A Trip Down Halloween's Past

Just taking a little trip down memory lane for #tbt + Halloween! My favorite part about Halloween is creating a costume that is SO homemade but so on point and then taking it way. too. far.  If you've ever seen me in any costume, you know I STAY in character all day + night, possibly to the point of annoyance. This year I dressed up as a black kitty and yes, I was seen chasing my own tail/giving salty looks/being awesome/demanding catnip.  Cheers to a holiday that gets better as you get older!

Mario + Luigi hit the streets of Chicago and act a damn fool and draw on their faces with permanent marker! (2007)

 UPS Delivery DREAM TEAM! Opps, my scanner is on. (2008)

 Masters of the Universe + of everything else. (2009)

Anatomically Incorrect Skeletons. (2010)

The Indigenous Cave Peoples of Northeast Ohio. (2011)

Invisible. (2012)

A Black Cat from Hell, apparently. (2013)

Yep, already thinking about next year.  I have a pretty solid idea that I've been wanting to do for a while now...  HAPPY HALLOWEEN, kids!

I N - T H I S - M O M E N T / 02

I am...

inspired by these beaded West African (Bemileke) Elephant Masks.  I snapped a picture of this one last week when I was at the Cleveland Museum of Art.  The beautiful beadwork got me.  It's so damn intricate! Just imagine how much thought and effort goes into all of thoes details...  I always wonder WHY?  What the hell did someone do all that for?  Don't you love how art invites you to be curious and ask questions and learn more?  It is such a powerful vehicle for communication and thought.  Plus, it's usually super weird and that's always fun.

taking a hand lettering class through Skillshare.com. Have you guys ever tried an online class like this?  It was only $20 dollars, so not much of an investment and definitely worth it if I can learn a thing or two about creating more illustrative text.  "Live well and rebel" is the phrase I'm working with and I'll report back when it's over!

looking forward to... like everyone else... SPRINGTIME.  And sunshine!  And bike adventures! Did you hear that weather? It's Spring.  So, man up and act like it.

preparing for a shop update in the next few weeks, a craft show in Cincinnati at the end of April and being a featured artist for the Tremont Art Walk in May!  There's a lot on my plate.  Lucky for me, I am one hell of an eater :)

Heyo, it's almost the weekend!  Happy Thursday!

all photos taken with iPhone / via instagram (on_the_lookout) / edited with AfterLight, Diptic and Over photography apps. 

2012, You Have Changed Me

...in the most difficult and enlightening ways possible.  Here's to another fabulous year of learning, loving and doing (and jewelry making and blogging and trip-taking and photography and laughing and just enjoying my damn self!)

HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone!!

Smiling and smiling and smiling some more :)

I practiced yoga with my crew last week and the theme of the class really stuck with me :  It was about showing up... As in, who you are and how you do it.  The idea is to become so grounded in the phenomenal person you are, that despite the daily grind and the annoying-ass challenges you face, the core of your being is UN-fuckable-with.  You remain you, despite all of this... and despite all of that.  It will be hard sometimes, yeah.  It may seem damn near impossible some days.  All the more reason to make it possible.

The energy you choose to bring into a space has the power to immensely affect the people in it.  What great responsibility!  I like it.  I have the power... to make people...inspired?  Happy? Feel good?  Laugh?!?  Game ON!!!  Speeding ticket and dreary-never-ending-rainy-clouded-weather, you will not get me down! I've got a responsibility to smile and shine as much as I can in this lifetime :)

I hope that wherever you are, you have those "someones" in your life that give you the most fulfilling laugh or a face cracking smile or a calming touch - whatever you need to re-spark that grateful fire in your soul.  Think about it... You know what that feels like, right?  It's warm and magical and soso good. Take that feeling and become the light for others when they need it.  Take that feeling and PASS. IT. ON.

Let us be grateful for those who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.  -Marcel Proust

And a Happy Friday to you and yours!

