The Newest Collection: Connections

All of my collections are always near and dear to my heart. And they always reflect a little bit of where I'm at currently in my life personally, and the things I am focusing on and drawing inspiration from. I wanted to show, metaphorically, how the connections between two people shape and mold us into more intriguing individuals. 

At the core of jewelry design and creation are connections - deciding how and wear to connect two elements can greatly alter a design's final look and feel. This practical application of connections beautifully mirrors the real-life connections we are making all of the time with the people around us, from our lovers, parents, and friends, to our co-workers, neighbors and casual acquaintances. 

Pictured above are the Connections hoops - the title piece of the collection. I think one look at them and you can understand why they're the title piece =). I really pushed myself with this design to come up with something that was interesting, had movement, and was still a hoop. These are definitely a current favorite of mine!

(and pictured below you can see there is also a necklace version and a hoop without the stones)

To see the whole collection simply head on over to the Tangleweeds shop and select the "connections collection." And, a little secret to share (with blog readers only!), I'll be offering a giveaway from this collection sometime this month. Check back for the news on that soon!

Changes Ahead for Tangleweeds

This year has been full of shake ups for me, and by extension, for Tangleweeds. There have been the obvious changes, like moving and the always evolving process and journey around getting older, but there have been more subtle shifts for me as well. About a year and a half ago (I think) I started up a small handmade business support group along with another talented lady (Kyla of Impressed By Nature.) This group has been such a morale boost for me, as well as a kick in the pants in realizing my goals. In part because of this group, I'm committing myself to making some big changes within Tangleweeds in the next year. 

One of the first steps on this leg of the Tangleweeds journey is going to be to commit myself/Tangleweeds to less in-person selling events, be they craft fairs, art and wine strolls, First Friday in Oakland, or other trunk shows and pop-up events. I need to free up my time more to allow the better development of the online and wholesale sides of my business, which have suffered under the heavy and constant demands of events nearly every weekend from April to December for the last fours years. 

I still plan to do events, I'm simply going to be choosier about how I decide which events to do. One to two events (maybe three if it's around the holidays or another really busy time) per month will be my max. This will mean mostly good things for you Tangleweeds collectors out there. I plan to start releasing more limited edition and one-of-a-kind (OOAK) pieces, and I plan to release new work online on a much more regular basis. 

As Tangleweeds has evolved over the years I feel like I've gotten a bit off track from what my original vision was for my business. I still am incredibly proud of everything I've put out to date and absolutely stand behind my designs and work. As I begin to pivot with Tangleweeds though, I will be discontinuing many of my current designs to make room for the new work to come. This will be a slowish process, so don't panic if there's a classic Tangleweeds piece that you've had your eye on for months (or years!) that you want to grab while you can. You'll still have plenty of time for that! 

Editing down my classics (or the "core" Tangleweeds pieces) will allow me to more readily release new, more limited collections on a regular basis. This part I am quite excited about, as you can imagine, and is a big part of how I hope to steer things in the coming year and on. 

Tomorrow I will launch a big sale in my Etsy shop for those of you looking to pick up one of my older designs. I will have a new section in my shop titled "oldies but goodies." This is the section you'll want to check for the designs that will be discontinued the soonest. I can't say exactly how soon all of these designs will be discontinued as it will entirely depend on my stock level for each piece. Most likely I will post again, here on the blog and on other social media, as the cut date for these designs draws near. 

At the heart of things, Tangleweeds will remain the jewelry business you've come to love: great jewelry for everyday wear with an earthy/rustic quality. Pieces that are unique and hand-crafted by me and my assistant. That will never change. 

To everyone out there who has supported me and Tangleweeds on this handmade jewelry journey thus far, a sincere thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope you choose to accompany me on this next part of the journey as well!

Annual Fall Equinox Sale!

Happy Monday morning to all of you lovely Tangleweeds collectors! I hope everyone had a weekend that was just what they were needing. I wanted to drop in here today to let everyone know about our annual Fall Equinox sale in the Tangleweeds Etsy shop. Below, I hand curated a selection of pieces I think would be perfect for fall (click on the image to be taken directly to it's Etsy page.) If you'd like to select your perfect fall piece of Tangleweeds jewelry at a 35% off discount (from now until the end of September) simply head on over to the Tangleweeds Etsy Shop and use the coupon code "fall equinox". 

And if you're wondering about the new collection that we keep mentioning, it's still in the works. I'll be photographing the new pieces this week and plan to release them next week, as long as everything goes as planned. In the meantime, enjoy our fall sale!

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!

A Return to Handmade Love

This week I just got a bee in my bonnet and had to post about all of the great handmade jewelry that I've been drooling over on Etsy. Then, I decided to look back over my old Handmade Love posts and saw that it was nearly exactly a year ago that I posted ones of these round-ups. About time! I decided to simply focus on jewelry in general this time, because, well, I'm obsessed (naturally).

