Show it to me!

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of activity and the glittering dust has finally settled. I have been mentioning that I would be attending the annual Surtex Show in NYC last week. This is a show for artists like myself who find manufacturers and retail companies to create products together.

This was our fourth year in attendance and I believe if you scroll back though my blog you will see my booth displays over the last three shows. This year, once again we packed up the van and headed to the Big Apple. We are inevitably the last booth to set up and, yes, the last booth to take down.

Many of the artists at Surtex have figured out the convenient basics of displaying for this show, but, oh, not me. While I know they have insight into how to display for the market, I somehow have this little voice in my head constantly saying, “make it more difficult, make it more complex, make it drag out for an entire week.” And with my dear husband always supporting my decision to do it my way, once again my booth became, I think he called it, “the little boutique at Surtex.” Here are the photos of the booth.

The collections I chose to display this year are from right to left: Child’s Play with Kate & Nate, taking up the first three displays, pink, gold and green; A Woodland Christmas, in the corner and to the left of it; Wee Gather Together, in the middle on the back wall; and ModTod, on the left.

The remaining collection that I displayed is in the left corner and around to the left side of the booth. That collection is Woodland Tails.

I want to thank all of those who stopped by the booth. We have been going to this show enough now to see and enjoy friends who also attend each year. It’s always a fun reunion. We also have the privilege of meeting with companies we currently work with and potential clients we are fortunate enough to make acquaintances with.

There is one other group of people I always look forward to meeting. They are other artists who have the same interest in the show which I did five years ago. There is nothing more encouraging than meeting other artists. If it weren’t for the friendly artists I was able to meet before I exhibited at my first show I would likely not be attending to this day. One of the wonderful things about Surtex is the camaraderie that I and many of my friends feel while attending this show. Everyone is friendly, everyone is encouraging, and everyone is in the same boat, doing what they love most, creating.

Until next year, here is to my artist buddies and all of those who I was fortunate enough to visit with at the show this year. Best to you all. Shall we say—same time next year?

’Tis the Reason

It is that time of year again when the cold winds blow, and the icicles hang from the eves, and all of nature is covered with a beautiful blanket of white. Well, at least pretend those winds howling outside are from the winter blizzard and not the tornado or hurricane you are having where you live. We are actually having that weather as I type, and I wonder as the lights flicker if I’m going to still have electricity to finish this entry.

Oh, but if the lightning strikes and the candles are lit it will fill me with the happy thoughts of curling up by the fire, hot cocoa in hand, while preparing for the beauty of a winter wonderland. And that’s what I have been doing for the last few weeks.

As silly as it seems, it is the time of year to get into the Christmas spirit. Admittedly, it is a little hard to achieve this time of year when all I want to do is get out and get a little sun. But, when the joy of Christmas overflows into a magical, woodland setting, all I want to do is step into the scene and enjoy the enchanted forest.

Maybe this Woodland Christmas collection will also beckon you into its land of enchantment where birds sing and rabbits scamper and a squirrel becomes your favorite pet. It’s a little Disney, it’s a little Dutchy, and it’s a little dainty.

Once you step out of the forest you will see that it’s not all syrupy sweet. There are florals and stripes and snowflakes and trees to balance out the charming woodland creatures and their winter maiden. Have a look below and you’ll see what I mean.

This is the collection, at least the spring edition. But who knows, as the cold winds blow in another six months the maiden may happen upon her beau somewhere in that winter wonderland.

Just in case you needed another dose of sugar, I have also saturated these ornaments with the charming woodland creatures.

Gather around and pretend it’s autumn

It hardly feels like autumn outside as the trees are fully green and flowers are popping up everywhere. Yet, here in the studio I crank up the air conditioner, put on a sweater, and imagine autumn breezes twirling colorful leaves about me. So, if that’s what it takes to get in the mood for an autumn collection this time of year that’s okay, because I love just about everything there is about autumn.

I have always wanted to create a collection for this season that is a little bit harvest, a little bit thanksgiving, and a lot of little bitty. Therefore I give you Wee Gather Together.

It doesn’t matter what the season is; if I hear the tune from the hymn We Gather Together I am instantly drawn to my childhood and right back to the Thanksgiving table. I can’t think of a song that better fits the season for giving thanks, and I can’t think of a name that better fits this menagerie of little creature gathering for their harvest.

The complete collection is shown above and below are a few of my faves from the set.

Eat your fruits and veggies

How much more would I have liked eating my peas and carrots when I was a kid if only they would have looked like these? When you love colors, and patterns, and textures, and shapes as much as I do, you even want it in your food. Sure, the taste, that matters too I guess, but it’s the look of these veggies that would have made me more willing to eat them as a kid.

This is a collection I first brought you last spring. You can learn more about it on my posting from April 3, 2009. The collection is called Organic Fruitation and has been developed for the kitchen, outdoor kitchen, gardening area, sunroom or any place you like to go picnicking or go organic.

Much of my style of illustration is done directly on the computer, but this collection gave me the opportunity to get my pen and paper out and doodle around, play around really. I even started to feel a little organic myself. Au naturel!

This is the complete collection with a few additional ideas for the cook in the kitchen. Many of the patterns could also work well for gardening supplies and outdoor lawn furniture.

Kitsch‘N’Mixer

What’s cookin’ now? A spin on retro for the kitchen. This collection, KitschNMixer, is another that I had at the show for those looking for kitchen art. It’s a little mod, it’s a little retro, and it’s just enough kitsch to be cool.

Here are photos of the display with a variety of ideas that any kitchen could warm up to. My favorite sample is the muffin tin and my favorite pattern is the ‘kitchen spinners’ which are varying colors and sizes of twirling utensils.

It is one of a variety of patterns that was also used for products I designed for C. R. Gibson and I believe they still have a few pieces from the collection on their website. You can look to the right on my blog under “looking for Sheri Berry” to be directed to the C. R. Gibson site for these products. Some of the products are shown below.

In order from top to bottom: Recipe Memory Book, Take Out Menu Organizer, Recipe Scrapbook, and Magnetic Weekly Calendar (on bottom right)