A New Year & A New Shop

Happy Belated New Year! Hope everyone's year is off to a good start. My first post of 2009 is a bit overdue. Better late than never though, right? That's sort of how I feel about my decision to rebrand my online shop. Back in February of 2006 when I opened my (first) etsy shop, I didn't really give much thought to the username I chose. But almost as soon as I picked the name, I wanted to change it. Fast forward to the end of 2008 and my wanting to turn over a new leaf despite some 800 sales and nearly 700 positive feedbacks. I did a bit of forum reading to see what other buyers and sellers thought about changing shop names and finally just decided to go for it. So my new shop was born a few days before the new year!

It's pretty much the same as before, just under a different name, my name, which will be my new business name soon (as opposed to Cathy Peng Illustration). I'm being a bit more selective about what I list in the shop, making sure there is a cohesive look to everything so I may phase out certain items altogether. I'm glad for not getting rid of these though, since they made the front page the other day and brought me quite a few sales afterwards.


Our holidays were pretty low-key since it was just Matt, me and the cats at home this year. We did make it to a few fun holiday get-togethers though, which is impressive for two rather anti-social creatures. After several weeks of overloading on sweets, mindless tv, and the internet, I'm feeling recharged and more creative these days. But all my hours of surfing the net were not wasted since I discovered and rediscovered some great new blogs and websites:
- Shinzi Katoh - whose art and designs I'm sure I've seen before but just never knew who was behind it.
- A Beautiful Mess - love the name of this girl's blog and the art that she creates and sells on etsy.
- Making it Lovely - a stationery designer whose home renos are amazing and inspiring.
- Apartment Therapy - for a peek inside others' homes and living spaces and for interior design tips.
- The Life Pursuit - another creative spirit who's inspiring me at the moment.

When I wasn't pigging out or vegging out, I was doing some major decluttering and reorganizing around our place. I rearranged my workspace for the hundredth time and finally feel satisfied with the setup. Pictures to come later this week (or month) once I've got art and other stuff hung up.

I'll sign off with our 2008 holiday photo. Three out of four of us were PhotoShopped in since we couldn't get the cats to stay still long enough for one decent shot. Can you guess which three?

It's Hump Day... I can't think of a better title.

I've neglected my blog for nearly 2 weeks now, not because I wanted to... other things just took priority. Matt's mom was visiting and stayed with us last Thursday to Sunday. Since we let her sleep on our bed, Matt and I split the couch and his old twin mattress for 3 nights. I think the whole sleep experience was a little back-breaking for all of us. All except the kitties...



Seriously though, our current mattress is the one that I bought back in my first year of College, which is about 8 years ago. It cost me all of $350, so go figure that the springs are starting to poke their way through. A slight exaggeration, but seriously, I wake up most days feeling like something has dug into my back all night. So needless to say, Matt and I are more than a little excited about the brand new bed we are getting delivered in 6 days!!! Courtesy of his parents and Sleep Country Canada, as a belated wedding gift. We had a terrific salesperson - he even knocked off $300 for us - guiding us through the various beds in the store and fell in love with one called "Clarion". I'm hoping that a full night on it is as dreamy as the five minutes we spent on it to test it out. Guess you never know until you take it home. Thankfully there's a 60-day return policy which we hopefully won't have to use.

Among the "other things" that took priority, I revamped my portfolio site this past week. I forgot that the way I formatted it meant I would have to link buttons on every page. A bit time-consuming, but I think it's pretty easy to navigate. If anyone finds any missing links, please let me know.

I feel like I had more to write, but am at a loss right now. My tummy is calling for lunch, so that's all for now. Oh, and I just liked the etsy treasury at the top of the blog post, so I took a screen capture of it the other day. Isn't it pretty? Turquoise and red make a lovely combo.

Home Sweet Home

Today has been all about relishing the comfort of home. It's the first full day I've been at home in the past week, so I've been catching up on emails, cleaning and just enjoying the fact that I didn't have to change out of my pj's, except to go get the mail.

