LWM ~ Biscuits

Listening-Wearing-Making is back! I'm trying out this whole new daily schedule thing in an attempt to stay more on top of some things I really like and want to do, but that seem to fall through the cracks, like blogging. This week I've been listening to a lot of Kacey Musgraves's newest album, Pageant Material. If you love your country clever and with a twist (and open/liberal minded) then you'll love her music!

Wearing - I wasn't sure what the theme was here for this week, and then I realized this week has been all about thrifted goodies! I few posts back I mentioned how I'm becoming more intentional about what I buy for my wardrobe, more stealthy and more planning, because yes, a girl can have too many printed skirts. It's also sort of lead me circuitously to re-discovering some goodies I already own, like these sandals I thrifted a couple of years ago and barely wore. 

Making ~ This week I've been really upping the production in preparation for Renegade. But because I know many of you are curious about how the new line is coming along, I thought I'd share a (messy) photo of some of the in-progress stuff from my fall collection. Which, by the way, is looking like I'll have released by the beginning of September! 

I hope everyone is having a grand week! It's been busy busy with Tangleweeds for me. I'm taking a few days off next week to hang with my nephew, take him swimming and to the Exploratorium. As a fellow small business owner once said to me, when you work for yourself and you take time off, you don't really end up working less, it just all sort of gets pushed to either side. You work a bit harder before and a bit harder afterwards and it all sort of equalizes. 

Here's to a happy holiday weekend everyone!

LWM ~ New Emmylou

Listening ~ The new album by Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell. So good and obviously a reflection on two lifetimes that have been full of all of the usual stuff of human existence: pain, joy, disappointment, sorrow, moments of peace, and more. 

Wearing ~ cozy sweaters. The way the weather's been in the bay area lately, my studio starts out chilly in the morning and fairly warm in the afternoon. Cozy cardigan sweaters are the perfect option. 

Making ~ Lots of pieces from my Leaf-Petal collection. Sometimes when I design new pieces I know in my heart that I love them, but there is an uncertainty as to whether or not my customers/collectors will like them. Well, you guys have shown that you love these, especially the lariats! 

Tomorrow I leave for the Women's Herbal Symposium with my good friend (and Tangleweeds assistant) Alice. I'll be back on the blog next week, hopefully with a photo filled post from that event. In the meantime, I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

LWM ~ Old Stuff, New Stuff

Been listening to some older stuff this week, especially Lyle Lovett's album Pontiac. This song is from that album. . . (and, I just gotta say, I LOVE his hair!)

Wearing - The weather's been cooling off a bit again, so it's been back to boots (instead of sandals) and warmer skirts, like this thick, knit one I thrifted a couple of months ago.

The necklace is hand-painted lace from a fellow maker I met last month at the Apple Blossom Festival in Sebastopol. Her shop can be found here: Spee-Sheez. The woman who is the creatrix behind this brand is a truly lovely spirit, and one I hope to connect with again in the future. The earrings are an old Tangleweeds design.

Annnnd. . . Making! I've been scheming up some new designs, which aren't ready for sharing just yet, but I've been making dozens of my River Rock bangles and Curves rings. You guys have pretty much unanimously declared these designs as two of your favorites this year, which is probably why I'm constantly finding myself almost out of stock on these two designs. In preparation for fair season I'm busting out tons of these!

It's felt good to be back at my workbench this week. (Last week I was busily catching up on lots of admin. details.) I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! And don't forget about Mother's Day on Sunday if you have special moms in your life to honor. 

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! 

LWM: CAT Leggings!

Listening to. . . The new Brandi Carlile. I seriously can't stop listening to her newest album The Firewatcher's Daughter. It's a bit folksy, a bit pop, with great stories woven into it all. Enjoy! 

Wearing. . . The most amazing CAT leggings. Love these so much. In case you simply must have a pair, they're from NooWorks in San Francisco. 

And making! Well, I've been busy on so many designs lately, it's hard to narrow it down to just one, but if I had to, I'd say I've been making bunches of these covetable Featherlight necklaces. I'm slowly getting all of the colorways into my Etsy shop. Finally too! This is something I had hoped to have done a couple of months ago. Feels good to be rolling these out. 

I hope everyone's weekly is providing all you're hoping for!

LWM: The Ones you Know

I titled this post "the ones you know" in honor and awe of all of the amazingly creative and talented and driven folks I am lucky to call my friends, family, and in general compatriots of this handmade life that I'm living and improvising on everyday. It is a hustle, but it can be very fulfilling. There's a reason so many makers use the hashtag #everydayimhustlin on their Instagram and Facebook posts. 

So, in the spirit of the "ones I know", I wanted to share this mix put together by my boyfriend. You can find him blogging about all things Smoothday and AOR (album oriented rock, I spell it out 'cause I needed it spelled out when he first started dropping that acronym) at his blog FM Version. If you like your rock smooth and 70s flavored you're gonna love this.

