Where have I been?! Starting a RECORD LABEL!

I am a blog neglector, it's official, but I promise I was for good reason!

After years and years of dreaming of starting my own record label, I've finally decided to take the plunge and have whole heartedly jumped head first into this endeavor. Yikes! Am I a crazy person? Maybe! But then again, I've never taken much issue with people calling me crazy :) Oh yes, and I have officially picked a name: Sara-Tone-In Records!

Right now, I'm moving full speed ahead and running on very little sleep and even less common sense (who needs it anyway!?). This once, rather than stewing over decisions and worrying endlessly, I am relying on raw passion and belief in a dream to fuel my fire. I am spending all my extra time establishing the label legitimately, working on my branding, and developing and working with my first artist, Pillowhead! It's an extremely exciting time for me, and equally scary, but for now we're gonna just focus on the excitement of it all and roll with the positive energy :)

For those who are curious, I will still be continuing with my jewelry, and my photography, so this will be a juggling act. The more I type, the more I'm realizing just how crazy I really am sounding here... oh well, a little crazy never hurt anyone...much :)

So, anyway, as my lovely loyal blog followers, I invite you to come on over to my Sara-Tone-In Records blog, and follow me on this journey I am embarking on! I will do my very best to be entertaining and will be sharing a lot of music with you all (like I didn't do that here already, right?) as well as the inevitable ups and downs of starting a new business in uncharted territory. I would very much appreciate the support, so come on kiddies, follow me into the darkness, or the light, depending on the day...

Sara-Tone-In Blog
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Here goes nothin'!

Great Grandmother's Spatula! It's already 2011!

Whoa! Happy New Year All! I haven't blogged in ages, yikes! I'm a hot mess ya'll :) STill recovering from the most insane November/December of my life thus far! I know, I know, I've never been quite so M.I.A. as I have been as of late, but this Horse Feathers video is absolute magic and I needed to share with you all :)



Thanks to everyone for giving me the most successful holiday season I've seen with my little business yet! It's so exciting (and sometimes scary and overwhelming) to see this little Etsy thang grow like it has.

In a short time I will have some big news to share, well actually, a couple pieces of big news to share :) So please check back, as inconsistent as my blogging has become, it is my goal to get back on the vblog wagon...and I know...I've said that before...hang in there :)

Photo: A quick snapshot I took on the icy dock of my parents lovely summer home in Lake George, NY. They just moved to a new spot on the lake which is just a stones throw from the house I was brought home to as a newborn :) Anyway, took this picture with my Canon 5D Mark II and I'm really loving it!

Wooo! New Designs!!!

I know I've been a little bit M.I.A. but I've been busy creating new designs and prepping for my huge Holiday Trunk Show! Ahhh, to make matters worse, guess who has been fighting a nasty flu all the while??? That's right, me!

Anyway, there's tons of new goodies in the shop, including new holiday designs, with more to be added soon! Go check it out and keep on checkin' over the next couple days! :)

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

...well, almost! The holiday season is fast approaching and business has really kicked into gear. Etsy loves to kick my ass from September thru January :) In other news, my photography side gig has really been growing as well! I recently shot promo photos for a local band, as well as keeping myself uber busy with photographing live shows! Woohoo! Photography and music, my heart overfloweth! Have I ever mentioned how much fun it is to have such talented friends? I will give you a peak at some of my favorite shots from the band shoots in the coming days...

Anyway, my apologies for my poor blog etiquette during this time of insanity but I will do my best to get back on track and keep you all entertained by my antics. For now, I must get back to the massive spread of half finished jewelry and stack of bubble envelopes.

A Talented Happy Customer & Minor Birds...

...make me SO happy! Check out this photo of my friend, the lovely Chelsea Wilde of New Resolution Photo, easily one of my most favorite photographers, wearing her A.N. Original "Camera Love" necklace in a self portrait with her new toy, a Mamiya RB67. JEALOUS! I want a fun old camera! Her images are SO beautiful and has a style all her own. I absolutely LOVE her work! She also has a fabulous Etsy Shop with tons of unique etherial wears.

