Let’s help out Haiti— it’s going to be a long process and we can’t stop now.  I’m offering this print in particular to raise money for Doctors Without Borders, an absolutely wonderful group of people who do amazing things all over the world, but are especially needed in Haiti right now. The prints are 11X14 and cost $35.00. The first 100 sold will be signed and numbered, so order now. Or you can donate directly by clicking here. Thank you for your support in this worthy cause.

~Mary

Well, goodbye and good riddance to THAT decade. The past ten years have been difficult to say the least, with a few bright spots thrown in– like Mikayla coming into our lives and some truly great times with friends. But now with the start of a brand new decade I’m completely psyched to jump in, shake things up and start anew! While I’m happy to have my things available in places like Michaels and Target and a few other big box stores, what I really want is to get back into the independent gift market (my first love!) where I believe they truly understand and appreciate my art. I want to draw what YOU, my customers, want and what I want– just like I did at the very beginning of my career.  I finally realize, after 35 years in this business, that I actually know what’s best when it comes to my designs, and I don’t need 23-year-old buyers (no offense, 23-year-old buyers) or focus groups (go ahead and be offended, focus groups) to tell me what I should be doing. Don’t get me wrong; I’m always open to advice and collaboration and outside ideas, but at this point I really feel like I understand what works and what doesn’t.  And I don’t mean just going back and repeating the same old themes that were successful in the past.  I’ll always love Scotties, cherries, and our “fried-egg-flowers,” (or FEFs as we call them here) and I’m sure I’ll still use them from time to time, but I really believe that it’s time to see what else I can come up with that people might want to see. And while I’ve got you here, let me ask you what would you like to see that is not available to you now?  What kind of products are you interested in and where do you shop for those products?  I’d like to see my things in a lot more catalogs and independent gift stores and specialty stores– what do you think?  We’d LOVE to hear what you’re thinking and wishing (as long as you don’t wish for the magazine to come back– we’ve already discussed this, ladies.)  Any constructive comments are welcome and believe me, we are all ears here at the studio. So go wild.

So, bring on the 20tens! We’re excited to get out there and make the world a cuter place!

~Mary

I’m taking all of our Christmas decorations down this weekend and thought, if you’re not too sick of the holidays yet, you might like to see some of them before they are consigned to the deepest, darkest recesses of my basement for another year.

Have a wonderful, meaningful, peaceful, and constructive New Year!

~Mary

As we all know, shopping malls across the country are struggling in the current economy. Here in St. Louis, one of them has come up with an interesting way to fill their empty retail space. Crestwood Plaza (AKA Crestwood Mall, and more recently Crestwood Court) has opted to rent space to artists, dance troupes and theater groups for 100$ a month! They’re free to use their space as a studio, a performance venue, an art gallery– whatever– with professional artists working right alongside school groups. It’s fantastic! Jeanne Johnston and her granddaughter, McKenzie, rented two of Crestwood’s largest available stores and started their own Children’s Illustrated Art Museum. They wrote to all of their favorite illustrators and asked if they would be willing to share their work, finished and in-progress, to fill the walls and they’ve gotten a wonderful response. I am proud to say they called me to see if I would be interested (duh!!) and ended up turning my illustrations from “The Night Before Christmas” into huge backlit boxes so that people can actually walk through my book for Christmas! We all went to the grand opening a couple of weeks ago. Here are some photos of the event I thought you might like to see.

Have a wonderful holiday and a peaceful, prosperous New Year!

-Mary

-By Barbara Martin

When it comes to close friends, I’m in awe of  Kathy Curotto,  former Style Editor at Home Companion.  Kathy’s legendary for her wide circle of friends…new friends, old friends, friends from her hometown, from college, friends from when she was a young mother and many friends who were business associates first and are now fast friends.

As Kathy developed her projects for the April 2010, ME Home Companion Workshops, she realized that to make each one perfect she wanted to first test them with her friends.  For years she has had lunches, dinners, and girls’ weekends with three of the funniest and most generous women, all of whom had daughters in the same grade school class as Kathy’s Libby (Libby Curotto’s wedding was featured in August September 2008).

Just before Thanksgiving, Kathy invited Ann, Tinker, Alice and yes, me for an afternoon of crafting.  As we arrived at Kathy’s home, the first thing you saw was her kitchen island laden with crafting treats of every variety.   There were so many fabulous baubles, trims and papers, I was dazzled.  Kathy described the Award Ribbons (click this link and then scroll down to Kathy) and said we could use anything in any way our creative spirit dictated.  Of course, she gently guided anyone who was confused about colors, patterns and textures.

