Full Circle ~ New Fairs and New Plans

Ahh, the summer. I love the summer. I love the warm weather and just the all-around feeling of "summer break." Except as an adult it's not really summer "break", is it?! 

The other day I sat down to plan out my working schedule for the rest of June and all of July and I couldn't believe how chock-a-block full it is! While I'm feeling pretty good about Tangleweeds' trajectory this year, the feeling of overwhelm does creep in sometimes. But this summer, I'm attempting to take the reigns on my time a bit more, hence the scheduling for the next month and a half. The goal: work my booty off through July and then lay low (or lowish) for the month of August. I feel like it'll be good timing too 'cause it'll allow me to re-charge my batteries before the lead-up to the holidays really gets into full swing. 

Above, components for earrings. All hand-forged!

And, below, a booth shot from a couple weekends back at the Fairfax Festival. That was my first time taking Tangleweeds to that event, and it was a great one! The second photo down shows a woman using my River Rock Lariat design as a sunglasses holder. I really like her ingenuity with this design. It's also a fun little pre-cursor to some future eyeglass lanyard designs that will be coming out in the fall for Tangleweeds!

Above, some gorgeous calendula flowers I picked up at the farmer's market near my studio. 

As you can imagine, I've been spending quite a lot of time at my studio lately: whether it be working on new designs for fall (see last photo) or catching up on paperwork, or creating multiples of the popular Tangleweeds designs, there's always so much to do. I've put quite a bit of effort into making my studio feel like a second home this year, and it's paid off. While it's not a huge space, it is a space that I am excited to arrive at every morning and a bit wistful to leave at the end of every day. The two photos directly below shows different sections of my studio.

Well, it's back to the workbench for me! Any local folks looking to grab a great deal on OOAK and discontinued Tangleweeds pieces should head on out to the Treasure Island Flea this weekend. I'm going to have lots of theses pieces discounted up to 50% off! Hope to see some friendly faces =)

Full Circle ~ Women's Herbal Symposium

Two weekends ago my friend (and Tangleweeds assistant, Alice) and I went to the Women's Herbal Symposium in northern California. 

It was a wonderful experience: we met other lovely ladies, took classes on everything from the endocrine system to moon cycles to the manzanita bush to herb walks. For me it was a time of slowing down and coming back into touch with all things about good self-care.

Along the way, driving out there, we stopped in downtown Cloverdale for coffee and a bit of a stretch break. This coffee shop had the best honey-iced-lattes. And the most adorable gas station that looked like a little house, all decorated with wind chimes. 

I had plans to put this post up last week, but life seemed to dictate otherwise. Every time I sat down to work on it I either had internet connectivity issues or Squarespace was acting buggy. In a way it was a relief, 'cause after being back from the Symposium I had so much to catch up on, it was good to sort of just say "okay, somethings can wait". . . 

Which was sort of my biggest take away from the Symposium: more than simply a slowing down and not running about with miles long to-do lists everyday, but leaving space for things to happen as they need to. I know that can sound sort of woo-woo to some people's ears, but I have to say, I've had a lot of things just sort themselves out since getting home. I think I'm allowing myself to hold that space open in life for more unplanned possibilities. 

A little bit more of un-planned-ness: I had the privilege of meeting Milla of The Woman Who Married a Bear and her two friends Ann and Missa. I've been reading her bog for at least ten years now and am continually inspired by her. I picked up a pair of her hand-painted leather earrings at the Marketplace on Sunday. 

It's June now! I can't believe it in a way. Craft fair season is definitely in full swing! With that said, I know how busy I get during the spring/summer fair season. I'm going to try to pop in here on the weekly, but if you find yourself missing me, you can always find me on Instagram too!

Have a lovely week everyone =)

Full Circle ~ Pretty flowers, good books, orange tabbies

A little bit from this last week. I'm busy this week getting ready to go to the Women's Herbal Symposium on Friday. A four day weekend of herbalism classes awaits me; I couldn't be more excited! 

If anyone who reads this blog will be there, let me know in the comments. The event has a small marketplace on Sunday, where I will be selling Tangleweeds. Keep an eye out for me if you're looking to adorn yourself with some magical jewelry while you go on nature hikes, make baskets and learn about plants and all of the medicine they hold!

Here's to a wonderful Monday!

