Though they claim that their jewelry is ‘hand crafted by artisans’, these companies manufacture (yes, manufacture) most of their jewelry in places like Mexico and China, and while the designs were often created by the people who own or direct the company, the pieces are produced en mass by poorly-paid crafts people…one can only assume women and children because they have smaller hands to do delicate work. I say assume because I just don’t know, and can’t confirm who the acting jewelry-making workforce for these companies is, mostly because they refuse to be transparent about their manufacturing. There is generally next to no information about it on their website, and on the web generally the links you will find are for the independent sales reps. However, if you spend any time in the Etsy forums, you will find nothing but pages and pages of artisans ranting about these kinds of companies trying to sell on Etsy, ebay and in community shows and how Etsians can’t stand their constant misrepresentation of the term ‘handmade’.

I did a holiday craft-show-from-hell last November and part of the ‘from hell’ bit was that I was stuck next to a shitty, smelly vintage reseller who way overstepped their booth limits and blew some of my visibility, and the fact that there was a Steamy-Latin-Dance-Step rep there making tons of sales hand over fist for ‘hand-made’ mass-produced jewelry…at an event that was being advertised as a Hand Made Craft and Design holiday sale! I tore a strip off the show organizers for allowing them in…they said that they just assumed that in their case ‘handmade by crafted artisans’ was true…even though they had met the sales rep at the show, not the actual crafted artisan. How much of a bigger hint does a person need? And I’m not gonna lie here; I was fucking jealous of the sales that rep was getting, which made me wicked mad at myself for being jealous. Two big fat negative emotions plus a super-crappy craft show equals a good time had by all…

Do not identify with this picture, repeat, do NOT identify with this picture. Do NOT be the human equivalent of clip-art...

This brings me to the point that I guess I take more to heart, selfish being that I am. These companies tout their mass produced goods as handmade, when they aren’t, and they charge a pretty penny for them to support the pyramid scheme that is their marketing system. And they always do well at parties, shows, etc, because people see the pieces as functional, pretty, unique etc…even when they are seeing that piece on someone else who wears it, or in a catalog. That’s fine. Buy what you like, and if what you like is dictated somehow by forces outside of you, then maybe you need to try harder, Homer. This mindless consumption (meaning: not thinking about the process it takes to bring something into being) fuels entities like Steamy-Latin-Dance-Step, fuels ‘sameness’ and conformity and general boringness and a normalized a lack of respect for art and the artist. It directly hurts the handmade movement that I am a part of. I dedicate an insane amount of time, energy and spirit into my craft, which truly is handmade. Steamy-Latin-Dance-Step isn’t handmade by artisans. It’s made, partially by hand, possibly by people who have no choice or care in the matter of whether it gets made or not, over and over and over and over again.
What I find beyond creepy is that there is absolutely no information out there (that I have been able to find, and I consider myself a pretty resourceful finder of information) that states ‘where’ the jewelry is made. As a craftsperson, I am VERY proud to advertise that I am the person who makes this jewelry, here in Canada, with my own two hands, brain and heart. Any company that isn’t making that kind of information readily available to the public has something to hide. Whether that’s a big thing or a small thing is up to you, but to me, it’s a big thing. I want transparency. I don’t want to wear jewelry on myself that has been made by hands that didn’t want to make it. That’s it.

I am happy(ish) to be transparent myself. I am by no means innocent of buying less-than-equal products, I shop several times a year at Walmart to buy the one cut of jeans that actually fits my ass and my waist at the same time, or the 900 lbs of kitty litter for $3 when my wallet has only moths in it…I hang-headedly admit it. Cheap-ass, totally inethical Walmart sometimes makes my life easier…probably at the expense of making someone else’s a little harder. Which sucks to me. Hell, I work for companies that do or buy ALL of their manufacturing and inventory overseas. “Made in …” is written on everyone of those things…if it isn’t, the web or the company or someone will tell you where it was made.
It bugs me that these jewelry company sales reps don’t themselves know where the pieces are made. This is a common joke on the Etsy forums: “Ask the sales rep where the pieces are made. They can’t answer you.” If you’re ever at a home party, I ask you to try it, just for shits and giggles. Why don’t they just proudly say where it was made, especially if it’s handmade by artisans? Seriously, why? The artisans themselves would want people to know…well, I would want people to know.
Allow me a “Barts People” moment here (btw, I love you if you get that reference):
I imagine a girl in a “Made in…” country might really love making things with her hands like I do, and might one day find herself in a situation where she would get to do that all day, and even get a bit of money for it, in a kind-of-ok environment. And she would do it because it kinda beats the alternatives by a long-shot, and because money really helps make life easier. And I imagine that after being a faceless-brilliant-just-getting-by-jewelry-maker for a few years, knowing your work was undoubtably being enjoyed by someone out there, but never hearing thank-you, or wow, or i-really-want-this, never actually knowing, would eventually make me want to die.
And I just started crying typing that sentence. Obviously, I’m worked up about this.
Buy what you want to buy, and know what you want to know. Awesome things can happen if you combine the possibilities of both.
Please help support handmade. It brings respect and energy to people who actually make things that we all need with their love and their hands, which in turn makes the movement stronger and more widely respected, enveloping and supporting more and more craftspeople into sustainable, creative lives.  It’s not a fucking pipe-dream, it does actually work this way, but you actually have to make the choice to support it however you can, whenever you can.
End of ‘Bart’s People’ moment. Thanks for reading and feeling however you are feeling about what I just wrote. And Mom, I hope you’ll still invite me to things…

At this point I’m just going to be honest and say “I have no frikken idea what to post about.” I have blog-block. I have pseudo-performance anxiety. I have had next to no spare time, my life has served me a series of hugs and bitch-slaps, I have a deep need to stay the f**k away from my computer on weekends, I have too many excuses…

Screw it…the best thing for me to do is to repress the rising feeling of blog-barf itching in my fingertips, ignore the assumed need to write about every last thing that has happened to me in that last 6 months and instead focus on something succinct, creative, concrete…and a bit geeky-exciting…well, for me…First off, a confession: I have had a quiet yet BURNING need to learn how to make pretty flowers even prettier. This has been a whole-life thing. I have told very few people about this…well, before now, and it’s been high on the ‘me wantee’ list of my life since I was about 8…probably earlier. I was constantly attempting high art made of flowers throughout my teen years, and into my 20′s, but lacking the technical know-how, my well-thought out masterpieces would fall short in the ‘artistic’ department; think weeds and wildflowers plunked into a hollowed-out pumpkin at Thanksgiving, etc, etc…
But still…the preoccupation…

I find flower shops insanely soothing…the cool, humid, fresh smell is a brain tonic, the colours and textures of the flowers and greenery set my hands humming the same way my jewelry bench does. I have spent way too many hours drooling over the posts of blogs like Saipua, often over my lunch-break at work…I cannot fight the urge any longer….I’M GOING TO FLOWER SCHOOL!!!

