Show and Tell

Oh we do have something to show and tell!

Way back in the early 90’s, when Groom and I had been making our whimsical stamp jewelry for a year or two, a vendor at the Eugene Holiday Market displayed a book on his counter, a collection of photographs featuring cool, groovy jewelry artists and this vendor’s work was included.

I remember picking up the book, staring at the professional jewelers represented within its pages and sending out a wish (a longing) to the Universe that someday our work would be in a book like this. New to the business, the inclusion in such a book screamed validation to me, a “you are worthy” visa stamped in my passport of the approval trip I was on.

Well guess what? Last year we were informed that our work was going to be included in a book called Best of America Jewelry Artists volume II. We didn’t tell anybody. No, that’s not quite true, we told our enameling teacher last February.

A year later the book finally came out and when we came home from New York last month, we discovered that we are featured on pages 61 and 62.

The irony, of course, is that we have been transitioning into a different style of jewelry and what is in the book is not what we are currently focused on. Groom commented that it would have been better to have our new stuff in there. I nodded my head in agreement, but then later it occurred to me that’s not what I visualized all those years ago.

I clearly saw our stamp jewelry in the book. And, it’s kinda perfect to have the book in our hands on the 20th anniversary of our business.

And, of course, in the Wisdom of the All Knowing Being we call God, the validation, the stamp of approval from outside sources does not come until we no longer need it. While I think this book is sweet, I am no longer in the place where I think this is IT, the end all, it’s just a lovely thing to have happen.

And by no means, do we feel that we are “the best of America Jewelry Artists.” There are fantastic jewelers right here at the Eugene Saturday Market and at every show we attend and at the retreat in Mexico (in fact, one of the participants we worked with is on pages 45 and 46), and then there’s Richard and Jane Salley and Keith Lo Blue and …

Pssst, but between you and me, I have to admit I’m a little jazzed to have this book on our counter when the 20!! Show Season starts.

Solstice of the Eclipse

The future Sun King of France, Louis XIV, was born in 1638. Charles the First was King of England and Delaware became a colony. On June 25th of that same year, a lunar eclipse was the first astronomical event recorded in the U.S.

Shakespeare missed it, having already been dead for 22 years, but Galileo might have seen it from his little house in Italy, had he not gone totally blind the year before.

For the first time in almost four centuries, a total lunar eclipse coincides on the Winter Solstice for a cosmic occurrence: Today the sun, the earth and the moon are all aligned.

While it might be the shortest day of the year, it is a mighty one, filled with all kinds of cosmic and human activity. With less than 100 hours remaining until Christmas, I’ll wish you a Merry One.

While visions of sugar plum fairies dance in our heads, we’re also dreaming of a white Christmas… white beaches in Sunny Mexico, but that’s another story.

Goat Romance

I told this story to a vendor at the Eugene Holiday Market last Sunday and she started tearing up, saying there was hope yet for good relationships out there. Her response made me consider sharing it with you, although tears are optional because it made me laugh as well.

For those of you just tuning in, friends in Southern Oregon have a couple of kids. Nothing unusual about that, except the “kids” are goats. And by goats I mean hairy beasts with pointy horns and cloven hooves. So what? Lotsa people have goats.

Yes, but in their homes? Goats that lounge by the fire chewing cud or sit on the couch watching television and cuddling with their human “parents?” How many goats you know that have their own Santa stockings hanging from the mantle or wear leopard print customized diapers? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Because 150-lb goaties that dwell indoors take a lot of work, Goat Papa decided to take Goat Mama on a romantic holiday come Christmas. Last August, after he discovered that her favorite musician, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, would be in Las Vegas for a one-night only concert, he knew his challenge, should he accept it, would be to get her to that concert without her knowing. In other words, a surprise.

But a very important piece of information is that Goat Mama, while human, is more like a dog with a bone. If she even whiffs of a hint of a plot, she’ll dig and dig AND dig until she unearths it. Goat Papa knew who he was up against and decided to take her on.

Formulating his plan, the first step was to throw her off the scent. Concocting a story about winning free tickets to a Barry Manilow concert in Vegas, he managed to invent an email to himself from the “radio station” that she would stumble upon. Because he kept the free concert fable under wraps, Goat Mama thought she discovered something she wasn’t supposed to and when confronting Goat Papa with it, he acted all disappointed that his “surprise” was ruined. She was cackling, pleased to have discovered his secret.

But did she? Mwa ha ha.

