The Dog Days of Summer in Florida!

It's Saturday morning at Margaritaville, in Kissimmee, FL and the market on Promenade just opened. Interesting times to be sure. Right now as hot as it is, Kissimmee is probably not as hot as Seattle, Washington! We are coming off a long period of rain all day every day and into the time where the rain will hopefully hit AFTER we finish packing up. Ollie, our faithful pup, is keeping us entertained, while we prepare for a concert from the School Of Rock. 

Margaritaville is our new Saturday market, after the Winter Garden market decided to reduce the number of vendors they had. We like this new place and it has a lot of promise...that once our vacation people from Great Britain decide that it is safe to come here, we will see large crowds. For the time being, we have small crowds of people that like what we have and enough business to make it worth the trip.

We are just happy to be back in business after the year of lockdown...

Looking Like A Great Saturday Forecast!

Each week, we are watching the weather forecast for the weekend, as we are outdoors and in Florida that can be really nice or...
This week, we were looking at a big chance of rain on Saturday, but now that's changed and the cool weather we've had will be going back to very warm for a few days...confusing for the flora AND us...wear layers, that's what we've learned. The good news is that it will apparently be a really nice day to be outdoors.
Sunday is a little bit tricky, with a decent chance of rain...but, we have lots of new sculptures, including some Christmas-themed items and we offer free gift wrapping!

It seems like our Kiln has been running all week...some come on out and see what has been created!

A Cool Sunday In November

I really love it when the forecasters really blow the weather report. The news gave us that today would be pretty much like yesterday, but instead of 75 degrees this morning, it was 60 degrees. That's enough to make a big smile on my face. The sun is out, the sky is that nice blue we all love, and it means a day that being outdoors is the best place to be.

This time of year means more vendors at the farmers markets, more congestion setting up, but happier  people to be around. 

Yes, Christmas things are out and it's not even Thanksgiving, but since not too many folks buy things related to Thanksgiving besides food, I can forgive that.

The ladies are coming up with some great ideas and there of a number of large clay sculptures waiting for their chance to go in the kiln. I have to smile a bit because Pam swore that she was done with whimsical art, but these new pieces belie that assertion. Once again, her motto that we create things to make you smile, is proven true.

Even though this is the age of online shopping, I think you would truly enjoy meeting the people that create the artwork you buy. We do enjoy meeting you!

Summertime is the time to work on the online stuff!

It is getting so hot in Florida right now, that it's really hard to want to be at the outdoor markets, and you can already tell that attendance is dropping off for both the vendors and the guests that come to the show. We have been fortunate to get many regular customers and we love the face to face contact, but this is the time of year to stay inside and start getting photos and accounts working.
We just added Etsy to the mix, so hopefully, the ladies will spend more time creating ads than buying more stuff! One thing we did not have to do was to research what makes people like to buy on Etsy....we have that part figured out. The mailman just comes to our house first, so he can empty out half of his truck early on in his day.
We have lots of really cool new items. Pam has lots of new rattles and is coming up with a new concept for sculpted bowls. There are many new bracelets and necklaces.
The bottom line is, you won't have a wait for a cool day in July to find out what we have available...it will be online....real - soon - now.

Ready For The Weekend And The Farmer's Markets!

The ladies have been hard at work all week and are almost ready for the weekend...only their weekends are when they work harder!

They learn so much from their customers. One interesting thing is the number of men interested in bracelets. So, Pam, the design boss, has been spending more time guessing at what men want to wear. Look forward to see many new bracelets and custom made beads and pendants coming soon. These are more time-consuming, as you must wait a drying time and then two firings in the kiln.

Miranda has been mixing her Aroma Therapy oil blends, while Pam and Susan seem to spend as much time shopping as they do working. Some day there will be time to rest...perhaps when it is too hot to be outdoors!

And It's Cold Again In Winter Garden At The Farmer's Market

I know, I know....a cold day in Florida, what's that? Do you actually have to wear socks? The ladies are setting up while I remain toasty warm in the local coffee shop. That is the deal, I drive the truck, carry the stuff and rough up the display, they do the fine points, like putting out the artwork without breaking anything...we came to that agreement when I once broke something worth more than the money we made in that day. 

Today looks like it is going to be a day that will bring out all of the folks that want a lot of sun and no sweating. It will be the kind of day that you are glad to stand in the light and out of the shade...which should be perfect for shopping at the market.

