Thanks for coming out to the Little Monster Market!

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who came out to the Little Monster Market on Pico yesterday! It was a great success even considering we had to change venues at the last minute BACK to Cool Baby's parking lot/side walk. We lucked out because it was a gorgeous day -- no rain as had been forcasted!

I enjoyed meeting everyone at the show! My next trade show/craft show is the Baby Celebration LA at the convention center in April. It's ENORMOUS!!! So if you're in LA and shopping for baby/kids things, be sure to come shop thousands of vendors at Baby Celebration. I'll be there in a tiny booth with very large furniture!!!

Check out the website Baby Celebration LA for all the details and a look at the vendors.

The Father of Mod Mom

I love this picture of my husband and my Dad. It captures his warm, fun-loving, goofy-joke telling side. Today's post is dedicated to honoring my carpentry mentor who happens to also be my father.

He's always been, as has my mom, a hero of mine. He chose a profession that pays very little and comes chock full of headaches -- he was a health/PE teacher and a football coach turned athletic director up until a few years ago. And he put everything he was into doing the best job he possibly could. There are many former students/athletes that still keep in contact with him because he made a positive impact on their lives.

When he wasn't teaching and coaching (and sometimes roofing in the summers to make extra money), he was building furniture for our house. I remember he took old bleacher boards made of oak that were tossed out and put them through planer and built a coffee table out of them. He even used gym floor varnish to coat it so that baby was solid and very well protected!! We could stand on it, it was so well made, and very scratch resistant. He built a beautiful bed and a writing desk for my mom's late-night paper grading sessions (she was a teacher too). Not only is he handy with wood, but he completely turned our upstairs attic into a master suite complete with bathroom and adjoining guest room.

I did a lot of tinkering in his garage workshop as a kid but never really fully appreciated his talent, creativity and attention to detail until I started building myself. He inspired me at a young age that I could do anything I wanted. He, along with my mom, also made it very clear to me that if I wanted to be an athelete or do something that is considered "a boy thing" I could do it, do it well, and still be feminine. I didn't have to give up my feminity just because I was using a table saw.

I am very honored and proud to be Barry Parsons' daughter and am extremely grateful for all his guidance both growing up and now. I turn to him quite a bit with woodworking and general life/business questions. I can say thank you a million times but it's not sufficient enough in my eyes. He is my mentor and best of all, my dad. So no matter how many times i tick him off, he's stuck with me. And I'm VERY GRATEFUL to be stuck with him.

Family Update

Some of you who read the blog know us from school, are family or good friends. So you know a little about some of the recent medical drama that has plagued my sweet husband.

I won't go on too much about it and I'm mentioning it because it has affected my production schedule a bit (so if you're waiting for furniture from me, this is why I'm a tad behind.) My husband has experienced TIAs (transient ischemic attacks or mini-strokes) recently. He suffered one two years ago and spent four days in Cedar Sinai hospital. He recently experienced another whichi is the "medical drama" I mentioned above. The episodes last just a short time but affect his vision, speech, memory and cause numbness in various body parts. He's been undergoing tests ordered by his neurologist to get to the bottom of why he's having these attacks at age 36. So far, everything is inconclusive. And scary since we don't know why or how this is all happening. Hopefully we'll know soon.

He's armed with an aspirin a day and a wife who tends to his every need. Ok, that last part was made up. But the aspirin is true! To my customers, thanks for your patience. And to my husband. I love you and TAKE YOUR DAMN ASPIRIN...please.

The Daily Candy Post about The Little Monster Market

The Daily Candy Kids' Edition ran a post about The Little Monster Market today! Check it out below...

http://www.dailycandy.com/kids/los_angeles/article/33926/Hardcore+Wrap+Stars

See the text below......

SHOP

Little Monster MarketWhat: Crafty goods for kids by Mod Mom Furniture, Mahar Drygoods, Eeny Meanie, and others.Why: Handmade? Hallelujah!When: Sat., 10 a.m.-3 p.m.Where: 6136 W. Pico Blvd., b/t S. Alfred & S. Orlando Aves., W. Los Angeles (818-795-5202).