Full Circle ~ Things Evolving

This past week seemed to have the theme of "things evolving." From refining my display for craft fairs, to starting down the path to some new designs for Tangleweeds (to come out in the fall), to doing a complete closet overhaul. I think this year has been a period in my life where I've had a desire to refine the things already present, rather than seeking out lots of "newness." This is in part coming out of a place of satisfaction and happiness with much of what I'm doing with myself these days. But it's good to acknowledge when things need to evolve.

The above photos are from the last week, as usual. The couch was simply a couch left on the street in the Piedmont neighborhood of Oakland. I have an affinity for couches left on the street. In my magic-minded self I often wish they could become communal stomping grounds for our neighborhoods. 

And that last photo is my sewing corner at home. I don't sew nearly as much as I used to, but every now and then I do make time for one repair or alteration project or another. There's a dress in that pile that has this awesome cat and bird print that I want to shorten in an attempt to make it a little less marm-ish. Maybe my next project?

I'll be updating my events on the website later today. Most of my events for the rest of the summer will be going up along with the early fall ones. I always love seeing my customers in real life =)

I hope everyone's week is off to a great start!

Full Circle ~ Flowers and Jewelry

Some photos from the last week. My week was full of pretty flowers and lots of jewelry (per the usual ;-) Craft fair season has officially gone into full swing and things are getting busy! See more at my Tangleweeds Instagram account. 

I hope everyone is having a lovely week! I can't wait to see lots of your smiling faces at Patchwork this Sunday. 

Full Circle ~ Birthday Weekend!

My birthday was this past weekend. I turned 34! It all feels good, it all feels fine. I have slightly older friends who kind of hint at that I'm going to start freaking out once I hit 35. . . I'm sure there's some validity to all of that, but right now I feel good. I did have some BIG revelations around my birthday, things that sort of worked themselves out in my head in a rather unexpected way. That felt good and humbling. Humbling because sometimes you just keep pushing and pushing on something, trying to make your mind up about it. And you get stuck and in this place of limbo-indecision that feels like it'll never end. Finally, you get so exhausted by it all that you sort of just let go, and that's when the picture starts to get more clear and everything starts to make more sense. (Sorry to be a bit vague about the details, it's not something I want to share at this moment, but I will share at a later date and time when it's all sunk in a bit more for me. But I did want to share the process, as I think it's something one learns more and more with age.)

My actual birthday was on Saturday and was pretty mellow. Went to the farmer's market where my honey bought me a new piece of clothing from Susan Eastman (I love her stuff!), worked on a weaving project (the same one I've been working on a for a while. When it's finished I'll definitely share it here) and enjoyed some thai food from a favorite local Oakland spot for dinner. Then on Sunday I went out with my good friend, Alice and my sister for brunch, bowling and treasure hunting at Urban Ore in Berkeley. Sunday was really my version of the perfect weekend day!

And, of course, there was much jewelry making time in last week. Below, some snap-shots from the week's work. (And my safari-backyard-cat, Otis =)

I hope everyone's week is off to a great start! This is a capital "B" busy week for me. While I know it's gonna be a lot of work, I feel ready for it after a wonderful weekend!

Full Circle ~ New Designs and Aries Birthday Parties

Spring time, a time of newness, a time of great energy and swift change, sometimes overwhelmingly so. I'm an Aries/springtime baby, so by nature I love this time of the year. I love the revved up energy of it, the funneling of so much passion into new ideas and new goals. It's all too easy for me to get going in so many different directions that I exhaust myself tho. In a way, having just been very sick for a while, it's offering me up the perfect balance of easing into this time of the year. 

Below, a snapshot of my studio (tidied up of course), some workbench ephemera, my home office buddy Otis, and one of my new Woodland Featherlight necklaces now available in the Etsy shop!

This past weekend I had the pleasure of going to not one but two kid-birthday parties. On Saturday my friend Katrina's little one, Keira, turned one. Katrina and I have known each other for about 13 years. Seeing her as a mom is amazing and Keira is the sweetest!

Then, on Sunday, my nephew, Noah, turned 7. Since it was also Easter, there was an easter egg hunt in the morning followed by birthday celebrations in the afternoon at my sister's home in Modesto. I love that action shot I got of him (second photo from the bottom)!

