what the heck?

Okay I officially a cold air wussy... it gets under 60 and I am freezing! I have lived in FL too long! I get used to living in bare feet, the rest I can take or leave(okay kinda), but bare feet to me, are just a natural state.

In other things going on... my supply shop is at 1,363 sales since Feb. All I can say to that is WOW! And I better get to work making findings! ;)

I started carding earrings up last night and in theory my hang method works, but now I am thinking that hanging them by the ear wires might not be such a good idea if people are bending them at all taking them off the display... so back to the drawing board on that one. This is why I am not applying to any shows until I get my display done and set up right, that and the fact that the ones I wanna apply for want pics of your display, but that is good, it's making me actually set the stuff up and see how it looks, functions, sets up, and breaks down. The faster the setup and break down the better!

Besides it's been a month since I ordered silver, and it's about that time AGAIN! Geez, I ordered ten ounces last month! Oh well, supply orders and new jewelry use it up! I gotta save some more moolah to buy more, lets hope my last day of 2008 is a good sales day, then I can order tomorrow. The price is creeping up again it seems, just a bit, but it still hurts at the checkout!


So it's the last day of the year 2008. When I was younger, I never even thought about what I'd be like or life would be like now, I didn't even think I'd make it this far... so yeah.

I am seriously craving to play music again... so I think 2009, I am going to come out of my hiatus, play some music, hopefully record some too. I need to get ME some gear, so this time, there's nothing left alone in the recordings if the track is flat, or wrong in whatever way. Besides, I have had this idea in my head for years for my next CD, and I think the time for it is coming... I need to get it out. One of those things that will no leave me alone, like a lot of my jewelry designs. Yeah the creative mind is haunted with designs, ideas, things we must create to get out of our heads. I think that is a lot of where the drive comes from, a creatively induced type of madness. There truly is a fine line between madness and genius... Just look at some of the greatest artists, if you look at the person, most will find there is some kind of madness as well, to whatever degree. This is why artsy types tend to befriend each other, because our minds work differently from others, and I find that in close relationships of whatever form, that difference from non creative types is noticeable. People are creatures of habit, and we seek what is most like us, so it only makes sense that creative people would form friendships... this last year has been a year of major growth for me as an artist... my craft of jewelry is something I totally love, and seem to have a knack for. This year I have taught myself, how to solder, fuse, set stones, make settings, re size rings, make all kinds of findings, use a hammer to make a plain piece of wire into something beautiful, stamp metal, and a myriad of other things I learn with all this time in my studio, making things, trying things, and just basically having a ball... I started a supply shop that is now a steady flow of cash... I am sure of my jewelry skills and that I am ready to do shows now, I can see it in my mind, something I could not totally see before, even though I knew it was coming at some point. SO yeah 2008 has been quite a year... a whirlwind of all kinds of stuff going on, changing, growing, learning, and having fun at it most of the time.

Too tired...

I am just too tired today for words... I was out till very late last night, doing laundry... finally gave up on the dryers at about midnight(they just were not drying anything), and brought everything home. Well why was I doing laundry at that time of night? Cause the BF didn't have any clean work clothes, what does he do this morning? Yell about the clothes being wet, we get into a fight, and yeah, I get no more sleep... all this at 5:30am... oh joy! Due to the coffee I was consuming last night so I could stay awake to do HIS clothes, I didn't get to sleep till after 2:30am sometime. So yeah, not much sleep time between 2:30 and 5:30... of course I got up grumpy!

Hmmmm...

