ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Well, it's official. Starting next month, I will be 100% my own boss, full time! Yes, that's right, I am finally saying goodbye to additional income part-time jobs and hello to the successful future of MY jewelry business! I couldn't be happier with this decision (albeit a teensy bit scared…) This has been my BIG goal for quite some time, and one I had planned to accomplish before my 30th birthday, so it feels good to be on track.

It is bitter sweet saying goodbye to Swallow however. I've truly enjoyed working there, getting to know my fellow employees, and have learned a TON about the wholesale jewelry world. I especially will miss being in charge of display/merchandising as well as the rotating wall exhibitions. It was fun to get to "curate" for our lovely little boutique! I'm leaving very much on good terms and am glad to know that my employers are happy for me and the future of my business.

So here's to my new life! There's no looking back now… full steam ahead!

Swallow 361 Smith Street in Carroll Gardens. (Brooklyn, NY)

The Little Zoo Box photos © Elizabeth Soule.


For more gorgeous photos of the store, check out the flickr set.

100th Etsy Sale!

Well, it's happened: I've reached 100 sales on etsy… hooray! In celebration I'm offering FREE SHIPPING on all items in my shop for the next week. (Friday July 18th - Friday July 25th)

Have you been eyeing a piece of jewelry… now would be a good time to make your move!

Sincerest thanks to everyone who has supported and encouraged me and my etsy shop. Being a part of the etsy community has changed me in so many ways. Now here's to the next 100 sales… cheers!

New Header… WOO hoo!

I begged my web designer Dave (aka my boyfriend) to re-design the "Midge's Mind" header at the top of my blog tonight at around 12:15am ----this, just after having carried a 150 lb refrigerator down 5 flights of narrow stairs from an apartment in Manhattan, where it was then loaded into the car, and transported from the west village all the way to Brooklyn---- also at my request.

What…?! it was free and perfect for the studio!

I'm so spoiled.

So… what do you all think about the new header?!

Oh brother!

My online Get Organized class is going really well so far. The class is held entirely through a private blog, which I check a few times daily to retrieve our "lessons" and participate in class discussions regarding the information.

In the week since class began I've already cleaned out and re-organized my entire filing cabinet, as well as got a jump on cleaning out my e-files. The funny thing is: more important than the lessons we're learning from Alyson, -as fantastic as she is- it's about feeling encouraged and motivated. To have a teacher saying "OK, do this now" makes me feel held accountable, even if it is only in a 'virtual' sense (I'm such a student really.)

I've been enjoying the filing process. Those who know me, know I thrive on organization anyway, no big shocker there. However, the "fun" involved can really only be attributed to one very important factor: my new Best Friend.

Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like you to meet my brother:

Wow. I don't know how I lived my life without him prior to this week! This little tool makes me want to label my ENTIRE house, no joke. I've used a label-maker plenty of times before, (in fact we use this exact model at my part-time job) and I've always wanted to buy one for myself, but couldn't justify the cost because I didn't think I really needed one. Man oh man, was I ever wrong to hesitate. Alyson suggested buying one to properly label all my files and I promptly made my way to the nearest Staples. At last …I finally had an excuse!

I am in love with this machine. I cannot recommend it enough. My files now look so beautiful and organized that I know I will actually want to use them regularly instead of letting piles build.

My brother might need a friend soon though, and I think I found just the thing to keep him company on my desk:

A mini filing cabinet that holds up to 800 business cards!
So much cuter than a rolodex!
(available via think geek)

What can I say? I'm a sucker for life in miniature.

Stop Motion Spaghetti

A good friend of mine sent this to me… I think it's so clever and well done, just had to share! Oh, make sure you have the sound on.

Credits:
"Western Spaghetti" 1:44
Written and Directed by PES
Animated by PES and Javan Ivey
Edited by Sam Welch
Produced by Sarah Phelps
Special Thanks: Mike Judge, Robert May, Rebecca Moline

Completed custom work

This weekend I finished up the custom POP smile necklace I've been working on and am pleased with how it turned out. Hopefully my customer will be too! She requested an adjustable extender chain for the cast hand clasp which worked out great. I decided to embellish the end of the necklace with a blood coral drop to tie in the red resin and complete the chain:

A custom grouping… all for my Biggest Fan in Texas!

