We've Moved

We've moved our blog to our website bellesnest.com

Please visit us there.

New in February

As we are heading into February, I can't help but think I'm missing the boat! So many great tidbits of advice, so many great resources and an abundance of talented people we can all benefit from...this is the year of sharing! An intention for the New Year...pass along all the great ideas and inspirations I'm lucky enough to be a recipient of!
Since 2011 began...

We attended the gift show in downtown LA...we took my mom ~what a great experience for her, she's never attended anything quite like it. With the hopes of finding new artist, walking aisles and aisles to do so ~ I believe we accomplished our mission. I can't wait for the new arrivals!

We had a wonderful artist reception featuring the jewelry of Gloria Prins and Lynne Carmody...the selection is awesome, they left their pieces for us to enjoy! In addition to the reception, we celebrated our 1 year anniversary!!!

Artist/Musician Jean Sudbury played her Mandolin then transitioned over to her Violin ~ she was the opening....her music was beautiful and peaceful!

Following was Michelle Beauchesne playing her Cello along with her friend Jeff playing his Violin...they were a wonderful duo. The setting was perfect in the back patio...we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day and evening! Visit www.michellebeauchesne.com to learn more about Michelle and contact Mary's Market in Sierra Madre to listen to Jean play...

Please come in and check out our featured artist...Karen Walker Chamberlin. Her paintings of Milagros are so beautiful and just flat out cool. You can read about her on our artist page.

Lots of new merchandise as well has come in...come visit the nest if you haven't been in a while. We should be on line soon!

Peace and Blessings!

Getting ready for Valentines's day...


Come to the Nest and enjoy music, good food and gorgeous jewelry...we hope to see you!

~CELEBRATING OUR ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY~


WORKS OF HAND AND HEART

Saturday, February 5th
3:00-5:30pm


~refreshments and appetizers will be served~

LYNNE CARMODY








GLORIA PRINS

Store Hours in 2011

Store Hours in 2011!

Monday - Friday 10am-6pm
Saturday 10am-5pm
Closed Sunday

Happy New Year!

A great time to reflect, make some positive changes and set those resolutions! I hope you don't get discouraged if your not able to keep them all...sometimes life happens! God only knows we always have the best intentions.
Here at the nest we have made quite a few resolutions for 2011. I am sooo excited to share.
Reflecting back on 2010...the year has been so eventful, eyeopening, inspiring, fulfilling and just wonderful. Considering our poor economy, the struggles of so many people and our time of uncertainty...truly, all our customers and vendors were so complimentary, positive, friendly and patient. It was a joy to come to work...so thank you for a great first year.
Stay tuned as we are almost ready to launch our new website with online shopping. Thanks to John Culpepper, our website designer (whom I recommend highly!) is helping us out in this arena. We are combining all kinds of technological terms...I hope you find it to be very user friendly and beautiful.
Our continuous efforts of bettering the shop...we have some really great vendors and beautiful merchandise, try to stop in if you can. We will be receiving new books in shortly and new merchandise is starting to flow in again.
We are also just about ready to launch our own "belle's nest" product line...it's small, but it's a beginning.
We are very excited about the year ahead and will keep you updated on all that's new...join our mailing list for monthly updates.
Happy New Year!

Events

~This Saturday~
December 18
noon-2pm

Veronica Leroy will be at Belle's Nest representing these beautifully made items:

Yarn Lab
Small Trades

Appetizers and beverages will be served.

~This Sunday~
December 19
8am-10am

A special morning just for our customers, meaning you:)

Receive $5 off any purchase of $25 or more.
Receive a $10 coupon good to use anytime next year!

Enter your name to win one of the following:
(no purchase necessary)

*Belle's box of assorted goodies valued at $100

* 1 Box of (8) soy candles every month for 2011 (2 winners will be chosen)
valued at @ $20 per box/12 months = $240

* Private Precious Metal Clay Class (you and a friend).
Instructor: Gloria Prins
Date to be determined (February).
Each of you will receive a 16 gram packet of Sterling Silver clay, enough to make
a few special custom pieces of your own!
Value = big money:)
Class will either take place at home studio or at the shop.

Breakfast delights, coffee and tea will be served.

