Mmmmmm.... hardware soup!

Hi Everyone ..... Okay, it's been a while, again, since my last post. I think I'll just have to admit that I'm definitely not the "blogging" type. Anyway.. here's what I'm up to lately with Second Chance Art & Accessories.

I exhibited at my last show of the year in November (15-18th) at the Odeum in Villa Park. Thanks to everyone who stopped by my booth - I appreciate it! I've since been working on a few custom orders, checking out other shows that I might apply to for next year, and finishing up my semester of teaching at Joliet Junior College.

The pictures are from a little recipe I like to call "harware soup" - sounds yummy! This is a pretty disgusting, yet satisfying pastime I have of cleaning old painted hardware that I think would be great on some Second Chance Art piece. The crockpot only has 2 legs, yet it works just fine for this job. (we've improvised to add a third leg). Amazing what you might find under layers & layers of old paint!

Anyway..... I'm in the process of checking out & applying to shows for 2008. I'll also be tweaking my website here & there. thanks for your support, and have a Merry Christmas! :) Amy

Door chopping "Party"

Hi everyone - I don't think it's been THAT long since my last post, so maybe I'm getting better at this. I'm sure in the blogging world my time between posts is like an eternity though......

A few weeks ago my husband & I went over to my parents' house (as we often do) for the purpose of a "door cutting party". I have been accused by my husband of calling unpleasant things a "party" just so they sound better than they really are. Personally, I think cutting up old doors into more usable pieces is an ideal afternoon - but I guess my unpaid labor disagrees with me.

Anyway, at least the "door pile" in my parents' garage no longer exists. Instead, there is a lovely new pile of door pieces on a nice new shelf my husband built for me in our very own garage.

I've included some pictures from the "party" above. Hopefully all these pieces will inspire some great new art that will be ready for my next show in November! (11/15-11/18, Odeum in Villa park, IL)

talk to you soon - :) Amy

6 Shows down, 1 to go --

Hi everyone! Once again, it's been a while since my last post. Something inside of me would rather be painting or sanding - instead of sharing my inner thoughts and feelings. Anyway... thanks to everyone who stopped by my booth at the Frankfort Fall Festival over Labor Day weekend, and at the Lakeview East Fine Art Festival on Sept 8 & 9 (I added this show at the last minute, very unlike me!).

It's been a busy month for me! I've been building up new inventory in preparation for these past 2 shows. Thanks to all my wonderful customers, I've now got my work cut out for me doing commissioned pieces, & rebuilding inventory for my next show in November.

Here's some photos from the past 2 weekends - both shots, my sister & I, and my husband and father participating in some sort of tubular meat eating contest. Mmmmmm... sausage.

I'll try to check in more often, as usual.... to let you know what goes on behind the scenes with my Second Chance Art & Accessories! thanks ........ Amy

On the hunt for potential Second Chance Art......

I'm about 3 weeks away from my next show, the Frankfort Fall Festival over Labor Day Weekend (Sat-Mon). I can't believe the summer is flying by so quickly!

In the mean time, I've been working on custom orders, finishing up the class I've been teaching at Joliet Junior College, and scouring garage sales, flea markets, etc - for potential Second Chance Art! Not to mention garbage dates....... (see my previous posts)

To continue with the "foot" theme I've begun to establish in my previous post, I've taken a picture of my Mom & I's feet as we sit on the back of her vehicle at the Sandwich Antique Market, Sunday July 22. The second pic is my Mom (she probably won't like this) - after we've eaten lunch & loaded the first round of finds into the vehicle. It's much easier to keep looking with an empty backpack, empty hands, & a full stomach!

Stop by my booth at the Frankfort Fall Festival over Labor Day weekend to see what I've transformed the next round of stuff into. Hope to see you there - :)

Thanks Oak Brook!

This past weekend Second Chance Art & Accessories TM participated in the Invitational Oak Brook Fine Craft Exhibition & Sale. We had beautiful weather & a great booth location. Thanks everyone for stopping by the booth. The pictures at right are from this weekend. My sister, aka my personal photographer, helped me out a ton this weekend - thanks Jan! Of course, she snapped this one with me not paying attention in the back of the booth. The lower picture shows my feet & hers - probably the most you'll ever see of her if she can help it!

Next up will be the Frankfort Fall Festival over labor day weekend. In the mean time, I'm working on filling my custom orders, and I've got some great new projects on deck for the Frankfort show. Stay tuned for more "behind the scenes" posts from Second Chance Art & Accessories!

