chillin in so-cal

this is the longest I've been away from nyc since moving there in 2004. my lack of posting in the past week or so is due to what a good time I've been having here in sunny southern cali. b and I have been staying with his sister and her boyfriend up on a bluff overlooking the pacific, in san pedro. out their living room window you can see the port of los angeles to the left and the ocean leading up to palos verdes to the right, with the anaheim hills in orange county straight ahead. I've gone hiking twice in the santa monica mountains, with b in topanga canyon, and in corral canyon in malibu with L and c yesterday. b's niece came visiting from arizona, with her 3 1/2 year old monkey joshua. for xmas he received a game which had a rotating pool of snapping fish, and two fishing poles, and he played with it the entire time he was here, ignoring all other gifts. b gave me a hello kitty waffle iron, my first ever hello kitty item. b's hawaiian mom and sister made a beautiful xmas dinner of organic free-range turkey, shu mei, rice, fruit salad, green salad, potato mac, green beans, enchiladas, and rainbow-colored paradise cake and chocolate cake from king's hawaiian bakery. about a dozen of us crowded into the living room, eating and telling stories, as L and I danced ballet moves over joshua and his fish game. somehow we can't avoid doing ballet when we see each other. in addition to b's sister (s) being a gymnastic coach, she and her boyfriend (c) are musicians. we've woken up most mornings to singing and guitar and mandolin playing. the other day I got the idea to teach them some hebrew songs, and c figured them out on guitar as I taught s the lyrics. I've also taken L's yoga class, and we attended a group meditation led by her and A. we've seen c perform twice, including a gig at sacred grounds coffee house, where a zoot suit-clad employee busted out his tap shoes and danced for a couple of songs. earlier that day we watched team practice at s's gym, getting to see 11 year-olds do walkovers and tuck flips on the beam and giant swings on the uneven bars. today I'm going to head down to santa monica and visit my favorite bead store and former employer, ritual adornments. ciao for now.

driving is fun!

I flew into Long Beach airport yesterday afternoon. The place is so small, the baggage claim is outside. you know, it's casual- it's L.A.- whatever. b's here doing some work with warner bros. for a month, and I'm joining him for the holidays. if this was the type of blog where I ranted, I would tell you about the lovely couple and their baby I had the good luck of sitting next to on the flight. but this isn't that type of blog. b had to do some welding at his friend's house, so I dropped him off earlier today. driving his truck back north on the 405, I was reminded of how much fun driving can be sometimes. six lanes in each direction, baby. now I'm waiting for L to pick me up, and I will take her yoga class. L.A. is uncharacteristically cool and cloudy today. we're staying at b's mom's house in gardena, part of the suburban sprawl south of L.A. as much as people love to hate this city, it is the perfect antidote to nyc. there's only so much stimulation a person can take.

ramona west

inspired 60's-80's vintage at ramonawest.etsy.com

new bling

I don't know how, but I've managed to put four new necklaces up on the site.

inspiration

from dh lovelife.

design challenge

design and create a necklace in one hour, made entirely of chain scraps.


I've been watching too much Project Runway.

candid

fyi

the copper bubble key chain has sold out on my site, but there is one left at modishoppe.

hexy

check out my girl willie's etsy shop, hexy, where she sells yummy hand-made soaps and shrinky dink pins! make it a hand-made holiday, yo.

wishlist parties

two of the stores that carry my products, sodafine and rare device, will be hosting holiday wishlist parties this week. the idea is that if you're a fan of the handmade and hard-to-find goods that both these shops carry, you can compile a "wishlist" which the stores will keep on file. this is similar to a gift registry for a wedding, and I think it's a great idea. the first one is coming up tomorrow night at sodafine, and more info can be found here. rare device's will be held this thursday from 6-9 pm, and more details can be found on their blog.

ducky bling

b convinced me to pick up this duck pendant at the flea market. I think it was a wise choice. the necklace can be found at ai ai gasa if it hasn't been sold already.

