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And just like that, Craftcation was over.

Posted in family, food, gratitude, lifestyle, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 27, 2013 | 3 Comments »

I woke up on Sunday morning, the last morning of Craftcation, and wandered down to the lobby. The decorations were coming down, the things were all packed up, pop up shop closing, and oh I just felt so sad. Just like last year, a few days in and I was finally getting into the swing of it all! I guess it’s a good sign when they leave you wanting more, right?

I left Craftcation wanting more, but I also left it with a plan! After the amazing “post Craftcation plan” workshop led by Tiffany Han late on Saturday, I felt like I really had a handle on what I wanted to accomplish in the upcoming weeks.

A plan.

It does all boil down to “make shit happen in a big way” but thanks to Tiffany’s amazing workshop, I feel like I have the tools to actually do it.

*****

Captain Sexypants and I made plans to stay an extra day in sunny Ventura, so after bidding farewell to some new friends, I zipped over to the local Amtrak platform to await his train, Americano-for-him and latte-for-me in hand. Because I am nothing if not the best girlfriend on the entire planet, right?

An Americano for him, Latte for me.

Waiting is hard.
Waiting...

Even if it only took about ten minutes for the train to get there once I settled in.

Pulling in to the station!

And then the world was complete.

He arrives!

People should take more trains. There is nothing like seeing your best darling walking towards you across a train platform, and the feeling of bouncy anticipation you get when they get closer, and closer until finally you can throw your arms around them and shower them with 3 days of saved up kisses.

Happy Happy All Together, The End.

We are nothing, if not cute.

And terribly predictable.

Well caffeinated.

The rest of the day passed in a blur of beach walking and long lingering coffee shopping. It really was too short, but exactly what I needed. I have been feeling so terribly burned out by it all, lately. I’m feeling better now. A few days away was pretty much exactly what I needed!

I had joyful reunion with Princess BonBon von Fluffypants von Schnitzeltoes, Admiral Mittens, Duchess Honeytoes von Crankypants, Professor Oliver Plumpypants, Charles Bukatski, and That Mr. Tinklebritches, too.

Vacations are good for everyone.

*****

So there are some big changes coming down the pike for Honey&Ollie Designs. New website and e-shop. Really exciting new designs and an entirely retooled collection on the horizon and of course, to have new stuff we must start saying goodbye to old stuff! I’ll be doing that with a fantastic clearance sale. I’ll be opening that up to my mailing list with a special coupon code, about a week before I open it up to everyone else, so if you want to get up to 40% off on things you may have been stalking, you can sign up here for my mailing list and get the goods before everyone else!

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Notes from Craftcation, or, stirring up my inner glitter!

Posted in lifestyle, gratitude, process, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 22, 2013 | 3 Comments »

First off? This part does not suck:

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That’s the view from my window at Craftcation, the crafty DIY biz conference that is going full steam in Ventura CA this weekend. Having the most amazing time here! I started off the weekend with a session about opening up more avenues to earn a living with your art. “Crafty Cash” led by Kathy Cano-Murillo. Otherwise known as The Crafty Chica. She’s delightful and wonderful and also our keynote speaker for the conference. She talked about valuable life lessons and stirring up our inner glitter. And, you know, ways to feed yourself more than ramen noodles on an artist’s budget.

I love this woman. Seriously. When she walked into the conference room, I didn’t actually know who she was. I just saw her smiling and thought, “OMG WHO IS THAT, I WANT TO BE HER BEST FRIEND.” and then she started teaching and I thought, “OMG SHE IS THE CRAFTY CHICA.” And then, my crafty crush was irreversible.

Sorry, Ms. Chica. I totally don’t mean that in a creepy stalker way. Just. You’re shiny. And kind of one of my crafty heroes.

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I have been taking some notes.

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Are you sensing a theme? I’m sensing a theme.

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Totally not the theme. But it was free. And delicious. And I guess it is the theme. There was wine. It was free. I made happiness with what I had. SOUL TRUTHS, people. Deep soul truths here.

It has actually been a really great conference. Last year I was so afraid, and spent all my time hiding in my hotel room. This year, I’ve spent LESS time hiding in my hotel room! Perhaps you remember this conversation I had with myself during last year’s conference?

“Me “Mixer.”

Myself: “Yeah! There will be BBQ! There will be wine!”

Me: “There will be… people.”

Myself: “Did I mention BBQ?”

Me: “‘mixer.’ Just the very word strikes terror into my heart.”

Myself: “Pork products cooked over fire and grown up grape juice.”

