A member of Bellawillow was recently in a local newspaper featuring the Charlestown Community Garden. You can check out the article and pictures here.
To see other things that Bellawillow is doing around town you can follow this link to our website.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Howard Steamboat Museum: A story of surviving the end of the world in the best way EVER!
The world was suppose to end on Saturday, May 21, but of course that didn't happen. I guess we are going to have to wait around for the whole Mayan Calendar December 21, 2021 Doomsday prediction now. What is up with the 21st? I thought Friday the 13th was suppose to be the day of bad luck...
Whether the world was going to end or not, Bellawillow was going to go down while having fun. We set up shop at the Howard Steamboat Museum Victorian Chautauqua Arts and Crafts Festival in Jeffersonville, Indiana. People were constantly remarking that we have the best jobs ever. They are totally correct! We spent two beautifully sunny days outside, hula hooping, working on our tans, hanging out with our best friends and making money. I don't think there ever could be a better job!
We also got to meet some really amazing people while we were there. It is so fun to see an adult walking by and eyeing our booth, and then when we ask them if they would like to hula hoop with us there is always that moment of hesitation, a big smile, and then a YES! We hook them up with a hula hoop that fits their size, give a quick demo, and then they are off...hula hooping like a they did when they were kids. Or, we have people who tell us they could never hula hoop so we show give them a couple of tips and suddenly they are hooping like a pro!
Of course we have a ton of kids that hula hoop with us. Either kids who are walking around the festival or the kids of other vendors, we welcome them all. One vendor, Goat Milk Stuff, had eight super fun kids that would come and hula hoop with us all day long. They were awesome hoopers and so friendly. We were also able to snag some new hoopers who were waiting around to get their arms painted by the man in our neighbor booth. He would shout out "Arm painting! Arm painting!" (but with this thick Asian accent it would sound more like "Arm candy! Arm Candy!" which was kind of funny, especailly when he would specify "Hey, Girl, arm candy!" so it would sound as if he were implying that the girl was some dude's arm candy).
The event was a huge success (We were even able to sell a hula hoop at a gas station after the first day of the festival! We are some serious hula hoop selling fools!) and we had so much fun. It is always so great to get a chance to meet all of these new interesting people and to get everyone hooked on hula hooping. To find out when our next event will be check out our website, Bellawillow.com, or follow us on Facebook!
Whether the world was going to end or not, Bellawillow was going to go down while having fun. We set up shop at the Howard Steamboat Museum Victorian Chautauqua Arts and Crafts Festival in Jeffersonville, Indiana. People were constantly remarking that we have the best jobs ever. They are totally correct! We spent two beautifully sunny days outside, hula hooping, working on our tans, hanging out with our best friends and making money. I don't think there ever could be a better job!
We also got to meet some really amazing people while we were there. It is so fun to see an adult walking by and eyeing our booth, and then when we ask them if they would like to hula hoop with us there is always that moment of hesitation, a big smile, and then a YES! We hook them up with a hula hoop that fits their size, give a quick demo, and then they are off...hula hooping like a they did when they were kids. Or, we have people who tell us they could never hula hoop so we show give them a couple of tips and suddenly they are hooping like a pro!
Of course we have a ton of kids that hula hoop with us. Either kids who are walking around the festival or the kids of other vendors, we welcome them all. One vendor, Goat Milk Stuff, had eight super fun kids that would come and hula hoop with us all day long. They were awesome hoopers and so friendly. We were also able to snag some new hoopers who were waiting around to get their arms painted by the man in our neighbor booth. He would shout out "Arm painting! Arm painting!" (but with this thick Asian accent it would sound more like "Arm candy! Arm Candy!" which was kind of funny, especailly when he would specify "Hey, Girl, arm candy!" so it would sound as if he were implying that the girl was some dude's arm candy).
The event was a huge success (We were even able to sell a hula hoop at a gas station after the first day of the festival! We are some serious hula hoop selling fools!) and we had so much fun. It is always so great to get a chance to meet all of these new interesting people and to get everyone hooked on hula hooping. To find out when our next event will be check out our website, Bellawillow.com, or follow us on Facebook!
Trunk or Treat: A story of how everything can go wrong
*We have switched our blog from Tumblr to Blogger. This was a post we had previous made back in November 2010.*
Halloween is one of those days that you can just plan on expecting surprises. Inanimate objects will jump to life to give you a scare or pranksters will be lurking in the shadows waiting to startle you. But when we were getting ready to head out for the Trunk or Treat event we thought we had everything perfected. We even uttered the phrase, "I feel like we are really prepared for this event." Big mistake! The universe does not like to hear that phrase and it will make sure you never want to speak those words again. We have learned our lesson, Universe, thank you.