I start in September, taking a simple class every Sunday morning from 9 til noon…flower school will become my new church…surely so much more inspiring and uplifting than any church ever was or could ever be to me. I am obviously beyond excited…geek that I am.

I’ve been enabling this flower-lust a little bit this summer, as I mulled over the decision to enroll (I constantly over-analyze the spending of dollars on something like this…it’s something I dearly want to do, but as I can’t quiet yet decide how it’s going to fit into my future-life as an artist – meaning ‘will I make money doing this?’- I spend a lot of time waffling over whether I should do it or not. It’s a totally sucky, bureaucratic brain process that is currently under revision…’cause it generally sucks the fun out of things…you know, like life…) I’ve been documenting too…here is some evidence of a growing preoccupation…

My Dad made this little arrangement for my bedroom when I was visiting in May. The colours had me smitten...

Don't you want ALL of these, right now? I do. I wanted to steal them all, I would've had an armful of them. My mother-in-law has some crazy gardening abilities, and these cosmos prove it. I couldn't love cosmos more if I tried. Seriously.

We had a dinner invitation with dear friends early in the month, and I very much wanted to bring Maria some flowers...and I very much wanted to arrange them myself - partially to see if I could, and partially because I thought it would a nice way to decompress after a stressful workday. I bought two store bouquets and decided to rebuild, being a bit more selective and daring with choice and structure than I usually am. These photos are mostly detail shots of various parts of the bouquet, the first is an overall shot. I was reasonably pleased with the results, and had fun putting it together, even though I was convinced that I 'didn't know how'. The lovely Maria smiled from ear to ear, which was even prettier than the flowers, and just as satisfying. I was feeling pretty hooked at this point...

August 14th is my parents' wedding anniversary, and this year our awesome friends T & S got married on the same day

A sweet and lovely backyard wedding, so reminiscent of our own wedding 3 years ago, was filled with handmade touches and relaxing textures. I was particularly fond of the flower arrangements, done by S's sister with flowers purchased that morning from the farmer's market. They were simply arranged with raffia in mason jars, and sat strikingly on burlap table runners. The bride's bouquet was simple and so romantic...all of it was dreamy. Congrats you two.

I love the combination of the burlap, the mason jars and the market flowers.

Love. That is all.

I think this is a strawflower. It should be renamed the 'the soul-cleansing sunburst flower'. Who do I talk to about renaming flowers more appropriately?

I want to say dalia, but I'm not sure. I would rename it the 'prom dress' flower. You couldn't possibly imagine how utterly orange this bloom was...it was eye-popping.

Pretty, yes? Can you understand why I’m so inspired…inspired to the point of not being able to think about what to blog about? See?
I promise to document what I produce in Flower School, as I’m interested in seeing the ‘evolution’ from the silliness that I’ve recently produced, and the more finessed creations that lie before me. I also promise to blog sooner than 6 months from now.
Promises, promises…

I have decided that instead of rehashing the trials of the past 2.5 months, it’s just best to look forward to the awesomeness that is now and to come. In short, here’s what has happened: a death, a breakdown, a resignation, a new job, reconnections, a rest, a holiday, a new commitment, and January.

See? That was easy!

(oh wow, I wish the 2 and a half months could’ve been, seriously…)

I have a new job, which is awesome. I am beyond thankful. Antoinette Design has taken a back-seat to the rest of my life for the past while, and while I miss it enormously, I’m sure at some point I will note that the break was a good thing. I have been working on a lot of designs and directions in my brain while I push a mouse all day…and I read a lot of blogs on my lunch break, which really inspire me.

In the spirit of some of my recent lunchtime reading, I’ve decided to post some recent inspiration…in the form of a rosy outlook. Part of the sweetness of my job is my commute…yeah, I know. Insanity-speak. I drive through country fields on two-lane roads, with little to no traffic and killer playlists. Seriously, it’s awesome…especially in the evening, when the sun is setting and the big sky is filled with those insane, spectral hues that are only visible on a winter’s evening. I have started to carry my camera with me, surreptitiously snapping pix while I’m stopped at lights, trying to capture even just a fraction of how beautiful the sunset is almost every night. I’m continually bowled over by the pinks…they seem so rare and fleeting in the winter landscape’s palette, that when I see them I want to drink them in with my eyes…I want to drown my brain in them. Perhaps that’s why I haven’t made any jewelry lately, because I have OD’d on rosiness.

Combined with my daily yoga commitment (which you can read about here) the rosy pinky glowingness of my drive home is injecting a general level of pretty/happy in my life that had been missing. Now that I know where to find it, I’m totally hooked…and I hope you will be too. Below you’ll find a plethora of pinky goodness. Some of these pix are my own, some of them were found, credit is given where due.

Who know’s what colour will grab me next month?

I love flowers growing out of random places!

So delicate...

See!? That's the pink I'm talking about...life-changing pink!

I have never seen such a beautiful onion. Ever. (From Shutterstock.com)

A beautiful illustration by Herbert Leupin, thanks to thedonutproject.com for the discovery

Sqweeeeee! So cute! (From Shutterstock.com)

Snapdragons from my balcony last summer

From a few years ago, the Christmas lights that my Dad puts up every year, reflected after an ice storm

The perfect pink of a sleeping kitty's ear...awwww...

Sweet watermelon earrings, with perfect rose quartz

A summer evening, nearby

Oh, did I mention that I love pink so much that I wore it to my wedding?

