clap your hands say WHAT?

I just watched the Oscars last night, like millions of other people around the country. Although I wasn't aware of it until today, there was something else a lot of people were talking about, besides the craziness around announcing Moonlight as Best Picture.

gif via perezhilton.com

What is up with Nicole Kidman's strange clapping style? It's pretty bizarre to see a person not making full contact with their hands, and we've all seen enough clapping emojis to know what it's supposed to look like. I have my own theory about what is happening here, and it doesn't have to do with Nicole Kidman being a weirdo.

It looks to me like this is someone who is trying to protect expensive diamond rings. She was dripping in diamonds last night! Most celebrities borrow jewelry from high-end luxury brands, usually their most epic aspirational pieces (did you see Ruth Negga's tiara??). I know if I had thousands, or millons, of dollars worth of diamonds on my hands, I'd be feeling pretty funny about banging them together too. You can see how she self-consciously twists the ring around her finger as it's getting lopsided from the awkward clapping.

What does this mean for the common person? Even if you don't have millions of dollars worth of diamonds, you might own an eternity band or a ring with an embossed pattern on the shank. To protect them from getting banged up during clapping, adopt a different technique and offset your palms so they are perpendicular. It doesn't look so awkward and you can still clap heartily. Here's looking at you, Nicole...thanks for the teaching moment.

image via wikihow.com

Handmade Nation now

It's so funny that I felt compelled to write a post tonight, because I hardly ever do. What makes it funnier is that what compelled me is something that began around the time I first started this blog, a very different time indeed.

Waaaayyy back in 2008, back when Etsy was so young, back when I was just starting to explore this idea called MischaLee, there was a woman named Faythe Levine who was exploring this exploding movement, a reinvigoration of craft culture. She published a book that year called Handmade Nation, titled after her documentary which would be released the following year, in 2009. I excitedly scoured the internet and magazines during that time period, learning about all of the crafters doing their thing, reading craft tutorials and stories. I learned about her project while she was still making it, and I ordered the book immediately when it came out. She began screening the documentary after its release, and I missed every screening. Would you believe that I didn't watch it for the first time until tonight?? I ordered it on buyolympia.com (another blast from the past from that era) when they sent me an email that it was soon going out of print. What the heck took me so long?

I'm not gonna beat myself up about how tardy to the party I am (by 7 years, haha), but it was actually interesting watching it now in this later context. I had so much nostalgia for the excitement and possibilites I felt when I used to see these women making their own careers and forging their own paths. I remember so clearly the aesthetic from that particular craft revival. Everything felt very punk, very kitchy, so DIY. It was incredibly cool seeing these people around my age bucking the norms and experimenting with what it means to be an artist or maker as a viable path in adulthood. I have a lot of craft books from this time, when it was really novel to see a craft book that wasn't something your mom or aunt would use to do a weekend project. These were young people recycling materials, making things with a modern feel, and rejecting the trends. I went to the first few Renegade Craft Fairs in New York, and would geek out seeing the makers whose blogs I read.

What struck me was how much has changed. The question was posed towards the end of the documentary of how the capitalist machine would affect the handmade movement over time. It felt very grassroots initially, but it has definitely become more mainstream through the last few years and taken on a new life. I've watched big companies jump on board to collaborate with indie makers, something that really wasn't happening much back in 2009. I've also seen big companies striving more to have more "authenticity", or to highlight handmade aspects of their designs. They speak more to the quality or roots of their brand more than ever. There are many more small collections and limited runs being released. One bad thing that has happened is indie artists and makers getting ripped off at a staggering rate.

The aesthetic has definitely evolved too. Things are much more polished. The handmade goods now have a bit less of that homespun character that initially charmed people. Now products are expected to be more perfect, they ride the line between a manufactured and a handmade look. Displays at craft shows are much more involved, everything is more professional. I think it has become much more competitive, so this is part of the reason. It is harder than ever to get into some of the big craft shows as a vendor. I don't necessarily see this as a bad thing, but I think while it's exciting as a customer, it also seems more intimidating to a person who might be interested in moving towards a maker life.

