Self Portrait

I'm overdue for a post, but also overdue for some good sleep. So I'm stopping in to say hello and, hating to post without a pic, pulling something from my collection. There's a story behind it, but I'll save that for another day.

For now, I'll just peak out from the fragmented wonder of a mirrored turtle mosaic. Never fear, there was a scooter lurking in the background!

$3.61

In case there was any question, the answer is "yes, you should buy a scooter." Even with the prices topping $3 a gallon, it only cost me $3.61 to fill the tank this morning. That should take me about 90 miles on my little 50cc scoot. By rough calculation, that means it will cost me $0.16 in gas to commute to work one way.

Mornings just got a little better.

Progress

Cleaning up a mess is never as fun as making one, but sometimes it just needs to be done. I spent some time over the past week putting things in order and thought I'd take a moment to share the progress and offer a look into the Polly Scoots workroom.

My two main work surfaces are a super-fun peanut shaped red table and a super-functional unconventional workbench. The peanut table came from Ikea; the unconventional workbench was pieced together from pieces found at Community Forklift, a great surplus, salvaged and green building material supply center.

The top of my bench is a solid wood door (which just happened to exactly match the closet doors in my house). One "leg" was the base of a kitchen cabinet; the other was intended as a hanging unit. Together they make my workbench the perfect height--comfortable to stand at while working.

My fall cleaning binge inspired me to create a "shipping center" on one corner of the table devoted to envelopes, bubble wrap, boxes and my trusty scale. I also restocked my "customer appreciation supplies"--thank you cards, coupons and fun freebies to include with every order. Let your holiday shopping begin!

Signs of the Season

I'm in the home stretch of my big fall cleaning project. It wasn't so bad that I've been at it all week, but sometimes it does feel that way. Chipping away at it between everything else has made the project take far longer than expected, but the end is in sight.

Before digging in today, Ryan, the pups and I headed out to the nature preserve for a morning hike. We basked in the signs of the season.

Buy Handmade

Okay, I'm coming off a serious creative binge and my room (not quite worthy of the 'studio' designation at the moment), is a disaster area. Prep for the DC Craft Mafia's holiday show on Saturday had me working overtime, while keeping up with Polly Scoots online and mailing out yummy packages to my awesome customers.

The result: it's time for some serious organizing. And while I'm at it, I need to find a home for my six foot tall ficus who will be wintering inside. What does all this have to do with the handmade pledge badge up above?

Dealing with the mess makes me a little batty. Since I've told myself I can't make anything new until things are in order, and putting things in order for long stretches of time really isn't all that enjoyable, I thought I'd remind myself of the bigger picture and part of the reason its all worthwhile--handmade really is better.

There's nothing I find scarier than flying into a new city and, on the drive from the airport to your hotel, realizing that the plane could have touched down in just about any city U.S.A. and looked just about the same. How long would it really take you to figure out you weren't where you were supposed to be? That the pilot headed north instead of south? That you AND your bags landed at the wrong airport?

How do you tell where you are when the strips malls, chain restaurants and suburban sprawl lining the highway look so much like what you passed on the way to the airport? Mega box stores, outlet malls, brand-name hotels, chain restaurants--it's all the same, same same.

How much different, how much more unique would the landscape look if only there was a place to buy handmade? If you didn't have to hunt for the quirky, arty neighborhood in the revitalized area downtown to find something truly unique?

Check out some Polly Scoots in person!

I've been burning the midnight oil in preparation for The UNusual Suspects Arts & Crafts Festival on Saturday, Nov. 3, in Bethesda, Md. Several brand new pieces will be on display and ready to go home with you.

This should be an awesome show--come check it out!

Sat., Nov. 3, from 12 to 8 p.m.

The Anatasi Room, 5020 Battery Lane, Bethesda, Md., 20814