 Bones and Things ~ Real Lavender Bloom Necklace

Ahh, flowers captured in a necklace. Pretty much perfection when you're as obsessed with flowers as I am. I LOVE this lady's work and actually have two of her art prints. I had a difficult time choosing just one piece to feature, but lavender is a favorite of mine, so I went with this one. What I love about her floral and plant pieces is the organic, natural shape to the resin that she traps them in. 

 Vintajia Adornments ~ Trinity earrings 

I love how the overly oxidized metal plays against the brightness of the yellow enamel on these. They're very rustic-boho-chic. This lovely maker is out of Australia. 

LJB Jewelry ~ Mixed Metal Bangle

In my humble opinion this bangle is pretty much mixed-metal perfection. This artist is based on the east coast and participates in many arts and crafts fairs out there. I wish I lived closer, cause it would be lovely to see her creations in person!

Willow Studio Jewelry ~ Spirit Shield Earrings

The enamel on these! The rusty, old look to them! Grittiness perfected! I love jewelry that has an old, rustic feel to it, and these perfectly fit the bill. They're more colorful than I usually go in for, but I think the artist has done a good job of balancing out all of the color with plenty of "grit."

Fail Jewelry ~ Mica Earrings

And, last but not least, more mixed metal, this time in earrings. This lovely lady usually does the San Francisco Renegade too, so you local folk are in luck. What I've gotta say (and this is gonna sound a little jewelry-maker-geeky) is: way to rock the cold connections! (meaning no torch work). I'm seriously impressed by the ingenuity of the design, and how effortlessly it blends into such an elegant, wearable pair of earrings. 

I hope everyone enjoyed looking at some non-Tangleweeds jewelry for a minute! I'll be back with these posts, most likely on a monthly basis, as more lovely, handmade goodness pops up in my life. Also, if you or someone you know makes really awesome goods, and you'd like to be part of my Handmade Love series, send me a message at tangleweedsjewelry@gmail.com and we'll talk!

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!

LWM ~ A Typical Week

In a typical week, I always listen to quite a bit of country/americana. . . Like the album Begonias by Caitlin Cary and Thad Cockrell. . . 

I usually wear at least one outfit that is a combo of floral print skirt/boots/sweater with Tangleweeds jewelry. . . (earrings are from a fellow maker)

And I make several of my lariat style necklaces (you guys have nearly unanimously decided that these are some of your favorite Tangleweeds pieces), especially theses River Rock ones. . . 

Just a short and sweet Listening-Wearing-Making post for all of you this Thursday. I won't be back in this space until next week, so I hope everyone has a great weekend! 

April Tangleweeds Giveaway

That's right folks! With a new month brings a new Tangleweeds Giveaway. For this month we're calling to mind the old adage "April showers bring May flowers. . . "

We're offering up one pair of our Rain Drops earrings for one lucky winner! Simply leave a comment on this blog post with a little anecdote or detail about what you love about the spring time. I've really grown to love the comments everyone leave on these giveaway posts. You guys obviously put some thought into what you share!

We'll announce the randomly chosen winner here and over on Instagram on April 27th. Feel free to share this with folks you think would love Tangleweeds!

March Giveaway Winner!

Today's the day! Announcing the winner of the $50 gift certificate to the Tangleweeds Etsy shop..... Sheila, you are the randomly chosen winner!!! Please send us an email to tangleweedsjewelry@gmail.com and we'll send you the details on how to use that gift certificate. To everyone else who entered, thanks for all of the sweet words about our designs. We'll have another giveaway like this in the fall, so check back often!

And on a quick side note: things may be a bit quiet around here while our main computer gets its hard-drive replaced this week. We'll be back to the blog next week with new editions of Full Circle and Listening-Wearing-Making!  

LWM: Making the Time

This week I've been thinking a lot about how we manage to make the time to do the things that are really important to us. . . or how we don't make the time. I tend to be of the school of thought that if it's something you really want to do, you're going to make the time for it. The thing about that way of thinking is it can lead to me being a bit hard on myself when I don't make the time for something important, I'll find myself thinking something like "Gee, I guess I just didn't want it enough," when in reality there are only so many hours in a day, right?

Listening: I've been listening to Linda Perhacs's album Parallelograms. I love to do yoga with this quietly playing in the background. Which relates to how I opened this post: yoga, exercise, going for walks, these are all things that I am trying to make more time for on a regular basis. I feel so much better when I do. 

Wearing: Printed skirts and nubby, warm sweaters. My studio gets pretty cold in the winter so I tend to wear a lot of sweaters and layers this time of the year. Which is really perfect because I love sweaters and layers, as I'm sure you've noticed by now ;-) 
outfit details:
all sweaters, boots: thrifted
tights: Hue
grey printed skirt: Field Day (they're local and in Oakland. An adorable shop, and yup, you can find Tangleweeds there!)
burgundy floral skirt: thrifted
necklace: old Tangleweeds

And lastly, the making component of this post: Some petal-leaf lariats! These are brand new and not yet listed in Etsy. They are part of my next collection and I'm fairly excited about these. They look lovely on and there are coordinating earrings to come as well. At my fairs last weekend people responded really really well to these. Can't wait to make them available to all of my lovely customers!

This has been a good week thus far. Now, back to the sketch book and design table for me!