Of course, Groom and I were in on it from the beginning, so we managed the appropriate combination of glee, horror and happiness for a convincing response when they told us about their plans of flying to Sin City to become “Fanilows” for an evening.

His mother was also in on the plot. She purchased the spendy Andrea Bocelli tickets using her own credit card so there would be no paper trail for her blood hound of a daughter-in-law to chance upon.

And then there was the inevitable moment when Goat Mama learned that her beloved Bocelli was appearing in Las Vegas, for one night only on the very same evening as the “stupid Manilow concert.” Oh the lamenting. Of course, she had to check into ticket pricing and was even more disappointed to discover that at this late date only the very expensive seating remained (uh, gulp, like $2,000 a piece).

Up to the final minute, when the limousine picked them up from their Luxor Hotel around 7pm this past Saturday evening, December 11, 2010, she still had no clue. As their swanky ride headed toward The MGM Grand Garden Arena, Goat Papa played the offensive and commented how few signs there were advertising the Manilow concert. A little sulkily, she mumbled that it was because he was no big deal anymore. Ouch!

Cuddling in the back seat of the stretch, he handed her a card in which he professed his ever-present love and finally, after months of plotting, planning, close calls and hand wringing, gifted her with the real concert tickets. What, no Barry Alan Pincus Manilow after all? In an instant, her desire became manifest… great seats to hear the blind, enigmatic opera singer, Andrea Bocelli. Oh gracious, the water works. I hope they got flood insurance for the limo.

Of course, we heard about this blow-by-blow as texting is an easy and convenient way to convey quick messages such as “in the limo now.” But we also received a phone call right away, as soon as she had those hot tickets in hand. Phew! So glad the cat’s out of the bag.

Although Andrea has a gorgeous voice, personally, it also would have been fun to hear, “Her name was Lola, she was a show girl with yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there…” on the strip from the man himself.

Whatever your tastes, you can’t argue with love.

Obliga-what?

A brand new word just floated into my brain from the ethers this week. I always believe (for about 10 seconds) that I made it up, but then, thanks to the power of Google, I’m always amazed that somebody else has thought of it, too. And first.

It’s similar to having one of those vocabulary building calendars that teach you a new word each day, but without any print or paper. More like subscribing to a “Celestial Download” word-of-the-week club. And it’s free!

So, for the teensy span of time, between the fresh word floating down from the sky like a feather and me looking it up online, I feel this excitement of having just invented something new. “Groom,” I say enthusiastically, “I just made up another word!”

“What is it, dear?” he asks faithfully, knowing in a few minutes I’ll lament the fact that my new shiny word is already listed in the Internet dictionary.

In my imagination, before presenting it to him like a gift, a drum roll precedes the fanfare, although I am the only one who can hear it.

“Obligatorium,” I say with a flourish. Sometimes I curtsey.

“That’s a curious one,” he says. “What does it mean, is it a place?”

Oh yeah. Hmmm...good question. I search around in my mind, and it feels like a humorous word, a real yet not real place, kinda like a guilt-trip. It’s an emporium to shop for people on your Christmas list that you really don’t want to buy for, but would cause hurt feelings if you didn’t. “I think I’ll pop down to the Obligatorium and pick up that present for Uncle Pervie and Aunt Gossip.”

It’s the warehouse for all the stuff we have to do, but don’t wanna, the ties that bind, the long hours we put in, anything that has to do with obligations. When I looked it up online, three words defined it: obligation; a bond.

I don’t really have an ending to this entry, but if feels odd to just stop so I’ll mention the photographs. They were taken at the Eugene Holiday Market last Sunday, December 5, 2010. If any of you have curious words to share, we’d love to learn about them. However, we’ve had many people email us or tell us in person that they’ve tried to leave a comment, but some curious technical hitch is in the giddyup and hasn’t allowed it, so don’t get discouraged. Thanks!

Let Them Eat Cupcakes

The vendor across the way at the Eugene Holiday Market makes these giant cupcakes. Only they are made of candle wax. Lately I feel like I’m burning the cupcake at both ends.

Yesterday, Kimmmm and I went out on a girlie date for her birthday. Coincidentally, she chose a delightful bakery that serves gluten-free, can you guess? Cupcakes! The slender boy behind the counter began his recitation of flavors, but he only got as far as “chocolate lavender,” before both us of said yes at the same time. Jinx.

Unfortunately, he meant two different flavors, one being chocolate and the other lavender. I was momentarily disappointed, my tastebuds excited to try something exotic and new. However, memories of a lavender mousse shared at an outdoor café in Provence, France, inspired me to select the purple cupcake.

