Blog-o-sphere Think Tank - #4 - May Edition - Favorite Quote

It is that time again for the Blog-o-sphere Think Tank! This month's topic is a fun one. And though I thought it would be easy... apparently it isn't! I'm one of those people who loves quotes. In college, I had different quotes pasted all around my room. It's hard to not love anything by Einstein. I mean, he was a genius after all!

"Imagination is more important than knowledge" just might be my favorite. I had this tshirt when I was in high school. Though I quit wearing it, I kept it b/c I loved it so much - it's in my studio for inspiration.

I also remember loving this one the first time I heard it:

"Your mind is like a parachute. It only works if it is open." - Anthony D'Angelo

And really they both relate to each other. Having an excellent imagination and an open mind go hand in hand!

Must post one from my dear Swami Satchidananda: "People often ask me, "What religion are you? You talk about the Bible, Koran, Torah. Are you a Hindu?" I say, I am not a Catholic, a Buddhist, or a Hindu, but an Undo. My religion is Undoism. We have done enough damage (with religious dogma). We have to stop doing any more and simply undo the damage we have already done."

Love. It.

And my favorite made up quote.... "Everyone has issues, some people just have more than others." catchy right?


Make sure to check out everyone else's favorite (or favourite) quotes!

Andes Cruz
Brad Severtson
Kathleen Krucoff
Wendy Kelly
Mary Spencer
Stephanie Clark
Barbara Donovan
Laura Flavin
Thomasin Durgin
Shaun Young
Kathryn Cole
Natsuko Hanks
Andrea Bell

Jess and Erin

I had been having a rough day this week when I got a wonderful email from Jess sharing her and Erin's wedding photos with me. It warmed my heart, brought tears to my eyes and completely made my day. Like most artists and jewelers that I know, I have days where I wonder what I'm doing, why I'm doing it, etc. And then I get to actually SEE the why. It is wonderful to see two people completely in love and my rings involved in that! I feel so honored to be a small part in the lives of these two gorgeous women. Thank you Jess and Erin!!

Jessica bought Erin's engagement ring from me last year,
and then I made the two bands as well.

these photos taken by and copyrighted by Gary Sexton

EtsyMetal Blog Carnival 5.14.11 - Pages from a Sketchbook

So this is a funny and kind of ridiculous topic for me to write about. I just hardly ever use a sketchbook, and if I do a sketch is usually for a piece I am making right then. I suppose if I had times when I could just make something as opposed to having a list of commissions, I would try to sketch things out, write things down etc, to have them fresh and ready to go. Most of the pages in my current sketchbook are notes and tiny sketches from meeting w/ customers. It rarely happens in person, so I don't even have that many pages like these - but I thought it would at least bring another image in to this blog post!


and the rings as they turned out...


and I scanned two more pages - these were from over a year ago, but at some point will be a new wedding ring design. I thought they were particular fun b/c you can clearly see my doodle to idea fulfillment process. and on the one page you can see the sharpie bleed through from another sketch. clearly you can see how serious I am about my sketchbooks! haha!





Make sure to check out pages from everyone elses's sketchbooks! (or lack of sketchbook)


Rebecca Bogan
Shirlee Grund
2Roses
kate jones
Erin Austin
Nodeform
Michele Grady
Elizabeth Scott
Su Trindle
Evelyn Markasky
ArtigianoJewelBox

Emailed Hacked

So... in case you were wondering - no, I did not take a trip to Malaysia. Though that would have been lovely - the getting mugged part wouldn't have been.

Sadly - it has been a giant mess to clean up. When they hacked my email, the completely locked me out, changing the password and the backup email so there was no way for me to get in to my account. Gmail's customer support... for lack of a better word... sucks. The account that got hacked was the one connected to this blog and my google checkout account (which is no longer). I will not be opening another google checkout account at all. Ever. Because I was locked out of my account - there was no way for me to easily contact ANYONE about shutting down my account. Long story - but just beware, unless you have to have a GC account - I wouldn't bother. Even with all the paypal issues people have had - at least they have customer service people that are fairly prompt and not simply robots... but that's a whole other soap box.

Long story short - I finally have access back.

Thank you to everyone that contacted me and even sent links to government websites for reporting these sad pathetic people.

