myfriendroze home

I haven't been blogging for a bit- mostly because I'm suuuuper lazy.   there must be other reasons but I can only come up with that one right now, I'll get back to you when I find other excuses.
So the price of silver is insane, AND I miss making larger things so I decided to take my love of casting things, and cement and bubble wrap and make things bigger than jewelry.  yay!  below is my cement bubblewrap home line so far... more to come.   if you had to make any one of the following which would it be:  votive/candle holder; picture frame; bowl; vase.

4" round coasters

4" square coasters

7" trivet

clocks

I call this line myfriendroze home and I'm super excited!  let me know what you think.

new year new line new york

I know, it's almost february and I haven't blogged.  There goes my new years resolution right down the drain.   I'm failing at my diet too, and I also haven't been to the gym.  I guess I'm resolving to not do anything...wait I HAVE done something.   I created a new line for 2010!   I was calling it amoeba but then as I showed it to some people it became clear that I was creating clouds without knowing it.  So, since it's all handmade from reclaimed sterling silver,  I changed the name, to silver lining.  (thanks vernon).

three bracelets together

sterling and jade earrings

spiral earrings

The other thing I did this year, was sign up to show and sell at the New York International Gift Fair.   I'm nervous as hell, as well as super excited!  This will be my first show like this in NY.  It's insanely expensive but everyone says it's the show to do.  So I'm going to see if "everyone" is right.   I have been trying to prepare (new line, new line sheets, displays etc) in between bouts of procrastination- which explains why I am now blogging instead of preparing.

ok I'm off to prepare, or eat something..

handmade jewelry everyday by myfriendroze- www.myfriendroze.com

rainy weather

I for one, hate the rain.   I don't like being out in the wet, and driving in LA in such things is totally treacherous.  Not to mention what it does to my hair, even when I'm not out in it.   Ok I know it's beneficial for the foliage- but still, this is a bit much, right LA?   It is kind of poorly timed for many brick and mortar retailers- it's the holiday season and people are sitting at home not wanting to go out in the rain.  I wonder if online sales have increased in southern california.

Maybe the rain will encourage people to make handmade gifts.   I have lots of things sitting around my house that I can make into interesting gifts for people and I don't have to leave the house.   I know everyone doesn't have a jewelry studio in their house but I bet everyone has SOMETHING they can turn into a great gift.  Perhaps you have a sewing machine and some old clothes- you can cut them up and make an interesting pillow, quilt, stuffed animal or new item of clothing.   Maybe you put away those knitting needles years ago- pull them out!  You could print out a particularly good photo from your camera and frame it... Do you like to cook?  Don't forget cookies/cakes/ food in general!  This site has a bunch of ideas.. http://www.pioneerthinking.com/crafts-general.html

For me I think it's a good time to make some new items for next season.  I'm planning on acting as though I actually can't leave the house, and am sketching and designing new things.

look at these cool things made from household items that I found on the web:

check out this blog for more diy ideas

ok the rain stopped for a minute, I'm running out for supplies and then I'm going to start creating.  

- myfriendroze  handmade jewelry every day

handmade theft?

 This weekend I was at a show of all small handmade designers.  I felt like i was at home and in a little community.  I guess I got too complacent and/or comfortable because I was the victim of theft. What was sort of ironic about the piece that was stolen, was that I had been holding it in the back for someone for almost the entire show.   I finally gave up and put it back out for sale, only to have it stolen within minutes.

Whenever I am at one of these show I somehow figure that the people coming out to see the handmade items appreciate the amount of work that goes into each thing, and if they can't afford it they find something else to purchase.  I figure they know that most if not all of the vendors are sole proprietors and don't have enough merchandise or money to build in theft as part of the cost of doing business.   Turns out, I was wrong.  

I am trying to be positive and look at it as some sort of flattery, i.e. they liked it so much but couldn't afford to buy it so they took it?

I was talking about it to some other vendors, only to find out that I am super naive.  They ALL have had things stolen and some have something stolen every time they do a show.   I was mortified.

here are some things that have been stolen from me at the past few shows:

...and I am sure there are even more things I am not aware of.     

I wonder really how these people feel ok with stealing from a show like that and I think to myself that it has to be kids that have no idea what goes into these things...  at least I hope it's kids.   I also hope that they are at least wearing the items and not selling them, or throwing them away.

This upcoming weekend I have another Renegade craft show in san francisco and have vowed to be more vigilant!  

handmade jewelry every day-  myfriendroze

Renegade Los Angeles and San Francisco

I'm preparing for my last two holiday shows of the year, one in Los Angeles and one in San Francisco.   Renegade Craft has gotten some great publicity and grows every year and I am excited to be a part of it.   I am honored to be a part of such a great show with other great artists.    What I really love about Renegade is their dedication to finding quality handmade artists, and their ability to really make it a fun experience.  (Not to mention they never charge an entrance fee for shoppers).   All the artists seem to form a community and I have made some great friends that I am excited to see again.   I looked at the list of artists and here are some that I hadn't seen before, and am exited to meet (and perhaps spend some money with):

kirkiture

solidio

veqdesign

Plus there will be so many other great artists there that I may go broke!    Happy holiday shopping everyone!

handmade jewelry every day-  www.myfriendroze.com

handmade hanukkah

Happy Chanukah Chanukkah Channukah Hanukah Hannukah Hanukkah Hanuka Hanukka Hanaka Haneka Hanika Khanukkah or however you want to spell that.   My home smells like oil and feels like it too... I made a hundred latkes last night, had a lovely party, and it was super satisfying until today when I had to clean.  I feel the same way about creating anything.   I never want to clean.  Maybe it's a holdover from my childhood of being a tomboy.   I decided this year not to make anything holiday themed... but I figured I would look for some handmade things to buy!   Anyway here are some nice handmade hannukah and cleaning items:

toys by carl

ARCHITETTE

ella jewelry

bagel soap!!!!! by bubblegenius

star of david soap

handmade jewelry every day- www.myfriendroze.com

why to buy handmade

I am totally cutting and pasting this from a better blogger scoutie girl.   But it's everything I wanted to say- the reasons to pay more and buy handmade:

1. support an individual.

when you pay for something – say $30 for a t-shirt instead of $10 – you are paying a real person, who lives in a community very much like yours, for their time and skill. you’re opting out of the system of poverty that allows corporations to pay so much less than a living wage (whether in america or abroad). you’re choosing to pay someone what you’d like to get paid for the same work.

2. support an economy.

you know that global recession we’ve just started coming out of? i am convinced that part of the problem is our unwillingness to recognize the true value of the stuff we consume. when we inflate the value of executing the management of a company and put little to no value on the products it produces, most of us lose out. and when people like you and i lose out, we don’t have the money to consume much of anything – creating recession.

by choosing to pay more for better products, we help support job creation throughout the economy.

3. support yourself.

ugh. the need to consume is so draining! when you pay more for better products, you’re less likely consume quite so many in the never ending cycle of “i need this.” you’ll feel free be more conscious of each buying decision you make. when you cut out the $1-here or $5-there purchases you can purchase quality, design, and uniqueness. you can complement your life with stuff that reflects your value[s] instead of filling your life with stuff that has none.

i was recently introduced to the story of stuff, an internet video phenomenon, that describes the exhausting cycle of working to buy and buying to feel good about yourself. annie leonard, the writer behind the story of stuff, says she’s not looking to get rid of stuff. she says, “i want us to have more reverence for our stuff.”

seems like a good reason to pay more to me.