Today I felt called to sit down and write a blog post. Do you ever have one of those days where getting your work done feels like moving through sludge, but then your focus and your mind lands on that one thing that feels right for your current energy and mood? Writing a blog post was that one thing for me today. Doesn’t help that the sun is shinning beautifully outside and tempting me to throw ALL of the work out the window and just find a grassy spot to lie about and read in. . .
But there will be time for all of that. Because I am learning how to make the time this year.
If you follow along with my Tangleweeds journey then you know that last year I celebrated 10 years of being in business. It was a milestone. One that I marked with a big series on Instagram (that you can still find in my stories highlights if you are so inclined) and lots of soul searching on my part. Shortly after wrapping up those celebrations major holiday prep began, and I didn’t have a lot of time to really start to implement the changes I had in mind. As 2020 rolled to a start though, I knew things had to shift if I was going to keep moving forward with Tangleweeds.
Which brings us to now. Changes are starting to happen. Brick by brick I am trying to disassemble the old house while building a new one. I am closing most of my wholesale program for the foreseeable future. (For my lovely customers that just means you'll need to make sure to buy from me either online or at events, because my work won’t be in very many shops for a while.) I am retiring many old designs all to make room for more creative work. Lots of one-of-a-kind and very limited edition pieces. Experiments in jewelry making that I hope to become more comfortable sharing with all of you over time. Because I find that I can be a bit protective of new work as it is percolating. And the vintage - yes, after attempting a debut of vintage clothing last year I will be officially rolling out a Tangleweeds vintage program this year. I already sell vintage alongside the handmade jewelry at the events I vend at that allow for it (many events are strictly handmade and at these events vintage is not allowed, unless it has been altered in some way), so this is simply an extension of what I’ve been doing on the side for a while.
In the vein of one of my classic Tangleweeds sayings “everything is connected” I will be playing with that idea - pulling the threads in places, adding new ones in others, stitching holes closed when necessary, and intentionally creating them when it feels right. I’ve spoken and written about it before, but Tangleweeds is my embodiment of that notion: that everything is connected. Naturally, when I started Tangleweeds I thought it would be the engine that propelled and helped to motivate many creative endeavors, not just jewelry making. I sort of lost that focus over the years though, and with my slow shifts and change-making this year, I hope to start to bring that idea of everything is connected back to the center. I can’t say with 100% certainty that I’ll be releasing any sort of handmade collection that isn’t jewelry any time soon - but there will most definitely be more creative exploration in the realm of jewelry, as I mentioned above, and with time, some new art to share with the world as well.
I’ll also be sharing more of my regular ‘ol life, interests, and behind the scenes stuff with my newsletter subscribers as I embrace these changes. I LOVE my subscribers because I think, more than anyone who only knows me through social media, they embrace the whole person that I am. I send out some of my best writings and inspiration lists to this coveted list, and if you are so inclined, I invite you to sign up for my newsletter here. It’s super simple, I won’t sell your email to anyone, and you will have the appreciation from this jewelry artist from the tips of my toes to the top of my head =).
Lastly, before I sign off for now, have a read of this blog post from the middle of last year. It is when I really was at a turning point with Tangleweeds, where the first inklings of change were beginning to make themselves known.
Thanks for reading and I hope you have a beautiful week!