Watching Handmade Nation just had me pondering a lot of questions, although to be fair these are things I think about frequently. Will this trend continue to hold? Will small brands become more and more like polished, sanitized big brands until they are indistinguishable? How much growth can happen if you keep your company small? It sometimes seems limiting. People often shop small brands to "support real people" but big brands employee far more people. I wonder sometimes if it's really unrealistic to be so exclusive, especially when you consider how hard it is for a smaller business to provide things like health benefits. Is smaller really better? Is the current handmade movement too removed from its roots? Where do we draw the line for handmade? There are many people designing on a small scale and outsourcing production to specialized companies. I wonder where they fall in the spectrum.

None of these questions are meant to undermine what's happening today. I still love the handmade, indie, and craft movement. I love small businesses and support them every step of the way, and obviously I AM a small business. I just like to think from different perspectives and explore ideas. I'm curious to see where the indie road goes, so to speak. This culture that Handmade Nation covered has changed so much in just a few years, I can't imagine what else is in store. I will keep following my favorite makers and evolving with the times. I think it's so cool how the internet has really opened up the worlds of possibility for more people than ever, to forge their own paths, make their own careers, and connect to like-minded individuals. Not to mention the easily accessed exposure to new ideas that is at our fingertips. Amidst the insanity of the times (let's NOT talk about our current election) it's good to know there are still things to look forward to.

an ending with a beginning

I'm sitting at my kitchen table with a laptop and a pile of notes that are being transferred into my sketchbook, on my second official day of self-employment. To say this is a weird feeling would be an understatement, and I'm sure this is just the beginning of a series of weird feelings while I adjust to a very different life.

I worked at Sephora for over twelve years. I started there when I was fresh from college, with the uncertainty of what my future held after school. I was freelancing as a visual merchandiser (which I really knew nothing about), and applying to every retail position I could find, in the hope that I could at least have a temporary job while I figured out what to do with myself. Needless to say, it took a long time to figure that out. In the meantime, I was learning everything I could at work. Skin physiology, ingredients knowledge, retail operations, the psychology of selling. I learned everything I could about how the store ran, experimented with products, dabbled in education, learned about merchandising. I basically did every training I was allowed to do, tried different positions within the store, and just explored the full breadth of the place. At Sephora there is a lot of opportunity, and I took advantage of that for a long time. I really tried to make it my career for a while.

I always did my making on the side, and have had an Etsy shop, in some form, since 2007. It felt good to have side projects that fulfilled the artistic part of me. It was just something fun to do, that I slowly (very slowly) got more serious about. Until it came to the point about 4 or 5 years ago where I just felt like I was hitting a wall with my jewelry making. There were things I wanted to make that could only be made if I took a class or something. And I found one. An apprenticeship program. It was much, much more than I'd bargained for, but I felt this insane feeling of determination, like I HAD to find a way to do it. It was expensive, but I knew I'd do whatever it takes to do it anyway. It was 8 months long, but I was ready for it.

I went in with an enthusiasm I hadn't felt in a long time, and even though it was hard to balance with work, and my money was SO tight, I finished it in 2013. I really felt like I'd found this missing life motivation that I'd been looking for. I had plans at that point to jump right into the industry, but I realized quickly that was a bit rash. So I just kept making, and working retail, and seeing where it would take me. And I made a few goals and didn't reach them. BUT. There were things I never expected that happened instead. Opportunities arose that I never planned for or could have seen. It was all very exciting. I messed up a lot, I made a bunch of mistakes, and I learned a lot. And I got really, really busy.

In the midst of all this, a lot of big things in my life were changing. The only thing that was staying the same was my job at Sephora. But I just couldn't handle it all. I'm an introvert, so being in public interacting with people all day is very draining. I didn't have anything left to give to all my passion projects. There was even more than ever before to balance, and I was doing a really bad job at it. The things I care about the most, including MischaLee, were getting the short end of the stick, while I plugged away at my day job like I always had. I loved the security of Sephora, but something was going to have to give. My life had started to feel like one of those nightmares where you're trying to run, but you can barely move your legs.

