Crafty Wonderland 2016

House of Moss is now on Pinterest!

House of Moss is now on Pinterest! Come join me at Pinterest.com/HouseOfMossShop for a curated collection of ideas for woodland home decor, Waldorf & natural childhood, forest weddings, DIY fairy houses, and woodland birthday parties!

Mushroom Magnet goes on an Airstream Adventure!

via: http://just5moreminutes.com/blog/modern-diy-wall-hanging-for-your-rv/

I have to say, I'm a little jealous of one of my mushroom magnets. That special little one gets to go on some amazing adventures! It was purchased by the wonderful Monica of the Just Five More Minutes website, and I got a peek of its new life via a blog post she created highlighting the interior decor of her gorgeous Airstream trailer. Check it out! It will make you want to buy your own Airstream this very afternoon and get out on the road!

via: http://just5moreminutes.com/blog/modern-diy-wall-hanging-for-your-rv/

And if you want to take along your very own mushroom magnet, those can be found here. :)

Happy Autumn! Plus holiday show schedule info!

It's the third day of Fall, and here in NW Oregon, the rain has just arrived. We had a very hot, dry summer, so it feels like everything is taking a deep breath now. I baked some muffins this morning and put on a flannel shirt. Finally, working with wool all day makes sense. :)

Fall is such a paradoxical season: a fresh start and a winding-down, a time to gather cozily in and a time to gear up for the holidays! I love this part of the year; for me and House of Moss, this season is the busiest and most vibrant time of the whole year.

I've been working hard making busy-season inventory for my shops across the country, as well as making sure my online shop is well-stocked! We've also been spending lots of evenings at local parks, collecting acorn caps from the oak trees there.

One thing that feels quite different this year is that I have not been dealing with the holiday craft show hassle as much! Normally I would be applying to 6-9 weekend shows for November-December. This year, I'm taking a different approach to holiday sales: My wholesale and online sales have been picking up, and this way I get to stock the shelves of shops across the country while managing to keep some weekends open for family time & holiday celebrations.

There is a certain part of me that dearly loves the weekend excitement of waking up early in the morning, packing up my shop, driving to a venue, setting it all up, and talking with my customers all day. But it's also incredibly time-consuming, and Erik and I definitely overdid it last year, with full work-weeks bookended by weekend-long shows– we were nonstop for 2 months, and we were too busy and exhausted to enjoy the holidays!

So this year, I'm doing one show only: my favorite, the Crafty Wonderland Super Colossal Holiday Sale, on December 12th + 13th (with a special ticket-only pre-show event on Friday evening if you're hardcore like that or want to avoid the weekend crowds!).

But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves! Fall is here, and there is a certain sweetness to the early Fall that quickly gets eclipsed by the holidays as soon as Halloween approaches. Happy Autumn, friends!

500 Items in the Shop

Hello friends! Wow, it has been a super long time since I wrote here on the blog!

Not to worry, though; the main reason is that I've been using Instagram a lot more for my updates & behind-the-scenes pics. :) It's just so much quicker, and for some reason Instagram takes away the pressure to write a lot with each post. I plan to keep the blog, of course, but please feel free to come join up with @houseofmossshop on Instagram!

Aside from that, I've been keeping busy building up my inventory and adding new brick-and-mortar stockists and building up inventory before the holidays hit!

Speaking of inventory, I'm proud to announce that my Etsy shop currently has its highest total number of listings! There are a full 500 items available in the shop. So stop by and check out the largest selection I've ever had, from classic bestsellers like felted wool acorns + hearts, to newer things like color sorting sets in wooden bowls, terrarium necklaces, and macrame plant ornaments in the photo above! HouseOfMoss.etsy.com

Featured on Self To Shelf's Blog!

I recently did an interview with Self to Shelf, a website that connects handmade businesses with retailers across the country. House of Moss joined Self to Shelf last year, and I'm thrilled to be featured on their blog today.

You can read the full article HERE.

A New Interview by an Old Friend

Today I have the honor of being featured on my friend Martha's blog! Martha is a professional writer who I also happened to go to college with. She contacted me recently to be a part of her blog feature "Fridays are for Friends," and it published today– so I wanted to share it with you.

The post can be found HERE.

There is also a GIVEAWAY at the end! You can win a set of felted wool heart ornaments, just in time for Valentine's Day! So head on over to Martha's blog and enter!

