new stuff!

Hello friends! I am making tons of new stuff for the spring and summer. Lately, I’ve been inspired by so many things from vintage calico fabrics to vibrant and exotic beads. Here is a preview of some of things I’ve been adding to my shop…

These earrings remind me of those fun toys I used to play with in the waiting room at my doctor’s office back in the day haha! They were strangely calming, which I guess might be the whole point.

I searched high and low for these calico fabrics, and I finally found an awesome collection from this nice lady on Etsy. Her shop is called In the Old School House.

I am slowly but surely adding new metal designs to my shop. I discovered a fool-proof new way to draw the perfect moon shape, so I improved the look of my celestial earrings. After posting my new and improved earrings, I sold my first pair to a nice girl in Antioch, California. I hope she likes em’!

I love this fabric! It is the prettiest shade of light blue. I know these earrings will look stunning with a tan! I can see it all now… white sun dress, big retro sunglasses, strappy sandals, and these baby blue beauties…

My list of nation-wide customers is growing each week. My jewelry has travelled to the following places…

(This list is more for my own personal pleasure but I just want to share it because I’m so excited!)

Amenia, New York

Antioch, California

Atlanta, Georgia

Australia

Berlin, Germany

Brooklyn, New York

Conyers, Georgia

Darrow, Louisiana

Fredericksburg, Virginia

Livorno, Italy

Los Angeles, California

Madison, Wisconsin

Morrison, Colorado

Oslo, Norway

Parker, Colorado

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Playa del Rey, California

Portland, Oregon

Richmond, Virginia

San Diego, California

Spring, Texas

Talahassee, Florida

Westerville, Ohio

Wheaton, Illinois

And tons of people in Hampton Roads yaaaay!

be sweet. strong. ambitious.

The other day, I came across a really cool artist on Etsy, who made an awesome linoprint. It looked like this:

These three words struck a chord in the deepest part of my creative soul. As part of my New Year’s Resolution I vowed that I would try my hardest to create a successful handmade business. By successful I mean increased organization, exposure, sales, and opportunities to share my work with others. I think to be successful in any independent enterprise one must -or very well should be- SWEET, STRONG, and AMBITIOUS. So far in 2012, I have been a busy bee indeed, all the while thinking of that powerful combination of words.

I’d like to think of myself as SWEET by nature. I’ve never bullied anyone. I enjoy giving much more than receiving. I make it a point to always be perceptive about things that bring joy to other nice people, and then surprise them when they need it the most. I definitely get that from my mom. If everyone else is happy, I am happy. I also get that from my mom. I’ve been trying to employ my sweet sensibilities in my business by promoting other crafty people and the cool things they make. I do so by making lots of Etsy treasuries, posting photos and links to Tumblr, Facebook, and Pinterest, and donating my handmade goods to worth while causes. Just the other day, I had a lot of fun putting together a treasury entitled etsians in the 7 cities, which showcased the abundant creative talent in Hampton Roads, a place I call home. It made me feel good to learn more about the cool handmade culture in my surrounding area. In the process, I made connections with some really nice people.

Not to toot my own horn, but being SWEET is easy for me. To be STRONG is a much greater challenge. I am a major wuss, completely non-confrontational, and too much of the time, unsure of myself. I sometimes get intimidated by all of the amazing things people are doing/making and I begin to doubt my own work. In 2012, the new, STRONG-er Marie is letting go of this counter-productive, detrimental attitude. I have no use for it. The more time and effort that I invest into cultivating my creativity and my business, the more hope and sincere belief I have for it. Every week, my Etsy shop looks better and better. Every day, my creative imagination grows. Every minute, my hands become more capable of creating something awesome. Every kind and encouraging word that people go out of their way to share with me is a tiny push forward. Just the other day, I received the nicest message on Etsy in reference to an item in my shop…

Hi Marie!

I can’t tell you how much I LOVE these yarn triangles. My aunt sent me $50 for Christmas with strict instructions not to buy anything practical with it even though I need so many things. BUT I think I need these earrings the most. They are magical.
I live in Brooklyn but am flying to San Diego to visit my sister-in-law tomorrow. I want to get her a pair and two for myself. I am not sure which ones but will pick tomorrow 1/5 or the next day 1/6. I will probably have them shipped to her as my daughter and I are staying until 1/22.

Thank you for being awesome!

