The spot we first met, 18 months later and minutes before we got married.
Recently, I have been eating out less and less. Mainly due to most of the "great" local restaurants not taking reservations and having a 2 hour wait. It's beyond annoying to wait that long on a Tuesday for dinner. We however, still find ourselves dining out about once a week and tend to gravitate towards those places with the most sentimental value. Do you do that with restaurants? You know how when you hear a certain song, it takes you back to a specific time or feeling or person? Well, I do that with restaurants too. There's the place we first met...which became the place we "wedding bombed". We showed up for dinner and quietly were pronounced at our table of 5 between the entree and dessert. There's the place we had our first date...which became the place Adam proposed. The place that catered my fashion week event last year and the place I would get coffee and breakfast tacos when I used to set up Manic Trout on South Congress. New places are added to the list all the time...the place I hired my current assistant has only held that title for a few months now. Some I never even eat at anymore...like the place we got married. I'm not in love with the food, but every time we drive by it, I announce why it's special to me. I actually recite wistfully what sentimental power is held by a restaurant every time I eat there, see it or think of it. Some people like to think back only on all of the delicious food they enjoyed in a place, but I find myself remembering just as fondly, all of the wonderful people, conversations and mile stones that happened while we were there more than the food.
Wow, I have finally been spit out of the vortex of sx and I'm exhausted! We had 10 days of out of town guests, incredible meals, great people watching, fun parties, making new friends and of course...amazing bands. I just realized that I have not blogged since the day it began...thats how crazy it was! If I haven't convinced you yet of the chaos, here's a peek...
The first weekend was spent having dinner with friends and visiting with Adam's mom, Gretchen who was in town. Sunday afternoon we wandered around South Congress where I decided on this brass Unicorn to celebrate the release of my . Adam is obsessed with them, so it seemed perfect.
Monday was my trunk show at on E 6th to debut the new collection, and it was so much fun!
After the trunk show I braved the chaos of downtown to meet my friend for the Man Repeller/Neiman Marcus Cusp/StyleCaster party where I chatted with amazing women, got goodie bags of candy and checked out the new Man Repeller line, which includes the above Unicorn (apparently the unofficial theme of sx2013)
Tuesday I met up with one of my dear friends from boarding school, Brendan. Amazing to catch up, even more amazing that we've known each other 23 years and it still felt like we saw each other every day even though it had been 13 years! Oh and ps...I'm really short.
The music began and we realized that we needed to be more prepared for 80 degree days giving way to 55 degree nights. Adam's solution was to buy us matching shirts.
I stopped by the markets on South Congress to visit friends and discovered that makes Unicorns now...fret not, we ordered one. I however let Adam choose the colors as its his obsession, I think he went with a silver body and purple accents. We'll soon find out!
Over the span of the music days here is who I managed to see (thank you wrist band status!):
Fitz and The Tantrums at Austin Music Hall
Wednesday we were figuring everything out so had a slow start but we still managed to see Wild Belle, Black Angels, The Specials, Ash and The Airborne Toxic Event
Green Day at Austin City Limits
Thursday we began earlier in the evening and saw Smoke and Feathers, Fitz and The Tantrums at the Austin City Music Hall and then
we caught the tail end of Sound City Players...just as Dave Grohl switched to drums and former Nirvana bandmates Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear joined him, Slipknot singer Corey Taylor and Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen with Taylor Hawkins trading off on vocals with Taylor. We also were still there to watch John Fogerty coming on stage to join them for 5 more songs. After all that we finished strong with the Sheep Dogs.
Billie Joe and his toilet paper gun at Green Day
Friday we saw a bit of the Flaming Lips but decided to try and get into Green Day at Austin City Limits, which thank goodness we did as we made it in with about 2 minutes to spare and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. An impressive 2 hour set that kept the audience engaged for every second! We finished Friday night with Monster Truck and The Hawkeyes.
The Thermals at the Mohawk
Saturday we meandered out early in the day and caught the Thermals do an incredible show but then we needed a nap. Later that night we ventured back out and saw John Fogerty at Austin City Limits. We then wandered around and found an amazing band Suzan from Tokyo. Lastly we saw part of Smashing Pumpkins but gave in to exhaustion and headed home.