Almost Christmas

Christmas is almost here...
A few days left before we celebrate! There is so much to write about...I can't wait to recap the year we have had, reflect on the positives and post pictures of how we evolved. Our tenth month in business...thank goodness, it's been great! I wish I could stay to write, but it's busy at the store...so I'm off to work. I'll write soon!

Happy shopping this weekend! Stop by if you can for a cup of coffee and cheer!

STORE HOURS...
SUN 10am-5pm
MON-SAT 10am-6pm

December 20-23 9am-7pm
December 24 9am-Noon

Jewelry

Join us on
Sunday, December 5th, 1-3pm

******************

Reception featuring:

Tess Nelson ~ Simply Tess
Emily Horn
Lisa Teagardner ~ Little Gems

All local talented woman sharing a large selection of their beautiful jewelry with us!

Refreshments and light appetizers will be served

Wish List

It's that time of year...The holidays have quickly approached. This year feels so different from the years past...
The idea of giving and giving thanks has so much meaning. Not losing sight, appreciating the beautiful country we live in, the friends and family that surround us and the freedoms we have to have this awesome communication with one another to share ideas and thoughts ...it truly can be overwhelming. For us at Belle's Nest, we are always hoping to inspire, share ideas, help artists and give you the best service possible...so thank you!

If you visit the shop, you know we are always changing things around, Christmas is no exception... we are receiving new merchandise weekly!

On the weekends, we'll be serving coffee or hot cider...wish lists can be made, gift certificates can be purchased and custom wrapping is available.

We look forward to your visit!

Artist Reception

Please join us...

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20TH

2-4PM
Catering by A Moveable Feast

Featuring:

Zazu Faure ~ One of a kind animals made from reclaimed materials. "Humankind is made up of hunters and gatherers. I am a gatherer".


Denise Young/Out of Necessity ~ Pillows, baby items and cards
"I started noticing fabrics and would think "that would make a great pillow".


Lisa Heidel ~ Textiles, quilted gifts.

Tyn Atol ~ Mixed Media, felted monsters and other goodies.
"Tyn is always seeking to learn new things, and believes that it's the cornerstone to being a creative person".



Read more about the artist on our "about the artist" page

Something New from Zazu!

Zazu, one of our favorite artist just brought in her new repurposed stuffies. Zazu's color combination's and textures make the animals so charming and adorable, they bring me back to when I was a kid...I want to take one home! My daughter enjoys them just as much as I do ~ selfishly, I'm purchasing them for the both of us to share... how many can we possibly own???
Zazu is working on making the "Nutcracker" dolls, some gorgeous advent calendars and so much more...please come check out her work on November 20 for our artist trunk show or visit her animals daily at the Nest!

Closet Sale

First Annual Artists Closet Sale

Monday, November 8, 4-6:30 pm
Belle's Nest

A most unusual garage sale where a few artists are emptying out their storage cupboards of art and craft supplies, knick-knacks and art pieces with unexpected results. You can be sure that it will be a treasure hunt of goodies, waiting to find their new home. Bring an interested friend or 2 to find a certain special something. Follow the walkway on the north side of shop and use the secret knock....

special note: Belle's Nest will not be open during this shopping adventure. Only cash and checks will be accepted for this secret sale, made payable to each artist.

Halloween

Halloween in Sierra Madre is a pretty big deal! I've lived here for 7 years and never quite realized the "event" it's become and probably always has been. My kids nor I have ever appreciated the extent of activities our town has to offer until now...it's never too late:) Our first Halloween at the shop...what an experience! The week began with the painting of our front window for a window contest, lots of business' participated...my daughter and her best friends created our window! The week ended with a Friday afternoon of trick or treating and a parade. Gloria had a marvelous idea of making a haunted house on the side of the shop...the concept was great but didn't turn out quite as we expected...actually, it was somewhat chaotic... so busy, we didn't have time to take photos (ugh!) Hundreds of kids come through trick or treating, they had a blast! It was really cool to see such a community atmosphere and everyone just having plain ole FUN. We'll be ready for the crowds next year!

New Artists and Merchandise

We are so fortunate to be receiving new merchandise from our principal artisans. The art of hand made, one of a kind never gets old or monotonous. I want to share with you some of the cool items the Nest has to offer...enjoy!

