The Awesomeness Continues!

HELLO!! We’ve missed you guys. A lot has changed! If you don’t know this already, we moved our belongings, our studio, and ourselves across the country and are happily living in the snow filled region of western Pennsylvania! I know what you are thinking, “Snow??? What’s wrong with you Rafi And Klee?”

The truth is that we have missed the seasons, snow, and even the cold weather. Being born and raised in Chicago, we know that extremely cold weather is just part of the package and we love it. Also, I never acclimated to the heat in Florida, and anyone that knows me, knows that I hate being hot.

So, “why the move” you ask? Good question.

We found our dream home, a place to call our own, our OWN creative space! A new creative playground! It’s also substantially bigger than the basement apartment we have been trying to work out of for the last five years.

So, “what have you been up to” you ask? Good question.

We have been doing repairs, desperately trying to find contractors, and getting our studio back up and running. As full-time artists we rely on our art to make an income, so our priority is to get that underway. Unfortunately, our art studio has been shut down for several months due to a water leak while in Pensacola Florida. Although we were planning on opening it back up as soon as we moved, some much needed asbestos removal has to happen first. In the meantime, we’ve worked on everything that we can do ourselves and are making our beautiful house a cozy home/studio/gallery.

After a month of the crap hitting the fan in Pensacola, and almost two months of getting “settled” in our new home, I am happy to say that we are finally at a point where we can slow down a bit and get back to some semblance of normal. This year, with everything going on, I was not able to produce calendars or do the usual end of year shenanigans we usually do with our awesome online community. It’s been disappointing.

The process of moving your home and business is exciting, scary, and confusing… especially when half of your life is still in boxes. I personally have not been able to pick up a paintbrush for that last few months, our podcast is on hiatus, and our videos have been sporadic. Klee has not created jewelry since the leak in Florida destroyed her bench and damaged some of her tools, and music has taken a back burner to the chaos of relocating. My new book releases have been pushed back and things like fixing a drain and winterizing the house and Jeep take priority.

We’ve pushed ourselves further than we even knew possible and took on big house projects that we were not prepared for. Yet, with as tired and exhausted as we feel, I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.

So, “what now” you ask? Great question.

We have so many awesome creative plans for next year concerning the art, jewelry, books, music, podcasts, and videos. Instead of everything taking place in one catch-all room, we actually have the space to expand. We also have our own internet (it was shared for the last five years) so I have been able to wire the house for livestreams and really cool online sharing… but everything is taking place little by little and one step at a time. However, although the studio itself is not up and running yet, we are impatient and want to have some fun with you and share some art.

The website has been shut down for months and we think it’s time to open it back up. Made to order works will have to wait until the studio itself is up and running. However, Klee and I have hundreds of works of art and jewelry that are just sitting there not being seen by anyone. So, this Saturday December 11th 2021 at 5 PM EST we are inviting you to tune in to our FIRST LIVE STUDIO EVENT in our new home. This is a casual affair where we will show some art and jewelry, tell some stories, answer some questions, and play some music. We are also giving away $200 worth of prizes and also some ridiculous discounts as a big “thank you” for being there and supporting us through this craziness. Click on this banner to go to the page and enter the giveaway, we’ll announce winners during the stream.

Klee and I started our artistic journey over a decade ago and this year marks some of the BIGGEST changes that we have ever gone through. Many of you have gone on that journey with us, and many of you are going through big changes as well. As we look on into the future and reevaluate our past, we choose what the future will hold, and although it is now a little cold and dreary out, the future looks bright as can be.

We hope to see you at our virtual online event and I am looking forward to giving you a tour of our amazing creative playground known as “The Sunflower House.”

WHAT: Rafi & Klee Virtual Open Studio
WHEN: December 11th at 5 PM EST
WHERE: ONLINE HERE- https://rafiandklee.com/live/ And chat with us on YouTube during event here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsaKEI6BX8g

WHY: Because we are going to have a blast!