Packing up my crafts, thinking of mom and dad

My mom loved painting flowers. This is one of her paintings.

My mom was incredibly talented. She was an artist, a potter and a talented curator of all things. She knew how to hang just the right painting in just the right spot and arrange beautiful combinations of artifacts on every shelf or table. She was so good at it, that friends and family asked her to come over when they moved into a new home to help arrange their art and beautiful things. She was always happy to oblige as it gave her great pleasure to see every piece of art perfectly situated.

Unfortunately for her, she was not born in a time of handmade marketplaces like etsy, where all of her talents could have been transformed into multiple careers. Or in a time of great opportunities to sell art and crafts in inspired surroundings at holiday craft shows.

Instead, she packed up her paintings and sat in very drab and boring shopping mall art shows, which she hated. But still, due to her amazing marketing skills (and my dad’s amazing calligraphy skills) she sold her paintings and brought joy to everyone that bought them.

Did I mention that my mother was very organized? And that my dad was very handy? Getting packed up for each mall art show was organized to the last detail. My dad built and painted the stands and rigged up a dolly to keep them tightly fastened to each other during transport. He added velcro tabs to his hand lettered signs: “Artwork by Florence Fruman”, so that they could be easily attached and detached at each show. Mom had a “satchel” that had all of the hardware she needed to hang the artwork on the stands: her business cards, receipt book (so she could keep track of where her painting would be living), signage, masking tape etc. which was always packed and ready to go for each show.

Before packing up the car, the paintings, which mom and dad framed themselves, were first wrapped in plastic and then carefully swaddled in an assortment of fluffy towels, and stacked in a big cardboard box on another dolly for that purpose. The stands, the paintings, the satchel, the box and the dollies all fit perfectly into the car.

They had a system.

At the end of each show, as if the film was being rewound, the paintings that had not sold were taken down, wrapped in plastic and then towels, stacked in the box, carted in the dolly, into the car, out of the car, unwrapped, and into storage until the next time.

Fast forward to Winter 2012. Florence Fruman’s daughters, Naomi (in Brooklyn) and Leslie (in Toronto) are busy stressing about how to pack up their crafts and set up a booth at their first craft shows!

I know that each of us, separately, thought of mom and dad every minute of the process. I thought about all the advice and encouragement they both would have given their girls if they were still alive. Dad would have hand painted signs for both of us and mom would have come to all of our shows and talked to all of the potential customers, encouraging them to buy our wares. Although we both did well at our first craft shows, I know we both would have sold more if mom were there. She was a “closer” when it came to sales. No one would have walked away empty handed!

It is hard to believe (and our dad would have been very proud), but Leslie managed to get all of her wares, her “satchel”, numerous folding tables, dollies and other booth infrastructure and decor into her tiny Volkswagen Beatle. The eggshell blue bug was packed and unpacked through November and December attending holiday craft shows in the Toronto area.

As for me, I packed up my “satchel”, ketubah prints, pillows and framed prints into a car service (Brooklyn style) and headed for Williamsburg for the finale weekend of the Brooklyn Night Bazaar.

And wouldn’t mom and dad be doubly pleased to know it was their grandson who dreamed up and produced the incredible Brooklyn Night Bazaar, so that his mom could have a table at her first ever craft show?

Thanks mom and dad for a life full of creativity and support, in this life and the next (and to our aunties, who have taken over supporting our creative endeavors where mom and dad left off).

Pottery by Leslie Fruman

My sister Leslie is a self taught potter, crafting nature-inspired functional art for your table and home. She is based in Toronto, but sells worldwide through her online etsy shop.

My booth at the Brooklyn Night Bazaar

I am a ketubah artist, digital painter and wanna be textile/surface designer. You can find my wedding related and judaica products at my etsy shop and my website, my pillows at envelop, my textiles at spoonflower, and my stock images at imagezoo.

