Sorry folks… minimal posting in the last week or so due to wicked, wicked migraines [I’ve had a 5-day one and now a 1-day and counting one since April 19!] So here is a quick update from yesterday’s opening and what’s coming up in the next week or so…

Yesterday’s official opening of StudioWERX on Main was loads of fun! Lots of friends and previous customers popped by to check out the stuff. I demoed from 12:30-4:30pm and Gen did an adorable mini-card Make and Take from about 1-3:30pm. Fun stuff! We also gave away a bunch of tshirts, paper packs, Maya Road goodies and rub-ons as draws throughout the day. I think if was great fun for all as we really appreciate all of you coming out to check our new digs out.

We have some new stamp designs in the works and will be releasing these
locally in the next few weeks. Pop by the store to check them out =)

This week I’m going to be catching up on shipping as we have a few backorders to fill in the next week or so…

I hopefully will be getting my Botox injections [in my neck for my
headaches] sooner vs. later. It amazes me that when it’s working, it
works really really well and once it wears off [after 5-6 months] it
hits me like a ton of bricks. This is why the headaches have been
soooooo bad for the last two weeks. I should have gone back for shots
in mid-April, now I’m into May and the Botox has stopped working and
the nasty migraines are baaaaack. Ugh! I’ve been feeling crappy for
days on end and really can’t wait to go and get this taken care of.
It’s so $$$ but at least I’ll feel like ME soon and will continue
feeling better for about 5-6 months again. But enough whining…

I’m off to the couch, with my ice bag, neck wrap and Extra-strength Advils in hand. Sigh… Tomorrow’s Monday isn’t it? Shit - where did the weekend go?

studioWERX on Main is tomorrow [or later today depending on when you read this]!

The opening is on April 28 from 12-4pm at RubyDog’s Art House on Main and 32nd Avenue in Vancouver.

There will be demos throughout the day, a fun collage card Make and Take, prize draws for paper packs and chipboard goodies and other fun stuff.  Be there or be square!

RubyDog’s Art House and studioWERX on Main is located at 4738 Main
Street in the ‘South Main - SoMa’ area of Vancouver on Main Street at
32nd Ave.  We hope to see you there!

This made Terry [my Star Wars lovin’ hubby] and I nearly laugh ourselves silly!

And just because it’s too cute to stand, and because it happened at the VANCOUVER AQUARIUM… the hand holding sea otters, by popular demand.

OK… Like I don’t have a million and one things to do - but Kittenhood only lasts a few months!

With cats, it seems that once they hit about 1-2 years old, any air time left in their legs seems to get grounded pretty fast - so… Here she is, Lulu the wonder-kitty! She jumps, she leaps and bounds hitting heights of 3+feet in the air, chasing that damn feather stick [she’s already defeathered one stick and two toys… this one is going fast too LOL!]

And just to see what HER world looks like… here is the Lulu Critter Cam!

Videos were recorded on my Casio EXILIM 10MP camera and edited in Quicktime 7.03 - cool!

Our studioWERX on Main location is now open! Yay!

More goodies are coming into the store over the next few weeks, but a good pile of yummy goodness is already in da house. Here is a listing of the goodness at studioWERX on Main:

• our line of elements rubberstamps in both mounted and UM varieties including Design Sheets and our new Flourishes, Journalling and Punctuation sets. MORE new rubber from elements [LSW’s founding productline] is in production now and will be available in a few weeks!
• paperWERX papers including Gen’s NEW Cellular and Organic Collections in all their vivid, textural glory
• Poppets(R) Place, People and Clear Stamps
• fiberWERX by Timeless Touches
• scribble and scratch rub-ons
• Purple Onion Designs stamps - UM only
• Tsukeniko Tack and Peel UM/acrylic mounting system - no foam required! Just cut your Tack and Peel to fit the acrylic block, apply to the block ONCE and peel off the temporary backing sheet. Then cut your rubber and start stamping!
• Acrylic mounting in 4 sizes starting at $2.75 for a 2"x3" up to $7.50 for a 5"x5" high-quality bevelled acrylic block
• Staz On inks, Marvy Vintage ink {same ones we had at Circle Craft!] and the uber-cool Glue Pad [for gilding and glitter - make it shine people, make it SHINE!]
• Maya Road chipboard albums, scalloped landscape albums, scalloped coaster and card box sets, chipboard alphabets, chipboard scrolls, ribbon packs
• Heidi Swapp alphabets [probably the largest available stash of them in the Downtown area - due to a doubly shipped order] including Center of Attention [2 colors] and She [4 colors including RAW]
• Basic Grey 6×6 pads, rub-ons and magnetic snaps
• 7 Gypsies Typewrite Keys
• Kokuyo Dot and Strip adhesive applicators and refills - tough to find I’m told, but works like a charm!
• Lots of samples and cards with more coming…

