Friday, March 30, 2012

Today's the Day!

Just popping over here for a quick reminder: Today's the last day to enter my Springtide giveaway for this necklace:


I'll be picking one lucky winner tomorrow, and posting about it here on Monday, April 1st. Happy playing!

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Sneaky Little Sales

Wednesday has long been my "sale" day in my Etsy shop, and here on my blog. It's one of the few regular posts I've kept up on over the years (what?! you say. Blogging isn't your TOP priority at all times? =).

As I pondered what special sale I wanted to have this week (whilst I'm already having a Springtide 30% off everything in the shop sale with the coupon "Springtide.") I realized many of you don't know about the coupon codes I offer all of the time!

These earrings are one of the newest additions to my Springtide Collection.
First, there's the coupon "Tumbleweed." This is good for 10% off your entire purchase from my shop.

Then, there's the coupon code "FreeShipping," for, your guessed it, free shipping!

Thirdly, I offer 15% off all purchases to returning customers. I have a special coupon code for that as well. If you are a returning customer and have not received such a code and would like one, shoot me a message on Etsy and I'll be happy to send it your way!

There ya go. Now maybe you can pick up that gift you've been procrastinating on, or maybe a little something for yourself, and save some moola while you're at it!

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Magic Here Now

Magic in this day and age is such an elusive thing. Ritual too. We, as a collective people, are not very connected to ritual*, or to things we don't understand, figuring science will come along eventually and explain everything. Sometimes I think there are things we are not meant to understand, and then sometime I think science is simply magic, reduced down to it's simplest formula. 

For this week's Etsy trio I bring you a few elements imbued with a touch of magic. . .

(*I mean this in a general way. I know many people are choosing to acknowledge the sacred and divine in their lives, as am I, in the ways they can.)

What a lovely conversation piece this would be. This would be the perfect home for my Tangleweeds business cards!


When I saw this top I practically hit the "add to cart" button before I checked my bank balance! Really, what's not to love about this top? There's even a zodiac chart printed on the back!

J'adore this necklace! It really does remind me of the moon in so many ways. I could see wearing this piece by itself or layered with a gajillion other chains and necklaces. I love the rustic, craggy appearance of the bezel too.

 I hope we all have a little bit of time today to appreciate the magic all around us!

Monday, March 26, 2012

A Hodge Podge of Style Inspiration

I thought I'd share some things that have caught my eye, mostly over the weekend as I trolled the inter-webs. . . Sometimes I think it's both a blessing and a curse: to be able to see so many pretty things at the drop of a hat. So much fodder for inspiration! Or: so much fodder for financial frustration? Mostly depends on the mood I'm in. Mostly it's fun and frivolity. . .


The Decemberists are my favorite band for rainy weather music.


Gondwana Artisan Tribal Earrings by Sparrow Salvage ~ I love this lady's photography just as much as I do her jewelry. I want to dress like this!

desert colors found on Lily Unique Tumblr

lavish extravagance at Pandora

some hair inspiration (found on Spanish Moss)

a room to dress like (found on the Architecture Self tumblr)

flowers - one of my favorite colors this season (found at this blog)

I want this mask to wear for my birthday. . . or that masquerade ball I'm determined to have one of these days! Made by Sundries and Plunder on Etsy.

I hope everyone has a week full of inspiration and wonders around every corner!

Friday, March 23, 2012

Shared Delights

Good morning Friday and good morning almost weekend! 

A few weeks back I dove in and started a Pinterest account. So far it's been nothing by fun. It's such a great way to chronicle all of the fabulous images I find on the web (and link back to the original source) and want to be able to find later. If you're on Pinterest, you can find me here: Tangleweeds on Pinterest.


I'll be back next Friday with a thorough wonders on the web round-up. In the meantime, have a wonderful weekend!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Current Work

Experiments in jewelry making. . . 

Fair-trade African ceramic beads. The brass shapes I hand-cut and then stamp. The red lines are the patterns I later stamped into the pieces.

A twist on an old design.

These earrings are part of a new series of pieces I'm making. I'm using old cookie and candy tins and cutting them apart for jewelry. All designs are one-of-a-kind given the limited availability of the tins. I love these and their "art-deco-y" feel. 

More work in progress. . . 

Steel circle earrings with stone daggers. These aren't available in my Etsy shop, but they will be available at First Friday!

Brass ear cuffs. You can get these in my Etsy shop!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Springtide Sale

With the introduction of my Springtide line of jewelry last week, my Etsy store has filled back up pretty nicely. The best part, there's still more new designs to come tomorrow! (Oh, how I tease =). To usher in spring (the spring equinox was yesterday) I'm offering 30% off all purchases in my Etsy shop with the coupon code "Springtide."