A handfull of pillows, a whole lot of possibilities

I received a very small package today. I have been waiting for it for three weeks and the anticipation has been killing me. I wouldn't say I have been losing sleep, but I have been counting days and worrying about what I would find inside this very small package — that held five pillow covers I designed almost two years ago. They come without the pillow forms, so they all fit in one bubble envelope. Today was the day they finally arrived. And today was the day I actually got to see my foray into fabric design in real live products.

Kind of exciting.

It took me about 15 minutes to stuff the pillow liners I bought at IKEA last week carefully into each of my pillows. I wanted them to look really puffy and full. Once I had them all zipped up with the "as advertised" wonderful invisible zippers, I started playing with them. As I had envisioned when I was designing them, the backs and the fronts of these pillows can be interchanged and rearranged, giving you many many options of how to use them.

I am very pleased and I hope you will agree. They are quite cute and all go together in an interesting way. Five pillows go along way to create endless different looks. So if you decide to buy one of my pillows at my etsy shop, or directly through envelop, I really hope you will buy two or three, so that you can mix them up and change the look of your room just by flipping the pillows around.

Now that I have seen them in the flesh so to speak, you can be sure I will be finding some time to develop another series of my designs for your pillows. For now, here are my pillows, fronts and backs. For now they are available at envelop, soon they will be available at my etsy shop as well. They come in three sizes, so that is another way to mix and match. Have fun!

Fresh Coffee

Meow

Abstract

Alhambra

Tea Time

These pillows will make their debut at the Brooklyn Night Bazaar on Dec 21st and 22nd, along with a bunch of other fresh creations I am cooking up as we speak.

Free Chanukkah download love

December 8th is the first night of Chanukkah (Hanukah, Chanuka, however you want to spell it!), otherwise known as the celebration of lights on our Jewish Calendar. As the story goes, after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, one small cruse of olive oil that had escaped contamination (still kosher), which certainly should only have been enough for one day, miraculously, burned brightly for eight days.

To celebrate this miracle of miracles, we light candles for eight nights and eat every kind of unhealthy delight soaked in, fried in or otherwise full of oil. Sounds awful, but it is actually amazingly delicious.

We also have a tradition of giving gifts — and that is what I have in store for you.

In the spirit of the holiday I have prepared a pdf file of some Chanukkah printables just for you — that you can download here! Please print them as often as you like and share the file with your friends, just respect my copyright and keep it to personal use :)

The pdf includes an 8.5 x 11 poster, printable Chanukkah cards, and gift tags. Have fun!

And if you want to read a nice Chanukkah memory of mine about latkas you can find it here.

Or if you are confused about which candle to light when, and from which side of the Menora, you can check out another of my posts here.

And if you are interested in purchasing some more printable Chanukkah decorations at my etsy shop you can get there with this link.

Happy holidays one and all — and may your candles burn brightly and your house smell of fried onions and potatoes for eight glorious nights!

New work to share (I am quite excited!)

A lot of ideas have been percolating in my mind for several months. Dozens of electronic files, folders with images and photos I have taken while traveling, bits and pieces of inspiration creating a collage of images in my mind. They have been cooking on the back burner for a long time.

This week I finally had some breakthroughs and I feel ready to share.

I have started listing the new items at my etsy shop and I am eager to get some feedback on my newest fresh creations.

Parchment impressions:
I am trying some digital collage using photography and my electronic artwork. Here are a couple of Ketubah close ups that are now for sale. If you click on the photo caption, it will take you to the item in my shop.

Ketubah love and flowers

Ketubah hamsa and pomegranates

Ketubah/ signing tree/guestbook series:
This I am really excited about. The best ideas come out of collaboration, don't you agree? A bride contacted me a few weeks ago. She confided in me that she has been dreading her ketubah search. What she really wanted was a ketubah and a signing tree all in one. But they don't exist. When she saw that I had both signing trees and ketubot in my shop, she asked shyly if there was any way I could combine the two.

Brilliant!

