METAL! by Queens Metal

My new e-mail address

2010-09-07T10:21:00.001-04:00

TrueSwitch

Hello, I have a new e-mail address

Instead of contacting me at onmyway88@yahoo.com you can now reach me at my new Hotmail address. Please send all your future e-mail messages to me at onmyway8888@hotmail.com. In fact, you can simply reply to this message to contact me.

Old E-mail Address: onmyway88@yahoo.com

New E-mail Address: onmyway8888@hotmail.com

Be sure to update your address book now.

Thank you!

A Few Confessions...

2010-08-25T23:38:00.001-04:00

I really want to see "Eat, Pray, Love"

I love when a new semester starts, because I can go to the campus bookstore at the school where I work and buy used copies of all the books the English dept is teaching

I went to Panera Bread not once but TWICE this week

Last comedy I watched on Netflix: Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion. Last movie in general: Cocaine Cowboys.

Oink

2010-08-19T22:51:00.000-04:00

I remember, as a kid, reading Charlotte's Web and then crying my eyes out because i wanted a pet pig so badly. Strangely, I still pretty much feel the same way. I would never follow through on this desire -- I don't think i'm equipped to own any sort of animal -- domestic, farm or otherwise. I'm never home, I'm totally flakey, and not very clean. Plus, I don't think that pigs (including those mutant "tea cup" pigs) are meant to be pets.

Still...... I watched this video and by the end I was almost in tears. Wahhhhhh. I still want a pig!

How Green Is METAL?

2010-08-18T18:46:00.000-04:00

Lately, it seems more important than ever to be a "GREEN" company.

Every time I am contacted by someone in the media, or if I'm applying to a craft show, it seems that a question about my company's eco-friendliness is always popping up.

When I started Queens Metal, my biggest concern was, "Is anyone actually gonna BUY this stuff??"
When I went full-time with the biz, my biggest concern was, "Can I actually do this 24/7 and survive?" (The answer is "Yes" --- but only if you do it literally 24/7).

Now, a few years have passed and it's not so much about just trying to survive anymore. I've got a little more room to play around with questions like, "Am I green?" (Actually, to answer that, these days I'm looking more and more like the color of a roasted coffee bean)

Anyways, in the past few months, I've been taking some steps to make Queens Metal more earth-friendly. Here's where I'm at in the green-ification of my company:

I've been actively sourcing the majority of my metals from earth-friendly vendors who use pre-produced metals to minimize the impact of mining on our environment. Silver is a finite resource, and it's becoming increasingly more difficult to obtain through mining. Luckily, scrap silver can easily be melted down and reused. Awesome!
Jewelry is packaged in gift boxes made from recycled materials. I found these beautiful Kraft jewelry gift boxes made with recycled cardboard. Earth-friendly and fabulous, too!
My shipping processhas been streamlined to eliminate any unnecessary and wasteful packaging materials. No oversized boxes, packing peanuts, wadded up papers or receipts. Just a business card, a "thank you" message and the product.
I've forged partnerships with other local, independent vendors so that many of my supplies and materials don’t have to travel from far-off places. Plus, it's great for me -- if i need something, I don't need to wait for-e-ver for it to arrive in the mail.

Making these changes hasn't been a cake walk -- it's been a lot of hard work. But, as a wise man once said, "It's not easy being green."

Thanks for that

2010-08-05T03:02:00.000-04:00

Hey all! Want to be stupid, but don't know where to begin? How about heading over to Diesel and handing over some of your hard-earned cash in exchange for a pair of their overpriced jeans. Then they can use your money to put up more bullshit ads like this one.

West, Once Again

2010-07-31T03:02:00.000-04:00

Living out of a suitcase this week. All my displays and tools and inventory packed into the back of a rented Cobalt, along with stacks of granola bars, apples pilfered from the Echo Park Super 8, a pair of mud-caked Adidas and a various cords to various electronics which have kept Ang and I occupied as we drive East from LA, up through Yosemite, back West to San Fran, and -- come Monday -- back down to LA again.

