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I haven’t forgotten

I’m just super busy reading reading reading and getting ready for baby.

Some things were up in the air regarding my jewelry, but everything has settled now.

This means I actually haven’t forgotten and yes I am still having the sale. Instead of closing the business by Dec 31, I’m giving it until around Jan 14. Safe enough distance from baby being born and one week before my 31st birthday. I’ll announce everything next week.

To slightly catch you up to speed-

This was taken a few weeks ago. Me at 25 weeks.

I’ve been cooking and eating (mainly eating) up a storm. And trying to drink as much water as possible. I’ve had a surprisingly hard time with drinking water. Most of the time I’m not thirsty. But I have my moments. I try to walk a lot. I’m not so confident on the bicycle anymore (I was biking everywhere for a good chunk of time) so I definitely make a point to walk. I’ve tried to be good about prenatal yoga, but I get lazy. Although I will not knock it. It definitely helps.

This I know for sure: I absolutely LOVE being pregnant! L.O.V.E. LOVE! Oh it’s the best feeling ever created.

I’ve started a new blog. One that’s currently charting our pregnancy experience. Stop by and have a look and leave a message. Baby, the great.

Ciao for now. I’ll be back in a few days. I promise this time. Just waiting on a flyer to be made and then cleaning up the shop.

special announcement

Hi

I have good reason for being gone.

Real good reason.

I can’t promise I’ll be back daily, but I will be back periodically.
Tons of things are changing. For one, I’m going to stop making jewelry for a few months (probably closer to a year). Before I do, I really want to have a sale til every last piece is gone on to a happy home. I’ll be back with details on that. I’d like to be done with that before the year is over.
Also, I’m trying to concentrate more on writing and some other projects that I’ve been sitting on for months and want to develop. So let’s see where all that goes. In the meantime, I’m here. Say hi.

Updates

Happy Friday!

This week has been awesome and exciting. I am getting ready for my very first infrared sauna appointment. I’ll report next week how it felt. I had a gang of posts I was working on all week, but just never had enough time to edit and get them posted. No worries. The news will all be relevant next week, when you read it.

Yesterday was my 6 year anniversary of meeting the love of my current and future lifetimes. We celebrated by going to see the ballet. We’re fancy. Yesterday was also my one year anniversary of becoming officially British. Holla at double special days! Tomorrow is the opening of the Mr.’s latest exhibition, Essentials. If you’re in Amsterdam, stop by the Battalion from 4-10 to see his work and buy something for yourself and a friend. He’ll have lots of fun stuff available.

Just wanted to let you know that I’ve streamlined the pricing in my shop and that it will be available until Tuesday of next week, when I make a major decision about what stays live. I also have MAJOR news to announce next week. The time has finally come.

I’ve also done quite a bit of cooking and hanging out with friends so forgive the absence. But I will have a recipe to share next week as well! Whut whut!

Well, I’ve got to get this face mask on before my appointment.
How was your week? Do anything exciting?

Have an amazing weekend! I’ll be back on Monday. Pinky swear.

Biz talk: things I’m afraid to tell you

I thought it would be a great way to clear the slate at the start of the month by addressing something things that trouble me business-wise. After seeing the incredible wave of participants, and being one myself the first go round, it has been so freeing and connecting that I thought I would take another step and talk about business related fears.

So here goes…

I’ve really struggled finding my audience here and in some ways, back home. This will sound like a horrible thing to say but I really think people expect my work to look a certain way based on my appearance. That because I’m natural I use tons of wood and make extremely Afro-centric things. I’ve never had anyone outright say something negative to me, but I’ve definitely been asked when am I going to make something big or loud or whatever. I usually shrug it off, but it’s certainly something that sticks to my bones when I’m feeling vulnerable and exposed. Now this may sound ridiculous to someone reading it, but it’s a very real thing I deal with. I feel that being placed in a category based on looks means my business is supposed to reflect that and since on the surface it doesn’t appear to, I’m slighted.