2014 In Review + End-of-the-Year Gratitude

I saw another blog where the author used the word "memorable" to describe 2014. I am going to use it, too. It seems like the mildest way to describe a year that was nearly too much for me. So much change (moving twice, Erik's new job) and a few legitimately tough life things (unexpected expenses, chronic health issues, my parents and cat moving 3 hours away). Of course, 2014 was also full of joy– I got engaged in March and married in August, as well as paid off the last of my student loans– but as a whole it seemed entirely too overwhelming.

[The tattoo in the photo above is my present to myself for surviving the year– a reminder and a mark, because things will never be the same. Side note: it seems that since college, every three years I have a traumatic year. 2008, 2011... 2014. :/ I have a tattoo from each of those years.]

But enough about the circumstances swirling around in my personal life. And I'm not just saying that because this is my business blog– it's because House of Moss has been a rock for me this year. It truly brings me so much light in life: it's something I can turn to for distraction, success, and a sense of control. My business is like a safe little corner of the world where things make sense, where the energy and care I put in grows into something worthwhile. In many ways, 2014 has been House of Moss's best year yet.


Here are some notable highlights of 2014 for House of Moss (in no particular order):

• I introduced heart garlands, seedlings in gold pots, chicken ornaments, and new colors of cottage ornaments and pebbles in the shop.

• I interviewed 8 local makers for my blog series, We Make Portland Awesome.

• I finally joined Instagram.

• My work showed up on the Etsy Front Page 5 times, including twice in one day!

• I made it to my gross sales goal for the year– my highest ever– as well as my goal of having 400 active listings in my Etsy shop, and 1000 sales in my Etsy shop!

• I opened other online storefronts at Storenvy and The Scoutmob Shoppe, and on the wholesale site Self to Shelf.

• My work was featured in a Scoutmob email blast, a promo video for The Happy Cabin in Australia, in Presents of Mind's Valentine gift guide, on The Frosted Petticoat Blog, on Faerie Magazine's website, on SpoccaDeals, as Scoutmob Shoppe's holiday section header, in Alpine Lily's holiday gift guide for hikers, and in Retailing Insight Magazine. My website was featured as part of a promotion for a SnapPages/SquareMarket integration campaign.

• I was interviewed as a featured brand on Storenvy, in a Storenvy email, on the OPB website, on Tender Loving Empire's artist page, and on the Anna Attard blog, and some of the business tips I submitted were included in an advice post on Create & Thrive and in an article for the Etsy Seller Handbook.

• I cultivated relationships with quite a few wonderful new stockists across the country.

• UncommonGoods picked up my acorn ornaments for the second year in a row.

• I participated in Crafty Wonderland's Spring Sale and Holiday Sale, as well as 6 other holiday shows around the Portland area.

• I celebrated my anniversaries of 1 year self-employed, and 4 years in business.

• I finally launched my official website, HouseOfMoss.com!

...So, as you can see, I channeled all my frustration and angst from 2014 into my business, ha.


But I also want to emphasize that, while I am a one-woman business, I am so grateful for the support and opportunities extended to me by my network of awesome family, friends, and fellow handmade business owners (alliteration!). And my wonderful customers and stockists! You guys are so positive and encouraging. There are many reasons why I love running my own creative business, and the support of this community is definitely one of the biggest. Thank you for following along with me and House of Moss.

Much love and smooth sailing to everyone in 2015! <3 <3 <3 <3

Featured by Tender Loving Empire

It's no secret that I have a deep devotion to Tender Loving Empire. Their retail shop, which promotes the work of hundreds of local makers, was my first stockist. Over the years, they have expanded so much– most recently with a second Portland retail shop and a newly-redesigned website.

Among their new features on the site is a page dedicated to some of the handmade artists whose work they sell in their shops. And I'm honored to have my own photo & write-up there! You can see it for yourself HERE.

Thanks, TLE! My business would not be where it is now without you. <3

Featured in Alpine Lily's Gift Guide

I am thrilled that my grey felted wool acorn ornaments are featured in the Alpine Lily blog's holiday gift guide for hikers! Their other choices are amazing too– makes me want to go hiking right now! :)

1000 ETSY SALES!

Today I reached a milestone I've been looking forward to for literally years: The day I would reach 1000 sales in my Etsy shop.

I know that a business is much more than the number of sales you have, but somehow the number feels significant. The even number is very pleasing to those of us who are driven by goals. :)

Interviewed on the OPB Website

I'm honored to be featured in a write-up of Siren Nation by Krysta Maksim of OPB. Krysta contacted me before the Art & Craft Sale with a few interview questions over email, and I got to meet her in person at the show when she took photos of my booth to use in the article!

