1.28.2012

This week in pictures...



Newly obsessed by this little guy



Couch napping...

His favorite perch, Uncle Chris' bed with a view of the street

A trip the the hardware store for stuff...I got sore and took a rest on one of those massage chairs and waited for Jo to get the rest of our stuff.  It's nice to have a helper!

Table cloth creation for my booth at the market


A bit of previewing jewels here on the blog

Coffee date with my favorite guy...
Sporting one of the new creations

Mostly I love the orange background

First time trying out my new silver nail polish...LOVE

Jewelry at the market, the photo's were BAD, I only got a few


Loving the blurry-ness and colors in the relflection


Hello there...Outside the venue where the market was held

Moody Blues on the wall outside the coffee shop


The market went very well, there were a TON of people at the even, great music and a bar!  I didn't sell a whole lot but I had a blast socializing and networking with the other vendors, getting a bit of advice on how to get my items in to some local shops, and running in to a few random people I never expected to see there.  I will be doing this again next month and I hope that the added exposure will help me work on growing my business...I have so many ideas of how i want this business to be, and places I want to sell my creations, but I just don't really know how to go about it.  In the mean time while I try and figure some of this out, I am also looking in to setting up a booth at one of the markets on the North Shore...hopefully that will get going in the next few weeks. 

I was so sore and exhausted from being so busy in the studio, and from the event itself...I've been getting stronger in the past few weeks, but the seven hours we were there really took it out of me.  I slept like a log after the show!!!!

I've just finished listing a few rings in the shop , now off to take more photos of the items I made for the market, and get them listed too!

1.27.2012

Dear Universe...

...Thanks for making RAD happen

I was browsing one of my favorite fashion/culture/DIY blogs this morning,  honestlywtf, and found an amazing post about Peruvian artist Cecilia Paredes.  Obviously the paintings are GORGEOUS, the colors, style and vibe are right up my alley...I love the whole idea of this concept, and think it's brilliant that she left her hair natural so it stands out and really pops against the beautiful floral patterns.  I think I looked at these for a good 20 minutes, looking and examining each one, checking out the "edges" of where the body and the background painting merge...













Just the fact that someone dreamed up this concept and executed it so perfectly makes me happy.  The universe would not be complete without such inspired, creative, and beautiful works...Makes me wanna get my butt in the studio and get crackin'!   Thanks to the creatrix over at honestlwtf for finding this and bringing it into my life.

P.S.  I've never done a post like this before, sharing art that I found online, not sure what possessed me, I just kind of gasped when I saw it and had to share...

1.24.2012

Ring Forging Success!!

I'm still surprised when I sit down at the bench and everything works out the way I planned...These rings were an example of perfect timing, design execution, and a bit of good ol' luck! 









These lovelies are coming with me to my first booth at an arts and crafts market this Thurdsday...I wanted to make some big, chunky, rustic show stoppers...Something that really grabs you as you're walking by my table!  I hope they will be well recieved, and possibly even find a new home!

I am so happy sitting her looking at these pictures and thinking back over the last two years of my journey silversmithing...this is something I have wanted to be doing for longer than I can remember, it feels so amazing to look at this pile of silver and stone and be able to say, "Hey, I made that...And I LOVE them!"

They will likely be on my fingers over the next few days. I seem to have a thing for grand, statement rings, so I'll be wearing these around and infusing them with a little extra love and aloha for their future owners.  Whatever doesn't sell will be listen in the ETSY shop over the weekend...I'll be closing it down on Wednesday night in preparation for the show, fingers crossed it's a success!!!

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!  Sending you sunshine and aloha for your Tuesday!




1.23.2012

Sunday...

WAS AWESOME~!!!

Mainly because I worked, gave seven massages, made some CASH, (it's about time, after three months of recovery), busted out some creations in the studio, made some great connections for potential clients, and generally felt like I am officially back in the land of the working..

After all this physical trauma, it feels amazing to be back to massaging, and working with a purpose in the studio!

I'm prepping my table display for my first market booth, finishing up a handful of jewelry pieces, and making a general mess of the living room...I've got a table set up behind the couch that is my staging area for the jewelry display, at this point I think it's looking pretty good, I just wish I had best boy Adam here to help me merchandise and scrounge thrift stores for the right props!  Three days and counting, I better get my s*%t together quick~!