This was not a well thought out decision. It looked good. I peeled back the biodegradable paper liner and sank my fangs into the spongy confection. Uh-oh, it tasted exactly like I was biting into my microwavable heat pack.

You see, it’s kind of chilly at our house during the winter, so to keep warm I use a lavender/flax seed filled neck pillow, the scent of which is activated each time I heat it. Experts say smell is the number one access to memory and all I could think of when nibbling my cupcake was that I might be sleep-eating my neck pillow! Yeah, it didn’t taste good to me.

After I tried to scrub my tongue and then wash away the association with a strong cup of coffee, we went to The Bijou to watch Heartbreaker, a French comedy starring Johhny Depp’s wife, Vanessa Paridis.

And as if that little vignette about choosing the wrong cupcake wasn’t enough excitement for one day, here’s a photo or two (or three) of our latest jewelry pieces.

Shodding in The Market

I’ve always looked at shoes as being immensely beautiful things. – Graham Coxon

Oh goodness, I must be tired. Groom and I started out for a walk and we managed to get part way down the block before he stopped and pointed. “You’re going to wear those?” he asked. I hadn’t even noticed that I was still wearing my pink slippers!

One of the most famous elements of Cinderella is her glass slipper. Part Cinderella myself, I fancy exotic footwear and my camera is often drawn toward the floor to see what others stand on. Los zapatos featured in these photos were all taken at the Eugene Holiday Market last Sunday, November 28th.

The symbolism for shoes includes wisdom and “understanding,” because they are actually under our standing. Shoes represent our foundation, what we stand on, our walk in life, our movement forward and how we carry ourselves.

Of course, their primary function is to protect tender soles (souls?) at the connecting point to the earth. An important part of any spiritual walk is being both connected and grounded, an important balancing act if we want to stay upright in the frenzy of 21st century life.

While it might not be sound advice to make friends simply based on tootsie wraps, shoes do have a way of revealing facets of personality. I wonder what my slippers reveal about me? Whoops, never mind.

Aaarrgg!

Groom and I spent another weekend selling our jewelry at the Eugene Holiday Market. We tend to move a little slower on Monday mornings, relishing a moment or two of not having to rush, although we have already started the process of creating stock for next weekend.

The main dress-up theme for yesterday was “Pirate Day,” although any and all costumes, attire and ensembles are welcome, just as long as you wear something. Saturday got a bit exciting when one man slipped a little on his reality and started undressing, but no worries, security is used to at least one person each year feeling the need to streak and it was handled gracefully.

Speaking of slipping, I came home Saturday evening and received a dreaded phone call that my 79-year old mother slipped and fell in the shower and slammed her spine on the edge of the porcelain tub and then lunged forward, hitting her head. My father was calling from the ER while she was having a computerized axial tomography scan (or CAT).

Thank God nothing is broken, but I was quite shaken. I tried to fall asleep Saturday night, but I kept seeing images of my poor mama slipping and falling over and over again. She has a giant purple goose egg on her forehead. Shudder.

In the spirit of keeping this light, short and not burdening you with all my current emotions, I will simply mention that I’m about to get a massage, take a soothing hot shower and cuddle up with Groom, a movie and a cup of tea. Mondays, what’s not to love?

Autumn Snow

Like most of the Willamette Valley, we woke up to snow this morning. After the sun came out to clear the sidewalks, Groom and I walked our cameras (they become very crabby if we leave them cooped up for too long). These four images were all taken within the same 45 minute period.

Since the opening of Holiday Market went pretty well, we’re back in the studio, finishing up a few pieces for when it opens again on Friday. Also sipping lots of hot tea. Hope you’re keeping warm, healthy and safe.

One Down, Four To Go

In a flash, the first weekend of the Holiday Market is over. All the stress to get everything finished becomes a distant memory when the doors open and people rush in. The reunion of favorite clients, dear friends and charming vendors add to the pleasurable mix of mingling with new people and attracting new sales.

I didn’t get out of the booth much, save for the last little bit of Sunday evening, which means no photos of the dress up days. Saturday was velvet day and since I don’t own any, I bucked tradition and did not participate. Sunday was hat day and I wore my black top hat, no surprises there.

These three photos were sweet touches I noticed in booths near ours. As for our new layout, we really like it and had positive responses.

