A Storm

This photo totally depicts how I've felt over the last 24 hours. I feel like there's a storm brewing. I feel like everything's getting stirred up, and it's all going to come down soon. Not necessarily bad. I do have some projects in the works. But I feel very anxious, very unsettled.

I felt like this throughout the night and there was little sleep for me. And the strangest dreams. One of those dreams where you wake up thinking "WTF??" but can't remember any details. I hate that!

Today will be (hopefully) about working through this, about plodding through, and getting to the next level. I have been re-evaluating my Etsy shop lately. I've been toying with the idea of doing nothing but photography. I could either clean that one out, or open another dedicated to photography. I'm not sure where to go from here. I do not want to totally move away from journals... or pendants. I'm all mixed up inside.

When all is said and done though, I think photography is totally my calling, if I have one. And on the flipside of that, I've been thinking a lot about teaching bookbinding. When I was in Utah, I taught my neices how to make my small journals. Prior to that, I really did not think I could do that. However, it was one of the most rewarding times in my life. And if I could teach bookbinding to a 2nd grader, a 4th grader, and two 17 year olds, I think I could teach it to most anyone.

We will see where the future takes me. I feel like I'm already buckled in. Now to go!

International Women's Day

Happy International Women's Day! All week, I've been thinking about all the amazing women in my life. When I was 4, my mom (who had just been diagnosed with MS) moved me and my two brothers in with her parents near Corpus Christi, TX. My brothers were 6 and 8. My grandparents owned a grocery store and were planning their retirement. And we got dumped on them, as well as an ill daughter. I put it in those terms because that's how I had always felt.

My grandmother was a very strong willed woman. And while she allowed no room for error (or any sort of learning curve for children), she did what she needed to do. They gave up all the traveling they had planned to do. They took my mom to the doctor, got home health involved, taught us what to do, and we all took care of her. Money was always tight, and we wore a lot of hand me downs. My grandfather was always the kind one, but my grandmother always got the job done. Yeah, she was a hard-ass. Totally. But if I look at her in another light, I can see that because she was kind enough to take us in (and they were the type of people that there was never any question), we were allowed a life. I can't view my childhood as woe-is-me blah blah blah. Circumstances were not good. But we were fed, we knew responsibility, and we grew up.

I remember at my mom's funeral... my grandmother lingered after almost everyone else was gone. She went up to the casket and completely broke down (I don't think I had ever seen her cry). It was an inhuman wailing, and it took all she had. Children are not supposed to precede their parents in death, and my heart went out to her as her other children assisted her out of the funeral home. She never spoke of it, I'm quite sure she did not know how.

About five years later, when I was 19, I moved away. My grandparents took me to the bus stop and they told me they loved me. It was the first time in my life that they had told me that. Sad. But to this day, I think they did the best they knew how. They taught me responsibility, good work ethics, and to not ever let my children go a day without knowing that they are loved!

There are many stories about my grandmother that I've heard, and I know that she was an amazing woman. Amazing never means without faults. It means they take all of the trials and tribulations in life and still make the best they can from it.

I challenge all of you to honour the amazing women in your life... on this International Women's Day, and every day.

Wordless Weekend

Some pictures from Utah.

TGIF... really

So this has been a pretty lazy week, besides work. I come home and the evenings and do very little. I've just been wiped out. It did make me realize something, though. Prior to my trip, I was busy every waking moment. Preparing stuff for my shop, getting everything ready for my trip... a not enough hours in the day kinda busy. Now, I come home and my shop is full... there have been no orders to ship... and I'm feeling lazy. But what it made me realize was that when I'm not busy constantly, I don't feel like I'm contributing.

The photo above was taken by my father. It's the awesome Utah sky, probably during a sunset. I love seeing through my father's eyes.

