(catching) up

Its been more than a few days since I've blogged last, and I feel like my life has been a whirlwind.  The gift fair, a trip to the bamboo bike studio, and then cross country camp for 3 days.  I'm wiped and the next few weeks aren't going to be much better.

I promise I'll be blogging about the gift fair and the bamboo bike studio, but for now I thought I'd share this picture from cross country camp.  (In case you're wondering what I'm talking about, I was one of 3 chaperones for a group of 15 high school and middle school cross country runners.)  It was an incredibly stressful 3 days (for a number of reasons), but one of the coolest things we did was climb to the top of this mountain!  Straight up the cleared section!

I'm actually scared of heights, but I was fine the whole way up and down.  My focus was completely on the kids and making sure they made it up (and down) safely.  It was pretty cool to realize I can move beyond my fears when helping others.

the last minute

Seriously, when did I become so last minute?  I'm leaving for the gift fair tonight, and I've still got a million things to do!

No time for proper blogging, so I thought I'd share a peak of little project I'm working on for my booth.  Wish me luck!

colors

As is always the case it seems, I'm back from our annual week camping at the lake and am suddenly panicking that New York Gift is less than a week away!  How does it always sneak up on me?  I'll be spending the next few days scrambling around - choosing colors for my booth, updating line sheets, getting together promo materials, and all the other miscellaneous pre-show tasks!

And thanks so much for your comments on my last post - lots of great things to think about!

how much? (and what colors?)

Last week I picked up a big batch of the new ornaments in white from my powder coater.  I'm planning on doing a whole wall of them for my booth at NY Gift.

I've got an idea of where I want to go with the pricing, but I though I'd throw it out to you?  How much would you be willing to pay for one of these (retail)?  (Each is 3" in diameter from laser cut and powder coated steel.)  What would you be willing to pay for a set of 3?  Or a set of 6? 

And while you're suggesting, how about colors?  What other colors would you like to see them in (besides white)?

Thanks!

the $10 book sale

If you know me at all, you may know that I have a slight addiction to book buying.  (Ok, that's a lie - I have a huge addiction to book buying.)  Well, its time to purge some of my collection to make room for new books. 

I've decided to make some of my books available for sale - all are just $10 (including shipping in the US only).  They are all used, but in very, very good condition.  If you're interested, just email me at meauman(at)yahoo(dot)com and I'll send you a PayPal invoice for your book (or books).

Here's what I have available:

Cutting Your Car Use by Randall Ghent

Creatively Self-Employed by Kristen Fischer

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

The Weblog Handbook by Rebecca Blood

Chi Running by Danny Dreyer

Fast Track by Suzy Favor Hamilton and Jose Antonio

Asphalt Nation by Jane Holtz Kay

Runner's World Complete Book of Women's Running by Dagny Scott

Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky

Guidelines for Online Success by Rob Ford

The End of Overeating by David A. Kessler

Buying In by Rob Walker

Traffic by Tom Vanderbilt

If you'd like any of these, or need more info, please email me at meauman(at)yahoo(dot)com.

moomah

I've been thinking a lot lately about how amazing it would be to run a little space where I could teach classes of all sorts - bicycling, jewelry and metals, or whatever my little heart desires.  Moomah, a creative arts cafe in Manhattan, is a stunning example of what I'd love to have someday.  I'm planning on stopping in when I'm in the city next.  We'll call it "research."  Yummy tasting, visually stunning research.

via Design*Sponge

where the wild things are

Last night, I went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince with my little brother.  I'm sure we annoyed everyone in the theatre with our best Statler and Waldorf impressions, but we've both read the HP books so many times that was hard not to be a little critical.  I'd recommend going to see it though, if for nothing else than to see this trailer on the big screen:

It was amazing to see it in the theatre, and I can only imagine its going to be the best film of the year.  I can't wait until October 16th!

my little bike bag

Tonight I embarked on a quick craft project - a little bag that mounts on my top tube to hold food or necessities when I'm on a long ride.  I've wanted something like this for a while, but decided I would attempt to make one first instead of buying one.

As is usually the case, my first attempt didn't go as well as I'd hoped, but I think its servicable for now.  Plus, I used fabric and velcro that I had on hand, so all it cost me was $1.50 for the zipper and an hour of my time.

and the free FREE goes to...

Thanks to random.org, the winner of my extra copy of Free is...

Kathleen Stoltzfus!  