My spring pieces were a labor of love, many new designs, but also many spins off of old designs as well.  Inspirations for these pieces came from many places. I know I don't talk much on this blog about what inspires me, and I hope to share that will all of you more this year as this blog evolves into it's own life. 


I think I sometimes find it difficult to talk about what inspires me because I am inspired by so many things. I usually sum it up this way: "I am inspired by the myriad ways the urban and natural worlds intersect." And it's true. I think hoards of pigeons congregated on overhead roof-tops are beautiful. A woman dressed to the nines walking down a rough city street. Overgrown city gardens. Slightly unkempt beauty, I suppose, is my forte. 


I strive to make jewelry that could just as easily be worn with your most casual, comfy clothes, as it could a formal evening dress. . . Part of this comes from my not-so-traditional way of defining style. But much of it comes from listening to my customers and what they like, what they like to wear. I love it when  a pleased customer comes back to me and says they wear their new piece of jewelry every single day.



I always hope that when someone is perusing my shop they find a new piece of jewelry to love and wear for a long time to come. As I type this I'm wearing my own Featherlight necklace. With a dress and clogs =)

Have a lovely day!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Inspired by teaching

For this week's Etsy trio I rounded up some goodies just for teachers. I'm starting a teaching assistant gig (just once a week) next week and I'm getting pretty excited.

This necklace made me swoon! I think it's the perfect mix of teachy-geeky and artsy-crafty. And chic! 

These cards are so cute and classy. They're customiazable with the name of your choice. Perfect for any teacher. . . 

A large tote bag, perfect for lugging around everything you need for your long day. I love the "newspaper" front flap.

Enjoy your Tuesday everyone!

Monday, March 19, 2012

Clothing Swap Success

On Saturday evening I hosted my first clothing swap and it was a rousing success! I made cocktails (sidecars) for all of the girls, we snacked, chatted, and most importantly, we swapped. Overall, I would say we all left with some great new goods. My favorite find of the evening is this dress. . .


It has the cutest tennis racket print. It's the perfect summery-weather dress.

I also found several cute tops, some new-to-me hand-knit goods from my friend, Alice, a new pair of gloves, some jewelry (a bracelet, a jasper pendant, some amber earrings), and a cute cardigan. I practically live in cardigans this time of the year, so this was a major score.


Also, of note, meeting new people! One of my invited friends, Kendra, brought along two of her friends. It was such a great way to meet new folks.

I'll definitely be having more of these swaps in the future. Fun, thrifty-ness, and fashion all rolled into one great evening!

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Tangleweeds Springtide Giveaway

This month I'll be offering my first in a series of Tangleweeds giveaways! This month's piece is from my Springtide Collection. . . 



To enter the give-away contest simply leave a comment on this blog post and tell me something about your favorite piece of jewelry. I'll be randomly selecting a winner on March 31st. The winner will be notified here on the blog on April 1st. 

I look forward to hearing everyone's jewelry stories!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Springtide 2012

Finally! My spring 2012 Etsy shop update is here! After what feels like entirely too long since my last Etsy update, I'm pretty darn pleased with the results.




And, for a limited time (this week only!) I want to share these pieces with you for 30% off! Simply use the coupon code "springtide" at checkout and let the spring savings begin.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Let's go swimming

A swimsuit edition of Etsy Trio Tuesdays. . .

While the weather is still pretty chilly here in the bay area (except for the freakishly warm days every now and then) it is getting close to spring! I always start to think about day trips to the lake, a drive out to the river, an afternoon spent poolside around this time of the year. Which made sense when I lived in the suburbs (Livermore) and we actually had a HOT summer. While there may not be as many warm, swim-worthy days out here near the bay, we do still get some, and there's always summer camping trips to look forward to . . . One of these suits would be perfect packed alongside some sunscreen, a big floppy hat, and lots of yummy snacks.

awesome textured print with a perfect high-waist cut from Minnow Bathers



classic  red and white polka dots with a cute boy-short cut from Meshalo

adorable-ness overload! stripes and flowers at Kortni Jeane

See you at the beach!

Monday, March 12, 2012

Clothing Swaps

Later this week I'm hosting my first clothing swap! I'm pretty excited about it, as to me it seems like a thrift store brought to your very own front door. And it's a fun excuse to get together a bunch of my girlfriends, sip on some cocktails and just enjoy each other's company. 

Skirt worn as a dress - free box in Berkeley
I was inspired by Kendra, of Girl on Bike, to host this event. She's the perennial thrifty gal and hosts swaps for anything and everything under the sun from clothes to homemade food to gardening supplies and homegrown plants. 