FYI: wedding cupcakes should always match your dress...

Breathtaking and hypnotic (From Shutterstock.com)

Giant coleus, from my balcony garden last summer, as it plots it's gradual take-over

Campfire, Lion's Head, summer 2008

Newfoundland sunset, Saint Lunar-Gricket

A shot of my wedding bouquet, which was the girliest thing ever, and apologized for nothing

Another shot from that fabulous summer day with Ms. Excellence...

The beautiful 'autumn berry' wool of one of my BelleTorcs

What is there to say besides AWESOME? This is still one of my favorite movies of all time.

The Gulabi Gang, India's 'pink' vigilantes (From Marie Claire)

Hi! I'm Erika! I'm tired! Buy my stuff!

(Due to a lack of wireless connectivity at the White Oaks High School Craftapalooza show earlier today, I decided to ‘tweet’ my first holiday show experience of 2009 into my notepad app on my iPod. Allow me the luxury of offering a little context for you: I am completely exhausted, went to bed at 2:30 this morning and was up just before 7, was missing bits of inventory that I wanted to have completed for the show, have had 3 unbelievably stressful weeks in a row with no ‘breaks’, no luck, and very little money. I am, in short, very close to unhinged…so because I am a sucker for punishment, I put on my bravest face and decided to peddle my pretties to the world today.)

As a consolation to myself and my lack of net connection, I decided that my pretend Twitter had no 140 character limits…babble away Erika, babble away!

8:30 arrival. Pinched finger in my crapass cart and swore like a pirate, to the wide eyes of peeps in the parking lot. Quick, smile….nothing, nothing…There are green hatted High school elves everywhere helping vendors move gear!!! Big gold stars for everyone!!

8:52 - oh shit, we open in 8 mins. What the hell…

9:13 - Ahhh crap. They’re gonna play xmas music. It’s like 15 degrees out, it’s freaking springishly warm…guess they gotta do something to remind us why we’re here. At least it’s old skool Bing xmas music. Bearable-ish.

9:45- Made first sale!!! $86… Whew, always nice to break even in the first hour…bodes well.

9:59 Bing sings Mele kaliki’maka for the second time.

10:09 The most suave 14 year old ever to wear an elf hat comes over to tell me that as a vendor I am entitled to a drink, and asks when I would like said drink. He says it like a come-on…like he’s overheard his Dad say it to *all* the ladies…I hope by drink he means martini…when really I know he means pop. Bing sings Adeste Fidelis.

10:21 I am meeting the nicest people here…*incredulous*
I really need to have greater faith in humanity every once and awhile…

10:32 2nd sale!! $35 sweet sepia earrings!! Woot!!

10:42 D’oh… just realized that I short changed last customer 3$…feel like a chump…

10:47 Holy crap, the tiniest woman walked past my table lugging the biggest muffin I have ever seen…was like an ant carrying an entire cake…

10:59 Thrice- replayed Bing Christmas music has been replaced by crapass
Mariah Christmas music…urge to kill, rising…

11:25 3rd sale!!!!!!!!!!! WOOT!!!

11:37 Not bringing food with me was a poor choice…sooo hungry…..cheerios, you have failed meeeeeeee…..

11:49 Speedy muffin acquisition complete. This muffin is the size of a whole cake, full of bleached white sugary goodness and random orangey bits that are supposed to be ‘orange’ and is from horrible Costco. Cost me a buck. Om nom nom…

Horrendously sized muffin, complete with gravitational pull...

Noon- Christmas music is off, and I am missing it for some reason. Yes, I must be losing my mind…

12:18 No, crazy tacky lady…I will not trade you one of my $56 BelleTorcs for a weird $6 bracelet cuff thing, please go away now, your perfume is insane and your eye makeup is scaring the children (read: me)… #tradeFAIL

Oooh...people really like to cuddle the BelleTorcs today, I should've charge a cuddling-fee, seeing has how I didn't actually sell one...

12:21 The honey lady across from me just stands and smiles…she is the zen beekeeper of the world. I can’t stop staring at her because she is so damn calm. I’m afraid that I’m staring so much that the whites of my eyes might be creeping her out…

12:31 Christmas music is back. I regret my earlier statement.

12:54 4th sale!!!! I’m sure it’s because of Bing and his honey money voice….

1:12 Crowd has died down a bit. Chance to sleep with eyes open for a bit…lulling myself into muffin-fuelled coma by listening to Silent Night and gazing at some spastic toddler’s light-up shoes reflecting off the floor…

1:15 Bing sings Mele kaliki’maka *again*…
Stifle maniacal laughter at the dawning realization of the ridiculousness of the name Bing…Bing Bing Bing

1:24 Jolted awake by 5th sale!!!!!!! Can’t decide if it’s Christmas or my birthday…

1:30 Tony shows up! Huzzah… A human I can swear with!

Here, take my garbage and watch my table while I go pee, why dontcha?

1:58 “Pie and drink $2.50″
This is on a sign on a drink cart that keeps passing by. We both find this hilarious for some reason. LMAO.

2:23 BING SINGS MELE KALIKI’MAKA AGAIN……

2:27 Irritatingly catty vendor comes over to bitch about show. I, for once, have nothing to bitch about and so I smile and nod and wish for SILENCE.

2:38 BING SINGS MELE KALIKI’MAKA AGAIN WTF!!!!??? HAVEN’T YOU PEOPLE HEARD OF SHUFFLE!!???

2:49 Just met the lovely Cely Corveira from Spain, now living here. She and her sister-in-law are super super complimentary about my work and I feel so sunny Also: they have beautiful accents!!

2:52 Bought two jars of blueberry honey from the calming zen beekeeper of the universe lady. I hope the honey will be as calming as she seemingly is. Muse whether or not bees are inherently calm despite frenetic lifestyle…or perhaps calming zen bee keeper lady is on quaaludes because she is secretly afraid of bees? …She’s awfully calm….

The end is near. Note lack of people, signifying the end being near...Calm Zen beekeeper lady of the universe is behind me while I take this pic...can you feel the calm/quaaludes?

