Tunes to Pack By

Today I am a busy busy bee, packing my studio, de-cluttering, setting aside piles of items to either donate, recycle or giveaway. I move my studio (with the help of my wonderful boyfriend) tomorrow and I'm hoping it goes smoothly. Tunes are of course an essential part of any packing process. This week, I've been listening to a lot of Nanci Griffith. . . 

Wearing - My dependable dansko sandals. I pretty much live in these in the summer. They're so comfortable and still cute (not frumpy looking - which is my main complaint about many comfortable shoes.) I'm gonna try to have an actual outfit post next week again!

Making. . . This past week I've had a surge of special orders/custom work keeping me busy. While I don't have photos to share from that work, I've been making a lot of my rustic blue necklaces and earrings too. They've been popular at fairs, and on Etsy. Such an unusual thing for me. Many times the pieces that are most popular at fairs don't sell as well on Etsy and the pieces that sell well on Etsy don't sell as well at the fairs. A curious conundrum!

K, it's back to packing and sorting for me. Wish me luck on my move tomorrow! (And don't forget, if you're local, or live in San Francisco, I'll be at the Academy of Sciences Nightlife Event tonight from 6 to 10pm.)

Month of May Giveaway

It has been so warm here in Oakland (and the rest of the bay area) this week. When the weather gets like this all I want to wear is sundresses, sandals and lightweight, delicate jewelry. Which makes this month's giveaway apropos! 

Yup, this time around I'm giving away a set of three of my popular Drape style necklaces. That's right three, not just one! If you are selected as the winner you get to choose the lengths and colors for all three of your necklaces. Above (from top to bottom) are the black, turquoise, and soft peach colorways, below you can see the violet and cream. 

After tossing the idea around in my head for a bit, I decided this time around to ask you "what would you wear with your Drape necklaces?" Simply leave an answer to this style question in the comments for this post and you'll be entered to win. You have until May 27th to enter. I'll announce the winner here on the blog on the 28th. Good luck and feel free to share this with one and all!

Moving the Studio this Week

I'm moving my studio this week! I'm moving my studio this week! That just keeps ringing through my head. Along with the thought: uh, how the heck I'm I gonna get everything done AND move? I know it's gonna work out. Sometimes it's just enough to get it done, even if it's not done perfectly. 

Annnnd, a few snaps from the pat week. . . 

I'm back to planning out goals for the next two months, in large part preparation for Renegade Craft Fair (I still can't believe I got in!). Tomorrow tho, I'll be back with my giveaway for the month of May! 

Short but Sweet

This week's been a bit rough guys, not gonna lie. Here's what's been getting me through:

Comfy dresses like this one by Mary Meyers. . .

Making - moons, rings, and bangles galore!

I won't be back in this space until next week, so I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! I'll have my Handmade Love series back in swing next Friday (May 16th) and I'll introduce my next giveaway as well. Until then, savor each moment as you can!

Craft Fair Weekend

A few shots from the past three days of events: First Friday at the 25th Street Collective in Oakland, Feria Urbana at the Linden Street Brewing Company in Oakland, and Urban Air Market in Hayes Valley in San Francisco. What a weekend! 

These fairs are often a reunion of sorts. I get to see really rad folks who I have met through vending at events over the last 4 1/2 years. There's such a feeling of camaraderie that comes from us all being in it together. It helps buoy you up when the weather gets rough (rain, strong wind, extreme heat or cold) or the sales just aren't happening. But what's even better is when you just get to be in it together and the going is good! 

Assemblage of Loveliness

Something many people who are familiar with my work do not know is that I started out my jewelry making days creating elaboarte, beaded, assemblage type pieces. Lots of big, chunky necklaces. My work has evolved over the years and taken on a more minimal slant. But lately, as is want to happen with anyone in a creative field, I am craving some experimentaion. I've picked up a bunch of new materials to play with and I've dug through my old supplies for forgotten jewelry-making materials. I'm not sure exactly what is going to come of it, but as I've been sharing here on the blog, there will be new one-of-a-kind and limited edition pieces in the near future. In the meantime, I wanted to share gorgeous, assemblage-style jewelry from other talented Etsy sellers. . . 