Spent a few glorious days in Yosemite, floating down the river in raft, sipping a beer and eating blueberries. Swam in the most crystal clear lake I've ever encountered, ringed with a backdrop of mountains and pine trees. Hiked through trails dotted with wildflowers, melting patches of snow and gentle streams.

Now, we're reunited with Misha in SF. Drove up to Sonoma for wine tasting. Made use of her parent's washer and dryer to get our filthy laundry clean again. Ate Japanese food, then ice cream cones in the 50-degree weather which passes for "summer" in this city. Still, it's wonderful.

Tomorrow, out to Fort Mason for the second of two back-to-back weekends of West Coast craft shows. Looking forward to it. Despite the fact that by the end of the day, my knees are weeping in pain. Love selling in San Francisco.

Hey, it's a life....

Summer

2010-07-18T10:07:00.003-04:00

Berry Season

2010-07-15T21:44:00.001-04:00

Many wonderful things about spendingly a weekend upstate with the family. A car trunk full of freshly picked blueberries is definitely one of them.

2010-07-13T22:28:00.000-04:00

I'm 3 days into my 30's.

It's sort of hard to believe.

Over the last few weeks, I've been replaying my 20's in my heads, like a film reel of my greatest hits. This leap into a new decade has been punctuated by the fact that my little brother turned 21 last week. I remember myself at his age and how different my life was at 21. I was three years into a relationship with someone who I saw myself marrying.That obviously did not end up happening. I had only recently returned from my first time traveling outside North America -- clearly, I've done a bit more of that over the past decade. And I was still daydreaming about moving to the West Coast after graduating college. Instead, I've spent most of my 20's in New York City.

Lessons to be learned here? I guess I'll resort to the cliche that everything happens exactly the way it's suposed to happen. All the major desicions I've made in my life seem almost like a series of accidents and half-baked schemes rather than well-thought out plans.

So now here I am, starting out on another decade. I've got plans. I've got some schemes and some dreams. Let's see what happens next....

21

2010-07-06T10:29:00.001-04:00

Fun BBQ on the patio last night!

almost time

2010-07-04T16:21:00.001-04:00

Waiting for fireworks to begin over Astoria Park.

Sandy, the fireworks are hailin' over Little Eden tonight
Forcin' a light into all those stony faces left stranded on this warm July
Down in town the circuit's full of switchblade lovers so fast, so shiny, so sharp
As the wizards play down on Pinball Way on the boardwalk way past dark
And the boys from the casino dance with their shirts open like Latin lovers on the shore
Chasin' all them silly New York virgins by the score

On the Side

2010-07-03T09:21:00.000-04:00

A couple new images of my cascade earrings:

Simple but oh-so-fancy! They've been selling like crazy at shows and will be up on Etsy tonight!

Therapy

2010-06-30T18:27:00.000-04:00

I am constantly amazed (awed, perhaps) by individuals who manage to squeeze so many accomplishments into a single day. These are the folks who do things like make their own yogurt, maintain a weed-free garden, dust weekly, keep their checkbook balanced and post daily updates to their blog -- complete with photos of their delicious yogurt, pristine garden and dust-free home.

I am not one of these people. I am a dawdler. I move slowly. Get easily distracted. Disorganized. An old boyfriend used to call it "hummingbird brain," meaning that I just buzzed about from thing to thing and thought to thought.

I try, try, try to stay on top of things: ie, the blog. For weeks I've been taking pictures of all the things I want to share: awesome concerts, a delicious whoopie pie, boozy summer afternoons, new jewelry.... But then i never quite get around to posting the pictures. It always seems to be the follow-through that alludes me.

I'm always going, going, going. Problem is, I'm constantly in "crisis mode;" just trying to survive until the storm passes. I never can seem to find a rhythm where i am ahead of the game, especially when it comes to my jewelry business. In the past two months, I've done big shows in Austin, Baltimore and two in Brooklyn.And for each of these shows, I worked until my fingers were (quite literally) raw, pulling all-nighters just to get my inventory to a respectable level.