confessions of a haircolor junky

becoming a blogger means taking on a certain amount of responsibility to your readers. If you start posting in a way that charts your progress, in say, growing out your natural grey hair, there is an expectation that the posts will appear periodically. If the subject of the post is something that is difficult for the blogger to engage in, then there might a reluctance to post as often as the readers might want. Upon my last post I did in fact state that I would be posting a photograph of my hair soon. b got a few shots of me while we were doing the Imme shoot, and I thought I would post one or two. but when I went to edit the photos, I didn't like how they looked (unflattering, taken the day before I came down with a cold, making me feel inferior to the younger, beautiful models we shot that day) and I never put them up.

the other night b and I were walking around manhattan as the sun was going down. peering into a brightly lit shop window, I caught my reflection in the mirrored backdrop. seeing my salt and pepper bangs, I looked more soccer mom than Louise Brooks (the inspiration for my current haircut.)

when I performed for dancenOw in early september, I feared that grey roots wouldn't be a good onstage look, and used a washout haircolor that day. the color stayed for a couple of weeks, and I liked how it made the grey more subtle. I still had a half a bottle of loving care sitting on the shelf mocking me, and as I write this post, it's covering my hair. to quote Jane Hanstein Cunniffe, set your self free. you can always go back.

just a sneak

okay, I'm feeling a bit like the guy with the vegas act and the spinning plates right now, but I had to show you one of the pics from our shoot last weekend. thank you to our amazing models diane and sara (and you too, mandy) for walking the many blocks into our hood to do this. we ran short on daylight time and I didn't get the close-ups I wanted, but I plan on scheduling another session. (when, I don't know!) but at least we got some great photos of felecia's super duper clothing, and she's been posting them on her etsy shop. I own a couple of her pieces, and I can seriously vouch for the magical quality of her clothing to be universally flattering and comfortable. if you're looking for a holiday gift for that special lady in your life, rush on over to Imme Industries. NOW!

or this?

heads up

tomorrow I'll be doing a photo shoot with felecia of Imme Industries, designer of the knockout dress shown above. you might recognize her work from our previous shoot, as the photos have appeared on my site over the past year. the new pics of her clothing and my jewelry will be used for my upcoming look book, and for felecia's soon-to-be launched website. stay tuned!

did you know

that the toothbrushes you can buy at trader joe's are recyclable? t.j.'s carries recycline toothbrushes, and I've been using them for several years. recycline provides postage-paid envelopes, which are available right at the store. just save up a few used ones, pop them in the envelope, and send them back to recycline. the recycled polypropylene toothbrushes are used to make plastic lumber.

also good to know- t.j.'s stocks tom's of maine toothpaste, which comes in a recyclable aluminum tube. (unlike most, which are made of non-recyclable materials)

more love

as long as I'm posting cool graphics people have sent my way, I thought I'd add this one. it was made by anh tran, sent in thanks for one of my necklaces.

to me

from my most awesomest friend willie, who I met in my second year at vcu, in materials printmaking. that's a picture of the (cup)cake b and I didn't have last night. but if I have enough time today, I might bake a cake to celebrate both of our birthdays. still playing catch-up in a big way, and it feels sooo good to sit down and make bracelets today. ciao.

new earrings

on the site.

wrap it up

b's family in l.a. shipped him some of his belongings last week, and some of them came packed in sheets of pink foam. i saved the sheets, knowing I could use them to wrap my orders. early on i was sending out goods in boxes, but then I discovered that if the items were packed well, I could use 6x9 brown envelopes. i started playing around with the pink foam, cutting it into strips, and stapling it into small envelopes. then i wrapped each one with a strip of vintage rayon seam tape (snagged from a short-lived job where I was a display artist) and voila- protected from damage and attractive at the same time. the pink sheets will come in handy because i decided months ago to stop buying ziplock jewelry bags. if i place the staples close together, the little pouches will be perfect for shipping beads ordered from my etsy shop.

woo hoo

site updated.

modishoppe

I am thrilled to be selling a new collection of necklaces, earrings and keychains at the online store modishoppe. the shop is the creation of the super talented and energetic jena coray, proprietor of the blog modish.

getting close

the fall update is almost ready to go live. in the mean time, check out what's on sale.