SEE

Lights in the SkyWhat: Kids Interactive Theater Ensemble kite troupe performs.Why: Theater for kids by kids.When: Sat., 3 p.m.Where: Noho Arts Center, 11136 Magnolia Blvd., at Lankershim, N. Hollywood (818-340-5333). Tickets online at theatermania.com.

FEST

Festival of LightsWhat: Holiday music, games, crafts, bouncy houses, and snacks for all.Why: It’s a gelty pleasure.When: Sat., 10 a.m.-3 p.m.Where: Silverlake Independent Jewish Community Center, 1110 Bates Ave., at Effie St., Silver Lake.

ANOTHER Monster Market is coming!

Apparently, I'm an idiot. Holding two Monster Markets back to back sounds like a good idea back in September. But when it's smack in the middle of December, it's not so whooohooo!

The markets themselves are great but the prep and advertising and organization of them are a lot of work! Anyhow, I've been gone from the blogging world for two days due to Monster Market mayhem and building madness. Enough of me whining now.

The Cool Baby Cool Market is being held on Pico down in Beverly Hills Adjacent. ( I do love that you can throw adjacent to the back of a well-known name and voila! -- you're almost that place but slightly to the left and slightly not as posh.) :)

The address for the market is 6136 West Pico, LA 90035. It should be a lot of fun with a ton of LAs best independent handmade designers. There will be music and food and much more! And fun for the kids, too! Since we all know keeping them happy while you shop is the most work of all.

www.littlemonstermarket.com


Ok, back to the garage I go.....

The Little Monster Market is Tomorrow!

Another late night but it's all good. I'm getting ready for the Little Monster Market in Studio City tomorrow. If you live in LA, be sure to stop by and shop the cutest handmade goods in the Los Angeles area! For all the details, go to http://www.littlemonstermarket.com/ .

In other news, the Still Thankful, Still Giving Charity event was a lot of fun! Grace was my date, as you might know from a previous post. She was so excited and a tad bit overwhelmed by all the cameras and tv crews filming but handled it like a pr pro. In fact, a photographer came up and asked if he could get our picture. He politely asked her to smile at the camera AND SHE DID! That's huge because she's a little one the shy side. Anyhow, back to the celebrities. We saw Meredith Brooks perform some songs for the kids. I brushed past Lauren Holly -- gorgeous. And saw Molly Sims come in -- stunning. There were lots of other stars too but I was too busy trying to keep Grace from disappearing in the crowd so that's about as much as I can report. Oh, and the toy box looked great and was named the "treasure box." Kids picked (or grabbed in handfuls) toys from the box and then sat and ate mac and cheese on it. You'd be proud....I did not give into my urge to move the kids and mac and cheese from the toy box. I took some deep breaths and then stuffed the little buggers IN the toy box. Just kidding about that.

Typical Day

I was recently asked to contribute to an article that will be published on the Etsy Storque about what it's like to be a Work At Home Mom. One of the questions was "What is a typical day like for you? List work and home stuff." I thought I'd post my answer to that very question. It'll be like me interviewing me. That sounds really narcissistic doesn't it??? You know me....all narcissistic and such. The funny thing is that each time I just typed the word narcissistic, I misspelled it. Then that must mean I am absolutely NOT narcisitik.

1. What is a typical day like for you? (List work and home stuff.)

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, my kids are in school from 9:00-3:00pm. So this is MWF....

7:00am --Awake and getting the kids up and ready and drive them to school while thinking I desperately need a coffee….and a driver

9:30 am --Back from the morning school commute (it’s LA so it’s long) – I’ll either head to the hardware store/lumber yard or I’ll fire up the table saw and cut for awhile if I’m at the beginning of a project,

11:00am --Grab a handful of something to eat and eat while checking email do the paperwork/email part of the job – invoices, shipping notices, respond to inquiries and wholesale requests, creating marketing materials if needed

12:00pm --Only 2.5 more hours with out the kids so I rush back out to the garage to finish building, staining, or whatever needs done.

1:00pm -- Look at the laundry piled up next to the table saw. NOT put it in the washer cuz that would be too much work.

2:30pm -- Get ready to pick up my son. I normally wear what I’ve been working in all day so I’m covered in sawdust and paint and am a general embarrassment.