International Women's Day is Sunday. Two women I'd like to mention today are Rowena and Natasha. Natasha's blog can be found here. And that is also a link to an article she wrote about Rowena. I've been following Rowena for quite awhile now and she is amazing. She has 2 small children and is still the most productive artist that I know. Consistently productive... a LOT can be said about that! Natasha, I've just met recently, but her spirit shows through in all she says and does... Please go check it out, and after you read about Rowena, poke through Natasha's blog for awhile. There's a LOT going on over there!

So. I am very glad it's Friday. And, by the way, I've started adding some of my Utah photos to my Etsy shop. My shop can be found here.

International Women's Day

I learned from my friend Connie that this Sunday is International Women's Day. And in honor of that, I'll be mentioning amazing women that I know for the rest of the week.

I have met so many amazing women online, through Etsy and in blog land. You can read about them in artisan interviews, or follow my links at the bottom of this blog. I have been struck by their perserverance and creativity. In these times, I know we are all touched by this economy. Yet these women find ways to hold their heads high and trudge onward.

I never really knew my mom as a person (she was bedridden by the time I was 9), but I've heard many stories about her. I remember green pancakes and her dying her hair green for St. Patrick's day. My dad told me stories about her that reflected a cunning sense of humour. I am the youngest of 5 children and I will always think of her as an amazing woman.

When I was in Utah lately, I seemed to be surrounded by women... and future women. Each and every one of them had qualities that made them utterly amazing. Women seem (in my opinion) to be the ones to pick up the pieces. To mend things together when they fall apart. We bring life, we nurse the ill. Each and every one of us brings a different personality to the table, but in the huge quilting bee of life, we are there, sewing our stories, our families... right into our families histories.

I read a book about Anne Sexton a couple of years ago. She was a poet who committed suicide. The book was written by her daughter. Anne had been plagued by mental illness for years before taking her own life. Yet her daughter was able to honour her mother with this book. The book told stories, and the stories were not always in the best light... for Anne or for her family. But as women, we can see the ugly, the intolerable, the difficult-- and still see love, courage, awesomeness.

I encourage all of you to check out Connie's blog to read more about International Women's Day. And honour those women in your life.

Meet Brigitta!

What is your craft of choice, and how long have you been doing that?

My craft of choice in terms of selling is jewelry (and rosary) design and creation. I’ve been at it for somewhere around two years. At the same time, I love to knit and have been doing that for over 20 years, although I’ve forgotten all but the basics it seems so I’m pretty much a permanent beginner when it comes to knitting. When it comes to my jewelry and rosaries I feel like I learn something new each and every day and hope for it always to be that way.

How did you get started?

I was stuck at my parents’ house (a definite downer when you’re facing your 30th birthday), recovering from what should have been “minor” surgery and suffering from the culture shock of having just uprooted myself from two years of living and working in Prague to an emergency move home for health insurance and the aforementioned surgery. Going stir crazy I needed something to occupy my mind, my creativity and my hands. I thought of making jewelry because my sister and an old friend both made jewelry and I knew I could call them for help and advice. And an obsession was born!

What is your inspiration?
At the risk of sounding like a total cheeseball…colors, pictures of pieces that pop into my head, the smile that I love to see on the face of an in-person customer who chooses one of my pieces, seeing a piece I like but don’t quite love and trying to create it in a form that makes me love it, the desire to create a special gift for someone I love that then spins into a new idea or a new line (which is actually why I started handcrafting rosaries)…

How long have you been on Etsy?
It feels like much longer than Etsy tells me but, apparently, since November 2007. Although I didn’t open my shop then—that was when I became a user because I fell in love with some pieces from Montezuma Mudd (http://www.montezumamudd.etsy.com/) and absolutely had to buy them as Christmas gifts. LOL, I ended up keeping one of the two pieces I bought!

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
To be honest, I don’t. Despite being an obsessive planner and list maker, I’ve learned that my life rarely takes the direction that I expected and, as a result, planning more than six months to a year out can lead to disappointments, forgotten dreams, etc. So, instead I have general goals without time limits. I would love to live in Austria, either Vienna or Graz, to be fluent in both Czech and German, to be making a living from crafting, to be visited often by my nephews and parents and to be with my current boyfriend in whatever capacity life takes us to.