What a great idea. I wish I had thought of it myself. In figuring out the details for her, I came up with a few more ideas, and I have many more in my head that I will be working on over the next few weeks. In the mean time here are a couple of thumbnails of three I have ready for sale. If you click on the photo caption, it will take you to the item in my shop.

Ketubah signing tree: Tree of life intertwined

Ketubah signing guestbook: Love Birds

Ketubah signing tree: Tree of life in full color

As soon as I have more pieces ready for sale, I will be bothering you again for your feedback!

WeddingYentas.com: Miriam and Jakes wedding, including my love birds ketubah!

Photo by: Hazelnut Photography

Many of the couples I have worked with this summer, are being featured on blogs this month. Have a look at this stunning wedding featured on WeddingYentas.com – and my love birds ketubah.

Mazel Tov Miriam and Jake!

Michael and Meredith's Miami Beach Wedding: with my tree of life ketubah!

Photo by: Emily Harris Photography

While away in Europe I got a message from Style me Pretty alerting me to a wedding post including one of my ketubot. You can see the whole post here. The most beautiful couple in an awesome venue!

Mazel Tov Michael and Meredith!

100 miracles

When I opened my etsy shop in August, after more than a year of preparation (learning how and building my freshketubah website, learning about and creating this blog, reading everything I could find about opening a shop and how to promote it, creating the initial designs I would try to sell ...), I thought I was ready for whatever would happen next. But I also tried to be realistic about the experiment I was embarking upon.

When the first miracle happened the next day, and I had my first ketubah order, I had to pinch myself to be sure I wasn’t dreaming! When I finished pinching, the real panic set in, as I was completely unprepared to fill orders. I am embarrassed to say I still did not have my ketubah text options completed, shipping materials in hand or any branded forms/mailing labels or letterhead. No proofing forms or even a process in place to keep track of any of it.

In Hebrew there is a saying: “the shoemaker walks barefoot”. You would think after 20 years of creating branding and marketing material for my clients, I might have been a bit more prepared.

But you see, I had not in my wildest dreams thought I would have sales right away— or ever for that matter. And to this day, after reaching my 100th miracle sale, I am still pinching myself to be sure I am not dreaming.

It is a moment in time, when people with a dream can make miracles come true. It is a time when you can, with a bit of initiative, learn like I did, to set yourself up with an online shop, and with hard work, make a go of it. It is an amazing opportunity, which I hope I never take for granted.

So a humungous thank you to etsy for existing, and to the hundreds of people at the other end of my internet searches, who answered my questions, gave me encouragement, taught me techniques, filled the blanks in my knowledge base, and kept me moving forward. And to my 100 miracles — let me just say, you are awesome, every single one of you :)

New offering at my shop: Wedding Guest Posters!

I have been watching the amazing growth of fingerprint trees and wedding guest book alternatives on etsy over the last year and decided it was time for a fresh approach. So I am happy to announce a new section at my shop called Wedding Guest Posters. Instead of fingerprints, I have leaves already in place for guests to sign. As I write this post, I am dreaming up other designs for wedding showers, baby showers, birthday parties ... it is endless.

Each poster is (at the moment) 13 x 19 and accommodates from 100-200 signatures depending on the design. Each poster comes with a small poster with instructions that can be framed.This message can be customized to suit each event.

The posters are printed on the same beautiful paper my ketubot are printed on - and some of them coordinate with ketubah designs which may be of interest for some of my wedding buyers.

Check it out and let me know what you think! If you want one of these for your next wedding/shower/bat/bar mitzvah, head over to my shop and send me a convo or email at naomibroudo[at]gmail[dot]com. Have fresh ideas for me? I would love to hear from you :)

Building their own traditions under the apple trees at Little Dog Orchard: Tahneer and Jon’s Wedding

Tahneer and Jon  photo:  MCV Photography

Tahneer and Jon are good friends with my son Aaron and daughter-in-law Melissa. It was exactly a year ago this week, that I first sat down with them to talk about their ketubah. To get the ball rolling, I asked them about their wedding plans. I can’t remember who spoke first but it was clear to me from the first words, that this was going to be a very special wedding. They started by telling me about the venue – An apple orchard, near New Paltz, New York.