Well I have been on a earring making kick the last few days, made a good amount of those, so last night I figured I should make something else... Hm I know I ave lots of faceted stones just waiting for me to give them a home in some jewelry. Soooo I have had this idea for a tree pendant with a stone set in a bezel. Well I just happen to have a gorgeous round citrine, that would make a gorgeous sun! So I did the metalwork last night, set the stone this am, and then find one of my solder joints has come undone! Okay not one that hold the whole piece together or anything, but one that will make me not sell the piece, because I do not want to sell them if there is an integral flaw in the design. So I tried to get the stone out so I could fix the joint, but no go, and I didn't want to mess the bezel up, to break the stone, so I figure this one is going to have to go on my neck. Well looking at the properties of citrine, this is a happy accident, because citrine is a stone of success in all walks of life... well I don;t have any in my collection of jewelry thus far, might as well add this one. Besides, I don't have any faceted gem pieces in my personal collection anyway, and this one is nice! Plus is it a daily wear kinda piece, good promo for me, since i will always have it on!

Well that is about it for today... I need to get to work on making stuff! So much to do, and I can't let time just slip by, or season will pass me by, and then it's a long summer before next season hits!

Oh ha ha ha I read my week from hell post.. yeah we moved, and it is SOOOO much better in Sarasota than North Port, we are very happy to be gone from there. We moved back to our old house where we lived while I was pregnant with my son, and this is where I decided I wanted to become a jewlery artist for a living!

Well well well...

It seems this years key word has been change. Not just with the election, but with a lot of things, for me business is changing and growing, I am changing and growing, and my art is changing and growing. I know I keep saying I am gonna blog more, but somehow I never seem to get to it, so I am not gonna promise to blog more, I will blog when I feel the need, when I remember, or when I just have something to say I think should be here. Well now is one of those times.

So a couple of weeks ago, I was thinking about how do I switch the balance from supplies mostly selling, to jewelry mostly selling. I filled up my consigners' store down in Venice with new jewelry... Uptown Girls Boutique... got a few sales last month from that... started looking for other stores to approach with my line, but before I get too far I figured I better ask the universe what to do, because I could find more stores, and fill them up, not a problem. I am sure I could find many places in time to take jewelry from me. But was this the right path to sell my stuff? I don't know. I am sure some would sell, even just from a number standpoint it IS bound to happen. So I figured I better ask the universe, because my other thing was maybe I should be doing arts and crafts fairs. Every time I go to one, I feel like, "I should have a booth here!". So I asked the universe... do I concentrate on getting into more stores, and building that way right now, or should I do shows, and concentrate on that for a while? Well let me tell you info on how to get into these shows has somehow avoided me for a while. I have tried before to find info, and never got a thing. The only reason I got to do a small, crappy show earlier this year, was because my kid's teacher told me to go to a site that had local smaller shows listed. All these bigger shows, I keep feeling like I should be in, I never found anything on how to get in, only how to go as a shopper. Well after I posed my question to the universe, I felt like googling shows, so I did. The first page I went to out of the list was a dead end, but the second one lead right to a vendor application page... so I looked further... this was it, the info on how to apply for ALL these shows I keep going to, and a lot I've never been to. This was a promoters page that puts on shows all within about an hours drive from here, on most weekends through-out season! So I guess the universe answered my question. And the main thing I learned from the one little show I did do was, ask if they allow resellers there... I am an artisan and can not compete with resellers, nor should I have to. I should not have to explain that I create these items and that is why they are not $5 for two pairs of earrings... I learned by that, you need to be in a handmade market. Well the first rule of these shows is no reselling! "If you don't make it, don't bring it!" is what it says. Very good! They also want pics of your displays, so now the thing is I need a display! Well that came too, my BF and I were at wall mart and we saw the perfect canopy(or one that is good enough anyway), and he bought it for me... not something he normally does, so since he did that, I went ahead and bought tables, and started scouring places for things to turn into displays... I found quite a bit, and as it stands now, the last thing I need is material to make table cloths with. I am going with all black, and I got jewelry tags that are white with black lettering... so, yeah the universe spoke and I am putting my money into it, and following it to see where it goes! I will have to post pics of my display once it is finished! Yeah that is IF I can figure out how to post pics here???? I am not a pro blooger or anything as of yet, I just write, the rest I know nothing about. ;)