For those of you anxious to know when more of the new designs will be listed in my Etsy shop, fear not! I'll be posting more new listings later this week. I'm spreading out the new pieces over the next month or so, allowing me to catch up on a bunch of things while still making the new designs available to all of my lovely Tangleweeds collectors!

Happy Monday everyone!

Full Circle ~ It's Been a While

It's been a good while since I've dropped in on this blog! Quite frankly, the month of March proved, well, challenging to say the least. Many things do seem to come in threes, and that was sort of how March went. I was juggling too many things as the month blew in, then family came to visit and the juggling went from elegant to frantic. Then, amidst it all, my computer's hard-drive decides it's time to CRASH. Lastly, right as I'm trying to get back to work, new computer hard-drive installed (along with increased memory), I get sick. And not just "oh, I've got a little cold sick" but full on fever and all the yuckies that come along with it sick. 

I spent the last week and change chilling out at home. After an initial attempt at going back to work too early, I realized I was only going to get better if I gave myself over to rest and recuperation. I read a bunch, worked on my current weaving project (but only a bit as even this proved a bit exhausting) but mainly I rested, drank buckets of tea and cuddled with the kitties. 

And I had lots of time to reflect. Leading up to getting sick, during those weeks of juggling priorities and to-do lists, I just kept finding myself thinking "I really need a break." But I just kept on keeping on, kept on waking up early everyday even when all I wanted to do was sleep in, kept on with all of my goals and to-do lists when all I wanted to do was go take in a matinee at the theater down the street from my studio. When I look at it all, it starts to make sense that I got sick. It was the only way I was going to give myself the rest I so sorely needed. 

The only takeaway I have from all of this, is a reminder that I need to always put my health and well-being first. Even when it feels like I might not meet a self-imposed deadline, or blog enough, or list those new pieces on Etsy, or whatever it might be. I feel like this is a lesson I've had to learn time and time again, and that with each turn it sinks in a bit more thoroughly. 

I'm back on the horse, so to speak today, and it feels good. I'm 98% better, and taking it slow today with lots of breaks and moments to pause and rest. Being my own boss does make that a whole heck of a lot easier! 

(a small collection of nature-ephemera I found laid out at the Berkeley farmer's market last week ~ a little reminder to pause, breathe, and enjoy the everyday magic that's all around me)

Full Circle: Dreaming about the desert

I think it's the gorgeous weather in the bay area these last few days, but I've been dreaming about the desert quite a bit lately. The photo below is from the painted desert in Arizona (source here.) Dreaming of hopping in a VW bus, packing a cooler full of food, a tent and a few good friends and just hitting the road for a while. There's been this tug-of-war back and forth within me: a desire to really put my nose to the grindstone with my work, and a desire to get away from it all for a bit. 

So, I've made a compromise of sorts over the weekend. I had an "office" day in my backyard. It was gorgeous out, the calendula is in bloom, and my cats LOVE it when I work from home (especially in their backyard.) I remind myself that there will be time for road-trips later this year (hopefully in May, more on that later.) 

In the studio I've been busily prepping some new pieces that I will be stocking my Etsy store with this week and next week. Below are a bunch of new colorways that will be available in my Featherlight style necklace. The Featherlight has been hands-down one of my most popular designs, and I often have new colors available at the fairs I sell at. This year I'm trying to make more of an effort to get new work photographed and into my Etsy shop so those of you not so close to the SF Bay Area can shop from them too!

(last photo above is from First Friday at the 25th Street Collective here in Oakland)

Also, my studio assistant, Alice, is back in town and will be back at the studio tomorrow. I am SO happy for this. Not only because her hands make some of my designs faster than my own, but because I'll get to hear all about her trip to see family in New Mexico - a little vicarious living on my part for now. 

I hope everyone's Monday (remember the time changed, don't forget to move that clock one hour forward if you haven't already!) is off to a wonderful start!

Full Circle: Bits and Pieces of Home

Last week was one of those weeks that's really really great but really really busy. Mainly because of the tradeshow I was wrapping up at. By the end of the week though, there was slow time, and time for cooking at home, and working on crafty projects (other than jewelry =).

Below, an order all packaged up and ready to ship off to The Potting Shed in Fairfax, a corner of my display at the SF Gift Tradeshow, and my new favorite Tangleweeds necklace, the Double Moon Lariat.

Gotta package up more orders today from that aforementioned tradeshow. Don't forget to enter our March giveaway too! It's a good one!