Chelsea is also in a band called, Minor Birds, in which she takes care of keys and vocals, and is epically talented at both. Seriously. Her music is much like her photo's; Fresh and Magnetic. She might be the most talented person I've come across in a long time. It's SO refreshing! Is it really any wonder that we get along so well?

I've sold a lot of these "Camera Love" Necklaces to photographers over the past year, which is really exciting for me! However, I was most excited to see a photographer who I really respect and look up to, proudly wearing one of my pieces.

High Five, Chelsea! You are epic.

Snapshot of the Day

Here's one of my favorite shots that came out of a A.N. Original Jewelry promo shoot in May. A little late in showing this off, although you may have already seen it on my website, but anywhooo...

I'm in LOVE with a 5D!

As my photography hobby grows into an obsession and quite possibly a new side gig, I find myself dying to upgrade my camera! In my down time, I've spent countless hours perusing camera body's online in the dead of night, reading reviews, and scouring flickr groups for photos taken with different Canon Camera Bodies...

And now, I think I'm in love, or maybe in lust... with the Canon 5D Mark II.

Yikes. It's a little pricey. But, when I figure just how much use I get out of it I think that greatly eases the sticker shock. I think it'd really help bring my images to the next level. And now you can take video on this little baby! I can't do that with my Canon 30D! While I love my 30D, I think that an upgrade is in order asap. I've been working with my 30D for 4 years now, and sure, it's a great camera, and I'd certainly keep it around but....

...the allure of a new fancy schmancy camera body, like the 5D Mark II is haunting my dreams...

What do you guys think? Any photographers out there have thoughts to share?

Yikes! Lets play some Catch Up & Pearl Jam...

Just when you thought I was back on track with my blogging, I go and ruin it by not blogging for a whole week! Jeez! Get it together, Ashley!

While I haven't been able to blog this week, I can assure you there was very good reason.

The first reason...
Business has been booming! It's been so exciting for me to have such a great flow of sales and press mentions, I feel like things are FINALLY starting to come together for my brand :) Oh took what, 5 years? Hey, I'm no complaining, at least its happening!

The second reason...

My little sister Alex graduated from Endicott College! So I had to travel to coastal Massachusetts, to the beautiful Endicott College campus, right on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, and watch as my sister and 500 of her classmates graduated! It was a VERY windy day, so lets just say it was NOT a good hair day for most people in attendance, including myself. However, there was an especially cool aspect to graduation... award winning actor,Forest Whitaker, was thier keynote speaker! It was quick interesting and exciting to sit and listen to him speak. He even stood up there and shook every single one of those 500+ graduates hands as they walked across the stage. Very cool, Forest, very cool!

The third reason....

Shortly after returning home from a marathon weekend of graduation excitement my sister and I got in the car yet again to drive 3+ hours to Newark, NJ to see Pearl Jam. Wow, Newark is seriously yucky! But WOW, Pearl Jam is AMAZING live! The Newark crowd was not very energetic, and I unfortunately sat behind a section of the tallest people on earth, but the band still sounded incredible and I CANNOT wait to go to another show! I'll be ponying up a whole wad of cash to get a better seat, and better my chances of not having to watch the show from behind Sasquatch.

Anyway, I guess I'll leave you with a Pearl Jam tune to enjoy! Stay tuned to the blog, I have a couple new pieces getting ready to be rolled out into the Etsy Shop and I'll make sure to announce them here first!

So without further ado, here's Eddie and the guys performing an AMAZING live version of Crazy Mary, for your listening pleasure!

Milestone Alert: 2 Years of Etsy Magic

So, today marks my 2 year anniversary of signing up and opening a shop on that little site called Etsy. At the time, it was just a shot in the dark. I figured that I could get a few sales here and there to increase my online presence and help to supprt my fledgling small business. I never thought of it as much more than a way to have a little fun and be a part of a bigger handmade movement...

