Act Your Age Not Your Shoe Size

A totally random post for me this Monday morning: it is in fact about shoes, which I don't comment on much if at all here (unless I'm begging for help in the boots for wide calves department). But seeing as I got together this weekend with one of the queens of good shoe taste, I think a little shoe diversion is acceptable. The adorable Ambika of (Into) the Fray - her blog and etsy shop - was in Portland this weekend and was sweet enough to get in touch with me, so we got together for bagels and coffee. Yes, I said bagels. I have officially found my NYC bagel substitute. But I digress. Ambika is super charming, easy to talk to, and the girl brought me fresh coffee beans. If you know me, you know that makes her a keeper in my book. Perhaps the good shoes aura that she emanates affected me somehow, because I've had shoes on the brain recently.
Two recent shoe incidents have made me aware that I am in the process of going over a serious maturity hump. First, Barry (who, honestly, could write a book on properly fitting running shoes) convinced me that I needed a new pair of sneakers as the ones I run in are really worn down. I'd been holding out for a while, searching for a pair that wasn't totally offensive to my eye (read: searching for a pair that wasn't white) while still offering the type of support that my feet need. I wanted black. I'd settle for gray. Both colors can be found in trail shoes. I don't need trail shoes. I caved in and ended the search last week with the most awful-looking white sneakers ever made. Really, guys, they're old man sneakers. Wretched. But they're comfortable, so I don't really care. I can't believe I said I don't care.

Second shoe-involved maturity incident: This weekend, I decided to finally get rid of the beauties above, the perfect-looking shoe in my opinion, because the heels are too high for me. I'd worn them once, and winced the entire time. But I'm parting with them for comfort's sake, again. I'm hoping to get to the consignment shop right when they open this morning so I can't change my mind on these.
I'll be back tomorrow - I've got lots of blove (blog + love?) to spread around this week.

Unexpected

In a mess of weeds that hang in planters on our fire escape (we'll tend to them eventually... I swear), a delicate tulip-like thingie bloomed this week. Unexpected beauty.

This morning, Portland got a pretty decent dusting of snow, which is rare here. After dealing with the harsh winters in Cleveland and New York for more than thirty years, I am so over snow. Unexpected ugh.

I'm on a somewhat new work schedule this month, and realized this morning that I have an extra hour before my work day begins. Unexpected free time. Which resulted in an unexpected sulu-design shop update:

Thirty minutes later: The snow has officially turned to rain. Now that's what I expect from Portland. Happy weekend, all.

And Still With the Necklaces?

I swear, I'll get off this kick soon. Until then, there's more neckwear in the sulu-design etsy shop.

You know how it goes...
images above are direct links to the shop listings.
Be good, friends. See you here again soon.

Accounting for Taste

Barry had to work all day yesterday, so I spent Easter with my tools and beads, putting together several more necklaces. While it wouldn't have been my first choice of what to do to celebrate the holiday, I actually really enjoyed myself - mostly, I think, because my personal taste is really in line with these pieces (all of which are in the sulu-design etsy shop now - click images for direct links).

I've been thinking a lot lately about the role of my personal taste and how it affects the designs I offer here. While I would and do wear many of the designs I create, there are several pieces that I've made that just aren't very me. I wonder where those pieces come from - why something that doesn't suit my style would come from my hands. It's not as if I'm intentionally making pieces that I know will appeal to the masses for the sake of making a buck - I don't have the time, energy, or interest for that. Some of these not-quite-me pieces just seem to surface: I'll start off making something that I think will appeal to me, and then something entirely different rolls off my fingers.
I've sometimes thought that it might be disingenuous for me to design and sell jewelry that isn't in line with my personal taste. I wonder if the pieces that I make give people an impression about who I am. If they do, am I putting out a false impression of myself when I post those pieces that don't suit my own taste? And I wonder, fellow crafters, do you often create things that aren't very you? I'm not talking here about projects in which a mistake has been made, but projects that for some reason just don't convey your own personal sense of style in the end. How do you feel about those? Where do you think they come from? Any thoughts on this?
Wishing you all a lovely week...

Computer Break Earrings, Part 2: The Colors

As promised, more earrings from my computer hiatus - this time with a little punch:

All of these are available in the sulu-design etsy shop now, and individual pairs can be found by clicking on each photo above. While it resulted in a super productive week, my computer break gets a break of it's own on Sunday, when I plan to catch up with all of the blog reading I've missed out on. Enjoy this weekend, friends.

Computer Break Earrings, Part One: The Neutrals

Thanks so much for the necklace love yesterday. You sure know how to make a girl feel good. More necklaces will make their way into my etsy shop soon. For now, though, a few of the earrings that I've been working on:

All of these guys are in the sulu-design etsy shop now. Stick around for the more colorful part two tomorrow...

