Here are a few of the photos that I took at the first Country Living Fair in Rhinebeck, NY. This first round of photos are of our booth and our great customers!! Don't worry, I have more for later in the week.
Above are the sweet ladies that bought up all of our oilcloth cart liners!! The woman in the chevron shirt, loved her cart liner so much that she walked these other ladies over so they could buy liners too. I was tickled when I learned that these 4 woman didn't even know one another. Country Living Fair goers are like that, kind and generous!! Not to mention, hardcore shoppers!!
Here is another great story, the woman on the right came in and bought a tote, then an hour later, she brought her friend back so she could get one too. I asked if they were sisters and they just roared with laughter, mentioning that it would be dangerous if they were. I love that they come in groups: mothers and daughters, a couple of life-time friends and in big groups of gals. It's special, they make it a weekend to remember!!
How sweet is this pretty little one? She preferred the aqua chevron!!
I'm totally into Instagram these days, just ask my family, see how they roll their eyes. Recently my cute hubby gave me an iphone for our 18th wedding anniversary and I'm now totally addicted to my little gadget of love. I had Instagram on my Android phone but it's just not the same, it didn't take great photos and it wasn't as easy to use. But now, I'm a picture taking and sharing fool.
I thought I'd try something new, a weekly wrap up every Wednesday of my favorite photos. Please, if you are Instagram, let me know. Follow me so I can follow you!! My handle (user name) is "The Modern June"
My favorite house in the fan, the porch is always stunningly presentable. Totally jealous!
I bought this super cool cart!!
M. and I went to Feathernesters, it was a nice mother/daughter afternoon.
My son and I had a great date night! This was our dinner. : )
I picked flowers by the studio dumpster. Dumpster flowers? Yep, that's my new name for Sweet Peas.
We went to Bob's for the Friday night neighborhood movie!
I cleaned up the #MJHQ studio cuz it was a hot mess!
I realized that my garden is a hot mess too!
Meet up with Farmer Darryl and bought some yummy food.
Hit the RVA Street Foodies night at the Virginia Historical Society with my cute hubby!!
How wonderful are these Oilcloth Fair Flags that we made for the Rhinebeck Country Living Fair? I know that's it's rude to boast but I'm just so darn proud!
Back in February I got a call from the two gents that do the fair decor for the Country Living Magazine. Robert and Ed are so wonderful, they've been such great Modern June supporters since we all meet in Ohio back in 2010. Thanks to them I get to do all those demos at the fairs. When they called this time they had the idea of taking our oilcloth banners and making them GIANT SIZED! Robert had been inspired by traditional prayer flags and was looking for a hard wearing, rain-proof option for the NY Fair.
We spent the next few weeks going back and forth with prototypes until we found the right size and shape. You know that I had goosebumps when we pulled into the fair grounds to set up. I was beyond tickled pink!!
The Oilcloth Fair Flags were a real hit!! They held up to pouring rain and the bright sunshine. Most importantly, they made everyone very happy.
Here are the impressive stats! There were 678 flags in total. If strung from end to end, the 48 banners would cover 26 football fields. WOW, that was a fun order!!
I have been totally off my blogging game, haven't I? Well, let me tell you what I've been up to!
This winter and spring I wrote my second sewing book. Writing a book is hard. Silly me, I thought that the second book would be so much easier. Ha! Writing patterns in word form is hard for me, I'm so right-brained. In the past, I never read patterns--I can just look at a pattern piece and know instantly how it all fits together. Visual to a fault I guess. If I could do sewing "picture book" I'd be golden!
Writing a book while homechooling your kids is super hard. Thankfully, my hubby took the reins and kept the ball rolling in my absence from our normal life. My kids are now doing school through the summer in order for us to catch up; flexibility is one of the perks of schooling at home. They don't seem to mind, it's just our way of doing things. Trust me, they have had plenty of down time.
Writing a book while running a rapidly growing business would have been impossible if it weren't for my super team of Junies!! As I got busier and busier with the book, the Junies took on more and more. There were some growing pains along the way, but things have worked out well.
Kathie became our Studio Manager, which is funny, since she works from home 90% of the time. Kathie is my sanity and my company's brain. Geneva is the Oilcloth Addict and Modern June cutter and chief tablecloth maker. She's right out of the VCU Fashion department and a real hard worker!! And then there's Nicole, who's been with me the longest. I'm grateful that she continues to make room in her own company's development to come and sew for me several times a week.
These ladies are awesome, and I could not have done this book without them. We are really building a strong Modern June together!
So, back to the book. Originally it was slated to have 30 patterns, but that has been slimmed down due to page count (which is okay with me, that leaves me with some patterns for the next project). I can't wait to share more as the publishing date grows near. So what I can tell you? Well, I can tell you that this book is not just about oilcloth! And April 2014 seems so far away.
On top of writing and editing, all of the photos were taken at my home. That was a nightmare!! There I was finishing up patterns, making samples AND worrying about the scratched up baseboards. Prepping for a home for a photo shoot is work enough!! I swear, I didn't sleep the whole month. It was a real shame that it all had to happen at the same time. I would have really enjoyed styling the photos for this book more if it was the only job I had to do. In the end, the editors where very happy. It was nice to receive a gushing email from my editors the day after I sent in Meghan's lovely photos.
You'll notice that this post is photo-free; trust me, it pains me to hold out on you, but it's all top secret for now.
For your visual entertainment, I invite you to check out my favorite new passtime, Instagram! Follow me, The Modern June, and I'll follow you back.
And come back tomorrow for lots of pretty pictures from the very first Country Living Fair in Rhinebeck, NY.
