especially for summer: these are not listed on my Etsy site, so be sure to stop by my booth to say hi and to check out my work. Besides my typical wares, I will also have a spectacular "bargain bin" with deals galore.

Oh, and if you haven't checked out the latest press about the Columbus City Sampler in the ALIVE, you should do so right away! It's a very nice little write-up. The Columbus Samplers are sold out, by the way...so if you didn't manage to get your hands on one, don't forget that many of the fabulous contributors will also be vendors at the North Market. So stop by and check out their awesome work!

I Was On The Radio...

...yesterday morning! Dilara, Chris, and I were guests on the CD101 Morning Show to talk about the Columbus City Sampler. Even though our time was short, it was a blast! CD101 has an awesome space in the Brewery District; I had never been to their studio before yesterday. I was surprised to see that the "Big Room" wasn't as big as I had imagined.

City Sampler Press!

City Sampler: Columbus received some nice press on the Craft: Magazine blog the other day!

Be on the lookout for an article in the Columbus Dispatch on Monday, April 7th. And listen for me and some other awesome Sampler contributors on the CD101 Morning Show on Wednesday, April 9th at 7:15 am. In case you don't know, you can find CD101 on the radio at 101.1 fm in Columbus. You can also listen LIVE at CD101.com!

Remember, the Columbus City Sampler goes on sale on Monday, April 7th at 9 am EDT! Get it online before it sells out at www.homeofthesampler.com.

Columbus City Sampler: Get It April 7th!

Columbus, Ohio, USA: The Independent Arts Capital of the World -- Indie artists, crafters, and small businesses are creating amazing works right here in Columbus. Consumers can receive a representative sampling of their work by ordering the Columbus City Sampler for only $20.

The Columbus City Sampler will go on sale April 7 at www.homeofthesampler.com/city/columbus.html.

Inspired by City Samplers from San Francisco, Brooklyn, and Boston, Columbus Sampler curator Amy Neiwirth wanted to showcase the incredible talent in our own capital city. “This is a wonderful way to highlight that creative, do-it-yourself spirit we have in Columbus,” Amy says. Working with Alison Gordon of homeofthesampler.com, Amy helped organize the Columbus City Sampler by seeking contributions from fellow artists, crafters, and indie business owners. The City Sampler is an exciting venue for these individuals to promote their original creations, events, and services while showcasing the city of Columbus. Those who purchase the City Sampler are in for a treat that is well worth the money.

The Columbus City Sampler features contributions ranging from buttons to earrings to small prints and more. Each City Sampler will include a selection of items from the following contributors: Adam Brouillette/Little Red Men; AmyD; An Artful Note; Anne Holman Jewelry Design; Bead Noir; Betty's/Surly Girl Saloon; Bootleg; Chop Chop Gallery; Couchfire Collective; Crafty Beavers; Jennifer Sadler Designs; Kiko Kreations; L. Cabanero Designs; Lisa's Paperdoll; Locura; Lucky Kat; Lusterbunny; Made in a Treehouse; Moogan Creations; Out of the Pink Sky Designs; Patrice Lehocky; Rivet; Sharon Bell/Dirty Booty Clothing; Spacedog Studios; Sparrow Design Works; Sweet Stella Designs; What the Rock; Wholly Craft; and Yumi Yumi.

About The Sampler: The Sampler is a marketing & promotional tool for indie businesses. Each month, independent crafters, artists, shops, ‘zines and record labels who run web-based businesses send samples and promotional materials to a contribution pool. All the samples are photographed, posted to the site and then are portioned out, packaged and sent to Sampler subscribers, other Sampler contributors and members of the media all over the world.

Past contributors to The Sampler have received national attention in ElleGirl, CRAFT, Adorn, Bust, Venus, and Readymade magazines, as well as in indie blogs such as Craftster, Rare Bird Finds, Modish, and IndieFixx.

C-Note Art Show

Last weekend, my artwork was in a group show called C-Note at Junctionview Studios in Grandview (my favorite place!). The premise was that each artwork in the show was priced at $100, making the show a great destination for those wishing to start an art collection at an affordable price.
Below is a photo of my artworks that were in the show (clockwise, from top left): Watch What You Eat; This Is What Ice Cream Does To My Insides; To Meditate on the Goodness of Sweets (Cookie Mandala); Untitled (Mmm...Donuts); Sweet on the Inside.

