Merry Christmas!

What a weekend! Snow in Birkdale made it really look and feel like Christmas, but we could have done without that ice. Even though we had to close early there Friday, the Dilworth gallery saw record crowds both Friday and Saturday and Birkdale rebounded for Saturday and Sunday.

Madis and I want wish all our customers the happiest of holidays. We hope all the gifts you selected at Maddi's make the people you love very happy. It's a time for bright lights, warm fires and hopeful children. We hope you can relax and enjoy them all - it's a special time of the year!

It's Party Time

Mark your calendars for next Sunday, December sixth. It's Maddi's Annual Holiday Party at both galleries. We are filled to the rafters with wonderful ideas for holiday gifting and decorating, and this party is our customers' all-time favorite.

In addition to nibblies and cups of cheer, you can enjoy our famous "Pick-a-Pop" discount. Everything in the gallery is on sale, 10-40% off, depending on your luck pulling the perfect lollipop. And the entire crowd enjoys the results.

A few years ago, a gentleman spent a long time considering a major purchase, a large Chris Roberts-Antieau piece. Having finally decided to go for it, he drew his pop and earned a 35% discount. His wife told us later they put the magic pop on the mantle under the picture.

So make it to Maddi's this Sunday and you will save on everything you purchase! The Charlotte gallery is open noon until 6 p.m. and the Birkdale gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Happy Holidays from everyone at Maddi's!

Charlotte's New Arts District

Timing is everything. Just a few years ago, when all seemed well in the world of banking, Wachovia undertook building a new headquarters building surrounded by an arts complex. That building is nearing completion, although now it is slated to become the headquarters for Duke Energy.

And the wonderful arts district is becoming a vibrant reality. The Knight Theatre debuted last month with Steve Martin on banjo and bluegrass music, too. It will be the new home of the North Carolina Dance Theater. Then a week ago the new Harvey Gantt African-American Center opened to rave reviews. Built on a very narrow strip of land, the architecture is exciting and the galleries are beautiful.

Scheduled to open next, in early January, is the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art. With its terra cotta exterior, the building is the inspired design of noted Swiss architect Mario Botta. The museum will house the collection of Andreaes Bechtler and his family, featuring mid-century European modern masters.

As a prelude, Mr. Bechtler was on hand last week for the installation and unveiling of "Firebird" a huge mirrored mosaic by Niki de Saint Phalle. The seventeen foot colossal bird has received a warm welcome by Charlotteans and the excitement generated by the new arts district may be the city's 2009 highlight.

Billie Beads Are Beautiful

Every once in a while, an artist comes along who just tickles our fancy. And no one has done that to me more than Billie Tanner. I first saw her work in New York years ago and just knew I needed some of it close by.

Billie and her husband Bob Nielson are both trained sculptors. But instead of creating huge statues, they turned their attention to polymer clay, Swarovski crystals and small objects. Lucky us! Their work is fastidious, fun and fanciful. It makes you smile. And in a mass produced world, their careful creations are amazing stars.

Christmas wouldn't be the same at Maddi's without Billie's tree brooches, and we just couldn't have Valentine's Day without the wonderful pins. As the hearts also have a bail, several of us have added all sorts of baubles and beads to make our Billie hearts the centerpieces of fantastic necklaces. And in this year of uncertain fortunes, we asked Billie for a piggy bank, a perfect place for the few pennies we can manage to save.

Be sure to see these amazing creations this season. They are in both Maddi's and on-line in the Art Jewelry section. They are small, but oh, so dazzling!

Maddi's New Venture: The Celia Flock Art Calendar

Have you seen the 2010 Celia Flock Art Calendar? Of course we're a bit prejudiced, but it really is quite wonderful! In each calendar packet there are twelve pieces of art, one for each month of the year. Pop it into a frame, and voila, you have a new piece of handsome art each month!

Celia Flock is a native North Carolinian and Charlotte resident. She graduated with a BFA from UNC and for her entire life she has been an artist. Her work has wide recognition: exhibitions at galleries including Duke University, Hodges Taylor, and Jerald Melburg; first prize in painting at the Coconut Grove Art Festival; and a North Carolina Arts Council Visual Artist Fellowship Award.

