book | Tien Chiu's Blog

August 8, 2016 by Tien Chiu

First book signing!

I flew out to Milwaukee last Wednesday and had my first book signing at Convergence on Thursday! It went well – we sold a lot of books, and I got to meet/reconnect with many of you blog readers. I also got to meet my marketing manager at Schiffer Publishing, which was a delight since I’ve been working with her for months now.

Here are a few pictures from the signing:

Tien Chiu getting ready to sign copies of Master Your Craft: Strategies for Designing, Making, and Selling Artisan Work — Ready to go for the book signing!

Tien Chiu signing her new book Master Your Craft: Strategies for Designing, Making, and Selling Artisan Work — Signing my first book!

The Schiffer Publishing booth at Convergence

The last photo also features Joe Langman, the Schiffer sales rep, and Martha Reeves, who (weavers take note!) has written a fabulous book on leno weaves.

I spent the rest of the day in the exhibits – which were amazing, as usual – and in the Marketplace, talking with vendors and meeting with friends both old and new.

Here’s a pic of my favorite piece of clothing in the exhibit (photography was encouraged!):

"A Dress For and From the Garden" - Catharine Ellis and Libby O'Bryan. Woven shibori, cotton dyed with indigo and weld. — “A Dress For and From the Garden” – Catharine Ellis and Libby O’Bryan. Woven shibori, cotton dyed with indigo and weld.

I love the use of line – diagonal and horizontal – in this dress. Simple and elegant. Well done!

There were so many wonderful pieces in the Mixed Bag exhibit that it was hard to pick out a favorite, but I’m very fond of this one:

"L'heure bleue" by Deanna Deeds. Slit tapestry. — “L’heure bleue” by Deanna Deeds. Slit tapestry.

I initially thought the grey areas were an optical illusion, but they’re not! The piece was woven with slit tapestry techniques, and then framed with the slits pulled open, so it’s actually waves of cloth punctuated by open spaces. Very well done!

Finally, here is a sight that might look familiar:

"Goodbye, Ma" in the Mixed Bag exhibit — “Goodbye, Ma” in the Mixed Bag exhibit

July 28, 2016 by Tien Chiu

An avalanche of books

FedEx delivered more than a quarter-ton of books on Tuesday – 507.4 pounds, to be exact.

Here’s the truck arriving, with six of the eighteen boxes stacked precariously in front:

FedEx truck with a quarter-ton of copies of Master Your Craft — FedEx truck with 500+ pounds of Master Your Craft books

And here is what a quarter-ton of books (plus the inevitable photobombing cat) looks like:

And this is what I’ve been tackling today:

A Great Wall o'Books — A Great Wall o’Books

That, dear hearts, is only about 2/3 of my pre-orders…so I have been busy checking and rechecking addresses, inscription requests, etc., and signing/packing books all day for the past two days. I’ve been tucking a handwritten thank-you note (and invitation to spread the word) inside each book, which takes time, but the people who pre-ordered from me deserve extra attention! even if it means a little more effort on my part.

And I’m over halfway through already! The Priority Mail packages are already on their way, and I’m hoping to get the media mail and international packages into the mail within the next day or two. I just hope the postal employees don’t freak out when I turn up with 50 more packages for them to process!

Finally, like a breath of fresh air, this turned up on my doorstep yesterday…

mercerized cotton yarn from Lunatic Fringe Yarns

That is six pounds of mercerized 10/2 cotton yarn…the perfect thing with which to replace the white warp that is giving me conniptions. So I am planning to wind the new warp this weekend and get cracking on it in early August. I’ve been away from the loom for WAY too long!

July 24, 2016 by Tien Chiu

Book launch party!

Yesterday was the book launch party! and what a party it was. About thirty friends turned up, we had a blast, and I could have sold far more than the ten copies I had on hand.

I was unfortunately so busy prepping for the party and chatting with people during the party that I didn’t take many photos, but here are a few.

There was the book, of course:

And there were wonderful friends:

I made four kinds of fudge and a batch of caramels for the occasion (apparently well-appreciated):

The wine was provided by my brother’s winery (yes, my brother is a vintner!), and was pronounced excellent:

Of course, there were signed copies of the book:

And much fun was had by all.

Many thanks to everyone who came out to help me celebrate! It was a wonderful party.

And next? A marketing blitz, starting with the launch of my new business website! and a book signing at Convergence. Stay tuned…there is lots to come!

July 19, 2016 by Tien Chiu

Presenting Master Your Craft: Strategies for Designing, Making, and Selling Artisan Work!!

After almost four long years…I am pleased to present my freshly published book, Master Your Craft: Strategies for Designing, Making, and Selling Artisan Work:

Schiffer sent a congratulatory bottle of wine in the same package:

celebratory wine from Schiffer Publishing

and a congratulatory letter:

congratulatory letter from Pete Schiffer

The last line of the letter invites me to work with Schiffer on future projects. I may well do that…but for now, I’m just going to savor this one.

Four years of work, finally come to fruition.

(If you want to order a copy, you can do so here.)

July 17, 2016 by Tien Chiu

Contemplating chocolate

My book launch is happening this coming week! So I am contemplating the most obvious and pressing marketing question: what flavors of chocolate to make for the launch party?

So far the picks are:

Chocolate-hazelnut fudge with sour cherries and toasted almond bits
Chocolate, bourbon, and coffee fudge (aka “Irish Coffee fudge”)
Maple pecan fudge
chocolate fudge flavored with Armagnac
Jasmine tea, vanilla, and orange-blossom-honey caramels
Fresh strawberries with white and dark chocolate dipping sauces

That is of course massive overkill, considering there will likely be only about twenty people at the party. So I may pare the flavor list back a bit. Or I may not. After all, anything worth doing is worth overdoing, and there’s no such thing as too much chocolate!

Meanwhile, in the studio, I’ve discovered that the 20/2 silk won’t be suitable for my purpose after all – it is loosely spun, and tends to collect dust into a “halo” around the yarn. So I’d probably have the exact same problem that I have with the current warp. So I’ve ordered some 10/2 mercerized cotton from The Woolery to use instead. It will take a week to arrive – I hope it works!

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