Take a peek at the photos from an afternoon of great fun at Kathy’s.

TA-DA! Here they are all finished:

Barbara Martin is the former Executive Editor of Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion Magazine and is now heading up the new MEHC Workshops along with Mary. You can meet Barbara and Kathy in St. Louis at the first ever MEHC Workshop next April.

I was going to be traveling last week so I went to the bookstore to try and scrounge up some magazines to take with me. There were FOUR– count ‘em, FOUR– glossy magazines about DOGS. Dogs are nice, but really– 4??? Then there are all the fashion and make-up magazines. Airbrushed, size -0 girls, make-up/skincare articles that promise impossible results (which are, frankly, of no use to me at this point in my life) and ridiculously expensive clothes. Those $1200 purses are always good for a laugh, though. I especially like those columns where they have a “splurge” list and a “save” list. For example, on the “splurge” list would be a pair of shoes for $2400. On the “save” list would be a similar pair of shoes for ONLY $575. On what planet do these people live?

“More” magazine is usually good to take on a plane, but if I have to read one more article about how fabulous it is to be over 40, I think I’ll scream. Really– when the kids are grown and there’s no one waiting for you to cook dinner for them every night (although they’d grow old waiting for that at my house), are you really thinking “Thank God, now I can run in a marathon/triathlon/jump out of an airplane/train for the Iditarod/start a brand new business from the ground up”? I’m thinking about sleeping late and eating ice cream for dinner. Period.

Then I looked at what few decorating magazines are left on the newsstand. This is really the kind of magazine I want and there just aren’t any anymore. (By the way, as I write this, another magazine, Metropolitan Home, just went under!) There’s House Beautiful– my favorite– a truly beautiful magazine, a wish book, full of actually-lived-in homes that I never get tired of looking at. At the opposite end of the spectrum, in my opinion, is Architectural Digest, full of cold, badly-lit houses that look like no human being has ever set foot in since the decorator left. In between these two are a few others, some good, some OK, some pitiful. People: don’t show crafts that are right out of the Girl Scout handbook without kicking it up about a thousand notches. And don’t suggest I make my own napkins or tablecloth or wrapping paper or anything I can go to HomeGoods and buy. Who’s got that kind of time? And for god’s sake, don’t tell me how to surround an old bathtub sitting in the middle of a field with candles, fill it with hot water that you’ve somehow lugged from the house, open a bottle of wine and try to tell me that this is “romantic.” There is nothing romantic about this. It is a cry for help, AND an actual article I read in a so-called “lifestyle” magazine. Don’t show me historical houses or period houses or showhouses. I want to see real homes that people live in. I want to see the quirky, personal things they live with. I don’t want to see rooms where everything in them is brand new.

I know what you’re thinking… ”Stop complaining and bring your magazine back!” It was the best, wasn’t it? I can say that because it was our wonderful crew, led by Barbara Martin, who put that out, issue after issue– not me. But there’s a reason all the decorating magazines are closing. They are beyond expensive to produce. It’s all the traveling, styling, and photography that’s involved in every issue. And now I’m so sorry to have to tell you that it just doesn’t look like we’ll be re-launching the Home Companion anytime soon. Never say never, but until the housing and advertising markets come back, I don’t believe it will happen in the near future. Believe me, we’ve tried. We still might figure out a way on the web, but that’s just not the same if you ask me. I’m afraid it’s time to let go and move forward and be thankful for the 11 great years we had! (Obviously, I’m saying this more to myself than you. Repeat after me, “Let go, go on. Let go, go on…..”)

Lots of other things coming out of the studio, though– a constant stream of art and other wonderful things that we’ll let you know about as soon as they become available. For example, we have brand new ornaments and plenty of them at all the Michaels stores right now, plus tons of holiday notebooks, magnets, stationery, packaged Christmas cards and more. And of course, there’s the Home Companion Workshop, an endeavor we hope will continue well into the future with lots of great programs based on the wonderful people and ideas featured in the magazine. Don’t worry, we’ll give you plenty of reasons to keep checking in! As that famous philosopher, Anonymous, says, “Life is all about Plan B.”