Set-up Day at Holiday Market

Today was set-up for the Eugene Holiday Market, which starts tomorrow and runs every weekend through Christmas Eve. Groom and I arrived at 11am, when the main hall of the Lane County Fairgrounds was relatively empty. Although it was raining, we found the perfect parking spot and an empty cart to haul our booth accoutrements. For vendors, this is exciting stuff.

This is the tape marking our booth. We’re #190 and I always look forward to the message written on it. “Wecome home.” How sweet is that?

It took us six hours from start to finish, two hours longer than I had anticipated, but we recently purchased two free standing glass cases, so there was a new layout to try. We’ll see tomorrow how it works when the event opens.

100th Blog Episode!

I’m having an episode of writer’s block, stuck for an opening line to begin this week’s entry. I’ve typed just as many words as I’ve deleted, the cursor sweeping up the unused words into a pile of nothing, the blank white screen staring back at me like a threatening ghost.

It’s because this is our 100th blog entry and I’m making it out to be super important in my head; a milestone which I’ve turned into a millstone, you know, the really bad kind of jewelry that gets fastened around the neck and causes drowning. Not my kind of necklace at all, thank you.

So I shall remove the self-imposed yoke from my shoulders and instead of mixing metaphors, mix up the blog routine.

For the past two years, every Wednesday, including when we’ve traveled as near as Corvallis or as far as Japan, we’ve met our deadline, which was the original challenge when we launched it back in 2008.

Having been under the spell of “wanting to be a writer” since I could hold a pen, I wondered if I could actually set a goal for myself and then keep it no matter what was going on in my business or personal life. The answer is happily yes.

I was under the misguided belief that designing jewelry was our temporary thing until I could become a writer full time and sadly, I must confess I’ve wasted an awful lot of energy resenting what I thought kept me from being a real writer. Guess what? That was me!

While I do enjoy splashing the page with words, I don’t love it enough to work at the business end of writing, which in this day and age, is the majority of it.

When I decided to create a blog, a venue where I could write about anything I wanted and to illustrate it with our photographs, I soon discovered the weekly experience more than scratched any chronic writing itch I may have had… and then some.

Creating the blog has required two days of work for me and one for Groom each week. Tuesdays have been set aside for writing the initial draft and selecting the photographs. I marinate the composition overnight and then spend Wednesdays editing while Groom sizes the images and formats the text. Phew, talk about time consuming.

Yet a funny thing happened on the way to the computer. As I committed to writing this blog, I discovered I no longer spent any energy resenting the jewelry and in fact, I fell head over heels in love with it, unearthing a growing passion for design and metal.

So I gratefully thank the blog platform for giving my writing an outlet and harnessing the creative power that we’re now channeling into our new line of bricolage jewelry. And I wholeheartedly appreciate all the followers, the long-term ones who have actually read all 100 and the new ones who pop in every now and again. Thank you.

Having said all that, the blog is changing. Into what, we don’t know yet, but the idea that is forming is taking shape in shorter, perhaps more frequent entries: Maybe a photo or two at a time with a paragraph ---but not on any rigid schedule, so you’ll get to check back anytime to see what’s new.

As for this week’s photographs, they were all taken last Sunday on our walk. It felt like we traversed all four seasons in the span of 45 minutes. Starting from the top, it seemed like spring with the blue sky and the tree still in possession of all its green hair.

We were thrilled to find flowers in bloom, their bright petals representing the transition from spring into summer.

And then we ran across this little vignette, an old-fashioned typewriter hanging out between a brightly colored beach ball and picnic table and a pile of pumpkins. This photo is a bridge between the joys of summer and the harvest of autumn.

These pictures are set up for you to click on them to enlarge. Just hit the back button to return to the blog.

The sand dollar paired with the leaf imports more seasonal changes, images of playing on the beach receding into happy memories as the falling leaves become more immediate, but all of it transient.

The progression of photos leads us into winter, but before all the trees are bare and we’re full force into Holiday Market, we must stroll along the calendar pages, stopping at Halloween for a little spooky fun.

For thousands of years, frogs have been associated with myths, folklore and magic. Looks like this poor little fellow escaped being the secret ingredient in a cauldron full of swamp punch, only to be struck down on a side street. RIP little froggie.

Of course the Halloween season, full of cats, jack o’lanterns, candy and costumes, falls just before All Saints Day, November 1st. So whether you party, pray or do both, please remember to clean up the rotting pumpkins!

So stay tuned as there could be a brief entry tomorrow, who knows?

Happy Halloween and an All Saints Day to you! Stay safe.