how I'm spending my winter vacation

slowly loading images dating back to 2003 on my flickr page. these are scans of color xeroxes from kinko's, so they require A LOT of editing in photoshop. mostly erasing out dark backgrounds. but I hope the work is worth it. beyond being able to share these with everyone, it's helping me to be able to see my whole body of work. especially since ideas are brewing for the new year. yippee.

end of the year

I got the last of the holiday orders shipped out at the end of last week, and things feel a lot more chill around here. over the weekend (not the best weather for being outdoors) I started organizing my photo files and uploading shots of some older pieces to flickr. it's been quite a year, and more successful than I could have dreamed. in the spring four shops that I was selling with closed. when I brought it up to people I got a lot of well wishes, but honestly it was the best thing that could have happened. I had been selling to shops on consignment since 2001, and it was time to make the transition to wholesale.

for those of you who don't know how this works, selling on consignment means that you place your items in a shop and get paid when the items sell. it's a great way for new designers to get their work shown and for smaller shops to fill their inventory and try out new designers. through working this way I've developed great relationships with store owners and have had the opportunity to see how certain items sell, tweaking and developing my line in the process.

the downside to selling on consignment is that it's time consuming. it involves contacting the store owner every few months, arranging a time to stop by, preparing new items and an inventory sheet, and bringing along active inventory sheets. while in the shop I'll go through with the owner what has sold, get paid, decide what old items I'm pulling out, and present the new collection.

over the past few years I've filled a few wholesale orders with out of town shops. It always involved sending a digital catalogue in pdf format. This again was time consuming, since the catalogue needed to be updated each time I sent a new one out. b and I both agreed that an online ordering system would streamline the process and enable me to sell my one of kind pieces at wholesale. we talked about it for probably a year before we started working on it in earnest this fall. we decided to have the launch coincide with a site redesign and update in early november.

I should mention that with the exception of april, in which I sold during the opening month at the brooklyn flea, spring and summer were very slow. I started preparing as early as I could for fall and holiday, and I'm happy to say it all worked out as planned. the night we were in the process of launching and testing the new site, an item sold before we were even finished.

thanks to everyone for a great year. I'm super excited and full of new ideas for 2009.

oh, and happy chanukah.

my favorite things

back in may, I wrote about the great t-shirts sold by laure joliet of l.a. apartment therapy and her own blog at home at home. while reading her blog last week, I found out about her amazing holiday deal and ordered three more. three hand-made screen printed t-shirts for $18 with shipping! the deal is, it's buy one medium, get two free. the dotted t runs a little large, so i gave it to b. (he said we could form an 80's pop band) the square tees have a nice loose but slim fit. laure's offering this deal till dec. 25, so get on over to her etsy shop and show some love!

gifted

monday morning quarterback

It's been a busy couple of weeks. I did two local shows within ten days of each other, one which I co-organized. And the verdict? both were very slow. But the upshot- b programmed and purchased equipment for a live sales system, which is working perfectly.

Through the the holidays, I've filled four wholesale orders, two of which were international. The retail sales on my site are off the hook. So all in all, a great holiday season- December will be my best month ever in six years of keeping records, and 2008 will be my best year. All of this in a recession year.

The reason for such a difference between the live local events and my web-based sales? (all of the wholesale purchases were initiated through the internet as well) My guess is that it's because I've been building this business on my own for the past six years, with b's help for the past year or so. I've been targeting customers and drawing them to my site, and what I'm doing seems to be working. It's taken a lot of observation, especially in the year before I launched the site in 2005. At that time I was looking at other websites to see how they were doing it, especially ones that seemed to be selling a lot! I was drawn to clean design and easy navigation, and made it a point to use those elements in my own site.

Before planning to put up a website, I had been selling on consignment in a few stores in Los Angeles, where I lived until 2004. This is where I initially learned the basics of production, selling and marketing. I used what I knew, having the confidence from strong sales in brick and mortar shops, to build the online store.