We started off right on time. Our set-up was quick and easy. Other than heavy winds that blew around some of our papers, everything was going great. We started taking test shots for our photography area and that is when everything started to go wrong. Surprise! Only one of our brand new lights was going off. Now, we had just done a couple of photo shoots with these lights and they worked perfectly. We started trying to set the lights up differently. Hooking cords up in different configurations. Setting the lights up really close to each other and then farther apart. Nothing was working. We ended up going back home and getting one of our older lights and tried to see if it would work...nothing...We called the camera store that sold us the lights and they told us to bring them in and we could exchange them. Suddenly it seemed very lucky that our advertising for the event had fallen through and we didn't have many people there between 1pm and 5! At the shop, they tested some new lights that worked and sent us on our way. However, back at our booth, the lights still would not sync!
After calling the camera store back, we came to one conclusion. We were set up in front of a bank. There could be a possible chance that banks will only allow so much electric to pass through an outlet at a time to prevent people from breaking in or something. For both of our lights to work we would have needed a lot of electric. Using two lights...it wasn't gonna happen.
We ended up setting up our one light and waited for Trunk or Treat to start. At first nobody wanted any pictures made so it didn't seem like a big deal that only one of our lights worked. Everyone was entering into our Candy Count contest and our Coloring Contest so we were kept a little busy. Then one person asked for pictures...and then everyone asked for pictures! We were so suddenly slammed that we began running around trying to figure out what was going on and who was suppose to be doing what. Some jobs had to be switched due to lack of technical skills. It became pure maddness
Cue the battery in the camera starting to go dead!...and we didn't have a spare.
Seems like a good time for the printer to run out of ink!...luckily we had more.
Oh, and now the computer memory is filled to the max! Ahhhhh!
Thank goodness it was finally time for the event to be over and we could start packing up all of our stuff. In the end, our pictures were ok, but not great. We had a lot of people enter into our contest so that went well. We were able to walk away feeling very tired and stressed out, but ultimately successful. This was certainly one of the biggest learning experiences we have gone through and next time we will know that we will need to be even more prepared.
Halloween is one of those days that you can just plan on expecting surprises. Inanimate objects will jump to life to give you a scare or pranksters will be lurking in the shadows waiting to startle you. But when we were getting ready to head out for the Trunk or Treat event we thought we had everything perfected. We even uttered the phrase, "I feel like we are really prepared for this event." Big mistake! The universe does not like to hear that phrase and it will make sure you never want to speak those words again. We have learned our lesson, Universe, thank you.
We started off right on time. Our set-up was quick and easy. Other than heavy winds that blew around some of our papers, everything was going great. We started taking test shots for our photography area and that is when everything started to go wrong. Surprise! Only one of our brand new lights was going off. Now, we had just done a couple of photo shoots with these lights and they worked perfectly. We started trying to set the lights up differently. Hooking cords up in different configurations. Setting the lights up really close to each other and then farther apart. Nothing was working. We ended up going back home and getting one of our older lights and tried to see if it would work...nothing...We called the camera store that sold us the lights and they told us to bring them in and we could exchange them. Suddenly it seemed very lucky that our advertising for the event had fallen through and we didn't have many people there between 1pm and 5! At the shop, they tested some new lights that worked and sent us on our way. However, back at our booth, the lights still would not sync!
After calling the camera store back, we came to one conclusion. We were set up in front of a bank. There could be a possible chance that banks will only allow so much electric to pass through an outlet at a time to prevent people from breaking in or something. For both of our lights to work we would have needed a lot of electric. Using two lights...it wasn't gonna happen.
We ended up setting up our one light and waited for Trunk or Treat to start. At first nobody wanted any pictures made so it didn't seem like a big deal that only one of our lights worked. Everyone was entering into our Candy Count contest and our Coloring Contest so we were kept a little busy. Then one person asked for pictures...and then everyone asked for pictures! We were so suddenly slammed that we began running around trying to figure out what was going on and who was suppose to be doing what. Some jobs had to be switched due to lack of technical skills. It became pure maddness
Cue the battery in the camera starting to go dead!...and we didn't have a spare.
Seems like a good time for the printer to run out of ink!...luckily we had more.
Oh, and now the computer memory is filled to the max! Ahhhhh!
Thank goodness it was finally time for the event to be over and we could start packing up all of our stuff. In the end, our pictures were ok, but not great. We had a lot of people enter into our contest so that went well. We were able to walk away feeling very tired and stressed out, but ultimately successful. This was certainly one of the biggest learning experiences we have gone through and next time we will know that we will need to be even more prepared.
