Obviously I have not been blogging that much there is a lot going on right now. A crazy amount actually, but most of it is pretty spectacular. I managed to take a break from work yesterday to go for a "hike" along the Greenbelt with Faye and Thea. I use the term hike loosely as we were on a trail mountain bikers use and spent most of our time jumping into the bushes to avoid a collision. Good times nonetheless!
May 222012
I have found that in being self employed, I tend to take slow times personally. The result of this is that when I'm not working on a big important project, I feel like a failure. It sounds worse than is and is actually rather common among those of us who type of work comes in waves or seasons. My goal has been to either always have new projects coming up or if that is not possible, to use the downtime productively instead of wallowing in self pity.
However, right now I am in the midst of a string of one big project after another combined with an average of 2 shows a week. The projects are business, personal and philanthropic in nature and pretty varied but I'm still feeling exhausted right now. I understand that I can't go full throttle at all times, but am so afraid that if I loose the momentum, I won't get it back for awhile. Being busy and working on many projects effectively gets more projects going so I'm worried it will create a slump that I can't afford to be in.
Does anyone else go though this or something similar with owning your own business? How do you deal with the balance of full speed and rest, I would love to hear your thought!
May 062012
Part of me wants to feel guilty for not blogging much these past few weeks, but the more logical part of me realizes that my posts would all read something like: I am sooooo tired, I'm working an unhealthy amount, what was I thinking taking on so much this month....all the shows, two huge projects and two new boards...ai ai ai ai ai. So I think we're good on a bit sporadic.
Have you noticed that I have been trying really hard to only use my own photos on the blog? has done an excellent job of being the place where I post my inspiration and allowed me to focus on sharing what I'm actually seeing with you here...yay for that! I though that when I was really busy I could just post some snaps of what I've been seeing. However, in reviewing all of my recent photos, I realized that they are all of shows...the one above at least includes something other than my jewelry table...well something in addition to it anyway.
I am really excited abut today as I don't have to leave the house all day (the only day ever, it seems) so I plan on doing a bit of cleaning and then I have to spend the rest of the day making jewelry...ah so exciting! Who am I kidding, its the perfect day. Enjoy your Sunday!!
May 022012
the shoes I've been rocking recently are a rainbow of colors!
Things are crazy busy in the Manic Trout studio this month, its just amazing how much is going on!! I wanted to pop in for two minutes to share that I had a very exciting day yesterday when an interview I did with Tammy Powley for About.com came out! You may check it out . Thank you Tammy!!
At the Austin Social Affair on April 26th, 2012. Photo by SteveDeMentPhotography
1. Having a display for outdoor shows that is wind resistant can make you feel god like.
2. One mosquito can bite you 7 times in under 2 minutes.
3. When going through a stressful situation, it can be AMAZING to talk to a friend who's been through something similar.
4. When you live in Texas, you can somehow become very tan, even though you work inside all of the time. Think outdoor shows...those tents are penetrable!
5. Rereading a book you've read before can feel like constant deja vu. Accept defeat and move on.
6. Avocados are way better in Texas than they are in New York.
7. Cupcakes make everything better.
8. Busy breeds busy. Similar to "it takes money to make money"
9. Too much bee pollen (in a smoothie) is NOT a good thing.
10. Taylor Kitch is hot. I know I've had this deep thought before but I've been watching Friday Night Lights in my studio again and I feels it needs repeating.
Some days, even if they start out really well can take a toll on you. Admittedly, I may be taking on an insane amount at the moment. I'm loving being so busy, but in stay on top of deadlines I have been stealing some time from my allotted sleep time. As usual, I also have cut exercise down to give me a few extra hours each week as right now working 16 hour days is necessary. Less sleep + less exercise + a huge amount of stress and well...you get the idea. There were tears. I however wiped my eyes dry and pulled myself together long enough to stop at Hey Cupcake on my way back from the afternoon post office run for a Red Velvet pick me up. In a moment of rare logical thinking, I opted to take it home with me and have a 20 minute nap before cupcake time. Its amazing the restorative powers a quick bit of shut eye and a yummy burst of sugar (esp as I've been trying to not eat candy again) can do for your state of mind. I feel immensely better and it gave me the energy to get back to work full speed ahead...yay!!
1. If you ask...no beg the universe to please keep you really busy for the next month, it might happen.
2. The older you get, the easier it seems to meet friends with similar interests, perhaps this is because you're not meeting in general spots such as school...but you also learn to edit better. (same goes for dating)
3. Having a neighbor who plays the one type of music you detest really loudly and rather often, will make you detest it even more.
4. Faye is not the only dog with allergies.
5. One mosquito in the house can cause many, many bites.
6. Watching a marathon of Grays Anatomy while working in your studio will make you feel that your life is less tragic...I hope.