Selling at the two shows this season, I was reliant on the whims of retail buying in general, as opposed to my own specific, targeted marketing. Sales at gifted yesterday were slow for most, with a few exceptions. A maker of raw chocolate products sold out his inventory, and was able to leave early. Our neighbors to the left were doing well with wooden toys that were in the $15 to $25 range. Looking around at the other vendors, my products seemed a little high end for the show.

so that's it. a lot of energy exerted for not a lot of sales. but a great holidays season despite that fact.

this weekend in nyc

lena corwin's lineup of holiday hand made sales.

sales on molliedash items

if my jewelry is out of your budget, or if you'd just like to grab a piece of my work at a bargain price this season, there are two opportunities.

first, everything I have at sodafine has been marked down 30 to 40 percent! there are necklaces, bracelets and key chains to choose from at this darling williamsburg boutique. the neighborhood has probably a dozen new shops that have sprung up in the past month, so it's worth hopping on the L train and getting over there to take a look.

if you can't make it to brooklyn,(too bad!) there is always the internet. I did so well with the first round of goods I sold on clothes-pin's sample sale that I've sent her some more. Look for new items by the beginning of the week today!

mildly amusing

possibly the first time a piece of my jewelry has been compared to an 80's pop song.

next up: brooklyn flea gifted

Next Sunday, December 14, I'll be selling at gifted, an indoor holiday market sponsored by the brooklyn flea and time out new york. The event is taking place in the Masonic Temple, across the street from the regular Brooklyn Flea at Bishop Laughlin High School. (haven't you always wanted to see the inside of a Masonic Temple?) Click on the above image for a larger view.

***as an extra incentive and thank you to local customers, all items will be "tax included," meaning no tax for you! and...thanks to my superstar in-house IT wizard b, I'll be accepting Visa, Mastercard, Amex, and Discover.

envirobling

I was interviewed for a piece in the Canadian Newspaper National Post. Read the article in their online edition here.

don't forget

subtEranneAn is tomorrow evening!

Please note: the address is 275-A Degraw St., right near the corner of Court St.

the lineup includes:

Ai Ai Gasa: clothing and jewelry made from repurposed umbrellas!
Bearhead Factory: jewelry inspired by relics and medals of honor
Better Than Jam: modular clothing pieces made from hand-printed fabrics
Box 185: wearable art that inspires fun, flirtation and sex appeal
Rebecca Burstein: accessories
Imme Industries: dance-inspired styles that go from the studio to the street
Bobbi Kim: cozy hand knit hats and scarves
Heidi O'Donnell
Deborah Rice Designs: hand melted organic forms with geometric motifs in matte metals
Sumie Tachibana: clothing that meticulously balances contrasting themes, such as masculinity and femininity
Umsteigen: revitalized hoodies, tanks & sweatshirts, blown up into playful works of wearable art.

For my part, I'll be selling a new item within my collection- refrigerator magnets! they're made from vintage earrings, cuff links and other parts, and come in sets of 3-4. all of my work will be "tax included," meaning it's on me! Each vendor will handle her own sales, and I will be accepting Visa/Mastercard.

come on down to cobble hill and party.

win today

Women's Health Magazine's online sweepstakes WIN TODAY offers a different prize each day for the month of December, and one grand prize at the end of the month. On December 10 the prize is a molliedash ensemble- necklace, bracelet and key chain. Click here to view the month's prizes, and be sure to enter the sweepstakes on December 10!

luxurious weekend

For us it started on Wednesday, when b and I took the ferry to Ellis Island. The boats leave from Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan, and stop at both Liberty and Ellis Islands. We didn't leave early enough in the day to get off at both, but enjoyed the visit nonetheless. Ellis Esland closed operation as an immigration center in the mid 50's and laid vacant for thirty years. Since its restoration in the mid 80's the main building has been turned into a museum. Most people probably think of looking up their ancestors while visiting, but the same service is offered online. We used our time to see the various rooms and exhibits that have been set up, as the site is run by the National Park Service. On the main floor is a set of large 3-d displays, including graphical representations of immigration data, a tree which gives the ethnic origin of many common American expressions, ("jazz" and "tote" are African, while "gungo ho" is Chinese) and a large American flag which changes into a grid of portraits of Americans of various ethnicities as you walk by it.

On the second floor is the huge registration room, commonly seen in photographs showing large numbers of immigrants waiting to be processed. Off the main room are several large galleries containing things such as possessions people brought with them from their home countries, scale models and maps of the island throughout the years, and displays on the immigrants' experience as they spread out and set up homes and business in various parts of the country.

Probably the most interesting part of the museum is the third floor, contained in rooms off a balcony that overlooks the second floor, running the perimeter of the room below. On it are the various offices the immigrants had to visit, such as rooms where they were tested for physical and mental health, a court where hearings occurred, a food concession, and a money exchange.

