We had a great day in Brookfield on Saturday at the Brookfield Fine Arts Festival. It was such a beautiful day! It was the first day of fall and the weather really cooperated with true fall-like temperatures. Our set-up was similar to Art Dans la Rue and Riverside…next year, I’d like to invest in a new table (ours is small and kind of rickety) and I’d like to work on using more of the tent space for stuff instead of just putting our usual craft show set-up outside. This year was all about getting comfortable with an outdoor set-up…next year hopefully we can perfect it! 
In the morning, it was breezy and chilly. I wasn’t prepared for how cold I would be standing around my tent as the sun was coming up. Thankfully I had a blanket in my car, so I wore it as a skirt to keep my legs extra warm. We also didn’t bring any chairs, so you might say we were a bit unprepared. But we’re both used to standing, so it was okay. 
Naoto stayed warm in the morning by using the exercise equipment in the park. He got a good leg workout there, and running to the farmers market for breakfast and lunch. 
By the afternoon, he was able to take a little nap in the sun while I took care of customers. 
It was our first time doing this show and we got a good reaction to the cards. A lot of people always say it’s a unique idea, which makes me happy that I’m able to offer something a little bit different. It’s always so fun chatting about puns and old stamps with people. 
We ended the show with our usual cocktail celebration. We went to LaBarra in Riverside, an Italian restaurant that we love. I am so lucky to have Naoto who is always game to help out and to man the booth when I need a little break. He’s worth every penny I pay him in dinner and beer.
kimberly ah
kimberly at home
Category Archives: snail mail
Upcoming Shows & Galaxie Safari News
One craft show down, two to go this month! It is by far the busiest Galaxie Safari month around here…which is really exciting! 
This weekend, I am doing another outdoor show–the Brookfield Fine Arts Festival at Kiwanis Park in Brookfield. I am so excited to do another outdoor show, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the weather cooperates…right now it looks like it will be cool and dry. If you’re in the area, pop in to see us! 
And next weekend, I’m doing a mini show at Empowering Gardens here in Forest Park. EG deserves its own post, so I’ll save more for next week. 
And…I’m excited to announce that Galaxie Safari cards are now available at The Wardrobe in Springfield, Illinois! A customer at Art Dans la Rue sent one of my cards to the owner and she reached out to me to ask about carrying a few designs. So, I made a little wholesale page here on the site and got all ready to send some cards to Springfield. I am very excited to have some Abe cards (and more!) in our state capital. Now…if only I can talk Naoto into a little road trip to see the sites and visit The Wardrobe!
P.S. Did I tell you that I’m (reluctantly) on Facebook? If you don’t mind, please “like” my page! I promise I don’t post too often…Facebook never lets me forget how bad I am about posting there!
Summer is Almost Over…
…and I still have some things to check off in our Passport to Adventure! I’ll do a real update about that at the end of September. I’ve definitely met my goal of sending fifty pieces of mail though. I’ve been so good about mail this summer, I’m a little surprised at myself. Right now, I have a bit of a stack to return, so I’m trying to catch up so I can start October fresh and jump into Halloween mail! 
Yesterday I took down my summer decorations finally and put away my summery stationery. I tried to use up all of my neon paper and envelopes and cards but I failed miserably, so away it goes until next year. (Though it is 90 degrees today, so it feels like I should still be sending popsicle mail!)
In other news…over Labor Day weekend, we always celebrate Presley’s “birthday” since we got her on Labor Day back in 2006. Well, this year, she got a case of pancreatitis and ended up at the emergency vet’s for two days. It was extremely stressful and worrisome, but I think she’s feeling back to normal finally. 
It was so good to be able to bring her home and let her relax in her normal setting. She wouldn’t go to the bathroom or eat at the hospital, but once she got home, she was comfortable enough to do her thing. (Sorry.) We did have to feed her an appetite stimulant to get her back on track for eating. She refused her normal wet and dry foods for awhile so she ate loads of treats and -ahem- freshly baked salmon that we made for her with our own dinner. And thankfully, our regular vet made a little house call to help take Presley’s catheter out so we didn’t have to drag her back to the regular vet after her traumatic emergency vet stay. (The emergency vet was lovely…Presley just does not like the vet.) 
Presley has some lovely human, dog, and cat friends who sent her get well cards and treats. She’s very lucky. 
And eventually her little shaved arm will grow back, but in the meantime…we’re trying to fashion her a fancy bracelet.
So…other than getting ready for my three craft shows this month and nursing Presley, not much has been keeping me away…I’ll be back with a little Galaxie Safari news tomorrow and then hopefully I can share a little news from Naoto’s kitchen. He has completely taken over the cooking and it’s wonnnnnnderful.
It’s Been Too Quiet…
I didn’t mean to take a long blog break–September has been a little crazy, at least crazy for me since I’m a little too used to the Slow Life. I’m hoping to take some time today and work on some blog posts to catch you up on everything.
Garage Galleries Recap
We had such a great time showing at Forest Park’s Garage Galleries last weekend! It is such a neat local event and we are so happy that we participated. Our Forest Park neighbors came out in full force–we had over 140 visitors* in our garage! 
Here was our garage set-up. Jerry was our host and he had a huge, clean garage with doors that opened on both sides, which was perfect for sunlight and a light cross-breeze. It was so hot and sticky on Saturday. He also had a beautiful garden that was a great place to retreat to when traffic was slow.
I shared a garage with Claire, a young artist who was showing her work for the first time, and Jason, who was a total pro with his own gallery walls and lighting. 
So many people recognized me from the Review article, so it was fun that they sort of knew my style already. (Who says print is dead?) And of course so many people recognized Naoto from Trader Joes. It was fun meeting fellow artists and art lovers from our village. 