It’s so exciting to learn something new, especially about things you thought you already knew backwards and forwards. I met Nancy Wethington at a For Keepsakes event where I gave a little talk after dinner. She asked if we ever used Copic markers and I told her they were my newest obsession since they came in such wonderful colors. I used them in the same way I had always used markers— to color in big areas of flat color, so that I could then go in and get more detail with colored pencils. Nancy said there were ways to use Copic markers that might make that not so necessary and that she was certified to teach us all about it! She came to our studio the other day and spilled all the secrets and it was really fun! We practiced on special Copic paper that is made especially for the markers and the colors really looked bright and clear and seemed to blend seamlessly on it.

I particularly liked the way I was able to do skin color with them— sometimes when I go over marker with pencil on faces it gets kind of muddy-looking if I’m not careful. And they are fantastic for sky and water and large areas of green grass and trees, which are a SERIOUS pain in the neck to do with pencil. If you take the time to use the Sketch markers correctly on large areas—in a slow, circular motion— you will end up with virtually no marker lines, which in my business are worse than visible panty lines and must be avoided at all costs. I’m sure many of you have read somewhere how I usually do my drawings, but for those of you who don’t know— first I draw them in pencil. This is my favorite part but also the most frustrating, since it NEVER goes the way I want it to at first. I have learned not to scream and throw things anymore, though, because now I know to wait and see what happens— the drawing eventually turns into what it wants to look like. When the pencil drawing is finished down to the last detail, I outline everything in a very thin permanent marker, my favorite being the Copic Multiliner in 0.05. Then I color it in with markers, lately doing it in the new way described above, and then I go over the whole thing with colored pencils. I use Berol Prismacolors almost exclusively, and lately I have started using their watercolor pencils to shade faces because then I can blend the colors evenly with the Copic colorless blender. I know this sounds like a big, fat ad for Copic, and they did send me a set of their Sketch markers to try, but I really do love them. And I LOVE learning a new way to do things. I’ve been doing this so long it’s nice to break out of the rut after all this time.

These are some drawings I’m working on for the 2011 calendar, called “All The Happiness You Can Handle”. I’m using all my new marker-knowledge on them, although I still use the pencils to get small details. Coloring the details is so relaxing to me— I’ve always loved that part because that’s when I see the drawing start to really come alive. But now even coloring in the big areas is fun because I learned such new, easy techniques from Nancy. Turns out you actually CAN teach an old dog new tricks! Now I just need to find someone who will spill their secrets about how to time travel so I never have to see the inside of an airport or plane again and then my life will be fairly perfect.

Here’s a picture of our 2010 calendar “Take Good Care”, available now at our website and wherever calendars are sold. Sure, it’s done the old-fashioned way, but it’s still good!

~Mary

An Interview with Kaari Meng of French General – By Barbara Martin

When I first met Kaari, it was a very cold January day with the wind swirling through the streets of lower Manhattan. I had spent a few days at the NY Gift Show and was excited to explore the independent shops in the West Village and Soho. Once I walked through her doors, I was transported immediately to the south of France.

As editor of Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion, I was lucky to do a number of features with Kaari. I hope everyone remembers the fabulous feature in December 2008. Kaari and her family went all out to decorate their home in signature French General style.

I hope you’ll enjoy my interview with Kaari.

Barbara Martin: What’s your latest news or project you’d like to share?

Kaari Meng: We’re designing fabric for Moda – which has been a whole new learning experience – I love seeing some of our 18th century French florals reproduced in soft shades of pinks and reds! Our new books, Handmade Soirees and Treasured Notions with Tinsel Trading are both due out this year from Chronicle Books and finally…. We’re off to France again this summer – our Chateau Getaway Deux is a creative week of workshops and elegant French living at Chateau Dumas!

BM: Retail has certainly changed since I met you at the Soho store. Would you explain for the reader how the last 8 years have effected French General and its branding?

KM: I think we knew early on that we wanted French General to be something different than a retail store – we wanted to inspire people to surround themselves with old materials they could create with. Over the past six years, I decided to blend my everyday schedule and creativity with an idea that would bring in an income but not feel like work. For us, French General is constantly changing – probably because I have a very short attention span!

BM: I’m sure everyone knows that you’ll be at the Spring 2010 Home Companion Workshops teaching a number of courses. Have you been to St. Louis recently?

KM: I haven’t been to St. Louis since we drove through it on a family road trip 35 years ago!

BM: Are there any St. Louis landmarks you hope to visit while you’re here

KM: I am interested in seeing Through the Needle – a quilt and sewing exhibit at the Eugene Field House.

BM: Is there anything special you hope to accomplish during your ME Home Companion Workshops?