Sycamore Arts and Craft Show: A Story of Being Blown Away
*We have switched our blog from Tumblr to Blogger. This was a post we had previous made back in November 2010.*
Going to any kind of an event is a bit of a physical task. You have to pack up product, tables, tents, chairs, display stands, and much more. After it is all packed you then have to transport it to the event somehow, unload everything, and set up. After the event is over you then have to pack everything back up (hopefully with a lot less product), load it into your vehicle and then take it home...where you get to unload everything, unpack it, and put it away. Then take a nap for about three days and recover.
Over the weekend we went to the Sycamore Band Boosters Arts and Craft Show in Cincinnati, Ohio. Fist off, we had to take a large truck and I was blown away by the simple fact that we didn't crash into anything the entire trip or run over any small children (although there was this one bump in a parking lot that was questionable). Then, when we got to Sycamore High School about fifty band students came running up to us with trolleys yelling "I've got this one! I'm helping this one!" We get help? We don't have to drag all of our stuff a million miles away? WE ARE IN HEAVEN!! In one trip we were able to get all of our stuff out of the truck and where it needed to be and we didn't even have to carry any of it! Amazing!
During the show, we were doing our thing and suddenly another band kid came over and asked if we would like to order lunch. They took our order and delivered our lunches to us! Normally we would have to go one at a time and find our own food when we got hungry. This was the best place on Earth! They even made one of our meals vegetarian.
Guess what happened when the show was over...if you guessed that we had help loading up all our stuff and taking it back to the truck then you are totally correct. This was for sure the least back breaking event we had ever gone to and it was so awesome! If only they were all like that...
Going to any kind of an event is a bit of a physical task. You have to pack up product, tables, tents, chairs, display stands, and much more. After it is all packed you then have to transport it to the event somehow, unload everything, and set up. After the event is over you then have to pack everything back up (hopefully with a lot less product), load it into your vehicle and then take it home...where you get to unload everything, unpack it, and put it away. Then take a nap for about three days and recover.
Over the weekend we went to the Sycamore Band Boosters Arts and Craft Show in Cincinnati, Ohio. Fist off, we had to take a large truck and I was blown away by the simple fact that we didn't crash into anything the entire trip or run over any small children (although there was this one bump in a parking lot that was questionable). Then, when we got to Sycamore High School about fifty band students came running up to us with trolleys yelling "I've got this one! I'm helping this one!" We get help? We don't have to drag all of our stuff a million miles away? WE ARE IN HEAVEN!! In one trip we were able to get all of our stuff out of the truck and where it needed to be and we didn't even have to carry any of it! Amazing!
During the show, we were doing our thing and suddenly another band kid came over and asked if we would like to order lunch. They took our order and delivered our lunches to us! Normally we would have to go one at a time and find our own food when we got hungry. This was the best place on Earth! They even made one of our meals vegetarian.
Guess what happened when the show was over...if you guessed that we had help loading up all our stuff and taking it back to the truck then you are totally correct. This was for sure the least back breaking event we had ever gone to and it was so awesome! If only they were all like that...
Easter Promo Photo Shoot: A Story of Two Toddlers and a Duck
We recently had a photography special, so we decided to do a photo shoot with two of our favorite little kids, Connor and Lizzie. You can see photos of their previous shoots on Facebook, so make sure you become a fan of our page and check them out. These kids could not be any more different. Connor seems very quiet and shy. We have hundreds of picture of him with a serious, almost contemplative look on his face. Lizzie...well...Lizzie is WILD! If a wide variety of facial expressions is what you are looking for then she is your girl. Both kids are ridiculously cute.
So, what could make a picture of two little kids even more adorable, you ask?
A baby duck!
This is also the perfect combination for making the most hard to control photo shoot ever...but it was fun and an interesting learning experience.
Connor and his mom arrived first. Like I said, he is a shy kid, so combine that with the fact that he slept in the car on the way to the photo shoot and you get this docile little boy standing in the corner just looking at us and all of our equipment with this look on his face that reads "Have I been abducted by aliens...please don't probe me..." We tried to peek his interest with toys and the promise of being able to play with a duck (and that kind of makes us sound like we also own a kidnapper van and routinely hang out across the street from busy parks). He was very resistant, but finally broke down and began playing with some fake Easter eggs, but probably only because they reminded him of the eggs he had from last Easter which contained candy. Finally opening up, he became curious about the box in the corner that kept chirping...because it contained a baby duck. "Doog," he kept saying. "Bird doog. OH!"
