Brin de Magie !

Two years ago I wrote about a Christmas market that was on a farm - it was a wonderful weekend but it was a one-time only affair. This year, with one of the organisers of that market, I have been working on a Christmas market (marché de Noël, in France) in the form of a pop-up shop in Quimper. Pop-up shops are a recent phenomenon in France, and they are still relatively rare out here in the provinces. Our shop will be called Brin de Magie ! (just like two years ago) - "a bit of magic!" - and we will be open for the three weeks before Christmas. We have grouped about 20 artists and craftspersons, as well as several not-for-profits who have hand-made items to sell from the countries with which they are associated, and some local authors. If your French is up to it, you can read about it all by clicking here or by checking out our Facebook page - at the very least, you can look at the pictures (and Like in French is J'aime, so don't hesitate!). We're posting new artists every day until we open, and we'll continue to post photos of events along the way.

And so of course I'm not just organizing, I'm selling too! I've been on a push this fall to prepare enough goodies for three weeks of sales (not that I really know what that is ... ). I'm really excited about new designs, and I've been pleased to be able to do some work with stones again - it's been a while. Working with stones is rather like building sculptures - there is something about the heft that develops the sense of working with your hands!

Malachite rectangles with blue and black agates.

Black stones in various forms.

Triangles in African jade, yellow jade, and dyed howlite.

Chunks of coral with black agate and quartz.

An assortment of stones!

And I found a project that I started a number of years ago that got me started with chain mail - I had a group of agate rings that I tried to put together in some kind of a necklace, but I never managed to make it work. Several years, lots of aluminum rings, and many pairs of pliers later, I have finally finished it, and here it is!