I am sad that many of my photos from the show didn't turn out so well; below are the best ones. There was some great art to see at C-Note!

Kosher & Cool

It's here! My new line of kitschy, fun polymer clay jewelry items for the lover of all things Jewish! It all started with making some little Hamantaschen earrings for the holiday of Purim, which falls on March 20-21 this year. Then, I started thinking about Passover foods and general Jewish foods: and Kosher Couture was born!

From bagels and lox to falafel, these cute little foods are the perfect way to salute Jewish culture.
You can check out the Kosher Couture section of the Sweet Stella Designs shop HERE.

Custom orders are always welcome!

Snowpocalypse

I'm officially back from my blogging hiatus. I have some extra time because all of my weekend plans were canceled due to the storm of the century! Really! Columbus got dumped on: a record-breaking 20 inches of snow. I haven't tried to go anywhere since 2 pm on Friday. Today I went out to dig my car out from the bumper-deep snow drifts.

Enjoy the photos!






Stella's got the right idea...off to take a nap!
I'll be back soon with some updates about Sweet Stella Designs.

Looking for Crafty Supplies?

Well, look no further! I opened up a new Etsy shop, Sweet Stella Stash, to sell supplies, findings, and other crafty items. I needed to de-clutter my craft room and found that I had tons of cool stuff that I was never going to use.
I have already sold 3 items, which is a much better track record than I started out with for my other shop! Many new items will appear within the next few weeks, so get excited. Yipee!

Sweet Valentine

Looking for a gift for your valentine? Look no further than Sweet Stella Designs!
Have something special in mind? I would be happy to create a custom order for you or your special someone!

SHOP ONLINE HERE!

Craft Sunday

Today, I taught an hour-long workshop for the Columbus Community Kollel's conference for Jewish women.


My workshop was about creating your own handmade accessory (fabric flower brooches) and the importance of shopping locally and buying handmade. I made a packet for the participants with websites, local shops, events, and directions for the project.

Shop Locally & Buy Handmade:

• To build a strong local economy
• To support independent entrepreneurs and small business owners (many of whom are women!)
• To combat the forces of mass production, which can be detrimental to our environment
• To find unique pieces that are created with love

Colour Lovers

I have discovered yet another way to make time slip by, leaving me wondering what it is that I was supposed to be doing at the computer: colourlovers.com!
I signed up for an account today (I was inspired by this thread on columbusunderground.com), and got to work creating some palettes.

Series 1: My Apartment
*these palettes represent current colors in my apartment*

Bedroom (Opposites Attract)

Bathroom (Ocean Spa)

Living Room/Kitchen (Marrakesh)

You can check out my ColourLovers profile here!

Patrice is my Informant

Yay, my apple core necklace is part of an little Valentine's feature in Etsy's web-zine, The Storque! If you look in the lower area with the six boxes, there it is on the bottom left.

Patrice is the one who alerted me again. I'm happy I have friends who are so vigilant.
Speaking of Patrice, my tummy is still happy from eating her scrumptious home-baked bread. Mmmmmmmmmmm.

Ok, so my little spotlights/features this week have been very exciting. Although what would be more exciting would be a sale as a result.

I'm in the Craft: Magazine Blog

Yesterday, Patrice pointed out that my Credit Card Pendant Necklace was mentioned in the Craft: Magazine blog!!! Hooray!

This is so exciting, as that piece now has 570 views (and more people have "hearted" me on Etsy within the last 2 days, too!). Maybe someone will decide they can't live without it...

I have also broken my rule about not listing new items on Etsy. Yes, I am supposed to be writing my thesis, but I really needed to make some new things and list some old ones as well. Plus, I have 3 more books to pick up at the library...so naturally I should hold off on the writing until I have more sources, right? Right.

City Sampler: Columbus

City Sampler: Columbus (a special version of The Sampler) will feature items exclusively from crafters, DIYers and awesome businesses from Columbus and the surrounding area!

The Sampler is going local! We're creating samplers that focus on business from specific cities, towns, and regions! Along with the samples, we'll be providing all kinds of fun and interesting information and materials about the cities we're featuring!

The Sampler has spent the last three years distributing the very best handmade and indie communities have to offer. It has been really great collecting items from artists, crafters, musicians, and alternative publications all over the US, and the world! Now we'd like to try to go local - and we'd like you to be a part of it!

