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(written a while ago, worth repeating here) A quickie note on goldenrod, because it's allergy season:   Goldenrod is not responsible for airborne allergy attacks.  The pollen from goldenrod is heavy; it does not fly on the wind.  It has to be pollenated by bees moving around. Therefore, it doesn't get into the air and it doesn't make you sneeze.   However, it does bloom at the same time that ragweed does, which IS airborne, and does make you sneeze, and is generally foul.   Why do I know this?  Some 20 years ago, I had a short, round, elderly...

I wrote this a few years ago; still valid, still important. I've been doing a lot of research lately for some family health issues, and of course, as usual, Google is my friend.   But something that's come to my attention is the number of "HERBAL CURE!!" things on the market.   Which is frustrating.   Because in my opinion (and experience--and mind you, I am NOT a doctor nor do I play one on TV, Twitter, or any other media source) is that there is no such thing as an herbal CURE for anything.   In actuality, there seem to be...

Working at renaissance faires, I get a lot of questions about my outfits.  I'm fond of gaudy, but the outlines of what I typically wear are based on 16th century upperclass merchant garb:  bodice, chemise, skirt.    Now, I can sew, but I'm not patient enough to mess with corset-making; chemises are easy, as are tunics and drawstring skirts (which are two of the components of what I wear to faire--google, you'll find a million designs) but when it comes to corsets, I buy cheap ones from the purveyors of naughty underwear on Ebay and I've had remarkably good luck.  A...

I get asked a LOT for advice for folks starting out in an arts and crafts business, and I've given this advice in bits and pieces before, but this I wrote in response to a blog post my friend made, and all of it is valid. As a merchant I have a few golden rules about events: --if the show is new, give them a chance. Usually 2-3 years to really get rolling. (If you go, don't make money, AND they're nasty and mean to you, don't go back, but if they're nice and you have fun, give them a...

I've told this story a million times, so bear with me. One of my favorite things to make is tiaras/crowns.  I've made them for ritual wear, for weddings, for fuck-it-I-want-to-wear-a-crown,  and I particularly love those sales; it's because those are going to someone who honestly does not give a fuck and is wearing my art because they love it. But one. Oh my goddess, this one. A beautiful woman came up to my booth-- she was 80 if she was a day.  Spent a while looking through all my stuff, and then ended up buying a crown. Over the course...