Greenjeans Year in Review: 2007

In a matter of hours, 2007 will be all over. The year flew by for us at Greenjeans, but looking back through the days I can see we accomplished a lot!

Overall we enjoyed a year of considerable growth and we count our many blessings.

We are grateful to our regular customers and new customers alike for making it possible to open our doors every day. We are grateful to the craft community for embracing our efforts and inviting us into the fold. We are grateful to each of the 60+ artisans and artists we work with for the fine works they create and their generous spirits. We are grateful to our family and friends for their support and encouragement. And we are grateful to each other for being constantly committed and passionate about our work, qualities that make this adventure exciting and rewarding beyond anything else we've ever done.

In 2007, we added several wonderful new artisans to our roster: Elisa Difeo whose incised porcelain cups instantly became a shop favorite; woodworker David Emerson whose fine Shaker peg boards now grace many a Brooklyn hallway; Hiroko Kurihara whose wool scarves are as warm and beautiful as her business practices and who introduced us to the Park Slope Women's Shelter sparking the beginning of a great neighborly relationship; Keith Lebenzon whose handmade artist brushes have amazed and delighted the lucky artists who have found them on our shelves; Valerie Mitchell whose sculptural, botanical silver work inspired our Summer Succulents jewelry exhibition; 91-year-old Bill Summers who makes sublime jewelry boxes from butternut wood; Ruth Tomlinson whose porcelain jewelry captivated us the moment we saw it; and last but not least the students of Berea College in Kentucky who make wonderful old-fashioned brooms, woven placemats and napkins, and traditional baskets in exchange for tuition. We thank each of you for your fine work and wonderful spirit!

To mention just a few highlights from the year, we (finally!) launched our website and e-newsletter; mounted our first two exhibitions ("Summer Succulents" and "Garbage Collection"); found ourselves the subjects of a piece on couples in business together for the CBS Early Show; juried the showcase exhibitions for the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen's Fair (part 1 and part 2); spoke at the American Craft Council about blogging and the handmade and posted our tips; and offered picks as a Featured Buyer on Etsy.

We also developed this blog, which as of today weighs in at 352 posts and reaches hundreds of readers each week. We added virtual studio visits with video, and categories making it easier to find our reviews, virtual studio visits, and essays.

Now we are ready to jump into 2008 with plans to amp up our publicity efforts, enrich and expand our website, find great new artisans and works to offer our customers, and continue our efforts to build the market for craft and champion the relevance and excitement of craft today.

There is a lot in store for 2008, and to keep up with what's going on at Greenjeans be sure to read this blog, and also subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter (click here and scroll down). We want to share our adventure with you, and hope you'll stay with us for all that is to come!

Now it's time to get all dressed up and head out to celebrate the turning of the year! See you in 2008!

With our best wishes to you and your families for health, happiness, peace, and prosperity in the New Year,

- Amy & Jae

Photo by Anders Bergstrom taken New Year's Eve 2006.

Greenjeans Year in Review 2006
Greenjeans Year in Review 2005