What I Did On My Computer Vacation

Too many days of Original Intent posts have made me feel a bit disconnected from you guys. Two photos and an etsy listing don't add up to being in touch and I'm feeling out of the loop. However, those quick-to-write Original Intent posts have allowed me to stick with my self-imposed computer restrictions, and the benefits have been great. Oh, the hours I've gained! I've finished Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo, Eats Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss (highly recommended to you punctuation sticklers - ahem, Mom), and started Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky. I've enjoyed lots of late night walks and early morning runs with Barry. I've seen parts of Portland that I'd never seen before. I've been cooking up a storm. And I've been busy with jewelry: Tumbleweed in Portland, Flirt and Sodafine in Brooklyn, Loveday 31 in Queens, Liebling in Sweden, and JetSet in Richmond are all well-stocked with new sulu-design pieces. Pieces... not just earrings.
A recent request by Hannah, one of a few gals with non-pierced ears who's contacted me about making pieces of jewelry other than earrings, started me off on a necklace-making spree:

The necklaces above and others like them can now be found in Portland at Tumbleweed and FYI, the latest boutique in Portland's Pearl District to be carrying my designs as of yesterday. You can also find a few sulu-design necklaces in my etsy shop, too:

I'll be back soon with earrings (some of which are a bit matchy with these necklaces, although my personal taste tells me not to mention that). I hope you all are well. Nice to finally be in touch again. And now that I've gone on and on, how are you, friends? What's keeping you busy?

Friends and Neighbors

For a quite a while now, I've been meaning to put together a couple posts about two ladies who are doing some truly impressive, creative work. I've finally written it, but the two posts I intended to write have become one. Meet Terry and Julie:

Humor me while I connect some dots in my relationship with the first lady. The little sneak peek of our apartment by Design*Sponge that was posted a few months ago put Barry and I in touch with some former neighbors of ours from Astoria, Queens. During the time we lived in Astoria, we didn't know these particular neighbors very well... you know, we said hello to each in the hallway kinda thing. During the time we lived in the same building, though, we didn't know of any crafty connection that we'd come to discover after we'd moved. Terry, who lives in our former building, saw the D*S sneak peek and noticed references to spots in her neighborhood, so she knew that whoever this "sulu" character was had once lived close to her. Her husband, Bruce, had run into me and Barry the day we were moving out of our Astoria apartment, so he knew that Susan (but did not know "sulu") and Barry were heading out to Portland. We'd exchanged e-mail addresses that day since he and Terry would be in Portland in the following months, and we promised to be in touch. Terry and Bruce put the D*S post together with our faces and then with my blog, and we began to exchange more frequent e-mails. When the two of them came to Portland to run the marathon here, we all got together for breakfast one morning. Terry arrived wearing the most smashing, dramatic, and all-around fabulous hat I'd ever seen. It turns out she made the hat, and has an etsy shop full of similar ones. Check this lady's blog and shop out. To think - all that time we were living in the same building and we could have been having craft nights together! Sheesh.

Right about that time that Barry and I quit our jobs and headed out here to Portland, my good friend Julie was coincidentally making some major life changes, too. Julie and I became fast friends several years ago when we were placed together as roommates our freshman year of college. We clicked immediately. It was kinda scary how perfectly destined for friendship we were. This past summer, Julie quit her job as a lawyer to pursue a dream of hers - writing a novel. Always being one to promote the joys of blogging, I recently rambled on and on to her about what a great blog topic her process would make. And now, she's posting all about her writing and things related to it on her blog, Anything for Material. Her humor, keen observations, and thoughtful reflections come through in her blog posts, so I hope you'll check them out.

Cheers to these two awesome ladies, and a happy week to you all!

Original Intent (Revisited): Day One Hundred Twenty-Four

cloudy sky behind industrial building, portland

inspired earrings found here

Original Intent (Revisited): Day One Hundred Twenty-Three

steel barrel, portland

inspired earrings found here

Original Intent (Revisited): Day One Hundred Twenty-Two

monochromatic wall on alberta street, portland

inspired earrings found here

Original Intent (Revisited): Day One Hundred Twenty-One

public bus interior, portland

inspired earrings found here

Original Intent (Revisited): Day One Hundred Twenty

blue van, blue paint, gray wall, gray sky, portland

inspired earrings found here

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Program...

Blogger wouldn't cooperate with the uploading of my Original Intent photos this morning, but as luck would have it, it's being friendly with this image:

Click on it for the listing of my latest addition to the sulu-design etsy shop. Also new in the shop are a few reduced prices on a handful of earring designs.
Have a great week. Hopefully I'll figure out what's wrong with the photos I want to post, and I'll see you here again tomorrow.

Nothin' To Say

lots going on
little motivation to write about it
gearing up for another Original Intent-filled week
be good, friends

Original Intent (Revisited): Day One Hundred Nineteen

halloween decay at kruger's farm, portland

inspired earrings found here

Original Intent (Revisited): Day One Hundred Eighteen

lights at kruger's farm, portland

inspired earrings found here

Original Intent (Revisited): Day One Hundred Seventeen

blue van and blue sky, portland

inspired earrings found here