Snakeskin Jasper Assemblage Necklace
I love the colors of this piece, the earthy tones mixed with the sea-blue-green color. Also, the gold-leaf on that rough stone is a nice balance in contrasts. 

Rustic Rainbow Alegria Earrings
I love the way the beads are wire-wrapped around the main rectangle part. As a jewelry artist I'm always looking at the way another jewelry artist is connecting two (or more items together). That's what jewelry art is all about: connections.

Lost City Necklace
This piece really struck me as "wow!" The stitched fabric folds are just not something I've seen anyone else doing. Very innovative and fresh.

Rustic Tribal Metal Earrings 
I think my favorite part about these earrings is their subtle assymetry. I bet the way these dance when they're worn is really beautiful!

Textured Metal and Verdigris Earrings
Any jewelry artist that uses patina in such a lovely-yet-rough way has my love. I really think this pair is so perfectly balanced: the extra wire wrapping, the tiny beads at the top, the ceramic drops. Perfection!

I hope you all enjoyed this week's round-up of Handmade Love!

It's Feeling like Summer

Listening to. . . 

As my post title would suggest, I've got summer on the brain. This weather! I tend towards "road trip" music when the weather warms up. Music like lots of Rosanne Cash. Old and new. This song is one of my favorites of hers.

Wearing. . . 

Lots of tank tops and delicate bead strands (my Drape necklaces). Road trip uniform = tank tops, skirts, sandals and easy jewelry.

Making. . . 

TONS of bangles and rings. I'll be vending at the Urban Air Market this Sunday and these are always popular items at this event. And, since I'm on the road trip bent, these bangles all piled on together would be perfect for said trips!

Back to the workbench for now for me!

April Giveaway Winner

I'm just dropping in at the blog today to announce the winner of the April Giveaway. TESSA, you are the winner! Please contact me directly at tangleweedsjewelry@gmail.com so we can arrange for you to receive your new earrings. For those of you who didn't win this time, check back here next week when I'll announce my May Giveaway. Oh, a year of giveaways. What fun!

Fair Season

Wow, what a week! What a month! Fair season has officially started. I vended at the Treasure Island Flea Market this past weekend, but between the wind and the rain on Sunday morning, I decided to pack it in at the end of Saturday. If you came by looking for me on Sunday and I wasn't there, I apologize. (Next time that happens I'll try to post about it to my Tangleweeds FB page.)  Lots of great dresses found new homes on Saturday, that's one fun thing about the TI Flea: the fact that I get to sell my two passions side-by-side (vintage and handmade jewelry.)

Also, that nasty back pain that I mentioned a while back, is, well, back. Argh. I'm trying to look at this as a teaching moment: I really do need to better learn to put my health and self-care first, even before Tangleweeds. Because if I'm not well then Tangleweeds isn't well. I'm especially concerned because now that I'm entering fair season there is a lot of lifting and heavy work that happens at each event for set-up. I know I'll make it through, it just might mean admitting I need help when I'm terrible at admitting I need help. 

These photos are just some of the work I've been busy at for my May fairs. There's also been stolen moments here and there: making gluten-free french toast on Sunday morning (ahh, sleeping in!), getting outside and taking a moment to recognize Earth Day, cups of tea. I'm starting to realize that I don't so much mind being busy all of the time if the busyness comes at me at a manageable pace. One that allows for intermittent downtime, pauses to breathe and reflect. 

Handmade Love - New Feature

My newest weekly feature: Handmade Love. I debuted this on Easter as a way of showcasing artists whose work I just can't stop looking at! I'm going to try to base each post around a loose "theme" but I'll see how that goes =). This week, I'm featuring handmade components (for jewelry making) as I'm currently obsessed with branching out with my own work and incorporating other artists' handmade loveliness into my jewelry creations. When my supply budget is a little more flush, these are some of the wonderful pieces I may just have to have. . . 

Innocence is not doing - Stoneware beads

Artisan Clay Bead Set

Rectangular Curved Pottery Beads

Weathered River Rock Natural Stone Pendants

Enameled Leaf Pair

Rustic spike drop faux bone ivory beads

Koroit Boulder Opal Cabochon

You can see my tastes are running towards the slightly worn and rustic, per the usual. You can click on any of the photo's titles and you'll be taken directly to the maker's Etsy shop. Maybe it'll inspire you to create something new this week too!