Then Lizzie and her mom came in with a big TA-DA!!!! Look alive everyone, Lizzie is on set! It was like she was everywhere, all at once. Connor immediately reverted back to a shy little boy and just stood there watching as if this new little girl was going to spontaneously combust at any second. Lizzie didn't care, there were toys everywhere! We directed her to the toys that were set up to be used as props, we placed Connor in the middle of her whirl-wind of activity, and the fun began. It wasn't long before we busted out the baby duck. Oh the squeals of delight that are still ringing in my ears! "Baby! Baby!" Lizzie kept calling it.
"Doog! Oh!" Connor would say with a point. At first the duck kind of freaked out. It just kind of ran in a circle and we put it back in its little box for a break. Then we decided to maybe place it on a child. I'm not sure how we thought this would be a good idea since it had previously tried to run away. Since Connor was calmer and would sit still, we put the duck on his lap...and it stayed there! Lizzie was so excited, she kept reaching out for it and calling it 'baby'. We wanted the kids to have the same amount of time with the baby duck so we sat Lizzie down and began to place the duck on her lap like we had done with Connor.
She flipped!
There was no way she would let the duck touch her, no matter how much she reached out for it as if she wanted to hold it. The duck was quickly transferred back to Connor. They basically sat there together, the boy and his new duck, for the rest of the shoot, like the two greatest friends in the whole world. Lizzie provided the pictures with interesting poses and would carry in and take out different props all while screaming "Baby!" but then freaking out when the duck would show interest in moving toward her.
After the shoot was over and the kids had left we did take a few pictures of just the duck because he was so darn cute. We came to the conclusion that taking pictures of one toddler is challenging. Two toddlers in a photo shoot equal hard, yet fun, work. Add a duck into the mix and you get AWESOME CUTENESS!
So, what could make a picture of two little kids even more adorable, you ask?
A baby duck!
This is also the perfect combination for making the most hard to control photo shoot ever...but it was fun and an interesting learning experience.
Connor and his mom arrived first. Like I said, he is a shy kid, so combine that with the fact that he slept in the car on the way to the photo shoot and you get this docile little boy standing in the corner just looking at us and all of our equipment with this look on his face that reads "Have I been abducted by aliens...please don't probe me..." We tried to peek his interest with toys and the promise of being able to play with a duck (and that kind of makes us sound like we also own a kidnapper van and routinely hang out across the street from busy parks). He was very resistant, but finally broke down and began playing with some fake Easter eggs, but probably only because they reminded him of the eggs he had from last Easter which contained candy. Finally opening up, he became curious about the box in the corner that kept chirping...because it contained a baby duck. "Doog," he kept saying. "Bird doog. OH!"
Then Lizzie and her mom came in with a big TA-DA!!!! Look alive everyone, Lizzie is on set! It was like she was everywhere, all at once. Connor immediately reverted back to a shy little boy and just stood there watching as if this new little girl was going to spontaneously combust at any second. Lizzie didn't care, there were toys everywhere! We directed her to the toys that were set up to be used as props, we placed Connor in the middle of her whirl-wind of activity, and the fun began. It wasn't long before we busted out the baby duck. Oh the squeals of delight that are still ringing in my ears! "Baby! Baby!" Lizzie kept calling it.
"Doog! Oh!" Connor would say with a point. At first the duck kind of freaked out. It just kind of ran in a circle and we put it back in its little box for a break. Then we decided to maybe place it on a child. I'm not sure how we thought this would be a good idea since it had previously tried to run away. Since Connor was calmer and would sit still, we put the duck on his lap...and it stayed there! Lizzie was so excited, she kept reaching out for it and calling it 'baby'. We wanted the kids to have the same amount of time with the baby duck so we sat Lizzie down and began to place the duck on her lap like we had done with Connor.
She flipped!
There was no way she would let the duck touch her, no matter how much she reached out for it as if she wanted to hold it. The duck was quickly transferred back to Connor. They basically sat there together, the boy and his new duck, for the rest of the shoot, like the two greatest friends in the whole world. Lizzie provided the pictures with interesting poses and would carry in and take out different props all while screaming "Baby!" but then freaking out when the duck would show interest in moving toward her.
After the shoot was over and the kids had left we did take a few pictures of just the duck because he was so darn cute. We came to the conclusion that taking pictures of one toddler is challenging. Two toddlers in a photo shoot equal hard, yet fun, work. Add a duck into the mix and you get AWESOME CUTENESS!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Earth Day at Falls of Ohio
Last weekend Bellawillow attended the Earth Day Fair that was held at the Falls of Ohio. We took all of out hula hoops out with us to sell and had such a successful day! Not only was it beautiful outside but everyone had a really great time testing out our hoops and playing with us. We even got Smokey the Bear to hula hoop!
We were really blown away by how quickly everyone learned how to hoop. Kids and adults had a wonderful time.
Check our event calendar to see when our next event will be so that you can come out and join us!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)