Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Lunar Eclipse

Wednesday item-of-the-week in my Etsy shop!

inspiration: full moon lunar eclipses. the way burnt red, orange and yellowy-brown colors swirl over the moon 




Enter the coupon code "TangleweedsBlog30" at checkout on Etsy to receive 30% off these rustic hand-crafted brass earrings. Discount applies to this item only, from now until September 6th, 2011.


Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Quotable

From Diane di Prima's Loba:


The day lay like a pearl in her lap
she licked at it w/ the edges of her brain
The day shone in her lap like a promise
of lotuses sprouting from warm worm-eaten mud. . .

~

Just a little something to share with all of you on this mellow evening at home.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Craft Fair Duds

Today's turned into one of those catch all days - things needing to be repaired around the house, getting ready for a craft fair, general chores. But it makes me feel a little nutty sometimes, like I'm spinning a dozen plates in the air at once! 

I thought I'd share a quick wardrobe post with ya'll. This was from in July, when I sold at the 25th Street Collective in Oakland for Art Murmur. Which, by the way, I sell at EVERY first friday of the month in case you wanna drop by and say hi!


jumper ~ vintage shop in Austin, TX
bangles and belt ~ thrifted
necklaces and earrings ~ Tangleweeds

K, back to packaging up some Etsy orders. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Blades of Grass

Wednesday item-of-the-week in my Etsy shop!

~hand-forged brass necklace~

inspiration: dragonfly wings, the lines of nature, tall blades of grass





Enter the coupon code "TangleweedsBlog29" at checkout on Etsy to receive 30% off this rustic hand-crafted brass necklace. Discount applies to this item only, from now until August 30th, 2011.

Monday, August 22, 2011

The Eel River

This last week I scooted off to the woods with my boyfriend and his son. It was a much needed respite from work, and the regular 'ol routine of life where it always seems like there's twenty different things needing to be done all at once. 











We stopped at this goofy little rest stop/convenience shop along 101 on Friday. All of the buildings, including the bathroom, were painted in these sort of New-Agey motifs. 





Meals and campfires. . . 


\



The trip went by really really fast, but I'll say that's usually the case when kids are involved! You have yourself and this other being to take care of, and that makes the minutes and hours fly by. But it was relaxing in that way that only camping trips can be: little to do but swim, read, write, sketch, eat, and hike. 

And getting away for a bit always gets me super excited to get back to making more jewelry. . . 

Friday, August 19, 2011

Gorgeous and Green

About a week ago I had the great privilege of dropping off a lovely selection of jewelry at Gorgeous and Green, a stunningly beautiful shop located on San Pablo avenue in Berkeley. The owner of the shop, Pilar, and I collaborated on choosing a selection of pieces that. It made for a lovely mix of rustic and delicate.

Pieces like this one:


But I also wanted to tell you about the other great items that can be procured from Pilar's shop. 

Like By Nieves' skincare. Locally made and totally natural and AWESOME for your skin. I use the "C" Perfect Skin everyday and think it's amazing!


And a stunning assortment of organically grown flowers. Did I mention Pilar is also a florist? She creates stunning floral arrangements for weddings and restaurants.


Stop on by the shop at 2524 San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley and you're sure to find a special something for yourself or someone else!


Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Harvest Time!

Instead of having simply one item-of-the-week, I've decided to offer up a little discount in my Etsy shop while I'm away at the Eel River.

With the coupon code "Harvest Time" you can receive 20% off anything in my shop. This sale will last 'til the 21st. Enjoy!




 And one more thing! There will be a slight delay of 4 to 5 days on shipping on all orders placed during this time. I hope everyone has a great week!


Sunday, August 14, 2011

A Friend to Follow Me

Small delights.


Especially when you're working a craft fair booth by yourself all day.



This little guy followed me to one of my recent craft fairs. I wonder where he came from? A friend of mine said that Filipino folklore holds that when a moth follows you, it's the soul of a passed on family member. 

Maybe I should be asking, who is he?

Friday, August 12, 2011

Goings-Ons

Just a few goings-ons in my Tangleweeds universe that I wanted to share with all of you!