Week from hell

Yeah, this has been the week from hell, and it's only thursday! Starting on Monday, had to get my son in school, which meant taking him for a checkup... yeah I thought it would be a lot less than it ended up costing. So I went ahead and paid, not as if I had a choice. The that night I woke up at midnight with a horrible toothache, kept me up ALL NIGHT. Went on tuseday to have it pulled... $400.00 later, I am not in as much pain physically, although the bone broke a little as they pullled it, so that is REALLY sore! Then yesteday the car dies, luckily it was at the end of the street, and not somwhere farthur away. Still... we jumped it and got it hime last night, but this morning it still will not start, and now I can not get the hood to pop open either to even look and try to figure out what is wrong! And on top of that, my meds have made me sick, and we have been ased to move from our house in 6 weeks... right after we spent everything we had on Dentists and Dr's. I really hope this is the worst, cause I am at the edge of a breakdown, I can not take a whole lot more!

Well that sums up my week from hell! Hopefully before the weeks end, there will be some light.

Okay WOW!

Well, things in my life have a way of being intense... fram all the information I gather from others, not everyone has a life like this. For me, I feel like I live in a movie a lot of the time, because things have a way of being so, how to put it... out of the ordinary. The twists and turns are never ending, this highs so very high, the lows so very low... I can not explain it, except that this is me. High, low, intense, and unpredictable. As I get older, I long more and more for some kind of predicatbility, but never have I found much. Maybe I should stop looking, and just ride the ride of life for all it's worth. Poeple have made me believe that I need to follow the path of so many, but that path never made me happy. I am one who likes to make her own path. I find pleasure in solving things... probably why I have chosen to learn more through trial and error than with school, for everything basically. Everything I have mastered, I have learned through trial and error, including my jewelry. I have not taken a single jewelry making class, yet my pieces have graced the front page of etsy more than once. I think it is because I don;t have anyone saying, you can't do that... or you have to do it this way. I try things, some work, some don't, the ones that don't... well I don't do that again. The ones that do... I keep and add to my preverbial bag of tricks.

Also figured I will post here about my running... this week I took my son with me, he begged me to go, so I took him on his bike, while I ran. I thought the stop and go of running with him would make it too easy of a workout for me, but the next day, my legs said otherwise... maybe I was running faster? I don't know. I have become less concerned with how far I ran, exactly how fast... how many miles I ran this year, week, month. I know I am a runner... it is ingrained in me now... I do not need mileage or splits to prove to myself that I am working hard, or that I am a runner. I know that if I go for a run... I will naturally run at least 2.5 miles or more, not because my garmin says to, but because I just want to. I still do have a desire to run a marathon one day, but that day will come when and if it comes... I am not gonna injure myself, just to be able to say I ran 26.2 miles... I did 13.1, while still a newbie to running... only 5 months into it or so... now I am coming up on two years of commitment to running... My business keeps me from worrying that I am not running 25-30 miles a week... besides, I am sooo hungry all the time on those kinda miles! :) Regardless of how fast I am, how slow I am, how many miles I ran, if I took walk breaks or not... I AM a runner... we are unique in ourselves. I now know I have more endurance in me than I ever thought. I also know that just because someone with credentials tells you, "You can't" doesn't mean you can't. Maybe you just need a new approach. Things are not always as cut and dried as that.

Okay my studio is calling... need to get to some real work in there :) till next time!

Eureeka!!!!

Well I'm told that blogging somehow helps, so here I am again. I'm sure it can't hurt anyway.

Today I talked to the guy who schedules classes at the Cultural Center says he is interested in my teaching some workshops there... so that's a start, and maybe it'll lead to other things as well. There is a really great bead shop, that does not have a wire wrapping teacher, so who knows, maybe I will end up teaching something there as well. I did talk to them before, but they seemed to be too busy at the time... although it WAS right before Christmas anyway. So I think this year I will try sooner, like right before season starts, so hopefully I can get a class or two going for season there too.

Anyway short post today, because I got lots of orders to get made and mailed out... I am working tonight and tomorrow so they can all go out tomorrow afternoon.

New things comming up and random thoughts...