3:14 WTF it’s over. I’m packing up. I haven’t got enough ziplock bags. There are about a million green-hatted, high school elves waiting like wolves for me to pack up my table to that they can put it away. I’m kinda creeped out by their predatory helpfulness…these are not normal teenagers.

3:21 I hear a bunch of shit hit the floor on the other side of the gym, breaking sounds, and a vendor’s cry and a 15 year old boy say ‘oops..sorry…my bad’. These are normal teenagers…

3:51 I am on the elevator with my cart of stuff and a pocket full of random paper…that sure went fast. Scotch will be good. Scotch and Paypal invoicing…

One down, 3 to go.

How cool! What a great theme for a Treasury! Be sure to check it out, this is one of the most creative Treasuries that I’ve seen, I love absolutely everything in it!

Thanks Caron!

The top 2 rows of the 4th Chakra Treasury by Caron...a beautiful collection

The bottom two rows...I looooooooooove the yoga image so much...

This occurred to me as I was chatting with the supremely friendly Claudie Perron of near-Montreal, who had in the space of one hour, managed to find and reserve a ticket to the sold-out Rachel Brice show in Ottawa at the beginning of the Thanksgiving weekend. My friend Diana’s ticket connection had fallen through at the last minute and we were desperate to find a replacement. Tribe.net offered up a post from Claudie, stating that she still had a few. Four hurried phone calls later between her husband, Claudie, and myself, we had made arrangements to meet at Arts Court theater before the show so that we could buy our tickets.

The show space at Arts Court

We ended up waiting a bit to actually get the tickets from the staff, and we just chatted away comfortably in french and english about the show, our ties to belly dancing, and the weekend. It occurred to me as we were speaking that I had no idea how to say Thanksgiving in french, so I asked her. She paused a sec, laughed, and then said (heavily accented) “bien, I don’t know. Thanks-geeving? Mais, non, c’est l’action de grâce…” Action of grace…that’s how it’s said. I couldn’t stop thinking about it all evening, even through the awesome show, the incredible Rachel numbers, and the wine, chili and chocolate feast that awaited us when we crashed my parents’ place at midnight.

Waiting for the show to start, and catching up on the past month or so

Again, french language trumps english for pure concise beauty.

The weekend was, really, the action of grace. The action of being graceful, of having grace, the grace and gratitude of having and being in action. We soared through a 4-hour workshop with Rachel, and by soared I mean we were *high* to be studying with her. Her workshop is far and away one of the most fun things that I have done in a long, long time. It was almost overwhelmingly fun. I smashed away on my zils and found out that I wasn’t as crappy with them as I had assumed. I laughed out loud at how I no longer hated zilling!  Rachel herself is so full of thankfulness that being around her just opens you up…she was genuine, hilarious and goofy…and she took no prisoners. The drilling was intense!  My quads the next day?..well, I was pretty thankful for wine…wine and sofa!

from left: Shelina, Rachel, me and Diana

I had the opportunity to give gratitude, in words and in deed (I had a gift of a BelleTorc necklace for her – she’s wearing it in the pic on the left) to an artist whom I have found incredibly inspiring and influential over the past 8 years of my artistic life. This was a super big deal to me…almost embarrassingly big. Almost all the artists that I love, look to and thank for being my creative guides have passed on…so I felt that since I had a chance to really thank someone for helping to inspire me to continue on in the face of quitting, I had to take full advantage of it and really say ‘thank you.’ And it felt great to actively seek that out and say ‘thanks for doing the thing that helps light me up on the dark days’ and have the recipient of the thanks respond (something to the effect of) ‘I’ve quit doing this 6 times…but I always come back to it, so thanks for being a part of what reminds me why.’

The super-special silver bead and BelleTorc...probably my favorite one.

We treated ourselves to a day at Le Nordik spa on Sunday. Hot tubs + steam room + freezing waterfall + saunas + cold pools + more hot tubs + aching muscles + no schedule = bliss. Again, way fun. My body was so thankful for a little TLC, it felt like 10 years of stress came off these bones. The cold water was cathartic, and the hot water put us back together again. Best part of the day? Sitting in the hot tub, massaging our necks and backs under the crazy heavy, pummeling waterfall, and having it hail tiny ice cubes on us!

We watched movies that I’d been waiting to see. Slumdog Millionaire and Ghost Town. Both really good. I didn’t do anything when we watched them – highly unusual for me and my steady diet of enforced productivity…oh wait, we ate a ridiculous amount of ice cream while we watched them. We visited with ever-cool Ms. Excellence and her excellently awesome kids and invented, conceptualized and planned BATTLELUGE…a new event for the new year. We almost lost our s**t laughing ourselves hoarse at the plans…stay tuned for more information on this kickass event as it becomes available! All I can say is it involves lawn-luge with ice, and a merging track…oh, and capes!

The view of Meech Lake from Blanchet Beach...still my all-time favorite beach.

I gave Diana the 10 cent tour of the Gatineau Hills where I spent my childhood, and we took in the Champlain Lookout and Meech Lake and enjoyed some major solitude, chilly skies and awesome views. The weekend was so comfortable and effortless. It was all simple, easy and fun. Big big fun.

The view south-east-ish from the Champlain Lookout

I told Diana at the end of the weekend that I was all filled up with happy and that it made me aware of how low my happy tank had been for so long. Why do we do this to ourselves as grown-ups, deny ourselves the action, and the responsibility of being truly, silly happy? Is it cause we’re too busy, we’re too responsible, we’re too tasked…? What bogus reasons. When fun hasn’t been had for awhile, and if finally appears in bucketfuls in your life, you become aware of what an essential element it truly is. Living without it is like barely breathing. It’s going to catch up to you eventually.

I was really, really happy that I had had the opportunity to hang with D over the weekend. She is truly awesome, and so easy to just be with. I guess that’s the true marker of friendship, the quality of the time that’s spent just hanging out and being. I feel pretty damn lucky to have such cool friends.

The 'dirty selfy!' We got a passerby to take our pic too, but I think I like this one best.

I never want to be that busy…but I am, and I’m not sure how happy I am about it. It has been food for thought ever since.

I really do like ‘Action de Grâce’ a whole lot more than the word ‘Thanksgiving’. It just offers up so much more to think about out at this time of year, instead of just wondering whether I can really fit in a 2nd round of garlic mashed…

Good morning, Erika speaking...

