elixir against a grey weather depression

how to survive cold, dark grey days like these? Answer: only with hot chocolate with chili.

found in Wikipedia: "Consumption of red chilis after anal fissure surgery should be forbidden to avoid postoperative symptoms." Aha, good to know.

work of the day: preparing little sacs, which I will fill with a few press materials, my tiny version of a so called "press kit"

Eiríkr blóðøx

while sitting in the train on the way back from Amsterdam I made some scribblings. Obviously being inspired by the bit "weird" look of Heather Louise dolls and my talk to the eggmercantile shop, resulted in these not so cute and not so friendly, but bold, rugged warriors -bloody viking berserkers.

Here´s the first of a new series of vikings

Eric Bloodaxe , second king of Norway and brother-slayer.

fabrics, leather, artificial leather, fake fur, wool, felt, buttons, cord, woodstick, polyfil,

48 cm tall from horns to toes.

one night in Amsterdam

"sleeping with" Van Gogh
hotel "lobby". We were lucky to stay in a cute, colorful hotel, called "the times hotel" on the beautiful Herengracht. and what a fortunate coincidence.... we found out that this amazing shop was just around the corner, led by 2 very friendly guys. You can see the FANTASTIC dolls of Heather Louise in the window. I had talked to her only 1 day before we left to Amsterdam and I was so curious to see her dolls in real. What can I say, I´m in awe! I´d love to come back when the trees are green
Amsterdam I love you! A few more pics, here

the postcards are here! :)

I recieved the new postcards and I´m very happy with how they came out.
Unbelievable that these clothes are made from paper

On friday I´m taking the train for a short trip to Amsterdam to visit the Stedelijk Museum and first of all enjoying sweet city life.

wool stuffed

this viking girl is made from Harmonyart fabrics as well. She will also travel to the NY exhibition and is the first with a wool stuffing.
I found it not so easy to stuff her firmly without having dents and dints. But now she´s done. Sigh

wanted! natural stuffing

since long I´ve refused to use wool of my dear sheep fellows for stuffing our herzensart toys. But what you see here is probably the last Kapok stuffed viking, before starting his journey together with a wool stuffed companion to a green exhibition. Unfortunately Kapok didn´t work for me, because I´m not a big fan of face masks, which are essential for working with this fluffy material.

Next to the last Kapok viking -> Merino wool balls waiting to be tested.

green viking: made with organic fabrics from Harmony art

I must admit that until now I haven´t found any softer and easier to work with material for stuffing than polyfill. Somebody there who has made good experiences with other natural stuffings?

gold

I hoped it would rain the whole weekend, as I have invited friends for a Sunday morning breakfast. The sun is quite adamantly amongst dirty windows.... But who would care when the light before the sun gets down turns everything into gold?

postcards and co.

studio cleaning finished.... some things live in the cellar now, I hope they will rest there.
So no excuses anymore to not going back to work. I urgently should spend time (and money) into making some printing materials, such as new postcards and marketing materials in general. But what makes sense? Flyers, catalogs, or even a press kit?... Found an interesting article about how to prepare for a wholesale show on a blog with the nice subtitle "the Collision of Art and Business". If you are interested too, you can read it here
Do you have a press kit?

First a cup of coffee and enjoying amazing linen swatches I recieved today... (from "die Leinenweber" ) Then we´ll see....

space

I´m back to work and finished a pattern yesterday for a new book which will be published later this year. We (Sandra and me) are still trying to find a way better to deal with this small studio, it´s not even half the size of our former ones and although it´s cozy, sometimes we are missing space. A sheep and a girl sitting so close together need space, which seems to be lacking, especially in winter times when we have to keep the windows to the garden closed. Working with windows wide open in summertimes makes one feel sitting in nature and the room seems to be wider.

The place where I life and create is very important, the world around me, the atmosphere, the light. There must be harmony between myself and the surrounding, otherwise I cannot work. (said designer Antonio Marras in an interview a few days ago) How right he is.

So that´s it: trying to find harmony in this given, available space by organizing things better. Sorting out (again) unneccassarily things, deco-, furniture- stuff which is of no real use and only space wasting.

But first I need a final kick into the ass, by browsing in books, looking at amazing studios of artists, who obviously have better talents in organizing and have created their perfect surrounding already. If you have any great pics of well organized studios to share, that gets one to start

immediately....they are highly appreciated.

studio of Catherine Willis (from the book: " Der Garten der Kuensterlin")

studio and home of Yuri Kuper (from the book "natural style")

and this beautiful, romantic garden entrance is part of "Villa Magica", the home of Swiss artist Sylvie Fleury. (from the book: " Der Garten der Kuenstlerin")

sparkling moments...

midnight.... meeting the children from the children´s home on the street, who share their sparklers with us. Welcome new year! My wish: More sparkling moments like these for all of us ..... please!