Silk Oak

Soulemama Featured Sponsor & Giveaway

2011-03-05T09:29:00.006-05:00

What a treat to be the featured sponsor on Soulemama!

I've been a fan of Amanda's blog for a while now. While

My kids are grown now, I find so much similarity in the

rhythm of her day to day life, the desire to balance it all

as mother, wife and creative businesswoman

and my own journey.

Can't wait to see who wins the Dragonfly Giveaway!

While you're at it, fan us on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/silk.oak.tees

Baby Dragonfly

Momma Dragonfly

Unisex Child & Adult Dragonfly

Inspiration Takes Many Forms

2011-02-27T17:49:00.005-05:00

Given the fast pace of life during the spring, summer and fall,

winter is a time to regroup, create new work and be inspired.

With Farmers' Market only 5 weeks away (!), spring is on my mind.

There are other harbingers of spring: last week's weather in the 60's,

the rosemary plant that has sprouted some hidden

morning glories from last summer outdoors

and the oleander and fig tree waking up.

Still, the view from my bed yesterday morning was awe inspiring,

enough to make me temporarily put spring fever out of my mind

and feel gratitude just to be right where I was.

No need to rush things. I'll have my morning tea

in my favorite Bill Davis Pottery mug, read my book

and let the inspiration warm me.

What's inspiring you today?

Perfectionism/Procrastination VS. Taking Action!

2011-02-02T09:20:00.005-05:00

Sometimes, I think that I turn Perfectionism/Procrastination

into a fine art. I stew over certain tasks forever, afraid to take

the first step because I haven't figured it all out yet.

It's good to be prepared, to put your best effort out

there but, it can also be paralyzing. No fun, no action. Well,

after years of ruminating over the idea of doing a CSB,

Community Supported Business, I finally took advantage

of snow days and hunkered down at the computer.

In addition to fine tuning how the CSB would work, I finally took

the time to create my first newsletter (yet another thing

that I had been procrastinating on!). If you're not on the Silk Oak

mailing list yet, feel free to sign up for the newsletter!

Since so much of what I do is centered around creating a

Local, Living Economy , CSAs and CSBs are an integral part

of that. I'm excited to Take Action and looking forward to

seeing what the response is to the CSB.

So, without further adieu, here's the Silk Oak CSB!

Join the Silk Oak CSB

Community Supported Business

and Help Us Grow!

Buy a Share for the 2011 Season and receive a Bonus Gift Now!

What’s a CSB?Like a CSA, the CSB model is a partnership between a local business & their community. Members buy a share for the season and the business uses the money to grow and expand their business. Everyone benefits!

How does it work?Purchase shares in the form of CSB Certificates, receive a Bonus gift now and redeem your certificate during the Market season, April to December. They are available in increments of $100.00 and will be redeemable for Silk Oak merchandise at our booth at the Ithaca Farmers’ Market, Ithacamade or on our website and Etsy shop starting in April.
They will be available for purchase from January 31 to March 15. Shares over $200.00 purchased before February 15^th will receive an extra 10% discount!

What's my Bonus Gift!

$100.00 share receives and Organic Tote Bag

$200.00 share receives an Organic Tote & a Journal-

if purchased by February 15, get 10% discount, pay $180.00

$300.00 share receives a Hoodie Sweatshirt-

if purchased by February 15, get 10% discount, pay $270.00

$500.00 share receives a Hoodie, Organic Tote, Journal & Card Pack-

if purchased by February 15, get 10% discount, pay $450.00

Larger shares are welcomed, just ask us!

For more info: silkoak@silkoak.com or 607-275-9970

Settling In

2011-01-26T19:20:00.005-05:00

It's been a few months since we opened the new store,

Ithacamade, but it's just starting to feel like we're settling

in. It was so hectic during the Market season that it all

seemed to go by in a blur.

Winter is the time to regroup, clean up the mess that

accumulates at a dizzying pace as the year draws to a

close and find some quiet space to create new work for

the coming season.

I can't help but think that the super

case of entropy that set in this year had something to do

with closing the little store at the height of the Market

season and opening the new one without ever dealing

with all the stuff that got cast off in the move. Still, it feels

daunting. Here are some before pictures. I'll post some after

as we make more progress.

Fruit Trees!

