Some bad news, I just got word that the PDQ shipment is backed up at the port of Vancouver waiting to be put onto a rail car. Apparently it will take a week before it gets loaded onto the train. I am very disappointed since I was expecting final delivery possibly next week. Now it looks like I won't have the products until the 10th or 12th of April... I'm totally bummed about this. It will take a few days to get the orders turned around and shipped once we do finally get the products, so now the tentative shipping date for orders is the 14th of April...if everything goes as planned. Just know this...you will LOVE the product when you get it and I guarantee you'll sell out...so hang on for a few more days. Thanks again for all your patience. It will not go unrewarded : )
Okay, we know that Spring has finally arrived when I feel an overwhelming urge to go out and buy something that makes me feel like a girl. Aren't these the cutest? I'm looking forward to shedding all the layers of coats and heavy boots for something light and airy. A girl can't live on shoes alone....or so I've heard. {got shoes?}
Since I have had a chance to work with some of the "real" PDQ product line I wanted to share just how cool my first album is turning out. This is a sample of what you can create using one of the Album in and Afternoon Kits, minus the embellishments. It's even better than I thought. I am using both sides of the paper, so literally this is only 3.5 sheets of paper that you're looking at here. I have used some cardstock for matting and also for my journalling in a couple of places and of course the additional embellishments that you see. I am delighted how simple, fast and gorgeous this is turning out. I hope to finish the album in the next few days. The paper line is the PDQ Ocean Orange which as you can see lends itself perfectly to vacation photos.
When I designed the papers I knew that they would work well together, but literally each page flows right into the next...even if you change the direction of the sheet. Even I'm surprised how well they work.
Update on shipping.....I have also news that the product should arrive at the Port of Vancouver today. This means that it still has to clear customs and come across Canada to Toronto via rail and be off loaded. We are hoping that will take no longer than 10 days. So...fingers crossed, we hope to begin packing and shipping orders in the next 2 weeks.
I thank everyone who ordered at CHA for your patience. We will be included additional free products due to the delay for anyone who ordered at CHA. I guarantee that you will not be disappointed with these once you get them in!
On Friday I received my first look at the "real" PDQ line. They look AWESOME!!!!! I was so excited! I wanted to start using them right away. They're heavy and the colors turned out spectacular! I really want to create an entire album using one line, since that is how they are developed. I was a bit nervous since I decided to switch my printer...but the new guys turned out super. In the next few weeks I hope to have an album to show you. Since all I got were "proofs" the real stuff will arrive mid April at which time I will be able to ship all those CHA orders everyone has been waiting so patienty for...(thank you!) I will be including additional free products for everyone who ordered at CHA to compensate for the delay. Believe me, when you get the papers, you won't be disappointed!
I don't know how on earth I forgot to mention this...
Anyhow, we went to this little vegetarian place in the Upper East Side called the Candle Cafe or something. It was supposed to be good. It looks like nothing from the outside and inside it's just "okay". Didn't matter, we'd come for the food. So after we'd ordered we were sitting there and 2 women come in and sit at the table across from us. I didn't notice anything but Robert was quick to say he thought that the one woman looked just like Paige the host from Trading Spaces. Now, a little note here, my husband has had a crush on Paige forever, so I wasn't surprised when he was the one to notice. I wasn't 100% sure at first, but as soon as I heard her talking, yep, it was her. I tried to convince my husband to go over and ask for a photo but he was too shy, and red. He kept blaming it on the poor air conditioning of the restaurant, but I think his hormones might have been jumping around a bit. She looks exactly like she did on the TV. Don't know if she has a new show going now or not. No one else at the place recognized her.
Last time we were in NYC we ran into Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts when we were in a lingerie store in Soho. Kind of weird to be picking out bras and panties with the likes of them. I felt like a midget elephant when standing next to Nicole! Needless to say, I wasn't trying anything on when they were there. Didn't know if a gang of photo freaks might be hot on their heels and then in the back of the photo that gets published I can hear everyone saying, "who's that fat chick sticking her head in behind Nicoles?" The worst part would be when the reply came back, "that's not her head!"
It was a great trip to NYC. The weather turned out to be amazing every day except Sunday. Warm and sunny, so can't complain.
Instead of taking in Wicked we saw Chicago with Mr. Peterman from Seinfeld John O'Hurley and Robin Givens. It was excellent. Really enjoyed that. Great music!
We checked out a fantastic new little "hole-in-the-wall" pub in the Village called The Spotted Pig. The best upscale food in this cute little pub setting. Seating is cramped (in NY it's always cramped!) but the food was so delectable! Try the smoked trout and roasted beets for a starter...and don't miss the chocolate flourless cake. This was definitely our little "find" this trip.
Avoid at all costs the Saigon Grill at 88th and 2nd Ave. Heard good things about it, but was very very disappointed and Robert and I both suffered some stomach problems afterwards. (yuck I know)
Otherwise we were just delighted with the Frick Collection and a special exhibit of Goya's Last works. The building that houses the works was Mr. Frick's residence and it was unbelievable to see that this man had his own museum and art gallery that he basically lived in. Talk about getting inspiration! Apparently he would get up in the night and walk down to the galleries and sit on the sofa in front of some of his favorite works by Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Hans Holbein, Vermeer. What a way to live! The best thing about this museum/gallery is that unlike the Louvre you can actually visit the entire museum and see everything in one afternoon spending quite a bit of time on each piece.