Me? I will be out testing bicycles on the West Orange Trail and leaving the delicate sculptures in the same fine condition they were in when they arrived here...

In you are in the area, please drop by and say hello!

A Bright Morning At The Number One Farmer's Market

There is not much more that you can ask for in Florida than a morning like this one. It's warm, 79 degrees F, but not so hot that we can't set up this morning in Winter Garden, FL. Earlier this week the Orlando Sentinel ran a big article about Farmer's Markets and how the Winter Garden market was considered number one in the nation. I don't know about that, but the whole area seems to be prospering. You don't really see anything but what a tourist would like to see. Soon, it will be so hot that our tourists will wonder what kind of savages would choose to live here, but right now it is paradise. 

This is great for business, and the ladies, in one of their shrewd business decisions, pivoted when they found few people here cared about having one more whatnot in their house, but a lot of them wanted a handmade bracelet and were interested in the whole Aromatherapy thing.

Cue Miranda, the millennial member of  the group, who was way up on this subject, and then Pam, who is the design queen. Susan rolled up her sleeves and found that happiness is now working hard all week long to produce new items for the weekend market.

Do not worry, because Pam promises to get the clay back out and start making more of her fabulous sculptures. Susan likes the bracelets and necklaces and Miranda is saleswoman supreme. 

Come visit us while the weather is like this and find out why this market is rated so highly. 

A Busy Weekend!

The artists are hard at work every day, and it will continue into this weekend, since we added the  Winter Garden Farmer's Market on Saturday to our calendar. Sunday will be the Orlando Farmer's Market and the following weekend we will be at Fiesta in the Park in Orlando. We couldn't ask for better weather! Here's hoping it holds through Sunday. Who wants to be indoors when it's like this outside in Florida?

Orlando Farmer's Market This Sunday!

We are now on the bridge at Lake Eola. We are really excited about our new sign and items we have for the market. We have Halloween things and wearable aroma therapy sculptures. Everything handmade by our 3 generations of women, slaving all week over clay and a hot kiln and then giving all on the weekends.
The weather is supposed to be slightly cooler, and we are definitely smiling about that!

Orlando Farmer's Market This Sunday (10/8/2017)!

Our first show is only a couple of days away and Pam is still putting stuff in the kiln! This is the same woman that said she no longer wanted to do production art, but just wanted to make things for herself...that was then.. once she got her hands on some clay, we were all put to work!

Some of the larger pieces are getting made for the November Fiesta in the park, but you should see some very cool, affordable pieces this weekend, plus the whole team will be on hand, trying to figure out how to set up a canopy, what is in each box, and what we left at home by mistake....I wouldn't miss it for the world....

Halloween and the Fall shows

Exciting times at Claywerx. We are moving from the creation stage to the show stage. It's been years since we loaded up a SUV with boxes and shelves, and we are looking forward to doing it better this time. Our current plan involves the Lake Eola Festival in the park in early November. We are gearing up with some cool stuff for Halloween...

Breaking News! We decided to start working the Orlando Farmer's Market on Sundays leading up to Halloween. We will be there on Washington St. from 10-4 on Sundays starting this weekend, weather permitting.

I snuck into the studio, to get a look at what we are bringing to the show and I'm glad to say that I was able to get in and get some pix without being detected....check it out, and come out on Sunday if you like what you see!

3 Generations Of Woman Start A New Venture!

Back around 1980, Pam and Susan started an art business called Mini Munchkins and it blossomed into something that involved all of their families and many of their friends. Many years later, Pam was busy with teenagers, teaching art and kindergarten while the shows started drawing smaller crowds. Susan and her husband carried the load until the shows stopped being worth doing.

Flash forward to early 2017, Pam is retired, her children grown and she decides that she wants to do what she never had a chance to do before, art for art's sake. She started experimenting with stoneware, getting amazing results and soon found that what she had was a family eager to get back into the game. Pam's mother Susan found that she missed the days of Mini Munchkins and Pam's daughter Miranda wanted to join in on the fun.

These days, the big excitement is seeing how something turned out in the kiln after the latest firing and what direction the sculpting should take.

It's amazing to see what the team keeps producing and I'm really looking forward to seeing what is yet to be made....