05.25.21 Cookie sez...hello!

After more than 30 years of having a critter or a kid (or both) around the house...it was just to quiet after MoJo left us, so we have a new furry family member.

Meet Cookie.

We adopted her from the Austin Animal Center not quite a month ago, and she has settled in nicely as the cat about the house.

When I decided I was ready for another cat (and it didn't take long), I thought I would probably adopt a slightly older cat - under two - and didn't really plan on bringing home an eight week old, two pound baby...but that's exactly what we did!

We met her on Sunday, she was spayed on Monday and came home with us on Tuesday.  She was pretty skittish at first...and found a place on the kitchen bookshelf to hide, but it didn't take her long to figure out that as humans go, we are pretty acceptable.

Her extended family sent her all sorts of wonderful welcome home gifts - a climbing platform, a bunch of toys filled with catnip - but her favorite things are champagne corks (a carry over from MoJo) and a cardboard box.

I was told - in no uncertain terms - that the occassional post on social media was not going to be enough kitten content, so I succumbed to peer pressure and created an Instagram account for her.  She's Cookie the Whale Nosed Cat, because of the shape of the mark on her nose.

I'm not sure creating a second IG account was such a good idea, because I'm actually trying to get back to posting jewelry on a daily basis on Facets of Myself...but it's done.  Even if you don't want to follow Cookie's account, she will definitely show up on mine, too.

She's full of life and energy - and has already brought us so much joy - but she does take up a lot of time, which is why this week's post is both a day late, and on the short side!

However, now I'm caught up, and I need to get to work writing more!

Until next time.

05.10.21 Ingenuity...and inspiration

Photo credit: NASA/JPL

Recently, I had a burst of creative thought, and allowed myself to start thinking more seriously about returning to the studio. 

A few weeks ago, when NASA shared the first photos of the Ingenuity helicopter's shadow on the surface of Mars, I was awestruck...and immediately saw a compass rose.  I can't help but think this was intentional - as it is a universal symbol for travel and navigation.

It's also one of my favorite cut outs to put on the back of a pendant...so much so that I made one for myself with an incredible rutilated quartz and gold prongs.

2019 was the year I built up my inventory, did three holiday shows, and I felt like I was ready to make the leap to jewelry.  I closed my consulting firm at the end of the year, and I was ready to take my work to the next level...and gold was going to be a big part of that...

2020 started off great, with multiple custom pieces, and I was signed up to take a three day class working exclusively with gold, but then Covid happened, so the class did not. 

Although I have sold a few pieces in the past year, and I'm grateful to everyone who has bought something, I've still got a lot of inventory in my Etsy shop. 

Metal prices are going to have a big impact on just how much I am willing to make for inventory...the price of silver is more than 50% higher than it was a year ago - $26/ounce versus $17/ounce. 

The cost of recycling scrap (which is how, at least in part, I paid for more metal) has gone up too, exacerbating the issue.  Prior to 2020, I could ship scrap metal back to Rio Grande and they would purchase and recycle it, and any amount, and I would receive an account credit.  There's now a $50 charge for recycling, so I have to consider both how much metal to buy, and reconsider how to reclaim the value of my scrap.

So, rather than jumping back in with both feet, I think I'm going to wade back in slowly. Rather than immediately renting bench space, I'll go back to open studio.  Instead of adding to my Etsy inventory, I'll focus on pieces that I want to make for myself, or as gifts, and custom pieces.

Before I start anything new, I'd like to finish this two stone pendant that has been languishing in my jewelry tote bag for over a year...I'm so glad I was able to finish MoJo Sez before he left us.

Maybe I'll return to the theme of space and travel...I have a beautiful piece of red rosarita that would be perfect for an Ingenuity cut out...since I've already done one to celebrate landing on the moon.

Whenever I return, and whatever I work on, I promise to share it - here and on Instagram - with all of you.

Until next time.