Upcoming Milestone

I'm quickly coming up on 200 sales in my Etsy shop, woo hooooo!! I am so excited!

As a great, big thank you I am giving away a free necklace to the person who is my 200th customer! You can see all my handmade jewelry available here in my Etsy shop .

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who helped me reach this milestone (yeah, I mean you!). You rock!

Spring Fever

I'm totally a victim of Spring fever. I've been in the cabin for too long and I'm about ready to burst. I do have some new things brewing so once the sun comes out, so will the new stuff. Here's a sneak peek.

With a lot more to come! Stay tuned.

Zen and the art of surfing

I went to Hawaii last week. It was raining the first two days but I've come to accept rain on vacations as part of my family curse. So what did I do? I surfed. For the first time ever. And I stood up. Every. Time.

I can't take all the credit though, I had a fantastic teacher who also happens to sell on Etsy. Click here to see he and Kristin's amazing work. Seababe offers jewelry that is chic and cool with an edge. It's all handmade by them in Hawaii. They are also super smart and sweet to work with. I love their work, please check out their shop!

Wax carving

It's something I never thought I could do, carving. I was never any good at working with clay or even carving Ivory soap bars on camping trips in Girl Scouts. Even now I still surprise myself when I finish a wax carving, that it turned out looking like what I intended it to.

Here's a brand new piece that I carved last weekend. It took me about 3 1/2 hours to carve it, but I had to take little breaks in between. Usually when I start swearing I know it's time to walk away from my bench.

Step one, start with a block of wax:

Step two, saw off a slab and trace pattern onto the block:


Step three, saw out a rough shape:


Step four, shape with files, fingernail, rough cloth, whatever ya got:


Step five, using burrs carve out the back of the piece and create a bail:


Last step, smooth it out until it's perfect and ready for casting:


Stay tuned for the final piece...

Studio Sale time!

Going on right now, get 20% off the entire Modern Rock Collection in my Metalicious Etsy Shop.

Inspiration comes when you least expect it

This morning while running errands I saw this quote in a subway tunnel: "Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence."

It reminded me that even in very small ways, the things I am doing to build my business will eventually help me succeed and reach my goal. As a (very) small business owner, sometimes the challenges seem insurmountable. I have to remember to be the dripping water and not the stone.

My sincerest thanks to everyone who helped me take Metalicious from an idea to a work-in-progress. I am grateful from the bottom of my metalsmithing heart. Happy 2009.

Mod 70's Cuff

Made by Van Der Straeten in the 70's, this cuff bracelet is sterling silver with a gunmetal finish. Isn't it great?!