Don't you love it when things just fall into place? Tahneer began to describe how they found their venue. “I met up with my friend for dinner when I was at a conference in Philadelphia, and I mentioned that we were thinking of getting married in an outdoor space – like an orchard or a vineyard.” Tahneer explains, “Then my friend said, — I don't know if this will help, but I have a friend from grad school who now lives and works on an apple orchard!” This story/person so appealed to Tahneer, that she knew she had to look into this further.

Wedding Ceremony at Little Dog Orchard  photo:  MCV Photography

Little Dog Orchard had never been rented out for a wedding (or anything else for that matter), but the owners were keen to find new ways to utilize their property. “We contacted Julie and we drove up there and met her and her partner Jody” Jon explains, “They took us around the property and we knew immediately that this was where we wanted to have our wedding.”

Besides caring for their organic apple trees, Julie and Jody’s other talents lent themselves beautifully to wedding planning. “Julie is a DJ and Jody is a sound engineer” Jon began. First they hooked them up with The Big Shoe, a local cover band. “We loved their vibe and music and they became our Wedding Band”. Then the creative duo found them a caterer, a florist, a restaurant for the rehearsal dinner, and even helped with parking and technical arrangements the day of the wedding. “Julie and Jody were awesome and we love them for everything they did for us” Jon says with emotion.

The Big Shoe  photo:  MCV Photography

But the venue was just one aspect of the unique personality of this wedding. When we got down to discussing what elements they wanted to include in their Ketubah design, they related their experience at a friend’s Quaker wedding. They were intrigued with the wedding certificate. “In Quaker tradition, it is not one individual that marries a couple. The board of elders agrees to allow them to marry and the entire congregation certifies the marriage by signing the certificate” Jon explains. This suited Tahneer and Jon’s inclusive and egalitarian sensibilities, and they wanted to incorporate this tradition into their ketubah. “How many people will be at your wedding?” I asked sheepishly, trying to calculate how I would have space on their Ketubah for hundreds of signatures, Ketubah text in English and Hebrew and an apple orchard ...

Ketubah: Naomi Broudo  photo: MCV Photography

When there is a will, there is a way and working with Tahneer and Jon was amazing. A true collaboration.  “I remember (the ketubah design) as one of our earliest wedding projects” Tahneer reminisces, “looking at the early drafts you sent us of the Ketubah, and deciding together how we wanted it to look, what would make it most symbolize what we wanted it to symbolize!” The final result several months later, was a double apple tree design with 180 signature lines superimposed over the intricate root system. I think we were all pleased with the final result! And so were all of their friends when it came time to sign their Ketubah at the wedding.

photo: MCV Photography

I asked them recently, what they took away from this beautiful tradition they created. “We felt very loved and supported”, Jon began. “And I love the idea that instead of some ordinary sign-up guest book that we will never look at again, we have the signatures of everyone who attended on one beautiful sheet.” Tahneer added.

Personal touches  photo: MCV Photography

This wedding has a personality all it’s own because it is personal. “I think both Jon and I appreciate things when they relate to people we know and love, so we really tried to integrate friends and family into as many aspects of the wedding planning/execution as possible” Tahneer explains. For example, there was home brewed beer by Jody, hand drawn invitation artwork by Tahneer’s little brother Mo, Wedding dress alterations by a friend of the family, makeup and hair by Jon’s barber in Jersey City, assembly-line candy-jar-filling by the Oskman family, to name just a few of the personal touches. “It really felt like we were supported by a whole community of friends, family, and in some cases even strangers!” says Tahneer.

Hand picked flowers from Shoving Leopard Farms  photo:  MCV Photography

Even the flower arrangements were a group effort. Months before the wedding, the couple scoured flea markets to find 25 different glass vases for their center pieces. The Saturday of the wedding they drove to Shoving Leopard Farms to pick fresh flowers in the farm’s “flower maze” with an intimate group of friends and family, who then filled decorative baskets and created the center pieces for the wedding. I can’t imagine anything more meaningful!