2010-04-11T20:18:00.010-04:00

Yesterday was another wonderful day at Market. Windy and blustery in the morning- I brought my gloves, scarf and down coat. It stays so cool on the lake side of the pavilion that I kept them on all day. Thanks to my white tarp, I kept the light in the booth and the wind out! By the end of the day, the weather was glorious! There is something idyllic about the way the sun shines across the water on the inlet at 5:00, when the wind is calm. A perfect ending to the day.

Today was beautiful. Cool in the morning and perfect, mild, spring weather later on. It inspired me to go buy the fruit trees that I have envisioned putting in the planters for over a year now. 2 dwarf Reliance peaches and 2 dwarf Anjou pears seemed perfect!

Those who know me (and love me as I am), know that I can be the consummate procrastinator. At times, I can raise it to an art form. Always wanting to get it perfect, I can put things off till it reaches the level of absurdity. No more! I decided to strike while the iron was hot.
2 trips to Agway for locally grown nursery stock, one trip to the house for a shovel and watering can and I got to work.
Amazingly enough, it took less than 2 hours to transport the trees, dig the holes, water them and take the tools back home. It was such a cheerful sight that I had to walk back to the store with my camera and take some photos. Hey, how about the nice bike rack?
Next step is to get some herbs in the planter to continue my edible landscaping plan. I wonder if folks will pick the edibles or just continue to use the planters as oversize garbage bins, like they usually do.

The New Tomato Design

2010-04-05T21:28:00.007-04:00

Another amazing day. Way too warm for April 5Th, but no complaints. As promised, here are some photos of our newest design, the luscious, juicy Tomato. The process goes from idea to thought process to image to cutting and building screen to printing. This culminates in bringing the finished product to Market. So exciting! I wanted to show some photos of the Tomato hanging for the clothesline at the Market booth but they sold off the line too fast to let me take a picture. Yay!

Here we adhere the lacquer film to the screen. Given that our process is pretty old school, this is the only nasty part of the whole deal. So, it makes it really nice to be able to do it outside in the fresh air!
Just a little time to air dry before we're ready to peel off the backing and tape off the edges.

After doing the first color, we let it air dry and apply the second color. It really comes to life!
And here we are. The culmination of all the work! Actually, there's a whole lot more to this whole process. after the printing is done, we let it air dry for a day and launder it in three successively hotter washes to remove the washing soda and excess dye. After 33 1/3 years of doing this, I still get excited every time I see a new finished product!

2010-04-03T21:31:00.003-04:00

Amazing day at Market. The first day of the 2010 season, jam packed and over 80 degrees! Usually, the first few Markets start out slow. This is a blessing since it takes time to remember how to set things up and get all of the things together that you need to sell each day. Lucky for me, I live less than 2 miles away so I can dash back to the studio sometimes to pick up important things I forgot. ( this doesn't always work so well as any local can tell you who has spent half an hour or more trying to get into Market!).

Anyway, it was wonderful to be back and a treat to forgo the sheepskin boots, down jacket and hand warmers, in favor of flip flops and a short sleeve v-neck tee. Very odd weather for April 3rd but enjoyable nonetheless!

I was reading Maya Donenfeld's blog, www.mayamade.blogspot.com . She has added a new feature called "Fix it Friday". Each week she will fix something around her home and showcase the process on her blog. Maya says, "The goal is to bring attention to the lost art of fixing, rather than discarding. Repair is a creative form in it's own right, but has been forgotten in our throw-away society". Wow, I really resonated with that. There is nothing more satisfying than breathing new life into something, rather than discarding it and purchasing a new one. It's not just about being thrifty. It's about valuing the resources that went into creating it to begin with, to say nothing of the joy in knowing that we are still capable of being resourceful and taking care of business!

Maya had a link to the "Repair Manifesto" from platform21, which is so inspiring that I had to copy it here. Read it, be inspired and check in on Friday's to see what the ever innovative Maya decides to take on!

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program at BJM

2010-03-27T19:52:00.005-04:00

What a delight it was last week to take this photo of John Simon

and Friends at Beverly J. Martin (BJM) Elementary School in Ithaca

wearing their Silk Oak Fruit & Veggie shirts for the cover of

their upcoming CD to support their innovative snack program.

It was particularly nostalgic for me as 5 of my 6 kids went

to BJM, formerly Central. I spent a lot of time there from 1977

till 1994 and the Library/Auditorium, in particular,

has to be one of the finest in our school district.