Hungry and cold after spending several hours outside and on the boat (but nothing compared to those who traveled from Europe around the turn of the century!) we headed up to Chinatown for Korean food. We've come to love Li Hua, whose food is as good as (if not better than) our former favorite Kun Jip on 32nd street. I've been eating at Kun Jip for almost five years, and I'm afraid the place is becoming a victim of its own success. Meaning that it's so crowded most of the time, it's hard to relax and enjoy your food. Li Hua is light and airy, plays mellow dance-mix music, and is seldom crowded. After comparing bills I also realized that Li Hua is less expensive. And they serve the best green tea ice cream, which is extremely dark and dense.

We woke up early Thursday and went to the Macy's Thanksgiving parade. Not something I'd think of doing, but b thought it might be fun. And it was. But again, the getting up early thing. You won't get a sidewalk view unless you're there at maybe 5:30 am. So we watched from atop playground equipment in Central Park. b really wanted to see giant balloon Underdog, but all we got was Hello Kitty and Shrek. The marching bands were fantastic, and some of the floats pretty cool. A sidewalk view would have been way better. After standing in the same place for over two hours, we got pretty cold and headed to midtown- to Kun Jip! We were seated before 11:30 am, and a line formed as we were eating. After lunch we went home and crashed, showered, then headed back! to Columbus Circle to have Thanksgiving dinner at the home of my friend Bobbi's sister. Six of us had a cozy dinner in their tiny one-bedroom apartment. They are moving soon, and I tried my best Brooklyn sell. Their four brokers be damned! They've only been in nyc a year, and think that Manhattan is IT. So not it, unless you're a gajillionaire.

Finally hitting the sack at 4:00 am, we slept late on Friday. b had mentioned checking out the Black Friday scene, to get an idea of how people are shopping or not. Upon t's (bobbi's brother in law) suggestion, we had lunch at Shake Shack on an "off" day. Located in Madison Square Park, the place is known for its two hour-long lines. No lines for us, although a little bit chilly eating in the park. The place lived up to its reputation for yummy gourmet fast food. I had the "shroom burger," which was a deep-fried mass of oozing cheeses with a portobello mushroom in there somewhere. Their crinkle cut fries are nice and crispy and the thick ice cream shake thingy b got (a "concrete") was super yum. Then I had the song "Love Shack" in my head the rest of the day.

We walked over to Kiehls to pick up some moisturizer and shampoo, then took the train to 59th (again!) to hang out in the warmth of the upscale mall inside the Time Warner towers. Sufficiently warm and having our fill of "crap you don't need stores," we walked east on 57th Street. We found Lee's Art Supply, and I was able to pick up some of the magnets I've been looking for. Then over to Bergdorf Goodman, (it's all research) exploring all seven floors of designer goodness. Finally, we made out way to FAO Schwartz. I wanted to buy a Rubik's Cube, but b explained that there's something cooler out on the market. as if! Okay, so I held off on getting one. They were playing on the giant piano, but it was too crowded to see. Hmm...is this why I usually avoid the typical tourist destinations?

Yesterday was my assistant f's wedding reception, an afternoon event at Antarctica in the West Village. What a great party. Great food, great jazz band, and I got to see all my peeps. f and I used to work together at a dance center, and she's a lot more social than I am, so I got to catch up with a lot of old friends. Come to think of it I caught them up on her a bit too!

So that's it, our long, leisurely weekend. Today we stayed in and I got to play with magnets. It's going to be a busy few weeks ahead!

black friday sale

woo hoo- come on over to molliedash.com this friday for one-day only deals!

subterranean

I'm so happy to announce subtErraneAn, a holiday gift bazaar that I'm organizing with melanie of ai ai gasa fame. we've got a great lineup of local clothing and jewelry designers, the event is free, and snackies will be provided. come join us in cobble hill!
oh, and click on the image for a larger view.

upcycled packaging

I came across these photos I had shot over the summer. I made these paper bags for my jewelry out of magazine pages. I shot the pics before the finishing touch- they have molliedash.com on them, imprinted with my mom's manual typewriter. I've started including them with my wholesale orders.

eco friendly find at modish

ooh, what a nice post about my work, over at modish today.

night rider

when b gets in work/ideas/programming mode, he tends to get up in the middle of the night, sometimes a few times a night. or stay up late, go to sleep a few hours later, then wake up again and do some more work. last night I fell asleep at 1am, with the lights still on. b was up working in bed. at around 2:30 a.m. I was dreaming something that made me laugh out loud, and I woke myself up. it was sort of a dorky, beavis and butthead type of laugh. b leaned over and asked me what was so funny. it startled me, and i asked him if I was laughing out loud. I got embarassed, then got up and headed to the bathroom. then I fell right back to sleep. today I asked him why he leaned all the way in to my face. he said he hadn't- that he leaned forward a little bit. the whole thing was so distorted. I then told him that the thing that I was laughing about was Night Rider. he said oh, that would make anyone laugh.