My advice to all of those like me that think "oh it'll never be me":

- change your passwords - make sure no two passwords are the same and really... not even similar. The time and energy I have spent dealing with this is far beyond what it would take to change your passwords every few months or so.

- back up your email contacts - I had the vast majority of mine backed up on another email address, but was still missing several hundred... and those of course are the most recent ones.

- back up your email if you can - Luckily through the apple mail system - and my lack of deleting emails - I still have 10,000+ emails from the past 5 years. (sad I know...) but still - it would have saved me if I hadn't gotten access back.

I have no idea how my email got hacked and I doubt I ever will. I feel like I'm generally pretty cautious, but obviously not enough. I suppose I'd gotten too comfortable in my little online bubble. Now I am utterly disappointed and let down by gmail/google. I feel out of sorts in terms of security. And am completely overwhelmed by the fact that my whole business and much of my life revolves around the computer and that one particular email.

The good news is, I appear to have everything back. No loss of contacts, no loss of emails, no tampering with anything of super importance that I've found yet... but I still feel like I have hours and hours ahead of me of changing passwords and log-ins, deleting certain things and reorganizing everything in a new email. Sadly a new email I don't like as much.

There is part of me that feels like overall I'm handling it okay and more calmly than I might have thought I would. And there is another part of me that feels totally overwhelmed and is ready to shut down.

So for any customers that are waiting for a response from me, many apologies in any delay.

oh oh and the kicker... I'd planned on emailing my entire contact list to tell everyone what was going on... apparently b/c of all the emailing... I can't do anymore mass emails or I would be in danger of having my account shut down for being a spammer. great. thanks. so... here's this blog post!

Happy Monday!

xoxo

Blog-o-sphere Think Tank - #3 - April Edition - Favorite Book or Movie

oooh such a fun topic, but oh so hard! There is NO way I can pick just one.

I tend to be the sort of person that doesn't rewatch movies and rarely rereads books. I think it is because I like the surprise or the suspense of not knowing what is going to happen. Once I've read it or seen it, I know already and it just isn't as fun the 2nd time around. I would say I've read far more books than I've seen movies over my life time - though recently most of the books I've been reading are 'fluff' type books - highly entertaining and easy to read - but uh, most aren't something I would even mention...

So I guess the qualification comes then in what some of my favorites are by ones I am willing to read or watch again and again.

I'm going to start with books b/c that will make you giggle. Yes. I read the Twilight series. and yes, I read all of them more than once. more than twice. But that is all you get from me on that topic. oh, and no the movies are no where close to the top of my list. I haven't even seen all the ones that are out.


As for movies - I can't pick just one - just can't do it. All of my top movies are equal in some way - they're all different and fit in to a different favorite category... but the image is a bit of a give away. The Fifth Element is one of my all time favorites. It is one of those movies that if it is on tv, I'll start watching it from where ever it is. MULTI-PASS! And honestly, I don't know why I love it so much. I think the visuals are so fun and quirky, there is always something new to notice.

Next on my list is the first Lord of the Rings. I have seen that movie maybe more than any other movie. When I was in college I would just put it on when I was working on some random project. I couldn't quite figure out what I liked to much about it. The costumes were great - the jewelry fantastic and utterly inspiring - lots of trees and forests. What it comes down to though, is the complete and utter devotion of having friends there to protect you and help you along the way. And seriously... there were some hot friends, just sayin'.

Then there is the Grindhouse duo - Planet Terror and Death Proof. I think Death Proof slightly wins over those two, but they each have their charm. I love a strong badass female character, or group of them.

Changing genres now... Best In Show. Hilarious. If you haven't seen it - you are missing out. One of those movies I laugh so hard I cry. Parker Posey is incredible.

And then... last but not least in any shape or form are my beloved kids movies. I love animated movies. I have seen Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc more times than I can count. And my newest favorite is Despicable Me. The little girl in Monsters Inc - who is very much like one of the little girls in Despicable Me - that was me as a child. "It's SO FLUFFY!!!" again - a must see.

