I cannot believe it is the last full week of August. Where did the summer go? I imagine those who have returned to the classroom in whatever capacity are wondering the same thing. The last week of August means we will soon learn if Whispirit is selected as a finalist for the Martha Stewart American Made competition this year. This year’s finalists selection ends September 14. One factor for consideration we believe is how many people “like” your Martha Stewart American Made nomination page. If you like what Whispirit is doing click here and click on Share This Maker With Your Friends. Selected as a finalist or not we have enjoyed seeing all of this year’s nominations. The creativity and entrepreneurial spirit and talent that abounds in this great country of ours is simply amazing.
The last full week of August also means that we are finalizing our preparation for the Western Design Conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We are first time artists this year and the excitement around here is building. Although we were juried in on several of our garments, a high point of the conference is the awarding of prizes for a single item you created for the conference. Sandy’s creativity has been flowing for weeks. I think she has finally decided on one (decided may be too strong a word with two weeks to go). Second big event is the style show. We will have six “looks” on the runway. Of course, which six seems to be a daily question. We have even practiced how to set up our 16′ x 10′ retail booth in our chalked-in area in front of the “fabric design center” (aka: the garage).
If you get Mountain Living magazine, be sure to look at the beautiful 56 page ad at the end of the August edition. Whispirit’s 1/4 page ad on page 23 of the WDC source book contains a picture of our most popular jacket, Spirit Wind (crimson) Kasode.
The ad already has prompted requests to purchase the jacket, which now is sold out! (We only make a few of our designs for inventory). Which brings me to a recurring problem: Consistent resources for our designs. With this surge in requests for a specific design and a specific silpaca fabric, we turned to our yarn sources only to discover it is no longer made (yes, for those of you who don’t traffic yarn, it is a fickle and constantly changing marketplace).
So what do handmade design artists do in such circumstances? Out comes the white suri roving (courtesy of Beth Brown of Odelia Design) with just the correct sheen and the dye pot. A little of this and a little of that into the pot. Boil, separate, dry, and Voila!! Our new silpaca, Raspberry Ribbon. You can buy it at the Whispirit Shop
Check out our Martha Stewart American Made nomination……. see you next week……. Lee