Show updates

Hi everyone...... yes, it's been a while since my last post - proving again, that I am not a computer person (nor am I a "diary" type of person, for that matter!).


In my never ending quest to expand my business & provide interesting insight into what makes Second Chance Art & Accessories what it is... I will continue my efforts to make posts more frequent!


On a personal note - I have recently taught for 2 weeks in Chicago, and have started a new part time teaching job at Joliet Junior College. I teach nutrition classes to culinary arts and nursing students.


On the Second Chance Art side of my life - thanks for visiting my booth at the Arlington Heights Promenade of Art (June 2-3) and the Joliet Fine Art Festival of the Masters (June 30 & July 1). I've added some pictures from these shows for you to check out. The top left photo is from the Arlington Heights show. The top & bottom photos below show my booth at the Joliet show. Since I live in Joliet, my husband brought our doggies for a visit. I don't think they are into art. Polly "the bacon" is the big brown lab, and Olive "the pea" is my personal trainer / running partner / border collie runt.


The bottom middle picture shows us loading up my loot to transport to Joliet. This process is quite an ordeal at the moment. In the future I'd like to get some sort of trailer to make transport & loading a little easier. Thank God for husbands & fathers that turn into "packmasters" before each of my shows.



My next show will be the Oakbrook Center Fine Craft Invitational, July 14-15. Hope to see you there!

Garbage dates.....

Some of you may wonder... where does all the "stuff" come from that becomes Second Chance Art & Accessories? This is a question with many answers, but one of them may very well be the garbage date.

I made up this term to describe Sunday & Monday nights (pre-garbage day evenings in my neighborhood), when I convince my husband to drive me around in his truck looking for goodies on people's curbs. Usually these end when my husband says "I'm tired" with an annoyed look on his face.

Yes, I have no shame. I must admit, we've come across some pretty good finds. Since I live in an older neighborhood, it seems there is always someone renovating, and therefore, throwing away perfectly good windows, doors, & other architectural salvage.

Here's some pictures from our garbage date last night. Specifically, a few pieces that "made the cut": a top from an old door with beautiful divided glass panes (this will surely make a lovely coffee table top, or wall art piece), and a 70's era chair that I intend to steal the caning from (I have another period footstool that needs new caning!).


Here's a few other items that unfortunately, did not make the cut. I thought they were a little funny, so I took some pictures.


Apparently, they don't believe in Santa anymore at this house.


I'm all for great, second-hand furniture. Especially if I can reupholster or slipcover it into something fantastic. However, I think this one is beyond my capabilities!

Who looks at the stamp anyway?

I've just sent out my first mailing to provide previous customers with my show schedule for this year. My Mom was a huge help with this - she does mountains of busy work for me to help support Second Chance Art & Accessories, and claims it is "fun." I think I won the Mom lottery or something.

Anyway, we looked online to see if there were any cool stamps to use when sending out my mailings. My options seemed a little slim for post card stamps..... of course, really cool 1 & 2 cent stamps were available - but how would I fit 26 of these on my postcards? Soooo..... we decided to have these cool "second chance art & accessories" stamps printed. Here's a picture of what we used on the stamp. If you got the post card, I hope you thought it was cool!


Yesterday Second Chance Art & Accessories participated in Fair Diddley, in Woodstock, IL. Despite the cold (we could see our breath at one point) and rain (2 hours or so), we found the town square charming & the festival organizers & other participants very friendly. Overall - it was a good experience! If you came to visit the booth, thanks for stopping by! In the picture below, you can see my sister in the mirror, which I know she's not going to like. Heh heh...


It's on to Arlington Heights in 2 weeks (Arlington Heights Promenade of Art - Amdur Productions), where I will have a booth next to my Aunt, Alice Greko - who is also an artist! It should be a fun experience as long as the weather cooperates.

Two weeks and counting

Okay, it's been a while since I've posted on the blog. For shame! This blogging thing definitely does not come naturally to me. I've always wondered why people would want to have others essentially read their "diary." However, now I realize this provides an interesting perspective into Second Chance Art & Accessories - & I do enjoy sharing this information for those interested.

I'm now less than 2 weeks away from my first art/craft show - Fair Diddley in Woodstock, IL. I'm looking forward to this show - though it's only one day - so hopefully the weather will cooperate! I've never done this show before, so we'll see how it goes.