Me: “Stranger danger.”

Myself: “Oh fuck it. Fine. Have it your way. We’ll go eat alone with a good book.”

Me: “YES! YES! YES!”

Myself: “I was not serious. BBQ.”“

You might also remember that last year I went to a bookstore and missed the pork products. NOT THIS TIME. My roomie and I went to the BBQ (hence, the free wine) and I’ve made almost every class session – except I played hooky for the one after lunch because I was in search of a decent cup of coffee WHICH I totally found at Palermo on Main St…. but my point is, I have a roomie, I ate lunch with actual people today, and I’m trying not to freak out when people smile and talk to me during classes.

I still fail at networking, as I forgot my business cards for the second year in a row. I aim to improve that at next year’s conference.

My favorite class so far? Great googly moogly, how can I pick one when they’ve all been SO GOOD? This morning I started with a class led by a designer who works with the store Anthropologie. She talked about display and design and making things out of what you’ve already got, repurposing and thinking outside the box for creative display solutions. I’ve been feeling like the shop at Crafted is a little beige, so, this one was a lifesaver. I’ve got some great ideas for spicing up the store, now.

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The morning class in Sane Social Media led by Tiffany Han was mind blowingly great too. She offered some great tips for effectively utilizing social media in your business but also advocated getting OFF social media and just being smarter about it. With tips like “go outside” and “log off” I knew it was the right class for me. I’m so burned out lately, struggling with feeling creative and doing All The Things. I know this will help free up some mental space.

I also took an amazing class on branding led by Steph Cortes. I’d loosened up a little by this time, so of course, my questions were about things like, “Is it okay to talk about baking cats into pies** and selling my children to gypsies on my blog?” You know. Like you do, at a business conference.

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I think the biggest thing I took away from this one was the reassurance that you can’t be afraid to be yourself, in fact, you MUST BE yourself and that’s definitely something I’ve struggled with here on the blog and in my online presence around Honey&Ollie. I dunno, it’s like I stopped knit blogging and started making jewelry/selling, and thought I had to change things about my online personality. Which is a bit ridiculous, but there you go. I miss my sense of humor. And knitting. I’ve been feeling like the blog has been a bit beige lately too but don’t worry, I’ve got some good ideas about that.

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Tomorrow is set to be another full day of classes and the beach and the gorgeous weather we’re having here in Ventura.

The social stuff, it’s still hard. I’m still spending a lot of time struggling with the onslaught of people. I skipped the mixer in the bar tonight because I just wasn’t feeling it. I am on the fence about the 80′s party. It’s so brilliantly, fabulously overwhelming, this conference, so much color and personality and noise. Tonight I needed a quiet dinner in my room to balance out the day. Tomorrow, I’m planning to have a quiet walk on the beach in the morning to see if that won’t help me feel more grounded in all the tumult. Maybe start the morning with a decent cup of joe…

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So many artists, personalities, creative folks in one place and me there feeling a little like a bit of flotsam or jetsam, buffeted around by all of them… Craftcation is one of my favorite places in the ‘Verse to be. Waves and all…

A note to my readers, I have never actually baked one of my cats into a pie, Duchess Honeytoes Crankypants, Professor Oliver Rumblestein Plumpypants ESq, Princess Bonbon Fluffypants von Schnufflestein and Mr. Tinklebritches are just fine. Seriously.

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Congratulations!

Posted in Crafted vendors, gratitude, process on February 2, 2013 | 1 Comment »

Sometimes you know people and those people go and do extraordinarily cool things.

Kelly, who is the maker behind PyxeeStyx Traveling Sideshow, just had some of her work featured at the Tucson Gem Show. I met Kelly about a year ago at Uptown’s first market, and she was one of our artists in the Night Market when we opened at Crafted. Now, she is making elements for the new Bead Bar at Crafted and we’ll be carrying some of them soon I hope!

She’s a shining creative light and I’m just tickled as punch for her success!

You can find her on Etsy!

Kelly, you rock! Congratulations!

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Oh, the Oscars…

Posted in gratitude, process, The Artisan Group, Wednesday Studio, tagged , , , , , , , on January 23, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

We got a rather nifty opportunity to include some of our designs in the press bags for the Oscars, this year. This was via The Artisan Group, of course!

Opting for something tried and true, I went with our most popular design in the Urban Fetish line. Those being built, of course, around Patricia Healey copper focal chandelier elements. I paired them with some truly stunning green colored turquoise that I got at the most recent Pasadena Bead and Design show. And rather than send the same design to everyone, I went with three different variations on the theme. Anyone’s best guess which pair will end with who!