Ridiculous, I know. Everyone loves blogs. They have become so common-place that it’s probably not even cool to actually say that out loud. But honestly, I love them. They remind me about that I still (generally) like humanity. And, they have kind of saved my life these past few days. Because I answer phones to pay the rent (until my darling Antoinette starts bringing home the bacon! One must have goals!) the internet, specifically a few glorious, wonderful, warm and wooly blogs help keep my sanity in check on those days when the general public has convinced me that the sky is indeed falling…and that it’s somehow my fault. These blogs are my lunch-time dates when I can’t bring myself to go to (or fight my way to) the gym, they are the musings that I munch my cereal to in the morning, and are sometimes the last words that I read before falling into bed.

I am indebted to these lovely bloggers for cheering me up, inspiring me, and reminding me that a.) not everyone wants to sue my ass into the ground, b.) that creative-life pursuing people really can make it in their own way, and c.) that beauty will indeed save the world.

In no particular order, may I present to you some fine words that give me hope…

EatMakeRead.com is a foodie’s dream. The photos are gorgeous, the writing is so sweet. Already my kitchen has been improved by making some of these recipes, and my mood has been soothed by the virtual snack that is Kelly Carambula’s charming blog. I visit every, every day.

Jessicasvanityproject is by the strongest woman I know, the ever extraordinary Ms. Excellence herself. I’m so totally biased. She’s the bestest superpower anyone could every have rooting for them. Her writing is enormously deep, sharp, funny and honest. Go. Read. Now.

RIP beautiful, soon-to-be-eaten-by-stupid-deer tomato.

YouGrowGirl.com is my garden fix. I started a sibling-raised garden this year with Heuristicmusic, which was lots of work for little yield…but my god, the time spent there was awesome. The sights and smells and little victories were worth the mourning from deer eating the long awaited heirloom tomatoes and the crushing defeat of losing our only successfully-growing squash plant to some freaking annoying, blossom-eating critter. Hey! At least we had beans! Lots and lots of beans! I look forward with itchy fingers to next year’s attempt. Gayla Trail’s site has been a huge resource for us attempted green thumbs, and her photos are perfection.

TheNourishingGourmet.com is another foodie site, but with a slightly more holistic bent – less ‘white sugar, pound of butter, om nom nom” and more “let’s try something fresh and new.” I appreciate the perspective that Kimberly Harris fosters, and I’ve learned a lot from reading her posts…I’m a food nerd at heart, and her delish recipes combined with a healthy dose of nutritional nerdiness suits me fine…and it’s starting to influence dinner.

MayaMade is newly discovered, thanks to Etsy…she is one of Etsy’s featured sellers this week! I really loved her blog. I love how happy it is. I need that on a daily basis…and her designs are really, really beautiful. She’s a huge supporter of all things handmade, happy, creative, loving and sunny…her blog is bound to do good in this weird world!

Oh…the flip side! You know me, I love duality. ViolentAcres.com…angry, bitter, hilarious, terrifyingly smart and completely unafraid. She’ll tear you a new one…sometimes that’s a good thing.

BadderHomesandGardens.com BWAH HAH HAH HAH HAHHHHH!!!

Dear god, that is some funny, funny shit. That’s all I have to say about that.

Thank god for people like these. My 9-5, morning-wakeup, hurried lunch-break, afternoon-tea-slump, job-satisfaction currently depends on them. No pressure, people…

Beauty will save the world...

NOTE: I didn’t write the following. I wish I had. All I did was find it, tacked to the wall in the lunch-room of my p/t job, with a sign in red marker above it saying: “Artist friends, please read this. Do not undervalue yourselves, you are necessary, rare, and highly needed!!”

So instead of reading it right then and there, I photocopied the article so that I could read it to Mike when I got home. The discussion that resulted sparked a mini-revolution in both of our brains. If you freelance, if you are an artist, a crafts-person, a designer, a builder, an inventor, a performer or a maker of any description, EVERY word of this article will ring like a bell to you. The attitudes that this article brings to light are often formed in our early years as artists, and are further perpetuated by the colleges we attend, the people that we mentor with, and often, in the friendly company we keep. This has to end. There is this long-held notion of having to “pay our dues” before we’re allowed to figure out (and charge!) what we think we’re worth. My question has always been “when do we stop having to pay our dues?” You have to make that decision for yourself…this article, as I have transcribed it verbatim from the photocopy, makes a great case for that decision, and it’s timing… (now.)

I hope it sparks a revolution for you too…I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to whoever it was who initially wrote this article, and also to whoever posted it so that it could be found after CraigsList removed it, and to my coworker who was thoughtful enough to post it for me to discover. If anyone of you know who originally wrote this article, please please please let me know and I will joyfully add links and credit, as it is greatly due.

— e.

I’m a self-employed graphic designer. In the old days, when I was greener than a leprechaun’s testicles, nothing would make me consider suicide quicker than a potential client who was, in fact, just some deluded jackass. The hook was usually, “If you do this job cheap, I’ve loads more work for you!” and I bought that line more times than anyone with an ounce of sense ought to have.

This morning, the following was posted on CraigsList. It’s been doing the rounds on design boards and blogs in a big community whoop because it captures and excoriates so perfectly the ignorance and arrogance inflicted on designers by design morons.

The post was quickly flagged and removed (i.e. censored) by CraigsList users, but not before it became the gift that keeps on giving. Who was that masked crusader? Designers everywhere owe him a hot coffee and a big hug.

Post from CraigsList

Every day, there are more and more Craigs List posts seeking “artists” for everything from auto graphics to comic books to corporate logo designs. More people are finding themselves in need of some form of illustrative service.

But what they’re NOT doing, unfortunately, is realizing how rare someone with these particular talents can be.

To those who are “seeking artists”, let me ask you; How many people doyou know, personally, with the talent and skill to perform the services you need? A dozen? Five? One?…none?

More than likely, you don’t know any. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be posting on craigslist to find them.

And this is not really a surprise.

In this country, there are almost twice as many neurosurgeons as there are professional illustrators. There are eleven times as many certified mechanics. There are SEVENTY times as many people in the IT field.