Sundays with Kittles

[Somecat spent a lot of time watching rain drops hit the window and people around the neighborhood scurry about in the god-awful-hello-fall-lets-get-cozy weather.  Our apartment is warm and quiet, so it was a relaxing day for the cat and I.  We shot some new stuff for the shop, listened to music, sauntered around in sweatpants and wool socks, maybe drank a bit too much midday wine, napped and pulled it together for dinner, football and a movie, from the comfort of a big couch.  A perfect, lazy Sunday.]

Hope you guys had a great weekend!

From the Weekend

I spent a lot of time playing with a big girl camera (read : Nikon DSLR) this weekend, in hopes that with a bit of patience, practice and a 300-page manual, I may be able to figure how to take a decent looking photograph with something other than my iPhone.

What I got was frustrated, because I basically wanted to turn the camera on and immediately channel some sort of Ansel-Adams-protege-photography-savant-geniusness.  That did not happen and so frustration set in in about 4 minutes.  Here's what I got instead:

An out-of-focus kitty, who thinks he's my shadow, a basket of cherry tomatoes from Patterson Farm and some ugly rocks I painted.  So I'm a weird-o, rock hording, cat lady who likes little fruits.  File that in your "Things I Never Cared About, But Now Know" memory bin.  Based on this image, I can only get better, right?

Yeah, ok, things started to get a little much better.  Here are some product shoots from the Fall collection that will be in the shop soon! (Barely even retouched in Photoshop! Expensive cameras are are so good.)

Happy Monday!

Recently // Instagram

My life has looked like a lot of jewelry-making lately (spring shop update next Tuesday!)  Which is exhilarating and stressful and all-consuming.  That and a little bonding time with the cat and snacks replacing actual meals.

I'm all over Instagram like a bee is to honey.  Are you?  It's the perfect way to capture a moment and has me looking at simple things in a much sweeter light.  Pretty nice for a free, phone app, yeah?

The Daily Draw // Logo and Package Design

[A peak at what I'm drawing today...]

Feast your eyes on round one of prototype packaging for onthelookout jewelry.  I think I've decided to do a combination business card / earring, necklace and bracelet holder - in order to keep my costs down and streamline the process.  When you're starting your own creative business and, hence, do all of the work, you gotta take the "easy" route when you can.

So far, my idea is to use rectangular piece card stock.  I'll then stamp my logo in black/gold/pink at the top and a row of three or five chevron/herringbone/triangles at the bottom in another color.  I figure I'll go ahead and hand cut slits or holes in the card stock with an exacto knife, depending on what it's going to hold.  After that, I need to decide if those go into boxes or muslin jewelry bags.  I'm leaning towards boxes, because there's built in protection for shipping right there, but those little bags are so cute!

Looks real amateur, doesn't it?  Just how I like it... Simple beginnings soon lead to great things, I think.

And by great things, I mean I want to be starring into the likes of one of these bad boys one day:

Never stop trying to...

For me it can be found in the simplest of things: photo-shopping, big-smiling and picture-taking.  #ismilebecauseiloveit

Hello Twenty-Twelve

2011 did me so right and I cannot wait to continue the positivity I've felt in my life for the past year into the new one.  Here's to dreaming big, showing gratitude (for everything) and going after what you want!  Happy NY!

Happy Holidays!

I can proudly say that I had my 1st (ever) holiday rush this season.  Last night I spent the better half of 9 hours after work beading and sawing and wire wrapping my fingers to the bone in order to get out some last-minute necklaces and earrings.  It was awesome and exhilarating and super stressful.  But, I got everything made and wrapped up and ready to give.  Phew!  Plus, I learned few things along the way:

