Kelly Sooter's Fascination with Landscapes

Quiet Moments, by Kelly Sooter.  11z14 oil painting

Kelly Sooter's favorite books as a child were a series of books depicting the scenery of America through photographs. She poured over those books again and again, and experiencing the height deficiency of most 5-year-olds, enjoyed them even more once her mother placed them on the bottom shelf of the bookshelf.

Sooter painting in her home studio

On road trips between home in Spokane and vacations to the San Juan Islands, Sooter would stay awake the whole trip, staring at her favorite parts of the landscape flying by outside the car window. She often wanted to ask her father to stop to she could examine something more closely, but knew he wouldn't understand.  This early fascination is only recently finding its way into her long career as a painter, as many obstacles got in the way.

Being part of a very musical family led her into singing and piano rather than painting. There were no visual artists in her family, so no tools or influences were around. Then in Junior High School, she took an art class that included painting, and absolutely loved it! Despite more art classes being unavailable, it always stuck in her mind.

Bled Castle in Slovenia,
by Sooter's mother

Out of the blue, while in high school, her mother picked up some canvases, paints and a palette knife and began painting scenes from National Geographic magazine. Many as large as 4' high, Sooter enjoyed the thick layers of paint and her realistic results.

A Moment in Desert Canyon, by Kelly Sooter. Oil Painting.

Along comes college, a business degree, and a husband! Sooter wanted to take art classes as well, but knew she wanted to learn structure, composition, design and color theory. Such things were not possible in any art schools with their emphasis on deconstruction, abstraction and modernism. She knew she wanted classical European training.

Bookcover of book
by Bjorg Kleivi

Her persistence paid off when she found Norwegian traditional folk artist Bjorg Kleivi, with whom she studied for 10 years. Kleivi would come to Burien every 18 months or so to work on 96 panels commissioned by a church there. Working in acrylics, Sooter studied hard, and her drive and focus paid off as her own panels now hang next the works of this master in the church, being done with such great skill.

Zhostovo style tray by
Slava Letkov

After that, she wished to move beyond that form and sought the tutelage of Russian Zhostovo master Slava Letkov, who is today the last master of this art form in Russia. This distinctive style features a group of highly realistic flowers on a black background, painted onto a tray. Sooter mastered this art form so well that she became a highly sought after teacher in this country herself. She continued to paint and sell her own works in this technique until 2010.

Pair of alder boxes, replicated by Sooter, inspired by
two boxes brought here from Europe

About two years ago, a life-altering trip to Laguna Beach brought it all together for Sooter. She'd been photographing landscapes for many years, but saw it only as a hobby. Then she began sketching the landscapes as well, with Bend and Leavenworth being favorite subjects. But it was in Laguna Beach that she encountered works by landscape masters Scott Christensen, Shane Townley and (now deceased) Wolfgang Bloch. Sooter knew she needed to do this herself, and let that 5-year-old who fell in love with those landscape pictures in the books find her voice.

Photo and initial sketching on left.  Final painting on right of
A Plumb Line in La Connor, oil painting by Kelly Sooter

She studied the works of these 3 painters, who were melding texture with landscapes. “What I needed to do with my art hit me with full force. It opened my artistic world to mediums and design that let my real artistic voice come to the surface.”

In the studio, showing various stages of a painting,
View of studio from corner,
Wet Paint area, waiting for next layers

Various brushes, and color
blending experiments

What we see in Sooter's landscapes today is a culmination of her very early, and lifelong, infatuation with landscapes, informed by the specific skills and methods learned from her mentors. This includes things like pushing oneself to “tone” colors (e.g. add some red to blue to gray it down for a good sky color, as opposed to simply adding white); applying composition and design tenets by finding balance between the lightest and darkest points on the canvas; pushing paint brushes to their maximum potential by knowing when to apply pressure, how much to apply, and when to release it. This last aspect is especially noticeable in the water features of her current landscapes.

Tubes of oil paints
in the Sooter studio

Having used acrylic paints in her previous art experience, Sooter also made a move to oil at this point. “The luminosity is simply not possible in any other medium.” And luminosity within her landscapes is a major goal for Sooter. In a 10-day Russian icon painting classes taken some years ago, she was mesmerized by the application of gold leaf, creating a fascinating effect. Sooter found a perfect oil to achieve her desired effect in Chroma's Pale Gold, which she applies as an undercoat to each canvas, helping achieve the luminous effect.

