Christmas Shopping

I'll be in the shop almost every day til Christmas if you're looking for a last-minute gift. There are lots of signs, birdhouses, yard art, mirrors, and more...but probably a good idea to call ahead if you're driving a distance to make sure I'm here (920-894-2735). 

Hello New Holstein!

Because we've travelled extensively to do art and craft shows and never opened our studio in Kiel for local shoppers, most people who live near us have no idea we exist! I'm hoping to begin changing that. This Thursday the New Holstein True Value is hosting a Ladies' Night, and they've invited Heart to Heart to be a part of the event! Their front window is now a riot of our funky and seasonal stuff and Thursday evening from 6-8pm I will be there handing out cards, selling great stuff and giving out 25% off coupons to the first 30 thru the door. There will be other events going on as well, including demonstrations of hand reflexology and aromatherapy, demonstrations of decorating ideas using some of the new products that the store carries, and specials throughout the store. Come say hi if you're in town!

Baraboo

We'll be making our third appearance at the Very Merry Holiday Fair in Baraboo, Wisconsin. It's a charming, high quality event in a great part of Wisconsin and has become one of my favorite weekends. If you're coming, expect some great opportunities to shop for hand-made Christmas decorations and gifts. There are lots of great shops in  downtown Baraboo, too! Click on the link for location and hours, as well as info on the artisans who will be there.

Marquette, Michigan

I must admit there are shows I choose to do because the location is awesome. I've got one coming up this weekend in Marquette, Michigan. We've met some wonderful customers and friends there but being on the shores of Lake Superior in such a great college town is icing on the cake! Even better, the weather forecast sounds great (this is the land of BIG lake effect snows). Can't wait, and we've been busy making sure that we'll have a nice selection of holiday and seasonal stuff, as well as our garden line. Come say hi!

Vintage Crates

Well, the trailer is packed and ready for the trip to Des Moines this weekend. I put some special pieces together for the show; embellished cranberry crates, sparkly corrugated seasonal stars and we'll have a big supply of holiday and winter steel stakes and ornaments (covered with mica snow, of course). It's going to be a fun booth to pull together! Our funky and traditional signs and birdhouses will be along, too. I'm especially excited that the Junk Jubilee show will also be open at the Iowa State Fairgrounds the same time as our show. I'm a junker at heart and am looking forward to seeing the treasures there. 

See us in Des Moines and Marquette!

Last minute additions to two wonderful shows in November...Des Moines, Iowa next weekend (Nov 16-18) at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, and Nov 30, Dec 1 & 2 at the NMU Superior Dome in Marquette, Michigan. We'll have holiday and seasonal pieces, new one-of-a-kinds and our regular line of garden whimsey and outdoor signage. We hope to see you there! Check out their websites (listed in my show list) for show times and locations. 

Door County

Pleased to announce that we will be at the Sister Bay Fall Fest in Sister Bay, Wisconsin. It will be Heart to Heart's first appearance in Door County! So looking forward to spending the weekend there. We'll be bringing lots of goodies: fall and Halloween stuff, signs, funky birdhouses, and the rest of our fun line. Hope to see some of our NE Wisconsin friends there!

New Booth Location in Little Falls!

We're headed north to Little Falls, Minnesota tomorrow. Here's a photo of a new mirror that will be making the trip with us (my back seat is full of more). We're loaded to the max! New Halloween signs and yard art, totems, wallflowers, above-the-door plaques and more. Please note that we have A NEW BOOTH LOCATION this year; we are in the Veteran's Memorial Park next to the Post Office (just east of the river). The booth number is A26 & 27, and is probably listed in the flyer under my proper name (Shari Grenzow Mauer). Whew! It looks like we will be having our first beautiful fall weather for the weekend. See you there!

To my Colorado Springs Friends

The incredible fires outside of Colorado Springs this summer came very very close to the Rock Ledge Ranch, the site of the Holly Berry House Folk Art Festival that takes place in September.  Our promoter, Kathy Reid, has worried that people may assume that there was damage there that would impact the show. The short answer is no. Everything is going on as planned, and my helpers and I are busy busy making stuff for you! I hope I get to see all of my long-time customers this year. I love my weekend in Colorado! 

A selection of 3 dimensional pumpkins, made with the help of my big sister, Peggy Clark. I do the designing,she does the cutting and welding and then I take my plasma torch and add the stars and spirals...we both end up looking like chimney sweeps. Working with metal ain't for wimps!

An embellished black tramp art frame, 

finished and ready for packing.

I love this fancy funky thing!

Three little green mirrors I finished today. They'll be packed into the truck for the September shows.

Jack's headed to Frankfort!

Fall Shows

Hey there! Sorry for the long pause between posts...it's been a busy summer and our 3 weeks "off" in August were filled with designing and building great stuff for our fall shows. I didn't realize that I hadn't updated my show schedule since forever, but we WILL be at Frankfort, Il, Little Falls, Minnesota (please note that we have a new booth location, check the show list for the booth number!), our favorite show at the Rock Ledge Ranch in Colorado Springs, Colorado and the huge Cranberry Festival in Warrens, Wisconsin. We will be bringing lots of new awesome stuff! Pics to follow, but expect new sign designs and Halloween whimsy. Come say hi!!