The cats seem to have missed me too. Suki never used to be a lap cat, but since her past few health issues and visits to the vet, she's grown accustomed to being in my lap at least once a day. Dex decided to eat some ribbon this afternoon, maybe out of spite for me not being home much this weekend. I was a second too late to grab it out of his mouth, so I hope it comes out his other end fine.

The Clothing Show this past weekend was not as successful as I'd hoped but I had good company so that made it worthwhile. Here I am with my boothmate, Cheryl, who makes really lovely jewellery.


Most other vendors who did the show seemed to say it wasn't that great overall for them either. So, personally, I look at it as more of a learning experience and a way to promote myself as well as getting feedback. It's especiallly hard to compete - as an independent designer - with vendors who are selling mass-produced items for $5 or $10. Most people who go to these shows seem to be searching for deals. The one time I went as a buyer, I admit I did the same. But if I had the money, of course I would support other indie designers.

Happily though, I sold one of my new bags which feature adjustable straps, like a messenger bag. You can see one in the photo above. And pretty kitty seemed to be a popular design. Now I know better what to expect for the Fall show, which I will most likely partake in.

I will be listing a new item in my shop later this week. Stay tuned.

The Clothing Show

The time has arrived and it's my first show of the year! If you're looking for something to do this weekend, please check out the Clothing Show. It's my first time being a vendor at it and I'm hoping for a good show, despite the wet weather we seem to be in store for. It's taking place at the Better Living Centre, Exhibition Place. Hours are Friday 3-9 pm, Saturday 11-9 pm and Sunday 11-7 pm.

I didn't get around to taking any photos of my stock so no sneak peek, but I will try to remember to take some photos of my booth. I'll be sharing with this fun jewellery designer. Hope to see you there!

No Jacket Required

Oh my, it's gorgeous outside. Just before leaving the house to run some errands, I checked the weather online and was amazed to see that it's 21 degrees out! It feels so different to be outside and seriously, I didn't need to don a jacket, though I did. (I tend to feel a bit naked without one, unless it is boiling hot).

So this new illustration is very fitting for a day like today. It will be making its way into my shop shortly, as a new print.

Matt has tomorrow and Monday off so we'll have a long weekend together and will hopefully be able to take advantage of the warm weather. Taxes are waiting to be done and I really want to paint the walls upstairs. We'll see how things go.

You gotta have some...

Faith, that is. In the words of George Michael (the faith part) and my mom (the soup part). This is a new personal piece that I've had floating around in my head for some time now. It stems from the past several months and what I think of as "my transitional period". Since my departure from Fresh Collective I've felt like I've been struggling to stay afloat, financially and emotionally and so this piece is a reminder to myself to stay positive and trust that things will be fine. When you're having soup for lunch (practically) everyday though, it's hard to believe sometimes.

Growing up, my parents had the hardest time getting me to eat my soup at dinner time. My mom would always say "it's good for you", like that would make me want to finish it faster. So go figure that in my adult years, I'm actually digging it as a meal, 1) because it's fairly cheap and 2) because it's fast and easy to make (out of a can or box). Campbell's makes some pretty tasty soups these days.

So yesterday, after almost resigning myself to living as a starving artist for who knows how much longer, I got a couple of possible painting commissions (one c/o my sweetheart) as well as another possible children's book. They are all still up in the air a bit but it's all about having faith, right? Keep your fingers crossed for me, please.

My new Ikea desk (c/o an unused wedding gift card, thankfully) is going to be delivered shortly, so I should go.

Something New for the Shop

I introduced some ACEO's into my shop last night. I've always been a fan of miniature things and have been trying to create some new illustrations both personally and professionally, so these were a great way to get the creative juices flowing. The one above is sort of a portrait of Dex, and probably my favorite of the bunch, but in real life Dex is usually much more chipper.

Here are all of them together:



While I don't usually like to make one-offs, I'm only offering these in the original form. So no prints will be made of them and well, they are a pretty affordable piece of original art.

On the Catwalk...

A new print is in my shop.