So that is it - all my favorites - sorry I couldn't pick just one over all winner.

make sure to check out everyone else's favorites!
Andes Cruz
Kathleen Krucoff
Brad Severtson
Stephanie Clark
Wendy Kelly
Andrea Bell
Barbara Donovan
Shaun Young

EtsyMetal Blog Carnival 4.4.11: For the love of Tools

This month's EtsyMetal blog carnival installment is a fun one! The topic for April is:

Most coveted tool. Why? How would you utilize it if you got it?


a robot.

that I can program to think just like me. Apparently, like the one pictured above - it will actually check on me if I should collapse and could even call 911. how handy! I could even put it in some of my clothes and an image of my face! awesome! I bet it could saw off sprues like a pro.

but since I honestly don't EVER see that happening any time in the near future... the other tool I've been dreaming about is a microscope for stone setting. I've never tried one, but I imagine it would be fantastic. I always thought my eyesight for stone setting was good. Until I used a macro lens to photograph! haha! It is amazing the tiny detail yours eyes don't pick up.

There is this one - I do love GRS...



And then there are these... which are a bit more feasible in terms of use, space and budget. so... I might actually get them! annnndddd.... they are dead sexy.



make sure to check out what everyone else is coveting!

2Roses
Elizabeth Scott
Tosca Teran
AdobeSol
Nodeform
wildflowerdesigns
Evelyn Markasky
Erin Austin

Ara: Episode 3

Episode #3 of Ara is up! Here it is!

Susanna and David

Susanna and David are a wonderful couple that drove from another state to meet with me, so fun! I normally meet up with customers at a local coffee shop - but on the particular day I was meeting with them, it was utterly packed. The Publix was right across the parking lot and had some picnic tables - so we just went there! It was quite humorous and they totally charmed me. (and they took a photo of us with the Publix sign in the background! haha!)


Susanna already had a gorgeous ring - so I was just commissioned for David's. A little different than my usual love rocks style, but really fun to make and loved the end result!
Their amazing photos were taken by Inlux Photo - you should totally check them out if you're needing wedding photos in Ohio!

Wishing them both all the very best and as much happiness as humanly possible :)

Blog-o-sphere Think Tank - #2 - March Edition - best childhood/ younger years memory

This month's topic is

best childhood/ younger years memory

I'm not sure that I have one particular memory, more like a collection of memories I guess. Growing up from ages 3 - 14, I lived in a fabulous house in Alabama - it wasn't so much the house as the property that was really memorable. We shared a large "pond" (I think it was about an acre or so) with our neighbor. Our half included the dam and the runoff - which created a wonderful eco-system for a child to play in. We also had quite a bit woods behind the house and around the pond. My fondest memories are playing outside in a variety of ways. I remember loving climbing trees, particularly the little pines that had small broken branches that served as ladder rungs. Something that as a small child - it seemed like I could climb up so high in the tree. I use to make all kinds of things with twigs and leaves and bark and sweet gum balls. My brothers and I built forts, tried our hand at a catapult or two, made little bark boats with leaf sails.... so many fun creative things. I remember making little fairy "dwellings" - and even in college, recreated a giant village based on my childhood creations for an art project in a sculpture class!

It is curious to wonder if I would love nature so much if I had grown up in a neighborhood filled with concrete....

my memory is something like this irene suchocki photo - minus the bench... we had a wonderful island that had a giant willow on it - and there was so much green...


make sure to check out everyone else's posts for this month's topic - sure to be some fun reads!

Andes Cruz
Kathleen Krucoff
Laura Flavin
Wendy Kelly
Stephanie Nocito Clark
Brad Severtson
Andrea Bell
Natsuko Hanks
Shaun Young
Pal Gooz

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the blog-o-sphere think tank is the creation of andes cruz - it is a fun way to blog together as a group on NON jewelry, metal, or art business related topics. yay for variety!

Rebecca and Scott

Isn't that gorgeous!! Rebecca sent me these photos ages ago and I've had them in my "starred" important email folder for months and finally got them posted! Such a great couple in an amazing setting. And Rebecca was sweet enough to write something for the blog post too! Thank you so much to both of them :)

Scott and I got married on August 8th in Essex, MA. In our regular lives, Scott is a paramedic and I am a teacher. We found Beth by searching for tree rings on Etsy, loved her tree bark rings, but ended up falling in love with her Love Rocks rings and purchasing them in white gold. We love the fact that each ring is unique and created for us. We couldn't be happier with them.

Wishing them both much happiness in their life together.