Changes are coming. . .

I'm busy at work on my fall/winter collection and a (drum roll please) a website for Tangleweeds! Yes, that's right, this here modest blog will be movin' on over to a new web home in the not-so-far-off future. In the meantime, some snapshots from the last few days. . . 

seaside lunch break

new leather colors for some of my earring designs

Otis reminding me that rest is just as important as work ;-)

custom tea blending at home

custom work for a local customer

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and staying cool!

Life Lately - It's all about the bling

Some snaps from the last couple of weeks or so. . . Sometimes, based on my photos, one would think I live, sleep, breathe, think jewelry. . . oh, wait, I do! Happily so.

A few of the goodies that were shipped off after my Etsy flash sale ended. 

Stones all lined up for my By Chance horseshoe necklaces. Front to back of photo: labradorite, lapis lazuli, green onyx, carnelian. 

Wearing some earrings my sister made for me a few years ago. These are made of copper, silk ribbon and jasper stones. She's pretty creative, that sister of mine!

A shot from just this past weekend at the Temescal street fair here in Oakland.

Hammer-time =)

Part of my display at the Treasure Island Flea Market. This market is the last weekend of every month. You can find me there about 2 to 3 times a year. (Check my events page for upcoming fairs.)

By Chance and Featherlight pieces all prepped and ready to ship off to shop!

July is really looking so crazy for me this year. Car repairs, doc. appointments, wholesale orders, working on my new pieces for my fall/winter collection. And sales taxes are due at the end of the month too. Oh boy, oh boy! Time sure is it's own train that just keeps on moving whether you're ready for the ride or not. 

(All photos are from my Instagram.)

Sayin' Hello

May, oh how you have flown by! Really flown by! I've been busy at work, spiffying up my studio, prepping for the summer craft fair season, and taking a (gasp!) vacation to Calistoga as a late birthday present with my sweetie.

Mostly, I just wanted to drop by to say hello and say I'm thinking of you guys, my readers. I'm going to have photos from Calistoga in the next week, so that's something. In the meantime, I hope everyone is having a wonderful springtime season!

It's all about perspective

All of these are from my Instagram. Follow me if you like. I post mostly jewelry related photos, with generous helpings of kitchen, home, cat, family and friends. 

This cat is too cute. Keeps me mellow and relaxed when working from home.

New colors in my Featherlight pieces.

It's funny how when I have the least amount of time for designing and scheming up new pieces, that is EXACTLY when I get flooded with new ideas. Figures! Early morning coffee here with my sketch book.

New crescent moon pieces. These are available in the Etsy shop.

My nephew being a goof ball. Got to hang out with him and his mom this past weekend. Sort of impromptu, spontaneous fun. Sometimes my life gets so packed full it's difficult to make time for it, but when I do I remember that there's always time for it. It's all about perspective.

Time to start wrapping up my day. I hope everyone out there has a lovely and restful evening!

Two Months Gone

Well, well, well. I am NOT a very responsible blogger! That is quite apparent. Two months ago was when I put up my last post. Obviously, life has been busy busy busy. I pretty much feel like a broken record saying that! But I've been pretty actively thinking about this here blog and where I want to go with it this year. I think it's going to take a more casual, loosely focused turn this year, if that makes any sense. I think, mainly, I'm starting to see the best use for my blog as being a place to share the things I'm thinking about, feeling, the things I'm passionate about, whether in word of picture form will depend on the mood. For those of you who don't follow me on Instgram or Facebook, here's a little picture journal of my life lately, in no particular order. . . 

I've been working like a mad woman creating new pieces for the POOL trade show.

nights out for drinks and dancing with good friends

Mid-January I got pretty sick. Spent a lot of time in bed reading.

I had a booth at the Treasure Island Flea the last weekend in January. I sold a mix of my handmade pieces alongside some vintage jewelry form my ever-growing stash.

A neighborhood cat that of late has claimed my home as her home. She's really sweet. We've taken to calling her "Ewoke Kitty."

My cats: Arlo and Otis. Working on their chub!

Many early mornings, headed to my studio

mixed CDs from Jeff keep me going at my studio

Well, off to my studio today. Some unexpected news plopped itself down right in front of me in the middle of composing this blog entry. But that's for another entry, another time. 

A Day at the Zoo

Last weekend some members form the SF Etsy team got together for a little "behind the scenes" meeting with five lovely creatures: a porcupine, an owl, a frog, a snake, and a parrot. We were there to sketch and take photos of these animals for inspiration for art work for a 2013 calendar that will be available through Weave. I'll post more info about my piece here once it's completed!

(that's me in the front row, with the peach colored shirt on, and Jeff to the right of me, right behind the owl, Archimedes)

That's Archimedes, the Great Horned Owl above, and a quick sketch of mine of the porcupine, Sassafras, below. 

After we finished up with our visit with the animals, Jeff and I walked around the zoo, enjoying the mild weather and all of the amazing animals. We were also privy to a pretty amazing sunset. 

getting goofy with one of the "photo ops"

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend (both this one and the last!) I'm currently hanging with the family and trying to wrap up a few lose-work-ends before my work week starts. Oh, also, in other non-essential news, I made the best brownies this weekend. Try this recipe if you like fudgey brownies. They were delightful! They were for my dad's birthday. Happy birthday dad! 

Here Comes Life. . .

Whether I'm ready or not!

What, exactly, do I mean by that, you may ask? I think I mean that I'm just having one of those years. One of those years where it seems like as soon as I confront and deal with one thing another thing is upon me rather quickly, or immediately! Car troubles, a cat I need to take to the vet, relationship troubles, money troubles. There absolutely is a silver lining: I am doing what I love to do. . . and. . .

