Hello everyone! We’d like to let you all know some exciting news, hopefully that will brighten up your day with all of this dark, stormy weather. We have just gotten our acceptance letter for another craft show in Muskegon, MI for the weekend of the 4th. It’s called the Comerica Village Craft Market and runs from Friday, July 2nd to Sunday, July 4th. We are super excited to get over to the west side of the state and spend our 4th of July holiday enjoying the craft show!
So now, following my brother’s graduation party this weekend, we are all set for two weekends of big shows. Muskegon for the weekend of the 4th and Plymouth the following weekend! Looks like we are going to have a lot of work to do after this party is over.
Speaking of the graduation party… the girls of the family have been incredibly busy baking all kinds of cupcakes, cookies, and cake for the party deserts [and looking stylish doing so in our fun aprons of course]! I think I am going to go crazy from the smell of delicious homemade banana, strawberry, and chocolate cupcakes that I can’t eat! At least until the weekend that is…
Well, its back to the studio and kitchen for us! Hope you all have a lovely day today even though the weather is no good. If you’re looking for something fun to do today while stuck inside, I say bake a batch of cupcakes!
After two weekends of art shows in the blazing heat, it feels good to slow down for a bit to get ourselves back on track and relax for a couple days. Even though we don’t have any shows this month, with my brother’s graduation and grad party coming up fast, our time for relaxing will certainly be over quick. So in addition to working on designing and creating products during the month of June, we will also be spending this month putting picture boards together, decorating, and cooking up a Mexican themed feast. Speaking of which… do any of you have suggestions on some good Mexican foods to serve in bulk?
I know one thing we are making is my Aunt’s Jalapeno Corn! Yum!
This is also a good month for getting us organized… my specialty. I’ve also been working on making TONS of flower headbands and ponytail holders. I love making these adorable flowers and I’ve even started making really tiny ones for necklace pendants. As soon as I get a bunch of them done I will take pictures and post them!
Since we’ve had this blog now for about three months, I’d like to finally leave you with a really good recipe to try out. My sister is the one who actually discovered it. She made these amazing chocolate and peanut butter cupcakes for our family’s Memorial Day get-together. (My family is really big on the chocolate-peanut butter combo if you didn’t know)
Let me be the first to tell you that a LOT has been happening around here....graduations, new jobs, school performances, college decisions, not to mention getting ready for The Glam Finale's upcoming shows. Saying we've been a busy family lately would be a huge understatement! But never fear, we are masters of handling a busy schedule and staying on track. In fact, we've been able to keep up with listing products on Etsy (go check them out!), we've updated our website and added products, and we've created a new apron style: Vintage Glam!
We love how this apron gives off a 50's flare... I Love Lucy anyone? My mom obtained a true vintage pattern and made her own modifications in order to make the top a little more "roomy" and modest, and we added our big signature pocket to the apron too!
Where in the world can I get one of these, you ask? The answer: at our show next weekend May 22-23 from 10:00-5:00 at Michigan State University. The show will be held on Michigan State's campus near the Union building. Come by and see us at spot #166!
If next weekend is simply impossible for you to attend, you'll get a second chance at our Rochester Heritage Days Show the following weekend May 29-30 from 10:00-6:00 at the Rochester Municipal Park.
We hope to see you all very soon. It's back to work for us. Don't forget to check out our updated website and Etsy for new items!
After finishing up our shows in the month of March, we've been busy re-stocking and have begun regular postings on our Etsy site! We have finally got a bunch of aprons available online for you all to see. Here are some pictures:
Kitchen Glam
Kitchen Glam
Gourmet Glam
Baby Bib
Also in keeping you updated, our next show is going to take place at Michigan State University in May (after I graduate... YAY!). We just got our booth number for the show so here is all the information:
Michigan State University Spring Arts and Crafts Show
Located on the grounds of the MSU Union, near the corner of Grand River and Abbot Road.
May 22nd and 23rd. Saturday 9-6 and Sunday 10-5
Booth #166
We hope to see you there!
Enjoy this beautiful weather and don't forget to check out our Etsy site!
With our first show of the year coming up next weekend, we’ve been keeping pretty busy here at the Glam Finale! Adding in exams and spring break, I haven’t had time to post anything since our site's update! So, I would like to start off by thanking the ladies at Designer Blogs for helping us get the perfect look for our blog as well as our website and Etsy page. We LOVE the new look! What do all of you think?