Still, I manage to make it through each show. And in the midst of the chaos, I do find time for friends, vacations, trips to see my family, yoga classes, and concerts. But I want to find a routine to my daily life that weaves together leisure and work -- rather than intense immersion in one or the other.

So, having survived (and LOVED) participating in Pile of Craft in Baltimore this past weekend, i now find myself with nearly 3 WHOLE WEEKS of "down time" before I head to the West Coast for more craft shows. Therefore, I'm putting myself on a schedule, to try to give my life in some semblance of an "order."

I'm starting by creating a jewelry "to make" list. And a daily schedule. And a list of all the little daily luxuries I want to be able to enjoy, like reading the newspaper on the day it comes out (rather than skimming through it five days later).

We'll see how it all goes. Keep yer fingers crossed! Till next time...

Pork was the culprit

2010-06-15T23:47:00.001-04:00

Taken the day C graduated with his BFA.

Guilty

2010-05-20T10:30:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it's been a month since I've posted. What is wrong with me??

Sometimes my brain gets so twisted into knots when i'm busy that the thought of trying to write anything longer than a two sentence email is too exhausting to attempt.

Anyways, in the last month I've been to more airports than I can even keep track of -- Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Vegas, New Orleans.... I know there's more but I'll stop there.

Suffice to say, it's been an action-packed month. Lots and lots of good stuff going on -- I got to spend to weeks in my favorite place in the world, New Orleans.Some pics from NOLA:

Then last weekend flew down to Austin for the city's first-ever Renegade Craft Fair. It's a great city and all the shoppers I met down there were really wonderful. Can't wait to go back! A few pics from Austin:

Next up: This weekend Elsie Q and I will be at the Bust Craftacular in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. It's a one day show and it's usually mobbed with people. So time for me to get back to the jewelry bench and start getting some new pieces ready for Sunday.

Be back soon though (promise!)

Westward, With Mikey D

2010-04-17T11:18:00.000-04:00

A week driving through big skies and red rocks out west with Mikey D. Some highlights: big skies, red rock formations and all-you-can-eat crab legs. For today, just pics of the first two.

Thanks Michael Borders!

2010-03-26T11:14:00.001-04:00

Spent yesterday afternoon at Michael Borders' apt on Central Park. Swanky! He was shooting some new pieces of mine and I was playing "art director." I think it went well!

This is my vessel necklace, which I've been selling for a while now, but haven't gotten around to photographing till now. It's up on my Etsy page now, btw.

Michael also had the cool idea to do a shoot with broken light bulbs:

Isn't Borders the best?! Check out his website here.

2010-03-19T08:34:00.001-04:00

This is what happens when i try to declutter: Instead I end up getting even more attached to some things, thus ensuring that I'll never, ever get rid of them. As I went through my books, trying to find a stack I could justify tossing, I soon became distracted and started dividing them by color.

I did eventually come up with a bunch to give away, but i didnt photograph them in case i got too attached in the process.

2010-03-14T22:30:00.001-04:00

Check out a great giveaway going on at Concrete and Nailpolish: the lucky winner is gonna be able to pick any item under $40 from my Etsy shop. Be sure to enter!

Hey, remember how awesome this movie was/is? I think I'll watch it this week:

Sunday

2010-03-10T09:30:00.000-05:00

So I originally began this blog post about Bikram Yoga. I've been doing it for the past few weeks and I'm feeling a little self-righteous about my new status as a new age, healthy, at-peace practitioner of this Eastern discipline.

But then as I began going through recent photos to add an image to this post, I found myself scrolling through shots from Sunday night's Pizza Making Extravaganza. After seeing pic after pic of my friends stuffing themselves with pizza and dancing around with big mugs of beer in their hands, I thought, "Who am I kidding?" So I bagged the Bikram post.

In it's place, I'm happy to share a few shots that include cheese, dancing, and assorted alcoholic beverages. And not a Standing Eagle pose in sight!

Ang on dough-making duty.

TOPPINGS!!

A classic Collin pose:Weeping into his food.

Makes no sense, but I laugh every time.

Seriously, a mountain of toppings.