So for two years I saved and planned so that I could move on to a new chapter. Here I am, doing something completely outside of what I know, starting all over, trying to learn everything I can about something else. I don't know what's in store for me, but I'm just gonna do what I always do -- try as hard as I can, give it my all, and explore my options. I'm so grateful for everyone I've met along the way, the friends and family who have cheered me on and believed in me, the customers who have had to be so patient, and the hard, hard lessons I've learned (and am still learning). A future so foggy has never looked so bright to me before. I'm ready to see what's out there in the mist.

l'amour fou

I just watched this very inspiring documentary tonight about Yves Saint-Laurent. He really paved the way for so many things in fashion that we take for granted, was a determined and tireless worker, and an avid art collector with his partner, Pierre Bergér. It reminded me what respect and reverance art receives in France.

I go back and forth between thinking that art and creating art is a frivolous luxury of life, and feeling that it is a basic human need (it certainly feels that way for me!). I was also reminded tonight of how much our own minds are a hinderance, with self doubts and pressures placed upon us by us. This quality is one definition of being human, but it can be the catalyst for brilliant art. How wonderful and terrible all at once! It's complicated being alive, non? ;). You can always count on French movies to send you on an existential journey, haha.

everywoman

This really tickled my fancy tonight, enjoy! (P.S. - It features nude animated ladies, hope you can handle it:) )

Handmade Portraits: 24 Hour Woman from Etsy on Vimeo.

summer breeze

Holy moly! Summer has already come and gone. It was a good one, both personally and business-wise. Here are some highlights:

Going to an anime convention in Chesapeake with my boyfriend and little sister. It was really neat seeing the costumes people had built for themselves.

Beach time! I got to spend a little time at Virginia Beach, and spent a few days at Myrtle Beach with my boyfriend, by the generosity of his coworker.

Deep sea fishing in Myrtle Beach (only slightly marred by sea sickness:), and boating on the fourth of July.

Hanging out with my best friend here in Richmond, and seeing the butterfly exhibit at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens.

A few sales, including a wholesale order with Sardine Gallery in Brooklyn, just in time for Open Studios!

Lots of cooking delicious meals, and eating good food around town. I hit up the Vegetarian Festival too (Boka takos, anyone?).

Rearranging furniture and organizing my space in preparation for class (!!)

I'm actually about a month into class right now, time does fly. I'm learning so much, but I'm gonna reserve that for another entry, since this one is such a behemoth already. Maybe if I didn't wait six months to write each blog, I wouldn't have this problem!

veritably vert

I posted the aforementioned peyote necklace in my shop today. I noticed a micro trend in my crafting as of late, see if you can guess:

Yep, it looks like I have Spring on my mind! I just looked up the word "green" in the dictionary out of curiosity, and there are SO MANY definitions. In addition to being a beautiful, copious color, it also represents so much about growth, life, abundance, new beginnings, freshness (and sometimes even envy and nausea, haha). I also have this attraction to snakes and snake-like imagery. Maybe I'm just wishing for my own garden of Eden. Or maybe it's directly related to the sprawling split-leaf philodendron and rubber tree plant taking over part of my living room. In any case, I welcome the inspiration!

Semi-relatedly, I have a family of finches nesting on my bedroom windowsill. They are situated right beneath the AC window unit, which worries me a bit with summer coming. But it sounds like the loud-mouthed babies (so loud) are getting bigger, so they might be gone by the time I need to cool off. It's actually fun listening to them chirping frantically all day, and then even MORE frantically when the mother comes around. I had a bus stop next to window in one of my old apartments, so birds are actually quite nice in comparison.

done and done

Just a quick post to say I updated my shop! Latest obsession: boondoggle. I also got a leather tooling kit recently. Lord, help me. There are still other pieces in the works, namely another peyote necklace. I took a little hiatus to do a lot of this:



and a wee bit of this:



along with working my butt off (and having a sore butt from the previous activity). I just started reading The Power of Habit, and along with all the etsy articles I read, it's making me want to make lists and goals and rework my branding again! It's a process, for sure. Thankfully, a fun process! Speaking of fun processes, I'm gonna go eat some pineapple and paint wooden snakes whilst listening to good music.