3:00pm -- Both kids are home and asking for a myriad of things….snacks, tv, art projects. I tell them I have another hour’s work to do in the garage. Noah watches tv, Grace comes with me and asks me hundreds of questions and wants to play wood shop. I end up getting nothing done…or maybe a hinge put on a toy box.

4:00pm -- Frantically clean up the house that’s a wreck and stare blankly into the empty fridge. Plan to eat out or maybe, if I’m lucky, I can pour some red sauce over pasta, add a bag of salad and some green beans that are microwaved and call it a meal.

5:00pm -- Eat dinner and get Noah started on homework. Hubby helps me clean up the kitchen or he does it himself so I can go back to the garage. He’s a keeper!

7:00pm --Play with the kids a bit, explain for the fifth time that the word “damn” can only be used in reference to a beaver’s dam, get them bathed, etc…

9:00pm --Kids go to bed, I do one of the following: a.) go back to the garage, b.) bring furniture in and watch tv with my hubby while I polyurethane or paint.

10:30pm -- Back to the computer to field more emails, order, etc. Pay bills and do personal financial stuff (that sounds seedy, doesn’t it?)

11:30 or 12:00pm --Off to bed. If I’m lucky (and if my husband is lucky), I’ve actually put on pajamas as opposed to just falling into bed in the same clothes I wore while sanding. J

On TUESDAY and THURSDAY

It’s all out the window. I’m trying to keep a 5-year-old engaged and happy so I normally take her to the lumber yard and run errands. And squeeze in some building time when she’s busy playing or watching tv or writing on furniture with permanent marker.

Swag And Cradle and Design Deals Daily

It's 11:30pm and believe it or not, I'm taking a break from putting polyurethane on a table and chair set. This week is a wee bit on the exhausting side as I'm trying to get 3 pieces built by Saturday. I normally average about 1 piece per week. Late nights and early mornings, coffee, and lots of playing "wood shop" with Grace are making up my week.

With that said, you know how hard it is (even when you love something) to keep going when you're mentally and physically tired? Well, I was having a tough time juggling Gracie today (off school) and getting myself into the garage. I checked my email earlier today and found two lovely notes. One from Allison at Swag and Cradle and one from Kara at Design Deals Daily. Both Allison and Kara wrote such appreciative, uplifting messages and told me they would be or have written posts about my furniture on their respective websites.

I can't tell you what a difference those messages made today. I built two chairs, finished a table, and painted and sealed all three pieces. Many thanks go to both of these women who happen to have AMAZING taste in furniture. :)

Check out both of their websites by clicking the links above. They're both fantastic!

Still Thankful for My Jeans

So guess who's wearing her new jeans in the garage today? Yep, you guessed right. The one who pledged to look better and not wear my new jeans while I work. So here I sit covered in sawdust on both my jeans and black shirt. In need of a shower. And you know what I 'm going to do??? Pick up my son and daughter from school....in my jeans....and saw dust covered black shirt. And hide behind my baseball cap.

Maybe I don't care as much about looking good....er, clean...as I thought. What I do really care about is a new piece I created for the Still Thankful Still Giving Celebrity Charity Event on Thursday night. I've even been invited to the event so Little G (grace's hip hop name) and I will get to party with the stars. It should be a blast until Grace starts hiding behind my legs and punching my rear end while I'm trying to have a conversation about wood working with some A-List star.

Check out the piece below....it's a little mix of several things I've designed recently. A little country and a little bit rock n' roll, as the saying goes...

HOLY CRANE!!!!

While I was away on Thanksgiving holiday, one of the stores here in LA, Cool Baby, that carries my furniture line was damaged severely by a crane that fell onto the store while mounting a billboard.

My heart goes out to the owners, Ayn and her family, and I can't imagine what they must be feeling right now. Certainly, no love for cranes or billboards. They've handled it with such grace and have gone over and above to help us with our upcoming event. Hopefully, the space will be repaired and up and running in the next few months.

We were scheduled to hold the the West Side version of The Little Monster Market at Cool Baby on December 8th but are now looking for a new space, with the help of Ayn. Hopefully one that is close by the Cool Baby location. Stay tuned for a new location....