Early on in her landscape attempts, Sooter was frustrated with not getting just the right translucence in her clouds. A friend painter turned her on to Old Holland paint, which is the paint Vincent Van Gogh used, and is the only oil paint she has found that gets just the right look for clouds.

Reflections of a Young Heart, oil painting
by Kelly Sooter.  Great example of using
Old Holland paint for the clouds.

She loves to use Vasari paints, which like Old Holland paints, are made with actual stone-ground pigments. She also uses Gamblin oils, which are not stone-ground, but of very high quality. Each type of paint yields a different result, which her years of skill applies to the canvas to achieve exactly the result she's after.

Her love of landscapes is evident in her current paintings, which meld classical and impressionist art forms, striving to capture the beauty and serenity of the view. The Pacific Northwest offers a plethora of picturesque views to capture, and all the works in our current exhibition were inspired by them.

Meet Kelly Sooter in person on Thursday, September 20, at Manya Vee Selects. Enjoy a large showing of her work through October 16, as well as a smaller collection thereafter.

Manya Vee Selects

409 Main St

Edmonds, WA  98020

425-776-3778

www.ManyaVeeSelects.com

The Wearable Art of Pam Wells

Pam Wells in 1958 in front of her grandparent's Dry Cleaner Shop

Rewind to the mid 50s, and see a 12-year-old Pam Wells standing behind the register at her grandparents' dry cleaning business, ready to help customers. Surrounded by fabric, steam, and seamstresses doing alterations, she attests that sewing and fabric have always been a big part of her life. As the oldest grandchild, she was tapped for the job and enjoyed earning some money that way. Far superior to baby-sitting her three younger sisters!

The "Leaf" costume - 1955

She worked there until she was 17, and graduated from the cash register to pressing men's slacks, shortening pants' hems, and finally – the big deal – pressing silk dresses. Meanwhile, she was surrounded by a mom, a grandmother, and others who sewed, along with an industrical sewing machine at work and a treadle machine at home. “Back then, everybody sewed,” Pam exclaims.

Her mother encouraged her to try new things, too, so she altered patterns early on, and just created her own fairly soon. Her favorite things to make were Halloween costumes and prom dresses! Both allowed for some experimentation, which continued to increase her skill and proficiency.

Some background dye has been
applied to silk.  A stamp is ready to
add its shape and color to the surface.

In the 70s, she took a class in precision dying. “While the precision part didn't stick, the dying part was great fun”, she says. Pam began adding her own dyed fabrics to the mix and continues to this day. Of course she experimented with that, too, and now has a unique dying style that creates a subtle, mottled background for the surface embellishment she applies next.

Pam's large collection of wooden
stamps from India and Indonesia.

Having an avid interest in ethnic fabrics of the world, Pam began collecting wooden stamp blocks from India and Indonesia, used in the batik industry there. For batik, the stamp would be dipped in wax to stamp onto the fabric, preventing dye from seeping into it. Pam, instead, dips the stamp into dye and applies that to her already hand-dyed fabric. She has her own hand-made stamps as well, along with stencils and all manner of things to apply surface design.

Pillows are a nice canvas to show off her skills.
These include unique Korean wovens,
Japanese dyed pieces,
and her own stencil designs.

The combination of her own surface design, along with her love of unusual, handmade fabrics, has made her a collector of them too. Intricately woven silks with the pattern woven in with gold wire (“yes, it's really gold, too”, she points out), or Chinese silk embroidery and applique, or vintage Japanese kimono fabrics, and so much more. “I usually can only afford a tiny piece of these things, so walk out of the place with these little 6” strips of amazing cloth,” she says.

The design process - a little of this, a little of that...

All these fabrics and embellishments, along with her own surface applications, result in one-of-a-kind pieces of wearable art such as scarves, jackets, and now pillows. The design phase is her favorite part of the process, and she takes an intuitive approach. Some background fabric is laid out on a big table. Perhaps it's a solid color, or perhaps it's one of her dyed pieces of silk. Her studio is bursting with all these amazing strips of cloth and ribbons. 

Pam Wells models one
of her unique scarves.

 She'll lay some things on top of the fabric and decide if it works. No? Take one thing away and add something new. “Yes, that's it! But not that other thing... “ And so on, until all the components are gathered. Now, the pure technical phase of sewing everything together, and onto the surface, completes the picture. “That's the boring part,” she says.

Those of us who get to see the end result find each piece anything but boring! Each is unique, and comes with a story, too, of where each precious piece of surface embellishment came from, whether Pam's own hand or some far-off land.

