i, like so many of the people in my life, have been touched/affected by this “economic climate” (to use the parlance of our times) we live in today. i have seen me and my friends either lose our jobs or fear for our jobs, and, far, far worse, second-guess ourselves, our talents and capabilities.

i certainly have ridden this economic and emotional wave, at times elated and others clinging on for dear life. currently, i feel so blessed and grateful to be able to grow my business at all and to see new opportunities rising from every which way.

in order to ride this awesome wave out safely, i am making a few changes in my life:

firstly i will be downsizing: moving out of my studio space by mid-june and into a new space with two AMAZING friends & jewelers, eliza & laurel. i’m ecstatic to soon be amongst PEOPLE again! it does get very isolating working all alone in my current space.

more on my new creative direction soon. . .

secondly, i will be seizing aforementioned opportunities!

truly the best thing that has happened to me in the last year is finding my yoga practice. practicing yoga helps me not only to catch glimpses of my whole self, but it also helps me to see the true nature, beauty and connectivity of all beings and moments. (in a nutshell ) in my life, i hope to give the gift of yoga as it has been given to me. when i feel that i am ready, i would like to study and earn a teacher certification.

along with the usual dogwalking, jewelry making and yoga, i’m working on my very first book proposal! i have no idea what i’m doing and it’s such fun to dive head first into a brand new adventure. if you all have ANY advice whatsoever, i’d love to talk to you! (unfortunately, that’s all i can say about the book!).

thank you all so much for your support and for taking the time to read my blog! what are some of the changes you’ve made and opportunities you’ve seized to adjust? can’t wait to turn the page with you! xoxo

tomorrow steve and i will be here:

steve found stupendously cheap flights to seattle months ago and couldn’t resist.  you know how we LOVE seattle.  after looking around for a place to stay, i found this cabin an hour away from seattle and couldn’t resist either!  our seattle jaunt has turned a little woodsy.

i can’t wait to kick back, read, hike and relax.  i’ll be back next week with the scoop.

until then, don’t forget to check out the necklace giveaway at creature comforts
and
perhaps you can help these sweet kittens in need of a home at jane’s place.

xoxo

i am so so proud of my bff this morning.  she is a talented photographer & awesome new mommy.  i hope you get a chance on this lovely friday to flip through a beautiful new book , fresh m.i.l.k (moments of intimacy, laughter, and kinship), that she has contributed to (by winning a competition!!).  i guarantee that it will give you warm fuzzies and make you smile.   i can’t wait to get the hardcover in my hands.  love you, bff.

(if anyone in the san diego area is in need of a portrait photographer, i have the woman for you.  please contact me.)

now time for lots and lots and lots of sanding

i love the few days before a show. well. . . sometimes. i either get SUPER FOCUSED or SUPER UNFOCUSED. this time around- i’m in the work zone and really loving it. i think that walking dogs part time (1-3 days out of the week) not only gives me the opportunity to clear my head, but it is enough time to miss working at the bench, that when i return i’m ready to GO!

i’ll be unveiling some new earring designs at the handmade market on sunday. also, there will be styles presently in the collection that will be available unoxidized. i’m so disappointed that my new PONOKO project will not be available at the show like i hoped. . a warning to those who are thinking of trying PONOKO out- it takes FOREVER to produce your design!!!

****

have you all heard the wonderful crafty news? our friend, andrew wagner, editor of american craft will now be editor-in-chief of ReadyMade! congratulations to andrew and ReadyMade!

more here! and here!

crafty weekend coming right up!

in case you haven’t heard from me already ( HA! ), i’ll be at the handmade market this weekend in raleigh. (anyone have vegan restaurant recommendations? i’d love to hear them!).

while i can’t wait for my trip to raleigh, i’m so sad that i’ll be missing out on the first ever summit of awesome: a THREE-day crafty affair for artists and crafters including the screening of handmade nation, and a lecture from one of my favorite duos on one of my favorite topics: something’s hiding in here on the Craft Fair Booth Setup and Display panel.

psssttt. . . you can still enter to win tickets to the screening here

if you are in or around northampton, ma- lucky you!! i wish i could visit the twist fair with you, because i’ve heard that it is a SPECTACULAR show. (say hi! to our buds red prairie press and twigs & heather!)

if you are a baltimorean and sticking around this weekend, i highly recommend the third installment of the Maestro Sensational trilogy!!!

“Witness the rebirth of vaudeville with host and giant-sock extraordinaire Maestro Sensational and his loyal ragtag gang of Sockophants! Your charming host will present a veritable uprising of comic bits and slapstick revival. See him unveil the talents of Baltimore’s paradigms of puppetry! Enliven your heart with the toe-tapping tunes of host-band Walker and Jay!”

metalsmith extraordinaire April Wood will be guest performing too!