Two years later, here I am. Making my living on Etsy. Wait, did you hear me? MAKING MY LIVING ON ETSY! GROWING MY BUSINESS ON ETSY! f you told me that 2 years ago, I would have laughed at you. If you told me 3 months into my Etsy experience that in 6 months time I'd invited to that magical land of 'Featured Sellers' I would have scoffed, and laughed again. I kind of have a hard time describing or detailing exactly what has gone on in my life and the life of my business these past two years, because it's total blur. Everything has changed and nothing has changed, all at once. I'm still excited for every sale I get, I still blush a little anytime I get an especially glowing feedback left about my shop, and I still worry if I'm "cool enough" for Etsy. When I am lucky enough to make it to the fabled "Front Page" of Etsy, I still squeal and do a happy dance. Man, it's just so crazy that it's been TWO years! I'm smiling as I type this thinking about how truly insane that is. Sometimes I just wanna called up Etsy have an "I love you, man!" moment, complete with a chest bump and back slap.

Etsy is truly something that has changed my life in almost every way. It has allowed a young twenty-something designer, fresh out of college and totally green to the world of independent design, the oppertunity to do what I love, the way I want to do it, and thankfully, with little overhead costs :). I am counting my lucky stars for that, STILL.

I have certainly found a home at Etsy, but it's 2 years in, and I'm still putting my all into it everyday. It's a chore, a crusade and sometimes a real struggle for sure, but it's worth it. Etsy isn't something you can just let do the work for you, there's a good bit of sparkly Etsy magic you have to conjure up for yourself. Some people aren't prepared for JUST how much work it takes to get your Etsy business off the ground and to keep it going. I'm happy to say, I was able to weather the storm, even through the toxic economy. Where am I going with this? I guess what I'm trying to say is this, and I guess only this... 2 years later, and I'M STILL HERE! 2 years later and...

I. AM. STILL. HERE.

I love you Etsy, thanks so much for loving me back :) Here's to another 2 years of Etsy magic!

Mmmm Chocolate Raspberry...

Just a quick post for today, haven't much time to chit chat but wanted to introduce you to my friend here, Chocolate Raspberry :)

I'm LOVING this new necklace style I added today. Simple. Fun. Chic. YAY!

I added 4 different color options in this necklace style today in my Etsy Shop, you can choose from Blue, Brown, Golden Yellow and a Limeade Green. Woohoo for productivity! Loving the Ruby accents personally, it adds some fun without making it complex :) The Rubies are what tie the 4 color options together :) Make sure you head to the shop to check out all the options!

Anyway, sorry for the lame blog today! I will be writing a more exciting blog tomorrow, because tomorrow is a VERY special day...

Until then, my blog babies...

On their way...

So, today I will be adding a few simple Valentine's Day inspired items but I thought I'd show you guys a little sampling first, sorta like a "WORLD PREMIERE!!!!". Ok, I thought if I wrote in caps and quotations I would feel extra awesome, like I was introducing a world premiere of a skanky Britney Spears video on MTV, alas it didn't feel much different from typing in lower case letters with no punctuation...go figure.

Anyway I had mixed feelings about doing these but in the end I'm really happy with how cute and sorta chic they turned out, even if they have hearts all over them...

Stay tuned, they should be up and available for purchase in my Etsy Shop by the end of the day at the latest :)

I Resolve To Be AWESOME!

"Stand on the edge, and don't be afraid to fall. Take a breath and tell me what you see." ~ Lifehouse

Hey kids, like the flower? It's so cute and looks like a new beginning, don't ya think? I took this outside my house in Lake George over the summer and it's finally applicable to a post topic, sorta, so I can finally show it off!