More products arriving in the next few weeks include:

• Cats Life Press UM stamps
• Maya Road chipboard screens [so cool for altered books!!!], ATC cards and box sets, chipboard number sets, velvet rick rack packs - yummy colors
• more inks and acrylic block SETS
• EZ Mount Foam
• Fontwerks paper, rub-ons and a few stamp sets
• digiWERX CD sets - digital embellishments, tags, brushes and more!
• and whatever else I can squeeze in =)

Our Grand Opening is on Saturday April 28 from 12-4pm. Come by for a visit… we’d love to see you!

We are looking for 6 artistic individuals who can take our diverse product line to the next level in scrapbooking, rubberstamping, altered and mixed media art.

In an exciting turn of events our company Lazar StudioWERX will be opening a small brick and mortar location in Vancouver BC called studioWERX on Main, in collaboration with an established collage and mixed media supply store called RubyDog’s Art House. The blending of vintage ephemera and collage/assemblage materials for altered and mixed media artists from RubyDog, combined with our artistic rubberstamps, scrapbooking papers and digital products, will provide paper artists of all interests a truly unique shopping experience in one of the trendiest neighbourhoods in Vancouver. The studioWERX portion of the store opens in early April after the Easter long weekend. Join our newsletter to learn more!

This exciting opportunity means that we are looking not just for Design Team scrapbookers… we’re also looking for stampers, altered artists, collage artists and more. We are hoping to create a uniquely blended Design Team capable of utilizing our product lines in combination with the vintage ephemera and eclectic supplies available at RubyDog’s Art House.

The store’s function is to inspire paper artists of all types and the focus is primarily mixed media, collage and altered book style artwork; cool, non-cute rubberstamping and free-style, funky, collage inspired scrapbooking. The ideal candidate would not only be comfortable in the scrapbooking and rubberstamping field, they would also willing to experiment and stretch themselves in the mixed media, collage side of paper arts.

1. Minimum 2 Card Designs that combine rubberstamping, pattern paper and other embellishments as needed to complete the design
2. Minimum 1 Card Design that includes mixed ephemera or found objects in combination with paper and rubberstamping
3. Minimum 2 Scrapbook Layouts that include a mix of rubberstamping, paper and vintage/found ephemera - any size
4. Minimum 1 Altered Art project - should be dimensional and at least 4×4 in size
5. Minimum 2 Digital or Hybrid Layout/Card Design
6. Examples of Art Journal or Altered Book pages if possible.

• collage and assemblage artwork
• mail art and/or faux postals
• fabric journals

• Bi-Monthly mailing of paperWERX papers, Poppets(R) products, digiWERX digital scrapbooking products and a collection of authentic vintage ephemera with a minimum retail value of $75
• The opportunity to experiment and stretch your creative boundaries with new products and projects
• Potential product design opportunities or provide creative input into the development of new products
• Meeting new people and sharing your art with more than the scrapbooking world!

• All published pieces, in large trade/consumer magazines, using 75% or more of Lazar StudioWERX provided materials will be paid a commission of $50 per layout and $25 per card.
  Tear sheet(s) are required by Lazar StudioWERX for verification of publication. No exceptions.
• All pieces published and used in Lazar StudioWERX trade catalogs will be paid a commission of $25 per layout and $15 per card.
• All $$ may be substituted for product at 150% of the value of commission.
• For example: you receive a commission of $50 for a layout but opt for product instead - you will then receive up to $75 in retail value Lazar StudioWERX related product.
• Design Team members may be asked to attend Tradeshow events, such as CHA. Any Team member attending trade/retail shows will be compensated at a rate of $15/hour worked in the LSW booth.
  Please note: This does not include time spent with other mfgs.only time actually spent in the Lazar StudioWERX booth. If requested to attend a trade show for LSW, you may split your time between LSW and another mfg. if desired, with the understanding that you will only be compensated for time spent at LSW.

Deadline for Submission is May 15, 2007.

