Pencil Me In hosted the Triangle WCAA August meeting.  Together, Jackie Soderling and I presented the program on “Covering it With Slips - What it is Really Like to Run a Slipcover Business”.  It was a fun morning of conversation with this great group of Small Business Owners.

I had so much fun with this colorful project!  Karen brought me a basket full of vintage table linens to be incorporated into her slipcover.  I used a printed border tablecloth for a gathered skirt and paired it with GP&J Baker’s lifestyles beachcomber check in apple.  An old drying cloth was stitched into a pillow.  To the ribbon ties on the neckroll and the back, I added some cool birds hand crafted in clay by Gilda Aita.  Maybe these birds are partridges for the pear print?

I love sunflowers.  I love art.  I love my garden.  I love my daughter Katherine.  And I love the new sunflower art in my garden by artist Katherine Meeks.  On Campus Creations Online Store.  Portfolio.

Recently I needed to charge my creative energy so I took a little road trip to Aita Studios in North Wilkesboro to visit my childhood next door neighbor and longtime friend Gilda Aita.  In addition to teaching art education in Wilkes County, Gilda has worked in clay for over 20 years, creating spiritual art.  I came home fully charged and with a prayer pot to boot that I proudly display in my workshop.  If you are interested in seeing more of Gilda’s clay art, visit www.aitastudios.com.

My name is Brandon Saunders and I was fortunate enough to be the first intern at “Pencil Me In”.  The volume of what I learned far exceeded any expectations. I figured I would come in everyday and complete small tasks to help things operate more quickly around the shop. But being an intern for the summer wasn’t a job, it was a learning experience. I learned what it takes to start a business and more importantly keep it running and how to communicate to multiple generations in order to fit the customers’ needs.  I got the opportunity to go to a workshop on generational insights run by Gary Tomlinson and speaker, Cam Marston.  At “Pencil Me In” I learned that before you can allow people to love your business and product, you have to love it yourself.  I am lucky to have worked in an environment that helped me grow as a person and better prepare me for the workforce after college.