Last week I was interviewed by the lovely ladies of Clay, Wood & Cotton, a shop in New York that carries a hand-picked selection of my jewelry. You can catch the interview on their blog here:



Tomorrow I'll be vending at this local arts and crafts gathering in Berkeley. Stop on by 3192 Adeline Street and say hi! You can click on the flier below for more info on this arts collective.


Then, next week while I'll be away camping, the local Etsy Team that I'm a member and leader of, will  be having an arts and crafts fair, in Oakland. It should be a lovely event! I'm definitely disappointed that I won't be there to enjoy the wonderful company and grab a handmade goodie or two for myself!


I'm starting to get a teensy bit nervous about this whole quitting my "day job" thing. But I know it's the right thing to be doing! I know there's no going back from here, that once I get a taste of working for myself and only for myself I'll want it no other way for as long as I live!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Brass Ear Cuff

Thursday item-of-the-week in my Etsy shop!

~hand-forged brass ear cuff~

inspiration: feeling the magic in the everyday




Enter the coupon code "TangleweedsBlog28" at checkout on Etsy to receive 30% off this rustic brass ear cuff. Discount applies to this item only, from now until August 17th, 2011.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Oh the fun we've had

Over the last three years I've tried out many different types of arts and crafts fairs. Slowly I'm learning which ones I tend to do best at. I'm also learning the flip side of that coin: the kinds of fairs I want to avoid like the plague!

With that said, I composed this little list, while sitting at my booth at a rather disappointing fair recently (I won't mince words: it was the Alameda Art and Wine Fair.) If I offend anyone, I apologize. Mostly, I just wanted to share this as a way of commiserating with my fellow artisan vendors. Some days are rough, and some days are rougher than others!

I give you: "A fun little list of a few of the reasons why I won't be selling at a certain kind of craft fair ever again"

1. Men who see a woman working at a booth by herself and automatically think she needs help/wants to talk to you/is lonely.

2. When people pick up my jewelry, look at it with disdain, and then drop it back on the table in a jumble of chain, pendant and what not. It's not garbage to just be thrown about!

3. People who try to haggle. Especially if the piece has already been discounted for a sale. You are not at a garage sale. Nor are you at a flea market. Enough said.

4. When people quite audibly criticize the design/color/length what-have-you of some or any of my designs. It's not that people can't have differing opinions, I just ask that people be respectful.

5. When people leave food crumbs/wine stains/beer cans on my displays.

6. When people allow their kids to come and pick up/mess up/ruin my displays and or jewelry. I understand that kids want to see things, and that's okay, I just want the parents by their side!

7. Women who set their ginourmous purses on my displays and jewelry. Then they scooch it out of the way! And of course, all of the jewelry gets scooched right along with it.

8. THE WIND!

9. The general overall taste level - by which I mean, the booths that are the busiest, guaranteed, are the ones selling the cheaply made imports. Do people come to these arts and crafts fairs to see arts and crafts or to see a giant outdoors WalMart?

10. Women who have to get their boyfriend's/husband's okay on the taste level of a piece of jewelry before they buy. This is what I want to say to these women: "Honey, do you like it? That's what should matter!"

11. When the vendor next to you is handing out fliers and they keep deciding that the best place to do this is standing right in front of your booth.

12. Drunk people.

13. When your booth is set up right next to another booth selling noise-makers for kids. And you get to listen to kids playing with those noise makers all day. ALL DAY!

Okey dokey! I'm dying to hear from some other vendors. Got something to add to the list?

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Alameda Art and Wine Fair

 A few pictures from this last weekend. . .








Truth be told, this fair was not one of my more successful ones. This year (along with last year) has been a good learning experience: in vending at many many fairs I am figuring out which ones work best for me, where my market is, that sort of thing.

Next year I will probably be doing a lot less of these neighborhood street fairs, and focusing more on fairs like Renegade, Indie Mart, the First Friday events, and the shops I sell to. Tomorrow I'm going to have a fun little list for all of you about these street fairs. . . Stay tuned!