[I kind of forgot she was coming to take pictures at the show, which was good because I would have been WAY more nervous that morning if I had remembered!] :)

I really like Siren Nation, so it was really fun to get to write about them. And it's always fun to see my name in print!

You can read the article HERE.

Acorn Ornaments as the Scoutmob Holiday Section Header!

An above-average number of sales came in through my Scoutmob Shoppe this weekend, and when I went to check it out this morning, I had a little surprise! My acorn ornament photo had been chosen as the "Holiday" item page header!

Scoutmob has a lot of wonderful handmade ornaments and holiday decor, so you can check it out for yourself HERE.

On another note, the Siren Nation Art & Craft Sale yesterday was pretty fun. It was held a little earlier this year, so there were a few less shoppers, but it was a fun day and it's always one of my favorites.

Siren Nation Art & Craft Sale 2014 Tomorrow!

The Siren Nation 2014 Art & Craft Sale is tomorrow! Visit us at McMenamins Kennedy School in Portland from 10am-4pm for an awesome day of shopping from local women-run businesses.

This show is extra special for me this year. Not only is it the first show of the holiday season, but its location has become dear to my heart as Erik and I were married at Kennedy School in August. Our reception was held in the very same room as the sale will be!

So stop by, say hello! I will be wearing an outfit significantly less formal than the last time I was there. :)

Holiday Show Lineup 2014

I can't believe it's this time of year already! I mean, I've been making ornaments since May, but somehow in the past few months, I apparently applied to a whole bunch of shows and filled up my holiday schedule. I have nearly no memory of this... it's a complete blur. Huh.

But here we are, with a holiday show schedule for 2014. This year looks to be the best yet, with an awesome lineup of tried-and-true favorites, as well as a couple of new ones.


• NOVEMBER •

2 November (Sunday) 10am-4pm
Siren Nation Art + Craft Sale
McMenamins Kennedy School, Portland

14 November (Friday) 2pm-6pm & 15 November (Saturday) 10am-4pm
Llewellyn Holiday Market
Llewellyn Elementary School, Portland

29 November (Saturday) 9am-4pm
Vancouver Farmers Market Holiday Market
The Hilton Hotel, Vancouver WA


• DECEMBER • 

6 December (Saturday) 10am-4pm
Lewis Holiday Bazaar & Tree Sale
Lewis Elementary School, Portland

7 December (Sunday) 9am-4pm
Laurelhurst Winter Bazaar
Laurelhurst Elementary School, Portland

13 & 14 December (Saturday & Sunday) 11am-6pm
Crafty Wonderland Super Colossal Holiday Sale
Oregon Convention Center, Portland

20 December (Saturday) 11am-6pm
Handmade NW Formal Artisans Fair
Red Rose Ballroom, Portland


This totals up to 7 shows (9 selling days)... plenty of chances for you to stop by and say hi! You guys are wonderful and every year I look forward to meeting you in person at these shows.

Acorn Ornaments on UncommonGoods again this year!

Last year, I was thrilled and surprised to be contacted by the buyers from UncommonGoods.com to sell my acorn ornaments on their website– and when it happened again this year, I was just as happy! It's definitely fun to see them on such a prominent website. You can see them for yourself HERE.

Three Hearts Home

I love all of House of Moss's stockists, and I thought I would share this one with you! Three Hearts Home is located in Flemington, New Jersey, and recently began stocking my felted pebbles, heart ornaments, and acorn ornaments.

Their website is amazing! And their styling of my products made me really happy too. You can check out their site HERE.

Finally Joined Instagram

That's right! I finally became a part of the beautiful filtered world of Instagram! I'm posting behind-the-scenes shots, proud moments, and, of course, the requisite food photos.

You can find me here: http://instagram.com/houseofmossshop

Orange Acorns on the Etsy Front Page

Anytime I see that one of my items has an abnormally high rate of views and favorites, I have to do a little digging! This morning I noticed that my orange acorns had been very popular during the past 24 hours, and I found that they'd ended up on the Etsy Front Page in a beautiful treasury made by another Etsian. Thanks to Sinéad from IrishVikingDesigns!

The Independent Lives of Felted Things I Make: II

I love seeing what my little felted things go on to do after they leave my studio! Paula from Sweet Red Cottage (one of my favorite customers) has sent me some photos she uses in her own shop, which include my pumpkins, mushrooms, and acorns as props for her own creations! So very sweet. Thanks Paula!