Pictures to come...I've been so preoccupied that I keep forgetting to grab the camera!

Happy Monday and Shaloha to all!

1.13.2012

Rectangles and Seed Beads...

These are not my usual things...

I'm not sure where this geometric kick came from, but I'm rollin' with it!  I finished up a batch of new necklaces, and they are quite different from my usual work, a little more "dainty" (dare I say it)...Also I dipped into my stash of TINY seed beads in the most amazing shades of green.  I've been holding on to them forever, and suddenly the other day they called to me! 








Will you just look at those colors!!!!!!  It's all I can do to contain myself from making strands of these by the dozens and piling them on all at once...I just love the way these colors look together!

I just added these to the shop along with these babies...


My favorite faceted turquoise beads from New Mexico

Stay tuned for triangles...Coming your way this week!

1.11.2012

Plus One...

Guess what? 

We got a dog!!!!! 



His name is Max, and obviously he is freakin' adorable...I know you were already thinking that.  The best part is that he has such a great personality, sleeps like a log at night and has only barked ONCE in three days!!!!  I can't wait to get to know this little soul and I'm so happy to have him in our family!  Also, he is a Golden Retriever/Chihuahua mix...not to be dirty or anything, but that must have been some crazy canine fornication!


Also, I seem to be a bit excited about more geometric shapes in the studio lately,  especially triangles and rectangles...not sure where that came from, but I've been rollin' with it the past few days.





I seems I have neglected to photograph the rectangles, we'll get to them another day...

One final note...I ordered the most amazing calender from The Talented Miss Umber Dove!!!!!!  The studio has been a mess since before I was injured, I have been slowly chipping away at re-orgainizing and re-decorating.  When this beauty arrived I couldn't wait to bust out the green washi tape and get that baby up on the wall!   It arrived a few weeks ago, and I just got around to putting it up in the long wall in my studio last week.




I love having all that gorgeous, rich, happy, love infused color in the room...

The light in there is awful and I struggle with my lighting options while working at the bench, so needless to say that photographing anything is this room is a nightmare.  All of that to say, please excuse the bad photos!

1.05.2012

Big Wave Apprecitation


Every winter the North Shore of Oahu turns into surf heaven for travelers and pros from around the world.  The swells come up and down from November through February and competitions are held throughout the season at different breaks along the North Shore of the island.   No matter if contest is "going off" or not, there is always plenty to watch out there in the water, and when the surf gets big, we always want to head up there and find a spot to camp out for the day and watch those crazy talented boys and girls, and men and women do their thing!  Surfing is actually quite the spectator sport, there's a ton of crowd camaraderie, and when someone wipes out there is a collective thundering of "AWWWWWW, OHHHHHH, DAMNNNNNNNN".  Like when you watch whatever sport it is that you watch, and one of the athletes goes down from a rough tackle, or whatever...

Ok, I'm getting off track here...The point of this story is that the swell came up HUGE yesterday, and one of the most anticipated gatherings/contests of the season is in it's holding period right now.  The Quicksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau is a competition like no other surf contest.  It's really more of a memorial, a gathering, a celebration, than a contest...although there is a winner, and trophy's etc...

This contest is only run when the waves are 25ft or more, so some years the contest is a no go, the waves just don't get big enough.  We thought that yesterday might be the day, so we headed up north to check it out, turns out the forecast was that the swell was going down by the afternoon and wouldn't be around long enough to run the competition that day.  Actually it worked out great, we got a primo viewing spot at the top of the hill overlooking the action, had ourselves a little picnic and hung around with all the other onlookers.  In typical Hawaiian spirit, after a little while you find yourself becoming friends with the people sitting around you and sharing surf stories, and tales of other contests and big waves you've seen.  There were about 20ish people out there surfing the huge waves, it's so incredible to see these guys out there paddling for waves that are 3-4 times as big as they are...CRAZY!!!!!  It was such a beautiful, clear, and sunny day...
 
















Cheesy smiled greetings from Waimea Bay!

Also...
I am newly obsessed with Instagram...here are a few I posted from yesterday.



Somebody has a new appreciation for neon pink accessories.

First day out and about the island with my special privileges!