City Sampler: Columbus will be a new and fun way to experience both the city and The Sampler. We'd like to invite you to send us samples of your work or your product along with some promotional items, so that we can distribute them to people who are interested in supporting local businesses!

There are many benefits to contributing to the Sampler, and we know that the City sampler will provide you with an equally great opportunity!

If you send us Samples - the minimum being 10, the maximum being 100 - you may also send us 100 promo items for the City Sampler, which will reach 100 fans of Columbus (and the surrounding area) culture! You may also include an unlimited number of promos for regular issues of The Sampler, which reaches 500 subscribers and members of the media each month! For more info on contributing and promos, please see http://www.homeofthesampler.com/contributors/tips.html

Your Samples will be photographed for The Sampler website, and mentioned in the City Sampler Guide we will include in every City Sampler! So even if you only send 10 items, your business info will appear in all 100 City Samplers.

All items must be received by March 30th, 2008. Please email contribute@homeofthesampler.com with your submission ideas, or with any questions you might have about the Sampler!

You can also contact me (Amy) directly in Columbus if you have any questions or would like to contribute. Artists, crafters, musicians, business/restaurant owners, etc. are all welcome to submit materials.

San Fran Fun

My week in San Francisco was excellent! Our first adventure was a drive and a hike in the Mt. Tamalpais area, right near Mill Valley where Randy lives. I was so excited to see the Pacific Ocean!
We ate lunch at Stinson Beach and watched some crazy surfers out in the freezing water. I had fun examining the stinky piles of sea kelp and following a little bird around.

We drove up to Mt. Tamalpais and hiked to the top, making me realize how out-of-shape I am!! The 360-degree view was absolutely spectacular; if you look very closely towards the center of the photo, you can see a tiny San Francisco in the distance.

That Sunday, Randy and I ventured in to the city. We took the train from SoMA to the Haight and walked all the way down Haight Street, then zig-zagged our way through the Mission and all the way back to 4th St. My feet were killing me after all the walking!! Here is the obligatory photo of Haight/Ashbury.

On New Years' Eve, the sunset was gorgeous. We had an excellent view of the city from JG's place!
I am sure I will go back soon, so I am not too concerned about having "missed" out on the popular touristy things. I am a little disappointed that we didn't make it to the SFMoMA, but maybe next time!

San Francisco, Here I Come!

Tomorrow, I am off to San Francisco! I am so excited to see my favorite person in the world and to see all of the sights in the Bay Area.
I would be more excited if I wasn't trying to get rid of this stupid upper respiratory funkiness that I've had on-and-off for 2 weeks. On the upside, I may get to sit by myself on the plane (SkyBus has "open seating"), as no one will want to sit next to the girl with 100 dirty tissues hacking up a lung.

Maybe the Bay Area air will be good for what ails me!


Check back in a little over a week for photos and updates. Also, while the Sweet Stella Designs Etsy Shop will be "open" while I am away, any orders will be shipped upon my return.

Featured Artist on The270.com!

Hooray, I am the featured artist on The270.com for January/February! The270 is a local blog about Columbus, Ohio and they will be featuring a new artist on their site every two months.

In addition, there will be a color ad in the Jan/Feb issue of C-BUS Magazine. Look for it around Columbus in early January (p.s. - it's FREE!).

Gooey Treats for Winter

As the winter weather roared outside yesterday evening, I sat in my toasty apartment making jewelry reflecting the delicious treats that warm our insides. My kitchen is officially overrun with polymer clay. I think I have more clay than food at this point! Haha. Ok, maybe not.

Hot Cocoa and Marshmallow Charm Bracelet

S'mores Galore Charm Keychain

For a scrumptious scent to go with your gooey treats jewelry, try these unique blends by The Midsummer Muse: Camp Treats and Hot Chocolate!

Resin Pendants

After what seems like a million mess-ups and endless experiments later, I finally got my resin pendants to be exactly how I want them!!

The secret is finding a good bezel setting.

Scrabble tiles also work as a great backing for a found image (so do dominoes!)

Here is my ode to the Arcade Fire: it's the "Neon Bible" necklace!

The image I used for this pendant came from a large photo pf a vintage Tiffany lamp.

These last two pendants serve as reminders that the cold & flu season is upon us!

I call them the "Germophobe" necklaces. If you would like to purchase one of these necklaces, please visit my online shop! Custom orders are always welcome.