I just watched a "garfield and friends" episode where garfield steals a whole pizza from john, and then he has a nightmare where he eats and eats and grows so big that he climbs a skyscraper like king kong and eats an airplane, later to be abducted by a spaceship that wants to feed its whole planet on garfield. that's how I feel right now. I fell asleep with a slight headache, and overnight it turned into a dull sinus headache, and I kept tossing and turning. I slept late, then finally made a cup of coffee. deciding that I needed to eat healthier, I juiced a whole bunch of farmer's market carrots, two apples, two tangerines, and a slab of ginger. I divided it into two glasses, but b hardly drank any. so I drank most of his. now I was hungry, so I heated up some leftover chinese food. that really didn't satisfy me, so I cooked a frozen quiche in the oven. yeah, now I feel sick.

p.s. I almost left out the part about the bufferin.

go see

•william eggleston at the whitney.
•calder- the paris years, also at the whitney.
• liza lou at L&M arts.

star struck

this morning I dreamt that Matt Dillon owned a bed & breakfast next door to our apartment, and he was our friend. we went outside and got caught in the rain. I made myself a poncho out of newspaper, but I needed a rain hat. we went into Matt's b&b and went to sleep. when we woke up, we were in a big, puffy bed and Matt Dillon was meticulously arranging things. we were in his home, and it was all decked out in Western Americana. I started picking things up and looking at them. I had two of his belts fastened together and I was going to wear it. only I couldn't figure out how to put it on, and I thought I might be getting on Matt's nerves. Little beads were falling off the belts. I started putting them into plastic bags. when he looked over, I explained that I am a jewelry maker, and I would take his belts home and fix them. only more and more beads were falling off and b and I were all over the carpet, looking for them. then i started picking things up off the floor that weren't beads- they were part of small arrangements that belonged there. so I put them back. we were feeling increasingly uncomfortable.

this afternoon we went for a walk through red hook, then up through cobble hill until we got to court st. we had dinner at a thai restaurant, then picked up some groceries at trader joe's. walking up court towards our bus, we noticed a crowd of people gathered and seated in chairs inside the barnes and noble. "oh, who's reading?" I said. as we approached the end of the store, where a table was set up and the seats were facing, we saw a tiny woman standing on two boxes, so she could be seen by the crowd. it was DOCTOR RUTH!

it's alive

the new site is up and running!

lots of new items, new design, and wholesale ordering for retailers. whoo, it's been many months in the works. hope you like it!

ooh ooh

we're updating the website RIGHT NOW. please bear with us.

feeling all activist-ey

•If you live in the 10th Congressional District in NY as I do, you can still write in Kevin Powell for Congress. He might not have won the Democratic primary, but there's no reason not to support him. The way I look at it, Kevin Powell is like the Barack Obama of Brooklyn. He's fresh, young, smart, upbeat, and has a whole lot of common sense. Incumbent Edolphus Townes has been in office far too long, taking advantage of his status as democrat to guarantee votes. Read here to find out about Kevin Powell's platform.

•Why I love my phone company: You might remember Working Assets from the 1980's- the socially, politically, and environmentally conscious phone company. They're now called Credo and they offer both long distance and mobile service. As a member, Credo donates 1% of your bill to a group of progressive non-profits that the members vote on each year. Each month's bill is sort of like a newsletter, and includes information on important Congressional votes, giving contact information for your particular Senator or Rep. There is also a reading list, and books can be ordered for 10% off retail. This morning I received a text alert from Credo, encouraging members to spread the word to vote, and that all domestic calls are on them today.

•As I said in the post below, I always feel guilty having to throw away non-recyclable plastic packaging. So I was psyched to find eco-dent dental floss at whole foods, which uses paper packaging.

•While shopping at Target, I picked up a couple of burt's bees products. I have to say that I dismissed this brand for a while, thinking it was too "hippie." honestly, I don't know what I was thinking, being a die-hard dr. bronner's fan. I purchased the citrus facial scrub and the pomegranate and soy conditioner, and I am very pleased. The scrub is nice and scrubby, while also being moisturizing. And it comes in a resuable/recyclable glass container with a metal lid. also, Target sells Burt's Bee's products at a slight discount.

ideas

a few months back, we splurged on a bisley cabinet for my jewelry supplies. this was a real treat, since I had always furnished my apartment with a combination of cheap ikea items and things I found on the sidewalk. but when it came time to divide up the drawers, I realized that buying the bisley dividers was going to cost as much as the cabinet itself. so I filled it with as many containers as I already had, and then set out to find some more.