When Celia submitted her work to the Maddi's Artist Jury two years ago, we were immediately impressed and excited. As a result, she created two prints of the Charlotte skyline which we have sold at the galleries. They have been so popular, we asked Celia if she wanted to do an art calendar. Her response, "I've already started one!"

Celia's images are very bright and colorful and they have a definite Southern flavor. From January's cotton bouquet to July's peaches, Celia uses everyday images from her life's experience to brighten every month. To see every image, go to http://www.maddisgallery.com/ and click on the calendar.

Of course, the calendar is for sale at both Maddi's and on-line, too. And you will begin to see it in many other fine stores: Cameron's in Chapel Hill, all the Mast General Stores in western NC, Paper Skyscraper, Paper Twist and Buttercup here in Charlotte, the Sanctuary in Davidson and many more. Our new venture is off and running.

And if you're looking for the perfect holiday gift, put this fun new calendar on your list. There are two sizes for both wall and desktop and Maddi's has inexpensive frames as well. And it's the beginning of a wonderful tradition...we're already planning 2011!

Come Meet Sandy

Continuing our October "celebration of creativity", Maddi's has invited Georgia painter, Sandy Erickson Wright for a weekend show at both our galleries. We met Sandy several years ago at an Atlanta folk festival and fell in love with her work. After she stopped by to see our gallery, we went out for dinner and had a delightful evening with her and her husband Pat.

We convinced Sandy to participate in our annual Folk Art Festival at Birkdale Village, where she is clearly a star artist. Each year she sells more and has very little to pack up at the end. Her paintings are in turn beautiful, thoughtful, funny, and real. Since she has been an avid antique collector and seller, much of work is on old tin, windows, doors, and assorted vintage pieces.

Two years ago she created our celebrated "Twelve Days of Christmas", a modern interpretation done in twelve 12" x 12" canvases which we displayed in our galleries and used as a theme for our Holiday catalog. We envy the customer who bought the entire set!

Sandy's work will be at both Maddi's Friday and Saturday. She will be at the Birkdale Gallery Friday evening from 5 to 8 and at the Dilworth gallery on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Come by to meet Sandy and enjoy this special show!

Meet Mona!

Mona! is coming to Maddi's this Friday and Saturday, and yes, that exclamation point is part of her name. And it says a lot about her energy, style and outlook on life. She is a whirlwind of color, pattern and paint. Her "stuff" is all cool and very durable.

A few years ago, a Kentucky friend of ours met Mona! at a show there. She told Mona! about Maddi's and how she was sure we would love her work. As a sample, Mona! sent me a small black leather change purse, painted in a bright frenzy of color. I decided to try it, pretty sure the paint would crack, peel, fade or wear away. But no, this is a LIFETIME change purse, years have gone by, it still looks like new, and everytime I pull it out of my bag, someone says "wow - that's cute, or different, or cool". (We stock these great little numbers and they'e just $18!)

Mona! is a North Carolina girl who loves to paint, and wear it too. In addition to handbags and shoes, she's now making fun clothing, mostly tops. They're as bright and cheerful as her personality. Come see her work in a special trunk show at both Maddi's this weekend. She will be making personal appearances at the Birkdale Maddi's Friday evening from 5 - 8. Saturday she will be at the Charlotte gallery from 11 to 4. It's a chance to add a bit cheer and a lot fun to a wardrobe near and dear to you!

Meet the Maddi's Staff

One compliment we repeatedly hear is how friendly and helpful the people are at Maddi's. With two galleries and an active website, our staff is constantly challenged to be knowledgeable about many things beyond their immediate store. And with several recent staff additions, it's nice to "put a face with a name" on the many phone calls we make to each other every day.

So Sunday night, over a little light supper, the staff of both galleries met to talk about the upcoming fall and holiday seasons and to get to know one another better. Covering topics from gift wrap to artist visits to new inventory, we saw an overview of the coming months. An animated brainstorming session ended the evening with lots of ideas for making Maddi's an even better place to visit, shop and work. Our thanks to everyone who participated - it was a fun evening!

Getting Ready for Glass Month

September is Glass Month at Maddi's. It's one of our favorite promotions because we love the look of the galleries filled with sparkling, bright glass. We began our ordering from glass artists last February and finished this week with a trip to the mountains to visit glassblower, Judson Guerard.

