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I have to admit that in all my years of exhibiting my work in art shows, my least favorite part of the experience has always been returning my unsold pieces to my studio. In addition to the sense of disappointment and defeat, there's the grueling process of getting my art from car trunk to sixth floor studio. Typically that process has involved tracking down a dolly of some kind, then making sure I stack my artwork gently so it doesn't get damaged, but not so loosely that it all slides off in route to my studio. Fortunately, I just found a solution that makes the process much easier: a folding commercial laundry cart!

Measuring 35.7" deep, 24.1" wide and 34.6" high, it's very easy to push. The wheels can turn in every direction, unlike the ones on the dollies I've had to use. And it can fold down to just 7 inches wide when not in use! I think I may have been inspired by the college students that I see moving in and out of their downtown dorms because they often use a cardboard version of this to transport their belongings. 

Now that I've brought all my art safely back to my studio, I just need to get it out of my laundry cart and into some virtual shopping carts.

Saturday Solutions, 2 years of pandemic living edition

Monday will be the two year anniversary of me staying at home a lot more because of the pandemic. During that time, as I've spent more time cooking, cleaning, and organizing, I've learned some interesting things. Whether you call them household hints or life hacks, I thought I'd share them in a post. So here they are in no particular order.

 

Colander baskets make cooking easier

I got a colander basket and it has made it so much easier to boil and retrieve food from boiling water. Just put it in the basket and when it's done, lift the basket out of the pot.

 

 

Saving vegetable scraps for broth is a good idea

One of the things I've prepared many times in my colander basket is broth. Following some advice I learned on The Kitchn, I save vegetable scraps in a freezer bag so I have them whenever I need them. Not all vegetables work well in a broth, but I recommend celery, parsley stems, onion scraps, and carrot peelings.

 

 

I can make my own vegetable beef soup

For some reason (supply chain issues?) when I was stocking up on groceries in 2020, I had a very hard time finding one of my favorite soups, Campbell's Healthy Request Chunky Old Fashioned Vegetable Beef. But I was able to use recipes on Pinterest as a starting point to develop my own version. Now that I've perfected it, I don't even want the store-bought version anymore. All you need is:

1.5 pounds of beef stew meat

2 white potatoes

2 to 3 ribs of celery

1 can of diced tomatoes

yellow, white or red onion, to taste

1 package of mixed frozen vegetables (peas, carrots, corn, green beans)

32 ounces of beef broth

fresh parsley, Worchestershire sauce, salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic, to taste

Defrost the vegetables, sear the meat, and sweat the onions. Put everything but the parsley in a slow cooker for 8 to 9 hours on low. Garnish with fresh parsley.

 

Homemade marinara sauce tastes better from the slow cooker

Another slow cooker recipe I like to make is marinara sauce. It tastes so much richer that way. 2 - 3 hours on low is an ideal amount of time.

One of my refrigerator shelves isn't cold enough

Having a refrigerator thermometer and taking readings of different shelves made me realize that the shelf furthest from the freezer is not cold enough to safely store perishable foods. But it's a great place to keep things that don't need to be refrigerated when I want to extend their shelf life, like baked goods and some root vegetables.

 

 

I prefer to hand wash clothes in buckets

At the beginning of the pandemic, I was so afraid of leaving my apartment and getting COVID that I washed everything by hand. Rather than filling my sinks or tub with soaking clothes, I got some inexpensive plastic buckets from Target for hand-washing. I've also found that they're great for storing laundry that I plan to hand wash in the near future, as opposed to having to rummage through my hamper to find it later.

 

 

I can keep track of furniture hardware better in cafeteria trays

I've assembled a lot of furniture since 2020. To keep track of all the hardware, I started using some plastic trays with dividers to sort out the parts. I found that it make the process a lot easier.

I can keep my throw pillows in a basket

I love having lots of throw pillows and I won't apologize for that. I figured out where to put mine when I'm ready to go to sleep: a basket that sits between my bed and my dresser.

Saturday Solutions: display ideas for vendor fairs

* I wrote this before the pandemic began, with the intention of posting it Memorial Day weekend 2020. Some of the items in this post may be discontinued now, but maybe you can find them on eBay.

 

 

 

As the weather warms up and the days get longer, the season of outdoor vendor fairs is here. As I wrote in my post about creative art displays for gallery shows, many times the traditional options are overpriced. And after paying to rent space at an event, you might not have much money left to invest in displaying your wares.

Here are a few items that could be useful for displaying all types of merchandise:

IKEA VIGGJA Tray stand

Design Ideas Franklin Desk Riser

IKEA NISSAFORS Utility cart

Here are some more specialized displays:

For Book Fairs:

IKEA VIVALLA Tablet stand

Mind Reader Brown & Green Edition Five-Shelf Bookcase

IKEA ISBERGET Tablet stand

IKEA  BRÄDA Laptop support

For Jewelry Display:

Umbra Prisma Jewelry Stand

Trigem Jewelry Stand

Umbra Poise Two-Tiered Tray

IKEA KVITTERA Serving stand, 3 tiers

IKEA  GARNERA Serving stand, two tiers

Yamazaki Tosca Accessory Trays with Mirror

Yamazaki Tosca Accessory Stand

Yamazaki Tower Earring Stand

For Clothes:

IKEA MULIG Clothes Rack

IKEA RIGGA Clothes Rack

For Pop-Up Shops:

Design Ideas MeshWorks Utility Grid Unit

IKEA NIKKEBY Clothes Rack

Pro tip: to save money on these fixtures, whenever possible, contact the manufacturers to see if they will sell them to you wholesale if you send them a copy of your resale license. You should be able to save at least 20%.