Anyway, I know this is a day late and most likely a dollar short but, I figured I might as well try my hand out at putting these sort of thoughts out into the universe in the new year. I'm not one for resolutions or that big on the idea of "New Years" being a momentous occasion, but I suppose for the sake of the impending year, I might as well give it a whirl right?

So here it is, my list O' 2010 New Years Resolutions....

- I resolve to be generally more awesome than I was previously...

- I resolve to push myself beyond my comfort zone both personally, professionally and creatively...

- I resolve to hunt down and marry the lead singer of Mumford & Sons...

- I resolve to continue to be proactive in changing the things about my life I dislike...

- I resolve to pretend to speak French whenever possible...

- I resolve to push myself to get more serious with my photography...

- I resolve to do more things for the pure enjoyment of it, like seeking out live music whenever possible...

- I resolve to schedule a monthly game night with my mix of excellent cousins...

- I resolve to learn photoshop more efficiently so I can spare the world my very analogue editing skills...

- I resolve to reconnect with old friends...

- I resolve to remain emotionally invested in the ever evolving story of Jim & Pam on 'The Office'...

- I resolve to cook more and eat out less...

- I resolve to steadily increase my coffee consumption but to never ever drink a Red Bull...

- I resolve stay focused on the positive whenever I can possibly manage it...

- I resolve to do it instead of talking about it...

- I resolve to dance to Hall & Oates every single morning...

Most importantly I resolve to improve my blog somehow! I don't know if that will come in the form of more posts, or generally cooler content, but improvement has been officially resolved...kinda...


Anyone have any sweet resolutions to share?

Holiday Trunk Show Continued: The Guests Arrive!

I was literally only able to snap a few pictures of the trunk show and guests in action at the very beginning of the show,within the first 20 mins of it while there was still room to move around! Once everyone showed up it was pretty impossible for me to duck in an out of corners to secretly snap photos of the guests shopping so I just gave up and focused on the trunk show itself.

So anyway, here are the few shots I did manage to snap of my happy guests mingling, having cocktails, laughing, browsing and trying on jewelry! Thanks again to everyone who came out, it was so much fun! Can't wait for next year!

2nd Annual Mega Holiday Trunk Show : THE SPREAD!

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. " ~Norman Vincent Peale

I am happy to report that the Mega Holiday Trunk Show I told you about a couple days ago, that's been keeping me from blogging for so long, was a raging success! I had a huge turnout, tons of sales and lots of fun! At times it was pretty overwhelming and I was having issues forming complete sentences because I had so many people talking to me at once! I can't complain though since thats a great problem to have :)

I've had a couple days to recover a bit, I had originally planned to give myself the full weekend off, but thanks to a sudden explosion of Etsy sales beginning the night of the trunk show (Thursday) and through the weekend, I'm just as busy as ever!

While I am in fact a very busy bee right now, I DID promise you all some photos of the Trunk Show! I have quite a few so I'm going to have to split them into 2 posts, this particular post will just be photos of the setup, next will be some of the party!

I setup the display the day before the Trunk Show, it took me ALL DAY LONG! I probably had well over $10,000 in retail product displayed! Thank god I planned ahead and gave myself a full day to play with the setup and lights etc! Anyway, enough of this blabbering, on to the pictures!!!

A.N. Original Home Trunk Show Secrets: PART ONE, Building the HYPE!

I've been thinking about doing a blog series about hosting a successful home party for your art etc, and separating yourself from the cheesy, mass produced corporation home parties, after throwing many of them for my own business successfully! I've learned through trial and error what works, what doesn't, what to avoid, what to include etc. After a few years of throwing these parties I've seen them grow and become more and more lucrative and really have begun to understand the psychology of my trunk show guests and their purchasing habits. This didn't happen accidentally though, oh no no no, it was the result of lots of planning, careful thought, lot's of observation and a little bit of flair.

So here it is, the first installment of many...hope you find it useful!

