Clay Fruit Bowls and Curtains

Store Happenings:

Meet Isabel Jarero from Tonala, Mexico, the forty-five year old creator of our newest clay fruit bowl designs. Isabel (and her husband and daughter) make each set by hand. To begin the process, they make clay from mud. Once the clay is ready, they form the fruits from a mold. The bowls, however, are completely shaped by hand. The finished pieces are then put in an oven to cure. Once cured, each item is painted by hand.

Go Fish offers several different fruit bowl designs by Isabel. They're perfect for a fall table display or as an ornamental addition to your dining room hutch.

In addition to the fruit bowls, we have several new home accessory items. If you've peered into the store windows lately, you may have noticed our new curtains. 52"x 84" long, they are made with a thick, natural upholstery fabric. The fabric is pleated at the top, exposing a batik fabric that opens vertically down the curtain. They are a unique accent piece for any room, and come in a batik sack that can double as a purse.

We also developed an embroidered batik design for pillow covers. Each cover is 16 x 16, a common size sold in fabric stores or online. An original leaf or dove batik pattern covers hand towels, perfect for any kitchen or bathroom. To display the embroidered design, you need only fold the towel in half. Woven palm leaf wastebaskets, tissue holders, and coasters offer another unique accent for your home.

Heart Transactions:

As my day in the store came to a close last week, a father daughter duo came in. The grown daughter asked to see some shoes. As we talked, I realized her story sounded very familiar. They were in Marietta, from Texas, for a baseball tournament. I asked if she had twins and if her mom sold real estate. When both questions received an affirmative answer, I remembered meeting the family on their trip to Georgia the previous year. Surprised that I remembered them, we enjoyed quite a lengthy visit. Their faith encouraged my own and I was blessed to learn a trip to "Go Fish Marietta" was now part of their baseball tournament vacation.

I'm looking forward to next year already.

Events on the Square:

http://www.mariettasquarefarmersmarket.net/ - 9am - 1 pm every Sat. till fall.

http://www.earlsmithstrand.org/ - check out "Movies for Munchkins" every Wed. at 10:30 am. And don't miss the Sing-A-Long viewing of Mama Mia Aug. 1 at 8 pm.

http://www.cobbchristmas.net/ - and celebrate "Christmas in July"; Sat., July 25th, 9 - 2 with a special showing of Home Alone at the Strand Theater at noon.

Concert on the Square; July 31st, featuring Grapevine (Rock n Roll/Beach) 8 pm.

Jessica, Loisa, and Our Classy Clothing

Store Happenings:

Since Go Fish is known for colorful batik prints, I want you to meet the brains behind our clothing. Jessica, the tall blond, is the main designer on this side of the ocean. She works with Loisa, the vibrant mother of twelve who runs our factory in Indonesia.

Loisa is about 55 yrs old and has been married to Bonbong, a building contractor, for 30 years. They have two children of their own and have adopted ten others from orphanages. Loisa is a woman with a huge heart and lots of personality. As Jessica learned on recent trip, Loisa is the only person unaffected by the Balinese humidity daring enough to wear heels in the Denpansar market. She runs on her on time clock, loves to introduce people to new things, and will sing in front of any crowd.

Loisa also has a clothing factory and employs about 30 workers. She works closely with her small team of pattern makers who are able to turn any sketch into a pattern and a working sample in just a couple of hours. Go Fish has even ordered some of their own designs for our stores through out the years. Not only does Loisa have a great eye for design and fabrication, she provides free training clinics for Hindu and Muslim women throughout the year to teach them how to sew. The clinics offer them a way to earn money.

Another fun fact: Loisa prays over every piece of clothing she makes for us.

Heart Transactions:
I worked for several hours during Rock & Wings last Saturday and enjoyed seeing several repeat customers, especially "The Buckhead Girls". I wasn't in the store months ago when they received their title but I've visited with them several times since. They embody the sunshine element of our store. When they visit the square, they're there to have fun. When they shop in our store, they pick the items I'd almost choose - the ones that stretch me a bit too much but always look great on them - jewelry or clothing.

Their stop in our shop is a small part of their day or night on the square. But I'm glad they come
by. They liven things up on a long day... like so many of you.

Event on the Square:
Farmers Market; every Saturday 9 -12.
Glover Park Concert Series; June 26th, 8pm, Beach/Oldies.
Cobb Symphony Orchestra; June 27th, 8 pm.
*Blankets and Chairs can be set up after 4pm for concerts.

Memorial Day and the Ortega Brother's "Clay Folk"

Store Happenings:
I spent the afternoon sorting jewelry, preparing for our big sale. Stop in this week for our buy one necklace get one free extravaganza in honor of Memorial Day. The sale runs May 21st through May 31st and includes great deals on clothes and shoes as well.

Our latest shipment arrives tomorrow. We're expecting several new outfits as well as colorful clay products made by the Ortega Brothers in a small town called Talagipace. Each piece is formed by hand, dried in the sun, and then painted with bright colors. The process is called "Barro Batus", meaning "Clay Folk" (or folk art using clay) and takes approximately one week to complete. The three brothers, Oscar, Geraldo, and Jr. support seven children combined and with your help, we help make that happen!

Heart Transactions:
When I entered Go Fish today, Don was deep in discussion with a couple in their mid-fifties. Turns out they'd been cruising the Caribbean on a 52 ft. boat for the past five years. They were stopped by pirates with guns and machetes last August but knew not to resist. They lost valuable equipment but not their lives.

A week ago, I met a young woman in the store who grew up in Columbia. Her missionary parents sent her to a boarding school in a remote area that ended up being targeted by Guerrillas. Two father figures were kidnapped and later shot. As her story unfolded, tears of courageous joy glistened in her bright blue eyes. Life still isn't easy. But when she lived on the constant verge of chaos, she discovered the God of the Universe is one you can trust.

I enjoy funky Go Fish clothes and can't wait to sell some jewelry this weekend. But even more, I love hearing stories that land me in someone else's shoes. Sometimes I need to step out of my own for a while.

Events on the Square:
Farmer's Market, every Saturday from May to September; 9-12.
Thursday, May 28th, Brown Bag Lunch Series, Glover Park; 12- 1.
Friday, May 29th, Concert on the Lawn, Beatles Tribute, 7-9.
Saturday May 30th, Rock and Wings, Glover Park, 2- 10.

Come see us!

What's This All About?

Welcome to the new Go Fish Marietta Square blog. In this day of high speed Internet connection, we've decided to try one more way to stay in touch with you, our valued customer. In each blog posting, we'll share Go Fish and Marietta Square happenings as well as information about our artisans. In time, this site will house a reference library of sorts where you can find information about our unique, handmade products. If you have questions about a specific item, you can ask them here and we'll do all we can to get an answer posted.

Since we value heart transactions as well as financial ones, we also plan to share a little of how God blesses us through your visits. We often stay encouraged by hearing what He has done in your lives.

So thanks for visiting our blog and we hope you'll come back again.

God Bless.