Happy Leap Year Day!

It's a dreary, rainy day, but we probably needed the moisture. Here is a peek at my workbench. By the way, it's usually messier than that, but I'm trying to make more of an effort to spruce it up these days.



It's my birthday on Saturday, and my very best girlfriend is coming to celebrate with me this weekend. I can't wait! This also means a needed vacation (for the both of us). Right now, however, I need to worry about picking up and cleaning, ha.

translation

Yeah, I've been around, but I'm due for an update. Today I posted some new stuff in my shop, and I thought I'd also give a little window into my process. I just recently went gaga over a new (to me) technique. Remember how I had my little foray into beading rosettes? I just rediscovered that book on my shelf and began -- peyote stitch!

Anybody who knows me in real life has been inundated with my craft dork talk about this already (tough luck, guys...the obsession has just begun). Let me back up for a minute. I have always had this strange attraction to woven ropes and bungee cords. To refresh your memory:



Why, you ask? Can't you see?? Look closer:



How could you not think those patterns are pretty? So anyway, having this attraction didn't serve me very well. I don't rock climb, I rarely need bungees, and when I do they are for non-aesthetic purposes, such as tying my trunk down and securing items. I suppose I could wear a rope around my neck, but that seems rather morbid. I don't like the idea of itchy nylon on my skin anyhow. What I do like it the feeling of a good weighty piece of jewelry, and what's better for that than a tapestry of glass seed beads?



The patterns seem like they will translate so well. And the possibilities are endless. Ikat, zig-zags, dots, stripes? Sure! I will admit, this process probably looks like torture to some. Painstakingly threading tiny beads... one by one... but I find it to be relaxing and very satisfying to see something so beautiful at the end. I have one big project in mind right now to utilize this technique, and some small ones for the interim. So exciting! It's good to feel inspired, haha.

In other news, the weather has been really great the past couple of days. It seems like Winter and Spring have been playing leapfrog for the past few months. We had snow on Sunday and today -- 72 degrees (!!). It was a nice treat though, and it always puts me in a good mood. I'm gonna utilize my night with an epic beading and new music session.

farm fresh

I joined a treasury team on Etsy. Now I have a a good excuse for making more treasuries!

Someday I just want to have at least a couple of vegetable plants. I don't know why, but things always taste better when you grew them yourself (even if they look a little uglier than the grocery store behemoth hybrid vegetables :).

resolution not dissolution

Happy New Year! We are only eight days into 2012, but I already feel like I'm farther than that because of all the plans I have for this year. Normally I hate resolutions, because I don't like feeling like I've "failed" when I don't do things exactly as I'd planned. "January 1st is just another day, I want to live my life organically", and other excuses. I'm also not one to hate on the previous year, so I don't feel the need to reinvent myself annually. But all of that said, I DO have high hopes and some plans that I'm trying to commit to (and some that I have already committed to, in a big way!).

I'm continuing my business-minded-ness this year, and I hope to keep growing in that arena. I already have some exciting projects lined up, and I have a shop update lined up for Tuesday the 10th. I'm planning on applying for a local craft show in the Spring to get my feet wet. Hopefully my iPad will become a good business tool also to make it all a little easier to pull off.