I had always felt guilty about throwing away tofu containers. the city of new york only takes narrow-necked #1 and #2 plastic for recycling. soon, the tofu containers started looking attractive. I simply cut the tops off of them with scizzors, and they fit perfectly into the cabinet. the one in the bottom right is a hershey's cocoa container that I also lopped the top off of.

also...you know the red idea cabinet I posted about? kate saw my post and realized that her friend was getting rid of one like it. she offered it to me for less than half price, and it looks great alongside the bisley.

help

can anyone in nyc with slightly wavy hair recommend a good stylist, not too pricey? I just got my hair cut and I hate it. somehow, hair stylists always assume I like my hair straight and blown out, and cut it that way. I don't! I hate blown-out straight hair! last time, even after telling the stylist that I like my hair wavy, she went ahead and did it that way. not to mention that she was 45 minutes late for the appointment, then had to rush through the cut. when i told her at the end that I wanted more taken off the sides, she butchered it up. now it doesn't fall correctly. honesty, I feel like a sap in the hands of a hair dresser. I try to watch what they're doing and not correct them while they're in process, but it always seems to backfire in my face. the picture above is what I brought to the stylist before this one. somehow, she left long pieces in the front, even though it is clear from the photo that the sides are shorter.

help!

maui dreaming

just uploaded a bunch of photos to my flickr page. many more to come.

more love

what started as a fluke ended up getting some attention in the blogosphere. why, the pipeline on refinery 29 compared b's design to a comme des garçons' runway look! in all honesty, b's response when I asked him for some detailed instructions for the lamp was "I like playing with glue."

another few posts include:
Chrisjob's blog on curbly
megan auman
peppermags
katie blair designs
one pretty thing.
decoesfera
ripe green ideas
craft:
sparkle thots

thinking about the apartment

this would be a nice addition.


this too.

more looks

I was so thrilled to see that the Italian blog ri-creazione ("re-creation") posted about b's chandelier. though they credited me with designing the lamp, I was tickled by their interpretation of the piece. allow me to impress you with my translation from the Italian:

"It is hard to imagine how to recycle some things creatively. For example, those polystyrene beads that are used to fill a cardboard box to protect fragile goods. The clever blogger and designer Dash had the ingenious idea to take advantage of the beads' resemblance to popcorn and construct an amusing chandelier out of them."

okay, a little choppy, but you get the idea.

grazie, ri-creazione.

styro chandelier on design*sponge

grace at design*sponge loves promoting those diy projects. so I had a hunch she might like b's packing peanut chandelier. and here it is on today's d*s, as part of diy wednesdays! thanks grace.

*because so many people commenting on d*s today are concerned about safety, I'm adding a photo of how the lamp hangs. the bulb isn't actually inside the lamp, rather the chandelier hangs below the light fixture. I hope this helps.

it's alive

the clothes-pin sample sale is online here!

select molliedash items are available for 50% off retail. price includes domestic shipping.

the first round of items includes luscious knit clothing from she-bible and delicate inlaid jewelry from amy bengston. more to come from smart fitzjerrell, zeto, lara miller, and greenbaum clothing.

my boy b

before the stoop sale, b was going through our spare camera equipment, testing out the manual nikon lens on my digital. he took some shots of the chandelier he made from styrofoam packing peanuts.

99 days and counting

look ->->-> my bush countdown meter has dropped below 100!

now the numbers aren't lining, up so I'll have to ask b, my little code monkey, to fix it. he rewrote the script from the widget I got from the credo website, which wasn't working.

but anyway, woo hoo!

project runway addiction

p.r. habit in viewing order:

1. project runway canada
2. project runway u.s. season 4
3. project runway u.s. season 1
4. project runway u.s. season 2
5. project runway u.s. season 3
6. project runway u.s. season 5 (currently watching)
7. project runway australia (watched all 11 episodes in two days)
8. project runway philippines (just started watching)

getting close

while b's in L.A., we're co-designing my new site, cross-country. he's working on the technical aspects of getting the wholesale ordering up and running. I know I've been talking about this for months, and I'm glad to say that it's finally happening. my part is to make the site- both retail and wholesale, visually pleasing.

