9.29.2013

Wailua







A Sunday well spent, with friends and dogs and turtles and a picnic. Coming out here to the country today made me feel like I'm finally back home. As we drove through the pineapple fields this afternoon, and rounded a bend in the road to reveal the ocean below, I had a moment.  I don't know what else to call it...I was hyper aware of the smell, the colors, the breeze on my face.  All of it felt amazing, the way you might appreciate something for the first time.  I needed this moment, and it came just in time. 

~S

9.28.2013

Please bare with me as I work on tweaking the blog a little bit in the next few weeks.  Just some small cosmetic changes...Thanks!


9.27.2013

It's all about the rocks...

I had a few custom orders waiting for me when I got back from vacation.  I love the process of working with someone one on one to design the perfect piece for them.  I continue to be inspired by the lovely ladies who want to work with me.  I consider it such an honor to make these pieces, especially when the customer gets so excited picking out just the right stone.  I'm not sure why, but it feels like such a different process while I'm working on the piece when I know who it will end up with...  Usually I dream something up in my head, and get to work on it wondering the whole time if and/or who will claim it.  I spend quite a bit of time daydreaming about who she might be and where she's going while she's wearing it. 

These two are headed off to their new homes...





I've continued to design around the theme of the Nomad pieces I've been doing for a while now.  Something about the rough textured silver and simple shapes make my eyes happy...I've got a bench full of new pieces started, and I can't wait to show them to you!

For the past few weeks since returning home, I'm slowly settling in to my new "no job" schedule. Mornings are usually a slow start for me...I'm trying to be "better" about that I swear!  I've been feeling scattered some days and filled with extreme focus on other days.  While I adjust to this new place I find myself in, I think the most important thing for me is to "just do it", as in, put in the hours, do the work, and while working, daydream of what I really want for this small business.  I want so many things, and the more I work, the more exposure I get, the more I know that I CAN DO IT!  So with that, I'm manifesting the change I want to see here at Sierra Keylin Jewelry.  Here's a small list of current goals to accomplish by the end of the year.

#1 (and the one that is currently giving me the hardest time because I need more computer skills)
 LINE SHEETS!  I want to be able to approach retailers and I NEED to have a proper line sheet and order form.  I have no clue, and am currently researching options. (these options include buying photoshop and also taking a class that will teach me how to use the damn thing).

#2 Apply for a show that I have been saying I am going to do "eventually", once all my business things/online presence is "ready"...Um, how about just GO FOR IT and don't be so stressed that things aren't "perfect". 

#3 Set up a trunk show to showcase my work while I'm in Seattle over the week of Thanksgiving.  

#4 Find some local metalsmiths.  I've been feeling like I need a bit more community, other creative types that have gone through/are going through some of what I've been experiencing as I grow this business.   Oahu is a small island, and yes there is a wonderful art center here where I took my first class, but I haven't been taking advantage of this resource.  I'm not really up for a whole new session of classes, but possibly renting some studio time so that I can be around other artists might do the trick. 

#5 Experimentation in the studio.  This is a big one for me...I feel like there are so many techniques that I want to try, and I'm afraid to go for it.  Why?  I have no idea.  I need to bring the spirit of "play" back to the studio, and really just GO FOR IT!  Often I think maybe I'm over thinking (what else is new), and I'm just playing safe...SO I'm ready to SEIZE THE FREAKIN' DAY and design my little heart out!

Really I just meant to share these two pieces of new work with you, but there I go again, brain dumping the contents of my head onto the screen,  As usual I feel a million times better...So, thanks!

Happy Friday!

9.17.2013

Working

I procured some specimens while away...Now it's time to get to work!


Today's mission...Make all the bezels.
Tonight's mission...create RAD jewels.




I'm excited to back at the bench, with a clean slate and a plan of action!  Here and now begins the next chapter of this little dream of mine.  Thanks for being here, and being a part of my journey...

S

9.14.2013

Sea and Sky

The other side of the Pacific...













I'd almost forgotten what it was like over on the other side of the Ocean.  Then the breeze picked up, and that unforgettable scent filled my head.  The smells of the beach filled me with memories of summers at camp on Orcas Island, my feet freezing in the clear waters, and my face feeling the heat of the sun.  Kelp washed up on the rocky beach, in dried and half dried states, swirling with bugs, and glowing in every shade of green.  My feet in the dark sand, so hot it almost burns the bottom of my feet when I walk, but with an ever present chill in the air to combat the heat...I laid down in the sand, eyes closed, arms outstretched, head spinning with senses.  Imagining myself rooting in to the ground, I wanted to be a part of it.  To know that once I left, some part of me would still be there, and some part of that place would come home with me.  Something kept me there, silent, contemplative, meditating on the moment, focusing on blending my energy, that which makes me Sierra, to become a part of that place for a brief moment.  A simple act of grounding to that special place made a huge impact on me, I can still feel the warm dark sand on my back.  

Until we meet again...

The Trees

Please excuse the mostly wordless nature of these next few posts about our road trip.  I'm having an especially hard time adjusting to being home, and as I scroll through my favorite images from the trip, it seems that indeed a picture is worth 1000 words.

Here's the "long story short" version:
We started in Seattle for a long weekend, drove through Portland to Bend, Oregon.  Cut over to the coast, and took our sweet ass time making our way through the Redwoods along the coast to San Francisco.

I left pieces of my heart scattered along the highways of the cost, and misty hillsides covered in weather beaten tress...It was a truly magical experience.