Pictured is a pile of door casings - I'm in the process of converting them into cool coat racks. Here I've just brought them over to my Dad's workshop so he can chop off the sides of them to make them symmetrical. This is always nerve-racking for him, since most things I bring over come with a fair share of hidden nails - which are known to reek havoc on nice new saw blades. I think he now has designated "Amy's junk" sawblades - after we destroyed a few of them. (sorry Dad!)

Getting ready for summer........

The window art is coming! The window art is coming! Here is a photo of some of my windows "in the raw," awaiting transformation into something unique & beautiful for your home. Now that I'm done teaching in Chicago, it's full speed ahead building up my inventory for summer shows.

To better establish a brand name for my business, I've registered with the United States Patent & Trademark office. My Mom & I waded through miles of fine print a few weekends ago to pursue a trademark for Second Chance Art & Accessories. You'll now see a "TM" following the business name to indicate that we've registered, and eventually you'll see a circled R, indicated that our trademark status has been approved.

Second Chance: taking advantage of exposure opportunities

So..... It's been a few weeks now since my last post. I've not been able to work on artwork at my usual pace lately, as I'm in the middle of a 6 week commitment to teach nutrition classes to future pastry chefs at the Cooking & Hospitality Institute of Chicago (CHIC). While I do enjoy this job, I'm chomping at the bit to work on some new items & start building up my stock for summer shows.

Meanwhile - I did have the opportunity to attend Country Living Magazine's Second Annual Women Entrepeneurs Seminar, which was in Chicago on Saturday March 10. I learned a ton about where I should be taking my business, and I had the opportunity to "pitch my products" to a couple of the magazine's editors. The editors were very gracious & gave me great advice for the future direction of Second Chance Art & Accessories. Pictured are my sister & I, and my Mom & I carrying some select artwork down to the waiting area before my pitch time.

The new website has arrived!

Today I was able to upload my website & get it working.... whew... finally! There is still a lot of work for me to do on the site, several pages need to be completed, etc. And.. there will be changes to the site ongoing, based on new projects & ideas I have.

Meanwhile, this blog site will continue exist, but will start to take on a different function. I'll use the blog to provide more of an inside view to second chance art & accessories. The website will be where information about second chance art & accessories is located, and where you can browse artwork, etc.

You'll notice that items pictured in the blog are beginning to make their way over to the website. I'll leave a picture on the blog until I get it moved to the website. Thanks for your patience with this transition....

And check out the new site: www.secondchanceart.net

I think I can, I think I can...

By now I'm sure you're tired of hearing all my website woes. Here's the latest ---

Since I am, by far, NOT a computer person, I set up my hosting account under the wrong website address (not secondchanceart.net, but another domain listed under the same account). Soo... I've called the IT folks from godaddy, and they've corrected this for me. The only problem is that it will take another 24-48 hours for the account to accept any new website publishing.

My "new & improved" goal to get my website functioning is sometime this weekend. Hopefully this will give me a little buffer time, in case there are any other issues I don't know about yet, lurking in the future. We will see.... thanks for your patience!

Website, Shmebsite......

I have been working on my new website like mad for 4-5 days now. I intended to publish it tonight, but I had to change the way my account was set up with my hosting domain. Sooo... I'll need 24 hours for the change to take place. Then, I should be able to get the new Second Chance Art & Accessories site officially published!

Of course, there are still pages to be built on the new site, but I've got it to the point where it's starting to make sense.

thanks for your patience - check the site out in a day or two:
www.secondchanceart.net

The new website is coming........ I promise!

Just another update, since I like to keep good on my promises. Of course, I fully intended to have my website revamped & running by now. However, I do not claim to be a "computer person" - but I'm learning! I now have a new software program in my clutches.....and a few days to hunker down & put the thing together. Thanks for your patience - www.secondchanceart.net is getting closer every day! I've also got some new & creative projects in the works. I'll give you more details once my new site is up & running. Take care for now -- Amy

What's new for 2007

Happy New Year! Just a quick note to update you on Second Chance Art & Accessories for 2007.

A brand new website is in progress - hopefully this will make browsing a little easier. The address will be www.secondchanceart.net . This blog site will be available until the new website is up & fully functional.

I'm in the process of applying to art shows for the 2007 season. As of right now, I'll be participating in the 2007 Oak Brook Center Invitational Fine Craft Exhibition, which is July 14-15. I'm planning on returning to the Frankfort Fall Festival over Labor Day weekend, and.... I've applied to a few other shows - still awaiting confirmation. I'll post more info as I receive it. Most likely I'll know more by the end of february-mid march.