(no one under 17, please)

if you’re not a resident of one of these crafty cities, check out this indie craft show guide- maybe there is a show near you this weekend!

what has everyone been up to all week?! between getting myself together for the handmade market, shipping orders, correspondence, dog walking and keeping house, i just haven’t had time to pop in here or take proper photos to share with you (please excuse the above camera phone photos).

i’ve missed it here! (i’ve still been twittering away, though).  so what’s been going on around here?

this week in the studio, i started the second ring (pictured above) in the ring series that i will be working on throughout the year (see the first ring here).

also, i sent my very first file to ponoko!  i thought i would join in on all the ponoko fun that everyone is having.  i can hardly wait to receive the package in the mail AND show you what i’m up to!  soon.  very, very soon. . .

when i wasn’t in the studio, you could find me in the kitchen:

my gastronomical accomplishments included baking coconut cupcakes for eliza’s birthday and making gnocchi from stratch (not so pretty, but very tasty).

or outside:

one of the (many) advantages of dog walking is the discovery of all kinds of  hidden baltimore gems.  while walking the two pups pictured above, i stumbled across a short and shady nature trail alongside a stream- right in the middle of the city.   and just last week i stumbled across this scene in the middle of the woods:

steve and i also made it out to sherwood gardens yesterday for what, i believe, is the peak tulip viewing weekend.  (the tulip pictured in the weekend recap is one from our own garden )

thank you, as always, for taking the time to visit me here.  i hope you all had a great week(end) too!

xoxo

i’ve been reading jane wynn’s blog for years- before imogene began and way before i started my own blog.  i admire jane’s dedication to her work and love to hear all about what she’s up to daily.  most of all, i love her candidness.  one of my favorite parts of the blog is jane’s self-portraits-something i don’t do enough (or at all!).  i think it is really healthy to share yourself with others in that way-to be so open. . .   i really see it as a gift.  so, this post is for you, jane.  thank you for the gifts and for being an inspiration to me!

also a psa: always wear safety glasses in your studio!

to my blog friends, i encourage you to post your self portrait today on your own blog, flickr, . . .  and provide a link in the comments.  won’t you play?  i’d love to stop in and say hello! hope you’re all having a nice day!

how quickly a year has flown by.  one year ago, i moved into my studio space.  in honor of our anniversary, i spent two days cleaning and organizing the studio up and down!  after all this time, i’m still not satisfied with the way i’ve laid out the furniture. . . i suppose that rearranging everything every few months just comes with the studio territory- like it’s a part of my creative process as well.

here is a photo of a corner of the studio the very first day i worked in it.  in the next few days, i’ll be posting corners of the studio as it is now (too dark for photos today.).

and speaking of anniversaries, my friends at red prairie press are celebrating their third!   as a special thank you to their friends, they are offering 30% off everything in the shop until this friday!  just type in coupon code Birthday3 at checkout!

(raffle tickets available at pinktwilights’ etsy shop)

visit hello craft to see how you can win a ticket to attend the baltimore american craft council show! (a $14 value). this gives me a FABULOUS idea for my next giveaway. . . stay tuned- i’ll announce it later this afternoon.

- hope to see you at the show!

i woke up on saturday to this:

i don’t remember it EVER being this cold in baltimore.

our dear friend mike was in town and we all bundled up against the cold to attend yoga class.  after mike departed, we hosted some more out-of-town visitors!  our friends a and k came through town on their way to d.c.  for the inauguration.  we all watched on tv from our warm room as mr. president-elect swung through edgewood, md on his “whistle stop” train tour and then as he spoke on the steps our city’s war memorial plaza.

AP PHOTO

later that evening, we all went duckpin bowling with a few friends, including, my buddy, laurel.

unfortunately, i had to wake up at the crack of dawn on sunday for a dog walking shift.  i wanted to show you that being vegan on the go is really easy too!

during a 45 minute break, i stopped in at home and had a great meal of

berries ( i know they are out of season, but i had a SERIOUS craving the other day at the supermarket)
salad with chickpeas, olives, peas, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds and annie’s goddess dressing
whole wheat toast topped with asmar’s vegan tuna

and it all took less than ten minutes to throw together.

it is finally SNOWING outside!  i’m headed off to meet someone special for lunch, then it’s work, work, work in the studio!

happy monday!  let’s all have a fantastic week!

i’m it!  eliza tagged me, so here goes:

favorite artist/designer:  Andy Goldsworthy, Aubrey Beardsley, Elsa Mora, Marc Jacobs
I love to create using.: Metal
what inspires me:  nature, textile patterns, pop culture
favorite medium besides my own:  fibers
most inspirational city:  amsterdam
ideal weekend off: farmer’s market, dog park, thrifting, cooking, knitting, reading a good long novel and snoozing
favorite color: don’t have one!
favorite musician: (of all time)- jeff buckley (currently)- hmmm. . . pandora.com has been good to me, so many musicians. . .
favorite movie: eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, annie hall
favorite song:  currently- jeff buckley’s “i shall be released”
favorite song lyric: “the best thing you’ve ever done for me is to help me take my life less seriously, it’s only life after all” indigo girls
If I could have any other job it would be:  photo stylist
I wish: I was in amsterdam

I tag:   rachel, melissa, and kathy

jenny has updated her etsy shop!

and while we’re on the topic of shows on the food network. did anyone see 30 minute meals last night? rachel ray was sporting a broken plate pendant company necklace!!

picture from juliet

how cool is that?! (i think that’s something rachel would say too!) yea, juliet!!!