Pam's signature "Dragonfly Wrap",
so named because of its shimmer and
movement, enjoys myriad
incarnations from Pam's imagination.
Here she's used black silk and silver metallic
fabric paint in the shape of dragonflies.

Because of her emphasis on surface design, the Japanese kimono lends itself beautifully. As many of you have come to expect over her years of representation at Manya Vee Selects, she has modified that shape into a very fluid and contemporary jacket that wears well on so many body types.   

Her simple scarves are another excellent canvas for surface design, and when worn over a simple top or dress, turn even a plain T-shirt into wearable art.

A new source of enjoyment takes the form of dying socks made of bamboo fabric. Ultra-soft, with naturally built-in antiseptic and moisture-wicking properties, Pam transforms a utilitarian white sock into something very colorful and fun – and affordable at $15 per pair! Her clever husband engineered her “sock machine” so she could dye a pair at the same time to get a good match.

Dying socks

New socks, wraps, jackets, scarves and pillows arrive on Thursday, August 16, at Manya Vee Selects when Pam is our featured artist. We hope you can join us!

And if you have a story of a special event to which you wore your Pam Wells wearable art, please share it with us! We'd love to hear it – especially Pam!

Artfully Yours,

Manya Vee

Washington's Wine Culture

I grew up on a farm in the Yakima valley, home now to so many wine grape vineyards. One article states that there were fewer than 20 wine grape vineyards in the early 80s. I left for college in 1981, and back then, there was barely a wine grape vineyard to be seen. We were a farming, hard-working, beer-drinking folk. Wine was for sissies!

Fused Glass wine charms fit over a bottle of wine
given as a gift

Much has changed in the intervening 31 years, as Washington's wine production has risen to the number two spot in the US. And with that rapid rise has followed a growing interest and sophistication about wine in the local culture. 30 years ago, a person would've announced themselves an outsider by asking for a glass of wine with their meal at a Yakima restaurant. Nowadays, it holds a place of pride on the menu!

Winery tours are a big industry now in eastern Washington, and hopefully helping the faltering world of farming stay on its feet a bit longer. Tourism dollars now flow into what was previously a rather desolate desert landscape only made green through intensive irrigation techniques. (Yes, I was awakened at the crack of dawn to change sprinklers as a kid, and hated every minute of it!)

Original acrylic painting celebrates our wine passion - $76

I didn't grow up knowing anything about wine, so it has been a fun adventure to learn how to appreciate it, and what to look for as I attended various wine tastings. I listened to what I was supposed to taste in each sip. At first, I couldn't really distinguish much of anything, but I listened to the adjectives like cherry, blackberry, spice, tobacco and vanilla, and gradually taught my palette to recognize some favorite notes – all of which I mentioned in that list!

Aluminum and glass wreath makes
a particular awesome wedding gift - $62.50

And of course, along with our increasing love of wine comes the artist helping us find ways to enjoy wine in beautiful ways! At our gallery, wine-related art items are big sellers for us and make terrific gifts for wine-loving friends. It's a wonderful way to celebrate a special past-time you share with another person.

Next time your wine-loving friend has a birthday, or needs a holiday gift, come on by to see what our artists have created to honor the occasion! And don't forget to choose a silly wine-themed card to accompany it!   

Manya

www.ManyaVeeSelects.com

From Tin Foil to Sterling Silver

A smiling 8-year-old sits at her kitchen table, turning pieces of tin foil into shiny silver rings. When they're ready, she proudly shows them off to everyone in the vicinity! These days, Emily Hickman creates timeless hammered sterling silver jewelry in her Shoreline, Washington, studio that is sold in galleries and boutiques across the country.

A selection of Emily Hickman's sterling silver jewelry

Every artist's path is unique, and Hickman's was certainly circuitous. As a child, she was encouraged to try every creative thing she could, from drawing and watercolor, to pottery, papier mache, beaded jewelry and more. Her mother was an artist, drawing the illustrations for department store newspaper ads in the pre-digital age, so she witnessed art as a career early in life.

The ever-popular rectangle pendant and earrings

The childhood ring-making experience shows an early love of jewelry, too. While her mother didn't wear much, and encouraged Hickman “not to wear it all at once,” her grandmother had a huge collection of costume jewelry. Hickman inherited some of those pieces, and recalls having fun enjoying them as a kid.

In High School, she got her first taste of metalsmithing from a talented and encouraging teacher. But after that, she pursued the more traveled road of entering the work force, going through a series of boring, and physically demanding, jobs. She didn't get back into jewelry making until her 40s, when she got into bead work again. Soon it became too limiting, so she signed up for metalsmithing classes at North Seattle Community College.