Judson works in an old building in Bakersville which was probably an early twentieth century hardware store. It's long and narrow with wonderful shelves lining the walls and a great tin ceiling and old hanging lights. While he makes some small ornaments and goblets, larger vessels represent his work best. His "Chaos Series" features large beautiful vessels with fused pieces of color and irregular eruptions of glass.

The centerpiece of our special collection is Judson's new "River Rocks" series. These are large, nearly flat, blown vessels which feature several blown glass "rocks" the owner can personally arrange. The glass has been sandblasted, and while opaque, it is extremely luminous and lovely. These pieces are just breathtaking in person, so be sure to come see them. And remember, you will save on every piece of art glass in our collection during September!

2009 Top Retailer - Maddi's Gallery

On our last night at the Buyers Market of American Craft, we attended the annual Niche Retailer Awards. The award ceremony is always fun and interesting. Special categories are interspersed with twenty-four "Top Retailers". At the very end, the 2009 Retailer of the Year is announced: Maddi's Gallery!

We are thrilled, honored and grateful. Thanks to all the artists who create the beautiful craft we sell. Thanks to our employees who work so hard every day. Thanks to all our customers who make every day enjoyable and interesting. And thank you Niche Magazine and the entire Rosen Group for this singular honor. We will remember this night forever.

Philliie, Day One

It's a beautiful day in the City of Brotherly Love and we're off to do some serious buying. The picture on the left shows just a tiny section of the huge Philadelphia Convention Center. It's the building straight ahead. The one in the right is the Reading Terminal Market. More about that at lunch time.

There are about 450 artists and craftspeople exhibiting at the show and for the most part they are arranged by media. Glass, one of our favorite areas, comes first. We usually do every area two times. On the first pass, we do some ordering, but leave some things to consider later. One item we're excite about is a stained glass, 3-dimensional Christmas tree. The tree comes with a full strand of white lights which you put inside the pretty glass tree and it looks so cool. They're definitely coming to a gallery near you!

After a few hours it's time to take a break and we head over to the Reading Terminal Market. This is a teaming place with all sorts of booths and counters selling every variety of yummy food from sushi to Phillie cheesesteaks. Our waiter at dinner last night recommended DiNimic's Italian pulled pork, so that's where we headed. I was tempted to take a picture of my 10 lb. (?)sandwich, but I think it might be XXX! Yumm.

After an afternoon of shopping we attended a brief reception sponsored by CRAFT, an organization of craft retailers and artists. And then off to the Phillie riverfront and the historic boat, the Moshulu, for a Buyers' Market Party. The night was lovely, there were nearby fireworks lighting up the sky and we made some new friends, too. We sat near 3 gals from the Etsy Metal Clay Team and promised to visit their booth in the morning.

Time to Buy

Friday morning Madis and I head to the Charlotte airport for a flight to New York. It's time to do some serious buying for the Holiday season. It's a smooth, easy flight and a few hours later we're having lunch in the Big Apple. Then it's on to our first stop, the Alexis Bittar showroom located downstairs in his SoHo store. Sasha Peck, who is head of Specialty Stores and Boutiques USA, is there to show us all the new goodies and write our orders. A little semi-precious, mostly with green and blue stones, a little rose-gold Miss Haversham and lots of Lucite. And this setting is so much more comfortable than doing the show floor! It takes about three hours to write our orders and Sasha is great trying on lots of pieces - everything looks wonderful on her, she's a perfect model for Bittar's jewelry.

One new color has been added to the winter line-up, and our customers should love it. It's a very nice Carolina Blue, paired with lots of gold and some semi-precious stones. Very lovely!

So it's five o'clock, Friday afternoon and it's raining in New York. We're dragging 2 suitcases and a computer bag and we need a cab. Now that's a challenge. Five is shift change for cabbies, so lots of "off duty" lights. At least we score an umbrella, just $5...and eventually a cab. We're off to Penn Station for Amtrak to Philadelphia.