And last but not least, a custom Have a Heart Bust pendant for a woman who designs for Mattel (!!) and also happens to do burlesque on the side - too fun and appropriate!

Boy oh Boy

Sometimes eBay persistence pays off! It's not always easy to find Ken dolls, particularly in big batches. I just won these two huge lots of Kens. I'm so excited… all those six pack abs! oooh-la-la ;-)

My love/hate relationship with eBay

eBay is just not what it used to be. I remember way back when (circa 2001) a gal could bid, say, $10 on a Barbie doll lot of 25 and end up winning the auction, no problem. Nowadays, it's like a major combat mission. I have to fight tooth and nail to win, and usually end up paying waaaay more money than I intended to.

Competition is the culprit in over-budget spending on an ebay lot. A nasty, addictive, little habit born of rage. I can totally set my limit and decide how much I want to spend on a particular item and then the second my bid is topped by another buyer, all that budgeting and rationale goes out the window and the anger of getting outbid compels me to bid again! …and again, and again.

And so it's true, the cost of discarded Barbie dolls has risen, quite dramatically. What is the world coming to? And why are so many other people buying used, out of the box, ratty-haired Barbie dolls far from vintage collector items? We all know why I am… but why are they damnit?!

Sorry, just a little frustrated at the moment.

I miss living in a town where my Saturday routine involved garage sale-ing all morning and coming home with huge loads of Barbie dolls - often at less than 50 cents a doll! Alas, life is just all around more expensive when you live in nyc.

I love this commercial so much:

Friday From the Bench

A messy overview of my epoxy table - custom works in progress.

Custom Shedding Tears necklace for a client, drying resin: first round.

Custom POP Smile necklace in progress, drying resin: first round.

This is a new POP smile necklace I started a while back, but the shape just isn't working yet. I need to play around with it some more this weekend and get it to look more "organic" (for lack of a better word.)

And I saved the best for last folks… I'm super excited about this little piece of plastic, can you tell what it is…?

…Ken's 6 Pack Abs! I have lots of ideas for designs using this body part, but first and foremost, a 6 Pack Cocktail Ring is definitely in order. Stay tuned :-)

T-shirt Art

I subscribe to an e-newsletter called brooklynbased highlighting all things hip-happenin' in the borough, and one of this week's features was about t-shirts:

"It’s difficult to pinpoint when t-shirts became a platform for art. But nowadays, a shirt can convey an artist’s statement, a political message, or an ironic image that takes the time a painting does to create."

My web designer boyfriend's daily work uniform consists of a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, so we're both usually on the lookout for unique, interesting designs for him to sport. Perhaps t-shirts really are just another form of "wearable art," at times just as expressive and thought-provoking as art jewelry. There's a lot of really great websites out there that feature t-shirts designed by artists…

via rumplo

This shirt available through rumplo was designed by Eduardo Recife, (I think? I couldn't actually find his name on the site…) He's a collage artist and typographer I'm a huge fan of. I had been coveting his dream print (the collage this t-shirt was based off of) for months until finally breaking down and buying it (via blue flip art):

San Francisco based Poketo is another fab company to check out. They produce limited editions of all sort of artist-designed goodies, including tees:

via poketo by artist betsy walton

Shirts have proven to be a practical, fun, and inexpensive way to support artists/designers. Of course buying directly from the artist themselves rules, and indie craft shows always have an over-abundance of art tees to choose from.

Threadless is also a really cool online venue for great tees. Designers send in submissions and viewers get to score the designs they like best. After the votes are tallied, threadless will print the most popular t-shirts:

Le Romantique by Matheus Lopes via threadless

I want to be friends by Steven Bonner via threadless

If humor/ironic shirts are your speed, these sites are always good for a laugh:
snorg
and
busted tees

Bruce Metcalf lecture

The American Craft Council's Summer in the City Salon Series continues with a July 24th lecture Connect / (Dis)Connect featuring Bruce Metcalf & Chanel Kennebrew.

