October 30, 2009
· Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged Folk Art, Funny, life of an artist, Middleburg Folk Art Studio, south
Ever feel like a nobody, well this week I sure was. You feel like can’t do a single thing in North Carolina with out a Social Security card. I lost mine 30 years ago and have gotten along fine in Chicago for all this time, can you imagine! But in NC you can’t get a new drivers license, open a bank account, and one thing rolls into another after that. So as of right now I’m just like Jessica Tandy in “Driving Miss Daisy”, sorry could not help the southern tie-in. Mr Greg, who now has his NC license is doing all the driving. And as a side bar to this whole thing, when I did go in to get a new SS card, the lady behind the bullet proof glass… say’s “so do you really want Havens on your new card? And I say “of course my legal name Havens-Morris”. And to try and add levity to the monument I said ” It was all the rage in the 80’s” and she looks back at me and says, “well I guess I’m not that liberated, being a plain jane was fine for me”. Lets face it one does not go to Social Security office for a boost in self confidence.
That’s all from the back seat right now!
October 26, 2009
· Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged Folk Art, historic, Middleburg Folk Art Studio, new house, new studio, North Carolina, Susan Havens-Morris
We are pleased to announce the big news in the world of Middleburg. We have moved South! Yes, 1000 miles away from Chicago, to a lovely old farm house in North Carolina. We bought the house in September and have been here now just about three weeks. My son will point to an old house every now and then and say “Mom, that looks like a fixer-upper for you.” Well honey, let me tell you, I got one of those. We have always wanted to fix up a house, I love the idea of bringing back something to it’s original grandeur.
The house, called Nehucky Farm was originally built circa 1880 as a simple 3 room structure. Over the years, it’s been added on to up to its current size, a 3000 square foot, two over two, 20th Century American farmhouse. It was the main house for a prominent local planter that at one time owned over 2000 acres.
Today I’ll only tell you the pluses: Great high ceilings and big rooms, we are only 4 hours from our son in college, we look out on endless fields, we have huge pecan trees and great old boxwoods, two great barn/out buildings plus two others and 6 fireplaces. We have DSL in the country and don’t have to dial area codes any more! What more could a gal want…
And with all this, I forgot to say my husband Greg, who was born a southerner, has now joined the team full-time since July. He is a huge creative help, one of the few people who’s creative opinion that really matters to me.
I hope to add more soon about my Southern experiences, I’m really having a lot of fun. Oh and did I mention the weather is great? It’s been in the 70’s and 80’s all this past week!
June 17, 2009
· Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged Art Show, Coach House Heritage, etsy, Folk Art, Historic Papier mache, Historic Series, Illinois, Middleburg Folk Art Studio
We are in count down, to our event here at Middleburg! Saturday is fast approching.
Everything is coming together, the garden beds were mulched the other day and the little Bull Barn Tavern is turning out to be the show stealer. It’s even getting a rustic chandalier today. The Mount Vernon booth is getting final painting as well, if the rain would only stay away, it will all dry.
Here is a sneak peak at the Paul Reaver piece, he is all fabric riding a papier mache horse.
If you still need a ticket to this event please go to our link: http://www.middleburgfolkartstudio.com/open_house.html
It’s going to be a whale of a time!
June 2, 2009
· Filed under Blogroll, Folk Art, One of a kinds, Shows, Uncategorized · Tagged blue, BlueBirds, Cake topper, etsy, Etsy Blog, Middleburg, Middleburg Folk Art Studio, Storque, Vote, wedding
This is our sweet Bluebird Wedding cake topper!
This is a some what shameless request to help Middleburg have the most votes for “Best Wedding Cake Topper” from the Storque on Etsy.
Etsy has chosen our Blue Bird Wedding Cake Topper to be included in the voting for Best Topper!
Voting is open until Monday, June 8th.
Here is the vote link!
http://www.etsy.com/voter_list.php?ref=voter&room_id=53
As we say in Chicago, “Vote Early and vote often”. 
Thanks Friends of Middleburg! –Susan
May 19, 2009
· Filed under Folk Art, Shows, Uncategorized · Tagged civil war, Coach House Heritage, etsy, Folk Art, historic, Middleburg Folk Art Studio, new pieces, papier-mâché, Susan Havens-Morris, Virginia
It all started with a grand plan that got grander, pick up the son from college, do a show, build Mt. Vernon, have a historic jacket custom made, make a petticoat, a bum roll and 40 new pieces. Sounds like a weekend to me. Did I happen to say son is in Virginia, 700+ miles away, show is in Newport News another 200+miles, Mt. Vernon is being built from foam and sticks, and I have all the parts of the 40 pieces in the studio waiting for me to assemble. All in all I’m a optimist and feel everything you want can be done if you just try hard enough. Well we tried, through the down pours of rain here in Illinois we worked every weekend all weekend long, and still we failed. But failure should never detour one, you can learn so much, and just the effort of trying produces some great things!
