Shop Talk | Andrea Mai

LIFE & ART UPDATES – FALL 2022

Latest EVP
The weather is getting colder, and it’s time to get the garden ready for winter. A friend gave us this lemongrass plant that I’m going to keep indoors. I filmed it and a spirt voice said “Lemon grass”. It is so loud and clear!

I haven’t had time for much EVP lately. But I hope to get back to it again soon.

Art that I’m working on
Now that I am spending more time indoors, I am working on my art. There is a lot that I want to do. But time is so fleeting. I even have things I want to put in my Etsy shop, but they are on the back burner at the moment. I have to manage my time better. I feel like I am saying that all the time. But it just feels like time slips away.

Below is an artist proof of a piece I did recently.

I recently got back into doing my sun dye printing. I printed some T-shirts. I love finding new ways to do photography.

A tribute to my friend
During the summer, a dear friend of mine passed away suddenly. She had developed breast cancer. I met her in 2018, and sadly, the timezone difference made it hard to talk on the phone. I knew she had many burdens. She was a mother of a young child. The photo below is one of my most favourite portraits that I’ve ever done.

While she was at a retreat, in hopes that she could heal from cancer, she sent me photos of her surroundings. There was one pic of a sticker on a door that said, “You are beautiful”. I thought that was something that people should see more often. Positive affirmations are a powerful thing in the mind. I decided to create a sticker that I could stick to packages I send out. I think people need to see more positive messages.

That’s all for now. I hope you are having a lovely autumn. Wishing you Happy Thanksgiving, if you are in Canada this weekend.

P SHOWS OFF OUR NEW LABEL DESIGNS – EVP February 14, 2022

A new month just began, and I am so very much looking forward to spring. I am anticipating working in the garden again, picking and drying flowers and leaves. It will still be a few months before any real work in the garden can begin. They said it may be an early spring this year. Still, we await for the last of the winter snow to be gone. I am knitting this silk mohair scarf that will go in my Etsy shop. Its airy texture is just right for the transition into spring. There are some in other colors already in the shop.

I’ve kept busy with working on my product designs for my shop. I haven’t been doing as much EVP recording. BUt I did do one for Valentine’s Day. I recorded with the EVPMaker running as the background sound.

I heard P talking to someone, telling them that he drew the labels on my jars. “Draw the labels”. I had used P’s channeled drawing for my label designs.

Then he said, “I draw it”. I think he’s happy with the label design, proud, as am I. It is our collaboration.

Then it sounded like P had another visitor. I heard him tell someone to come inside. Then he said, “That’s my mom”. At the part where he says “mom”, you hear his voice shift between his spirit voice and the sample voice. Hearing that makes me smile. I can tell, he loves his mom so much.

There used to be a time when I worried about spirits coming and going into our space as they pleased. But it sounds like P is able to lock down his space and only let in people he wants.

Long time readers of my blog will know about the channeled drawings from P. This was kind of our early form of communication when I first discovered his presence. I would hold my finger over the iPad screen and it would glide over the screen making these drawings. Often I would receive drawings of flowers.

For a long time, I’ve wanted t design new labels for my balm jars. But none of the designs I came up with felt good enough. I wanted its design to vibe with who I am. Finally, it has come! Thank you, P.

These recordings were recorded using my EVP Wrist Recorder 3 on February 14, 2022.

RELAUNCHING MY HOLISTIC BODY CARE PRODUCT LINE

About 13 years ago, I was living in the UK, working in a little shop in the town of Brighton. There, I was immersed in the world of natural body care products. I was the shop manager, dealing in lotions and creams made from the most luscious of ingredients. My working holiday ended and I came home with a wealth of knowledge about natural skin care.

I began creating my own concoctions. Inspired from all the product catalogs I had read. I set out to create a product line of my own. I sold my products at health fairs. This was before the internet really took off.

Rents for fair booths grew expensive over time, and my interest in selling products faded. But I continued to make and use my own products. I still had friends who bought from me occasionally.

This year, I’ve decided to relaunch my product line. This time, curating it carefully with a minimalist mindset. I used to be a sort of beauty product junkie when I worked in the industry. I accumulated a lot of products, and I really just wanted to pair it all down to the most essential of products. If I were going to a desert island and could only take 3 items, these things would be on my list; Lavender Balm, Arnica Balm, and Lavender essential oil.

I also reformulated my product line, having gained more experience through trial and error. The issue with balms in designing a product’s consistency to remain stable in hotter climates. My predicts have been sent to Hawaii, and they remain good on arrival. I’ve only used ingredients that have a long-shelf life, so that they will last a long time.

One thing that had been a setback for the relaunch, has been its packaging design. I did not want to relaunch until I was totally happy with the label design. It had to be true to my vibe. I had multiple attempts at designing it earlier, but I wasn’t satisfied with it. You can find out more about my design process in this blog post about eco-packaging.

The Lavender Balm is something that I use everyday. I use it for my face and body, even lips. It absorbs easily and smells of Lavender, which is my favourite scent. It was designed to treat skin irritation, because of Lavender’s soothing properties. It is infused with Calendula, which is also skin soothing and anti-inflammatory.

