Adventures in Handmade Jewelry

After a marvelous burst of activity, I've backed off the jewelry thing for a bit. I have one idea rolling around in my head for a piece and enthusiasm for making it is building, but not there yet. Plus nothing has sold in ages so my inventory level is quite adequate. Maybe with Christmas coming it will change, but whatever, I'm over it. So I've gone back to one of my first loves; photography. I got my first good camera, an Olympus OM-G 35mm SLR, when I was a sophomore in HS and have remained an Olympus bigot ever since. In 2005 I bought my very first digital body, an Olympus E-300, and sadly haven't really put any miles on it. My photo disease comes and goes and I was in a fallow period when I bought it, so that's sort of why. Only recently have I really begun messing with it and my old lenses. Too bad I'm unemployed or I'd pick up a few new toys for it. Since I am though, I'll just have to live with what I have. There's a group of folks on F...

OMG summer has finally hit in New England. First 90+ degree days this year. About time. I'm not one of those people who bitches about a season acting like what it is. I expect summer to be hot and humid. I expect winter to be cold and snowy. That's what New England is like. But damn...it sure makes it impossible to work. My bench is in the loft and totally without AC. I got in a few minutes the other day, but started to sweat and ew; I had to stop. So creating anything new is going to be on hold until things cool down about 10 degrees. I'm trapped in the two rooms with AC units and working from here is too awkward...besides, one of the things I'm experimenting with requires me to use my vise. I've been reading and watching TV (NCIS overload!!!) and am going to dive into some marketing duties for the wimmins over at A Perfect Pair Earring Market on 1000 Markets . It will give me something to do and a way to make sure my brain doesn't start to leak out ...

Yeah, I've been neglecting this. Sorry. Life intrudes. Now that I've completed my certificate in project management I've turned up the 'looking for a real job' to high. It's time consuming. I also have taken a freelance job to manage a project for some people and that takes some of my time as well. The job hunt is depressingly slow and I feel like I'm sending my resume into black holes. It's hard to stay positive and keep one's energy up in this market. Strangely enough, someone found my resume on Monster & called for an interview. Met with him today and it went rather well. He wants to have another meeting on Friday after the first round of his interviews as a whole. Promising. It's definitely a job I can do and would like to do. The physical location will be strange though; in the offices of a company I used to work for. With folks I used to work with (including my brother). I won't be employed by that same company, but my ...

I threw a little party on my back deck today. Only served birdseed and water, but look who showed up. Chickadee trying to see who's flirting with his date. Finch, stepping up to the bar. Catbird, having his first drink. And of course, someone had to crash!

Took the weekend off. Didn't make a thing even though a batch of beads arrived. Very glad it did since it included some bead caps I need to complete a necklace that's been in the works a while. It's really elegant and simple, but I'm not sure if I should list it on Etsy or if I should put it in the spa where many other pieces are headed. It opens next week! So to go along with my merchandise, I've had the lovely and talented Miss Helen put together some post card designs for me. I'll post pictures when they arrive since the files she sent me get totally distorted when I use them online. I'm going to use them as counter cards - sort of like an oversized business card or a small flyer. An ad basically. Oh and the big thing that was in the works has come to pass. I've decided to make a career change and go back to school. At least for a little while. My first class starts next Thursday. I'm a bit nervous, but it's an adult education deal...

Yeah, it's been quiet around here lately. Combination of a lot of things. Real Life. Pain. The need to get an actual, paying job. Self-doubt. Laziness. But if I can stand to sit in my work chair long enough to make something, I think that I will. My back has been a horror for a few days and I can't even put on my own socks, much less sit upright for any length of time. I'm so pissed. It just comes and gets me for no reason. Anyway, I hope to be back in the saddle soon. I think it's just a phase. OK, I'm ready to go try out my bench chair. Am restless and bored and need some distraction with accomplishment. Languishing in self-pity isn't helping me.

I'm out of it! The slump that is. For a while there I just didn't feel like making anything. Felt like nothing gelled. Nothing inspired. Nothing seemed worth it. Got lazy and crabby. Unmotivated and unconvinced I have any talent at all. I've never put myself out there in this way before and I think it's a natural phase of doing so. The whole time I knew that if I didn't keep working, it would fade. The creativity engine takes a lot to crank over cold so it's best to leave it running. Unfortunately my engine was pretty much out of gas. Part of it was just getting out of the chair I'm sitting in now. It's an Eames Lounge Chair that I bought myself for my 40th birthday last year. Ever since I first saw one when I was 18 or so, I've lusted after one. Normally I'm not a furniture snob, but I figured what the hell - you only turn 40 once (and it was a bargain compared to the BMW I bought myself when I turned 30). So when I get in this ico...

for a total hottie.

It seems strange to take time off from my newborn jewelry business when it's practically the only income I have these days, but I did. Felt myself running out of steam Friday and so did very little the next two days. No sales for days makes me sad and I have to strap down those feelings of inadequacy and loserdom. I know my work is good, I just need to try harder or find better avenues for promotion. Things will come together eventually, but I needed a break. I feel a little guilty, but I think it recharged my creative process a bit. There are a couple of ideas floating around in my head now that I will pull into the physical world. Plus I got to read a book. It was nice to escape into another world for a bit. Speaking of books, my other blog is really feeling ignored lately so I must go post a couple of reviews.

It's National Ballet Day!!! Now...does anyone know why??