Proof that Lulu thinks she’s a dog… and my first YouTube submission =)

We are beginning the moving in process at RubyDog’s Art House this weekend and beginning the growth of the uniquest paper arts supply store in the Lower Mainland!

The coolness factor for RubyDog’s Art House and Lazar StudioWERX is the combination of products that will be available in the store. Imagine…
Vintage ephemera, assemblage and altered arts materials like authentic, vintage papers such as ledger pages from the 1890s, billheads, labels and cigar bands, Art Chix transparencies, art books, dimensional embellishments and recycled cast off materials that beg to be turned into something really cool - THEN combine that with edgy, hand painted printed papers, graphic patterned papers, vintage and fine art [non-cute!] rubber art stamps, chipboard embellishments, silkscreened 12×12 transparencies and rub-ons, chipboard alphabets, color coordinated ribbons, velvet rickrack, chipboard albums and board books, digital hybrid scrapbooking products and more. SO COOL and unlike anything in Vancouver!

For 4 days during the Easter long weekend, RubyDog will be closed to allow for Leanne [RubyDog owner] to move the existing product from the front for the store to a side, newly reno’ed area to make room for us at the front end of the store. 

We will be moving our product lines of artistic rubberstamps, paperWERX paper, Poppets(R) papers, people and clear stamps PLUS a few other cool product lines from manufacturers like Hambly Screenprints, Maya Road, Basic Grey, Fontwerks and Purple Onion Stamps into approximately 250sq. feet of retail space. Here is what is happening between Friday April 6-Monday April 9:

• wood floor will have to be cleaned
• new fixtures are arriving and will be going in to the front end of the store, the Lazar StudioWERX zone
• signage will be going up in the RubyDog windows alerting people we’re in the store
• product merchandising, pricing and display
• art samples will be finished and available in the store showcasing the products we are carrying [we hope they won’t get stolen because of their ‘coolness’ - apparently this has been a problem at the store in the past. gotta figure out a way to secure them!]
• in-store demo days will begin in late April/early May

We’re getting pretty excited about it and will organize an ‘official’ grand opening event with RubyDog sometime in the next few weeks. Before and after pics will be posted after we finalize move-in.

RubyDog’s Art House and StudioWERX is located at 4738 Main Street in the ‘South Main - SoMa’ area of Vancouver on Main Street at 32nd Ave.  Lazar StudioWERX products will be available in store for purchase starting Thursday April 12. We hope to see you there!

Ok. So I gotta admit that ARTistry really slammed me last week. WOW, was I ever bagged after two hard weeks of prep and then the craziness of the event weekend. I forgot how much it takes out of a person, running an event like that, on your own. Whew! I spent the better part of last week catching up. Catching up on sleep, on shipping, on order processing and sample making. I think I’m almost there, especially since I cleared off all online store orders from my desk up to April 1 and shipped a pile of boxes from Point Roberts Washington today. Did I say whew? Well, whew!

The kitties are both doing really well. Surgeries and stitches have healed and been removed as necessary. We have noticed though that Kodi seems to be experiencing some stiffness in his hips - we think its related to playing [aka chasing, mauling, mugging and getting harassed by Lulu] with the baby girl. He gets up a little stiffly and it takes a few steps for him to start moving normally. We’ve got him on anti-inflamatories for the next week or so, but we’re 90% sure there is nothing to worry about. After all, Lulu is almost 5 months old and regularly puts the run on our 10.5yr old big boy - he ain’t no spring chicken anymore.

In other news… I have signed on to teach classes at the Crop for Kids event in Vancouver this October. It’s a nation wide event that is raising money for Children’s Hospitals across Canada, very cool. I will be teaching two classes.

The first class is a modified version of my all day image transfer class: Art of Transference - The Coles Notes Edition [since I only have 90 minutes to teach it!] and we’ll be covering inkjet transfers. Here are some sneak peeks:

The second class is a new mini-book class inspired by Ali Edwards’ Fab Favorites Mini-Book challenge: A Week of Faves. My take on it is a photo a day of your favorite people, places and things for one week - then create a mini-book that celebrates these snapshots of your life and what you love in it. The little chipboard book turned out pretty cool in my estimation, but I’ll let you all judge that for yourselves.

Nothing too exciting happening around here. Just work and recovering from ARTistry 2007 at the end of March. Will have a big recap of the last week, later today. This is just a quick post to say "HI!"

C