Full Circle: Bits and Pieces of Home

Last week was one of those weeks that's really really great but really really busy. Mainly because of the tradeshow I was wrapping up at. By the end of the week though, there was slow time, and time for cooking at home, and working on crafty projects (other than jewelry =).

Below, an order all packaged up and ready to ship off to The Potting Shed in Fairfax, a corner of my display at the SF Gift Tradeshow, and my new favorite Tangleweeds necklace, the Double Moon Lariat.

Gotta package up more orders today from that aforementioned tradeshow. Don't forget to enter our March giveaway too! It's a good one!

March Tangleweeds Giveaway

March is here! Wow, how the beginning of this year is flying by! I have to say I woke up pretty excited this morning, because I knew I'd be offering a new kind of giveaway to my wonderful customers: a $50 gift certificate to my Tangleweeds Etsy shop to use as you please. 

Some details: The $50 gift certificate can only be used for items currently listed in my Etsy shop (not at a local boutique and not for custom work.) You may use it to buy an item for less than $50, in which case you will have an available left over credit with Tangleweeds until June 30th. You may also use the gift certificate towards an item for more than $50, in which case you will owe Tangleweeds the difference. Lastly, the certificate will expire on June 30th. 

For this giveaway, as always, I simply ask that you leave a comment on this blog post. This time around I'm gonna be a little selfish: tell me what it is about Tangleweeds jewelry that you love! Always good to get some feedback on my work, as an artist it's all too easy to get trapped in your own whirling thoughts.

I'll announce the randomly chosen winner on Monday the 16th. Feel free to spread the word about this giveaway to your fellow friends and family. And good luck!

LWM: The Ones you Know

I titled this post "the ones you know" in honor and awe of all of the amazingly creative and talented and driven folks I am lucky to call my friends, family, and in general compatriots of this handmade life that I'm living and improvising on everyday. It is a hustle, but it can be very fulfilling. There's a reason so many makers use the hashtag #everydayimhustlin on their Instagram and Facebook posts. 

So, in the spirit of the "ones I know", I wanted to share this mix put together by my boyfriend. You can find him blogging about all things Smoothday and AOR (album oriented rock, I spell it out 'cause I needed it spelled out when he first started dropping that acronym) at his blog FM Version. If you like your rock smooth and 70s flavored you're gonna love this.

Wearing - One of my favorite dresses from Field Day in Oakland. The dresses and skirts created by Field Day are so comfortable and practical yet pretty-making at the same time. And the owner, Trinity, is a lovely soul, someone I feel lucky to have met. With a thrifted cardigan and TailFeather earrings from Tangleweeds. (And yes, that is my cat Otis, photo-bombing my outfit shot =). 

Making - lots and lots of my Drape Necklaces. My, oh my, how popular they were at the tradeshow I just finished up at on Tuesday. I love making these, but I especially love having my assistant to help, and since she's out of town for the next week, it'll be my two hands for now. 

Well, folks, today is packed to the rafters with things that need to get done! Which means I am behind on a few things I promised last week, pre-tradeshow. I should have known better than to commit to much of anything for the week following the tradeshow, but I have a tendency to think "yeah, sure I'll somehow manage to get it all done." My point: new pieces won't be going up in the Etsy shop for a couple more weeks, and I'm postponing my next giveaway 'til next week, next Monday to be exact. It's gonna be a good one tho, so I encourage you to check back here on the 2nd! 

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Full Circle - Tradeshow Prep

Last week was mostly all about prepping for the San Francisco Gift tradeshow. I also worked on a custom order, that will hopefully turn into a regular offering in my Etsy shop. (See last photo.) I'm actually blogging mobiley today, so fingers crossed this post doesn't end up looking all wonky!

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above, a little bit of the display refining for the tradeshow  

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Arlo, looking at me like "you've been working way to much this week!" 

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And, above, that custom order I've been working on.  

Alright, back to the tradeshow world! I hope everyone's week is off to a great start :-). 

Full Circle - Learning Curve

I'm working on new line-sheets this week for a tradeshow that's coming up fast (this weekend!) I'm not the most adept user of photoshop, so I sat down with Jeff and he showed me quicker ways of doing what I usually do. Man, was I making my work so much harder than it needed to be! 

Also, I'll announce the winner of the giveaway tomorrow. I didn't realize that today is a holiday for most folks until this morning, so I figure more people will be around on the inter webs tomorrow. So, check back then =). 

A little run down of the above photos (top to bottom):

1. my brass bead stash
2. patterns and textures: two essential ingredients to my wardrobe
3. Todos Organics infused cocunt oils. Soooooo good for the skin!
4. Arlo, lazing in the sun. (Yes, that's a wound on his forehead. He got in a pretty nasty cat fight a week ago. He's healing up nicely tho!)
5. Otis, lounging in the backyard with his brother.
6. my current weaving project. I'm working some driftwood into this one. I'm curious to see where I go with this one.
7. Some new designs! I really want to get these in the Etsy shop this week, but reality and my schedule may dictate next week. I'll post here when they go live!