So, given that they are less rare, and therefore less in demand, would it make sense to ask your mechanic to work on your car for free? Would you look him in the eye, with a straight face, and tell him that his compensation would be the ability to have his work shown to other as you drive down the street?

Would you offer a neurosurgeon the “opportunity” to add your name to his resume as payment for removing that pesky tumor? (Maybe you could offer him “a few bucks” for “materials”. What a deal!)

Would you be able to seriously even CONSIDER offering your web hosting service the chance to have people see their work, by viewing your website, as their payment for hosting you?

If you answered “yes” to ANY of the above, you’re obviously insane. If you answered “no”, then kudos to you for living in the real world.

But then tell me…why would you think it is okay to live out the same, delusional, ridiculous fantasy when seeking someone whose abilities are even less in supply than these folks?

Graphic artists, illustrators, painters, etc., are skilled tradesmen. As such, to consider them as, or deal with them as, anything less than professionals fully deserving of your respect is both insulting and a bad reflection on you as a sane, reasonable person. In short, it makes you look like a twit.

A few things you need to know;

1. It is not a “great opportunity” for an artist to have his work seen on your car/’zine/website/bedroom wall, etc. It is a “great opportunity” for YOU to have their work there.

2. It is not clever to seek a “student” or “beginner” in an attempt to get work for free. It’s ignorant and insulting. They may be “students”, but that does not mean they don’t deserve to be paid for their hard work. You were a “student” once, too. Would you have taken that job at McDonalds with no pay, because you were learning essential job skills for the real world? Yes, you proposition it [sic] JUST as stupid.

3. The chance to have their name on something that is going to be seen by other people, whether it’s one or one million, is NOT a valid enticement. Neither is the right to add that work to their “porfolio”. They get to do those things ANYWAY, after being paid as they should. It’s not compensation. It’s their right, and it’s a given.

4. Stop thinking that you’re giving them some great chance to work. Once they skip over your silly ad, as they should, the next ad is usually for someone who lives in the real world, and as such, will pay them. There are far more jobs needing these skills than there are people who possess these skills.

5. Students DO need “experience”. But they do NOT need to get it by giving their work away. In fact, this does not even offer them the experience they need. Anyone who will not/can not pay them is obviously the type of person or business they should be ashamed to have on their resume anyway. Do you think professional contractors list the “experience” they got while nailing down a loose step at their grandmother’s house when they were seventeen?

If you your company or gig was worth listing as desired experience, it would be able to apy for the services it received. The only experience they will get doing free work for you is a lesson learned in what kinds of scrubs they should not lower themselves to deal with.

6. (This one is FOR the artists out there, please pay attention.) Some will ask you to “submit work for consideration.” They may even be posing as some sort of “contest”. These are almost always scams. They will take the work submitted by many artists seeking to win the “contest”, or be “chosen” for the gigi, and fine what they like most. They will then usually have someone who works for them, or someone who works incredibly cheap because they have originality or talent of their own, reproduce that same work, or even just make slight modifications to it, and claim it as their own. You will NOT be paid, you will NOT win the contest. The only people who win, here, are the underhanded folks who run these ads. This is speculative, or “spec”, work. It’s risky at best, and a complete scam at worst. I urge you to avoid it, completely. For more information on the subject, please visit www.no-spec.com.

So to artists/designers/illustrators looking for work, do everyone a favor, ESPECIALLY  yourselves, and avoid people who do not intend to pay you. Whether they are “spec” gigs or just some guy who wants a free mural on his living room walls. They need you. You do NOT need them.

And for those who are looking for someone to do work for free…please wake up and join the real world. The only thing you’re accomplishing is to insult those with the skills you need. Get a clue.

This year’s trip was made with my dear pal Field, who is soon to embark on an amazing creative biz herself (details to be posted here soon!) and so she was in need of sparkly and beady type items. I needed findings, some little bits of inspiration, and some time in a room full of prettiness. Both Field and I are self-described colour whores, so the train trip in to Toronto was full of anticipation.
The show was pretty similar to how it always is, but the best part was going with someone whose deal-hunting prowess was on par with my own…half-way through the 2nd room, and 2 hours into the trip, we were both yawning incessantly because of the colour/sparkle/girlie overwhelm of going through table after table of pretty, pretty stuff.

Field found tons of stuff to get started with, and I found some truly inspiring finds…which was a nice change, ’cause normally I walk out of there half-assedly congratulating myself for staying on budget and only buying the findings that I needed, but not really all that hot-shit excited about the things that I did pick up. This time was different. I scored, big time. Because of my general excitement over my loot, I have taken photos! And because I really want to get into the studio asap to take advantage of this hot stuff, here’s the abridged version!

Oh Kyanite, if you were a person, I would vote for you for President of Awesomeness...One of my most favorite, favorite, favorite stones. EVER.

This might be the last coral I ever buy as I understand that it is getting increasingly ecologically impactful to harvest, but my god, I couldn't resist it this time. It's pure candy.

I don't think humans deserved to find such a pretty stone. Chalcedony is made of magic, I swear. People are hypnotized by it.

Seriously...this was a crazy deal. I'm not even going to hint at how crazy this deal was. But it involved me doing a dance as I paid for them. Clockwise from top left; mini turquoise nuggets, facetted garnet coins, carnelian briolettes, iolite rondelles.

Ok, I didn't get these at the show. I bought them months ago, but found them when I was emptying and repacking my purse to take the show, so it's *almost* like I got them at the show...almost...

ARRR, matey! Hands off me fool's gold!!! Hey, indulge my crapass Pirate-speak, I did buy these on International Talk Like A Pirate day...geez...

Oh god, 10 bags of random sparkliness for $10...I totally caved. A lot of these are vintage-y, and I have an enormous weakness for sparkle of this style and caliber. I know, I need help.

See? How can you say 'no, I won't take you home, delicious $1 bag of awesomeness!" to this? See? How could you? I'm not to blame...not at all...

BEHOLD MY ANVIL!!!!!

My tiny, tiny anvil!!!! I can't believe how totally, over-the-moon in love I am with this tiny perfect anvil. It is easily the best thing that I bought at the show, and it's usefulness is only eclipsed by it's cuteness. My hands itch to start hammering! Even Mike is completely nuts for it...I would wear it around my neck each and every day if I wasn't already so severely height-challenged.

