tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52454878557764466662026-03-31T16:59:04.154-05:00Black jewelry designer blogging about running her business. I make handcrafted jewelry in 14k Goldfilled or Sterling Silver with semi-precious gemstones. Sometimes I experiment with different materials to keep things fun.Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245487855776446666.post-87344784137442540762010-01-07T08:40:00.004-05:002022-05-16T16:57:44.051-05:00

Greeting for the New Year. I am amazed that so months have gone by without me blogging here. In truth I had many ideas to blog and share. I did so many amazing things last year that I could have talked about here...but yet....I didn't. I have many reason, excuses, explanations but really the true reason is I didn't think anyone would be interested in what I had to say. I kinda felt unless I

Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245487855776446666.post-3819252882752817932009-09-23T16:15:00.004-05:002022-05-16T16:58:47.685-05:00

Guess which black jewelry designer was feature on Etsy For Charity blog main page today. ME! Happy birthday to me indeed! Ah that was nice. Wondered how that happened? Each month we get to choose a day slot to be featured on the EFC blog. When I saw no one had requested the 23rd then I did. I guess it helped that I also told them it's my birthday. The jewelry that was featured is my

Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245487855776446666.post-61856161037908909982009-08-28T16:59:00.001-05:002022-05-16T18:35:21.536-05:00

"You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it." – Robin Williams I've always felt that "we" creative types have tapped into being a little bit insane. I mean think about it...we're making something out of nothing really and tell you it's important. LOL But what happens when you start to be sane? I feel lately like I'm losing my madness.

Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245487855776446666.post-89158129960516850972009-08-16T04:26:00.005-05:002022-05-16T16:57:32.797-05:00

About a week ago my stepfather ended up in the hospital after a heart attack. He had to have emergency surgery and all that. My family of course went into what I thought of as the "death fear" mode. It was interesting to see and hear people's reaction to the "fact" that we're all impermanent. But I won't get into that here....that's a whole other blog. Well my step dad survived the heart

Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245487855776446666.post-48613447576062810862009-08-12T14:51:00.000-05:002022-05-16T18:52:07.132-05:00

So as I now try...once again...to turn my attention back to jewelry I decided to keep up with the challenges/themes for some of the etsy teams I'm part. First up Etsy Artists of Color August Theme EAOC August Theme: The challenge/ theme is to create and/or showcase all of our animal-inspired designs. Batik Bead Tube Earrings Hmm, I can't say I do alot of prints or jewelry with a pattern

Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245487855776446666.post-80955039764528885222009-08-08T12:57:00.000-05:002022-05-16T18:57:33.752-05:00

Like everyone else I have a myspace business profile, that I made when myspace was considered the new hot spot to promote yourself. I started building a community there and promoting my brand, but it's alot of work finding and marketing to the right kind of people on that site. Not impossible but alot of work. While hanging on on myspace for some reason I decided to turn my attention

Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245487855776446666.post-92223074176439792022009-07-31T22:40:00.006-05:002024-06-02T12:47:11.734-05:00

It's Merry-Go-Round topic blogging time! This month's topic is to answer the question..."What inspires us: a peak into journals, pinboards, folders or wherever we keep our little snippets of inspiring stuff. So even though I knew this topic was coming I wasn't very please to share. LOL. Not that I didn't want to share but in order to share I had to brave the inspiration box. The inspiration

Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245487855776446666.post-83296616245264077582009-07-29T21:18:00.010-05:002009-08-07T22:38:15.215-05:00

Making jewelry is not as easy as some people try to tell you...some people feel as long as you have some beads and other jewelry supplies then your all set. Well not for me at this stage of my life. I've been struggling to make this necklace using the Stoneware Porcelain Pendants for days now. So, what's the issue? Some might say a creative block but that's never it...it's usually about time

Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245487855776446666.post-32924310285373180562009-07-20T14:17:00.002-05:002009-08-02T05:04:03.781-05:00

After the morning drama of getting my son ready for his first day of daycare, then coming all the way into the city for a class that booted me out and told me to sign up for an upcoming one ...you can imagine that I was feeling a bit out of sorts.I didn't want to hop back on the train again feeling that way so I decided to take a walk to breathe and bring my focus back to a positive level. It's

Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245487855776446666.post-74753892780403542462009-07-17T14:21:00.005-05:002009-08-07T22:48:27.632-05:00

After many emails back and forth with the Artbeads Coordinator of the Blogging for Beads Program where I'd asked...yet again...what was the latest selection of jewelry goodies to choose from...I finally buckled down, picked my item AND sent in the order. I'm happy to say it arrived today. What did I choose?Stoneware Rectangle Pendant - Spring Blooms and LadybugI chose this Stoneware Rectangle

Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245487855776446666.post-84045657331606106932009-06-26T14:10:00.006-05:002022-03-10T10:00:21.494-05:00

It's Merry-Go-Round topic blogging time! This month's topic is to answer the question..."What is your favorite publication(s)? Is there a book, books, magazine, or web site that has become the bible of your art/craft? I can't say I have one favorite publications or web sites for jewelry making. In the world of jewelry making there are many, many, many different sources for inspiration and

Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245487855776446666.post-18091402782376904442009-05-29T16:20:00.007-05:002022-03-10T10:20:29.957-05:00

It's Merry-Go-Round topic blogging time! This month's topic is to answer the question..."Five years ago did you think you'd be doing what you are doing now (craft/selling)? What has surprised you the most?" Heck, I had a good chuckle at this question.  I'm doing nothing like I thought I would be.  Five years ago I was preparing to enter my 30's with excitement and plans of

Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245487855776446666.post-19080052251692349962009-05-18T21:00:00.010-05:002022-05-16T17:56:21.635-05:00

Today I attended the EA SPORTS Active Launch in NYC. I meet with the first 12 people from across the country who have completed the 30 Day Challenge using Active. I even got a chance to try out the demo of EA SPORTS Active a day before it came out in stores. Score! Naturally for a cool but hands on event like this the jewelry needed to be understated but still was a must. But what to wear?

Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245487855776446666.post-28981683888619058352009-05-05T21:00:00.012-05:002009-05-30T15:59:21.758-05:00

Over in my personal life I've been attending a lot of promotional events as a blogging mom to highlight different companies and all that cool jazz. Since this takes time away from my jewelry making and selling, I've been trying to find ways to mentally keep jewelry making on my and then hopefully in my hands.I think I found a way! A recent comment from Anne of AL Creations said I should wear my

Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245487855776446666.post-53425276493396689332009-04-30T18:06:00.009-05:002009-04-30T20:12:19.773-05:00

The universe always knows what we need and provides it at the right time. I've experienced this time and time again in many different areas of my personal life so I'm not surprised to find it also happening in my business life.I bet you think I've been sitting too close to the incense burner and inhaled a few fumes to many. So let me show you...First example, yesterday I was struggling thru

Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245487855776446666.post-26814491127959941542009-04-25T10:17:00.007-05:002009-04-30T17:18:12.436-05:00

Friday morning, I went to a Todays Moms Breakfast Book Bash & Diaper Drive event. It's always cool to go to a mom bloggers event but it doubly cool when the events supports a worthy cause. This event collected hundreds of dollars worth of diapers to go to NYC families in need via BabyBuggy.org As a new a mom of course I had to show my supportHere I am with the Todays Moms, Mary Ann Zoellner

Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245487855776446666.post-53800396702967844772009-04-24T20:57:00.000-05:002022-05-16T18:17:16.470-05:00

It's Merry-Go-Round topic blogging time! This month we chose to blog about our interpetation of spring and what that means to us personally. So to be honest I was a little stuck on this one. I tried thinking of alternative ideas/images/ways for spring but kept coming back to the same idea. To me spring has always been about starting anew. It's a season for making new connections, starting new

Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245487855776446666.post-86191633911542633662009-04-12T18:07:00.004-05:002009-04-16T06:25:01.322-05:00

So last night I was just hanging out in the different jewelry groups I belong to...one to many if you ask me...but anyway, I decided to post that I'm looking for other black jewelry designers. To be honest I didn't expect any replies but ironically I received quite a few.  Soon I started a little emails list with the people who responded.  But after a discussion about not seeing a group for black

Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245487855776446666.post-6769194612375047702009-04-10T17:30:00.007-05:002026-01-13T06:47:29.196-05:00

The past few days have been crazy busy with stuff both jewelry and non-jewelry related.  It's always amazing to me how many things can happens at once after you do just one thing =) So to give an update about me and my charity direction. I emailed Americans for UNFPA (www.americansforunfpa.org), but have yet to hear back from them. I'm not discouraged though. Since they have an office

Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245487855776446666.post-44851974781685265952009-03-27T07:57:00.018-05:002022-03-10T10:45:15.512-05:00

It's Merry-Go-Round topic blogging time! Usually they blog about business stuff but this month's blog topic is a bit different. This month we choose to blog about our favorite recipes. I want to share a recipe for baked custard my mother taught me. Baked Custard 1 egg 1/2 pint milk 1 tbls sugar grated nutmeg few drops of vanilla essence - Warm the milk to body temperature. - Beat the

Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245487855776446666.post-57700730711491003652009-03-24T10:20:00.009-05:002022-05-16T18:34:33.310-05:00

So for the past 2 weeks or so I've been trying to find a charity to support. I've looked on eBay, FaceBook and multitudes of various online sites highlighting organizations that are worthy of receiving donations. Still I didn't find what I was looking for. Should have been an easy task considering there's literally thousands of charities to be found. Hmm. But being who I am I can never just do

Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245487855776446666.post-1382030838320089012009-03-17T06:38:00.010-05:002009-03-17T07:31:29.453-05:00

Normally the first thing I do in the morning is take out a notebook, get some tea and journal. Then I write my daily to-do-list, which is just an add on from yesterdays list. Ha. But for the past few months I found that the first thing I do...after checking my son...is get on the internet in hopes of catching up. I spend hours, yes hours trying to catch up in so many different areas. Between

Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245487855776446666.post-88066087247180571602009-03-13T13:13:00.002-05:002009-03-13T13:28:17.269-05:00

 I had tons to do with updating this blog today. There were many times I pulled my hair in frustration when codes broke, my son demanded bananas, I couldn't find the photos of the jewelry I just scanned and on and on and on. BUT I was determined to update things today and struggled thought it. I'm happy to say while I didn't get everything on my blog to do list done, I did get some important

Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245487855776446666.post-15300524269024735452009-02-08T08:54:00.009-05:002009-02-09T05:37:24.794-05:00

Seek and you shall find...now as a general rule I don't discuss this subject with *ahem* non minority folks because it's just an accepted fact that designers within the jewelry industry are mainly non minority not just non-black. *shrug* For the most part most minority jewelry designers find success within their community. While other people are just famous people who make jewelry and happen to

Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5245487855776446666.post-58981148667246315212009-02-08T02:38:00.010-05:002009-02-08T05:42:36.660-05:00

Sometimes being online promoting your business takes all darn day. You would think I would know this already from promoting my personal site but I've found this is a horse of a total different color. I find the jewelry business is just such a broad industry. There's all different types of jewelry, ways of making jewelry and ways of promoting. Again, something I should remember from countless

Beaded Zenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905978767524555897noreply@blogger.com0