The Arnica Balm is handy to have for life’s little accidents. It can be used to treat bruises, sprain, and muscle soreness. Also great after workout to prevent muscle aches the next day after vigorous exercise. Sometimes when I wake up having slept with bad posture, my neck is sore. I use this to help me get back to normal. It contains extracts of Arnica and Calendula flowers, both anti-inflammatory and boosts natural healing.
The Lavender roll-on essential oil is another product I use often. It is especially useful in the summer when I get bitten by insects in the garden. I also use it for skin blemishes, as it helps to soothe and heal faster. Lavender is one of the few essential oils that does not need to be diluted to be safe on the skin. I packaged it in a convenient roller bottle so that it can be used easily on the go.

ART UPDATE: MY ECO-FRIENDLY PACKAGING DESIGNS

I’ve been busy updating my Etsy shop, adding new products, and my revamping packaging. It started out with running low of thank you postcards, and I was going to order more. BUt I noticed the price of printing has jumped out substantially. I decided to get creative.

Over the years of being in business, I’ve adapted a philosophy of “use what you’ve got”, instead of buying more stuff, akin to the saying, make lemonade when life gives you lemons.

My art supply stack of card stock has gone unused and neglected. I decided to design thank you cards with the card stock. Each card opens up with a thank you note attached, which can be easily removed. The customer can then use the card in the future to write a note to someone else. The card has two sides,one without my promo info, so it can be flipped to just the picture side.

I also decided to create a design for my mailing envelopes. I use these resealable envelopes with the hope that the customer will reuse it for something else. My thought is if I make it really pretty, it will increase the likelihood of not being tossed out. I am also printing the return address directly on the envelopes, so that I am halve reduce use of labels by half.

While doing all this, I ended up finally finishing a product design that has been sitting on the back burner. I’ve been wanting to redesign my Arnica Balm labels to relaunch it on Etsy. Up until now, I have only had this balm on offer to personal friends. I’ve been working on this formula a long time, designed to relieve muscle aches and bruises. Now I am really happy with the new design.

I’ve designed my labels to be printed on fine qua;ity paper. I found the paper was sturdy enough to withstand wear and tear. It is glued on using an adhesive that works on glass. The great thing is that the labels and glue come off easily after soaking in hot water. No sticky gummy mess to deal with! My hope is that customers reuse the jars instead of tossing it in the recycling bin.

I also designed a label for my Lavender essential oil roller. I never travel without lavender oil. I learned my lesson from the past. You never know if the place you’re going to will have mostquitos, or you get a pimple on the way there! Better safe than suffer on a long journey!

Originally, I wanted to design a print for kraft paper wrap for gift orders. But it turned out that my printer cannot deal with the task. I don’t want to order it custom, as I don’t normally use tissue wrap in my orders. I consider it non-essential.

Instead, I created a gift wrap design, which features plain tissue wrap, a lace cut-out obi strap and embossed logo sticker seal. Embossing is a great way to customize stationary items, and it requires no ink! The obi strap is made from scrap remnants of photo paper that would have been thrown out otherwise.

Long time readers of my blog will recognize the line drawings on my packaging. They are my channelled drawing with P. I’ve long wanted to incorporate them into my designs.

So far, I feel that the start of 2022 has been a productive one. They say that how you start the year on the first day will project into the rest of the year. I was packing orders on New Year’s day. Perhaps the saying is true?

I even had the energy to design this gift bag for my shop. I’m going to be offering premium gift wrapping options for my customers buying presents.

My philosophy for designing packaging is to keep it simple, and as minimal as possible. A lot of times, I will try to find ways to reuse packaging that I receive in orders. I also keep in mind how the end user can reuse the packaging. I also consider durability of the packaging, so rather than being recycled, reuse is preferred. I still use plastic in my packaging, but it is used for the purpose of keeping items fresh, or to prevent damage during transit. I’ve had samples of those biodegradable clear plastic protector bags, and I’ve got to say, that I am not a fan. They break apart easily around the edges and folds, as they are not as flexible. Some of these packaging products that are said to be environmentally -friendly are not long lasting.

Recently a friend asked where I got the name for my shop, Dreamer Gallery. I chose it for several reasons. I like the feeling the word dreamer evokes. But the word “dream” is also in the letters of my name. ANDREAMAI.

Anyways, hope to see you in my Etsy shop here.

ART UPDATE: PRINTING PHOTOGRAPHY ON SILK SCARVES

For the past few months, I have been working on a collection of individually printed silk scarves. I’ve been experimenting with a process involving light activated dyes and film negatives. If you are interested in any of the items, they are for sale on my Etsy page. They are all one of a kind and unique (like a snowflake), never exactly the same as each other, not even the colour.

It took me quite some time learning to work with these dyes. A lot of testing was needed, as you do not know what colour is going to turn out until the final wash. When the dyes are applied, they are almost colourless.The colour develops as the dye is exposed to light. Film negatives are laid out on the fabric to create a resist against the light. After the exposure is complete, the fabric is washed to remove excess dye.

I created these rose motif prints using my photographs of English roses that I created while I was in London a couple years ago.

I also used French-style lace to create a design.

I also created a pictogram print with my prince autograph necklace.

This process I’m working with has me excited. I’m looking forward to the spring when the peonies in my garden will be in bloom. I’d like to make a peony print.

mage above: “Negatives” by Andrea Mai.

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LIFE & ART UPDATES – FALL 2022

P SHOWS OFF OUR NEW LABEL DESIGNS – EVP February 14, 2022

RELAUNCHING MY HOLISTIC BODY CARE PRODUCT LINE

ART UPDATE: MY ECO-FRIENDLY PACKAGING DESIGNS

ART UPDATE: PRINTING PHOTOGRAPHY ON SILK SCARVES

ABOUT ANDREA MAI