Emily Hickman in her colorful studio in Shoreline, Washington

She knew almost immediately she wanted to do jewelry professionally. She was told she'd never make a living that way, so don't bother. “But I'm stubborn,” Hickman proudly announced, and moved forward anyway. By this time, those physically demanding jobs had taken a toll on her body, requiring foot surgery. She was determined to find a new career before her body gave out entirely.

Teardrop pendant
with Moonstone

As seems all too common, other events conspired to appear to steer her away from this dream, but that stubborn streak still won out. She got her business license on her birthday, April 11^th of 2006. In June that same year, right as she was setting up her tent for her first retail show, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. But rather than give it up, the metalsmithing is just what kept her sane throughout that year of treatment. Happily, she got a clean bill of health a year later.

She continued to take metalsmithing courses for about three years altogether, acquiring bits and pieces of equipment along the way to supply her own studio. A fair amount of experimentation goes on during this phase of an artist's career. Within the field of metalsmithing, there are many possible roads an artist can choose to master: stone-setting, casting, enamels, forging, lathe-turning, to name a few. A student learns them all to find out what makes her heart sing. In that process, some dead ends are inevitable.

More tools on the desk

Storage chest full of tools

Such was the case for Hickman, who had three distinctly different lines at first. It seemed a good idea at the time, because the potential market would be broad. Surely most people would like at least one of those lines, the thinking goes. Some art business classes helped her realize it's unwise to try to be all things to all people. Choose one to focus on, and let the others go. She chose the hammered silver line.

Wall of hammers for various purposes

The first iteration of this line features geometric shapes in gently-concave form with a hammered surface in either a shiny or brushed finish. This collection still makes up the foundation of her entire business. Hickman's goal was to create jewelry with both an ancient and contemporary feel, that “you could wear with either your blue jeans, or that little black dress,” she says. To achieve that timeless feel, she emphasized using tools that have been available since people first began working with metal: silver sheet, silver wire, a saw, a hammer, a drill, and a polishing method.

The Go-Go Necklace

Another piece of Hickman's jewelry philosophy is remaining neutral. Everything in her line is silver, white, black or clear. No colored stones are ever used, because “that would limit the clothing you could wear it with,” Hickman says. “If I use a garnet, you'll only wear that necklace with your red outfits.” Thus if a stone is added, it will be moonstone or white pearls only. She emphasizes that her pieces are intended to be interchangeable, too. You can have an exactly matched set if you want, but you could also pair a particular pendant shape with a differently shaped earring. Avoiding “trendy”, Hickman wants her jewelry never to go out of style.

Hickman focused on the geometric collection for the first two years of building her wholesale production jewelry business, which began a little over two years ago after some years of finding local consignment opportunities. By focusing so carefully, she has been able to build her business gradually, so that now her jewelry can be found in 17 states across the country.

Floribunda pendant and earrings with black pearl

With that foundation under her belt, she allowed herself some leeway to experiment. In March of this year, she introduced the Floribunda collection into the line, to great success. Orders from her existing customers flooded in, and new accounts were opened. While floral in shape, all other components remain the same: sterling silver with a hammered surface.

Encouraged by Floribunda's success, Hickman is now experimenting with a new collection. Inspirations for this come from mid-19th-century jewelry artists such as Alexander Calder and others who often worked in copper. Elements of Pacific Islander culture come into play as well. These pieces are mostly flat rather than domed, but maintain her line's consistency being made of sterling silver with a hammered surface. None of these are currently available in any shops, but we get a sneak peek at them here, and some will make appearances at her trunk show at Manya Vee Selects on July 19^th.

Potential future collection 

What does Hickman's future hold? “I saw a video a few years back about a 90-year old woman who was still happily making jewelry. I want to be like that!” she says with a huge smile. Her goal is to expand her wholesale business into all 50 states, “without getting so big that I can't make it all myself.” Sounds to me that we can rest assured that we'll be able to enjoy Hickman's jewelry, in all its as-yet-unseen interations, for many years to come.

Enjoy the pictures below, which provide an insight into some of the details that make up the world of a production jeweler, as she shows us how she provides consistency for quality control in the Floribunda collection.

Computerized flower patterns. Glue pattern to silver to saw out by hand.  Sheet with flowers cut out, balls for centers.

To give shape to the flat flower, it is placed in a dapping block, and a wooden dapper is tapped with a hammer.

