Bohemian Mermaid Palace

Remember my awesome day job ? I still like it. It's become a little more stressful, as I take on more responsibility. But, overally it's pretty cool. I work for the Peace Resource Project... "We want to help you raise funds and awareness!" We sell a bunch of stuff with peaceful-type themes to shops, non-profits and individuals. Mostly buttons and stickers, but also now a considerable amount of DVDs and misc other stuff like patches, jewelry, postcards and flags. My job is customer service. I man the phones, take orders, fill orders, invoice and package orders to the peaceful masses. I meet some interesting folks from all over the country, and sometimes other countries. There are some folks that own hippy stores or have a table of buttons and stickers on the street. Some very business like, some not so much. One guy, (I think he's in southern california with a street table someplace) is very nice but doesn't know any of our stock numbers. We have almost 500 sti...

Ok, well the credit card chargeback freakout is about over. I got the original amount back into my bank account. Not the extra chargeback fees though. Turns out that since there were two transactions in dispute, I got charged the $35 fee twice. They said it was non-refundable processing fee, much like a bounced check fee. I spoke with the nice lady who bought the stuff and she was soooo sorry. She said she had remembered who I was the day after she disputed the charges, and right then called off the CC company who said they'd undo the complaint. She figured it had been taken care of. Ha. I told her about the extra fees, and she says she asked her company to see if they could get them waived... I guess they said they'd try. Although, if that's even possible I don't know. Doesn't seem likely. But, she pretty much agreed to pay the money either way. Sigh. We'll see. Otherwise I guess that's just the cost of doing Mermaid business...

So more planning and scheming is afoot. I'm really excited about this... My best friend in the wholewideworld is Heather, who also is the best seamstress I know. We are currently in the pre-planning stages of a new line of Bohemian Mermaid clothing which she will sew for me. I think we agree that the first pieces will be a chemise-style poets blouse - gathered at the neck and sleeves with a full flowing cut. And, some style of bodice, similar to this one... which can be paired with the blouse. Ooooooh it's really exciting! I'll keep most of my other goodies as they are... but slowly add more custom pieces sewn by Heather. Other items we are discussing are a wrap skirt, a loose cape-like jacket, a vest, and a ruffle skirt. The best part of all this is the freedom of using whatever fabrics we like. Right now, I buy my garments already sewn, and dye them. Although there are lots of styles and fabrics to choose from, there are limits... and most other dyers buy from the same su...

Well, this weekend I'm off to clothe the masses once again in Mermaid style. Headed down the highway 101 to lovely Ukiah, California for the annual Pumpkinfest. Woooo! It's always exciting to try a new festival... this one happens to be located in the city of my birth. Also the resting place of my grandparents. I have many fond memories of childhood visits to Ukiah. My grandparents' house with the glass doorknobs and that photo of Grandpa in his Andy Griffith style police uniform. The park down the street with the cool rocketship slide. Strawberry ice cream cones and Archie comics from the cigar shop downtown, where everyone knew Grandpa. Eating tomatos out of Grandma's garden. That sort of stuff... So, I plan on driving by the old house and park while I'm there, maybe to the cemetary if time permits. And I hope to make a little cash also. I have been sick at home for a couple days, but I'm determined to have fun in the sun this weekend! Woohoo!

Oh, I always have plans alright... Let's see, uh... OH I just found a site for the informational-type pages I've been wanting to post: Bohemian Mermaid Info Pages . The store only has so many pages to edit, so I'm adding a whole new site with links, wholesale info, FAQ page, and ultimately some crafty projects or how-to info, and whatever other fun stuff I can think up. Setting that baby up was my Sat morning coffee/computer funtime today. What else...? I have a couple craft fairs coming up... I guess I'm going to Ukiah next weekend for the Pumpkinfest. Haven't yet gotten any paperwork, maybe it's time to call. Hm. The next one isn't until December, in Arcata. Oh of course I have some issues with Christmas-time fairs. Maybe I'll post about that later. Otherwise, I'm still getting my studio together at the new house... moving is slooooow work. I'm also thinking about where I can teach some silk painting classes during the winter & spring mont...