1// Get a calendar.  In every room. Or take a look at that glorified phone you have and note the date.  It isn't helpful to your psyche to think that Christmas is on Saturday, when it really is on Sunday.
2// Organize your creative space (today).  Having a studio that is sometimes messy is sort of a given, but heart palpitations resulting from panic (WHERE ARE MY NEEDLE NOSE PLIERS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD?!) can be avoided if you take 10 minutes to put stuff away every night.
3// Good music = productivity.  Up to a point.  Make your space the the most creativity stimulating space you can.  Then if it's not working for you, change it up.  Turn off the music, stretch or do some push ups.  A short ice cream break or a change of scenery can give you the the extra energy to make it to 4am without gluing your fingers together.
4// Plan ahead.  Get the word out early that you're open for business!  Check shipping dates from the USPS/FedEx/UPS so you  know when your cut off dates are.
5// Surround yourself with positive and honest people.  They give the best feedback on your products, new awesome ideas that you may be too busy to think of and the kind of genuine excitement that can erase all traces of uncertainty in your stuff.
6// Live up to the promises you make.  If I said I'd have 10 necklaces done for you tomorrow, you better believe I'll live up to that.  Next time, however, I'll make sure to give myself enough time to get the job done without all the stress.
7// Breathe and remember to take time off.  Sometimes getting away from your obsession for a few days helps invigorate you for a new season of phenomenal goodies (onthelookout Spring 2012, here I come!)  I've seen a lot of my favorite shops "closing their doors" for the holiday ahead to spend time with family and relax.  What a great way to end the year and ring in the new one.

I hope everyone has a great Holiday!

No Words, Just Photos

[Working on being quiet and practicing photography...]

...Feeling Better, Grounded.

(Woof, I guess a blog rant is good for the soul every now and then!)

After that last post, I induced foreced-relaxation on a super dark drive home from work, bear hugged my man before he went for a run, made the most amazing homemade pizza (with garlic sauteed mushrooms and broccoli and a dash of curry on top).  And I did something I rarely EVER do.  I took my time.  Finely chopped garlic, perfectly crisp veggies and a sense of calm ensued.

Anyway, I ended up happy and not overly stuffed (taking your time = not shoveling food in face = happy tummy) and in the mood for a little jewelry making.  Freebie time to make whatever, letting my mind wander and my fingers play with beads and chain.  Came up with some stuff I really like.  In the shop soon, hope you like!

1 Step Forward, 2 Steps Back

(3 steps forward, and so on...)

I feel like posting when I'm not in the best of moods is a disservice to readers.  Like, who wants to hear about the goddammit and the arrrgh and the wtf moments of someone else's life?  But, then I realized that A. this is my blog and B. keeping all of my frustrations in is a disservice to myself and C. I gots to keep it real.  I'm not here to paint a picture of a perfect life.  I'm here to post some cool shit I've found or made, share it with you and hope that you share back.

So, in an attempt to be honest, I'm going to put it out there... THIS JEWELRY MAKING BUSINESS IS HARD AND OVERWHELMING at times.  And to be super, SUPER honest, my goal here is to chronicle the building of a business that will (WILL) turn into something beautiful that I've created, with hard work, passion and more hard work. There are moments when I am so filled with excitement over a new idea or the possibilities of selling wholesale to some cool, local shop, I can't sit still or sleep...Literally, so giddy that I could throw up.  (Is it that weird to be that excited over some beads...?)  THEN, there are times where I feel so dizzy with what direction to go in, I just stop mid-bead, turn off the lights in my studio and say "efff it" and go to bed.

My mind is races with ideas, bombarding my neurons with so much information and questions and for some reason I cannot seem to prioritize when it comes to managing my own business.  From setting up correct business licenses, to creating new, original, inspired, WELL-CRAFTED products, to spreading the word, to searching for inspiration, to making sure my descriptions are accurate, to supporting other bloggers and crafters, to supporting myself (financially), to sleeping, to eating, to being there for my friends and family, to staying happy and healthy, smiling and laughing.  DANG.

I am beginning to see what I hear others refer to when speaking about their own businesses.  The line between work and life gets really blurry.  You never "leave" the office and you never really shut your brain off to possibilities of what you can accomplish/shit you need to do.  But, at some point, I think I need to realize that this business does not define me.  Having a phenomenal accessories business, while drowning in everything else isn't worth it...as much as I want said phenomenal business.

So to wrap things up quite abruptly, I'm going to have to figure out this whole balance thing.  I have no intentions of stepping back from onthelookout, really, but something's got to give.  Maybe I need to be more decisive.  Maybe I need more focus.  Maybe I need to have just a little more confidence in my product and what I am putting out there.  As it so happens, second-guessing whether or not people are going to like your stuff is a HUGE time waster and energy-drainer.  I love the things I create and I work tirelessly to ensure that they are the highest quality I can produce; And the best I can do, is all I can do.  My inner nay-sayer needs to get on the bandwagon or shut the hell up.