If you can't join us for our Emily Hickman trunk show on Thursday evening, July 19, from 5 - 8 pm, stop by later to see what new treasures from Emily we have in the store.  Some of her Floribunda collection is available in our online shop, too!

Manya Vee

ManyaVeeSelects.com

The Colorful, Sweet Art of Traci Bixby

Kenmore's Traci Bixby can barely remember a time without crayons or some other drawing instrument in her hand.  Some of her earliest memories are coloring at her little bedroom table with her mom and dad.


Drawing and coloring continued through her school years, and took her to Seattle's School of Visual Concepts.  SVC began in 1971, at which experts in the field do the teaching.  These experts had a huge positive effect on Traci, who studied there for four years.  She says " I took everything from figure drawing to pastel, oil painting to color theory. But when I took the watercolor class, my heart just soared. I had found my medium."

Moonlight Picnic

Traci's paintings have an illustrative approach, and seem to lend themselves to telling a story.  She tries to capture the images and feelings she sees in her head and her heart.  According to Traci, "sometimes I'm overwhelmed with those images and feelings and the best way to express them is through my paintings."  Her most successful works lead viewers to dive in and participate in the story, adding their own imagination to it.  

Studio Set-up: easel, light, laptop, straight edge,
and color options

Sweet 16

Traci finds herself surrounded by inspiration on a daily basis.  She's always got her sketchpad at the ready, waiting for that vision to appear so she can capture it.  But rather than simply drawing a scene, Traci draws how the scene feels, taking it into a whole new realm of emotional value.  When asked about her sources of inspiration, Traci said "Inspiration can be as simple as sitting in my car on the darkest of gray Seattle days and a woman will walk across my path with a bright red coat and yellow umbrella. All I see are shapes and colors. It's the contrast of that one moment in time that inspires me."

Traci at the drawing board, at the table seen
in the image above in her studio

Magnolia

One of my personal favorite pieces of Traci's was, she says, inspired by a visit to Seattle's Discovery Park - a favorite place of mine to visit.  The many magnolia trees there inspired Traci to paint this work, with the view of the water in the background.  This card has words on it, with the front saying "Wish Upon A Star and..." inside it says "Dream Big Dreams."  If you've ever visited Discovery Park, and been awed by the trees, the water and the mountains beyond, it truly lends itself to dreaming big dreams!


Meet Traci in person on Thursday, June 21, from 5 - 8 pm!  She'll bring along her paint and paper and do a demonstration for us, too.  You can purchase prints and greeting cards, and perhaps some other little lovelies, too.  And if you can't make it, find her cards on hand at the gallery any time!


Hope to see you,
Manya Vee


ManyaVeeSelects.com

 

Exceptional American Artisans

Each year since 1989, a contest is held to determine the very best works in a variety of categories for Fine American Craft.  An industry magazine, Niche, hosts the awards each year, selecting a panel of judges from within the field to work through the many applications they receive to choose the very top in each category.  The goal is to celebrate excellence and innovation in American and Canadian Fine Craft.

Over 1000 applications are received each year, with only 38 winners chosen - one for each of 38 categories.  Truly, this is the best of the best our country has to offer.

Since this only happens within the retail industry, most of you don't even know such a thing exists, or get a chance to see the amazing work being created by artists right here in our own backyard.  I am blown away every year by the beautiful pieces selected by artists who have mastered their medium so much that they are expanding our idea of what can be done within it.

I thought I'd share some of my favorites with you this year, as well as the link to see all the winners.  Be sure to let me know which one(s) are YOUR favorites!

by Peter Muller and Joe Peters

This piece amazingly combines blown glass with flame-work glass.  First the vessel is handblown and then, following the cooling cycle, cut, polished and acid etched to create a weathered, sea glass finish.  At that point the flameworked sculpture is created to fit within the lines of each piece.  Look closely to see bees hard at work in their beehive.  Created by the artistic team of Peter Muller and Joe Peters and their Furnace & Flame company.

"Brindille" by Felix LaPierre

In the wood furniture category, Canadian artist Felix LaPierre won for this amazing table/bench that uses branches to hold up one end.  The beauty of the wood comes through in spectacular style, yet the group of branches cut flush with the surface, and cascading gradually down to finally touch the ground is beautifully done and very innovative.

Necklace by Lisa Hawthorne

Metalsmith and enamelist Lisa Hawthorne won two awards this year: one for this necklace, and another for a brooch.  I loved the detail and intricacy of this necklace.  She told me it is made of enamel on fine silver with 24k cloisonné.  The enamel is given a matte finish.  It's set in a 22k gold bezel, and the rest of the piece is combo of oxidized sterling and 22k gold, along w/gemstones.  What a show-stopper it is!

