shop update!

The week of shop updates has begun!  Tonight its a collection of steel and silver leaf chains.

preview

I'm still working on photography and image processing for my planned shop update this week - but until then, here's a little preview of one of the new necklaces.

photo shoot

Its really difficult to photograph jewelry on yourself by yourself.  I think its time to invest in a remote for my camera.  

what i'm reading: the tipping point

Sometimes after I read something very academic and dense, I need to follow it up with something a little lighter.  Which means I'm finally getting around to reading The Tipping Point, which seems like a requisite book for anyone even slightly interested in business.  So far, (and I'm about halfway in) even though its an interesting read, I'm still waiting for something to click, for the part that feels really relevant and useful.

more new

Another new necklace in the works.  I'm hoping to photograph later this week, and I'm aiming for a major shop update sometime next week.

new

After steadily churning out production for over a month now, I gave myself permission to experiment with new designs today.  That translates into some new rings, new earring variations, and a new necklace that came to me first in a dream.  (I'm so not kidding about that.)

I'm off for a bike ride and run, then perhaps back into the studio...

"i should be in that"

Here's a little insight into how my mind works...

Logs onto Etsy homepage... "Hey, a black and white collection - I should be in that."

Scrolls down... "Oh wait, I am."

And then two minutes later while reading the Storque.   "Hey, an article about chain.  I should be in that."

Scrolls down... "Oh wait, I am."

Thanks to Etsy for the love today!

spring cleaning

Yesterday, I did a little cleaning to make room for the newest addition to my studio!  This press belonged to my grandfather, who passed away a little over a month ago.  (He had actually promised the press to me before he died.)  My grandfather was a machinist, and has more tools than I've ever seen in my life.  My press needs a few small modifications before its functioning, but hopefully that will be very soon.

flip-flops

Quite the difference from a few months ago. I'm really enjoying the first truly warm day in my studio.

Happy Friday!

oh deer

I never thought I'd find myself jumping on the deer trend, but living in the land of real mounted deer heads makes me appreciate the irony of hanging a faux head on my living room wall. My top two choices are the Vlaemsch deer (above) and the Handmade Wilderness Project by ruby's lounge (below, via Indie Fixx).

one crazy summer

Since I haven't had a chance to update my website, here's my latest summer show schedule:

Bethesda Fine Arts Festival
Bethesda, MD
May 10 & 11

Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival
Reston, VA
May 17 & 18

Art Star Craft Bazaar
Philadelphia, PA
May 31 & June 1

Columbus Arts Festival
Columbus, OH
June 6, 7 & 8

Renegade Craft Fair
(with Tara from Ink & Wit)
Brooklyn, NY
June 14 & 15

Three Rivers Arts Festival
Pittsburgh, PA
June 20, 21 & 22

Cain Park Arts Festival
Cleveland Heights, OH
July 11, 12 & 13

spring!

Its seems like while we were gone, there was an explosion of green here in PA. Spring is finally here. (And I can finally work comfortably out in my studio!)

what I'm reading: thinking through craft

I've had Glenn Adamson's Thinking Through Craft on my shelf for a few months now, but I didn't feel compelled to open it until I read (and enjoyed) Adamson's article on sloppy craft in the British Crafts Magazine.

While I wasn't wholly convinced about the way Adamson often uses art as a way to frame craft, overall I thought it was a worthwhile read. Adamson describes five characteristics of craft, supplemental, material, skilled, pastoral, and amateur. I found the chapters on pastoral and amateur most interesting and relevant to me.

While reading the chapter on pastoral, I found myself thinking a lot about my own lifestyle and the type of business I want.

The chapter on amateur felt pertinent to the discussion that's been going on online lately. This particularly struck me: "In theory, hobbyists are beneath the notice of the expert. In practice, though, the line between the two is often a blurred one. The boundary must constantly be policed, both through the power of institutions and the maintenance of skill or conceptual difficulty among individual professionals."

i heart san francisco

Today was our last day in San Francisco, and it was another gorgeous day. A little more site-seeing in the city, lunch in Stinson Beach, hiking in the Marin headlands, and dinner in Moss Beach. Such a fun trip - but now its time to go home and hit the studio again! (But we're already plotting excuses to make a return trip.)

in good company

Today was the trunk show at SF MOMA. It was fun - I met a lot of great people and got a good response to my work.

If you're in the San Francisco area but missed the show, you can still shop my work at the SF MOMA Museum Store. It was amazing to see so much exciting design work in the store and think to myself, "I'm in there too!"

muir woods

It was just too nice to spend the day inside today - so we went hiking in Muir Woods.

greetings from San Francisco!

Joe and I are here in San Francisco. We spent the day being touristy (hey, its our first time here). We went to Alcatraz, where I spent some time getting reacquainted with my digital SLR (I've been relying on the iPhone's convenience lately), and then wandered around the piers. There were so many interesting plants and blooming flowers on Alcatraz - it was so nice to be out wandering in the sunshine!

"stressed like a nightmare witch"

So much to do before we leave for San Francisco tomorrow - finishing work, shipping orders, packing, etc...

But still time for a quick contest! I'll send a little surprise (when I get back) to the first person who leaves a comment accurately identifying where the title phrase of this post came from. (I loved it the second I heard it.) Good luck!

grave tiles

Even though its been a month since my trip to Savannah, I can't seem to get these grave tiles from Bonaventure Cemetery out of my head. So, here are a few more pics to end the day with.

strengths/weaknesses

I'm really exhausted this morning - I've been in serious production mode lately. (Though I did have time to squeeze in a run yesterday at one of my favorite local parks.)

I've been thinking a lot about my own strengths and weaknesses as I envision my business growing. I want to make sure that when it comes time to hire employees, I'm choosing people whose skills compliment my own. So, here's a mini list of my (business related) strengths and weaknesses:

Strengths - strong design vision, passionate, motivated, efficient at production work, really honed the techniques I use in my work, enjoy face to face sales, workaholic

Weaknesses - disorganized (if you could see my office...), not enthused about bookkeeping, takes me a while to return calls/emails, workaholic

I'm sure this list will continue to grow, but it really helps to clarify things a little.

don't you hate it when

I really hate it when you have an idea in your head that you are super psyched about, and before you have time to make it, you see something eerily similar. Bummer. What a disappointing start to my Thursday.

sigh of relief

I just found out that I got into the Cain Park Arts Festival in Cleveland Heights, OH. Yay! This will be my third year at Cain Park, and its one of my very favorite shows. (Cain Park was also the first craft show I ever did.)

Hopefully, I'll see you in NE Ohio in July!