1. Party is a four letter word! First and foremost, I think one of the most important things (and this is super simple) , is to never, ever, ever just call it a "Home Party" or "Jewelry Party"(or insert whatever you do etc). When I hear "Jewelry Party", I cringe! The whole home party circuit is a redundant, tired, overdone, gimmicky and horribly generic method used to get fast sales in a pressure cooker environment that prey's upon people feeling of obligation. We've all been to them, we've all sat through a long sales pitch, we've all felt the pressure to buy more so your girlfriend hosting the party gets more free junk that will fall apart anyway. Your event takes on that stigma when you refer to it as a "Jewelry Party" (I will be using jewelry as an example throughout this series , since it is what I do). Instead, bill your party as a TRUNK SHOW! A trunk show for your company, your line, you as an artist etc. Your trunk show IS NOT a tupperware party, it's a showcase of your handmade art, your heart and soul, so don't cheapen it by putting it in the same category as a tupperware party. It's amazing how much it changes people's reaction by just calling it something a little different. Trunk Show sounds so much more Bloomingdale's and much less Walmart.

2. Consider a theme. Theme's don't have to be so literal though, remember a subtle theme can be made chic much easier than a literal super specialized theme. Decor makes for better ambiance and ambiance creates sales but be careful to stay away from anything too distracting. For example, I throw a huge Holiday Trunk Show, before Thanksgiving, I bill it as Holiday, not Christmas. I can have a classy, chic Holiday event, without it being all filled with Santa Claus decor. Themes are awesome, and can make people feel way more like they are at a social gathering than just at a shopping night, and that will take some pressure off them and they typically end up purchasing MORE. (I will delve more into Themes in another post).

3. Put careful thought into your invitations. It's important to send a physical invitation, don't call around your invites. Take the time to make them look chic and refined enough to match your product and price point, then mail them via standard mail, pretty packaging with anything goes a long way. Be detailed and enticing in your invite. Make sure you mention any special offers at your party, such as any sort of door prize, fun refreshments, wine and spirits, discounts etc. Also, consider sending along a "save the date" sticker for people to easily be able to pop onto their calenders, you can find these at A.C. Moore or Michaels, or even print your own! Which brings me to my nest point, carefully choose your date. People are often reluctant to give up their Friday or Saturday night to go to a home trunk show. In my experience, Thursday night's are perfect because people are starting to get into weekend mode and welcome a little social engagement to start their weekend a little early unofficially.

4. The more the merrier. Entice your guests to bring friends via worth while, non-cheesy special offers. This can be done a number of ways, offering a small discount to be used by the originally invited party, if they bring guests to the Trunk Show, or offer a free gift, but make sure to make the free gift worth while! In the past I have offered a pair of 20$ value Freshwater Pearl and Sterling Silver Drop Earrings, in a variety of colors, of which the customer can choose from. I personally like the free gift idea, and it has worked very well for me in the past. Although the first time you do it, you might have lots of skeptics who see that it's free, and not care. BUT, once they see it at the party, those same people are often saying to me, "Ah! I wish I knew the earrings were so nice, I would have brought friends!". Thats helps them come back to your next party with friends so all is not lost :) I haven't tried including a picture of the free item in my invite yet, but I would imagine it could be helpful :) Around gifting seasons, the free earring offer is a huge hit for me!

5. Never leave home without em! In the week before your trunk show, carry around extra invitations with you at all times! You never know who you might run into and how the topic of your trunk show might pop up. If you have an invite on hand to give out, you might have just nabbed yourself another guest which could quickly turn into multiple guests! I can't tell you how many times I've had the subject randomly pop up in conversation with friends who I might run into at Target or at the bank who I might not have been comfortable mailing an invite to, but feel totally comfortable handing them an invite when I see them if it is in relation to whatever were gabbing about at the time. You'd be surprised how many times this sort of this will pop up, especially if the person has heard about your event through the grapevine. I feel like I end up giving out lots at the Post Office!

