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!!
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.
The past few weeks can be summed up pretty well as this: work, talk about work, learn about ways to make work better. I have been prepping my tush off for this past weekend with the Texas Style Council (TxSC) Blogger Conference and this coming weekend for , the fashion component of SXSW.
TxSC was amazing. I was so proud to be a sponsor and participant in the weekend. I met amazing women who are so passionate about their blogs, their brands and what they share, be it profession or just a way to be creative at night. I am thrilled to know that so many driven women are out there living their dreams. I set up a Necklace Borrowing Booth for the party on Saturday (think How to Loose a Guy in 10 Days) and had so much fun watching everyone play dress up! The next party I set up at will def have this concept again, such a fun idea for the night!
Sunday was a day of panels speaking on a variety of subjects for bloggers and brands. I took copious notes which I am still processing all of the information from. The most important concept which I took away from that day is that my goal to have almost entirely photos which I have taken on the blog is right on target. Original content is far more important to me than curating what is already out there. My goal has also been expanded to using my camera and stop relying on my phone for all of my photos.
Monday it was time to jump right back into things and I have been spending the last two days preparing for the huge show this weekend. I have been working on my booth a bit too and am really excited to be adding 18x24 photos of models in my jewelry for the walls...oh so fancy! If you are in Austin this weekend for SXSW, stop by the convention center for (its free to the public!) and make sure you say Hi!
Today is one of those days...you know the ones. It's a day that seems to be bursting at the seems with so much to do. Where you feel as though there are five new things added to your to-do list for every one you cross off. Yesterday I played hookey from Manic Trout all afternoon and evening to linger in restaurants (twice!) and bake cupcakes with my friend Lisa. It was tons of fun, but left me playing a bit of catch up today. I also have just added two meetings to my morning tomorrow so I'm running around even more trying to be as productive as possible today.
One of my tasks was to update the design of my business cards for the for which I am a proud sponsor and for at which I will have a booth. The events happen a week apart on the weekends of SXSW and I'm already a bit nervous about the mountain of tasks to accomplish for both. The list of to-do's is getting longer by the hour, but at least my business cards got designed and ordered today!
Getting ready for a show tonight...we don't set up until 5 so I course had put off getting everything together until this afternoon. I also have put off taking a shower and getting ready until now...which of course meant that the maintenance men came by at 5 minutes before shower time to fix my tub faucet. I had a silent,m internal panic attack and decided to blog while waiting and guess what...they're already done, yay! I'm only 10 minutes behind schedule...so off I go!
p.s. if you're in the Austin area I will be at with the tonight from 7-10!
edited to add: Photo by Marcel Bednarz taken in Bonn, Germany where this awesomeness occurs for 3 weeks every spring.
I kind of thought/hoped/wished that without a day job this year that the chaos of the holidays would be much less but alas I seem to be unable to avoid being super busy. Mostly because after a few First Thursdays as my trial period, I have been accepted as a regular vendor at the Gibson Street Artisan Market (the corner of S Congress & Gibson St), yay! I been spending the weekends set up in my tent on Gibson St and have done a few shows mid week as well this month. Which means that a great deal of my time has been spent packing up the car, unpacking in the lot, setting up, breaking down, packing up the car...going home and making jewelry to restock...getting up...unpacking in the lot, setting up, breaking down...you get where that is headed. Even with the time spent packing up, it has however been wonderful to see familiar faces every weekend and being able to talk shop with my fellow artisans at the shows.
The rest of my time has been spent doing my own holiday shopping, baking and planning. Oh yeah and did I mention that I am getting married? Adam and I are engaged, woo hoo!!! We started planning the wedding in early October but he was traveling a great deal the last couple of months and we were away for Thanksgiving so we kept putting everything off. However, as we want to get married next September, we were getting behind on the plans and unfortunately have had to cram in a bunch of wedding related meetings in the midst of the chaos these past couple of weeks...it's been hectic to say the least. The only reason I am keeping my sanity is that these are all really wonderful reasons to be busy so although I may have a melt down here and there due to stress, I am otherwise doing it all with a smile! How has your holiday season been going?