This past year, the NY Coalition for Healthy School Food,

in conjunction with the Village at Ithaca, GreenStar

Community Projects, the Park Foundation and other local

non profits funded a pilot program to introduce children in

school to fresh veggies and fruits for snacks, instead of

the usual highly processed snacks that they were used to.

For many students, these were the only fresh veggies that

they got that day. It was also an introduction to the flavor

of pure unadulterated, fresh produce. What a wonderful

opportunity to influence their lifelong food and dietary

choices!

Understandably, a program like this costs money that a

struggling NYS budget can't fund. They are still in need

of funding to finish this school year, as well as fund the

program in the fall. If you would like to make a donation,

go to http://www.healthyschoolfood.org/, click on donate

now and choose the Healthy Fruit & Vegetable Snack

Program in Ithaca. You can also contact Village at Ithaca

at http://www.villageatithaca.org/ and donate in the

name of the program.

If you still need more inspiration, take 15 minutes to watch

the video that NY Coalition for Healthy School Food

made about the program. I was touched, moved &

inspired!

http://www.healthylunches.org/video.htm

Spring Cleaning!

2010-03-13T15:05:00.012-05:00

Entropy sets in everywhere over the winter and the studio

is no exception. The first few pictures show what it looks like

when it's clean and organized. I'm looking to them for

inspiration since it doesn't look anything like that at

this time of the year.

Wow, clean tables, space to print, all the light bulbs working,

things folded neatly on the shelves and in plentiful supply.

Well, maybe a few bulbs were burned out.

Over the winter, without the weekly organization of

Farmers' Market, things get really sloppy. Projects half

finished, things not put away......

Gotta sew the ruffles on the dresses, what about the velvet

scarves that need the merrow edging, oh, and the wooden

picture frames that need painting and the new screens

that need cutting and......

Market starts in 3 weeks! It seemed like such a long time,

easy to put some things off till it got closer.

I'm the queen of stacks. Piles of things everywhere.

What a lovely pile of white things. I wonder what color

I should dye them.

Only 3 weeks to get the studio together, new stuff for Market

and fix up my booth at Market! I'll keep this Ghandi quote on

the wall, "If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me

incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I acquire

the ability to do it, even if I did not have the ability in

the beginning."

Spring is in the Air!

2010-03-06T14:57:00.006-05:00

How do I know Spring is in the air? The yellow aconites

are popping out of the leaves down the street. the sun is

shining and it's close to 40 degrees!

The pileated woodpecker has returned to N. Aurora St. and

you can hear the falls roaring with all of the snowmelt.

Even the gravel next to the house is sporting crocus shoots.

Most of all, I find myself waking up to Possibilities. Working

on a new Sea turtle design that I've been meaning to get

around to for ages now.

Also, spring cleaning has begun. That not only entails cleaning, sorting

and recycling things. It also means revisiting all of those old

projects that got started but never managed to make it

being finished. Hmmm, maybe I should sew up this

little sweater and send it off to my great niece before

she has out grown it!

Most of all, I feel like dancing. I feel alive. The quote for the

day is from an unknown source. "Some people pursue

happiness, others create it". I'm in creation mode!

2010-02-17T22:59:00.005-05:00

Check out our Give-Away @ Mayamade.blogspot.com

Silk Oak Give-Away- The Owl Family

It runs today through Saturday. Thanks, Maya!

I love the contrast of the white snow against the bright studio.

I'm really ready for spring but the snow looked so beautiful

outside the studio that it renewed my appreciation for winter.

The kitties were the first ones to venture out to the studio

this morning. Then, they made a hasty trip back to the house.

Snow Hearts

2010-02-12T19:31:00.003-05:00

Love is where you find it and hearts are where you see them!

What if Einstein had been a Big Silk Oak fan?

2010-02-07T18:57:00.002-05:00

Playing around with the idea of famous people in the past

being fans of Silk Oak. What would they look like and

which ones would be their favorites?

Doesn't Einstein look hip in his black Raven tee?

Tax Help!

2010-02-01T21:38:00.002-05:00

I'm always amazed at the ability of cats to hone in on whatever

is most important in your life at a particular point in time.