Banners by... La Naranja Dulce
Journals by... Krispix
Soaps and Body Care by... Di Palermo Body
Ceramic Owls by... The Spotted Owl
Book Marks by...Lynne Carmody

Customer Appreciation!

The other day at the shop, one of our wonderful customers came in and purchased some terrific bird napkin rings...I casually commented,
"I would love to see how you display them" she so willingly sent us photos of them along with photos of some other goodies she's purchased from us. Thank you Susanne for the beautiful photos!

photos by susanne hayek
www.susannehayekphotography.com

Almost November!

Wow, how this year has flown by....Belle's Nest has survived several amazing events! The tragedy is we don't have photos! We were so busy, somewhat overwhelmed and having such a good time, nobody took pictures...ugh!
We've been through a taste of Sierra Madre, what a great event and wonderful cause... The Wine and Jazz walk...WOW! It was a beautiful night, we served Bodega Wine from San Antonio Winery, our food was catered by A&B Catering (delicious!) and the amount of people and supporters was amazing. It was a great time, we are so looking forward to it again next year. If you didn't get to participate, I highly recommend it...there was music in the streets, most of the business' served great wines, and were paired with wonderful restaurants...just a really lovely evening.

Our Dia de los Muertos trunk show was great...you still have time to view the work of Rachel Adams...so eclectic and fun! I just love this holiday and form of art!

Today we had a kids craft class...truly a craft. The class was taught by Elyse Paek. She made Paper Mache pumpkin bowls with the kids...I forgot how much fun paper mache is...we suggested an adult class. The weather outside lent itself to a great fall day putting us in the Halloween spirit. Scroll down as Elyse will continue with fun, hands on craft projects for the kids.
If that wasn't enough...please join us for our very first annual "Belle's Nest Artist Closet Sale" A few of us are getting together to sell our fabrics, notions, clay tools, paper, jewelry supplies, beads, etc...you name it, we may have it! We are cleaning house and hopefully our trash will become your treasure...look out for further details! Date of event is November 8th!

Kids Class...Spider Web

Spooky Halloween Webs!!!
Instructor: Elyse Paek

Make these spooky webs just in time for Halloween.
All materials included in this fun class.

Friday October 22, 3:30-4:30pm
Bean Town Ice cream included after class is over.
$20 fee

sign up early...classes are limited

Seat Makeover

Upholstery Class
Instructor: Carolyn Ingram
Wednesday, October 20th
10-12:30pm
$40 Space is limited...please call to reserve
626-355-0200 / info@bellesnest.com

In this class you will learn to remove your chair seat along with the fabric and padding.
You will add fresh foam, cotton and a new layer of fabric and reattach it to your chair.
A simple procedure that seems daunting at first but once you get started, you will feel
like a pro!
You will need:

1 chair - simple w/a seat pad is best.
1 yard fabric (fabric will also be available for sale)
**this will cover at least 4 chairs even though you will cover only one in this class
Decorative trim if you wish
Screwdriver (regular and Phillips)
Hammer
Needle Nose Pliers
Scissors
Tape Measure

*Carolyn will help you with ideas regarding stripping, faux finishing and painting also.

Instructor will provide:
Foam
Staples
Compressor (staple gun)
Fabric and trim available for sale

Paper Mache

Paper Mache Candy Bowl...

pumpkin candy bowl

Involves blowing up a balloon, orange crepe paper (pumpkin skin), glue and lots of fun! Jack-o-lantern features can be scary or funny!!! Once they are done, we wait for a week for them to dry, be sealed then picked up. You will be left with a lovely candy bowl to reuse for years to come.


Class available on two separate days:
Friday, October 15th 4-5:30pm
Monday, October 18th 1-2:30pm
$25 fee

materials included
aprons provided/wear play clothes

Dia De Los Muertos

Trunk Show Featuring...

Rachel Adams and Rosie Guajardo
Saturday, October 16th
2-4pm
Celebrating Dia De Los Muertos


Rachel Adams





Rosie Guajardo

The work of Rachel Adams is available to preview throughout the month of October...come view her work now.

The work of Rose Guajardo will be available to preview Oct 16th and will be at Belles Nest through Oct. 22nd.