6. Regrets Only. Don't ask people to RSVP that they WILL be attending, it adds more pressure to people and more often than not they won't tell you either way anyway. However, I've found that if I request "Regret's Only", you get a more accurate gauge of the numbers to expect at the trunk show. To be honest, I'm not completely sure why it is that this works, but trust me, it makes a difference. A lot of people won't decide if they are coming until a few hours before. They have to be in the mood, feeling well etc, a Regret's Only RSVP leaves the door open for them to come or not. That way if they don't show up, it's not a big deal and they don't feel guilty or uncomfortable, and if they do, it's just a more the merrier atmosphere anyway. Requesting a "YES" RSVP makes people feel locked into it, only increasing pressure, and decreasing your chances that they will actually show up. The whole idea with your trunk show is to decrease the pressure and sales pitchy-ness, increase the fun and jovial atmosphere (more about this in a later post).

Okie doke, there's the first installment, a little longer than expected, sorry about that! I hope you found it helpful and informative, if you have specific questions about any of the area's touched on in this post, just ask them in the Comments area and I will be glad to answer :) The next post in the series will be about THEME, DECOR & REFRESHMENTS!

Today's Soundtrack: "Keepsake" by State Radio

Music is what keeps me going. It is without a doubt, my lifeline. Sometimes I think that if it wasn't for music, I'd be completely lost in my life. It's what I can truly connect to emotionally, without having to necessarily talk about whatever it is I have going on in my head, be it good or bad. I'd say that's a pretty weighty role for a 4 minute song to fill, but music never lets me down.

While I love being an independent entrepreneur and able to make jewelry be my full-time gig, it's not always something I'm chomping at the bit to do. Owning your own business can be a little isolating, a little lonely and even a little mundane. Boo-hoo for me right? Not really. I don't feel bad for myself in the least, I get to call the shots in my own life, which isn't a luxury everyone has. While thats a lot control and responsibility to balance on one's shoulders, it's something I welcome in my life. I've always been someone who'd rather be in full control than hand over the control to someone else or trust someone else with my future while my life hangs in the balance. Sometimes I think I don't have a submissive bone in my body. If your reading this right now and thinking, "what a control freak", you would be absolutely correct. I am a control freak, and at this point in my life I've decided to talk full ownership of my control freak-ness, and let my freak flag fly. Now, I'm not saying this is a good or bad thing, but it's how I am, and thankfully, at the ripe old age of 25, I think I've come to terms with the fact that I am who I am and thats all I can be. That's where music comes in. Music is a release for me, where I don't have to be in control, and can get lost in whatever song is playing in that moment. It fills any lonely voids I might be experiencing that day as I work in my studio, it keeps me company when I sketch at my kitchen table late at night, and it comes with me when I walk my dog. Music, music, music, where would I be without you?

Today is a little grey in the Northeast, no sun to be seen and an admittedly lazy day for me. Only a few pieces of jewelry to get finished so I've been filling a lot of my time today with music. Like everyone else, I get into little phases where I love a particular song (usually for no apparent reason) and play it over and over again. That song today is called "Keepsake" by a band called State Radio. State Radio was put together by one of the founding members of a band called Dispatch, a local favorite so I'm often shocked if people don't know who Dispatch is, maybe it's just a regional thing? Anyway, Dispatch was a pretty popular band in their day, I'd call them the independent music movements answer to The Dave Matthews Band. More grass roots, more organic and much more politically charged. State Radio is a continuation of that thought but with a little more rock, a little more politics and a little reggae/ska sprinkled amongst there. State Radio is a favorite in my family and their music is really thoughtful and intelligent. "Keepsake", the track I am personally obsessing over right now, was even used in the Season 3 Finale of my favorite show of all time, Weeds.

Ok, enough blabbering, and more listening. I recommend listening to it once just for it's raw musical integrity and then a second time to really listen to the words. Hope this track is something that can bring a little extra sparkle into your day. Enjoy!

