by Andrea Brewing
In my opinion, there is no such thing as "too many photos." My husband bought a digital camera as a Christmas gift for me 3 years ago. With it, he bought 3 memory cards that hold 2GB each. I am on my third one and it is 90% full.
The most exotic places I travel to are the apple trees in my back yard and the lake down the road where I find a wealth of beauty to capture with my camera lense. My husband is my biggest fan and thinks my pictures are professional quality and thought I should be selling them. So the wheels of creativity started spinning in my head.
My name is Andrea. I live in Baxters Corner, New Brunswick, Canada. I work in a Sign/Print Shop in Saint John, an industrial city about a half an hour from my home in the country. It is here that my creativity started. When my husband suggested that I sell my photos, I knew the best way was to direct print them to canvas artist board using our large format flatbed printer at work. Being one of the press operators, that was an easy task. The hard part was deciding which photos to print. I had hundreds of photos but had purchased only six canvas boards. I printed six of my favourites and bought more canvas, but realized that, even though I wanted to sell these prints, I wanted to have them displayed in my house as well. I soon realized that I do not have that much wall space in my 2 story, 5 bedroom house. This is how I invented my version of the Memory Quilt.
I am not a seamstress, but I can sew a straight line. I took 36 of my favourite photos of birds, flowers, scenery and family and set to work. The result was a roughly 40" square quilt hanging on my wall above the couch that I can see every day. This original one was done with iron-on transfers. They don't wash and wear well, so I have changed my methods and direct print to fabric at work on our UV printer. In the end, a fully functional quilt is created that can withstand the washer and dryer. These generate a lot of interest at the Saint John City Market.
For a period of time, I was setting up a display in the Saint John City Market on Saturdays. The type of product I was offering wasn't something that a tourist wanted to take home with them as a memento of their visit. The quilts I make are a custom order that take several weeks to make, and the photos were not something that said "Saint John" to them. I sold several prints to the locals who knew the area, and some to visitors who were "struck by the beauty of the Province".
I received a multitude of favourable comments, but not a lot of sales. Another product I designed was pot holders with photos of flowers and birds on them. I sold a few of those as well, but again, not quite what a tourist arriving in our fine city on a cruise ship was looking for. I took another look at Saint John from the standpoint of a tourist and put my camera to use, snapping photos of the uptown area. I then went home, sat at my computer and designed a logo to use as a label for the city. I took my new photos and designed a line of potholders and placemats. They were a big hit at the market! They were easy to pack, told them where they had been and had photographic memories as well. They are functional and beautiful at the same time.
We have gotten crazy busy with work, so I have not been setting up at the market, choosing instead to have the day to try to clean the house. In what little spare time I have, I have been researching photography tips and techniques. I am thinking of upgrading my camera, and have decided I should learn how to make better use of my camera, since discovering that photography is a passion of mine. In doing so I have found a few web sites with some information, and they linked me to others, which linked me to still more. In my internet travels, I stumbled on to the website http://www.travelphotographyworkshop.com. It has many useful articles on more than one or two topics and it has been helpful in aiding me to use my camera and my imagination more to their full capabilities. The only thing I thought it needed was a link to my website, where I can offer you a way to showcase your life and your travels in a way no one else can. Things created just for you with "The Personal Touch."
If you were to visit my home, you would see a framed print of my dog, a few of local scenery and memory quilt of my family hanging in my living room. I used to have a couple of pillows with scenic photos on them, but the dog ate those… Rufus you silly mutt! In the kitchen you will find pot holders with photos of my flowers. In the dining room, there are placemats with photos of birds that visit my yard. On my bed is a memory quilt with photos of my sister and me as little girls, and in my son's room is a full size quilt, all photos of him from birth to now.
Please feel free to visit my website and see what I can offer you to customize your home the way I have mine. Don't leave your photos tucked in an album placed somewhere out of the way to gather dust. Turn them into memories to treasure forever. Leave me a comment or become a member. I would love to hear from you.
All of my photos are on line and are available to order as well, or just to give you a small glimpse of what my little corner of the world has to offer.
http://thepersonaltouchbyandrea.webs.com
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