I think that I have been avoiding writing this little paragraph relating to the ending chapters of Artgirlz as we have grown to know and love it! MANY people have worked LONG hours to help us get things in and out of the doors. We have traveled far and wide...met amazing talented, funny, smart, irreverent, hardworking folks always willing to share, support, advise...and to all of you I am very grateful.

It seems like I was always exhausted quickly moving from one event onto the preparations for the next...designing and producing products, catalogs, dealing with import issues, pricing, shipping, websites, email, customer service issues, photographs, blogs, class proposals, class prep, class teaching, clean up and shlepping of materials...setting up booths, cc machines, cash registers, products, give always, business cards, membership cards, bags, props, price tags, samples, snacks, pens, accounting, money in money out...packing up booths and organizing the shipping of the goods back to world headquarters...filling out the paper for each box leaving on the pallet...airplanes, taxis, hotels, convention centers, bad food, too many snacks, no exercise, no oxygen...

Trying to stay emotionally stable...hoping, wishing, expecting, not getting, getting, trying another way...

So now that the decision has been made to close the business, I have been organizing and counting product that is left...Al has been working on a proposal to keep Artgirlz Charms out in the world...time will tell on that one...so it seem like the next step is to put what we have on sale. What a perfect opportunity for the creatives of the world to add to their ever shifting pile of supplies!

Although we don't know exactly what we will be doing next, we will still be around doing our thing and keeping you posted right here! We will actually have "time" to do creative things...something that has been hard to come by!

Stay warm. Thanks for all of the support and love that we have received over the last 6 years!!!!
Stay Tuned!

Check out our 30% Off Sale!!!

BERNINA 830
SUPER DUPER AMAZING
SEWING AND EMBROIDERY MACHINE

Al and I just came back from three days in Chicago with the Bernina Education staff and 75 Bernina's National Artisans!! Wow is all I have to say! The first night (after a candle light dinner due to no power in the hotel) we did 2 minute introductions of ourselves (we won Bernina Mugs because ours was under 60 seconds) and I have never been in a room where so many women had written so many book and produced so many videos, magazines, websites and produced so much beautiful work etc!! Very impressive!

We spent most of the time working on or learning about the new 830 machine which I have to say is unbelievable! First of all the sewing area is huge! The lights are very bright, the bobbin is big, the engine rocks, and for those of you that are machine embroiderers, it is the best! The good news is that we worked in teams as we dove into stitches, winding bobbins, auto threading, cutting, setting embroidery patterns, switching out feet...all brains working as quickly as possible, imprinting material that was flowing quickly and only scratching the surface...

We made new best friends, found inspiration everywhere, had a lot of laughs, shared information and came home exhausted!

Yesterday was spent napping, catching up on bad tv, napping and preparing mentally for this week. Al had the power to even start needle painting last night!!

Thanks to Bernina, the bright, focused and loving teaching staff, brilliant sr. management, and all of the folks that spent time putting the event together! We both felt very grateful to be a part of the team!! Oh, the machine is seen here in Artgirlz fantasy colors...