Today’s garden haul.
We made dahlia and zinnia cutting beds this year.
Enjoy the color.
–Lilla

This is a wonderful piece that I enjoyed a great deal, by Whitney Smith, a potter, from Oakland, California.

love your customer, even when you don’t
“I worked a few jobs in high school that required constant interaction with the public, and I learned– as did my supervisors– that customer service was not my forte. People would get on my nerves with their foolish expectation that I should serve them quickly and politely. I would shake with indignation if a customer gave me attitude. Of course I was young and untrained, and I had little idea what the word “customer service” meant, only that it sounded like somebody else’s job.

I thought being an artist and escaping into my studio every day was a great way to avoid having too many encounters with the general public. I have learned over the past 14 years that the best way to guarantee that you will be interacting with the public all the time is to be an artist who actually sells their work directly to people who want it.

The great thing about being totally wrong is that I’ve been given the opportunity to learn to be a person who can gracefully manage all kinds of encounters with clients and give great customer service. It’s been a long learning curve, because inside I still have a piece of that teenager that gets very upset when people complain, or want something from me that I’m not prepared to give. I’ve alienated customers with snappy responses, defensiveness, and irritable behavior. I’ve learned that just makes me feel just as bad as the customer does, while not solving the problem I’ve been presented with.”

Read the rest here:
this artist’s life: love your customer, even when you don’t

Wednesday: New Work by John Coulter for Seattle Met: Shorter Sale

My friend, Chantal, is involved with this wonderful organization.
From the Haiti Projects, Inc. website:
“Handmade items are made by the women of Fond des Blancs, Haiti. Proceeds from the sale go directly back to these women and their community. The Sewing Cooperative was started in 1996 to provide women with the work they need to earn a living. Today eighty women are employed at the cooperative. Washing, is still done by hand and so is ironing with charcoal irons. In spite of difficult circumstances, women at the cooperative use their embroidery skills to produce heirloom-quality items of great beauty.

The Sewing Cooperative is a program of Haiti Projects, Inc., a non-profit, charitable corporation registered in Massachusetts. It operates in Fonds des Blancs, Haiti, a poor, mountainous area 75 miles west of Port au Prince. Most of the inhabitants of Fonds des Blancs live with their impoverished children on less than one US dollar a day. Haiti Projects’ mission is to fight poverty by creating the means through which people can help themselves.

100% of the proceeds from sales goes back to the women at the cooperative who, thanks to you, are able to feed their children and send them to school.”

“Empower a women, raise a family and lift a village.”

Available for purchase here.

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Here’s a tabletop I did a while back. I was inspired to layer vintage linens and really plop in lots of colors and textures. Check out the Xenia Taler tile on the right! Some orchids, Vietnamese coasters of dragons, straw mats, glass glasses, metal silverware…I think I have all 5 feng shui elements. Do I? Hope you like it!

Wednesday: Suzy Ultman – a wee bit of press

Once again it’s time for a visit to Lula’s Pantry in Rockport, MA. If you visit, say hi to the lovely Brett, the owner of the shop and the buyer and brilliant stylist. Dishtowels, bowls, spices, and the world’s most amazing view from the interior of the shop.

Friday: Supercute Products from Allison Cole

My mother sent this to me. My mother, a lover of opera and of risk-taking non-conformity and all things uplifting:

“This is truly thrilling.
On Saturday, April 24th, over 30 members of the Opera Company of Philadelphia Chorus and principal cast members from their upcoming production of La Traviata converged on the Reading Terminal Market Italian Festival in Philly. Wearing street clothes and blending in with the crowd, the artists swung into action after the first orchestral strains of the famed “Brindisi” were piped through the market, giving a rousing, surprise performance for hundreds of delighted onlookers who were there to enjoy the Italian delicacies that the Market has to offer.
The four-minute piece won a thunderous ovation that included both laughter and tears from the audience. You can see it and hear it here.

Love,
Mom”

Friday: Mati Rose’s Art for LA’s Enormous Tiny Show

Pretty yarns, pretty tea cup, pretty Chilwich mat. Lovely greens for you today.

Friday: Letterpress Cards by Suzy Ultman

The colors are getting brighter but we still have soft lavenders from the astilbe and lace hydrangea.

Monday: Quiz: Is it a Lilla necklace or a Tiffany’s necklace?

Our bizarrely early New England spring brings gorgeous flowers. I’m hoping to take pictures regularly to show you the prettiness. Here’s a pink peony that looks like a poppy, and an orange Korean azalea in bud, and our planter with those fab yellow-green petunias and magenta verbena.

Friday: New Images by Hsinping Pan

Monday: Sarajo’s Live interview with Mindy from Sirius/XM Kids Place Live