Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Oakland Indie Awards

Tomorrow I'll be vending at this wonderful celebration!



Maybe I'll see you there!

Friday, May 18, 2012

Two Possibilities

Tomorrow I'll be vending at the Maker Faire in San Mateo! 


You can find me in booth number 79 in the Bazaar Bizarre tent. But if you can't make it out to San Mateo, consider stopping by the 25th Street Collective in Oakland for their "Re-purpose with Purpose" event. 

I'm wishing I could be in two places at once this weekend!

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Curve balls and life goes on

Man, just when I thought my days couldn't get any busier, life comes along and turns things upside down. I'd rather not get into the details of it here, maybe it'll be a post for another day and time. In the meantime, here are some snippets from the last week and a half in the life of Ms. Tangleweeds. . . 

assembly line at my workbench

craft fair display

at the PG&E building in SF for a mid-week sale

new earrings - variations on a theme

butterfly and valerian flowers in my backyard

at A Fair to Remember in Jack Kerouac Alley in SF

filling Etsy orders

And speaking of Etsy orders, I'm still having my three-year anniversary sale in my shop, probably 'til next Monday. Simply use the coupon code "birthday" for a whopping 35% off your entire purchase. 

Time to go watch some trashy tv and hang out with my kitties. Oh, and eat dark chocolate covered cherries from Trader Joe's. Yum Yum.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Jewelry, Baby Spiders, Busy-ness, Life, May Day

At the risk of sounding like a whiny baby, I'm just gonna say it: I am busy all of the freaking time! Sometimes it's too much. Sometimes I just wanna lay down in bed and eat a pint of ice cream and watch Mad Men and sip on some tea with my cats at my side and NOT be beleaguered by a gazillion and one thoughts about all of the things I should be doing at that very moment. This constant state of buzy-ness is mostly brought on by the running of my one-woman business. But it is also brought on by my desire to do, to accomplish, to always be proving myself to myself. And that part of the equation has got to go. Or I'm headed straight to burn-out and not successful jewelry designer/entrepreneur. I may be in need of some self-help books. . . or just more pilates, yoga, and meditation.

K, vent aside, I have instagram photos for all you lovelies. I almost want to apologize for not having "better" photos, but I must say I really like instagram and really like the way you can make your photos look with the various filters and what-not. It's probably an affront to professional and artistic photographers everywhere, but it serves it's purpose for me.

I bring you a hodge-podge assortment of snippets from the last week in my life. . .

-baby spiders in my backyard-

Don't get me wrong. I am incredibly grateful for the simple fact that I get to work for myself creating jewelry I love.

-jewelry components - handmade-

But what I did not realize, heading down this winding path, was just how little time I would have for the many other facets of my life. I do feel that I bring this up on my blog quite a bit, and while I don't want to beat a dead horse, I think it is the number one (or at least very important) thing someone considering creating their own handmade business should consider. Do you highly value having lots of free time? Do you highly value being able to do whatever you feel like on the weekends? If you answered yes to these two questions, then you'll want to take a long and hard look at this business you are considering.


-huge hunk of rutilated quartz at the Margaret De Patta exhibit at the Oakland Museum-

With that said, I don't want to scare off potential crafty business folks. Running your own business and creating the things that will be your bread and butter is so fulfilling. It fulfills me in a way no other job ever has. 


I think I bring up all of the many facets, the reality, because I am someone who is always looking at things from a gazillion angles at once. That analysis does not stop with my own life. I am constantly considering how I can find more balance. I weigh the pros and cons of most of my decisions carefully. Right now I now I am sticking with this jewelry biz. I quit my "other" job back in September of last year. I want to give myself at least three years on my own before I consider a different career choice. 


-crystal and brass rhombus necklace available at CH Good Stock-

And therein lies the difficulty: I do not want another career. I love love love what I do. But eventually the sacrifices may mount to too much. Talk to most any vendor working the craft fair scene and they will share a similar story: one of constant work, sacrifice, striving to find balance, giving up on finding balance for a while, coming back around to it. There are sore backs and sore muscles, sun-burns and chapped lips from the many days spent outside. 

-display at the Glen Park Festival (from Sunday)-

But, ahhh, there is the good, the wonderful, the sublime. When people love your work. When someone connects with a piece that you just made and were so happy with the way it turned out (see the earrings below for a personal example of this.) When someone insists that they don't want the 25% discount that you're offering because they know how hard it is and they want to do their little part to support you.

-brand-new! the ones on the left have already sold. the ones on the right are still available. I'll have them out at the next First Friday in Oakland-

The good keeps me going. 

I hope everyone has the opportunity to find meaningful work in their lives. I am beyond fortunate to have found it for myself. Yesterday was May Day and it has me thinking and considering the many facets of our "work" lives. Life lived with intention and love and compassion - these are my over-riding goals with Tangleweeds and everything I do in my life. 

-I made a bunting banner (finally!) for my craft fair booths-

With all of that said, craft fair season has just started for me. Mid-April basically marked the beginning for me and it's been off to a great start. I'm feeling really positive about it and am excited to be getting back out to my gypsy-jewelry-travelling ways. You can check here for updates on my next month of fairs.

Have a great Wednesday everyone!