Congrats, Kathleen - email me at meauman(at)yahoo(dot)com with your address so I can send you your book.  (And may I say, Stoltzfus - quite the PA Dutch last name!)

heidi lowe gallery

On the way home from the beach, I stopped by Heidi Lowe Gallery in Rehoboth Beach, DE to check out the Earring Show.  Heidi runs such an adorable gallery that carries really innovative art jewelry.  I've been lucky enough to be represented by her for the last few years.  (Heidi and I also teach together in the Metals + Jewelry and Interdisciplinary Object Design department at Towson Univeristy - but we almost never see each other, because we're always there on different days!)

Heidi changes the displays for every show - and the results are always fresh and fun.  If you're heading towards the beach in Delaware or Maryland this summer, I highly recommend stopping by.  The Earring Show just came down, but I'm guessing Jim Charles solo show will be worth checking out too.  (And be sure to browse the drawers for all Heidi's represented artists, including yours truly.)

free FREE

I've been anxiously awaiting the release of Chris Anderson's Free: The Future of a Radical Price for months.  Since it came out on Tuesday, while we were still at the beach, I reserved a copy at the local bookstore so I could be sure to have it right away.

Imagine my surprise when I got home from the beach to find a Free copy waiting for me.  (Ok, I shouldn't have been too surprised, since I did request it.)  The good news for you, my wonderful readers, is that I've now got an extra copy and I'm giving it away!  (Sorry though, I'm keeping the copy signed by the author - blogger's privilege.) 

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post, and on Monday afternoon, I'll pick a winner.  

And in case you're wondering, I'm about 3/4 of the way through the book, and so far, its excellent.  It's really got me thinking about new ways to approach my business.  (I'll post a full review here once I'm done reading.)

Good luck!

what I'm reading: the pine island paradox

After seeing The Pine Island Paradox mentioned on Laura's blog, I promptly added it to my "on the beach" reading list. In the book, author Kathleen Dean Moore writes about her connection to nature, and most importantly what it means to love a place.

For most of my adult life, I've felt more connected to the beach than anywhere else. I worked there for 4 summers during college, and inevitably at some point during the summer, I find myself wishing I was there. But as I sat on the beach reading Moore's description of what it means to love a place, I found myself wishing I was somewhere else - home.

Other than the 7 years I was in college and grad school, I've lived my whole life in a small town in Pennsylvania. And I was never really happy there. Until I started bicycling last year. Suddenly, I was exposed to all the natural beauty that comes with living in a rural place. As I've ridden my bike along the base of the mountains, through rolling farmland, and into sun-drenched valleys, I've realized how lucky I am to live in such a beautiful place.

Today while riding, another rider came up behind me and asked for directions. As we talked, he told me he lived in San Francisco, but had grown up in the area and was thinking of moving back because it was "just so beautiful here." It made me laugh, because on our trips to San Francisco (especially when we were north of the bridge in Marin County), Joe and I marveled at how beautiful it is there, and how we'd like to move. But as I've put more miles on my bike here at home, I've grown so attached to the natural world around me.

Reading The Pine Island Paradox really reminded me of our human need to be connected to nature. It also strengthened my desire to help more people get on bikes. I've lived in this area for 20 years, but I only felt connected to it when I started experiencing it by bike. If more people felt that connection to the natural world around them, imagine what a better world we'd live in.

lace in translation

Lace in Translation, which opens at the Design Center at Philadelphia University in September, will feature works by Cal Lane (those are her oil drums pictured above), Tord Boontje, and the Dutch design firm Demakersvan.  Looks like this is going to be a fantastic show!

what I'm reading: business and the buddha

Since I'm thinking more about the kind of business I want to have, and the importance of creating value (and not just making money), I pulled Business and the Buddha from my stack of "to be read" books.  

I didn't really find most of the ideas in the book earth shattering (though perhaps they would be if I was the CEO of GM or some other company like that).  Instead, they reinforced what I've already been thinking about.  Author Lloyd Field stresses that the primary goal of any business should be to "Cause No Harm," whether it be to the environment, employees, or customers.  Field then goes through Buddhist principals to help clarify how a business can "Cause No Harm" and "Create a Better Society."

One of the most important ideas I took from the book was my need to create a value statement.  Its clear to me that in my business, my goal isn't just to create profit, but I really need to clarify my values and communicate those to my customers as well.  

create (value) every day

As some of you may have noticed, I did not attend this year's SNAG conference.  But I did have one of my friends pick up some information from the Professional Development Seminar for me.  I was curious to know how the information was similar or different from what I had presented the previous year.

One of the handouts was basically an advertisement for services the speaker's company provided.  One of the those services was a kind of social media set-up - basically the company would build you a Facebook or MySpace page and then spend 2-3 hours teaching you "best practices."  The cost for this service - $750!

