November Video Update...

New Stuff November 2018 from Poor Girl Mercantile on Vimeo.

TOO LEGIT TO QUIT

Our official business license came in the mail yesterday.

We are legit!

There are a million plans happening - some for the immediate future and others for down the road some.

(And wouldn't you know all of this is happening right when I am in some of the worst pain I've ever dealt with + needing to create a bunch of new Land O' Make Believe art in time for the holiday season in Berlin (Maryland)?  When it rains, it pours, right?  But aside from the pain part, we will take every single drop this thrilling new endeavor drops on our crazy heads.)

JP is doing all the business end of things and I'm doing all the creative stuff and then we come together - usually with wine - to discuss and plan and argue and laugh.

Poor Girl Mercantile will initially be online.
We want to take our time and build things - literally and figuratively - before we take the brick and mortar step.
Yes, there will be an actual store!  The where and when of that is a bit of a mystery right now but in the meantime we are having too much fun with all of it.

Here's what I already know:
The stuff I sell at Poor Girl Mercantile will be priced so that near everyone can afford it.
Last week we were in a shop that sold throw blankets for $350.  Nothing all that special about them except that the shop was in a high fallutin' neighborhood and the people there could likely afford to throw their money away on $350 blankets.

Poor Girl Mercantile will never charge ridiculous prices.
I've never done that with my artwork - and I could have - but never did, never will.
Being able to attain a thing that makes your heart happy should not be only for those in a certain socio-economic circumstance.

The worst thing in the whole wide world is being on the outside looking in, wishing.

So once again, the website will need a complete overhaul.
And a new online shop will need to be developed.
Poor Girl Mercantile will be all about the handmade - probably about 75% of our stuff.
It will feature my own artwork, my signs, my textile-based handicrafts...BUT it will also feature the work of other creative people and we'll be on the hunt for those that create quality, beautiful, affordable handmade items and who agree wholeheartedly with our philosophy.
If you're one of them or know someone who is, please have them contact me via email at poorgirlmercantile@gmail.com.  There will eventually be a section on the website with more information but for now you can just email me and I'll give you the basics.

I have never in my entire life done a single thing in an orthodox fashion and that will not change with Poor Girl Mercantile...aside from attaining the business license, that is.  We do abide by the law!
Above and beyond that we'll be flying by the seat of our pants, making stuff up along the way, and doing what I have always done that has brought me a lifetime of adventure:  throwing it at the wall and seeing what sticks.

Here we go...

"LOST IN REVERIE" - newest artwork

LOST IN REVERIE

“The earth was overwhelmed with beauty and indifferent to it, 

and I went with a heart ready to crack for its unbearable loveliness.” 

― Josephine Winslow Johnson

ALL SOULS DAY

This is a painting called All Souls Day by Jakub Schikaneder.
It was painted in 1888 and currently hangs in the National Gallery in Prague.

Lucky for us, this beautiful painting is in the public domain, which means it's ours for the taking.

I've uploaded it to my DropBox account so that you can download a print-ready copy for free.

SUNDAY AT KUERNER FARM

(sorry about the direction of the camera - i thought to shoot the video at the last second and was flustered)

JP and I got to spend the entire day wandering around Kuerner Farm, outside and inside.

If you are an Andrew Wyeth fan you will understand how surreal the above sentence is.

THE POOR GIRL THING...

I wanted to explain a little bit about where the "Poor Girl" name came from.

I'll start with misfortune.

Whenever something bad happens to a person, someone inevitably will say or think or insinuate "that poor girl" (or woman/girl/child/man/boy/person/etc)".

As someone who has had more than her fair share of misfortune (which you will likely eventually hear about as this blog journal progresses 😏), that phrase has been used about me more times than I'd like to admit.  It has always made me very uncomfortable as pity is not something I aspire to attain; also, I am vehemently opposed to being a victim of anything or anyone.

You see, it seems to me that every single bad thing that's ever happened to me has taught me a valuable lesson that I never would have learned if I hadn't gone through the bad thing.

Newst Artwork: "ON HIGH"...

"On High"

Mighty and proud she stands,

aging with grace and her memories.

ROAD TRIP: ST PETER'S VILLAGE...

This past Saturday we hit the road, off on yet another adventure.

I had recently come across the Facebook page for St. Peter's Bakery (St. Peter's Village/Elberson, PA) and it looked absolutely lovely so I knew we had to get there. 

Also, for the record, I do not pass up the chance to visit bakeries.

NEW ART: "FALL Y'ALL"...

“Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love - that makes life and nature harmonise. The birds are consulting about their migrations, the trees are putting on the hectic or the pallid hues of decay, and begin to strew the ground, that one's very footsteps may not disturb the repose of earth and air, while they give us a scent that is a perfect anodyne to the restless spirit. Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."

[Letter to Miss Lewis, Oct. 1, 1841]” 
― George Eliot  

 

NEW T-SHIRT: "BIRDS STILL FLY"

$20 Available HERE

 

NEW ART: "SACRED SOUNDS"...

Silence, for one (especially after a snow). Bird's wings. Laughing - anyone's, really. Wind through tall grasses. Church bells. Rain, thunder. Waves, crashing and otherwise.

There are probably a thousand more.

I'll have to remember to pay attention to listen for them.

SUNDAY STUFF: WRITE...

Write because you want to communicate with yourself.
Write because you want to communicate with someone else.
Write because life is weird and tragic and amazing.


Write because talking is difficult.
Write because it polishes the heart.
Write because you can. Write because you can’t.
Write because there is a blackbird outside of my window right now and oh my god isn’t that the best start to the day?
Write because you’re trying to figure yourself out.
Write because you might not ever figure yourself out.



Write because there still aren’t enough love poems in the world.

-Dalton Day