Saturday Solutions: a fast and easy way to make your own customized workout video

 

I came of age during a time when exercise videos were very popular. From Tae Bo to Buns of Steel to The Firm, there were plenty of options for working out at home in front of the TV. Now is a good time to do that again if you don't feel safe going back to working out in a gym yet and don't want to spend a lot of money on a Peloton. Sure, there are lots of workouts on YouTube, but you can also create one just for you using things you probably already have.

Here's what you need:

• animated GIFs of the exercises you want to do
• audio files of your favorite music to work out to
• simple video editing software (whatever came with your device)
  

*optional: a cloud storage file to save your video in so you can watch it anywhere

When you put your GIFs into the video timeline, copy and paste them for every repetition of the exercise. If your goal is to do 10 reps, put 10 copies of the exercise in the timeline.

 

If you need to change sides, use some animated GIF editing software (or your video editing software, if it's an option) to flip the GIF horizontally. 

 

It's also useful to add intertitles with directions prompting you to change positions so you don't miss a beat.

 

Add a soundtrack using your favorites from your workout playlist. You can make your video as long as you need it to be. You can  have a warm-up and a cool-down, and put the exercises in the order you like to do them in. Once you're finished making the video, you can upload it to the cloud and have access to it wherever you go!

I actually did this because I realized, after buying a stability ball, that I couldn't find my books of exercises for it. But now that I have my own custom video, I like it so much better than flipping through a book!

Saturday solutions: an easy backdrop for your video calls

Read this post to find out how I made a backdrop that goes with my outfit.

Now that social distancing has more people working and socializing from home than ever before, everyone can see what your home looks like. You can blur out the background or insert a digital background using technology if you would prefer not to have your coworkers and friends see anything. Another analogue option is to set up an area for your video calls. And you can use things that you probably have at home already.

Here's what you'll need:

- A bookcase that is at least higher than the top of your head while you are seated

- 3 to 6 pants hangers

- a large but fairly lightweight but opaque textile, at least 3 feet wide (e.g. duvet cover, fabric remnant, rag rug, shower curtain, dropcloth, tablecloth)

*optional:

a ring light tripod mount for your phone or tablet

Attach the hangers to the top edge of the textile you will be using for your backdrop, not leaving too much space between them. (Less than 2 inches is ideal.) Carefully hang the textile from the top edge of your bookshelf.

See how easy that was?

If you want to use something larger and heavier, you can. Here's how. Spread the textile (in my case, I used a king size bedspread) across the bookcase and weigh it down with something heavy that won't easily fall or roll off. I just put an iron on top.

Nobody needs to know because I cropped it out. And if you position your lens correctly, nobody will see how you rigged your backdrop.

Additional tips:

When you set things up, be mindful of your light sources. Natural light from windows is best, but if you don't have that, ring light tripod mounts are great and a lot of online retailers have them.

Saturday Solutions: ways to save on art displays

When I was in grad school, one of my classmates, a printmaker, had the ingenious idea to deliberately create work that would fit into cheap frames from IKEA, and stock up on them. I think of his strategy often when I watch fellow artists who make work on paper struggle to afford to get their work custom framed. Face it, sometimes framing feels like an expensive nuisance. Yet as an interior designer, I often come across inventive, interesting, and unusual frames, cases, and other display accessories that are far less costly than what custom framers offer.

Whether you plan to exhibit original work on paper, prints, or photos, if they're in standard sizes, here are some intriguing ways to display it:

IKEA Lerboda frame

IKEA KASSEBY display box

IKEA VÄSBY collage frame

IKEA NÄSHULT frame

Umbra Phantom Photo Frame

Umbra Gridart Photo Frame

Umbra Hangit Photo Display

Glo Instant Photo Frame

Umrba Ledge Landscape Photo Display

Design Ideas Billboard Frame

Pottery Barn Weston Frames

West Elm Crystal Orb Frames

Prinz 3 Dimensional House Metal Wire Collage Picture Display

Prinz Clips Hanging Metal Collage Wall Display

CB2 Photo Clips

CB2 Rothko Brass Picture Frames

 This Infinity Photo Frame from Umbra would look better with circular artwork inside, but I like the concept.

The Umbra Exhibit Photo Display can even be mounted diagonally.

Imagine the possibilities if you were to remove the mats from this two-sided Umbra Pano Room Divider and Photo Display.

This minimalist Lucite poster frame from Poketo essentially disappears and leaves the focus on the art.

Another clear display I've long admired is the Acrylic Tripod Easel from CB2.

If you would prefer a version of this in color, there are some great options at H Studio.

The easels are the most expensive option I'm sharing, but they can be reused indefinitely, unlike frames.


And for small sculptures and installations, these glass storage boxes from Kikkerland are an inexpensive option:

This display stand from IKEA would be great for collection of small sculptures or an installation piece.

And this display from IKEA is like a miniature museum and can be viewed from all sides.

So if you're an artist looking for a way to display your work in art shows without breaking the bank or having to build your own frames from scratch, begin with the end in mind.