Part of this business drive is just because I enjoy it, but part of it is out of necessity because I will need the extra money for SCHOOL. I can barely believe it myself, but this is a big commitment that I made that begins in August. I've put my deposit down, and I'm so excited! I stumbled upon Sharpe Jewelry Academy on the Visual Arts Center website whilst looking for basic jewelry workshops to brush up on some skills. Jay Sharpe is a local jeweler who has been making/teaching for 20+ years, but the program is new. I can't wait to learn new techniques to elevate my jewelry-making and really immerse myself in the business, whether it's all mine, or a combination of working for myself and a jewelry store. Only time will tell where I land after it ends in June 2013, but I feel like a new chapter in my life and career has begun, and I'm up for the challenge big time.

I'm more "me" than ever before, which I'm sure always comes with age, and I've been defining what I want out of life a lot lately. It feels really good to be doing all of this. For some reason I have had loads of creative energy, so I've been taking advantage and have all sorts of smaller goals and projects to fill in the spaces too. I just want to be healthy and present as much as possible. Every year, not just 2012, is about making it happen! So that's what I'm poised to do.

a very Merry Christmess

What a whirlwind holiday season! The Thanksgiving-Christmas time has always been intense, but especially so in the past eight years since I've been out of school. For the last four years I've made a decided effort to handcraft more presents for people, which doesn't make it any easier, but definitely more satisfying! My day job (retail) requires more hours and is insane around Christmas, and then I spend all of my free moments and money on gifts. So I took a break from blogging, needless to say. Now that it's after December 25th, I can show you what I was working on!


A painting for my mom


Hats for my sister (I also made a grey fox-eared one [checking the fit here!])


An advent calendar for my bf (this is an ornament I made for one of the days)

I made a zipper bracelet for my other sister from this tutorial, handmade earrings for my grandma, made a legit foam hand puppet for a friend, and a dreamcatcher for my bff's birthday/Christmas present. Although I always think really hard about what to get people, I tried to give fewer, more thoughtful gifts to everyone this year. And I tried not to use any credit cards, mostly succeeding! It was a wholly satisfying experience. The weather has been uncharacteristically warm for the season here in Virginia, which made it kind of hard to get into the spirit at first. It made me wonder what it's like to have Christmas in Australia, haha.

Some friends bought MischaLee for their own gift-giving, which I greatly appreciated. I received some really thoughtful presents from everybody, and got to squeeze some time in with my family. Santa brought me an especially amazing and totally unexpected iPad2, which is changing my life right now. This is my first real Apple item besides an iPod, and I could really get used to the non-PC experience, eek! I'm planning on using it as much as possible for business growing, but more on that later.

I know it's late, but I hope everyone else had a great holiday too!

eye candy

Photograph by Jennifer Parry Dodge

I've been frequenting the Ermie blog for the past couple of months. She takes such beautiful, simple, and peaceful pictures. Check out the Blue posts from November of 2011 for some traditional crafting beauty.

Speaking of blogging (and crafting) I will be back shortly with an update on my busy holiday season!

growth

I've been watching Nervous System's videos this morning. They make beautiful jewelry based around organic forms, math and computer processes, including 3D printing. I've always been fascinated by how scientific their approach seems to make these really beautiful poetic pieces. I have one of their necklaces, and it's so delicate. Enjoy!

studio time

I had a breakthrough with my photography issues tonight, and after a long session I do believe I'm gaining some ground! I knew my main problem was lighting, and I had been experimenting with that unsuccessfully for the most part. I like moody contrasty photographs, but they don't work too well for product shots. With product photography you want to say "This is exactly what you're getting, and it looks pretty awesome, doesn't it?" As opposed to "This is what ___ looks like laying on your floor in the waning sun, as you contemplate the meaning of life".

So anyway, I had some help, from my old friend the internet. I started looking up mini photography studios that I could set up quickly to diffuse the light. Amazon had some for around $50, with mixed reviews. They looked pretty simple, so of course I thought, I bet I could make this. Googling came up with this awesome blog entry, with a practically free way to make the same set up. Um, yes.