What is the most challenging thing about having an online business?
For me I’d have to say the marketing and dealing with the long dry periods without sales. I’ve had sales off of Etsy through craft fairs, co-workers and friends but never felt like my business has really taken off and this is something I am determined to work towards yet often feel stymied by my struggles with marketing and balancing my time. (And, lately, with a lack of cash flow to buy the new materials that I crave.)

What is the most rewarding thing about having an online business?
Hmmm…many thoughts are popping into my head. I love the interaction with other sellers, something that I have only recently discovered/tapped into. I feel like I would lack this if I had a bricks-and-mortar shop—or at least it would be harder to establish. Also, in many ways I like the anonymity of it. While I love chatting with potential customers at the few craft shows I’ve done, I hate “selling.” It’s easy for me to talk about my work but not so easy for me to push/encourage someone to purchase it. Ha ha, this obviously ties in to my marketing issues!

How does your internet business fit into your life? Is it your job or do you have another job as well?
With both great difficulty and great joy. I work full-time as the senior communications associate (read: editor, writer, project manager, thinker, nag) for a nonprofit philanthropic collaborative and my work often follows me home in the evenings and over the weekends. While I enjoy my “day job” it comes with the frustrations that all office jobs come with and well, it isn’t crafting. So, I find that my BrigaBauble shop on Etsy is both a creative outlet and a calming factor in my life. I can flip on the TV, wash my mind of writer’s block or frustration with a co-worker who ignores deadlines and wrap myself in colors and shapes and textures and testing ideas.

When you are not crafting, how do you spend your time?
Aside from working my day job…Both my boyfriend and I love to watch movies and are Netflix addicts so, we watch a lot of movies; I read—alternating between works of literature and spy/thriller/legal novels I think of as “brain candy”; spend time with my fabulous and adorable nephews, ages 4 and 10, and with my parents; when I have the time and the money I adore traveling; I watch some telly…wow, my life sounds so exciting, doesn’t it? I also do a variety of crafts for fun so, when I’m not working on my jewelry it’s not unusual for me to be crafting in some other way.

Are there any links you’d like to share?
Sure, thanks for asking! There are the obvious (and selfish) links…
My Etsy shop: http://www.brigabauble.etsy.com/
Blog: http://brigabauble.blogspot.com/
Twitter: www.Twitter.com/BrigaBauble
Flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brigabauble/

And then there are the links to a few of my favorite Etsy sellers:
http://www.spoonfullofchocolate.etsy.com/
http://www.montezumamudd.etsy.com/
http://www.maxinedear.etsy.com/
http://www.kittykatkards.etsy.com/
http://www.imotime.etsy.com/
http://www.soapdeli.etsy.com/

Home again

This photo is of my brother and one of his daughters on a photo day we had. I love how the tunnel framed them and you can just see dark figures. See the icicles in the foreground?

I had a wonderful time in Utah. I sat with Dad and looked at all of his old Navy photos, then I scanned in 50 something and put them on a thumb drive to bring home. I have some upcoming projects, using those, and others using the hundreds of Dad's photos that I brought home.

I had a relaxing time with Dad... there was never any rush, and we could just relax and talk. Most days that I was there, I was able to photograph the sunrise or sunset, sometimes both. I went on two photo days with my sister in law. We have the same camera, so I was able to teach her how to do macros and panoramic shots. And I had several photo times with Dad. The one day from the previous post, and another day we drove to Provo for a Dr. appt. I got so many shots from the vehicle of the canyon, and several that he pulled over for me to take a picture, like a natural arch, a frozen over waterfall, and an old gas station. I also heard tales from one of Dad's friends about how his family supplied Butch Cassidy with fresh horses (he even had an awesome photo album!).

So today it's back to work. In a way, I've missed it. And I will be posting more daily. If I can get back on track, I will have an artisan interview tomorrow.