It's been ages since we rode a train, but this is really great. So much more room than an airplane, seats just two across, and choose any one you want. There's a tray table, and an electical outlet, too. So my laptop is up and open and I'm writing this blog. In an hour and a half we'll be in Phillie and ready for our next stop, the Buyers Market of American Craft.

Alexis and the Czarina

When Alexis creates a collection, he draws his inspiration from a diverse background. For this winter, he drew upon Catherine the Great, eighteenth century Czarina of Russia.

Myself, I've always like the title "Czarina"- it seems so emphatic! Everyday you meet queens and princesses, perhaps you're even related to a few of them. But Czarina! They come few and far between.

So put yourself in Russia as the force trying to drag and push that feudal society into modernity. Catherine, who was not Russian but married Peter III, took the reins of power when he was deposed. Portraits of her show a strong woman who wore her bling well! She worked to make Russia a modern country, respected throughout Europe. She was devoted to the arts, culture and literature. One of the world's finest museums, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, is her creation, housing her wondrous collections.

Alexis named this winter collection, "Hermitage", and it features marvelous Lucite pine cones and lots of shimmering crystals. You can almost see the sleigh carrying the Czarina through the snowy night to a royal event at the Winter Palace. Alexis pieces are extraordinary, and include earrings, necklaces, bracelets and a ring. My favorite is a single large pine cone on a long chain. I love it because at the top of the pine cone there is a lovely arrangement of crystals - glance down and it's so beautiful!

This is another collection which gives tribute to Alexis' creativity and the beauty he creates in Lucite. I believe we will be loving these pine cones for many years to come.

Bauhaus and Bittar

In just a few weeks, Maddi's will be showcasing the new Alexis Bittar 2009 Fall Collection. There's always a huge air of excitement as the boxes arrive, and then a lot of activity as hundreds of pieces are photographed, uploaded to our web-site, and then tagged and put on display. We're very excited about some of the lovely pieces in this collection and I thought we would highlight a few of them for our loyal blog readers.

One very interesting grouping is the Bauhaus collection. This group is Alexis' tribute to the early 20th century German design school and he captured the essence of this contemporary design trend. His Bauhaus group includes earrings, a pendant necklace, a large hinged bracelet, and a ring. These pieces are rendered in red and black (above) as well as warm gray and black.

The pieces are particularly well-suited to the thick, clear Lucite medium. Alexis has used a tone-on-tone pattern on all the pieces, and it can be seen clearly on the earrings and the left side of the pendant above. The larger pieces include small gray pearls and black diamond crystals, giving the jewelry a note of glitz.

But the most intriguing element is the inlay of eggshells. That's right, real eggshells, set in resin and bonded to the Lucite. The "eggshell white" patch at the top of the pendant acts as an interesting bail for the pendant. On the bracelet, the large patch acts as a focal point. The effect is intriguing and will most likely make these pieces highly collectible.

They also demonstrate why Alexis Bittar is such a luminary in the design world. His attention to design detail is legendary, and his energy in creating such enormous new collections several times a year is difficult to duplicate. And to top it off, all this beautiful jewelry is hand-made in Brooklyn under his watchful eye.

The Bauhaus group is contemporary, unique and and very fun. It's a tight design group and just one piece can give a fabulous look to your wardrobe. We hope you like it as much as we do!

A Day in the Mountains

Yesterday Madis and I headed up to the mountains to visit some of our artist friends. Our first stop was at Little Mountain Pottery, the home of potter, Claude Graves. While we have loved carrying Claude's work since opening, we got very excited earlier this year when he began a new line of redware. Now mind you, this is folk pottery, but with deep rich glazes and lots of fun patterns. All Little Mountain Pottery is functional, oven-proof, and safe for both the dishwasher and microwave. How modern is that!

Plus there's nothing like a viisit to his idyllic studio. With handpainted images, hand-made signs and lots of wild flowers, it is so "shappy chic"! And Clause is always interesting and fun, just like his pottery. We already have the new pieces displayed on the "front table", so stop by while the selection is best. This work doesn't stay in the gallery very long.

Creative Clay Genius

Every once in a while you meet an artist whose creativity is so enormous, it just blows you away. So it is with Felix Kniazev and Olga Julinska whose work we simply cherish. This husband-wife duo work together on every design. Their crafsmanship is incredibly precise, the sculptures are graphicly bold and the colors, oh so vivid.