Be sure to check out all the other award-winners, and then let us know what stood out for you.  We are excited to hear!

Jeff and Manya

ManyaVeeSelects.com

The Hat Makes The Woman

Two summer hat styles by Pandemonium Hats

It is a series of happy coincidences that has brought Leigh Young to her current place in life as a successful entrepreneur of handmade hats, made under her Pandemonium Hats label.  Currently based out of her home studio in Burien, Washington, she has experienced the strange phenomenon of having her business explode during these recession years.  So, how did it all happen?  Let's find out!

"Grace" hat

I asked Leigh when she started sewing.  She said, "I don't completely remember.  However, my mom once showed me a rather hideous-looking doll which she said I made when I was 7.  I made a few things back then, but was mostly messing around.  I'd lay down on a piece of fabric and cut it out around me.  Then drape it together and sew it up.  None of it was any good."

Unable to get a class she wanted in high school, she ended up in a sewing class.  Happily, she liked it enough that after graduation, Leigh went on to design school at Seattle Central Community College.  Their program is quite excellent.  "I really developed excellent technical skills there."  After graduating in the early 90s, she developed a line of 1920s-inspired clothing with an edgy feel, and thus was born the Pandemonium label.  She sold these at retail shows and fund-raisers, but it was tough going at the beginning, so Leigh held down three other jobs to make ends meet, including loading trucks for UPS.

Acrylic "patterns" for various
hat styles

One day, she got a call from the owner of We Hats, an independent hat maker in Seattle, who was looking for help making hats, and started working there.  And thus, another happy coincidence occurred.  When that owner retired, Leigh took over the label and continued making and selling the line.  At this time she was still working on her clothing line on the side, but getting buried by the costs.  She noticed how much fewer capital costs were involved in making hats, and gradually switched her focus to this.  By 1998, it was all hats.

Bolts of fabric waiting to become
hats, scarves and handbags

Happy coincidence #3 happened here, when she did the large wholesale clothing trade show in Las Vegas.  While the show itself didn't go so well, she got her first sales rep - which led to other reps, and ultimately sales to boutiques all across the US and Canada.  And then, just a few years into it, came 9/11.  Like so many other small businesses, her sales plummeted.  But she just hung in there and kept at it.  Business grew ever so slowly, but followed an upward trajectory.  As things grew, she gradually added scarves and handbags to the line.

Leigh Young herself
in a new product for 2012,
the fur collar!

So now here we are in 2012, and still feeling the effects of an economic recession.  Yet for Leigh Young, the past two years have seen explosive growth in her business.  Why?  The luxurious faux fur fabrics she added to her line back in 2000 suddenly took off.  "The demand for these faux fur products is just crazy", she says.  The orders have come rolling in so fast!  With more orders coming in than she could possibly make by herself, she had to suddenly become an employer.  Finding workers with the necessary technical skills to get the quality results for which she was known proved frustrating.  For the 2011 winter season, she had thirteen sewers working hard at the peak.

Two women hard at work in May, sewing the
faux fur products in preparation for
the many orders soon to come in for winter.

In preparation for this third winter with many and large orders for the faux fur, Leigh is preparing well in advance.  Rather than waiting for an order to come in, and then begin making it, she is looking at order history to determine top sellers.  Many of her sewers are hard at work creating a nice back stock supply!

Faux Fur finished back-stock

Leigh's spring/summer hats are also quite wonderful.  With lovely fabrics and easy-to-wear styles, she describes her customer as a woman between 18 - 50 who has a little more confidence and style than the masses.  She's not afraid to stand out a bit.

Leigh is looking forward to continued business growth, but wants to stay with small stores and boutiques.  No big box stores for her; she prefers working with small independent business-owners like herself.  She loves the freedom of working for herself, despite the many hard knocks along the way!  I think we'll be able to enjoy many more years of casual yet fun hats from Pandemonium.

Enjoy this video of Leigh herself, showing the variety of ways to wear another new product this winter - a 3-button scarf!  And then, look forward to getting one for yourself this coming winter!  Click on the link below...

Demonstration: the 3-button scarf

Join us Thursday, May 17, 2012 for a trunk show featuring Leigh Young's Pandemonium Hats for spring and summer!  We hope to see you that evening from 5 - 8 pm.

Cheers,

Manya Vee

www.ManyaVeeSelects.com