moving in, day fifteen

two weeks in the new apartment, and I seriously feel like I'm moving in slow-mo, juggling moving in with business affairs. the apartments I've lived in for the past eight years or so have been so small, (paired with my habit of living like a college student) that I never needed to make the kind of decisions we're dealing with now. this place is sort of like a shell, or an industrial studio. Our kitchen has ONE regular sized cabinet, and one tiny one over the stove. the counter space consists of SEVEN INCHES on either side of the sink. the medicine chest has no room for tall bottles, and there isn't an inch of counter space to put things on. so for the last two weekends, b and I have been visiting the various budget-minded home decor shops around the city, and we even took the shuttle bus over to IKEA in elizabeth, n.j. on sunday. the ever resourceful researcher, b has been searching online for kitchen islands, window blinds, (for our 87" long windows) a work table, bookshelves, and a filing cabinet. I did manage to empty a few boxes today, in between working on the website. ciao.

progress

yesterday I brought some new pieces over to ai ai gasa in park slope. the store just launched its web shop, which gives a little glimpse into the playful ethic of this unique boutique. ai ai gasa is located on a stretch of 5th avenue, running between atlantic ave. and 9th street, which is packed with boutiques, cafes, restaurants, wine shops, and some great new eco-friendly emporiums. If you find exploring brooklyn to be a little daunting, the various shopping districts are increasingly offering neighborhood guides, available for free inside the shops. I usually throw a copy of brooklynNow in my bag before venturing out, which has helped me to learn the layout of this sprawling borough.

as is the way my work flows, restocking ai ai gasa leads me to my next big project, launching the site for fall. pictured above is a swatch of the new home page background. now I must eat some lunch.

day eight

day six

day five

moving in

day four

moving in

day two

moved

I'm writing here from my new pad, just six blocks away from the old one, but indeed a different part of the neighborhood. I'll be experimenting with different train routes- I used to be two short blocks away from the J. Now we're about three quarters of a mile from three different J stops, and about a mile from the C train, but various buses run through Bed-Stuy. And there's always the bike I've been planning on getting. I woke up and snapped a few photos of the box-strewn apartment- now I just need to find the usb cord to upload them.

and speaking of moving, design*sponge relaunched its site on monday. go check it out.

babies!

I've been spending the past few days packing up my place, to move to a larger apartment with my man. My neighbor Beverly stopped by yesterday with baby Felicia. Felicia had fun opening up boxes, making up stories she read in a blank book, and getting into general mischief. She was enamored with my bead boxes, and she loved it when I shook glass jars full of buttons and marbles. That's her getting very excited about a jar of cocktail forks that she found in the box.

saturday

spent the day strolling through the Upper East Side, hitting my favorite flea market and wandering through Central Park. I can't wait to clean up and photograph my new finds, which b and I sorted through from a table piled high with trinkets and junk.

I've been thinking about all the good blogging tips Amy of greenjeans gave at the American Craft Council talk on Wednesday night. She and Rena discussed how keeping a blog can improve visibility for your business, and she suggested the following:

•post photographs to catch readers' eyes.
•mention the name of your business in your posts to increase the likelihood that it will come up in a search. for example, there are other businesses named greenjeans, one of them being a restaurant in toronto. mentioning amy's business name increases the chance that her greenjeans will come up if someone does a search for it on google or another search engine.
•set up an rss feed for your blog so that people who read multiple blogs per day can be notified of when you post. many people prefer to run down their list of daily blog reads quickly, only reading the most recent post. having an rss feed also reminds people to read your blog if they're not inclined to keep them bookmarked or use another method.
•post often!
•be patient- she mentioned at first having just a few readers, but in time her readership has increased.