But it is the breadth of their creativity that is so stunning. Small intricate buildings of every shape, size and architectural style. Letters, numbers, and picture frames. Jewelry, vases, and candlesticks. A whole San Francisco city for Gump's. Huge, wonderful nutcrackers for Nieman Marcus. Have you ever been to the ubiquitous ABC carpet in New York? The funky numbers by the elevators are theirs. The Sundance catalog was their first customer and Oprah raves about their Lily of the Vallery Vase.

We just got back from the Atlanta Gift Show where Felix was exhibiting their holiday line. His order book, already full, he was declining orders. Who's doing that these days? We twisted arms and bribed him liberally, so we should be getting some of the wonderful happy ornaments you see on the tree behind Felix, and a few other great pieces as well.

Oh, and one more note about this amazing couple. They are building a new studio on a dazzling 2200' mountaintop in Vermont and plan to eventually use only wind and solar energy. Felix wants Maddi's to come to Vermont, especially the Bistro, but we tell him in this case "no" is spelled C-O-L-D.

It's a Feast Fit for a Queen

Don't miss out on Charlotte Restaurant Week! You can dine like royalty for the low price of $30 at dozens of area restaurants. At Maddi's Southern Bistro in Birkdale Village, each diner gets 4 yummy courses: Appetizer, Soup/Salad, Entree and Dessert. And there are lots of delicious options for each course.

With just a few clicks you can see all the participating restaurants, view their menus and make your reservations, too: www.charlotterestaurantweek.com. A lot of our customers found their first experience so delicious they tried a second place later. Restaurant week is actually 10 days, Friday, July 10 through Sunday, July 19 so there's enough time to sample several new and favorite places. Bon appetit!

Artwork for Ears

Jewelry artist, Mary Martin, paid us a visit yesterday and left us with some wonderful new work. Mary creates tiny pieces of art with water color, acrylics, paint pens, newspaper, thread, yarn and more. If they were larger they might hang on your walls. But Mary covers them in resin, adds wires and beads, and voila, artwork for your ears! This year Mary also brought us a few adorable animal pins, new items in her collection.

Years ago Mary lived here in Charlotte, and lots of our customers know her and love her work. They'll be glad to see her colorful and unique work back at Maddi's!

Happy 4th of July!

It's the most American holiday of all - the 4th of July. We celebrate our independence as a country and our freedom as people. And while there's always room for improvement, few us would want to live anywhere else.

This year many of us are re-examining our lives in light of a changing economy. While there is a need to save, recycle and reduce, there's also a need to buy things with real, enduring value. And that's where we can be patriotic at the same time. Consider how many people's lives are helped when we "buy American" and the quality we enjoy in return.

At Maddi's you can buy art, craft, and lots of functional items, too. Ice cream scoops, dishes, coffee mugs, scarves, salt and pepper shakers, lamps, wallets, handbags, keychains, placemats, clocks...why the list is endless. So celebrate America. Buy American. Help our artists, our industry, our local businesses, and have well-designed and hand-made items you will cherish for a long, long time!

And a life surrounded by American art is pretty great, too. The American Flag pictured above is a new folk art piece by North Carolina artist, Curtis Gaston. One hangs in each of our galleries to celebrate the 4th!

July Jewelry Sale

It's our customers' favorite sale of the year! And this year, it's bigger than ever. During the entire month of July, you'll save 20% on every piece of jewelry from Maddi's great collection.

All the favorites are here: Alexis Bittar, Kathy Bransfield, Silver Seasons and Elizabeth Garvin. And this season we have a few new names: Sibilia is a bright wonderful designer from Argentina. She uses ultra-light sheets of metal, combining them in large, dramatic pieces. She is attracting a huge following and her pieces are very lively and fun.

New just this week is jewelry with handmade paper beads. Great single and triple strand necklaces and fun earrings, too. This eco-friendly jewelry is made by the folks at Zendick Farm Arts Foundation, located in the mountains of West Virginia. Come get a fun new necklace and help the environment and the arts as well!