Another thing that has always bothered me and I’ve spoken about here countless times before is being respected for my price points. I know my price tags are well within a reasonable range, but the amount of times that I’ve been told directly to my face that something costs too much is almost incredible. Sometimes to the point where I wondered why am I even still doing this?

I’ve set up my goals and even created the 6011 collective, but now that we’re in June I realize just how little has been done. I’m not panicking because I still have the rest of the year, but I’m just saying. Having a reliable support system is more important than just having a support system. You need to know you can count on someone to help with the load. 6011 Collective is on an indefinite break and I am trying to think of ways to get that ball rolling again.

I feel so separated from my community [*]. Equal parts of being initially unsure of myself and intimidated by the online world of business women and then not wanting to feel too personal then getting over all that and just being myself–took a while. I’m talking years. I started around the same time as some more known in the blogosphere, but it took a long while to feel comfortable. To exchange ideas. To connect with others. I still struggle with this, but not nearly as bad as at first. My thing now is getting to know and having a real community and friendship with other jewelry designers. It’s important to have and feel that sisterhood.

[*] SO The most amazing thing happened to me this weekend. More of what I’m kind of dying to share with you from yesterday’s post. As soon as the ink is dry I will share it, but I feel a lot different about that last thing I’m afraid to share now. I met this amazing community of women designers and business owners on Saturday. So I say I feel less like this because I don’t actually know them yet, but the potential is there. And it is palpable. And beautiful.

Please take a moment to read all of these amazing posts by other bloggers.

TIATTY – Round 1 (Organized by Ez of Creature Comforts):

Design for Mankind | Little Brown Pen | Beautiful Hello | Curating Style | Sweet Fine Day | The Jealous Curator | Happy Days | Sage & Berries | Really Handmade | Peck Life | Satsuma Press | Rena Tom | For the Easily Distracted | The Hemborg Wife | Vitamini Handmade | Courtney Khail Stationery and Design | Meg in Progress | Dando Photography Blog | Widdershins22 | Alison Citron | Pink Moon Daily | Just Pretty Things | From China Village | Tea with Me | The Darling Ewe | Not Your Average Ordinary | The Electric Typewriter | Elleby Design | Parsimonia {Secondhand With Style} | Life as an Artistpreneur | Hello Cupcake | Dellie | The A & B Stories | Pretty Little Things | Feistyelle | Nib & Zed | Well and Cheaply | I Ripple. I Dance. | Whitfield Awesome Blog | Foxtrot Press | Dry As Toast | The List of Now | Apple Blue | For the Love of | Four Flights of Fancy | Miss Modish | Snapshots & Secrets | Dirty Laundry | Bubby & Bean | Penelope’s Press | Little Nostalgia | Vale Design | Pikaland | Fleurishing | Print Pretty | Vespa Tales | Hazel & Agnes | Amanda’s Musings | Mo’ Funk Designs | Ordinary Mommy | Camp 1899 | In Honor of Design | Liberty’s Yarn | Love, Life & Pictures | Stacey Winters | Owl in the Rain | Living Life Creatively | Emma Elizabeth Clease | I Live in Vacouver Now | British Cream Tea | Maquette | Little Paper Trees | Change is Necessary for Growth | Practically Perfect | Lovely Indeed | Radiant Republic | Teacher Goes Back to School | Acute Designs | This Little Street | The Proper Pinwheel | Kellee Rich | Gluten Free Travelette | Benbrie House | Sierra BB | Lost in Cheeseland | Going Home to Roost | Creative Soul in Motion | Quietly Fabulous | L’elephant Rose | The Anna Delores Blog | Some the Wiser | JRebecca Style | I Saw You Dancing | Wolfie and the Sneak | Threadbare Supply Co. | Lemonwood and Honey | Lolalina | This Texan Wife | C’est ma Vie |