oh dear. it must be friday. i can tell that it’s time to go home as i just noticed the above typo on my labels (after i had affixed them to baggies AND photographed them)! oxdizied? what on earth is that?! hey, at least it’s not in quotes, right? (thanks whitney and juliet for pointing me to that blog)
i’m packing up and going out to spend some time with one of my favorite people, rebecca!
happy friday!
(a little snippet from the quotes blog)
new earrings for the “pretty in pink” collection- available soon
i cannot possibly condense into one blog post my buyers market of american craft experience. i’ll save that for another day. . . sometime far away. the gears in my brain have been turning nonstop since friday- unable to sleep for the past few days, instead, thinking about all the things that i learned over the weekend and all the work i have ahead of me in the near future. i have to say that my VERY FAVORITE part of the entire experience was the time i was able to spend with crafty friends from far and wide 
!!! my booth was right next to my friend, the very lovely and so talented beth pohlman, i was also able to hang out with alisa miller, ali dryer, amy tavern, chat with adam smith, and finally meet rhonda and elijah of figs and ginger. rhonda and elijah provided this tradeshow newbie here with invaluable advice and encouragement. thanks so much everyone! you are all so awesome.
i’m leaving for vegas VERY SOON and couldn’t be more psyched for a COMPLETELY different type of show!!!!
anyhoo, in non-work-related (and super exciting) news, guess what show i got tickets to?
YES!!!! iron & wine in baltimore this november! seriously. hope you all are having a great week. be back soon!
p.s. all orders placed while i was gone have been shipped! xoxo
thank you so much for your words of encouragement in the last post. they all made me smile and gave me the pep i needed so much.
today i want to share some of my recent inspirations and things that make me happy:
1. we jam econo a documentary about the punk band the minutemen
2. what jane said in the last post, “art will always save you”
what are some of yours?
you know, sometimes with all the chaos and stress of running a small business, i completely and totally forget myself- who i am, and why i’m doing this in the first place.
this very thing happened to me in the past few days! here i am, running around getting ready for this show coming up this weekend- fretting about details like: what kind of track lighting i need to buy, will that big new sign arrive in time? is this the right size label? did that company REALLY discontinue the necklace busts that i always use?. . . i could go on.
on sunday i pinched a nerve in my neck and i have no doubt that it was caused by stress. today i set aside a few hours to make some final pieces of jewelry for the weekend and as soon as i sat down at the bench and picked up my jewelers saw. . . i felt myself finally breathe again. i remembered that my first true love is jewelry making! i’m a jeweler first and foremost and i love this job.
just had to share. don’t know when i’ll be back, but i’ll talk to you soon.
xoxo
sigh. want to talk about bad timing?
FINALLY, grace bonney, of design*sponge is holiding a biz ladies night right here in my fine city. the bad news for me is that i will be on the way to philly for that wholesale show i keep fretting about!!! will you be lucky enough to attend?
please see here for all the details
just a little reminder that today is the last day of our “first sale on etsy anniversary sale!” (quite a mouthful there). use coupon code “bananas” if you are shopping here or wait for a revised invoice if you are shopping on etsy. last chance for 25% off that piece you’ve been eyeing!
we are leaving for my first wholesale show early friday morning. i am, surprisingly, calm. okay. so i’m swinging from calm to wildly panicy and i happen to be in my calm state right now. as far as my preparations go, it’s all about crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s at this point. as i type that sentence, i moved a little towards panicy. . .
i realized this morning that i forgot to make weekend arrangements for the lovely joey and dottie. oh dear. the poor pooches! hopefully, they will have sitters by the end of the day. we played a little fetch at the park this morning and picked up this fruit on the way home. remember that HUGE flower from a few posts ago? voila, the fruit from that tree. you are right, readers, it must be a magnolia as i have a smaller version of this fruit from a different magnolia tree.
details and fruit
i completely forgot to mention that i was lucky enough to be chosen for two interviews at some of my favorite places on the web! one over at indie fixx and another at craftsylish!
photo from etsy storque
if you’re going to listen to the below mentioned podcast. here’s what you’ve got in store:
Chanel says re: Confessions post :
“why are all these people, the young crafters, sitting here and being angry at bruce while they could be making things”
“alright! there are some angry people, not making stuff, being angry”
my thoughts:
don’t even get me started
the podcast is now available here and here
it was pretty cool to watch it all happen via the virtual labs last night. thank you to etsy for providing the opportunity for those who could not travel. i must say, though, i would have preferred to be in the audience so that i could ask a few questions.
i do wish bruce and chanel could see the transcript from the virtual labs room. is that available anywhere? i shall check and see.
perhaps the craft council and etsy would like to invite me next time such an event like this goes down? *putting it out there in the universe* as that “confessions” post was mentioned an awful lot. . .
(and it’s imogene.ORG not .COM as was repeated numerous times incorrectly last night)
let me know what you think after you’ve given a listen, won’t you?
you might be seeing this in some of your favorite mags and blogs- our new ad designed by steve. thank you, steve!
(only three more days left to shop the sale)
this summer season i attempted to garden from seed. i started sunflowers, zinnias, lavender and basil indoors. i then brought them out to my outdoor square foot garden. well, i certainly didn’t have much luck! all of my plants seem to have stopped growing. so sad. it’s time to give these guys some organic fertilizer, i think. i do have one single very dwarfed zinnia though. . .to small victories!
photo by junkprints
today is the day many of us have been waiting for ever since this post- bruce metcalf and chanel kennebrew get together for a little one-on-one.
from the etsy storque:
“Connect/(Dis) Connect” New York, NY
The American Craft Council and Etsy present the second Summer in the City Salon Series, with Chanel Kennebrew, aka junkprints in conversation with jeweler Bruce Metcalf as they “explore the complicated relationships among the broad spectrum of craft makers today.” In other words, we’re talking old school/new school craft and the use of technology to promote and sell. A relevant topic for all Etsy sellers and anyone with an interest in these issues. It’s happening in person at the ACC library in New York, NY, AND live in the Virtual Labs. Don’t miss it!”
due to my schedule, i am unable to be travel to new york for this, instead, i’ll be watching the discussion live via the Virtual Labs! how absolutely amazing is that? you can too! just join me here at 6p.m. tonight.
(**Reminder- our sale ends in four days)