So I can't get the idea of teaching wire wrapping out of my head... then yesterday I ran into a lady who teaches other things locally on ETSY in the chat rooms! Heh, small world! Anyway she said now is the time to talk to the guy in Port Charlotte about taching a class this fall... So I am working on supplies tomorow so that I can take a day and talk to him and do a few other things related to business that day.

So where does this lead me??? Well I am wrapping more and metalworking less (?) maybe just working more totally LOL. I am also tossing ideas around for some tutorials I can sell on etsy. I did a pretty fabulous necklace today and I think the clasp is something that could deffinately work in a tutorial... I even made it the centerpiece of the necklace, cause it is too gorgeous to go in back! It is time consuiming and not really viable to make to sell as a supply, BUT as a tutorial... I think it will be GREAT! And I can make them for certain pieces of my own jewelry.

And now I am off to wrap something else :)

HOLY COW... I have been neglecting my blog!!!!!

Okay I KNOW I have said I would be better about blogging. and thus far I have only a few posts. I am not gonna say that i will blog daily, but I do want a place to update poeple on what is going on in the world on Higher Chakra as well as with myself as a business owner, musician, runner, mom, artist, designer... yeah, that's quite a list... no wonder I neve seem to have much in the way of free time anymore!

Anyway.. in my last post I talked about opening shop in Higher Chakra Supply... well this venture turned out to be even greater than I could ever have expected. Not only that, but my jewelry making ability has grown existentially. My sales in Higher Chakra Supply right now sits at over 700 sales... and Higher Chakra Creations has been on the front page of etsy twice that I know of... different items each time, both metalworking pieces. It seems that metalworking IS my niche afterall!! Who would have known? I can say that the beginning of my hot metalwork was frusterating at best... but with perservearance... I am now getting to take the visions out of my head and make them into a reality! I still have tons to learn about metalworking... I still havn't used a jewelers saw for instance... I havn't casted, but for the things I see in my head right now, my skills are allowing me to make at least some of them come to friution. This makes me extremely happy!!!!

So it's been a while since I wrote anything in here. I am melting metal even more than before (although now it's on purpose!). I got some fine silver, and LOVE how the headpins come out with this! They are just gorgeous!

And since it's late I'll keep it short tonight. But there is another huge developent in the Higher Chakra whatever it is. I started a new store with handmade supplies... so that the other store does not get clogged up with this stuff. And it's a good thing I did! In the first week I got pounced (meaning someone found me with the new pounce tool on ETSY cause I didn't have any sales yet) and made the front page of ETSY! So I didn't see mylsef on the front page, but I know something was up because my headpins went from under 100 view to 870 views with 24 hearts overnight! I love that we can see this info, it really helps with knowing the resonse to product.

So sales at Higher Chakra Creations has been slow pretty much the whole time, other that a few surges. But as of tonight, my new store has sold 10 item. So it's not enough to make me rich, but enough to tell me I am gonna sell on this site with these supplies, at least so far I have been. Knock on wood I keep selling, and get many loyal jewlery artist that love my supplies.

And with that I bid you goodnight!

I think I'm getting the hang of this... sort of.

Okay just to update a few things, I took a short break after the holidays to, well freshen my perspective a little I guess. So now that that is over, the last week or so has been really exciting for me. I am starting to understand a little more what I am doing with the soldering, and I have turned out some pretty cool new stuff!!!!



So... Only in FL do roses actually BLOOM in January (okay so maybe there are other parts of the world, but still a rather peculiar sight!) and seeing these gorgeous pink blooms in my yard must have sparked some creative nerve in me, because I am now turning out new jewelry featuring roses... this can not be just a coincidence.



Here are a couple of pieces inspired by this phenomenon...

A roselike freeform toggle....

A rose vine ring....









"Be Mine" Rose, pearl, and swarovski earrings......










And this pair of earrings is called "Branched" .....






Stay tuned for more new pieces coming... more soldered stuff as well as more wire wrapped stuff.... I got some GORGEOUS gem slices recently, can't wait to use some of these!!!!