Friday is my day: Middleburg

Pack your bags, today we will fly overseas and meet sweet Susan, Greg, Tate and bunch of cute furry fellows from middleburg.etsy.com
Middleburg folk art studio is placed in North Carolina, US and this is how Susan told about their lovely place:
About our farm: Nehucky farm was originally built circa 1880 with the two story front done in about 1915. We own a four acre homestead which includes the farm house, 2 pack houses (barns), a smoke house, chicken coop and silo. All of which are currently undergoing renovation. We are located in Snow Hill, North Carolina, about an hour and half from the Atlantic Ocean and the outer bank beaches of North Carolina. It sits in the middle of a 350 acre farm field which this summer they will be planting sweet potatoes in. There are may farm roads, forests and creeks to explore all around the farm. This is quiet different from where we lived for the past 20 years as art directors in advertising in Chicago!

Have a good Friday :)
Friendship Apple

by: Middleburg

6:45 Eye's begin to open with all the movement, Greg (hubs) is always up first and wakes the family, my daughter Tate is already in the bathroom for her 1 hour long morning routine. GiGi the pug dog is jumping about wanting to go out.

7:30 I'm up and downstairs, the dog has been let out and the cat Poe is coming in. I go to the studio which is on the first floor and look at all the e-mails, then convo's and finally orders. Peak at Twitter and play for a few minutes. Feed the Rabbits, dog, cat and chickens.

8:15 Then pop back upstairs to shower and dress. Hubs is home, and usually on his third cup of coffee. I switch back and forth between coffee and hot tea, both with a little cream. Lately been running out to water the garden in the morning, it is really nice here this time of year and love getting out and smelling the fresh air and seeing nature.

8:45 Back in the studio. At this point we divide and concur, Greg prints out all the orders and answers his e-mails. He has been with me in the studio since June of last year (2009) and is a huge help with the day to day stuff. We together decide what can ship that day. I start on the things that need the longest to dry, fabric, dying and papier mache. Once everything is in the mini oven, I go on to painting and custom orders. I love the creative challenge of custom orders and will always accommodate customer requests.

12:30 We usually break for lunch late, Greg lovely soul, usually goes up town, and gets something and brings it back. I check mid-day e-mails, new orders and do my photo work at this point if I had shot anything the day before. My routine has change since moving here and I only photograph in the afternoon, the light is the best. After eating we go back to work and at this point one of us says "so what is going to actually make it?" Because something is not dry or it is being a patute, like the pig that I had to glue 4 times to stay on his spring. You just never know what is go to happen, so we roll with it.

2:30 Greg again runs out this time to pick up our "Pooka" it is his nickname for our lovely daughter. He talks to our son away at college at this time of day and they get to catch-up. When she comes home the whole day becomes brighter, she will always ask what she can do and is a great help with cutting fabric and sewing!

3:00 By this time the mad rush begins, final touches of paint are added to pieces, details are put together. All the pieces are signed by me before they go out and then we box. Our post here closes exactly at 5:00 p.m. and it is such a challenge to get it all in the boxes and drive it over.

5:00 Day is done! Well the studio portion...now on to house projects. Since we bought this house in September of last year it has been transformed, but it is still rough and a camp-out, but were making it a home again.

7:30 Dinner is served, we usually eat and watch some TV, I will read or sculpt in clay during this time too.

9:00 Off to bed for me first, love reading something before falling asleep so I give myself about an hour before I can't hold my eye's open any longer...good night world and I always have good dreams!