Today, for me, it was working on taxes and my cat, Marmaduke, felt

compelled to lend a hand (or paw) to the task. I found it fitting

that he chose the Cat bowl (by my favorite, amazing, Martha's

Vineyard artist Washington Ledesma- www.washingtonledesma.com),

to perch in. True, I had already filled the bowl with my

check registers but, still, is nothing sacred?

My Silk Oak Family Holidays

2010-01-31T17:47:00.009-05:00

I finally got around to going through photos from the holidays

and couldn't resist these pics of the family all decked out in

their new Silk Oak Owl American Apparel track jackets!

I made 15 of them. These photos only show 11 of them in action.

We were worried that someone stumbling upon us

might think we were a cult!.

Of course, nothing is cuter than Weezie & Beeks in

their one of a kind outfits. I always like to try new

things out on my in house fans to gauge their response

and work out the kinks. Cute Belly, huh?

Organic Cotton Quilt Squares, Oh My!

2010-01-29T12:24:00.004-05:00

Now that I've discovered how much I love the look of Silk Oak

colors against the backdrop of my studio barn wall, I want to

photograph everything against it! I've been wanting to do some

quilts and pillows, maybe even wall hangings for a long time now.

A friend asked me to make a Farmyard quilt square for her

soon to be born grandchild and it finally got me moving. I

bought some organic cotton fabric at Quilters Corner and

we whipped a pile of them up.

Now I'm trying to figure out what to do with them. We did

these 3, as well as my perennial favorite, the Frog. I want to

do lots more but these are piling up. Great, now I've created

another project waiting for me to get to it!

Maybe I should just sell the squares and let customers DIY.

Or I could have a contest to come up with the most

innovative use for them. Or ........ What do you think?

The Cutest Lunch Bags ever!

2010-01-27T20:06:00.006-05:00

We started making these incredible Organic Cotton Lunch

bags around the holidays but we never got a chance to take

photos of them. Today the weather was perfect so we dragged

my little green table from my bedroom and set up a photo shoot

against the backdrop of my amazing cornflower colored, studio

wall. Even though it was chilly, it was well worth it!

I love these bags. I can see them as perfect for travel with kids.

They're just the right size to hold treasured little toys.

I think they'd be great for carrying my beading or

knitting projects, too. What do you think they'd be good for?

I love the way they all look grouped together. I'm not sure

which one is my favorite. Today it might be the Dandelions!

2010-01-22T17:29:00.004-05:00

Here I am with my "Say Cheese" smile in front of the new

sign. Just think of how amazing this will look when I

have some living plants in the planters!

I love this store! It's like a little cottage and a dream come true.

I've been fantasizing about having a store in this building

for about 25 years. The interior is even cuter than the outside.

Finally got our flag mounted on the building.

Now you can tell when we're here!

2009-10-12T18:08:00.004-04:00

Here's my booth at the Ithaca Farmers' Market. We've

been selling at Market since 1979 and it's still fun!

My favorite Market activities are morning booth set up with

my fellow vendors and visiting with my great customers.

Then again, the food is amazing, too.

This weekend was fall at its best.

This is what my van looks like at the end of a day at Market!

There's barely room for me to steer with all the goodies I

get from fellow vendors. Yum!

2009-04-23T17:34:00.002-04:00

It just doesn't get any better than this!

We've been doing our spring cleaning and

came across a bunch of 70's vintage Silk Oak

photos. It's been such a trip down memory

lane, we decided to let everyone join in the

fun. We just set up a Silk Oak Flickr group,

so get out those photos and show us what

you've got! flickr.com/groups/silkoak

Happy Earth Day!

2009-04-22T17:37:00.006-04:00

Chiara says Hooray for Earth Day!

Our urban garden is right outside the studio.

Time to make something with lots of chives.

Everyday is Earth day! Right here in the

center of little old Ithaca, the peach tree

decided to blossom today, despite cold

temperatures and mostly cloudy weather.

It must be spring.

Spring!

2009-04-21T14:15:00.007-04:00

The apricot tree outside the studio

is in full tilt bloom and the bees

couldn't be happier.

Here's my "Little Shop of Horrors" tulip.

More apricot blossoms. Very cheerful from

inside the studio. Later in the summer when

the squirrels descend on the apricots and

decimate the fruit, the view is more chaotic.

Nothing says spring like Chiara in her

periwinkle polka dot dress. So here's

to spring and our new blog!