January 2020

Hello Friends
Holy cow! I can’t believe it’s been 9 months since I last wrote a blog post, so much has happened in the last year.
I have stretched my creative juices to include some different techniques in metalworking, enameling and tried to expand my jewelry line made with the vintage tends to include different shapes and configurations.
I participated in a number of different art shows, home shows and venues.

Our biggest news was that in August my husband retired after 28+ years in the Navy. That has been a bittersweet experience. After some soul-searching [& the Lord closing some doors and opening some windows] we decided that Pat would take a job as a JROTC instructor at high school north of Atlanta.

So in December we packed our boxes and moved north. We are unpacked very quickly and got somewhat organized so that we could host- the family decided they wanted to come to us for Christmas!

It was a difficult decision to close my business in Florida after three years, I had established a pretty good following, met some great people and knew the shows to participate in and the ones to avoid.

Starting from scratch is never easy and I find myself in that position again here in Georgia. There are so many different types of events everything from your traditional church basement craft show to high-end art shows, Indie events, pop up markets farmers markets and more. It’s almost overwhelming to know what to choose.

I have also decided to potentially try my hand at wholesale and also, at least in the short term to rent space in an antique mall/craft market so that I can have a permanent presence in the area. I want to test the waters and see how it goes.

Sunrise through the trees

I like our new house in Georgia quite a lot, it’s a good bit larger than what we had in Florida and sits in a little forest and nook in a neighborhood. So we have the best of both worlds by being in a neighborhood but we also have a nice feeling of privacy with all the trees and we even have a little creek that runs through the back of our property. It’s nice to see the deer, squirrels and so many different kinds of birds.

panoramic pic of my new work space

One of the things I like best about this house is having a nice big indoor space for my TTE Designs business in our basement. It’s not a traditional dark basement, It is a walkout basement and has many windows and feels light and bright. It’s nice not to be out in the dirty, dusty garage anymore. And I’m sure my tools will appreciate the reduced humidity which was making things get very rusty even with air-conditioning and heat out in the FL garage.

So that should get things back on track. I will try to be better [although I always say that!]
Thanks for stopping by~
Tammie