I'm here poking around my apartment, listening to public radio, drinking tea, browsing blogs. bad girl! it's gotta be one of the most gorgeous times of the year- true indian summer. I think I can cope with getting some work done today if I sneak out and do some errands around the neighborhood.

okay- what's up? there's a squirrel sitting high on top of a telephone pole out back, squawking and waving its tail. what does it see down below that's making it so crazy? on a similar note regarding nature in the city, there's a dead bird right outside my front window. the roof of the front porch is just inches below, and i usually get to watch visiting squirrels and cats. this incidence is odd, because the bird looks to be someone's escaped pet parakeet. it has a bright, fuzzy yellow belly, quite unlike a city bird.

so getting back to the neighborhood errands, I dropped my raincoat off at the cleaners to be revamped and repaired. finally! it's a 1960's navy blue above-the-knee thing, with wide lapels, zipped pockets, and lots of white top stitching. I had picked it up at a flea market in the east village for twenty bucks, and wore it with safety pins all over it for a couple of years. I took it by to have the top stitching redone and the main zipper replaced. can't wait to see what it looks like.

the ups man came this morning with my gold (and silver) testing kit! I've been accumulating so much vintage jewelry lately that I have a pile of questionable pieces. some of the stamps are so tiny, I can't even read them with a magnifying glass. the process involves acids, a scratch stone, and various needles. sounds like some fun science experimenting!

okay, I'm off to the showers. see ya.

the cat's out of the bag

I'll be participating in clothes-pin's first ever sample sale, starting next wednesday, october 15. the sale will be going through the fall and up to the holidays, so check back often for 50% to 80% off goods by fine independent designers. knowing karen's taste by the steady stream of posts on her superb blog, I'm sure this will be a good one.

autumn

I woke up with sticky eyes. The super sets the thermostat at 75, and refuses to do otherwise. but at least we have heat, and I can turn down my own radiators. not that getting the heat on didn't involve threatening to report the landlord to the city.

it's been a weird couple of weeks. autumn always feels like more of a new beginning than the dead of winter, when westerners celebrate the new year. after returning from our summer vacation, we had three weeks to get my fall line going, before out of town guests arrived, followed by a weekend trip to see my mom and sister. the visit with my friend and her mate turned into sort of a disaster, as I started growing weary of her shenanigans. (indecisiveness, imposing on us do things for her she could have done at home) by the time they left (although they didn't stay with us the whole time) she knew something was up. I sent her an email, and all hell broke loose. now she's cut me off, saying that I'm not a "safe" friend. whatever.

the weekend after our delightful visitors left, we headed down to south jersey. a few months back, I realized that my 25th high school reunion was coming up. being a late bloomer, high school was unmemorable for me. my visits home were infrequent for many years, as I explored other possibilities and places in life. somehow after 25 years though, I started getting sentimental. the organizers of the reunion had set up a website, and I found myself visiting it, as classmates fleshed out their profiles with updates and photos. I told b I wanted to go to the reunion, and we registered.

but as the date got closer and I found out more about my former classmates, the less interest I had in attending the event. My mom was already expecting us and my sister was planning to come up from Richmond to visit. so we went to cherry hill anyway, and explored philadelphia as I had stated earlier. we ate dinner at ponzios that night, the local hangout diner. don't you know as soon as I saw the photos people posted from the reunion, I wish I had gone. okay, who's indecisive?

now b's in california, doing some work. the other night while poking around on flickr, I found out some bad news about one of my favorite teachers and just an all-around cool guy. if you are so inclined, read here about ezra and his fight with cancer. the site has a donation page to help with ez's medical expenses. and if you want to be awed by his awesomeness, look here to see his beautiful photography. it will make you want ezra's life. except for the cancer.

holy crap

my bf's a good photographer.

kime buzzelli

I must admit to being just a twee bit obsessed with everything kime buzzelli touches these days. her shop, show pony, which I mentioned visiting here. her gorgeous and inspiring blog, the moldy doily. her color sensibility, which has greatly turned me onto aqua. and most of all, her luscious paintings. were I not in the midst of launching my fall line and watching my budget, and let's say it was around the holidays or my birthday, I might be purchasing this painting. sure enough, when winter arrives, one of her lovely pieces will be mine. ah kime buzzelli, you make me swoon.

my ebay listings

I posted two items for sale last night on ebay! The first is a huge lot of beads. I started the bidding at $20- these beads are well worth a few hundred dollars.




the second listing is for a huge lot of earrings!



I have much more vintage jewelry and supplies, and will be posting them within the next week. click here to see my current listings.