Life is a Roller Coaster

I've been on Etsy for about a year and a half now. I enjoy reading the forums and sometimes even enjoy arguing with people on them. Etsy has made some big changes lately and with them there have been lots of people on the forums moaning and bitching because things should never change evidently.

This got me to thinking and reminded me of a job a got right out of college. The job itself isn't important but they had a welcome aboard meeting when I first started. One of the speakers likened the job to a roller coaster. Where there will be lots of ups and downs and you could choose to hang on scared to death wishing it would end or you could throw your hands up in the air and enjoy the ride

That has always stuck with me. I think it holds true with life as well as business and all the changes that come with both. When there is a change or setback you can sit around and moan about it or you can figure out a way to make it work for you. Which would you rather spend your energy on?

Here's an example. Etsy just rolled out a new wedding section. Now a lot of the wedding sellers are crying because it killed their business. I've been steadily growing my business for the last year. I've already made more this year than I did all of 2011. I want to do more though so I'm always trying to think of new ways to do that. I'm not normally a wedding seller but I have some items I think would work well as bridesmaids gifts. So I made a couple of listings and put them in weddings and guess what? I'm getting a lot of views from it, no sales, but I am optimistic. I made the new wedding section work for me.

So next time you're faced with a big change or a big set back take a second to be upset about it, then sit down and figure out how you can make it work for you. You never know, it might turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to you.

Pinterest

Pinterest is really taking off. If you haven't heard of it you probably will soon. Basically what it is, is a website where you can "pin" things you find on the internet that you think are interesting. You can make idea boards for cooking, jewelry, whatever makes you happy. I like it because I bookmark a lot of things and I can pin them instead and not have hundreds of bookmarks.

There is controversy brewing though. I've read a lot of forum and blog posts from other artisans that are concerned about their ideas being stolen or copied. I guess that's a valid concern but once you put something out for public consumption, be it on the internet or in a store or gallery you are opening yourself up to copycats. The only way you aren't is by never letting people see your work. I just finished one of my mini-robots in a glass vial.

I posted it on Pinterest. Technically I guess you aren't supposed to pin your own work but I think that's kind of dumb, they are my boards, but whatever, that's a whole different subject. My mini-robots are cool so this guy is getting a lot of repins and likes. Which I think is awesome. The more the merrier. Now some of the boards people are pinning it to are titled things like: Things I Have to Make, Ideas I Might Try, etc. Does that bother me? No. Why you might ask. These are really hard to make for one thing, they can take anywhere from a few days to a week to a month depending on the complexity. Plus they are really small and that makes it even harder. I also figure that the more pins and likes one of my items get the more people see it and the more potential customers I get. Win win. If someone else wants to make one they probably aren't a potential customer anyway, more power to them. So what do you guys think about people pinning your work?

Klondike the Traveler

As many of you know I have a good friend who is a Siberian Husky named Klondike. A mere six months ago he had never left the central coast of California. He has now traveled through six states, more than some people have been through their entire lives. I thought I would document our current trip from Oregon to Colorado through his eyes. This was a 1488 mile trip that took about 48 hours. We did not stop to sleep in any hotels, I stopped twice to sleep which proved difficult because it was around 10 degrees and Klondike can be noisy.

Snow in Oregon

We started in Oregon, the day we left it had snowed all night. This was the first time Klondike has seen or been in snow, he loved it.

We drove most of the first day through Oregon, which due to the storm was quite hair raising. I might do a blog post later about the trip through my eyes. The second day we made it to Idaho, Klondike did not seem impressed.

Klondike in Idaho

Idaho was actually the only state I almost lost control of the car, the roads where quite icy. Next we hit Utah, a very beautiful state. Klondike had a different view though.

Klondike in Utah

Next up was Wyoming. I personally love Wyoming but once again Klondike was unimpressed.

Klondike in Wyoming

A frozen river in Wyoming

Next we crossed the Continental Divide, I thought that was cool, Klondike was not excited.

Klondike at the Continental Divide.

So what does it take to impress Klondike now? Stay tuned to find out.

Goodbye Oregon

Monday I will be leaving Oregon and heading to Colorado. I'm doing this for a variety of reasons: I miss my family, I need to find a place I can get a job and save up some money and there is a cool school there where I can learn more about jewelry making.

I really love Oregon. I have lived in California, Washington, Arizona, Colorado and now Oregon. I have visited Canada, Mexico, Hawaii, the Caribbean, and almost every state in this country and the Oregon Coast is one of the most breathtakingly beautiful places I have ever seen.

What really stands out for me though are the people here in Oregon. I have yet to meet one mean person. I have met more people and made more friends here in six months than I had in fifteen years in California. Just this morning my car wouldn't start because I neglected to put gas in it and my neighbor was over in a few seconds offering to help me. That never happened anywhere else I lived.

I will definitely come back to Oregon. Whether to visit or live I don't know, I have yet to decide where I want to end up permanently, if I end up somewhere permanently at all. I enjoy traveling and going new places, so who knows.