A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss...

I'm back! Did you miss me? I know I've been a very bad blogger, but I promise I've been absent from blogland for good reason :) I might as well give you a quick rundown of what I've been up to for the past couple weeks...

Well, a couple weeks ago I started feverishly working on new seasonal items, Halloween items specifically. And, at the urging of my buddy over at Ponder & Stitch, I've decided to bring in oxidized sterling silver pieces as well, offering the bright silver and oxidized silver in my shop I think will be great for business and give my customers even more choices. I took a brief break from my jewelry making marathon to attend a Coldplay concert, which was incredibly fun and inspiring! I used to have a line of music inspired jewelry but got rid of it after a while. After going to such an incredible show, my urge to create some jewelry from some of the music and lyrics that inspire me is bubbling over! Right now I'm just trying to decide the best approach...

After my play date with Coldplay, it was right back to work. I'm proud to say I have somewhere about 40 new pieces! Not ALL of them are completed but it's getting close! I have some things I've sent off to the caster and am patiently awaiting their return to me :) All of my new Halloween items are finished though! Woohoo! I've become quite well know around Etsy for my Halloween pieces, so I certainly felt the pressure to deliver some great new stuff for this year! I'm spending the next couple days listing everything I can.

Aside from making jewelry, I've also been making and consuming lots of Broccoli Salad! No worries, photos and recipe for that coming very soon :) I'm not sure what it is but I've been really into cooking and baking lately. Right now I have a hankering to make some Pumpkin Bread and Pumpkin Cookies, both of which will have to wait for now, but I've been obsessing about them for some time! Anyone know of a great fat substitute/alternative for butter/oil for baking? I'm a novice baker, so any tips are welcomed!

Anyway, here's a sneak peak of the new seasonal and oxidized stuff, it's not up on Etsy yet so you are the first to see it! Hope you love it, I'll be working hard to list everything asap :)

It's good to be back, so sorry for my very long hiatus! 

Delicious Website Re-vamp! I love you Nest In Bloom!!!

Big news kiddies! My website has gotten a full overhaul, thanks to my good buddy Samantha aka Nest In Bloom! Words cannot even express how excited I really am about this! I've had my own dot.com site for about 3 years now and it's taken me 3 years and a few designers to get here. I can honestly say, Samantha is THE best graphic designer/artist extraodinaire I have ever had the pleasure of working with! Not only did she actually listen to what I wanted, but brought her own ideas to the table and provided the darling little accents and details to the site that really brought it to a new level! My website went from being Bette Davis to being Marilyn Monroe in a matter of days! Yay! It never hurts to be easy on the eyes :)

If you've been following my website for a while you might notice a couple big changes! The most noticeable is probably the addition of a new beautiful face to the site! I'd like to introduce you to the gorgeously exotic natural beauty that is Ms. McKenzie Burke. She's been a friend of mine for years and does a fabulous job showing off that Turquoise and Gold Akoya Pearl Necklace! Oh yes, and my Sterling Silver Glimmer Hoops as well! Hope ya like the look of her mug (I know I do!) because you might be seeing a lot of it in the future :)

The second of the big changes is that I've decided to fully redirect my Shop on my website to my Etsy shop. I spent ages agonizing over the decision to do this and in the end, Etsy won. Etsy has been very good to me, and I love the shop setup over there so, it is now serving not only my Etsy customers but my dot.com site customers too. Etsy, you can thank me later for this with a Front Page or two :)

Make sure to look through all the pages of the site so you don't miss all the fun new details Sam has added! Love, love, love, love, love it! 

An Ode to Friends, Product Photography and Apple Jacks

Today's Lesson : It's good to have friends. It's even better to have friends who are fellow designers, photographers, and artisans, with whom you can identify with, commiserate with and from time to time help each other out professionally. This is my story about how I overcame a funky rainy day, and the temptation of syndicated TV, to aide in bettering the business of one of my best jewelry biz buddies...