I spent some time going through their wedding album recently and thought their photographer Mike Vasiliauskas, really captured the essence of their special day. It felt so real! I asked them to summarize their wedding concept in their own words. Here is what they had to say: “The main focus of the wedding was to make people feel relaxed, and at one with nature (in the most tree hugger way) ... The flower picking, Ketubah signing, and the apple orchard all contributed to our focus. People felt involved, and having the wedding at our “new” friends orchard, really made people feel welcome ... People picked apples, felt the warm hospitality of the orchard, and really felt comfortable enjoying themselves.”

I only experienced their wedding vicariously through their wedding photos and their descriptions, but I think you will agree that this is one wedding, where the dream and the reality are one in the same. Thanks Tahneer and Jon for sharing your incredible story.

photo:  MCV Photography

Oh – and in case you are living in the New Paltz, NY area, Julie and Jody have a lease-a-tree program which you can find out about here. You can help tend your own tree and reap the benefits of your labors! And if you want to have your wedding under their organic apple trees, I am sure they will be happy to hear from you!


Wedding Photography: MCV Photography | Venue: Little Dog Orchard | Music: The Big Shoe | Ketubah: Naomi Broudo | Flowers: Shoving Leopard Farms |

Why is this trip to the post office different than any other trip to the post office?

Excuse my passover brain. Every experience seems to turn into a passover story...

During the Passover Seder, The youngest child is always asked to recite the four questions. The opening line of each of the four questions is the same: “Why is this night different from every other night?” Hearing these questions each year, keeps the events of the past clear in our minds, and gives us time to reflect. I was reminded of the four questions on my visit to the post office this morning. Nothing to do with reclining, eating matzah or bitter herbs, but still profound.

The ladies behind the counter at my local post office always get a kick out of me arriving with my ketubah tubes several times a week. I regularly ask them for US Expedited Parcel Forms, so that I can fill them out at home to speed up processing. And I know they appreciate me being organized considering the long line that is usually forming behind me.

Yesterday they decided to write down the dimensions of my tubes so that they wouldn't have to measure them each time, which I thought was very sweet. But today, when they asked me if I would like to have them jot down my Venture One card number and my mailing tube dimensions, on the card they keep next to the computer – I thought – wow, I AM a regular customer!

I know it may seem silly to get excited about Canada Post, but it is really much more than that. What makes THIS trip to the post office, different than any other trip to the post office, is that It reminded me why I have become a regular at the post office in the first place.

Several things have happened over the past couple of months and I think they all deserve a public thank you. Firstly and most importantly, Jennifer Raichman, who has been my inspiration and role model on etsy since day one, has been so exceptionally generous, I really do not have enough words to thank her. Between being a mother of two young kids and running an amazingly successful etsy business (Ketubot and Invitations), she has time to share her knowledge with me AND to refer couples to me. Jen you are the best!

And speaking of etsy, I joined two etsy teams: Etsy Chai and Judaica on Etsy. Both teams have been very supportive of my work, featuring me in their treasuries and even shopping at my shop. It is great to have a community of like minded artists to share ideas with, brag a little and even kvetch now and again.

And it was also through etsy that Lisa from Temple Shalom Gift shop here in Vancouver, first saw my work. One thing has led to another and with Lisa's encouragement I have a new line of Bat and Bar Mitzvah gifts for sale in the Synagogue gift shop as well as at my etsy shop. Thanks Lisa for pushing me to try new things! 

So you see, there are good reasons why these last two months have been the best and busiest for Fresh Creations and Fresh Ketubah. And next week at our Seder, since I will be the youngest at the table, I will volunteer to sing the four questions. And when I do, I will be giggling about my trip to the post office today!

We were once slaves in Egypt: Time to clean the silver.