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DONE! I beaded these primarily at Crafted over the last weekend. It was a very triumphant feeling moment to wrap off the last bead and attach the last jump ring. I am not, as a rule, fond of this kind of assembly line production! I’m getting better at it. Faster and more efficient. This is probably a good thing.

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Here they are all laid out on their wee cards, earwires done (thank you, Captain Sexypants, earwire maker extraordinaire! seriously he made All The Earwires) and ready to go to the Oscars!

They shipped out today, wrapped in handmade paper and recycled sari ribbons. Here’s hoping the members of the press who get them in their bags will like them!

Thank you, Artisan Group!

xoxo

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And then, we were done.

Posted in cats, Crafted at the Port of LA, food, gratitude on October 12, 2012 | 2 Comments »

It was a little bit sad to leave Revere that last night. We’d had so much fun and learned so much, we were bummed that we would not be coming back again the next day. We bid a fond farewell to our instructor, grabbed the course catalog on our way out (all the better to pick the next class with, my dear) and skeedaddled along on our merry.

Kuan Yin

The next two days? All about the relaxation.

Hot tubs and massages at Watercourse Way… a sumptuous Indian thali feast with lamb curry and the best chai I’ve had in a long while… and then camping in the beautiful Santa Cruz mountains for two days.

In the mountains

I will say that if you’re getting in to your mountain campsite at 10pm, it really helps to have set the tent up sometime in the last decade… otherwise there is a lot of swearing. Fortunately for us, our neighbor, Jay, liked to play some oldies and goodies on his car stereo (seriously who DOES that camping in the mountains??) and we managed to do a little dancing and laughing and make it fun.

Home for a few days

We managed okay, as you can see. It was quite a pretty campsite there at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. SO glad that this is not one of the parks under fire right now in the budget. I love this park and have been camping there since my kids were really small.

You are really lucky that I did not get a picture of Jay, clomping around his campsite the next morning clad only in shredded cut off shorts, cowboy boots and his hat.

Really.

Trust me on this one.

Sadly, I didn’t get any shots of when squirrels stole Jay’s toilet paper, ran it up a tree and then dropped it from the top of the tree. That’s a little sad.

Big skies, here.

Beautiful.

My man, the fire starter

And then home, down the stunning California coast, through Carmel and Big Sur.

Coastline

Soup

Lunch in Cambria (oh I love Cambria!)

Calavera lady

Said hello to the Scarecrow Festival and this lovely Calavera lady.

OMG the horror

Welcome back to reality.

Bug is helping

And then home, and a proper welcome back indeed. <3

Today, we are back at Crafted at the Port of Los Angeles! New hours for October are 11am – 6pm, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. HOpe to see you there!

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200 sales! I can’t believe it! I have to give something away!

Posted in gratitude on April 26, 2012 | 29 Comments »

Last year at this time, I had just started my business up and was still in the process of learning the ropes. I’d made a few sales on Etsy and was starting to get the hang of it. Fast forward and holy cow, you guys, I just made my 200th online sale in the Etsy shop.

200 online sales!!

That isn’t counting the live shows, the mail order, the custom work. It’s been going so well overall and I am so grateful for it.

I was feeling a little bit slumpy this past week, like I’d been phoning it in to the shop and the blog. Between not feeling well and things being slow (tax season is never a good time to be in the retail business!) overall, I was feeling discouraged.

Things have been looking up (okay, my attitude has been improving) in the last few days, and now this. This milestone is completely galvanizing. I’m thrilled, grateful, energized and feel like getting back on the horse and kicking some Etsy butt. I can totally do this thing!

I just want to say thank you for all the amazing support.

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As a huge heartfelt thank you, I’ll be giving this pair of earrings from the new Mirjana sea glass line away to a random commenter. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post, and I’ll use a random number generator to select the winner next Wednesday, May 2nd.

200! To infinity, and beyond!

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Sturm und drang, some drama, and Affordable Health Care.

Posted in gratitude on April 8, 2012 | 5 Comments »

Well the week definitely didn’t go as I’d planned, I’ll just say that. I’m not sure what’s retrograde, but there has been some wonky psychic weather and life has been a little bit ruffled in places. I feel grumpy and out of sorts.

I melted down all over Captain Sexypants.

Twice.

In one day.

Because I am dealing with some healthcare stuff that has me flat out feeling rather draggy, I’ve been in bed with my laptop, and I’ve spent a lot of time (more’n usual) arguing with people on the internet about healthcare. Especially in light of SCOTUS hearing arguments about the AHCA. Because what else can you do when you’re flat on your ass?