A big thank you to our great customers and friends in Plymouth, Michigan! We had a great show. Hot, hot, hot, but thankfully no rain or wind. We came home with a much lighter trailer! I have less than a 24-hour turn-around before heading west to Spearfish, South Dakota this afternoon. Can't wait to see the beautiful empty rolling hills west of the Missouri river; it is truly one of my favorite drives in the country. The trailer's re-packed and full of goodies for my South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana shoppers...come say hi!

We've got the trailer loaded and we're ready to head to Plymouth,Michigan for Art in the Park. We've done the show over 20 years....wow!...and it is always fabulous. We're treating ourselves with a trip across Lake Michigan on the ferry. No Chicago traffic! Here's the link to the event: www.artinthepark.com. 

I am so excited to start my trip to Kansas for the Smoky Hill River Festival coming up this weekend. I've got lots of special stuff packed for my customers there! I see many of them every year and like to present a fresh face when I go back. The weather looks clear and HOT for this northerner...last weekend in Green Bay I was in fleece with a scarf wrapped around my neck! Gatorade is in the fridge! If you need info on the festival in Salina, the link is here

Coming to Green Bay!

Good news for our Northeast Wisconsin friends! We will be at the beautiful Green Bay Botanical Garden for their 28th annual Garden Fair June 2nd and 3rd. If you haven't been there, the Garden is a beautiful, lush place. The festival is a perfect place to pick up your potted and hanging plants for the summer, yard art, tools and lots more. We haven't been there for 2 years and are excited to be joining them again. We'll have a big booth, well-stocked with favorites as well as lots of new stuff! Check out directions and location here.

We had to cancel our show at Amelia Island, Florida due to a broken hitch on our truck...and a repair that took over a week. We were so sorry to miss the show but grateful that the hitch did not completely fail while we were on the road. Got the truck back yesterday and we are finalizing our packing and looking forward to our show this weekend in Dunwoody, Georgia. It's a long way to drive for one show, but we've heard really good things about this one. We've got lots of goodies in the trailer! Sorry, no pics today. It's been a wild couple of weeks with vehicle repairs.  

A big THANK YOU to my wonderful customers at the Cash 'n Carry show in Madison on Wednesday! It was fun, it's always nice to see familiar faces, and it looks like everyone is in the mood for summer. Good luck to everyone!

Summer Fun

Temps in the 80's (in March!) have us thinking about summer in Wisconsin. I'll be taking piles of watermelon slices to the Cash 'n Carry show in Madison on Wednesday for my shop owners to take home with them. Temps down to 31 degrees tonight, but no worries. We know warm weather will return!

Des Moines

I had a really nice weekend at my show in Des Moines.I saw many customers that I met in the booth last year and lots of new faces. There will be lots of flowers and birdhouses in the gardens of Iowa this spring. Thank you to everyone who stopped in to buy or say hi! On a personal note, I drove down a day early to avoid a snow storm and was able visit the Sticks gallery in West Des Moines. The company, based in the city, makes a line of delightful, whimsical wood stuff. Absolutely all made in Iowa. One word: awesome! Actually, two words: awesome and inspirational! Check it out if you're able.

Thank you, Madison! We had a really nice show at the Garden Expo. I'm looking forward to our second time in Des Moines, Iowa in a couple of weeks. 'Til then I'm busy makin' and packin'!

Madison

Finishing up packing my trailer this morning and then I'll drive to Madison and start setting up my booth for the Garden Expo. I'm excited! I've got new stuff to show to my great customers there, and look forward to seeing the show myself! I'm donating a beautiful "condo" birdhouse for the raffle there, so get to the show and buy a ticket or two....there's lots of fantastic stuff to win!

The shop's filling with things that will be taken to the upcoming Garden Expo in Madison and to our wholesale customers with shops around the country. Think bright, citrus-y colors, polka dots, masses of flowers and happy thoughts.

Tom's framed my latest screen painting. I rather like it! I think I'm at the point where prints are in order, though I'll need to figure out the process...I'll keep you posted.

All You Need is Love

LOVE banner done on salvaged ceiling tin. Tis the season.

Blue Skies

Outside there's a blizzard, but in the shop it's warm, colorful and happy! Here's a pic of an engraved sign that I just finished prototyping...did the art last year but ran out of time to finish my work before the show season kicked in. Everyone loves a sun!

It's time to get serious about Spring, even though we're barely into January. I'm taking advantage of a couple days of unusually warm weather for Wisconsin in winter. It was almost 50 degrees today! Warm enough to open the doors, don my mask and leather apron and play on my plasma torch. Here's a pic of some new hearts for Valentine's Day and beyond. I got the opportunity today to trace and cut a nice batch of banners.