I think it is safe to say that we Jews take spring cleaning quite seriously, as it is spring that reminds us, among other things, that we were once slaves in Egypt—and at least once a year it is our duty to retell the story. To prepare for this event, we take out dishes, recipe books, Hagaddahs, and assorted serving dishes that otherwise sit wrapped tightly in dark cupboards for the rest of the year. In the weeks leading up to the Passover holiday, we ponder and fine tune our festive meal line up, purchase boxes of matzah (hoping this year's batch will be as crisp and delicious as last year) and other unleavened concoctions, and of course clean the silver.
 

My mom had a beautiful set of china that only came out for Passover, for the seder (festive passover meal). Gleaming white china with gold leaf designs. Wonderful soup bowls with little handles on each side, so perfect for steaming chicken soup and fluffy matzah balls. The table was always beautifully set with crystal water and wine glasses, sterling silverware, silver platters and serving dishes for all of the amazing dishes my mother and her sisters prepared for the meal.
 

As a kid, I really had no idea how much work went into pulling this off each year. My biggest concern at the time, was having enough room in my tummy for all of the seemingly endless courses of aromatic food being served on those beautiful dishes! But we all grow up eventually, and there is a time for all of us, when “cleaning the silver” becomes our responsibility.

For me, it happened the year my dad was so unwell, that my mom was planning on skipping Passover all together. I was by then completely grown up, married, a mother myself with a son already bar mitzvahed. Still, I had more than one moment of fear, wondering if I could really pull it off. There were tears in both my parents eyes that night as we silently agreed that the seder would move to our house that year. 

It turns out that it is just as hard to let go of the “silver” as it is to “clean” it — yet for every family there is a moment when it is time to pass down the traditions, recipes, dishes and responsibilities from one generation to the next.
 

From generation to generation things change. My table is always set with modern dishes (not china) and stainless steel silverware (dishwasher safe every piece!), but in keeping with tradition, the horseradish is in the crystal decanter my mother used every year – the salty egg mixture is always served in my Baba Fruman's glass bowls – the silver jacketed Hagaddah from Zada Harry always sits on the table. Our table is full of seders past and all of the wonderful memories they bring with them.
 

Mom's kiddish cup and candle sticks — that she passed down to me the year the seder moved to our house, have come out of the cupboard. As I ready myself to clean them, I see in my mind's eye, my dad, uncles and grandfather negotiating so astutely with all of us giggling cousins for the afikoman – I see my mom and her sisters in and out of the kitchen serving us delicious food – I can hear my own son as a child singing the four questions – and my husband Marc leading our seder –and my most recent and cherished memory of leading the seder myself for the first time with my daughter-in-law's family in New York. And of course in my imagination I conjure up the day when my son will be leading the seder with his own children. Mom's beautiful china and sterling silver have been passed down to them for just that special Passover!
 

Happy Passover preparations everyone! And by the way, toothpaste is the greatest for cleaning your silver!

My art—your pillow covers

Alhambra by Naomi Broudo

I have been dreaming about this for a long time. I heard about this newish online store for illustrated cotton basics, called Envelop, about five months ago. I started browsing the site, and found some of my favourite etsy artists already there selling their wares. I also read as much as I could about who is actually there, read the media clippings and contacted several of the designers/artists on the site. The feedback was pretty good all around, so I decided to think about opening a shop.

There is a process to go through to be accepted, which is fairly straight forward, but preparing artwork for the site is quite time consuming. So with all the other things I am doing and pursuing, I haven't been able to find the time until this week to get things up and running.

To date there are 317 designers with shops on Envelop. Kind of exclusive for now. The great thing about this, is that I can put any of my designs on the items they stock. So if you like one of my designs, and would like to have a pillow or an apron or place mats, it is now possible.

You can search on Envelop by designer, or by article and you can also search by tag. To make it easier for you to always find my latest designs, I have added my name as one of my tags for each item. So simply search for Naomi Broudo and you will find me!

