Emerging from a thick fog of illness....

What an incredible 3 weeks it's been--from amazing professional opportunities to some detours in the road to some downright scary stuff going on in my world!

But all of that has been overshadowed by the longest lingering cold/ear infections in the history of me. In short, I have been dogged by this illness that just won't go away; and as I write this I am awaiting word from the nurse at my doctor's office that a better, more powerful med is waiting for me at the pharmacy. I want to kick this sickness' ass!

I haven't been able to work out for 3 weeks, and it's been most stressful in my environment at the same time. And because of the illness, I haven't even gotten the energy to go into the studio and create something new--which is what I should be doing in light of these great potential opportunities!

I hope to be back in action by next week, back into the groove. Forgive me for not posting sooner--I have been mending my body, my soul and my heart these past few weeks!

Doors and Windows....

"Often the difference between a successful person and a failure

is not one has better abilities or ideas,
but the courage that one has
to bet on one's ideas,

to take a calculated risk--and to act."

Andre Malraux

It has been an UNBELIEVABLE couple of days.

On Monday, I learned that a consortium of Web sites (http://www.traderlou.com/, http://www.handtrade.com/ and http://www.ahsmith.com/) had STOLEN images of my work off of Etsy AND my product descriptions and were representing my work without MY permission to do so. They had ripped off several other damned fine artists on Etsy too, and even had the cajones to actually rip off images from Robert Redford's Sundance Catalog if you can believe that.

Once word got out that this was what was happening, one ripped off artist told another, and another, and before you know it, the entire ETSY community was bombarding these Web sites with nasty emails, voice mails, text messages--you name it. We all banned together and fought this low life company, who pretended to partner with small artists and sell our work. What a joker this guy and company are!

By end of the day, all of the Web sites had completely stripped the Etsy artists from their pages! It was the most awesome feeling in the world to take down this company's illegal acts without any of us even having to consult a lawyer.

On the same day, I got crappy news that NONE of the samples I had sent to my catalog for Fall weren't selected. Let's just say I assumed that was the case, as all I received was a box full of my samples with No NOTE, NO Thank You, No Nothing! I was pretty bummed about it, as I had high hopes for my designs in their fall book. They simply said my samples were too similar to what they already had in the book, and they were looking for other designs..Fair enough.

I had a pity party for myself about it last night, but it only lasted about 1 hour. Then, after I put Evan to bed, I started pitching my work to lots of other boutiques I'd been wanting to get into for some time. And I pitched myself to a catalog I've been wanting to get into for awhile, too. I figured, what the hell? The time is NOW.

Do you know what happened? Today, I shipped 30 pieces off to a Toronto-based company that has an amazing array of jewelry designers in its inventory--they were one of the pitches I made lastnight. The owner scours the world for fabulous, interesting work, and she called me this morning and asked me if I could get my work to her before her Valentine's Day Trunk Show TOMORROW! I loved her immediately as a person, and I do believe it will bring other wonderful opportunities.

In addition, I got a call this afternoon from a buyer at a catalog I've been targeting for some time. Last night, I sent them images of my fall line up and they now want to take a look at samples. It is AWESOME news, as this particular catalog must get hundreds of submissions a year--if not thousands.

I almost want to cry at the way in which life introduces new opportunities. A year ago, I probably would have had a much longer pity party for myself about the other catalog not wanting my work for fall, and I would have even entertained the idea that this one single rejection was a sign from the universe that I probably wasn't meant to be a designer after all.

But this time, I just took it in stride and put my energy into something positive. I saw it for what it could be--another door opening. The new catalog opportunity might not turn into something immediately, but it WILL turn into something. I insist on it.

What door has closed recently in your life?

Instead of looking upon it with sadness, look ahead--up there, through the hazy fog of your imagination.

Is that a door, bright with sunlight? If so, walk confidently towards it, grab the handle with a firm grip, and stride out into your future.

A Promise...

"If we could see the miracle

of a single flower clearly,

our whole life would change."

--BUDDHA

I love that this time of year brings the promise of possibility.

You can feel it in the air that things are about to change.
Isn't it a miracle? This rebirth of the land, of the sky that I love? I am in awe of Mother Earth's ability to transform itself and in doing so to transform us.

I have been busy adding new work to the site, much of which is inspired by the promise of spring.

What I mean by that is that like Mother Earth, there is the promise in each of us that life will be transformed; that we will grow new shoots and leaves, gaze up at the sun and allow her to shine light in our lives.

But to get there, we must also be willing to accept the gray skies, pregnant with rain, to douse the land with cold wetness. We must first endure cold, harsh windy days. And when the sunshine of spring finally arrives, it is like it has been there all along, wrapping its blanket around us and giving us shelter and warmth.

I look to the season with promise of a new life; the promise of better things. I have often been told that I am a pessimist. But I realize that if I can still have hope that today will be great, and if it isn't, tomorrow will be better, then that doesn't really make me one, does it?

I love the colors in this season's collection and hope you do, too. Lots of etched work coming--I promise!