Unfortunately, when I awoke this morning, the day was already dreary and saturated by rain. I really hate mornings like that, don't you?  Mostly because I can never get myself going and I inevitably watch My So-Called Life re-runs all day or listen to music while laying in the middle of the floor in my living room, avoiding the shower and the rest of the world. This morning however, I knew I had a lot to do, and I was on a schedule. No messing around. No funny business. No My So-Called Life or Jordan Catalano. I needed to just suck it up and get working! Well, that's all fine and good in theory, but all the willing in the world won't motivate me if I'm in the midst of a rainy morning funk...I need a little something more...

Luckily, my sister has been staying with me the past few days, and with her, came a lovely box of Apple Jacks, which I had been resisting since their arrival a few days prior. I looked at the Apple Jacks this morning and decided, TODAY was the day I NEEDED the Apple Jacks more than ever. I was Popeye, and those Apple Jacks, were my canned spinach! The perfect brain food to kick start my day. It also kicks my problem solving skills into gear as I must always eat the Green Jacks with only Green Jacks, and the Orange with the Orange, weird I know, but if you haven't already come to the conclusion that I'm a weird one, today might as well be the day. Anyway, I enjoyed a bowl of Apple Jacks and thankfully, the 67000g of sugar it provided was just the thing I needed to kick myself into gear!

First on my agenda was to do some product shots for my dear friend, Allison aka RockLove, whom you met in an earlier post. I offered to work on shooting some of her jewelry for her while she frantically preps for her participation in the Teen Choice Awards gifting suite! We're on a bit of a time crunch so I knew I had to do it fast, efficiently, beautifully, and keeping within her darker, edgier, steampunkier kinda style. Needless to say, it is a departure from my own cheeky whimsical style. The shots above are a sampling of what I came up with. You like?

I gotta say, I am loving my new Tamron 90mm Macro lens, after taking shots of RockLove Jewelry all morning with it and coming up with gorgeous results, it's made me want to go back and reshoot all my product photos! Gahhh! That will be a lot of photo's to take, I will need to block out a full rainy day for it, and 2 boxes of Apple Jacks! Anyway, I love the shots I ended up with for RockLove, and I hope you do too! Oh yes, by the way, all these images are unedited so please excuse any imperfections :)

In conclusion I'd like to say, never underestimate the power of your favorite sugar loaded kids cereal and friends. You never know, they just might save your day too :)

Interpol & Inspiration

"If time is my vessel, then learning to love will be my way back to sea." -Interpol

I've loved the band Interpol for, well, a long, long time. There has always been something about their sound that could really stir things up inside me and help me to create, especially their first two albums. As I've said before, inspiration does not come easy for me, so when I find a bit of music, a movie or maybe even another designer who can manage to make me break out of my uninspired shell, I latch on.

Even though it's only mid- July, I am steadily preparing for what I hope will be a busy and successful Fall and Holiday Season. I'm working out new seasonal designs and tweaking new fall line concepts daily at this point. So much so, that I'm really itching for the crisp clean and nostalgic air that comes to NY every Fall. I will still enjoy the remainder of my summer, stocking up on sun and laughs, but I won't be sad to see the change of seasons.

For me, Fall and Interpol go hand in hand, but I'm not totally sure why that is. I think it has a little to do though with all of the crisp Autumn nights I spent on my rooftop terrace 40 stories above Manhattan, listening to Interpol on my trusty iPod, sketching, and taking in the city lights. I never tired of the view from that terrace, and anytime I think of it, and of Interpol, I miss my days in New York City more than ever. Maybe one day I will go back, but for now, I have work to do here in Saratoga Springs. I will be posting some pics from my NYC days soon, of my INCREDIBLE view. I'm telling you, it is...well, inspiring :)

Here's one of my favorite Interpol songs, "C'mere", Enjoy!

more about "Interpol & Inspiration", posted with vodpod