I started this Style and Reason series back towards the end of last year when I decided to make a resolution with myself: I would purchase no new (as in new to me, meaning no thrift store purchases either) wearables for one whole year. While I have not been perfect, I have definitely reigned myself in. My reasons for my "challenge" were mainly two-fold: I needed to work on budgeting my spending in a more efficient way, and my closet was bursting at the seams form my years and years of thrifting and vintage shopping and what-not.

What I have missed the most tho is the hunt. The fun and excitement of walking into a thrift store and not knowing what I might find. I never knew and that was the best part. It made every trip an adventure. A clothing swap seemed like a great way to to have a "treasure" hunt of my own along with a bunch of wonderful ladies!

If you're interested in participating in my clothing swap shoot me an email at tangleweedsjewelry@gmail.com. I'm going to have an assortment of clothes, jewelry, shoes, bags, and accessories. It's on Saturday night from 6:30 'til whenever we all feel like we've had enough =). 

Have you ever hosted a swap of some sort? Tell me about it if you have!

Friday, March 9, 2012

A little bit of this

and a little bit of that. I said I'd be back with my  "wonders on the inter-webs round-up" this week, and here it is!


This round-up had a strange dichotomous theme: serious vs. frivolous. My interests seem to be echoing my life. . . but more on that later!


Frivolous:
~ Some amaaaazing wallpapers. Not for the faint of heart on Sf Girl By Bay.


Serious:
~ The Cult of Done Manifesto. Pretty good stuff. If you're at all a perfectionist I recommend having a read-though on this!


Frivolous:
~ I adore thee Gala Darling, as I'm sure many of you do. This post about her style direction for 2012 got me so inspired! Inspired to try more with my own wardrobe, be a bit more adventurous. I've reached a point in my fashion life where I pretty well know what I like, but sometimes that can mean I too easily get into a rut. Gala inspires me to color outside of the lines a bit more!


Serious:
~Hobos, Hustlers, and Backsliders. And account of life on the streets in San Francisco. I want to pick up a copy of this (I like learning about hob culture - as politically un-correct as that may sound.) "This powerful ethnography makes clear that the way we talk about issues of extreme poverty has real consequences for how we address this problem—and for the homeless themselves."


Frivolous:
~ More from the jewelry artist behind Epheriell Designs. Ten ways To Display your Necklaces. Weekend project, perhaps?


Serious:
~ An interesting article about taking "mini-risks" and the pay-off in life and work: How to pick up a 
stranger (Or Produce Brilliant Work)


Alright, now get out there and enjoy your weekend!

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Springtime

Lovely spring






at CH Good Stock
stop by at
4454A Piedmont Avenue in Oakland
down near the cemetery. . .
which is a beautiful spot for a walk on a spring-like day like today!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Getting Ready for Spring!

As most of you know I've been busily preparing for the "release" of my spring line next week. And, boy, have I been busy! I wish I could say everything's squared away and everything's just smooth sailing from here, but there is still much work to be done. As a sort of "farewell" to winter and an ushering in of spring, I'm offering 50% off all silver pieces in my Etsy shop. To me silver has always seemed like a "wintery" sort of metal.

Just shoot me a message on Etsy and I'll adjust the price for you pre-purchase so we don't have to deal with any of those pesky paypal refunds. Sale lasts from now 'til March 12th. And don't forget, my new line will be available March 13th on Etsy.

Happy almost spring everyone! 

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Jewelers I Know

For this week's Etsy Trio Tuesday post I wanted to feature three lovely jewelry artists I've met in my gypsy-like arts-and-crafts fair travels. . .

This first one is a lovely steampunk-style necklace from Creek of Compass Rose Designs. We met at an Indie Mart in San Francisco, and our paths continue to cross at fairs in the San Fran bay area. She has an impeccable eye for detail and it shows in her work!

Altana and I met at the 25th Street Collective on Art Murmur night in Oakland. I have since fallen in love with her elegant designs. Her shop has a lovely assortment of rings and bracelets, great worn alone, but even better when a bunch are all stacked together!

Gabrielle Lessard is the woman behind this jewelry line. We met initially through the East Bay Etsy Team, but our paths continue to cross at craft fairs every now and then. Her mostly silver pieces echo the organic lines and shapes of nature and are perfect for everyday wear.

There are so many great artists in the San Francisco Bay Area. If shopping locally is important to you, simply go to Etsy's homepage and on the lower, lefthand side under the header "Ways to Shop" you'll find the link "Shop Local." Then you simply enter your location and click search. Happy shopping!