Winner Winner Better Than A Chicken Dinner! and More Door County Images

As a photographer there is no better feeling than when someone notices your craft.  Except when you win recognition for your work.  This weeks announcement of our image, Cana Shares Night with Milky Way" being picked as first prize winner by Mary Bergen and Roads Traveled's "Only in Wisconsin" Photo Contest.  Came at such a surprise, as we had only just returned from traveling to Door County with the Oshkosh Photography Group for a Night Sky Photography Event, when my husband Roy caught an article in the Appleton Post Crescent advertising the contest.  I had time...so I entered...never even giving it a thought...that we might actually...WIN!  Thank God I had time that day. I decided in sharing this information with you I would also make a plug for a couple of other interesting images and tidbits, rather obscure in Door County's history and beauty.  Take a gander!

Cana Shares Night With Milky Way
 http://www.capturedoorcounty.com/users/CollectionsbyCarol
"Only in Wisconsin" Photo contest winner at Roads Traveled
http://roadstraveled.com/views/and-the-winner-is-only-in-wisconsin/

Jens Jensen Winding Road
"One of the most photographed landmarks of the Northern Door is the Jens Jensen Winding Road.  Reportedly there are 15 curves in a one and a half mile stretch between Timberline Rd and Porte de Mortes Drive.

There are two theories as to the "why" behind the design.  The first being it was designed that way to slow tourists down so they didn't drive straight into Lake Michigan. The second, more appealing to me at least,  is it was simply designed by famous landscape Architect  Jen's Jensen, Father of The Clearing Folk School, established in 1935, and not an engineer. 

If you haven't made the trip from Gills Rock to Northport, where you reach the end of Hwy 42 and take the Ferry over to Washington Island for any other reason, I suggest you take this fantastical drive if for no other reason, than to slow down and notice the beauty of Wisconsin's Northern Door. Especially beautiful in fall or just after a fresh snowfall.

Carlson's Island View Orchard

We have traveled past this historic building so many times I couldn't possibly number them. But this trip I was going to stop....no matter I really didn't have the proper time to.

A Door County (treasured secret) the building and two others just like it (now demolished) once housed 300 German prisoners of war who picked 508,020 pounds of cherries in the summer of 1945, as American GIs stood guard.
                                                                               

Online Store:  https://www.facebook.com/CollectionsbyCarol

Online Store:  https://www.facebook.com/CardsAsArt

Website:  http://www.collectionsbycarol.com
Email:  info@collectionsbycarol.com
Blog:  Collections by Carol
LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/pub/carol-toepke/53/ 11a/576
Or follow me at:
http://www.capturedoorcounty.com/users/CollectionsbyCarol
http://www.capturewisconsin.com/users/caroltoepke

Business Information:
Carol Toepke
504 Theodore Street
Fremont, WI 54940
Phone:  920-446-3756
 

Collections by Carol NOW available at two NEW Brick and Mortar Shops

So I haven't written a blog entry in so long you have probably thought I have dropped off the face of the earth.  NO SO.  I've been so busy that I just have not been able to keep up with updating everything.  Keeping up with our current lifestyle and commitments is hard but fun!  So much has changed in the last year.

I've been selling images to OUR WISCONSIN MAGAZINE consistently for over a year now.  So we've had images in the last 7 issues and still going strong.  We recently found out just how many people actually follow us on our adventures through the magazine when we had a family life event where a lot of our friends and family came to visit and commented on so many of our images.  It was so life and career confirming to hear so many wonderful compliments from so many of you!  So thanks to all of you that stopped by and said ..."we LOVE you pictures in Our Wisconsin Magazine"...and encouraged us to keep shooting.  We will, I promise, the best is yet to come!

The magazine keep us hopping.  We are always trying to stay ahead of their requests so during 2014 we put on over 20,000 miles; and all of this was traveling just the State of Wisconsin! During our travels to all the small communities in our area for local farm markets and gallery walks we met and decided to team with two wonderful venues.  First, Julie Balson at the Gallery and Frame Shop in Fond du Lac invited us to sell items during a Gallery Walk event where we quickly became great friends...and she started carrying some of our items and then selling our items. And more recently, we  teamed with Alissa Jacoby-Henrickson and her brand NEW store that just opened in Kimberly; Creative Juices Artisan Shoppe.  Alissa is a wonderful example of a artisan/teacher who had dreams of opening her shop since 2009.  And when the bottom fell out of the economy so did her plans; until now.

We decided it was much easier and much more cost and time effective to place items in several brick and mortar stores than it was to travel, set-up, man our booth, take down and travel back home...all during what could potentially be precious shooting time.  Because we live and shoot in Wisconsin, where the weather changes every five minutes, we were loosing out on a lot of precious shooting time while we were manning a booth at an event.  It was more like a win-lose situation when we had to keep making choices as to whether we wanted to enter an event or to shoot.  This way items are on display and for sale 6 days a week in a store front (Creative Juices will even have all the items online very shortly). We are more available to our customer that way. And we are free to shoot any day the weather or an event inspires us.  We're also available to take off at a moments notice where as commitments for events were holding us back.  Don't get me wrong....we are still doing Gallery Shows and will have several openings this coming year.  I haven't updated my calendar yet, but have items at the Share Gallery in Fond du Lac right now; and planned for the Trout Museum in Appleton and Wild Apple Gallery in Menasha. So watch for those coming event announcements on my Facebook page.

Anyway.....I'm so excited to announce these two wonderful women and Brick and Mortar Store Fronts that are currently carrying our items!

Gallery and Frame Shop
94 South Main Street
Fond du Lac, WI
920-921-1144
Ask for Julie!
http://www.galleryframe.net
https://www.facebook.com/galleryframe

                AND

Creative Juices Artisan Shoppe
309 Kimberly Ave
Kimberly, WI
920-858-9393
Ask for Alissa!
http://www.getyourjuicesmoving.com
https://www.facebook.com/CJArtisanShoppe

Happy Shopping!

Online Store:  https://www.facebook.com/CollectionsbyCarol

Online Store:  https://www.facebook.com/CardsAsArt

Website:  http://www.collectionsbycarol.com
Email:  info@collectionsbycarol.com
Blog:  Collections by Carol
LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/pub/carol-toepke/53/ 11a/576
Or follow me at:
http://www.capturedoorcounty.com/users/CollectionsbyCarol
http://www.capturewisconsin.com/users/caroltoepke

Business Information:
Carol Toepke
504 Theodore Street
Fremont, WI 54940
Phone:  920-446-3756