…This brought a huge smile to my face. I’ve never been thanked for being awesome. The fact that she thought my earrings were “magical,” and the best way to spend her $50 made me stand just a little bit taller. Thus far, my handmade items have travelled to California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Portland, sweet ol’ Virginia, Australia, Italy, and Norway. It’s such a cool feeling.

After receiving her earrings in the mail, the very kind woman that sent me the heart-warming Etsy message, posted a little surprise to my facebook page…

we just got your earrings in the mail and we LOVE them! so reasonably priced, great simple designs...I really have never seen anything like them. natural, artsy, great colors! thank you! we will be ordering more and spreading the word! we've even attached a (slightly cheesy but lovable) photo of my sister and I modeling our faves.

This past week, I surprised myself with my level of AMBITIOUS-ness. I revamped my Etsy shop and Facebook page, organized my billions of product photos, made a bunch of new advertisements, and designed my very first sponsor ad, which is now displayed on Oh So Lovely Vintage, one of my favorite blogs. I keep visiting the page just to see my humble little ad that I made all by myself. I’ve already gotten some traffic to my Etsy shop because of it. I’ve been hard at work this month getting ready for a hopefully lucrative and fun-filled summer. I’ve decided to fulfill a life-long dream and become a part-time peddler. My goal is to travel around Virginia and surrounding states to various craft shows and music festivals. I am preparing myself now, trying to get a little more AMBITIOUS every day. Starting my own business has proven to be a highly empowering and positive experience and I know I have so much to learn. Over the past few months, I’ve met a lot of creative and inspiring people that played major roles in the evolution of my jewelry and my business. They gave me great advice, which I immediately implemented. I know that small businesses should be ever-changing, and at this point in my life, I’m ready to change.

a whirlwind of photo shoots.

Like many people, I feel like I haven’t stopped moving over the past few weeks. I’ve found it difficult to sleep, unable to turn off the thoughts and ideas manifesting in my brain like explosions of creative confetti, maddening and exciting all at once. I know that sounds cheesy, but that is the only way I can describe it. I’m sort of mad at myself that I haven’t taken the time to document all of the baking and crafty projects I’ve been doing lately, but I hardly had time to complete them let alone photograph them in an aesthetically pleasing way. I did manage to take a series of photos of my new jewelry line, which I am so excited to share with people.

Planning these winter photo shoots was far more difficult than any that I did this summer. First of all, it was freezing. Second, the sunlight was scarce. And third, I had to find a time that was convenient for everyone in the midst of this hectic holiday season. I had planned to wait until after the holidays, but I really wanted to present some nice photos of my jewelry to present to all of the holiday shoppers. Fortunately, I was able to do four different photo shoots, some of which were with people I hardly knew. Interestingly enough, friends of friends that had seen my previous photos contacted me to see if they could model some of my jewelry. I was surprised and flattered.

For me, this was sort of a daunting task, as I am somewhat shy and could use a little work explaining the direction that I want my photos to take. After reviewing all of the photos, I am so happy that I forced myself outside of my comfort zone. I made some new friends and connections and I got just a little bit better at verbally communicating my creative thoughts with other people.

With the help of my models, I found some great places to use as backdrops for my photos, and discovered new ways of expressing the intention behind my creativity. One girl suggested that I play music that expresses the style of my jewelry and that has made all the difference. I can’t believe it never occurred to me before! It really puts people at ease and inspires them to open up the most vulnerable places within themselves to become, in a way, a piece of art. Music has the power to unplug people from the mundane parts of life, and feel passionate and important. It took some of the pressure off of me to explain my aesthetic goals. I also got some great ideas browsing “pretty poses” on Pinterest. I made a really inspiring collection of photo ideas to use for future shoots.

These photos opened a few important doors for me. The owner of Beaucoup Vintage, a really cool shop in Frederickburg,  saw one of the photo shoots and contacted me to be featured in a trunk show at her shop. Needless to say, I was flattered and very excited. After adding the photos to my Etsy listings, I made sales three days in a row. This might not be a big deal to the well established sellers on Etsy, but I was super excited! One friend even described my jewelry as “joyful,” which really made my day. All of these things have pushed me a little further to pursue my creative dream. I can’t wait to do some more photo shoots and possibly make some new friends! Here are a few more of my favorites…

Ok. Enough. If you would like to see more of my jewelry, please visit my Luna Rosa business page on Facebook. Happy Holidays!