The Guggenheim was nice too, but I've come to realize I'm not as big of a fan of modern art as I thought. They did have some wonderful older works and an exceptional painting by Manet that I hadn't seen before called Woman Looking in a Mirror that I was very taken with. The current special exhibit on metal sculptor David Smith was different, but you need to like structural iron work to really enjoy it I think. For me I like color, shape is great, and form and line can be interesting of course, but when color is lacking I become bored. Probably why I like painting more than simply drawing.
I wanted to take some photos as some of the works really inspired me with new palette ideas for upcoming papers, a work by Picasso and another by a Russian painter were stunning, but unfortunately no photos were allowed. Will have to use the "photo" I took in my mind instead : )
Now that I'm back it full time on for getting ready for some big upcoming consumer shows and also we got word back that the papers are coming along...hoping to have them in the country by April 4th, but they will still need to clear customs and get all the way across from the west to here before we'll have them to start packing those CHA orders. We will be including more freeBs for everyone who ordered at the show to compensate for the delay.
Any orders placed after EST March 15th will not be shipped out until Monday, March 20th as we’re off to
New York City
.We leave on Thursday morning and won’t be back until late Sunday night. It’s really a business trip and I will be working for about a day and a half, but after that it’s all fun! I just hope the weather is going to cooperate as a couple of times when we went it was FREEZING cold.Okay, before you write saying, “hey you’re in
Canada
it’s freezing all the time!” let me tell you that normally we do have the same weather as New York, we’re only 40 minutes north by plane. Last year when we went in February it was gorgeous here and we got down there and I was shakin’ in my boots the whole time not wanting to leave the hotel for fear of hypothermia since I hadn’t taken any winter coat. So far it only seems like it should be okay, we might get a bit of rain.
Since I’ve studied to be a chef I’m a HUGE foodie and we have about 6 or 7 different restaurants we’ll be hitting. We’re staying in Murray Hill this time for something different.Last time we stayed at the
Hudson
(so cool!) and every time before that was the W (different ones each time) but it’s cool to stay in a different area and get to know that neighborhood a bit better.
A little breakdown of some of my NY hot spots -
The best soup I’ve ever had is at Dishes not far from
Times Square
.Curried pumpkin I think.
Best crème caramel was at Blue Ribbon Café in the village.
Amazing scallops can be had at the Black Duck, in Murray Hill which is right where we’re staying this time. Man…this is making me hungry!
As you can tell, I’m getting pumped! We’ll have to do a few martinis at the W still. A little bit of a tradition with us, even if they are totally overpriced. I go for the “atmosphere” of the place, but I think Robert likes it because all of the waitresses are very cute and young in teeny tiny low cut outfits with tall black boots.I was impressed with the bar at the
Hudson
last time too so we might go back there as well.It’s hard to fit it all in!
To really do NY right you need to see a show so we’re going to try to catch Wicked.
Since the art scene is one of the best in the world we’ll be taking in several new exhibits, Goya’s Last Works at the Frick and then the Guggenheim which we tried to get into before but was closed for some renovations. I just know that after visiting these galleries I will be so inspired to create more.Of course after visiting such works of art I feel very inadequate as an artist, but it helps with composition and colors.
A while back we saw one of the best exhibits I’ve ever seen called “Ashes & Snow” at pier 54 in a bunch of shipping containers called the
Nomadic
Museum
.It was by a guy from
Quebec
called Gregory Colbert. Stunning. Just stunning. Truly it is etched in my mind. I think the installation has now moved to
Japan
or something now.If you ever get the chance to see it, I think it was in
Okay, this is totally non scrapbook related, but I have once again started watching The Apprentice. I must be a sucker for punishment. It is simply TV junk food. There doesn't seem to be one fresh redeeming quality to that show. I have no idea why I ever liked it since I can't stand Donald Trump. The guy is so unbelievably full of himself. He repeats himself every episode. None of the tasks seem even related to his business. They are just large commercials advertising for the companies that have paid loads of cash to have mega "product placement" during his show.
I think the reason I keep watching is I have this glimmer of hope that one day, one of the talented people that he so callously humiliates and then inevitably fires will beat him to the finish and will fire him first. I think lots of people are waiting for that moment to arrive... I hope it's tonight!
Whew! Some 150 html pages later and it's up. You can finally view what I consider to be "the future of scrapbooking". PDQ prefinished double sided layouts that cost the same amount as one sheet of paper.
More completed layout samples will be added to the catalog as they are made available and you'll be able to see how you can change the look of the pages depending on which way you rotate the paper and how you choose to embellish them.
For me as the artist, they are challenging to create and delightful use. Not only do I get to design the many papers and patterns that make up one layout, I also get to create the layout design. I LOVE doing that. Plus, when I want to make an entire album I know it's not going to take me 3 months to complete.
So, as you can see, I am excited about this new direction for Bisous. I know in my heart that this is what will take scrapbooking and make it accessible to everyone.
Yep, the BIG website update I'm preparing to introduce PDQ is almost done...either today or tomorrow should finish it off and you can all see what I'm so excited about.
Creating this update to the catalog means preparing over 100 web pages...doing web work is like dental surgery for me...painful and long. I sit in front of my computer for literally 14 hours at a stretch until my eyes are red and burning...intent on getting this done. This time I've managed to figure out some new short-cuts and some automation which is making it seem like maybe only my wisdom teeth are getting pulled... I'll just be so happy when it's done and I can go back to artwork instead.
In the meantime...keep you eyes peeled...I can't wait to hear the response!
Oh, BTW...although the website update will be happening very soon...unfortunately I will not have "real" products until the end of April. So everyone who ordered at CHA, the orders will be a touch late, (we will be including additional free products to compensate our tardiness) and everyone who will want to order online, please be patient as the ecommerce will not have the products until the end of April for purchase.
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