Hubby is working like a madman these days at the real job, so the new historic line we are calling “Coach House Heritage” will launch slower than expected, some pieces are up on Etsy now and others we will be adding over the next week to our site and Etsy. It will feature pieces inspired from the mid 1700’s through the Civil War. Lots of new hard-stuffed, fabric pieces in very limited editions of 25, which are all hand-painted. Very classic papier mache pieces, soldiers with wired on arms, and pieces which combine papier mache with fabric in one piece.
We will be re-erecting Mount Vernon here some time in mid June and having a show right here on our studio grounds. I’ll post some dates and details soon so you all can come out.
But my trip to Virginia was great and wanted to share some wonderful parts with you all.
American in Paris–excellent antique shop, in Paris Virginia. Call first and the darling owner Carol will open it up to you. Paris, VA is a very small, quaint town nestled in the Blueridge Mountains. Here is their link so you can pre-shop, www.american-in-paris-antiques.com
The Red Fox Inn-a quick lunch and one of my most favorite places, located in Middleburg Virginia, which had to include peanut soup.
Oh yes and the boy child is now home and my family is all here again. And really, what more could one ask for?
April 22, 2009
· Filed under Uncategorized
Some have seen her around already in photos on the website and others in person. But I just wanted to introduce you all to the newest member of the Middleburg family, our black pug dog, Gigi. This one is for my daughter. Our other pug is VeeVee, and she became our sons from the beginging. We love great name for pets so we just continued the naming in the same vain. My husband always gives the dogs a middle name and what better than Channel, so her full name is Gigi Channel. She is now 11 weeks old and full of energy.
We’ll soon be looking for some fab collars, so here are some of my daughter picks from Etsy.
The Cool Puppy
Flowers Pink Leather Dog Collar…We love flowers here at Middleburg!
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The Mod Dog
Sangria martingale collar…and this one would be as fun as Gigi is!
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Greenbelts
EcoDog Collar and Cuff Set–Chocolate Leather with Pink Vintage Buttons
We love repurposed, recycled and renewed here at Middleburg, so this one might be it.
We’ll keep adding puppy pictures from time to time and you can watch her grow!
April 12, 2009
· Filed under Folk Art, Uncategorized · Tagged Art, artist, awareness, Breast Cancer, donate 20%, Folk Art, Handmade for the Cure, Middleburg Folk Art Studio, pink, Susan G. Komen, Susan Havens-Morris
As an artist I have been thinking about this issue for over a year now and considering what I could do that was more than just making a donation. Knowing I’m just a little tiny voice who is here shouting and there are so many bigger voices shouting awareness. But all the voices coming together is only that much louder, that much stronger so that was my start. I know for me it was a matter of creating something bigger than me. A way to share my art, to hand-make something from my heart to give others a little hope, and extra ounce of courage, a smile or a feel-good moment. Art transcends so many things, the feeling I can bring to someone is always a driving force behind what I create. Winter for me is such a reflective time, while I’ve known of people who have been diagnosed, some who have survived, the impact in not personal..not yet. So I created these pieces so maybe we can offset it becoming personal, so that number of 1 in 8 people can go down.
So I’m proud to introduce my new line devoted to Breast Cancer awareness, “Handmade for the Cure”. Many of the pieces are customizable, I want everyone to feel they can contribute to these creations, to help them become personal to you and the ones you love.
We have decided to donate 20% of each piece sold to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. An excellent foundation that makes a difference for so many. We will be donating online after every sale. You will be able to go to our website
www.MiddleburgFolkArtStudio.com and there will be a meter to indicate the amount that has been donated.
If you too would like to donate here is the link: http://ww5.komen.org/donate/donate.html
We encourage other artists to create original works and devote them to the awareness of the fight for the cure as well, and hope to share of of these with you soon.
