All but one of these are treasures I brought back from India a year or so ago. The hanging showing a loom I brought that back from Japan many years ago.
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Exhibits
Four Weavings Chosen
Here are the four weavings chosen by Ann Pifer, the owner of The Grand Hand Gallery. It was fun to see her moving my pieces around in the gallery to see where to place them. When they were held up to the light you could see how sheer and three dimensional they are.
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My Weavings Found a Gallery!
Last Tuesday I traveled to the wine country to visit The Grand Hand Gallery in Napa. It’s on a busy street in the center of town and has an eclectic collection of wonderful art including fiber pieces. As their brochure says ” … the gallery reflects owner, Ann Ruhr Pifer’s affinity for work that conveys a strong sense of authenticity, and that shows ‘the hand of the artist’ at work”. Check out their web site: www.thegrandhand.com.
If you find yourself in the wine country, be sure stop in: The Grand Hand Gallery, 1136 Main Street, Napa Ca 94559. There are famous restaurants very close by. By the way, there is a sister gallery in St. Paul, MN.
I was very happy that Ann Pifer selected four of my pieces for the gallery!
Please have a look at this gallery of photos taken during our visit.
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Weaving and Credit Cards
- Square up: credit card for buying weaving
At Convergence I needed a way to offer customers the option of using credit cards. You see, the idea of the credit card has always been popular. Well, it has been in my mind anyway. Not only does it provide people with the opportunity to build their credit and to improve their overall credit score, protection against credit card fraud, as well as increased purchasing power. Yes, you heard that right. With a credit card, you could walk into any physical store, or visit any online site, and purchase any of the products and services that they have available. You are essentially borrowing money against a line of credit. In simpler terms, this means that your bank pays the merchant the desired fee, and later when it shows up on your bill, you are required to pay this money back. People, my friend included, seem to forget that they have to pay this money back at a later date, which is why I always tell her to make sure that she has enough funds in the bank to be able to do this.
Because I want to be able to move with the times, and ensure that my customers can pay with any payment method that suits them the best, I need to think about incorporating more options into Convergence. And that is when I realized that allowing them to use credit cards is definitely the way forward. What I needed to have was a smart phone. Then I got (for free) a gadget called Square Up which goes on top of the phone so you can swipe credit cards. What fun–for me and the customers who “signed” using a finger. Now I’m having fun with my iPhone–a toy that I really didn’t need. Pay Pal has just put out their own gadget.
My Weaving Books Sold Well
My book table was laden with everything. The new, A Woven Retrospective, looked great and people loved it. I sold quite a few and several people said they would ask their guild library to order copies. I worked hard on all those books and since I sit in California in my studio all alone, I was greatly pleased to hear that lots of people are using them–and teachers, too. I especially made Weaving for Beginners for teachers, so that pleased me greatly. The Retrospective can be ordered from my website.
Weaving Convention Report
I got back from Convergence a week ago and have been exhausted. I think I’m coming out of it, finally. It was a lot of work and I had a good time. It was great to hear nice comments about my books from people all over the country. My retrospective book was well received, too. It was the first time I’ve shown my woven art and I’m thrilled at the validation and praise I got. It was expensive: I almost made my expenses, but not quite. That was disappointing.