My first reaction was, "I've got to get in on that. I could make bank!"  And in fact, I've toyed with the idea of doing web and social media consulting before, particularly after I presented at the PDS in Savannah.  But, at this point in my life, I can't decide if its something that I would want to do.  

You see, I've become increasingly concerned about what I do providing value to the world around me.  Its taken me a while to get there, but I think I've come to appreciate that the things I make and design do add value to people's lives.  (At least I hope they do.)  And I certainly believe that all my bike advocacy and education activities help improve the community around me.  (If I didn't, I wouldn't be doing them.)  But setting up someone's Facebook page?  I just don't see the value in that.  As a friend recently pointed out to me, apparently this makes me "an entrepreneur, but not a capitalist."  

I couldn't agree more that I'm an entrepreneur.  I come up with a new business idea practically every week.  (And I swear I'm going to do a better job of writing them down.)  But most of them have a greater purpose than just to make as much money as humanly possible.  I just don't believe that is the be all, end all in life.

On Thursday, I went to Ignite Baltimore and one of the speakers was Jim Kucher, who heads the Entrepreneurship Program at the University of Baltimore.  Jim spoke about businesses that fall under the rough banner of Social Entrepreneurship.  For-profit companies that are using their profits to generate real change.  These businesses are the future of activism in America.  In fact, Jim went so far as to say that "charity cannot fund systemic change".  I was truly inspired by his talk.

So, where am I going with all of this?  Well, while riding my bike today, I was thinking about the best ways to help encourage more people to bike.  In the past, I've always thought about starting a non-profit of my own.  But today I wondered, why does it have to be a non-profit?  Why can't I create programs or services that help fund other programs and services?  What if I became a bicycle consultant?  (For lack of a better term - and I seriously need to come up with a better term.)  Perhaps I couldn't charge $750.  But for certain things (say, services to other businesses) maybe I could.  The point is that I'd be doing something I believe in.  I'm not quite sure what any of this would look like yet, but I think its an idea worth pursuing further.  Any suggestions?

Oh, and if you're still reading at this point in the post, the little journal (which I'm planning on using to write down more of my business ideas) is from Compendium Incorporated.  They were giving them away at the National Stationary Show.  Which, in my mind, is a pretty good way to create a fan for life.

5 bowls

My summer class is over - but I think I managed to make some good progress.  Here are the 5 bowls I completed.  

But I'm still not done with my raising exploration - I'm planning on spending some more time in the studio at school this summer.  After we get back from the beach, that is!

Sunday afternoon eye candy, courtesy of my students

For my summer session class, I assigned my students a paper (its actually a University mandate for 100-level art electives).  I decided to have my students choose one artist from Klimt02 and discuss their work.  I had a lot of fun reading their papers and gaining insight into some jewelers I don't usually look at.  Here are some of their finds:

Lauren Kalman - 

Chris Irick - 

Ela Bauer - 

Helen Britton - 

Myung Urso - 

tri, tri again

This morning I did my second triathlon of 2009.  This one certainly had some advantages over the last one - it was women only (which is just cool), the field was much smaller (200 vs 750), and it was a pool swim (no freezing cold lake).  I'm not totally happy with my time - I had a really rough run.  I developed a horrible side stitch just past mile 1, and it took me a mile to work it out.  

But I'm trying to focus on the positives.  Even though my bike time was a little slower than I would have liked, I was pleased with how the bike went.  I didn't get passed by a single rider, and spent the bike just focusing on the next person in front of me, picking people off one by one.  Then, part way through the ride, two guys out for their Sunday ride turned onto a road just as I was turning.  One of the guys told me I had a really, really cool bike and wished me luck in the race.  The two guys got a little ahead of me on the downhill, but I managed to hang with them on the next uphill and pass them on the uphill after that.  How's that for a confidence boost?

Now I've got to find a fall tri to do!

ornament prototypes

After getting everyone's feedback on the ornament (both here and on Twitter), I was able to step back and really think about my collection and what I wanted to do.  I also thought about some of my goals when designing the new collection, including the major goal of developing things I didn't have to make.  And yet as much as I love the new collection, I realize that the price point is a little high for many people, especially right now.

So it seems only fitting to develop a line of laser cut ornaments using the patterns in my new collection.  They could function as a much more affordable version of my line.  (Hopefully - I have sent the designs to my laser cutter for a quote yet.)  

These are just the prototypes that I hand pierced to get a feel for the designs.  What do you think?  I still haven't settled on how to hang them yet.

marking time

Part way through bowl #4, I started tracing the rim of the bowl to see the progression of the diameter.  I like that it makes this reverse tree ring sort of effect - marking the history of my bowl.

It also reminds me of a chapter in Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac, where he traces the history of the county by the rings in the tree they are cutting into for firewood.