Holy smokes... as my good friend Fred so politely pointed out, I've been gone a while. Offline, except at work, and living temporarily in what I now refer to as The Homeless Studio. It wasn't so bad. I mean it could have been much worse - if we had been living in our van or forced to mooch off of friends. Basically, the housing in my area STINKS. We jumped the gun giving notice at our last place and it backfired on us. Just as school was starting at the college. Bad to worse. So, for 6 weeks we have been camping out at my art studio in Arcata. Nobody there really cared. There are a handfull of art students who live in their studios in that building, in fact the lady who had my studio before me lived there too. And there was room for the essentials... bed, movie collection, tv, clothes, dog. On the down side, however, it IS a commercial building with business activities going on. Like the woodworkers next door (ie on the other side of the wall by the bed) who start up the table...

Does it ever end?? Well, first off... I had a GrEAT time at the Caspar World Folk Festival! I knew the second I got outa my van I was in the right place. It feels a lot like home down there... right on the coast, super nice folks, beautiful scenery. It was a small event compared to other festivals I have attended, but the quality of music, crafts and people more than made up for it. Quality over quantity, you might say. I actually did pretty well, considering the small crowd... and broke all my previous bartering records. Man, I came home with some GREAT goodies! And new friends galore. Really really fun. The other side of my recent adventures involve moving into my art studio while we continue to find a home. Sigh. It's very cozy... and easy to get work done. Ha. And we sure are saving money! Aaaanyhow... my projects now include some illusion necklaces for my good friend Leisa's wedding, a bunch of tie-dyed bandanas for a friend of my little sister, and misc items ordered at t...

"Does Miss Mermaid know, She is made of sausage And a friend from the sea?" (Note: When I googled 'crazy mermaid' I got this pic. You MUST look at this guy's other Japanese kid's lunch haikus . Awesome!) I like to keep busy, for sure. But seems like the past couple months have been craaaazy busy. What with craft fairs every other weekend and my day job, i've been using every day off either working in my studio or selling at a craft fair. Whew! So, I was looking forward to July... no big fairs until August. I thought I would relax and beef up my web site , etc. But noooooo. We decided to move into a bigger house, and to push ourselves into motion, gave our notice on July 1. You know what that means... we are near panic as we continue to try to find a place to live (housing up here is nuts, have to race tons of other folks for the good ones). Meanwhile, the current land lady wants to show our place in a few days. Hahahaha. We haven't done a bit of house ...

I finally took my camera to the Trinidad Farmers & Artists Market... ...there's my booth... The view from my booth across the way... too bad you can't see the woven scarves very well, they are gorgeous. This is my friend, Marianna with her lovely wares... she's a fun booth neighbor, and her sister (the lady with the little oyster shell paintings) gives me snacks. Woohoo. Again, the music was excellent. A group of guys singing old-timey tunes, twangy harmonies and all. Rooster Something, McClintock? Close. Anyway, that's my weekly Trinidad Sunday Market report. Read more about it in my earlier posts. Good times...

...California, that is. Ok, so I started the Trinidad Farmers & Artists Market yesterday. Well, started to do it regularly anyway. I've mentioned it before, but it's worth mentioning again I think. Trinidad, for those who haven't been up to this end of the state, is maybe the prettiest town in the area. It's got some cute little shops, restaurants and B&Bs... as well as gorgeous beaches and ocean views. It's also right next to a ton of camp grounds and state parks, ie redwoods. Really beautiful. So, this little Sunday market happens each Sunday throughout the summer, in front of the grocery store there. The quality of crafts is very high, for such a dinky market. We just have a ton of talented folks around here, what can I say? There is also music each week and it's really pretty fun. Yesterday (I wish I had taken my camera, maybe next time) went very well... I thought. The music was exceptional... I think they were called The Fabulous Blue Jays (or was...