And in honour of Spring Cleaning, I'm having an Art Sale to clear out original paintings that have been collecting dust in boxes since we moved in. I will be parting with some much loved artwork but then again, if I love it so much, why isn't it up on our walls yet?
So hopefully my art will find many new homes where it will be more appreciated.

Quick, someone hurry up and buy something!

I reached 666 items sold today! It was a moment I was sort of dreading though as that number has certain connotations associated with it. But really, I'm happy to have sold that many items on etsy.

I've sort of been in a creative funk of late and blame it on my less-than-perfect home office setup. So the past week has had me moving stuff around several times and I'm still not satisfied... so no photos yet. Other than that I've been putting together consignment shipments for a few new places and have been brainstorming ideas for new illustrations, etc, but no finished things to show off right now.

My stomach is calling for lunch. Soup's on!

Get your Indie Fixx!

You can now find a few of my kitty items in the Indie Fixx Shop. I love the photos that Jen took. They make my things look kind of dreamy.

March is here...

Yesterday was my first day working at Fresh Baked Goods and Mondays are sure slow for retail compared to Saturdays, the day I used to work at Fresh Collective. But with Spring around the corner, hopefully more shoppers will soon be out and about looking to buy some new duds and accessories. Look at all the great stuff in the shop:




Today I am enjoying being in the comfort of our home. I've been out and about everyday since Friday and for me that gets to be a bit much, especially when travel time seems to take up half the day sometimes.

On Friday, Matt and I ttc'ed it to Pearson Airport to lunch with my sister, who had an 8 hour stopever on her way to South Africa. I was really happy that we got to see each other again and spend a few hours together - the last time we saw one another was when she was here for our wedding in July. But seriously, getting to and from the airport took about the same amount of time that we actually spent together. And my suggestion to dine at the Sheraton for lunch? Wow! I had no idea they would charge an arm and a leg for a sandwich. It was $5 for a cup of coffee and $6 for a pot of tea. At least Matt and I could only eat half the amount of food they gave us, so we got two meals each out of our entrees.



Still, seeing my sister again, well that's priceless. Especially after feeling a little homesick this past month. I haven't been back to Saskatoon in a few years now and even though I know I could never move back there, it'd be nice to visit more often.

Saturday I completed another portrait, this time of six subjects - two people and their four cats:

The painting is a birthday present for the man in the painting, commissioned by his wife. They are both music lovers and cat lovers, hence being surrounded by the things they love.

Sunday I picked up a shift working at my former haunt and got to see quite a few of the designers who happened to stop by that day. As much as I would love to not have to work outside of the home, I've had to start the job hunt again, after several years of avoiding it.

I enjoyed listening to the podcast between these two the other day. I didn't get through the whole thing, but can certainly identify with the stuff that I did hear from both of them. Both are inspiring artists and I hope to achieve successes similar to theirs one day soon.

A Fresh Start!

Hello! I've started a new blog. With a new year, I'm trying new things and while I liked my old blog, it doesn't offer as many possibilities as I would like. I love all the features you can add in this blog format, like the etsy mini, links to other sites and lots more. If you could do that in livejournal, I never figured it out.

This blog will be devoted to Cathy's Sweet Shop whether it's new items added to my shop, new things in the works, special promos, etc. I will of course intersperse details about my ever-exciting life when I get the chance... life with our cats and yummy food and the latest movies we've watched. You know, THAT exciting life :) Plus, whatever tickles my fancy at the moment. There are so many great blogs out there and amazing creations by other indie artists and designers that inspire me that it's about time I start writing about them.

These days I divide my time between etsying, finding new retailers and restocking current ones, painting portraits and coming up with new ideas for things to make and sell. I wish there was more time in the day to do everything I want to do, but I also do my best to spend time with loved ones. It's tough running a business solo, but I know I have to be thankful that I am able to do what I love to do for now while Matt works his buns off outside of the home. Hopefully I will be able to grow my business enough this year, so I'm able to hire employees soon. That would make me one spoiled kitty.



Saturday, I move into Fresh Baked Goods in Toronto's Kensington Market. For those of you in Toronto, please pop on by. I will be working Mondays at the store and I will have new things available for sale.