A match made in smashy heaven! I had to buy a new tiny hammer to go with my new tiny anvil.

Considering that few people stumble upon/read these words, I have actually felt kinda guilty about not posting for most of the summer. I have spent an inordinate amount of time greatly concerned about everything I haven’t managed to do this summer, thereby pretty much ignoring everything I have managed to do…which is actually a lot.
So, in classic grade-three, first week of school-fashion, I present to you the highly-pictorial (as all good school projects should be) “What I Did On My Summer Vacation” edition of my seldom-updated, often fretted about, but never forgotten-about blog.

1. I started a new job. Technically this started back in April, but really, the learning process was so involved and so intense that it has felt as long as the summer. But I have been able to keep up, get better and be happier with it than I initially thought, so I suppose that counts for something.
2. I exhibited at two amazing shows; the Glamour in the Glebe jewelry show in Ottawa in May, and then in August, my usual annual stint at the Oakville Art Society’s 44th Annual Art in the Park.

Ms. Excellence stomps it out on the catwalk...and she did a kickass job!

Pimpin' the Antoinette Design wares...

My new favorite Canada's Next Top (mini) Model...

The Glamour in the Glebe show was incredible; I met some very talented artists who, as an extra bonus are really cool people to spend time with, got some time to hang out with my parents and the divine Ms. Excellence herself (all of whom assisted me at the show, which was supremely awesome) and made a TON of sales, more than any other show to date. Two months after the show, I was making sales on Etsy to people who had seen my work there. Awesome.

The Art in the Park show was, as usual, a super fun, friend-filled, heat-strokey good time, made even more exciting and rewarding because Mike was exhibiting as well, in his first ever appearance as a participating artist, rather than support crew.

Mike's awesome set up at his first appearance at Art in the Park

His set-up looked great, and the crowds were really drawn to his work.

My 4th year at Art in the Park

I had to allow myself a small moment of spousal ‘Ha! I was right-itude’ when I saw how much he was enjoying himself, as I had told him, several times during the mad stressful preparation while I was melting down from the stress myself, that he would look back on all of the craziness and see that it was worth it. He did. It was really worth it. He’s planning next year’s show already. My participation this year had veered so noticeably from painting to jewelry, that I spent some time, while painting, thinking “man, I could be making jewelry instead…that’s what I’d rather be doing.” And, the sales absolutely reflected that. For the first time in 4 years, I sold no paintings, but lots of jewelry. When I was recounting the show to him, my Dad simply said “well, there’s your feedback and validation on what direction you should be working in, eh?”  Yup, guess so.

The first two of a dozen new pieces that I created for Art in the Park

I’m looking forward to doing the show again next year, but I’m wondering about whether there will be any painting in it…still, I did like the new work that I produced for it, and it does light a painting-art-making fire under my ass for the months leading up, which only results in good things, boundaries stretched (sleep lost) and all that good stuff. Worth it.

3. I completed some very cool commissions.

Commission #1: For Father’s Day, a dear friend asked me to create a pair of cufflinks for her husband as a tribute to their newborn son, who’s middle name is Jasper (his first and last names are equally cool…as is he!) We chose some lovely ocean jasper to star in these, my very first set of created cufflinks. I was really happy with how they turned out, ’cause they were a fun little challenge.

The first pair of silver and stone cufflinks that I ever made.

Side view of cufflinks, showing the sterling silver chain connector

Commission #2: A wedding tiara and some horse-shoe shaped floral accents for my lovely friend J who got married in July. This was a labor of love for me ; apart from the fact that I ADORE making crowns of all kinds, and playing with pearls and sparkly bits is heaven, J is a superlatively amazing person who deserved some fine wedding finery.  I was over the moon to create these pieces for her.

A one-of-a-kind crown for a one-of-a-kind gal!

A larger view of J's bridal tiara

Three fine silver horse-shoe accents for J's bouquet

The horseshoes were to satisfy a family tradition, and they created a really neat challenge…how could I make horseshoe-shaped charms that could be added into her bouquet to add a little sparkle, and then be removed during the ceremony to be given to members of her family. I was lovin’ the idea. I was very happy with the results…which included a very happy bride, and so really, it was just joyous from start to finish (including the wire-burned fingers…I wouldn’t have had it any other way!)

Commission #3 was a recreation of a pendant that my friend Heidi ordered for her sister, a horticulturalist.

Not the best photo of a lovely piece

The finished Maple Key pendant

I was immensely flattered to create this piece, I love it when my pieces that are thematic end up with someone who’s life work is in the same vein (like the beekeeper who bought my honey-comb ring…awesome!) This pendant was embossed with two maple keys and was set with a gorgeous blue-grey diamond-shaped natural sapphire…it was tricky to set, but I was pleased with it. These pix aren’t the greatest, but Heidi reported that her sister was thrilled…yay!

4. We performed all over the damn place. This spring was busy, and the summer festivals kept us on our toes, literally. Brantford, Burlington (in a torrential rain storm, no less) Bronte, Oakville, Milton…We finally shed our nervousness and our choreos and performed live and improv, like a proper ATS troupe. It was a big step up for us, and the Sheridan show (where we ‘popped our improv cherry’ as we chanted after the performance) was the highlight of the season for me. I have an indelible, glowing memory of hitting my favorite move, in the lead position, at the best possible point in the music, that I think will never fade.

One of my favorite shots from the show we did at Sheridan College

From Hypnosis 2009, where we performed with Valizan

5. We got away. Not away away, like my lovely Diana who got all the way to Europe to celebrate her 25th in backpacking spirit and style, but away enough to reset our brains and refresh our perspectives on things. At the end of June, Mike and I got away to his grandparents’ cottage for a family reunion of sorts, in celebration of his grandparents’ ?60th? wedding anniversary.

This is all I need...

I was incredibly humbled to be witness to that…what else can you say, 60 years is utterly incredible.

We really enjoyed a little slice of roadtrip weekend too…it was only after we were back to work after the few days off that I realized just how rejuvenating the weekend getaway really was.