Some of the benefits of keeping a blog that Amy and Rena mentioned are:

•it's the easiest free advertising a business can take advantage of. there are several free hosting companies, google (blogger) and typepad being among the most popular.
•both sellers of handmade and small production goods, blogs enable Amy and Rena to provide back story on their designers. This leads to the creation of community, as readers/ customers become acquainted with the artists and are able to follow links to the artists' own sites or other sources of information.
•This, in turn, benefits both the shop owner and the artist, creating a new business paradigm of cooperation versus competition.
•If you own a web shop, posting photos of new goods on your blog can create interest and even pre-sell items. Rena mentioned the incredible success she had selling online the in-store show she did with collage artist (and her now business partner) lisa congdon. I don't think rena anticipated the response she would get online when she started posting information on this exhibition.
•this sort of leads into the benefits of having an online shop, but they both mentioned the ability to sell internationally. (and the relationship of having a blog that leads people to your shop from all over the world.)

a few questions were fielded from the audience. one woman talked about being an artist who has exclusive gallery representation, and how she has to monitor what she says on her blog, as she is not allowed to represent herself. this philosophy was very contrary to the way Amy and Rena operate, as mentioned above, in their desire to spread the word as much as possible about people whose work they sell.

the salon was very graciously hosted by the american craft council, publisher of american craft magazine and home to a significant collection of craft and design books, catalogues, and periodicals. it's located on the 6th floor of a building on spring street near lafayette which is home to poet's house and marc jacobs' studio. the library is open to the public by appointment. there was great food and drink provided, and the salon drew a good crowd. the event was videotaped by both etsy and faythe levine of the indie craft documentary.

it is great to see the american craft council, which has historically supported the traditional craft arts such as woodworking, ceramics and metalsmithing, become acquainted with the current diy/ indie/ crafter movement. there was a bridging of generations at this event, as the younger crafters bring hand work into the electronic age. I look forward to attending more events, or browsing the collections there.

indian summer

it's a warm, sunny day near summer's end here in bed-stuy. just a brief update in between wash and dry cycles, as b is out interviewing for a job. we've been on a hardcore apartment search, as I get on top of all the early-autumn demands of this business. last week I sent a collection of my work over to the sundance channel, as I continue to contribute to the wardrobe for the green. this week I completed a new collection for modishoppe, a wonderful online boutique I will be selling with for the first time this fall. coming up, I will be restocking bracelets and key chains at rare device. btw, I will be attending a talk this evening,"Blogging the Handmade: Creating Community, Conversation and Commerce," at the American Craft Council Library given by rd owner rena tom as she swings through nyc. I hope to report on it, as well as the feral childe spring 08 fashion show I attended last weekend. more on the agenda...just wanted to check in. enjoy the fabulous weather if you can.

collections

And now to let you know what I keep inside all those little boxes: My pin collection. The enamel blue leaf and turquoise butterfly come from my grandmother's travels in Scandanavia. I bought the ceramic pointing finger in Philadelphia, when I was in high school. The square one is a 1"x1" etching (my grand feat was pulling it through the press) I made while at VCU. The bulldog is from an old family friend who worked for Mack Trucks. Most of the rhinestone pins were gifts, as was the large filigree oval. A few others I picked up in nyc antique stores. Probably the most unusual one is the circular shell pin, hand painted with warriors on horses. That one belonged to my grandmother.

sneak peek

The Sneak Peek of my apartment is up today on design*sponge! You can also view a full set of these photos on my flickr page.

weekend update

while I'm sure many of you are out there enjoying the spectacular late summer weather, I thought I'd give a little word. after a nine-month ldr, my bf is moving here tomorrow. so lots of work to be done before he gets here. new clasps are in order, to get some pieces finished and shipped out. I was surprised this a.m. when the mail man buzzed the door. he was bringing me a box of some old pieces that had been lost in the mail months ago. so look for those in my sale section before the end of the weekend. maybe today- who knows?

and...remember the sneak peek I mentioned a while back? well look for it this week coming up. I am so excited about this. design*sponge is an excellent resource for unknown, up and coming, international, and just plain interesting design- mostly home, furniture and interior. but I am oh so lucky to have d*s (the über-talented grace bonney) be a fan of my jewelry.

ttfn. if the weather holds out, we should be hitting the beach tomorrow.

williamsburg yesterday

p.s. I could have titled this post hasidim, hound, homeboy, hipster.

another view

of the finds from yesterday before I start hacking them apart.

not so laborious

the fall issue of N.E.E.T. is online now! check it out.

found treasures

the manhattan flea markets are becoming harder and harder to find. and yet, there are still some hidden gems out there. I found these treasures waaay out on the upper east side.

collections