This, like anything important, is a process.  If I don't have a Holiday collection out in time for the impeding holidays, just let it be.  If I don't have a jewelry update for the masses every Monday, let it be.  That's OK right???  I've got to ride this wave, take note of it's ups and downs and enjoy every moment.  Because, in actuality, I am having the time of my life doing this.

Ahhhh (sigh of relief).  And just so no one is confused, I am a supremely grateful that I even have the opportunity and support form everyone in my life to go out there and live my dream life.  Sometimes rants are necessary to help regain perspective and to start the next moment of your life as fresh as possible.

Thanks for listening.

Hello Monday

          

Recipe for a stomach ache: Mix one 1 part sugary drink with 1 part cracker and pepperoni-flavored cheese snack with 1 part high fructose corn syrup covered in sour sugar.  Mix well with an empty stomach and 3-hour long drive.

An amazing (but too short, as always) weekend.  Lots of jewelry making with clay, pretty produce at the farmers market and a quick road trip to visit family, booze it up and play disco fever pinball.  Monday, I love you, but you came too soon.

Twelve by 2012

I'm a big fan of goal setting and making said goals known far and wide and I'm just in time to participate in the Twelve by 2012 Project by oh, hello friend.  This is a cool idea (list, share and complete 12 goals before 2012) and I encourage you to join along! We've got about 2 more months until 2012, and I think getting some huge goals crossed of the list before the New Year will really help me keep up momentum and hit 2012 at full speed.  Because you should aim to be phenomenal all of the time and not when everyone's getting their resolutions in order, right?  And, let's be honest, those guys usually end up on the back-burner by mid-February anyway.

SO, whip up your own list and leave a comment with a link to your Twelve by 2012 blog post.

bold = complete!
italic = in progress...

1// Laundry room renovation!  Remove litter box, install shelves and clothes drying racks.  Add much needed storage for cleaning supplies and whatnot.  If you're going to be doing laundry (barf), your surroundings might as well be as conducive to cleaning and as blissful as possible.

2// Frame and hang all 8 awesome prints/posters that have been sitting in storage for years.  Re-attempt to make at least two frames by hand.

3// Forearm stand with no wall or assist!

4// Confidently running a 8.5 to 9 minute mile pace 3 times a week.

5// Find 3 local shops to sell onthelookout jewelry out of as well as 2-3 applications for some spring and summer craft fairs. Found 1 so far...

6// Create a small collection of original art for screen printed t-shirts and tank tops for the ladies.  Begin production for the shop in late December.

7// Posting a small, well curated selection of my own photography on the blog each week in order to work on them photag skills.

8// Start a savings account.

9// Apply for and get a whole seller's license. DONE

10// Plan a for a fast, fun, cheap, but awesome trip somewhere with my lover to celebrate 3 years :o) DONE, DC for new years on the cheap!

11// Create some original drawings and prints that are phenomenal and affordable for purchase in the shop.

12// Get some onthelookout business cards!  Preferably handmade and super eco-friendly.


...And...GO!

Ghosts, Goblins and Unibrows

...scary.  Happy Halloween!

The Daily Draw // October 27

Last night I did a quick study for some mold-and-bake clay pendants I'd like to work into the onthelookout jewelry line up.  Oh, the colors... (swoon).

"Be your best, right now. Know that everything you create can be better — your products, your photos, your packaging — and strive for that, but don’t let that keep you from putting your best out into the world at this moment."

Awesome words to repeat and remember from Kove, a Vancouver-based accessories designer and an Etsy Featured Seller.  The onthelookout shop OFFICIALLY opens October 13th...eeek!  I'm taking a short blooging break til then, although you might see some changes happening with the graphics and layout here.  Nose to the grindstone...I'm going to bead and bead and bead til I can't bead no more...

Hello Monday!

Is it weird that I actually like Monday's?

I hope you all had a great weekend.  Perfect weather, a little work, a concert, a quick road trip and LOTS of beading made mine spectacular and got me ready to take on the week ahead!