I’d always taken having health insurance for granted. I’ve written about this here before, about how a few years back when the Ex Mr. H&O got laid off, we lost our insurance. We still don’t have any. And no, Ron Paul, we are not blithely “choosing” not to buy health insurance. Maintaining adequate shelter is simply the wiser choice for our family.

It’s easy to insist that there is nothing wrong with healthcare and that we don’t need the Affordable Care Act, when you can conveniently go see a doctor and writing a check to that doctor is not a matter of “well, I guess I won’t buy milk for the children.” My own situation is certainly nowhere near as dire as that, but, going to the doctor does mean some reshuffling. We only use them for real emergencies right now. Well care? Heh. Thing of the past. I’d LOVE to go see my old regular doctors for a checkup. Sadly, without insurance, something as luxurious as a regular physical, tooth cleaning, or pap smear is a whole ‘nother ball game.

Urgent care is the only option for me and my family right now, when we’re sick. For other things, I rely on Planned Parenthood and their (fantastic, but endlessly revolving) nurse practitioners and clinicians, instead of my wonderful GYN. She knew my history and I trusted her to connect the dots when new problems came up. I’ve seen four different clinicians at PP in the last four months and their time is limited. We haven’t got time to discuss my whackadoodle medical history, frankly. If you think that that change hasn’t affected my health and quality of life, think again. There’s a reason I’m flat on my ass on multiple rounds of broad spectrum antibiotics right now, and part of that reason is, people need continuity of care. Without insurance, you don’t get that. Without insurance, you lie awake worrying that whatever it is that’s making you sick might be something awful. You wonder how you are going to afford to see someone who can help you really figure it out. And then, you worry about figuring it out and then not being able to pay for what you need to do to get better.

That’s my reality right now. It comes with some sleepless nights.

I’m actually not complaining here. Well, okay, yes I am complaining. But I’m also aware that we’re doing okay, relative to others, and I am not ungrateful for that. I do count our blessings and I have tried to check my privilege at the door but that’s an ongoing process so please forgive me if I pick it up inadvertently.

I just believe that healthcare should not be this big of a concern for anyone in this country. A lot of folks like me (folks who used to take seeing a doctor for granted) are experiencing what other people living below the poverty line have known for a long, long time. Something is rotten in Denmark. Er, something is broken. It has been for a long time. There is a very nebulous safety net for folks in need but it is full of holes and people are slipping through, having trouble accessing even those very basic services. And every day, more and more folks are finding themselves in need. It shouldn’t be that way.

How do we fix this? Maybe we start by not overturning Affordable Health Care, because it’s the light at the end of the tunnel for a lot of folks. Including me.

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Day 3 of Craftcation, in which I hit my stride (and miss another mixer.)

Posted in gratitude, tagged on March 24, 2012 | 11 Comments »

I finally hit my stride today with this whole traveling/conference thing. The morning dawned bright and early and I knew that THIS… this was the day. This was the day of Awesome. And it sort of was, and then some.

The first thing I did was go find some coffee. I realized yesterday that I hadn’t had a cup of coffee since I got here on Thursday, and now it is Saturday and that is a LONG time to go without coffee if you are like me and drink it every day. I do have tea in my hotel room but it is not the same. So coffee and a muffin to get things started and my spirits were much improved.

On my way to coffee, I was struck by how lovely the downtown area is, and especially by this gorgeous brick building which I’d noticed the night before. The architectural details and embellishments were a lot more apparent in daylight. Just gorgeous.

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Ventura reminds me a bit of Humboldt County, namely the city of Eureka where I grew up, but with a little bit more Spanish Mission thrown in. I’ve got tomorrow and Monday morning off to toodle around town a bit and I’m really looking forward to doing some exploring and touristing around. Our workshops were held at the lovely City Hall, which is also a very pretty building. A very pretty building with a lot of stairs.

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in the foreground there you can see a statue of Father Junipero Serra, I have helpfully highlighted him for you. Many people think of him as the founder of the California Missions. I think of him as that but more as the guy who pretty much wiped most of the indigenous California population out. He’s not my personal favorite, but the city of Ventura is proud of him and also of their Mission, and so he has a statue overlooking the hill that runs down to the ocean.

So much to learn today! I can sum up the bulk of my day in five words. “Accounting: You’ve Been Doing It Wrong.” Okay, that’s six words. Maybe I begin to see one of the fundamental issues with my accounting… at any rate, I’ve got a lot of changes to make and a lot of work to do when I get back. And may I just add, accounting workshops are always better when led by cute, young and personable funny guys in khaki trousers.