This creation belonged to Carrie.

Mikey's dancing cleared the kitchen.

Sometimes, pride is overrated.

Ang with one of her "goblets" of wine.

I love that in the background are remnants from two previous parties:

The map from our NYC party and the paper chain from Gal-entines Day.

Taylor and Megan, attempting a serious pose

but they can't stop laughing.

Breakfast of Champions

2010-03-08T13:11:00.000-05:00

I headed out for an early morning breakfast at Sanford's. Egg white western omlette with feta cheese, homefries, coffee, juice, 7 grain toast. $5.44. Another reason to love Astoria.

Sufficiently stuffed, I headed home. Just reaching the intersection by my apartment, I looked down and saw this:

I am completely mystified by this -- it's not litter, not in the least. First of all, the coffee was a full, still steaming cup. It wasn't thrown down, it was set there. Secondly, the cigar was carefully laid on top of the coffee lid, to keep it from touching the street. It appeared as if someone had plopped themselves down on the curb for a little caffeine/nicotine breakfast, and then vanished. I did a little surveillance, but there was no one in site. Regardless of the hows and whys, I loved this strange little still life. Who says there's no art in Astoria?

Baltimore - I Survived!

2010-03-05T06:53:00.000-05:00

So last week was consumed by the American Craft Council Show in Baltimore. 700 artists, all of them the top in their craft. And somehow, Queens Metal was allowed to rub elbows with these awesome, talented individuals. We were part of the "Emerging Artists" section, where we got to take in the swirl of the show and get some experience selling and participating in a show of this scale.

Four looooong days of selling. Four nights at the Rodeway Inn, where I frantically soldered jewelry on the bathroom floor every night, trying to keep my inventory stocked up. Four mornings of free wafflese at the Rodeway, (where we seemed to be the only guests) then walking a mile to the Baltimore Convention Center, trying to keep the budget in check. My parents came in on Saturday, which was wonderful. A few other highlights:

We arrived on Wednesday via Amtrak. My last minute decision to cancel the rental car proved to be a good one -- we saved hundreds of dollars. The train station had gorgeous stained glass ceilings:

My display was looking pretty good.

Love these little stud earrings:

And my nest rings were selling, as Ang would say, "like crack."

Angela was a saint. By the end of the show we were both totally exhausted:

We managed to leave B'more in even less style than how we arrived: The $17 9pm Bolt bus back to NYC. Actually, it was a great, quick ride. Plus I got this cool pic while waiting to board:

Day 2

2010-02-26T20:37:00.000-05:00

American craft council show - two days down, two days to go! Fun, exhausted, fun, exhausted, repeat repeat repeat.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Blonde on a train

2010-02-24T13:15:00.000-05:00

Ang sleeping on our way to Baltimore. Fun and excitement, what more can I say?!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

But I Love My Pink Ballet Slippers

2010-02-16T22:53:00.001-05:00

I love when I stumble upon a good documentary!

This week, I watched Random Lunacy, which is available on Hulu.com (for FREE!)

It's the story of Poppa Neutrino, a man who basically made the conscious decision to shun all material possessions and avoid any kind of traditional lifestyle. He ended up raising his family as a traveling band of street musicians, then as circus performers. For extended periods of time, the family lived on boats that they built.

I had heard about Poppa Neutrino because his daughter, Ingrid Lucia, (now an adult) is a musician in New Orleans. She has a beautiful voice and i love seeing her perform.

But the Random Lunacy doc was amazing in and of itself. It was really an odd coincidence that I happened upon a story about shedding material possessions, because that's what I've been trying to do for the last weeks. (Not to the Poppa Neutrino extreme, but in my own little way).

It's pretty ridiculous, all the things that we keep and carry with us every time we move. Sometimes the things we keep take on some special meaning for no reason other than we've had them for a long time. I've got lot's of stuff like that -- things that I think SHOULD be "important" because of where I got it, or who got it for me, but the truth is, i don't even really care much for the thing I'm keeping -- just the symbolism I've attached to it. So this week, I'm working on filling a few bags for the Salvation Army.