One of several thousand herons we seemed to see that weekend...or maybe it was just one heron, 1000 times...

I took about 100 pix of a meandering centipede. This was my favorite.

We were also lucky to get away for my brother’s birthday…a one-afternoon trip to Rock Point to have our brains scrubbed clean by the pounding waves and faux-ocean view. There was the prerequisite eating of roadside poutine, penny candy and kite flying, as well as getting up close and personal with some dead fish and painting an incoming storm. Rounded the day out with a crazy sushi feast at Sapporo in the Hammer with 21st Century Jester, which ended with pretty much the best rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ ever to be witnessed by mere mortals. The photo says it all, really.

brain.....decompressing....sunburn...imminent...

I always paint at Rock Point. The view never changes, just the approach.

Pre-sushi...

Post-sushi...

We got away to Ottawa few times too…once in August, and again about a month later. These trips always contribute to my brain’s ability to reset and refocus for new projects…like the BelleTorc project that has been thwarting me all summer…I finally made some headway with this project, as these pix would suggest.

A newly 'corked' BelleTorc, awaiting wet felting

My completely MacGuyver'd, completely kickass knitting spool made from office supplies!!

6. On one of these trips home, I went skinny dipping with Ms. Excellence in the chilly Gatineau on a misty, silvery afternoon. We ate a lovely dinner served by her most excellent grandmother, and then hightailed it into the river completely buck, ignoring the army of dock spiders that seemed to make-up the very construction of the dock, and swam, swam, swam. The sun came out when we were mid-swim. Our reward when we got back was ice cream. It may have been the most perfect slice of summer imaginable.

The perfect Gatineau river, soon to be made better by the immersion of nekkid bathing beauties!

Post skinny-dipping, pre-ice cream, blissed out.

7.  Starting somewhat with the participation in #6, I appeared to get my groove back…kind of. Getting laid off last year put my survival-mode into overdrive, and so things like hair-cuts, and, oh, general style, were allocated from ‘pleasant occasional necessities’ to ‘absolutely unaffordable until a later date’isms. I started to ignore the fact that the highlighted part of my hair was now shorter than the unhighlighted part of my hair. I started to ignore how badly I needed a pedi, how my eyebrows, though fair, were increasingly robust, and most-worringly, how all of these short-comings made me feel. I believe the best way to describe it was ‘schlumpy and defeated.’ But I totally ignored how I felt every time I looked in the mirror. And then one thing happened that changed it all, that snapped me out of it:

8. We got tattoos.

My 10th anniversary gift from Mike

Mike and I celebrated our 10th anniversary of being together on Aug. 19. We decided, very off-the-cuff (no pun intended) to go get those tattoos we’d been talking about forever. We had just hours to decide what, where and to deliver the art for them , which was a strangely liberating timeframe. Noon on Saturday after our anniversary found us in the chair at Good Point Tattoo grinning and bearing it…or rather, grimacing and bearing it. Hoodaddy, that hurt. But… I love my new ink so much, and I love what it represents. And suddenly, I didn’t feel so defeated anymore.

9. So, in addition to tattoos, we decided to spend our 10th anniversary in a memorable yet financially sensible way…cleaning our apartment, building a new white-box studio for Mike, and painting our walls in soul-soothing blues to keep our mental-selves in check. While doing all of this physical labor with newly inked wrists was somewhat challenging, it was worth the trouble. The apartment feels huge and airy, Mike loves his new studio, and I’m really pleased to gaze upon the pretty blueness, the art that we love, and open quality of our new space when I get home from work each day. Plus, I have a place to put a vase of flowers now…which means I’m spending part of our market-food-budget on flowers now, but whatever. We also scored a sweet new ‘retro’ sofa from my aunt and uncle, which they delivered to us after we helped them prepare for a move in early August…we were seriously in need of a new sofa, and this one has been a welcome addition to the new digs…even with it’s killer 80′s pintuck styling…

10. We got into a magazine. All of us, all of the house-troupes of BellyUp were featured in the summer edition of Belly Dance: A Raks Sharki magazine!! This is a huge honor, and one that couldn’t help but bolster the confidence of all of us involved. The immortally divine Rachel Brice is featured on the cover…I am over the moon to be a.) in a magazine because I dance, and b.) to be in same issue with the one dancer whose influence has been my North Star for the past 7 years. Also…how frikken hot does she look on the cover!? I really love the photo that they chose as our troupe shot; it was taken on such a fun day. In all seriousness, I’ve been dancing for over 7 years, and when I started, I never, not once, ever thought that I’d be performing, ever. This is a really sweet ‘win’ for me, and it proves to ‘unbeliever Erika’ that maybe she should just shush up for good.

Our fabulous troupe photo appearing in Belly Dance magazine

The utter amazingness of Rachel Brice.

11. Fueled by an ink-induced high, an appearance in a magazine, and a deep need to take another big step forward, I chopped all my ratty, two-toned hair off, dyed it dark brown and bright scarlet, and got the angle-bob hair cut that I always wanted. I’ve been getting a whole lot of flattering (and hilarious) feedback about it too…my friend Scott, a dear, dear friend of 7 years who I see almost every week, didn’t recognize me at all. The guys at work looked at me quirkily and then suddenly exclaimed “wow, I really like it!” Mike has been crazy about it, and truthfully, so am I. Who knew an afternoon of snip and colour could do so much for a girl? It’s completely changed my perspective on my work too, and I’m finding myself leaning strongly to creating some new lines featuring portraits of strong but fictional women, funky illos and some wicked humor…but I’m not sure how yet. Which is ok, ’cause this week I’m still spending a fair chunk of time reminding myself not to look too damn surprised every time I look in the mirror…

12. Though I briefly touched on this in #8, it bears repeating. Mike and I have been together for 10 years. No small feat, these days. We are proud, and more connected, passionate and inspired than ever. Also we proceed to make each other laugh to the point of near-stroke each day. Seriously people, I’d put money on us…just sayin’.

And that, people, is what I did on my summer vacation, which wasn’t a vacation, but rather a summer that was  endured and enjoyed. As soon as I post this, I just know that I will remember another 10 things that could’ve been added, however, I really do need to get to bed before it’s officially fall…