KM: I hope to meet and be inspired by all sorts of wonderful crafters! I love this new trend of creative workshops – bringing women together to craft is such great energy!

BM: Did you study art or design in college?

KM: No – I studied Political Science at University of San Francisco and later, I took jewelry workshops at FIT in New York City.
I think what I do has been greatly influenced by my parents and brothers and sisters – we were always encouraged to create.

BM: Has your career taken any detours since you started?

KM: I have tried to stay focused about what I want to do – it may take on different shapes – but at the end of the day I want to feel creatively fulfilled.

BM: Has digital technology been an aid in the development of your business?

KM: We couldn’t change our location as often as we do if it wasn’t for our website. Our website is open 7 days a week – all hours – which is much more than I can say for our brick and mortar shop! (We’re open Monday’s from 11-4!)

BM: What computer skills would you recommend for artists/designers if any?

KM: I don’t have a whole lot of computer skills – I leave that up to my husband – our web master – Jon Zabala. I believe in everyone doing what they do best to keep a business running.

BM: What gives you the most joy from the creative process?

KM: Designing environments that make people want to create something beautiful. Bringing together old materials that can be re-used and made into something beautiful.

BM: If you were to give advise to a talented and driven 17 year old artist what would it be?

KM: Put a bit of yourself into everything that you do so that everything you do is your own unique craft.

BM: Do you think creativity is inherited?

KM: No – I think we are all creative – some of us find the creative thread easy to follow – others need to be guided.

BM: Is there something special you’re looking forward to during the Workshop weekend?

KM: Seeing old friends and meeting Mary!

BM: Thank you Kaari.

Barbara Martin is the former editor of Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion Magazine and is now heading up the new MEHC Workshops along with Mary. You can meet Barbara and Kaari in St. Louis at the first ever MEHC Workshop next April.

Here’s the latest fun thing going on with the Home Companion Workshop—— if you sign up before December 1st, you will be eligible, along with everyone else who has already signed up, to win a very rare, complete set of Home Companion magazines in a set of hand-painted (by me!) magazine storage boxes! Here are a couple of photos of storage boxes I’ve already painted so you can get an idea of what you’re in for. I’ve signed all the issues as well, for good measure.

 I also want to show you a wall in my studio at home where I hang some of my most prized possessions, including 3 FABULOUS Linda Solovic pieces.

Linda will be one of the instructors at the Workshop and if you can still get in to one of her classes, I highly recommend it! She has an eye for detail, color and design that I just can’t get enough of.

I can’t wait to try one of her projects. Linda and I often run into each other at flea markets, where I’m buying some useless item that I’m going to have to find room for on some already-jammed tabletop, while Linda is buying teeny, tiny things— buttons, charms, plastic doll heads, rubber animals, scraps of ribbons— that she then incorporates into her beautiful, patterned works of art, that I and tons of other people can’t wait to get our hands on!

So sign up now, maybe win an entire set of MEHC mags (where, in one of them, you can see Linda’s whole house and studio!) and get to take Linda’s classes and learn how a master does it.

There is something about Fall that makes me want to make things. I’m perfectly happy lying around doing nothing all summer, but for some reason, when it starts getting cool, I start getting crafty. So, here’s what I’ve been doing when I should be working on— you guessed it— the Fairy Tale book. I know, I know— someone made a comment when I was whining before about working on this book that she wished her “work” was a Fairy Tale book.  That’s a good point and I SHOULDN’T complain. Which is a shame, because I love to complain.  Anyway, I found these unpainted wooden bracelets at Hobby Lobby and brought several home to fool around with.  Then I found some clear acrylic ones at Red Lead that you decoupage on the inside.  I love them! I could do this all day if it weren’t for those pesky deadlines.

Then I went to Michaels and discovered they had greatly expanded their jewelry-making department, or maybe I had just never made it over to that side of the store before.  I made a few necklaces using my broken necklaces and earrings and buttons and pendants…. so easy and fun that I didn’t even mind when my neck turned green.

And finally, I decorated a jean jacket for my horse-loving daughter.  I was very happy with the way it turned out and surprisingly, so was she!!  The only problem is I had never worked with felt before and I just used the squares you can buy at the craft store.  I’m afraid if it rains while she’s wearing it, the felt will just disintegrate, leaving raggedy little outline stitches.  Oh well.  Live and learn.

And now, fun’s over. Back to the Fairy Tale book. I’m not complaining. I’m just saying.

-Mary