Tangleweeds classics that will be shipped off to New York tomorrow

I'm trying to learn how to not stress out about the daily miasma of life. The way we all manage to keep the cogs oiled and turning blows my mind sometimes. We all shoulder so much everyday. My friends and my co-horts impress me often.

That's it for now. I'm gonna rest and enjoy some snuggly time with Otis.

Have a wonderful evening and a wonderful holiday tomorrow, however you choose to spend it!

Fashion Obsession since Forever Ago

I've been obsessed with fashion since. . . well, since as long as I can remember. But I was raised by parents with a very utilitarian take on getting dressed. They hardly consider fashion something worth wasting one's time on. Which, I completely understand. Over the years though, I have figured out what fashion is for me, how I value it, how I choose to pursue it. While I am the first one to admit that I love to flip through the most recent issue of Vogue or Elle, most of my influences come from my peers and those I see on the streets (and in street style blogs.) My style is fairly feminine, with a strong 60s-70s edge. I love long skirts, layers, big jewelry.

But lately (ahh, you knew there was gonna be a "but" didn't you?) I am finding that the way I love to dress is not exactly meeting my daily needs. I think my lifestyle has changed a bit while my preferred mode of dressing hasn't quite kept up. . . How shall I explain this? My weekdays are primarily spent working at my new studio space. My weekends are often spent either one: at a craft fair, two: catching up on un-glamorous chores and things like gardening or three: (but more rarely) traversing flea markets, hanging out with friends, but mostly, keeping it casual and comfortable.

Basically, I'm finding the distinct urge to scale back on the dressing drama. I want to be able to get up in the morning and get out of the house within an hour (that includes eating breakfast, watering any plants that are thirsty, taking care of my cats, packing a lunch, not an hour on my attire, just to be clear.) I found myself thinking this the other day: "The sexiest women I see on the streets are the ones who know how to dress to meet their life's needs and then dress as well as they can."

So, what am I saying? I'm saying that I'm finding myself more and more attracted to more practical things. Shoes with low and supportive heels, well made jeans that are made to last, practical purses that can carry a lot but aren't so large I'd loose things in it.

Like these clogs, discovered courtesy of Cali Vintage, from No.6. I love the color, I love that there's a sling back to keep them firmly on. And I love that the wedge isn't too high. I feel like these could easily be worn any time of the year (at least in the bay area).




My other recent obsession? Finding the perfect high-waisted, two piece bikini for summer swimming. Once again, I'm being patient and trying to find just what I want instead of the cheapest thing that'll probably fall apart after two summers (if not sooner.) There's so much to love about all of Mara Hoffman's styles. Especially this one:

For now tho, I'm saving my pennies and working with what I have. I wanna take a day or two to go through my wardrobe and pick out the things that are still really working and figure out where my "fashion" holes are. Most importantly tho, I think I'm moving more towards carefully selecting items that I feel strongly about. Doesn't mean I won't hop in my car, head out to the suburbs, and stock up on bags and bags of thrifted goodies every now and then. No, I just think I'm ready to invest a bit more in the pieces that really matter.

And hey, any suggestions from you guys on your most favorite brand of jeans? Leave a little note for me in the comments, if you have the time!

Fashion: also known as juggling vanity with real life? Maybe. . .

Making time to Grow some things

The gardening bug has really bit me this year. In between moving my studio, keeping up on jewelry orders, and working on some relationship stuff, I've been making more and more time to garden lately. It's been pretty blissful.

The above is a shot of one of my tomato plants. I'm doing a lot of container gardening as the home that Jeff and I rent doesn't have a lot of available space to garden. We have a front (very small) and back yard, but the land lady put in a bunch of plants a long time ago that she doesn't want removed.

But! I have found a small little patch in our backyard that was really just filled with weeds. I'm working the soil to break it up. I need to get a couple bags of bumper crop too tho, 'cause this soil seems pretty poor. Whenever I plant things in the actual ground they don't fair nearly as well as my container plants. 

It's funny how you can wish and wish and wish you had time to do something and then eventually the urge and desire to do it just become so strong that life makes room for you.  

Flowers, Beautiful Gems, Full Weekends, Preparing

As I mentioned in my last post, I recently moved my studio space from West Berkeley to Jack London Square in Oakland. The former space, while lovely and peaceful (it was actually a space in a friend's home) was difficult to get to at times what with bay area traffic and all. The new space is a hop skip and a jump from where I live. I'm looking forward to the added convenience in so many ways!

But, I am feeling a bit wistful about not working in Berkeley any longer. I always highly enjoyed my afternoon walks to the post office or the coffee shop.

Berkeley gardens are so gorgeous.

California poppies and nigella (also known as "love-in-a-mist")

Also, on Saturday my folks and I got together to have a late mother's day/early father's day celebration. Of the many things we did, my mom and I both went to Baubles and Beads in Berkeley to stock up on jewelry makin' supplies. (My mom does bead work.) I acquired these gorgeous amethyst gems and can't wait to turn them into funky and unique necklaces. They'll be some simple-classy ones too!

brass beads

lapis, pyrite, and African trade beads

Tangleweeds earrings at CH Good Stock

This guy spends many a morning sitting in my lap while I'm catching up on emails or drafting blog posts. (He sat in my lap while I drafted this post!)

my table at the most recent A Fair to Remember

This fabulous fair is coming up soon on the Tangleweeds calendar. Maybe I'll see you there!

Well, there you have it. A brief wrap-up of my life this last weekend/week. I'm busily catching up on emails and Etsy orders today, so if you're waiting for a response from me you can expect to receive one today!

Well, I better get to it!

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.