Do-ins on the Farm

Do you ever feel like you will never catch up? That is how we have felt for the last 6 weeks. A successful trade show means for us (after the yipee's) is how are we going to get things made and out to all of you in a timely manner?

Well, we just dig in and get organized....we hope... and start making fripperies. It is a more than full time job for the 2 of us but a very satisfying one. However this summer has made it all a bit more challenging.

We have a had a VERY hot and humid summer, for us, in Southwest Wisco. While we can somewhat power through this our lasers cannot. The humidity gums them up and eventually we have found they just quit cutting with any kind of accuracy until it cools down.
While we can always find more to do it does not keep us on schedule.


One more fly in the ointment this summer has been Molly's Dad has been ill. He is fine now but it has cut into her work time. While this on its own is ok(she's a bit of a workaholic :) it has slowed us down and frankly made us reassess our priorities. Last winter and spring Kath's husband had some very serious health concerns as well, so we are realizing the Universe is telling us to pay attention.

Consequently, we are cutting down a bit on our travel schedule and coming up with ways to pay the bills and stay closer to home.

Vintage has always been our first love so we are finding ways to get back to that while still pumping out our adorable knitting and stitching notions. This September we are finally producing a long time dream; our very first Barn sale. We are calling it the "Barn Brocante". It will be in our amazing 150 year old barn on the workshop property September 17th. That's a Saturday from 9-4.


It is just an hour from Madison and Dubuque in the beautiful rolling hills of Wisconsin. Hope you all can come, celebrate (and shop ) with us at the start of a new dream, direction....

Kath and Molly
RETROMANTIC

Dog Days of Summer

So what is happening in the wilds of Wisconsin? We are catching our breath from the Summer TNNA show in June. It was a great show, but boy do we have a lot to do yet. We are soooo grateful for all the support and orders. We met a lot of new friends and customers and as usual that is the best part.

This time for the first time EVER we took a bit of time for ourselves. On the way there we stopped over at Boonsboro WV. Kath is a HUGE Nora Roberts fan and she has written a series of books about the town. It was great fun to see the town and the businesses she writes about and actually own. We even got a little tour of the Inn Boonsboro. We also hit a super cute shop named The Robin's Nest.







 Eye candy everywhere and got our juices and ideas flowing for new products and our Vintage show we are doing in September.  After a yummy lunch we finished the trip to DC.



The show set up went smoothly thank goodness because we also had volunteered to spearhead the group theme window at the show.
 It went really well and there was a great team that made it all happen.

As usual I never take enough pictures....

After a great show we drove to the Chesapeake Shore near where Molly used to live. How beautiful! We splurged and booked a night a charming B & B. Then we walked down to the bay for an amazing crab dinner. How fun and messy!

Next morning we took the short drive to Molly's old hood. Very small, on the water and charming. After another crab lunch we started the drive home. 8 hours later (or maybe 9) we were in Cleveland! Early the next morning we hit the road for home. So we actually took almost 2 whole days vacation! Shocker!!!!


It was fun and much needed but we are full steam ahead now.

Branching Out

While we are having wonderful long Memorial Day weekend ,just a few days ago we were busy shooting our newest line.  Pretty floral embroidered doilies, dresser runners, table cloths and napkins specifically. Kath has had a cache of them for years that we pull from as props for our booth set ups for trade and craft shows. They are a pretty addition and soften our wood products. We sell some on occasion. A while ago she got crafty and ran up a bunch of runners out of them. We have some of those on our ETSY shopRetromanticFripperie, and sell them at our shows.

Now we've decided to really go into the linens business. The first shoot is today and Kath has been busy freshening all those beauties. We love all the work and love that went into them so many years ago. How did they do it? Most likely they had a passel of kids, a household and maybe a farm to take care of, meals to make, gardens to tend, and still they had time to stitch so many pieces to make their lives beautiful.

Well now we are so happy that we can save these works of art and share them with all of you. We never mind that they aren't perfect because that means they have been used and loved.

Our minds spin thinking of all the things that can be done with these heirlooms above and beyond their original purpose. But we are leaving that up to their new owners.


Be sure to check out our ETSY shop in a couple of weeks to see and share our new passion.

Re:craft and Relic

Just wanted to pop a quick note to let you know what we are up to. Between having a crazy September (thanks to a couple of very successful on-line and hotel shows in the Stitching world, we moved into our new digs at the Farm. Pics to come soon I promise!

Now we are gearing up for our first Retail Craft Show. It is in Milwaukee November 14-15. We are so excited. The team putting the show on is so upbeat and seems to really have some great things planned. Here's the link to their blog so you can read all about it.http://www.recraftandrelic.com/blog.

