Favorite New Everyday Earrings

For Christmas, Kevin's sister got me an Etsy Gift Card. I was super excited to get my shopping on and rushed to my computer to look through all my favorites and try decide what I wanted to buy. Just my luck, most of my favorite items are from Canadian sellers…which for those of you who don't know, you can only use Etsy Gift Cards in shops that have direct checkout activated and direct checkout is currently only available to US sellers. So I couldn't use it on A LOT of the stuff I wanted. But then I remembered that I needed new everyday earrings and I've been in love with Upper Metal Class since I saw her stuff at last summer's Renegade LA. And the last time I was at Myrtle, Whitney started carrying them but didn't have any of the earring sets I was interested in. So I looked through her online shop to see if there was something I wanted AND her shop accepts Etsy Gift Cards.

So I picked out these lovely mini triangle earrings in silver! I've been wearing them for about 2 weeks now and I absolutely love them! And I love that they're made locally in Echo Park! Be sure to check out the Upper Metal Class shop if you love minimalist metal jewelry.

Mini Basic Triangle Earrings from Upper Metal Class

Song of the Week: "Dance Floor" – Apples in Stereo

We all know the best part of all this is Elijah Wood.

Weekly Want: Kyyote Abstraction Necklace #2

I know it's been awhile, but the Weekly Want is back! I tried on this necklace the last time I visited Myrtle and I've been thinking about it ever since. It's fun yet delicate & light, and it has all the things I love: colorblocks & geometric shapes! I love how it feels as light as a feather when wearing it. But my favorite thing is the amount of time and care that went into making this beauty. I'm definitely going back for this once I have a day job again.

Available from Kyyote for $88

Absence

I'm so sorry, I've been away from the blog for quite some time. After returning from Renegade SF, I was totally exhausted and went into holiday mode. With the start of the new year, I've been spending a lot of time meditating and searching for a new job. The shop has been doing well (although January has been a REALLY slow month), but I can't quite do it full-time yet. I gave myself 3 months to just focus on the shop for a bit, and now it's time to get back on the day job train. Hopefully, I can one day work from home permanently. Soon, this blog is going to be getting a bit of a makeover for the new year. I've already given my portfolio site a makeover, so it's this blog's turn! Stay tuned for what more is to come in 2013! I just want to thank everyone who's been following along on this journey and thanks so much for your support!

The Final Days of Knits

Last month, I announced that I will be discontinuing knitwear from my shop. I've been considering this for quite sometime and decided that 2013 was going to be the year. It was a very hard decision to make since it's what I opened my shop with in 2006. I still love to knit, but knitting as a business made me really hate it. And I don't want to hate it. Over the years, it has become a real problem of limited space because I have to keep a lot of yarn stocked that I don't really have the room for. I don't have the luxury of having a separate studio space yet, so during the busy season (winter) I usually end up with half of my yarn stash in my car. And in all honesty, I hardly sell any knits through my Etsy shop throughout the year but at shows (like Renegade Craft and Unique LA) I sell out of almost everything. What I was getting out of it was not equaling the amount of time I was putting into it. Whenever I have to spend long hours on production, I keep thinking about how I would rather be doing something else. I will still make stuff for friends by request, but at this time I'm not sure if I'll try to pursue it again in the future.

For years, I've been wanting to make more year-round products but wasn't really sure what I wanted to make. With the recent success of the "Real Jobs" button series, I got the confidence boost I needed to pursue paper goods and other products that combine my graphic design background with my love for making things. 2013 is going to be an exciting and scary year for the shop as I take it in a new direction and dive head first into the unknown.

So if there's something you've had your eye on for a while, head over to the shop. There's a 13% Off Sale going on til tomorrow with code: HELLO2013.

Thank you so much to all my friends (old & new) for all the love & support through the years. I couldn't have done it without you!