My secret criteria

So I just started twittering about shops picked using a secret criteria. I'm not trying to be all clandestine or culty, I swear. I just don't want to offend any of the artists purposely excluded. Here I can explain better than in a tweet. Many of us know about the ridiculousness going on with the gift guides at 1000mkts, this is why I started this tweetstravaganza in the first place. And I do really believe the admin there have some sensible reasoning, (whether it works or not), for handling things the way they are. And hopefully if it works we will all benefit in the end. However, this is a very important time of year for the independant artist and many of us trying to sell our wares do this as our only fulltime business, (which makes it even more important!). So what we have are aprox. 2,500 artists at the site, 240ish being featured in the guides, with aprox. 12 being very heavily rotated. So I'm spotlighting artists not in the guides to give them a fair chance too!
Now also know that I truly am happy for the chosen few of the gift guides, and was really sorry to hear that thy're not really seeing any benefit from it. I also fear there may be a backlash towards them because of this, (technically what I'm doing is a backlash towards them), so I didn't want to blather it all over the message boards, or twitter, and I know no one really reads my blog.
If anyone at twitter is really, really curious about my first tweet regarding the secret criteria and happens upon this post, shhh....please keep it secret after all the artists of the gift guides are trying to earn a living too and I just don't want to seem like a jealous bitch. Thanks!

My Twittering Extravaganza!

A Twitteraganza maybe. It started with my dissatisfaction at the lack of variety in certain "gift guides" and has turned into a wild ride of silly searches, serious searches, and just plain looking for something "really" different and unique in the handmade world.
Here is a link to my twitter, follow me down this path of hilarity and nifty stuff.

http://twitter.com/TamaranDesigns

New York Festival

I joined a great new market at 1000 Markets last week. It's a regional market, I've been keeping an open for a regional market to join and somehow missed the most obvious one, (I'm from New York), for many months!

http://www.1000markets.com/groups/nyfestival

A special selection of casual gifts

Office "Secret Santa", the babysitter, your kids school teachers, the list could go on. Well, I've decided to put together a special selection of gifts under $25! Scouring the malls, department stores, discount stores, any store where you think you might find something nice that won't break your bank for these people on your list could drain so many hours from your happy holiday season, (they certainly did from mine in the past). And I don't know about you but I've always thought about how much money goes to waste every year on gifts that although they're reasonably priced really aren't ever going to be used, just more stuff to ad to the pile in the back of the storage closet. Well now you can have a one stop place for all of those "casual" gifts that will be used, appreciated and not break your budget!

Upping my blogging anti

I've been wracking my brain for two weeks now trying to come up with something clever, entertaining, or informational to blog about. I really want to blog on a regular basis, really I do. So I've asked for advice and got some, (really good advice too). And now I'm just going to jump in and start doing it. So check back regularly because there'll be no more posting once every now and then, (I hope).
Here are a few of the thing I've been working on for winter. I'll probably be talking about them and other things in my future, (and more frequently posted), blogs.

Summertime

Summer is almost here and I've been busy working on my new summer line. Late in the winter while giving some thought to what I was going to do with my skills once the weather warmed up I seriously considered just taking the summer off. After all there didn't seem to be too much one could make that wouldn't swelter in the summer heat. Then my friend requested a crocheted skirt for a wedding and the lightbulb went off. Beach coverups, lacy light shawls and wraps, and of course my everyday hats! That would great summer fare to entice my cusotmers. Well, I'm just starting to photograph the first large batch of goods and here are some samples!
They can be purchased at the sites listed to the right or you could always contact me for special orders: tamarandesigns@gmail.com

Bohemian Spring

One of my favorite fashion statements is bohemian, I love it's flowing ease. Fortunately it is in fashion about every 3rd year or so, not that I don't wear it in between, and this is an "in" year! This means that there will be a lot of smashing choices out there for me to refresh my wardrobe and the work I've been doing so far is quite boho so it will be popular too!

The new face of TamaranDesigns

Introducing the lovely Denise, the newest face to represent TamaranDesigns. The dressmakers form was getting a little temperamental and we here at Tamaran felt we were at creative differences with it, so we began a search for a new face to represent TamaranDesigns. After an extensive family wide search we finally found someone whom we feel will be a perfect fit, the lovely Denise. Lets all give her a warm welcome!
And don't forget to check 1000Mkts. and Etsy, (links to right), in the next few days to see her debuts there!