There will be everything from folks with every kind of craft you can think of, vintage, food trucks, craft beers, music and demonstrations. Check it all out and if you are within a few hours drive we think you will not be disappointed.

Harvest Hop & All Things Spooky

Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes...

With vestiges of summer fading, falling leaves indicate autumn is set for an early show, and the Farmer’s Almanac is predicting yet another season of flurry-ous activity. At Retromantic we’ve been a midst tremendous activity, balancing order fulfillment and designing new products, all the while setting up our new studio and production facilities. It’s a tricky act filled with adapting to the unexpected (Secret No. 1: Retro-fitting a 100-year old structure promises precious little will be in a straight line). So we keep our humor (and humility) in check as we traverse this and other transitions, for what would life be without surprises: Winter in Wisconsin? Sun in California? Rain in Seattle? Kudzu in my native South? Same menu. In response we twist and stitch, go against the grain where possible, but still with an appreciation for anything that inspires the good of the work. 

Our debut Hallows Tied Collection is where the mischievous and whimsical converge and conjure.

Just in time for the season, our Hallows Tied and SteamPunk products are seeking new perspectives (they love hanging around the shop but are ready to travel places far and wide). Below is a sneak peek. For the complete show please visit us at retromanticfripperies.com.   

Every great thing deserves a sequel and our Hallows Tied II products continue the fun. 

And speaking of Shows, Retromantic will be part of Harvest Hop 2015, Thursday, September 10 thru Sunday, September 13. While this is a Stitching show, all pieces are also crafted for Knitters and Crocheters.

As fans of all things SteamPunk it was a natural fit to pay homage to this venerable hybrid genre with our very own tags.

Lastly, Retromantic is always pleased and honored to find its products featured as favorites in various print and on-line publications. Most recently, three of our products garnered accolades in Issue No. 53 of Knitty-Grassroots Knitting at http://knitty.com/ISSUEdf15/FEATdf15stuff.php. Scroll down a bit for the title, “Fripperies Vintage-style Needle Gauges by Retromantic.” Enjoy their descriptive wordsmithing, then give these fine products a try... from here you’re just a click away.

Making a List...

Santa's workshop has been very busy as Christmas rapidly approaches and so has ours! We want to make sure that everyone on your list is accounted for this year. Here are a few Retromantic holiday favorites to consider for those special knitters, stitchers, and crocheters. All designs are available as a thread organizer, needle gauge, crochet hook gauge, needle minder, or gift tag/ornament.

Contact us via our website should have any questions or like to give these great pieces a new home.

 

 Santa will keep a watchful eye on your list to see who has been good this year....

  

                                                                                                                                

 

Tied up with a bow...

 Stocking (shown as a thread organizer)

 

Our very charming tree tag is the perfect way to wrap any of your handmade pieces.  

 

No holiday is complete without Santa's sleigh. 

 

Worlds Colliding

I love when out of the blue and years later suddenly your worlds seem to collide or even if they just ease on by each other. Recently this has happened even if it does seem a bit random.

Years ago I happened upon a book that brought together many of the genres I love; Romance, Time Travel, and Scotland. It was fairly huge and since I always love a big meaty book, it immediately grabbed my attention. When I love a story I never want it to end. This story so far still hasn't. The first book was written in 1991. There have been seven more books since and the author is working on number nine. 

If you haven't guessed by now these are the Outlander series of novels.  It has now been made into a series by STARZ.  It has been beautifully done.  It has let me know that what I always thought were a few devoted fans,  there are actually legions of fanatics like myself.

So what does this have to do with worlds colliding, you ask? Well while it makes sense that the needle arts would be included in a story about Scotland in the mid 1700's, I was not prepared for how many amazing knitted pieces would be used by the wardrobe designer. 

Every episode Claire (the main character) sports one amazing cowl, shawl, mitts after another. It is really making me want to break out the knitting needles, something that I haven't done for a couple of years.

After having a fiber shop and constantly making either samples, product to sell, or commissioned pieces for customers, I was BURNED OUT on knitting. But Outlander and their amazing wardrobe designer has started that itch. 

Knitting is something that has come to me off and on over the 40 years since I learned how, at age 10 or 11, in 4H in rural Wisconsin and when I am knitting or crocheting I am amazed at how grounding and calming it can be.

So enjoy these amazing images of Claire in Outlander and see if it inspires, or centers you too.  I hope it helps you to always keep open to inspiration, or that obscure message that brings back an early love or interest. Keep creating.