Wine Corks

I have recently been making jewelry made out of used wine corks. I like the way they look and all the varieties there are. They have a kind of natural beauty. I started out doing this after I found a giant bag of used wine corks at a thrift store. I looked at it and thought, hmmmmm. The rest is history. Making the necklaces has opened up a whole new world of up-cycling. Turns out cork is a renewable resource. Cork actually comes from oak trees. The cork can be harvested without killing the tree so it is totally eco-friendly. You can make pretty much anything out of cork: flooring, leather, hats, all sorts of cool stuff. You should check it out. Here are links to two websites where you can learn pretty much everything about cork. Enjoy!

http://www.corkforest.org/

http://www.deheartsproducts.com/

A New Life

View from my house

I've been gone awhile now, longer than expected. As I stated in an earlier post I decided to pack up and move to Oregon. It's been an interesting two months, most of which has been spent with limited computer access. It didn't go quite as I planned. I couldn't find a job and ran out of money due to having to live in cheap motels. One place was so bad that someone actually was shot and killed a few feet from my door.

So a couple of weeks ago I decided I should sell my car and just get something old and cheap so I could come up with enough money to put down on a house to rent. I then realized I couldn't find the title to my car. The day before I was completely out of money it finally came in the mail. I found someone who was interested in buying my car and who had an old, beater car they would sell me in return. Unfortunately they would not have the cash until the next day. At that point it was looking like I was going to have to sleep in my car for the night. The people who were buying my car said they would give me a $500 deposit on my car so I could have a place to sleep for the night. They were just some of several very kind people I have met in my travels.

After that I found a place to rent on Craigslist on the coast of Oregon. Portland is a lovely city but I have found living in the city to be stressful, plus I have always wanted to live by the beach but thought it would be out of reach financially. I drove three hours to go look at it and loved it and am astounded at the views. It is truly lovely. I hit it off with the owner and got his approval to rent it today. I am so thrilled. It is actually what I've always wanted to do. On top of that my jewelry business is really starting to take off. There are lots of cool shops where I'll be living and I am hoping to get my jewelry into some of them. My hopes are to remain self-employed now that I will have a place to live and get back to work on my business and jewelry making.

I took a huge risk leaving what I knew, with little money and no connections to go start fresh. It got pretty scary for awhile but in the end I got the life I have always wanted. I couldn't be happier. Doing that might not be for everyone, but I find it terribly sad to think I might have stayed stuck in a life I was so unhappy in because I was too afraid to take a chance. I think sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and believe in yourself in order to get the life you want.

My new beach house

Featured Artist "I Heart Shade"

Today's featured artist is Mindy, she has been a friend on Facebook since I started all this. I've always loved her necklaces and her work, it is really beautiful. She's also one of those people who is just really nice and cool. I was trying to think of someone to feature on here and finally the light bulb went off and I thought why the heck haven't I featured her shop? I sad over site on my part for sure. Here's more about her and her work:

I Heart Shade was born out of an overflowing of creativity that couldn’t be contained among my family and friends any longer.  I’ve always dabbled in art and craft: my walls are filled with my attempts painting, my young friends have come into this world with bare feet waiting to be cloaked by my knitted booties or bodies warmed by sweet garments.  I am lucky to live in a community rich with creative and generous people willing to share their art and craft.  I’ve taken classes on cake decorating, beading, sewing, watercolors, acrylic, and my current loves, encaustic and glass fusion. 

I wanted to take the encaustic medium to a whole new, albeit scaled down, level by making wearable art.  I love that encaustic is so flexible and versatile. You can paint with it, sculpt within it and add collage to it.  I chose the wooden domino as my base because it’s the perfect size for a pendant and having grown up in a family where any gathering of two or more constituted a game night, the domino seemed fitting.  On my pieces, I add bits of nature’s love that I find on hikes around Oregon or right in my backyard.  I’ve always loved stumbling upon cairns, or rock towers, in unlikely places.  They invite you to slow down, even stop for a moment and reflect or meditate.  That’s what I love about my Zen Rock Tower pieces.  When I wear one, I’m reminded to slow down, even to stop for a moment.  You’ll often find me rubbing the pendant when I’m in need of a physical reminder to get my zen on.

I’ve been playing with warm glass for the last four years.  I’ve finally purchased my own kiln and now I’m going crazy with small pieces.  My favorites right now are the Baby Footsteps and Twin Baby Footsteps that incorporate tiny copper feet within the glass, and the Stripes pendants where I’m loving creating different pairings and groupings of color.  I’m working on expanding my glass line of wearable art beyond the chest to include bracelets and hair pins.  Look for those out in the next month or so.

Because I’m just starting out, my customers are mostly friends and friends of friends and, well, you get the picture.  I’d love to reach more people so please find me on Facebook and Twitter at iheartshade. And of course, stop by my Etsy shop to browse or just say hello. http://www.etsy.com/shop/iHeartShade