Usually for each show I create something new, a framed piece or a card, and this time I sold out of a few new things, so this week, I need to beef up my stock and add some new pieces on Etsy. I have three shows coming up in September, so I need to get a jump start on what’s looking like a busy month!
Thanks to everyone who came out and showed your support! We hope to join in the fun again next year!
*I actually have no idea if this was a good number or not, but it felt busy and people seemed to be having a good time.
Garage Galleries 2018
On Saturday, I’ll be participating in Forest Park’s Garage Galleries, a neighborhood art walk where artists show their work in local garages. I’ll be in a garage in south Forest Park, 1306 Marengo Avenue, with two other artists. I’ll have my greeting cards and framed pieces ready to sell, but it’s a nice casual way to enjoy art of all kinds. There are forty artists from all over Chicagoland spread across sixteen garages, so you can meander your way through Forest Park and see it all, or pop into a cluster of garages and get a taste of what’s happening. The Forest Park Review did a story about it if you’d like to learn more.
I hope to see my local friends there!
Naoto’s Reunion Invitations
Naoto’s 25th class reunion from Mid Pacific Institute is this year. The actual reunion was held in Hawaii and we didn’t go because we have other vacation plans for 2018. But, it turns out that a few of Naoto’s classmates live in Chicagoland and Wisconsin, so they organized a mini-reunion this month. I offered to make them paper invitations, because, well, I love paper invitations and I had a fun idea. I was going to take a map of the US from one of my vintage encyclopedias and draw a dotted line from Hawaii to Chicago with a little caption like, “Mid-Pac to Mainland” or something. But it turns out, all of my encyclopedias are from before 1959 so no US maps included Hawaii! Then, I was uninspired for awhile, and finally came up with this: a vintage picture of Waikiki Beach with the information typed in a tiny piece of vellum attached with a piece of washi tape in the Mid-Pac school color. Each invitation got put into a Paper Source Spruce envelope and addressed in white.
I’m excited to meet everyone this weekend and hear all the stories about high school Naoto. In the meantime…back to reading O Pioneers!
Art in the Rain
For all but about two hours, Art Dans la Rue was a blast. And those two hours were baaaaaad. So. Much. Rain. We were attacked by a deluge of water that threatened to ruin pretty much everything I sell. Thankfully, our borrowed tent stayed strong, and Naoto found a tarp in the car that gave an extra layer of protection to the table. (Tents do not protect your things from splash-ups that occur during heavy downpours…something I didn’t really consider when I was planning for the weather.) I got drenched though, so I was wet pretty much the entire night. And my poor white tablecloth was covered with mud splatters. But, on the happiest of notes, Naoto and I work with amazing people who all reached out and offered us towels, garbage bags, brownies, wine…everything to make things better. 
The rain had good timing (well, ideal timing would have been waiting until Wednesday!) because it came and went before people got off work and things got busy. That was the bright side. There were a ton of people out enjoying the festivities after 5, and they all stayed mostly dry…except for an errant drip from a tent. 
During the rain, we kept ourselves entertained by chatting with our neighbors, the beignet sellers, and taking pictures with Madeline. 
Naoto kept buying me wine because I was so stressed out. It all worked out though…once the rain stopped and we all dried off, we had such a good time. So many of our friends and Naoto’s customers stopped to chat with us The highlight (besides selling Galaxie Safari cards to fellow mail-lovers!) was the poodle parade. My video does not capture the charm of people walking their dogs down Marion Street to French music and cooing dog-loving crowds. (Also, sorry I filmed it vertically…I was making an Instagram Story!)
A huge thank you to everyone who came out and supported the event. We can’t wait until next year!
P.S. The last picture was taken by Ally Vertigan. Thank you, Ally!
Mail Reads: Death Takes Priority
Today is National Book Lovers Day, so let’s talk about books!
One of my goals for the summer is to read ten books. I’m halfway there. Most of the books I read are older books that, well, aren’t quick reads. I have resisted the “beach read” since my high school days of devouring three Danielle Steele’s a week. I was a literature major in college and for some reason, I’ve felt like I need to always read something challenging. It’s silly, I know. I’ve realized that sometimes it’s nice to just read for fun, instead of having to analyze every sentence and detail.
Anyway, a few weeks ago, Margaret posted an Instagram of a book she found on vacation, Addressed to Kill. It is a postal themed murder mystery, third in the Postmistress Mystery Series. So I hunted down all three at my library and started with the first, Death Takes Priority. (I can’t read things out of order, though I’m pretty sure it doesn’t matter here.)
I read it in a couple days, and I even stayed up past 1AM reading it, which seriously never happens with my other books. It’s definitely fluffy, but the story was good and there are a lot of delightful postal details. The main character is the Postmaster of her tiny hometown in New England. In Death Takes Priority, she accidentally gets involved in solving a local murder. There is a tiny bit of romance (nothing like a Danielle Steele book!) and some friendship sprinkled in. 
Oh! And each chapter number is framed with a postage stamp, which is just a kitchy-sweet little detail of the book. I’m going to read the other two, but after I read some heavier stuff in my stack. We’re reading O Pioneers! for book group next week and I want to get a jump start on that because I’m usually cramming the night before and I’m hosting this month so…I’m sure I’ll be cleaning.
Have you read anything good lately?
P.S. For other mail reads, go here!
Art Dans la Rue
Bonjour! I’m popping in to remind my local friends that today is the day of Art Dans la Rue in Downtown Oak Park. It’s my second outdoor show and we’ll have special French greeting cards featuring vintage French postage stamps. And of course I’ll have my usual cards and tiny framed art, and a few new cards, too. There will be wine, beignets, fresh flowers, art, live music, a mime, crepes…not to mention a poodle parade later tonight.
I’ll be back soon with a “beach read” book recommendation for mail lovers!