7. A clean bathroom can make you feel really accomplished in a really quick amount of time.
8. Having my time wasted is in my top five pet peeves.
9. If you go to the HEB on South Congress after 8pm, they will be out of Baby Spinach.
10. I eat an abnormal amount of Baby Spinach...I'm hoping it counteracts the candy.
The hand written version of designing a jewelry line.
To say I have been in studio hibernation mode is an understatement. I have two pretty huge projects in the works for next month (will let you know more when I have details!) am working on finishing up the Summer Line, have at least one if not two shows per week for the next 6 weeks and am now on two boards...one of which I am running.
I basically have not left my house other than to run to the PO to drop off packages or to walk the dog in 4 days. Most of what I have been doing is prepping for an immense amount of work creating the samples for the Summer Line, the two projects and inventory fr the shows. Truthfully, I have been enjoying not having to leave my studio at all as tomorrow starts up with meetings and shows almost daily.
I have a feeling that the dream I have when working intensely where I am driving a really fast manual car and shifting into higher and higher gears is about to start occurring. Although truth be told, I love that dream...go go go!!
p.s. I post daily photos like the one above on instagram. You can follow along @manictrout
Awesome shells that are still not a necklace as I am online right now...
When I moved from NY to Texas last Summer, I had to do a few things to prepare financially. First, I had to save a ton of money in order to move my stuff and myself (moving is NOT cheap!), which meant I also had to put myself on an extreme budget. I also had to leave behind a job which I loved and worked perfectly with my Manic Trout schedule. This job and my alter ego career was being the general manager of a restaurant. The main reason it was perfect was that the restaurant was only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I had to go in for two days during the week, but only for a couple hours each day...basically I crammed 35 hours into 3 days and the rest of the week was for Manic Trout. Awesome. I had an assistant who helped me out in my less then enough time week and all was well. Until I decided to move.
When I first started applying for jobs in the same field, it became apparent during the first interview that I was beyond crazy to think I would get a job like that in Austin. In fact, as it is not NY, I would be paid not much more to work at least twice as much. Basically I was laughed at when I asked if I would have two days off a week. So I did the next logical thing, I started selling stuff. Furniture, dishes, clothes...whatever I didn't wear use, or need...sold.
This meant that when I got to Texas, I had enough saved to not have to get a day job right away and focus on Manic Trout. Scary, as I tried this once before and the solitude combined with my workaholic tendencies were a bad combination mentally...but I figured I had matured a bit so lets give it a whirl! It's been tough, I'm not gonna lie. I had already become accustomed to a reduced living budget before the move, so that part I could manage...well and Adam and I started living together this winter , so for the first time in about 7 years, I have halved my living expenses.
An unfortunates side affect from moving though was it slowed down the business. Change was obvious even in an online shop and I didn't have a studio for over a month. I also was in a new city, so it took some time to find new contacts and shows and all of that kind of stuff. So less business and twice as much time to work immediately left me not all that much going on. Which let me allow myself to spend a ridiculous amount of time on the internet. Much of it was research, listing on sites, social media related...so it was for the most part work. I don't chat online or play games, or even shop online that much and that made it so much worse as I rationalized that if I am working, then there is no harm in it.
Until I started getting really busy these past few months and instead of designing the Summer line, where I have been spending most of my time? On the internet. Argh!!! Running a business, even as a designer means that about 90% of my time and energy is spent running a business, this I expect. Now however it seems that the other 10% has been taken captive by the internet...damn you internet and your glowing allure!!! I have been trying to wean myself away, a bit more each day so that the internet does not notice my attempts...but its so hard to stay away!
I know I am not the only one who seems to have this problem...how do you stay away? Set a time...lock your computer shut? One of my sisters changed her background image to say "Get off the internet and do some work!". Cute, but I think I'm beyond that. How much work online is too much each day? When do I just say no more????
Apr 092012
I have been really enjoying the first few month into my mission for Spring which is to do a show a week until it gets too hot to be outside (which in Texas could be any day now!). So far, the weather has been perfect and only reached the 90's one of the weekends that I had my tent under a tree...lucky me!
I started the goal with a bang by doing two huge events during South By, so I think the little outdoor markets feel so relaxing in comparison that it makes them more fun. I am also getting quicker at packing, setting up and breaking down each time too and that makes each week feel easier as well. The only downside is that the day after, I am pretty shot. Usually this falls on a Sunday, but as I was down on South Congress yesterday, today I've been pretty sluggish. My studio is filled with boxes still and every time I start to unpack them, I come up with a reason I must stop...like blogging.
Crap. My post is done...