Jo Neace Krause: A Lady with Great Talent

Maddi’s Gallery is pleased to welcome the work of painter Jo Neace Krause to our collection. Born in Kentucky, Jo is a very accomplished writer whose stories and essays have enjoyed wide publication in literary journals including the Yale Review. Her most recent book, The Last Game We Played, is a collection of short stories and winner of the prestigious Hudson Prize.

Only in the past few years did Jo pick up the paintbrush and her work in oils quickly attracted a following. She has been praised for the depth and strength of her work. She now has pieces in the Kentucky Folk Art Museum in Morehead, Ky and many galleries and private collections. Her pieces can be seen at Maddi's in Dilworth and on-line at www.maddisgallery.com.

What a review!

Did you see the recent review by food critic, Gary Powell, in the Huntersville Herald? On nearly every score, he loved Maddi's. He raved: "For you foodies out there, think Paula Dean meets Alice Waters". Twice in the review he compared us to the famed Chez Panisse in Berkely, California. Wow!

Naturally, this is due to a lot of hard work and talent in our kitchen. We want to take our hats off to Chef Mike Wells (pictured on the right)who has taken the lead in establishing an exciting menu using lots of local produce and meat. And also to Sous Chef, Phil Richardson, (on left) who is also very inventive especially with the delicious soups at the Bistro.

If you would like to read the review, click here http://www.maddissouthernbistro/, and then go Press where the entire review is printed.

We would also be remiss if we didn't thank all the kitchen staff and the diningroom folks as well. Mr. Powell praised the "professional waitstaff" and we know all our guests are going to be treated to true Southern hospitality at every meal. And last, but not least, our hats are off to Jon Dalton, who manages the entire effort. Congrats to all!

Organic Vegies at the Bistro

If you love the taste of fresh, summer vegetables, make sure you order some at the Bistro. They're grown in the Dalton's lush backyard garden and Jon brings them in fresh each morning. We know a few other restaurants across the country who do this, the most famous being Chez Panisse in Berekely, CA. It was there that Alice Waters began the trend of serving fresh local produce, a concept she is still pioneering today.

And don't miss our summer specials, including the Big Maddi's Burger menu with eight interesting gourmet burgers. And my favorite, Tuesday Rib Night. The ribs come from right here in the Lake Norman region, from Grateful Growers Farm in Denver. They are sooooo delicious.

Oh, and that cute little guy is our grandson, Miller "Garden Meister" Dalton checking out the quality of the produce and learning to love eating it as well.

New Artist Jury

One of the most frequently asked questions at Maddi's is, "how do you find your artists?" In addition to buying shows, customer recommendations and research, we take artist submissions three times a year. Artists submit images of their work, plus biographical and professional information in March, June and September.

Then those submissions are evaluated by a jury of Maddi's owners and employees. They are looking for originality, quality, design and, probably most important, "sale-ability". The jury looks for work that is compatible with the Maddi's vibe and at a good price point.

The June jury took place last week and several new artists will be bringing their work to the galleries. One is Annika Bodenhamer of Costa Mesa, CA whose work is entirely one-of-a-kind pieces in fine silver clay and often with semi-precious stones. Her Bird Song pendant is seen above and you'll find more lovely pieces at Maddi's soon.

The complete instructions for Artist Submissions can be found at the top of our homepage at http://www.maddisgallery.com/. Just click on "Artist Submissions". Our next jury will be in September and we would love submissons of holiday-themed artwork.

A Day in the Country

Kentucky's most famous living folk artist is undoubtedly Minnie Adkins. Hailing from "Happy Gizzard Holler" in eastern Kentucky, Minnie is known for her carvings, paintings, quilts, and her generosity to the state's rich folk heritage. For many years, she hosted a "Day in the Country" at her rural home. Folk artists from all over would set up simple displays in Minnie's large yard as folk art collectors drove miles over the winding, hilly roads to scoop up the offered treasures.

As the event grew, it became a lot for the Adkins clan to manage, so several years ago they were pleased when the Folk Art Center in Morehead, Ky offered to stage the event. This June more than fifty terrific folk artists exhibited their work, led of course, by Minnie. Having missed the event the past several years, Madis and I were pleased to see how it has grown and prospered. These are the nicest people, the work is so very bright and fun. We returned with a very packed car, so look for lots of new folk art in the next few days.