To find out more about the production process at this link. And BTW, they ship for free (a small handling fee) worldwide.

So, welcome to Envelop and my new shop. I have only four pillows so far, but I will be adding items as soon as I can get around to it (and, I have designed them so that they work front or back – two designs for the price of one). I am interested in your feedback on what I have up so far. You can leave me a note here or at my Envelop shop. Can't wait to hear from you!

Hello in there...

Reflections ... by Naomi Broudo

For those of you that speak more than one language, I think you will understand when I say that there are situations where a particular phrase in a particular language says it better than any other. In Hebrew when you need to take a moment to reflect, you would say "rega choshvim" or actually you might only think it. Literally it means "moment, thinking" which sounds pretty awkward in English but in Hebrew which is a language with few words and deep roots, it is pretty profound. At least I think so.

I have had a couple of those profound moments this week. The kind of moments that catch you off guard and you literally are stopped in your tracks.

What got me rolling towards this "rega choshvim"? Finding out I was no longer a Leo was pretty traumatic. That certainly could have contributed to it. Was it admitting that our son Aaron's Brooklyn Night Bazaar needed an artist/designer cooler than his mom to create an edgy Brooklyn hipster website — yah, definitely getting me there. Or was it Poppytalk letting me know that my pattern paintings were more suited for an older audience and not really appropriate for the Poppytalk demographic ...

Yup that did it.

Soon after that jaw dropper, a comment from someone I had just met confirmed my need for — you know — a good long "rega choshvim". She said (with the best of intentions), I was quite different in person than what she expected reading my blog ...

That's the moment I'm talking about — where everything starts going in slow motion and it is like everything else that came before fades away and all you can think about is — "Who am I"?

I am sure we all suffer from this. I know that well into my 30's I still thought I was 18. And even today, I have a hard time believing I am really over 50 (almost half way to 60 to be exact). So what is a gal supposed to do in such a situation?

A "moment thinking" does the trick for me every time.  I checked in with myself and realized I am fine with the fact that I am a 54 (almost 55 years old) mother, wife, designer, ketubah artist and creator of fresh ideas. I love to write about things that are important to me and I am pretty sure that who I am on these ages is who I am in person. I don't think I could ever have been described as edgy or hip or cool, so it is OK that I can't describe myself that way now. I will never give up trying to find audiences for my work, even as certain doors close. The eternal optimist, I always believe that when one door closes, another better one opens.  

After this experience when I look in my internal mirror, I see a slightly older, me, but I am totally fine with that!

Oh my, I am blushing!

I wish I could say I haven't even been trying. Or that it was out of the blue. I wish I could honestly say that I don't check my Google Analytics with anticipation every day at around 3:00 to see if maybe today is the day my numbers will soar.

Well — the honest (darn it anyways!) truth is that I have been working my little butt off trying to figure out how to get someone to — well —take notice.  Maybe just a little notice that would create a little buzz ...

I was starting to think it just was —  N E V E R — going to happen. And then it kinda did!

Don't get me wrong. It wasn't Martha Stewart that decided to feature me on her blog. Or Oprah calling to have me explain what a Ketubah is to millions of viewers. Or even a good word on Design Sponge or Print and Pattern or Etsy Stalker (god knows I have sent them all more than one email!).

No it was nothing huge, but it meant the W O R L D to me. It really lifted my spirit!

It started with a very nice story on the Poppytalk blog that was enough in itself to make me smile from ear to ear. THEN I showed up on Carolina's adorable Illuminession blog. AND then I showed up on Paper Crave!

My cheeks are really red and I am blushing and flushing at the same time!
Thank you world! it has been a very good day!

Have a freeValentine download to celebrate!

So now I just have to figure out how to get on etsy's front page at least once ... And how to get a whack of people to follow this blog ...  there is no rest for the weary!

This week’s spoonflower contest — Botanicals

 
Spoonflower has a weekly contest that hundreds of surface pattern freaks like me flock to each week to view and vote on our faves. Aside from the fun involved in seeing what everyone has come up, the big plus for me is all that I can learn from the talented designers who submit great designs every week.