Cloudcasts by jeffboozer on Mixcloud

Wearing - One of my favorite dresses from Field Day in Oakland. The dresses and skirts created by Field Day are so comfortable and practical yet pretty-making at the same time. And the owner, Trinity, is a lovely soul, someone I feel lucky to have met. With a thrifted cardigan and TailFeather earrings from Tangleweeds. (And yes, that is my cat Otis, photo-bombing my outfit shot =). 

Making - lots and lots of my Drape Necklaces. My, oh my, how popular they were at the tradeshow I just finished up at on Tuesday. I love making these, but I especially love having my assistant to help, and since she's out of town for the next week, it'll be my two hands for now. 

Well, folks, today is packed to the rafters with things that need to get done! Which means I am behind on a few things I promised last week, pre-tradeshow. I should have known better than to commit to much of anything for the week following the tradeshow, but I have a tendency to think "yeah, sure I'll somehow manage to get it all done." My point: new pieces won't be going up in the Etsy shop for a couple more weeks, and I'm postponing my next giveaway 'til next week, next Monday to be exact. It's gonna be a good one tho, so I encourage you to check back here on the 2nd! 

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

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!

LWM: Floral Dress and Skirt Collection

This week: Listening on repeat to the new Ryan Bingham album. So so good. And if you love a good gravely, rough voice, you'll love his songs. Oh, and sad, you gotta like sad story songs too. (Which is totally my thing.)

Wearing - Almost everyday this last week has seen me donning a floral dress or skirt. I have a serious love for florals. One part of this is definitely the fact that it's fairly easy to find floral, 80s and 90s style dresses at thrift stores. 
outfit details:
dress and cardigan - thrifted
booties - Convert (in Berkeley)
earrings (hidden from sight) - Pale Blush (Tangleweeds) 

Making -  I wasn't sure what to spotlight here as I've been working on a lot this past week. But, I realized when I stopped to think about it that my RainDrop earrings were one of the designs I was really focused on. These are a great classic, and have been popular in my Etsy shop. I'll be carrying this design over into the new year; they won't be one of the designs being discontinued, so if you've got your eye on them, no worries!

Ugh, this week has been a bit bumpy for me. Lots of little frustrating things with technology (hello Mercury retrograde much?!) Tomorrow I'll be at the 25th Street Collective in Oakland for Art Murmur if you local folks wanna drop by and pick up something pretty! Speaking of which, gotta go pack up the jewelry for tomorrow. . . 

LWM: Old Timey

This week (and last week) I found myself listening to a lot of old timey country music, especially the dames like Tammy, Patsy, and Loretta, AND the QUEEN of country, Kitty Wells. (This song was considered rather controversial when it first came out. Many radio stations wouldn't even play it. Good thing audiences loved it tho!)

Wearing. . . Lots of texture. Texture is such a huge influence on what I wear and how I choose to pair pieces. I like contrasting texture, but simulatenously I appreciate a "monochromatic textural" outfit. While it was a bit difficult the capture the texture of each piece in this photo, I think it gives you a general idea - wool skirt, nubby knit top, lace accent cardigan. Oh, and suede booties (more texture!)

Outfit details:
top, skirt, booties - thrifted
cardigan - Modcloth
tights - Hue
earrings - really really old Tangleweeds design
ring - a gift from Jeff last year (vintage, and from Mercy in Oakland)

Making. . . Lots and lots of my Curves stacking rings. I'll be re-stocking Oak Common in Oakland tomorrow and I'm dropping off a bunch of these in lots of different sizes. If you're local and you'd like to try them on before you buy, stop by their shop on Grand Avenue (not far from Lake Merritt.) 

Well, folks! Back to the workbench for this Tangleweed. It is a busy, busy week 'round these parts. Can't wait to share more new stuff with all of you soon!

Listening-Wearing-Making: The Jeans Edition

With the new year I've been listening to lots of new (to me) music, especially country. Leslie Stevens and the Badgers are more folky than country, so if you're a country hater, don't run away! You might like these guys. I stumbled upon them thanks to Jeff a week or so ago when he was playing some old iTunes playlists. I love Leslie Steven's girly but slightly gritty voice. 

Wearing . . . Lots of sweaters! This time of the year my studio gets pretty darn cold. Sometimes I'll even start the day in not one or two, but three sweaters layered over each other for warmth. This particular one I found on a recent thrifting excursion with my mom in Livermore. I fell in love with the leaf motif. 

Outfit details:
jeans - old (from UO - proof that every now and then I actually wear jeans)
sweater - Goodwill (in Livermore)
booties - Convert (a little show shop on 4th street in Berkeley)
earrings - Tangleweeds (the Falling Leaves design w/o the green only stones)
necklace - Tangleweeds (a single Drape style necklace in cream)
 

And making: This time of year, while I am working on jewelry for my spring time fairs and local shops, I'm mainly busy with taking and editing photos, updating my website and so forth and so on (and I'm not quite ready to share a lot of the new designs that won't be coming out until April-May.) So in lieu of new work, I thought I'd share a photo from my upcoming look book, Everyday Magic. I'm actually going to get this one printed, so I'm pretty excited about it!

I don't know about you guys, but this week has simply flown by for me and I still have so much left to do. Time to get re-priortized with the rest of the day!