Explore the complicated relationships among the broad spectrum of craft makers today in this dialogue between jeweler, educator and writer Bruce Metcalf and Chanel Kennebrew of Junkprints, an indie craft artist, graphic designer and Etsy seller. July 24, 6-7 p.m., reception to follow. The Summer in the City Salon Series is made possible by the support of Leatrice S. Eagle, with additional support from Etsy. The event will take place at the American Craft Council located at 72 Spring street in NYC, 6th floor.

Some of you may remember the drama surrounding the Savannah SNAG conference and the debates that followed on Imogene's blog where Metcalf was front and center. This should prove to be an interesting dialog about the intersection of fine and indie craft. I'm sooo there.

http://www.craftcouncil.org

Pop Culture Collision

Pop Culture Collision Exhibition

SHAW CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY
100 Main Street, Northeast Harbor, ME 04662
p: 207.276.5000
e: info@shawjewelry.com

Opening Reception Thursday, July 31, 5–7pm

What happens when popular culture collides with our best of intentions? Artists give pop culture a black eye with a satirical look at how our society bumps onto our everyday lives. Few of us are immune!

HARRIET ESTEL BERMAN, ROBERT EBENDORF, MARY FRISBEE JOHNSON, JOANNA GOLLBERG, JILL GOWER, MARGAUX LANGE, BRYAN PETERSEN, GARY SCHOTT, MARLENE TRUE, J. FRED WOELL

I have two pieces included in this show at Sam Shaw's gallery in Maine: Silver Shoes Bracelet and Pearly Whites Brooch. To be included in a show with such incredible jewelry artists (come on, Robert Ebendorf?!)… pretty darn thrilling. Unfortunately I won't be able to make it to the opening reception, however if you happen to be in the area, please go check it out -- and report back to me ;-)

back to school

I've signed up for a month long web class which starts this Wednesday and I'm excited but nervous. It's been a while since I've had to think about the word 'homework.' The class called GO! Get Organized to Run a Successful Art Business taught by the fabulous and inspirational Alyson Stanfield, whom I've mentioned on this blog before and whose blog can be found right here in my blogroll. She always has such sound advice regarding marketing and all things art-career related so it should be a great class. However as she points out, you get out of it what you put in and it will all depend on whether or not I "do the work." I've listened in on a few of Alyson's free teleseminars, where participants call in and listen to a chosen speaker about a given art-marketing topic, though I've never participated in an online class before.

The class description reads:

Are you feeling overwhelmed?
Drowning in clutter?
Losing time to poor habits?
Don't know where to begin to start files and databases?

I know all about these traps. I deal with them every day and can teach you what I have learned that allows me to run a focused, successful business.

Lessons:

1. Put Discipline and Focus Into Place
2. File
3. e-File
4. Organize Your Office
5. Maintain Your Calendar
6. Set Routines
7. Use Task Lists
8. Manage Your Life with Outlook or Entourage
9. Inventory Your Artwork
10. Computerize Your Mailing List
11. Do This in the Meantime

Also, tips, including: 5 steps to conquering piles; nurture positive environments; de-clutter; weekly art dates; saying "no"; task notebooks; holiday cards; and strong systems of support.

Even though I consider myself a fairly organized person, it's an area I know I can always improve upon, especially as my business grows - along with my responsibilities. I'll keep you posted and let you know how the class is going. Wish me luck!

right brain/left brain

This is kind of cool… check it out, when you look at the dancer spinning, is she turning clockwise or counter-clockwise?






How you respond is supposed to determine whether you are more right-brained or left-brained. If you're seeing the dancer rotate clockwise, your right brain is dominate. If the dancer is turning counter-clockwise, your left brain is dominate.

LEFT BRAIN
uses logic
detail oriented
facts rule
words and language
present and past
math and science
can comprehend
knowing
acknowledges
order/pattern perception
knows object name
reality based
forms strategies
practical
safe

RIGHT BRAIN
uses feeling
"big picture" oriented
imagination rules
symbols and images
present and future
philosophy & religion
can "get it" (i.e. meaning)
believes
appreciates
spatial perception
knows object function
fantasy based
presents possibilities
impetuous
risk taking

So… which way did you see it first?!

via: mcnblog.org