After spending a few months stocking up on all of our products and creating new ones, we are very excited for our show in Saline. Perhaps most exciting of all will be the introduction of our newest products. Starting in the winter months of 2009 and with the help of my Uncle Tommy, we have designed and created beautiful burlap bags, purses, and other decorative items. We started off designing purses and bags; including a laptop bag, a purse inspired by my grandmother’s leather backpack style purse, a messenger bag, and a small and large tote. My favorite as of now is the large tote. I started carrying one around during Spring Break in Florida and fell in love with the bag. At school, it’s big enough to hold all of my books, my mini-computer, and more! The burlap we use is all recycled and the bags are fully lined and include pockets! From there, we have also begun to make other decorative items using the burlap; such as memo boards, half aprons, pillows, and more.
Here are some pictures of the small totes and aprons:
We will post pictures of more of our burlap products later!
As for now, it’s back to the studio! There is still so much to do and so little time to do it. Hope to see you all at our upcoming show. Here’s the information:
Thank Goodness for Fridays! With the stress of school, work and keeping up with the social life at college, I'm always thankful when Fridays roll around and I get to spend a day being creative.
Normally my mom and I would be busy making as many products as possible, however, the recent move and renovation of our studio has left all of our stuff in disarray... as if a tornado had hit. While my mom is pretty good about keeping her spaces somewhat neat, there is no lying that I am the organized one of the family. So I bet you can guess what my task has been on my Fridays of late... Project Studio Organization!
It is definitely a work in progress! We've come a long way from the basement but we still have unpacking and more organization to do. So far....we got our scraps all organized by color, a filing system for all our ideas and drawings, an unfinished project pile, and most of our fabrics organized by color on our shelves. There is always more to do... but for now we have workable order! Yay!
So just to bring you up to date on our studio... here are a few pictures of its transformation!
The Glam Finale is finally joining the blogging world as a new means of connecting with friends, family, and fans. We are excited about having another creative outlet where we can keep you up to date, tell about our new products, give away some freebees and coupons for our website, share some of our favorite recipes, tips on cleaning, and other around-the-house chores, and most importantly to let you get to know us! Speaking of which, let me introduce the girls of Glam.
Jodie Shaw, my mother, is the true mastermind of The Glam Finale. She is the creator, designer, producer and manager of the company. She started this company back in 2006, working out of our basement. Originally, the plan was to focus her shop on girls’ room décor and create other items, like our infamous aprons, on the side. However, our aprons would be the first to sell out every time. So Jodie reversed her plan and we now focus on aprons while creating other accessories and room décor on the side.
In addition to her love and hard work put into the company, Jodie is mother to two children in addition to me; my 18 year old brother Kenton and my 14 year old sister Haley. My younger siblings keep her very busy with their constant school activities and sports. Between kids, a family dog, a husband, and a business of her own, this woman can do it all.
We have been taking our company to various art shows throughout Michigan in years past, but we want to go bigger this year; travel out of state and really focus on online networking and sales. That’s where I come in. My name is Krystal. I am 22 years old and currently a senior at the University of Michigan, majoring in Psychology. After graduation, I intend to go into rehabilitation counseling, specializing in brain injuries and work close to home so I can also work with my mom. As for now, Ann Arbor is close enough to home and I am able to come home regularly to work with my mom. I help with the sewing, modeling, and product development. With our goal of expanding our company further, my part in the business is growing. I will now be helping with the technological side of The Glam Finale; working on our website, listing items more often on our Etsy shop, getting The Glam Finale on Facebook, and maintaining our blog.
Apart from school and working with my mom, I also work as a lifeguard at the university recreational buildings and participate on a behavioral research team. I am constantly busy doing something, but I have learned from the best and I am never bored. I am a fan of interior design and organization, but mostly I love being creative. So coming home to work with my mother is always a joy.
Well that’s it for now! Hopefully you now have a little insight about us and feel like you’re getting to know us already. Keep checking back in to see what we’re up to!
The Glam Finale first "opened its doors" in 2006 when I decided to create my own business doing what I love: designing and creating clothing, accessories, and room decor for girls and women. Now, my daughter Krystal and I work together to bring you the beautiful products of The Glam Finale: including our infamous aprons, burlap bags (under the name Jungle Jute), and many other items. We will both be contributing to the blog and hope to give you an insight into our lives, to let you know about our upcoming events and newest products, and much more. Keep checking in on us to see what we're up to!