April 9, 2009
· Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged Coach House Heritage, Colonial, colonial faire, Folk Art, George Washington, Historic Papier mache, Mount Vernon, Newport News, Susan Havens-Morris /Middleburg Folk Art Studio, Virginia, Williamsburg, www.colonialfaire.com
Often in my work I think of things in series, over the next weeks I hope to share many parts to this new dream. Way back when I was a Creative Director in advertising the bigger the idea the better and i was know for some biggie’s in my day, but I also had teams around me who knew I could pull it off, so they followed and supported those ideas. But in the real world it’s hard to share with others your dreams and the reality you can bring to a project. There are however in my life a few that I totally really on for the emotional support I need, my husband who over the years has learned not to question but to jump in with both feet because on the other end it always turns out. And my son who when we talked long distance yesterday not only grasped the idea in a second but said “thank God because nobody I know moves as fast as we do and I could use some of that right now”.
So what we will be sharing is the building of our booth for The Colonial Craftsman’s Faire in Newport News, Virginia this May. We will be traveling to The Endview Plantation to launch our new historic line called Coach House Heritage. My love of all things historic has inspired me to create a line that will span from the late 1700’s to the Civil War. Over 20 new pieces Papier Mache and another 25 in fabric will launch on the web and in person in Virginia May 16th!
Off with a dream…I envisioned a total environment to surround my work in, something modular, something historic, something grand…I envisioned Mount Vernon! You have to understand once i have a idea it’s pretty hard to stop that train. So the planning began, the sketch were whipped out, the materials thought out, the budget put into place. Supporters check! We will be creating a scale down version of George Washington’s impressive home. The measurements will be 20′ across by 16′ deep, the roof will climb up to around 12′. It will be a single room you will walk into set like the smaller “Green” dining room at Mount Vernon. A working front door and two rear doors along with at least four working windows. The copula, the dormers and chimneys will be faux but in three dimension. We will be demonstrating our 18th century process for papier mache casting during the days behind the building.
If you are interested in coming to view my creation, please sign up for my e-mail mailing list by sending me an e-mail and I’ll send you a discounted ticket and a special treat from Middleburg.
Our e-mail: team@MiddleburgFolkArtStudio.com
I hope to end each one of these blogs with a tip or tidbits about business, and creating your dreams.
So Tip #1: Dream big, figure out how you can make it possible, plan it out and find the ones in your life to give you that emotional support. So when you doubt yourself at some point in the project they will help carry you back to the Dream.!
March 31, 2009
· Filed under Folk Art · Tagged bird, blue, bluebird, cake, good luck, handmade, happiness, Middleburg Folk Art Studio, paper mache, papier-mâché, topper, wedding
This is our sweet Bluebird Wedding cake topper!
Sometimes the simplest little things in life are the best. I’ve collected some fun facts about bluebirds here to make you happy:
In symbolism – the bluebird is the universally acknowledged sign of happiness, prosperity, good health, and arrival of Spring. The beautiful blue of its plumage is associated with the sky and eternal happiness.
Myth 1 – the Bluebird is a “man of laughter” and symbolizes happy love. I always knew they were good luck, but didn’t really know why.
Myth 2: the Bluebird flutters around humans and reports back to the gods. It very well could be that the phrase “a little bird told me,” spawned from it.
So with all these lovely facts I hope my bluebirds keep bringing luck and happiness, where they are topping your wedding cake or just sitting quietly by on a shelf.
You can find a wide range of bluebirds in my etsy shop: www.middleburg.etsy.com
February 10, 2009
· Filed under Folk Art · Tagged Crown & Crumpet, Crown & Crumpet Tea Salon, cup cake, March 2009, Middleburg Folk Art Studio, paper mache, papier-mâché, Romantic Homes magazines, sweets, Tea and Folk Art, Tea Salon, treat boxes, www.CrownAndCrumpet.com
a sweet place to keep your treats
All are little boxes so you can keep your personal delights inside. These would also make a lovely way to take a gift to a friend this spring. Can you imagines showing up at a wedding or baby shower with one of these instead of the usual gift bag.
For the Love of Tea!
I was going to simply tell you all about a wonderful tea shop that is carrying my work. But then I was skipping through the grocery store yesterday and low and behold on the cover of one of my favorite magazines is Crown & Crumpet! The yummy mix of sweets and treats caught my eye right there on Romantic Homes magazines March issue!
So we at Middleburg are so pleased to announce that Crown & Crumpet Tea Salon has a lovely selection of some of are newest pieces. This is a absolutely the most charming spot to slip tea and eat little treats. So if you find yourself in the San Francisco area soon please go stop by. Here is there website for more info:
www.CrownAndCrumpet.comI only wish they were closer so, because I would be a regular!