Here it is, a humble cardboard box with modifications. And the result:



Woo-hoo! So much better! It's not perfect, but geez...that's a vast improvement. I'm totally excited, and I already updated all of my pics on facebook and etsy. Whew! It was a lot of work, but photographing my stuff will be a lot less painful and time-consuming going forward.

On a side note, can you tell I'm addicted to making treasuries lately? I'm not sure that it's helping my shop views, but it's fun! I made this one the other day:



I sang some Fleetwood Mac at karaoke the other night, and I think that gypsy sensibility worked its way into my head (with a modern spin, naturally).

It looks like my next project is gonna have to be cleaning up my apartment...ha.

picks

I made a fall treasury. Yes, I know it's still hot. But I'm gonna go ahead and start thinking about it early, before it sneaks up on me!

I've been reading a lot of helpful business articles on The Storque lately. I'm trying to do a thing or two every day to get my visibility up. Maybe it's just a couple of clicks, but that still makes me feel good. I feel my biz brain getting bigger!



I also followed links from The Storque to this article about the design of the original American spacesuits and the seamstresses who worked on them. VERY impressive... I might have to pick up a copy of the book. I found the part about designing the airtight zipper to be interesting. All of these little details that we take for granted! And it still came down to some old-fashioned elbow grease to get it all put together.

P.S. -- I think the Etsy Blog is now called just that, and not The Storque. Where have I been?

joie de bois

Holy moly. It was a long, tiring, but fruitful day today, friends. I finally set my little pet project free into the world, via my Etsy shop. I still suck at photography, but I hope that people can see these necklaces for what they are, little gems. And bear with me while I work on improving my pictures (it's gonna take some time). So... what do you think?



I got a rush of ideas after a long, long dry spell, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. I've always loved textural play, combining materials, and learning a bit about random crafts. These pendants are kind of a culmination of those ideas, and I really love how they turned out. I've been wearing the prototype for months now, and people ask me about it all the time. It packs a lot of punch for such a tiny package. I feel like there's a lot of room for play with these too, so hopefully I can expand on the designs!

I have some other projects in the pipeline that are mere musings right now, so expect me to be a bit busier as I start working on those. The goal is to produce more, and stop hoarding my handmade. ;) I know the geometric thing is getting to be cliche, but I'm not tired of it yet! So if you like that sort of thing, clap your hands. And for those of you who don't, there's something for you too. I'm so excited!

I made these necklaces shorter because they layer so well this way with an 18" necklace. See what I mean?



Have at it, and spread the love!

photo-grappling

I learned something today! I learned that I really SUCK at taking photographs of my MischaLee wares (above is one of the ok shots that I slaved over). Actually, I shouldn't say I just learned that, because I did know that before. But I guess it's been so long since I tried to photograph my stuff that I'd forgotten just how dreadful my skills are. I used to have access to an SLR with a macro lens, which might have helped before just a smidge. My little point-and-shoot Canon isn't as ill-suited to this sort of thing as I expected, but still. I gotta WORK on this.

One reason I'm always slow with my Etsy shop is because of this very issue, and how long it takes to edit photos and post things. I dread doing it, which doesn't do me a lick of good. Because what's the point of making this stuff if nobody can see it or buy it? I'm determined to get over this hump somehow. I believe I'll just have to slog through and hope I get it eventually.

I also redid my banners, tweaked the tags and titles, and made some other little adjustments. I'm kind of changing things to see if it makes any difference with sales, hearts, or views. The shop is still sort of in transition, so it's not completely cohesive yet, picture-wise. This was all very impromptu today, and I'm (happy? frustrated?) to say that I spent several hours fiddling with it.



On a side note, here is a sneak peek at something that is months in the making. I have a bunch of people bugging me about this project, so I'm trying to get on the ball. I'm being very secretive about it because I feel like this is one of my better ideas, and I'm very proud of it. But it's also quite labor intensive. I've been wearing one for a while now and I get compliments all the time (yes, you wear it, imagine that!).

treasures

I made a treasury on etsy to showcase some of my favorite picks for home. It's nice to dream sometimes...