I also popped in to take a workshop that was topically a little lighter than Accounting during our lunch hour, but still just as terrifying to me as any spreadsheet.

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I am a creative, y’all. The workshop said so.

Aaaaand, apparently that is no excuse for all this running about in ratty cargo pants, knit caps and ancient Firefly tee shirts. I have some closet revamping to do when I get home. The speaker was really sweet and personable and also not much older than my oldest child (that happens more and more these days) but she had some good points and gave us a formula (I *LOVE* formulas) for putting together outfits that don’t suck, so you can all look forward to a much more fashionable me.

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Yep. Okay, yeah, well, maybe baby steps. I like my knit caps.

After another financial workshop I was really tired, aching, my brain was going to explode from too much information and I really just needed to get out of there, so I did. Missed the last two workshops of the day, but that’s okay. I was done.

My weather widget said it was raining in Ventura all day today.

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Just miserable. Seriously weather widget, what gives? It was GORGEOUS! Warm and breezy, with the salt and sea tang in the air, the most beautiful day ever. I went back to my hotel, threw open the sliding glass door and took a 2 hour nap.

Then I skipped the 80′s Dance Party Mixer and went and had a quiet dinner alone.

sushi

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Heaven. Koba Sushi in Ventura on East Main Street, a bit south of the Downtown area (you have to drive). Best sushi I’ve had in ages. So fresh and well prepared. I lingered over raw fish, hot tea and miso soup, wrote in my journal and relished the quiet.

I haven’t spent this much time alone since my first child was born.

then I went down to the oceanfront by my hotel and took a walk while the sun went down and the lights went on.

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Bliss.

So what if I didn’t make every workshop? I learned so much at the ones I did attend, I’m not sure I could hold any more information. I have so much to take back home with me! A rediscovered joy of painting and the desire to get into my studio and PLAY. A newfound appreciation of how to do PR and reach out to the media, and a better understanding of how to make email work for me and what tools are available for my small business. SO MUCH ACCOUNTING. And wardrobe tips! That’s a heck of a lot right there. In addition to all of that learning, I have had long delicious naps, walks on the beach, amazing food, and I’ve done exactly what I wanted to be doing every minute of every day. I’ve taken care of myself when I needed to, eaten what I wanted to eat, put myself first at every turn, and been utterly selfish with my time.

Going on a Craftcation ROCKS. I can’t wait for next year! I’m so grateful I had the chance to do this.

Tomorrow the conference is over. Captain Sexypants will be joining me sometime mid afternoon, and we’re hanging out till Monday. Gonna go out for breakfast, eat ice cream, walk around town, explore shops and see The Hunger Games. I can’t wait for that either.

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Some thoughts about mandalas and process and life

Posted in faire, gratitude on March 11, 2012 | 11 Comments »

Here I went and said “I’m gonna do 30 mandalas in March! One every day!” and it hasn’t really worked out that day. It’s the 11th and I’ve done 5. I owe myself six mandalas!

I’ve got all this shrink film, wood disks and pendant trays on the way so I can start making mandalas for the shop and I can’t even get to the art table for a blog challenge? Something wrong with that picture.

I also had the thought that maybe I can just give myself a break, start from today and keep going with my challenge. That may be my solution. We’ll see… I’ve been getting in my own way a lot. Things have been rather busy and I just haven’t had a moment to sit down with paints. Faire workshops have started, I’ve been wrapped up in a lot of Guild business and spending way too much time on Facebook and on lashon hara. So many distractions.

But I guess that’s why they call it a CHALLENGE, right? So I’m challenging myself to get my sh*t together and finish the month as planned, one a day, and to try to make up the six I owe myself so I can say I did, in fact, meet my goal.

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home again, home again, jiggety jig

Posted in family, gratitude on October 20, 2011 | 1 Comment »

It’s nice to be home, surrounded by purry kitties and my little dog, but I did very much like being On Vacation and it’s a little weird to contemplate jumping back into it all.

Being On Vacation means you can have pie for breakfast.

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with a side of biscuits and gravy (not that I can really complain, as this morning I polished off the last of our vacation bakery bread, a little triple cream brie and some marmalade.)

It’s just that being on vacation is very relaxing.

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And there’s a nice view when you are On Vacation…

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As opposed to the pile of laundry that I am contemplating at the moment.

No really. We’re super stoked to be back. Thrilled.

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I swear.

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