Taking Some Time Amidst the Chaos

It's so easy to get completely overwhelmed right now so I'm trying to make time to take care of myself too. The Stoweflake Spa made that easy with their 50% off week deal. I called my dear friend Kori and we made a date for yesterday. We made sure to get there a couple hours early to enjoy the spa amenities: sauna, steam room, jacuzzi, waterfall pool, mineral pool. Pure luxuriousness.
Plus I was able to weave together business + social time + relaxation. The Spa made a BIG order from me over the summer and I was happy to see they are now quite low on work. They recently made a holiday order to replenish and I will be sending that in a few weeks but meanwhile I dropped off the 14 Chakra wraps that they ordered (they were completely out!) The Spa boutique carries the best products and features many Vermont made lines such as: Lunaroma, Way Out Wax and VT Artisan Tea Co. 

After a wonderful and relaxing Reflexology appointment with Lea I headed down the mountain road to the Stowe Craft Gallery to drop off the rest of their holiday order. 

So nice to see how they display my work and in a prominent position in the gallery. 

This week I also finished 3 new Turquoise pendants. You can find them in my Etsy shop. While I still have 2 shop orders to finish this week and then 3 HUGE shop orders to finish this month I'm trying to stay calm. Amanda Young is helping with that with weekly massages. After the spa afternoon yesterday and a massage from Amanda today, I feel ready to conquer the rest of the week. The sunshine ain't hurtin' either! To everyone that's workin' hard out there...make sure to take some time for yourself!

Last Week Was Totally Insane!

This was going to be 2 blog posts but there's no time for that! So here is the week through photos and quick captions...

Got to see Rising Appalachia - twice! First night was a sultry get down and the 2nd was a more intimate, soulful sway. Both shows were super inspirational and because of the magic of Facebook, Chloe Smith stayed with us! Super fun to adorn her in my jewelry.

Last week I also discovered Flash Tattoos! I'm addicted to them! What a fun trend, temporary tats in gold and silver. I adorned Chloe's forehead with one, I brought them to a bday party, the Rising Appalachia shows, my Trunk Show, a bbq... So much fun to share the sparkle wherever I go.

I love how they mix with my jewelry and that even with no jewelry on you still have some flashy body decor. 
Last week I sent out a huge order to the Stoweflake Spa. I managed to get it all together with the help of Fiona and my new intern Molly. Thanks ladies! So amazing to have some help with things.

I ended the week by traveling south with my dear friend Chawna. We stopped at Celie's to visit her and Kiwi quickly. She had a home class going on but managed to take her lunch break with us. So good to see them but it wasn't long enough! Then we headed off to Brattleboro to visit my work at Gallery in the Woods. First we enjoyed the best sandwiches ever at Amy's Bakery Arts Cafe. I used to visit Gallery in the Woods anytime I was in Brattleboro. They have such a great selection of really cool work from very talented artists and I'm so honored to have my work among them. 

It was fun to spy some of my pieces in the center of the window. 

And in a jewelry display inside. Also happy to meet one of the owners, Dante.

Upstairs in the gallery we were shocked by these shocked masks, made by Chris London.

We wished we could spend more time there and around the town but hopped back in and drove to Northampton, MA for a trunk show at Ode. This store is SO GORGEOUS, everything from the floors to the fixtures to the selection of clothes, bags and shoes to the lovely ladies working there. It was art walk night and they had a fab spread of foods and wines. So much fun to spend time there, just look at this display!

I love how my work looked among their offerings, everything rustic and earthy.

This is the selection of work they chose after the trunk show for the shop. 

The beautiful Chawna sporting her new JK earrings and Flash tattoo! 

We got home around 1:00 am and for the 2nd time this summer I got to sleep late on a Saturday. This is me (in my new hat from Ode!) not at the Artist Market. I still went though for breakfast and to enjoy it as a buyer and browser. Phew, what a week! 

A Crazy Busy June!

There was a minute there, during the last week of May when I had nothing on the docket. No new shops, no current shops re-ordering, all caught up on Etsy orders and fully stocked for the Artist Market. In those moments, it's easy to let panic or uncertainty in...especially when making a change or transitioning from one way of doing things to another. But everything can change in a day... at the end of last month, I had my first Etsy Wholesale order, the next day a super great Artist Market and a re-order from the Shoe Horn. Then it's easy to let the panic swing the other way and feel completely overwhelmed! But I can schedule things out and do what needs doing first, first. 

T. Karn Imports in Telluride, CO just happened to find me while scrolling through jewelry on Etsy Wholesale. Owner Tesha Karn ordered a collection of silver and brass pieces that go so well together. Her store incorporates unique items for the home and body - apparel, accessories, beauty products, textiles and decor from around the world. My jaw dropped when I saw photos of her shop, such gorgeous wooden treasures, old doors, pieces from India, Tibet, just my style. 
As far as I can see though, they don't have much jewelry and I'm just so honored that they're choosing my work. I did tear up a bit at the thought of it...that if a place like that, carrying world craft and ethnic arts wants my work... that I've achieved my aesthetic. I'm working on their order right now.

In the midst of everything, I was invited to be a vendor at the Dealer.com summer party. It was last Friday and it was amazing. Such great music, food and drinks and Ben and Jerry's! They really know how to throw an epic bash, complete with psychic readings, stilt walkers, an arcade, and carnival-like games. The highlight was selling a gold bar necklace to Alisa Xayalith from Naked and Famous. I didn't know who she was (but she was gorgeous and had mad style) until I saw her on stage and then I started freaking out. She even came back to buy more and so did her band mate and I got to get this pic. Eek!

Yesterday was a big day for me for 2 reasons... I did a count down sale and after having 7, I finally hit my 1000th Etsy Sale!!! 

And I received a HUGE order from the Stoweflake Spa. 

So if I wasn't feeling overwhelmed already now I'm kind of beside myself. But again, I'm scheduling things out and doing my best to breathe and hold on. It's all happening and I'm so grateful.