I freak out before shows. I freaked out before events I planned in my other profession as well. But not nearly as much as I freak out before shows. Especially before shows I've never been to and that will be different than what I have done before (I will be outside...at night!). Most especially when I have had waaaay to much coffee and got attacked by fire ants while packing the car (how do you stop the burning of the bites???). The freaking out stops the minute the show starts usually...so at least I have only a few more hours of spazzing to go.
If you're in the Austin area, tonight is First Thursday! Manic Trout and I will be at the Gibson Street Artists Market of off South Congress (by the dogs) from 5pm - 9pm. I'd love to see familiar faces!
I figure if I can't experience fall, I will at least live it though the blog...because I can.
I have a crazy busy next few days ahead of me, but filled with so many fun things that I'm all antsy with anticipation. Tomorrow I am participating in Austins First Thursday, which I think is basically a bug party on South Congress where all the restaurants, shops, and locals pour out into the streets the first Thursday of each month and hang out. If you're in the area, I have been approved to be in the Gibson Street Artists Market (by the dogs) so come by and visit!!
Friday I have a lunch meeting for a new project I am working on and then coffee with a new friend, squee!!
Saturday, Adam and I are off to South Padre to visit his parents and on Sunday, my sister Gillian arrives in South Padre too!!! I'm so excited to see her, it's such a change to go from seeing family all the time to only every few months, if that. I can't wait!!!
I am finally getting the recap together from Fashion Week. As my apartment will not be ready until September 10th, I have been staying with Adam...and he moved this past weekend. Chaos is beyond what my life has been.
I however am finally enjoying a few quiet hours of solitude and catching up as much as I can. So I can now share how the Jewelry Showcase went! Note that I sadly took very few photos that night as it was crazy busy...I'm pretty bummed about that...but what can you do.
I was invited about a month ago to be part of the Jewelry Showcase during Austin Fashion Week, the showcase is a curated event of the best 16 or so designers from around the country. I was BEYOND nervous leading up to the event and to make my stress levels soar, my moving pod had not arrived and I had no display. I spent the few days before scrambling around at Ikea, Home Depot and Michaels trying to gather materials to build a new presentation. I had no idea how it would look or if it would even work when set up. Without the pod, I also had nothing to wear. Adam being the awesome boyfriend that he is, declared that he wanted to buy me a new dress for that night so Holly and I set off on a mission that morning which took us to 7 stores before we found a dress that fit right, but we did it!
The event was at the in Austin, a historic and gorgeous back drop for the show. We had the second floor, the center of which was the runway and podium and then there were two rooms off of it where the jewelry designers were all set up. When you walked into the room I was in, Manic Trout was the first thing you saw...I thought that was pretty awesome.
As you can see, I was pretty happy with how the display turned out...not bad for starting from scratch...I did miss my glass blocks though.
Those images are Manic Trout in the press...it looked impressive shown all at once and I think a better display than the usual binders that I had been using. The whole night was a whirlwind of new faces and the fashion elite of Austin. Business cards were changing hands in a blur and the swarm of press and the fashion elite was intoxicating. At one point during the evening I was even interviewed for the CW Austin!
Being set up around the room was only the tip of the iceberg though...the highlight of the event (and the part that made me want to throw up when I thought about it) was the presentation part of the evening. Each designer had 3-5 minutes to give a speech and 4 models to show jewelry on. I was editing my speech and trying to mentally slow myself down up until the last second I got up on that stage.
It went well...although the lights went off in the middle for no reason and it caused me to stumble over my words for a second, but both the lights and my speaking ability quickly recovered! I finished up with..."I am excited to share that even though at the moment my life is trapped somewhere in transit inside of a moving container, as of this week, Manic Trout officially calls Austin, Texas home!" which received such a loud applause and shouts from the audience that the co-coordinator asked me when I stepped down and returned back stage what I said to receive the loudest applause of the night. It felt good.
Hello!! My name is Sierra and this is my digital sketchbook where I share my life as a designer living in Austin, TX. Check out the about page to find out more about me and what goes on here!