 

LWM: Making the Time

This week I've been thinking a lot about how we manage to make the time to do the things that are really important to us. . . or how we don't make the time. I tend to be of the school of thought that if it's something you really want to do, you're going to make the time for it. The thing about that way of thinking is it can lead to me being a bit hard on myself when I don't make the time for something important, I'll find myself thinking something like "Gee, I guess I just didn't want it enough," when in reality there are only so many hours in a day, right?

Listening: I've been listening to Linda Perhacs's album Parallelograms. I love to do yoga with this quietly playing in the background. Which relates to how I opened this post: yoga, exercise, going for walks, these are all things that I am trying to make more time for on a regular basis. I feel so much better when I do. 

Wearing: Printed skirts and nubby, warm sweaters. My studio gets pretty cold in the winter so I tend to wear a lot of sweaters and layers this time of the year. Which is really perfect because I love sweaters and layers, as I'm sure you've noticed by now ;-) 
outfit details:
all sweaters, boots: thrifted
tights: Hue
grey printed skirt: Field Day (they're local and in Oakland. An adorable shop, and yup, you can find Tangleweeds there!)
burgundy floral skirt: thrifted
necklace: old Tangleweeds

And lastly, the making component of this post: Some petal-leaf lariats! These are brand new and not yet listed in Etsy. They are part of my next collection and I'm fairly excited about these. They look lovely on and there are coordinating earrings to come as well. At my fairs last weekend people responded really really well to these. Can't wait to make them available to all of my lovely customers!

This has been a good week thus far. Now, back to the sketch book and design table for me!

Full Circle - Back to Events and Craft Fairs

Last week was the return to selling events (pop up shops, craft fairs, art walks, etc) for Tangleweeds. First Friday/Art Murmur in Oakland on Friday night and a pop-up shop at Rickshaw bags in San Francisco on Saturday. After taking about a month and a half off from events I thought I would feel a bit rusty, but nope, it all came together pretty well!

There was also some planning and scheming time. The longer I run Tangleweeds the more I understand that things just don't happen without a fair amount of planning. It can of course get in the way though: if you find yourself always waiting until everything is perfect before trying to make any changes, or make something new happen, then you're probably hiding behind the planning. But a bit of planning, definitely a good thing in my book!

Photo details (top to bottom):
1. my set up at events
2. bracelets for an upcoming tradeshow
3. work in progress at the studio
4. morning tea and sketchbook
5. winter flowers in our yard
6. hedgehog mushrooms, part of Thursday nigh't dinner
7. my Susan Eastman silk blouse (that I picked up at the KPFA Craft Fair.)

Today is a "catch up on paperwork day" so I better get back to it. Here's to a wonderful week!

LWM: Floral Dress and Skirt Collection

This week: Listening on repeat to the new Ryan Bingham album. So so good. And if you love a good gravely, rough voice, you'll love his songs. Oh, and sad, you gotta like sad story songs too. (Which is totally my thing.)

Wearing - Almost everyday this last week has seen me donning a floral dress or skirt. I have a serious love for florals. One part of this is definitely the fact that it's fairly easy to find floral, 80s and 90s style dresses at thrift stores. 
outfit details:
dress and cardigan - thrifted
booties - Convert (in Berkeley)
earrings (hidden from sight) - Pale Blush (Tangleweeds) 

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Making -  I wasn't sure what to spotlight here as I've been working on a lot this past week. But, I realized when I stopped to think about it that my RainDrop earrings were one of the designs I was really focused on. These are a great classic, and have been popular in my Etsy shop. I'll be carrying this design over into the new year; they won't be one of the designs being discontinued, so if you've got your eye on them, no worries!

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Ugh, this week has been a bit bumpy for me. Lots of little frustrating things with technology (hello Mercury retrograde much?!) Tomorrow I'll be at the 25th Street Collective in Oakland for Art Murmur if you local folks wanna drop by and pick up something pretty! Speaking of which, gotta go pack up the jewelry for tomorrow. . . 

Full Circle - Back to the Workbench

Last week, was, well, just really really busy. After a week off sick I had so much to catch up on! Honestly, I'm still catching up on all of it, so I'll keep this post short and sweet. (See below for picture details.)

1. Some of my Geometry hoops, fresh off the workbench. 
2. A new-to-me floral dress found at a thrift shop. My floral dress collection is kind of exploding!
3. Messy workbench.
4. A shot from my newest look-book, Everyday Magic.
5. Jewelry headed to the local shop, Oak Common.
6. One of my favorite handmade jewelry pieces from An Astrid Endeavor.
7. Lastly, tea and trains with my nephews this weekend. A fun way to end the week!

I hope everyone's week is off to a great start. Don't forget to enter my contest for my last pair of Singularity earrings over here!