This week’s contest was right up my alley — botanicals. The special additional stipulation was that we all had to use a specific color palate. It was a fun challenge! There are a huge number of amazing submissions. If you have a minute, check it out — Wish me luck!

New year brings fresh new designs

for more information and purchase, click here!

It has taken some time to get this organized, but I have a new series of exciting ketubah designs being sold exclusively at ketubah.com in their signature collection. Not only that, but I am working as we speak on a new series — based on my doodle trees (that have been very popular at the shop).  I am really excited about these and am having a lot of fun. Hopefully I will manage to get my act together before wedding season is really upon us!

for more information and purchase click here!

 

for more information and purchase click here!

for more information and purchase click here!

for more information and purchase click here!

for more information and purchase click here!

Happy Holidays!

As 2010 comes to a close and I celebrate the first anniversary of this blog and all that I have tried to accomplish (sigh!), I just wanted to send a note of good cheer, thanks and holiday hugs to everyone who took the time to answer my emails when I needed help figuring this all out — to everyone that read my ramblings and left messages here or on facebook – to all of the weddings I have felt so privileged to be a part of through my Ketubah work — to all of the talented people I have met vicariously through my web browsing and blog posting — to my business partner Violet who let me play instead of work this whole last year — to my extended family that have been so supportive of my second career — to Spoonflower for existing — and to the online community at large for being so open and giving.  And the biggest thanks of all to all of the amazing people that found me on etsy and purchased my work. It has been an amazing year of discovery and growth. As in so many things, it takes a village ... so happy to have you all as a part of mine!

Here's wishing you all a safe and happy holiday season from Fresh Creations, Fresh Ketubah and me!

Poppytalk Boxing Week and Pre-Valentine Market Dec 20 - Jan 17

The Poppytalk Boxing Week and Pre-Valentine Market is officially open! naomibroudo.etsy.com (that's me!) has a table at the market which you can visit here. I have focused on my Ketubah work but promise to have some Valentines Day items up within the week. Check back often as I will be changing things up every week.

But enough about me. I took a walk through the market this morning and found some great talent that I am excited to share with you.

Amy Komar

Anyone that can find beautiful gems from nature and then make them into art is automatically on my A list!

Amy has a lovely shop where you can view her painted rocks, paper birch hearts and her beautiful paintings. She hails from Alaska, and her etsy bio is a long list of the things she loves — like  “coast line blue/peony cream”, “people who smile with their eyes”, and “how the Desert smells in the spring”  How cute is that! Visit her table at the poppytalk market.

Matte Stephens

I have happened upon Matte’s etsy shop before, but I was thrilled to go through his table at the poppytalk market.  He is what you might call FAMOUS! He has created illustrations for Herman Miller, American Express, Uppercase Magazine and the likes of Disney, to name a few. Shows all over the place and has work in too many galleries to list. Kind of feels good to be hobnobbing with the likes of Matte Stephens at this market!

Merry Blues Art

Merry Blues Art does not have any bio information at her poppytalk table but I was able to find out a little about her at her etsy shop. All of her items are eco friendly, many printed on banana paper. (I have no idea what that is, but you can be sure I am going to find out).

I think she is a genus for so many reasons. First her illustrations style is so yummy, it seems to melt into the paper. I have an art school friend, Anna, who could also make every line or brush stroke seem like it just left the brush and embedded itself into the sheet of paper. Secondly, I looove her ideas for calendar binding. Buttons! Wooden pant hangers! Fabulous! And the calendars themselves are so magnificent. Lastly, she (I wish I knew her name...) also takes the time to do her part to improve the world. she is motivated and inspired by a variety of social causes and is able to give back to them through Merry Blues Art by making regular donations.

These are my picks for today. What fun!

Oh, and just a reminder, you can visit my table at the market 24/7 until Jan 17. Or check out the shop local section!