Outside of Canada House with my favorite Canadian!
I saw all of the music with Adam and our friend Matt, and much of it with my amazing friend (aka my favorite Canadian). We were joined the last two days by Kasper and Becca and I could not have asked for a better group to see all of this music with!
Bethany, Matt, Sierra and Adam
We had a blast, although working every day and then heading out until 3am every night took its toll...it was tough to get anything done Monday. But hey, its a small price to pay and luckily sxsw only comes once a year!
Today kicks off SXSW here in Austin. It's only my second one, but I'm noticing a pattern of rain beginning at the exact moment that SX does. Which is a big deal as it rarely rains here. Booooo rain! Anyway, due to an overwhelming number of deadlines in my schedule right now, I am sitting all nice and dry in my studio wondering how my friends set up in tents are fairing...booooo rain! Oh and the photo has nothing to do with anything, I am just super proud of my photographic accomplishment on this one...I took it from the plane recently and I'm 99% its the Sierra Nevada's...for which I was named.
WORKING ON: Making SO MUCH jewelry. For customers, for stores, for a trunk show and for an upcoming flash sale in Japan. My hands hurt and my husband wants to know if I'll have time to see him next week.
THINKING ABOUT: The Summer line...it's over due. I have designs in my head, some materials have already arrived and more are on the way...it's getting there.
ANTICIPATING: Two new deals with web sites. Excited to try a new market in Japan and a collaboration with a new concept site! Vague I know, but thats really all that I know right now.
LISTENING TO: I need something new. Back to the Bird and The Bee station on Pandora and getting tired off it. Luckily I live in Austin so the next 10 days should be super inspiring music wise!
EATING: I fell off the candy wagon. My car just drove itself to Big Top, I swear. I also have eaten nothing but take out and sandwiches all week. It's sad.
THANKFUL FOR: How much Manic Trout has been growing. For my supporters, fans and customers...they are an amazing group!
PLANNING FOR: SXSW...I did two big shows last year and saw about 15 minutes of live music. This year I have promised myself to not do that again!
READING: Just started Faking It by Elisa Lorello last night...I have been devouring books this month. At the end of 15 hour days, all I can do is collapse into bed and read!
WATCHING: Just watched House of Cards on Netflix. Wow, that was a great show! Keep making shows Netflix!!
Ok back to work...my publicist just emailed me...I'm super behind on the Summer line...eeeeek!
The newlyweds at ACL, waiting to see the Afghan Whigs.
Just to catch you up...Adam and I eloped last Thursday! There are photo's coming, so I'll save the story until then, but it's official, we're hitched! We woke up Friday morning and after sending off the sneak peeq orders, we headed over to ACL where we enjoyed amazing performances by Weezer, Wild Belle, Florence and The Machine and one of my all time fav bands, The Black Keys. Saturday I was at the market on South Congress where I got caught in the rain and as a result, Sunday I was taken down by a cold. Monday I set up again at the market for a rain day and still managed to make it to Monday Movie Night to see Pitch Perfect, which was hilarious! Tuesday morning we heard that we got the house we love and I tried to catch up in the studio as much as I could before a lengthy board meeting that night. Wednesday we signed the lease for the house and then I panicked thinking about how much has to be packed in the next two weeks...eeek!!
Today I finally had a few minutes to catch my breath, tidy up the house and of course blog. I however can't sit still for too long as I have a hot date at the Restoration Hardware store scoping out beds. We are finally upgrading to a king and I feel there is only so much you can tell about furniture online. I want to stand next to it and touch it. The new house is about 3 times the size of my apartment, and Adam does not have any furniture (a blessing) so the bed is the first in a list of new additions to our home we'll have to make. A tv console, kitchen table and the bed are immediate needs. The rest can be added slowly as I find pieces I love.
It's fun to shop for new furniture, but tough too as sometimes the pressure to find the "perfect piece" in a short amount of time backfires. A few years ago, I moved into an apartment which required the majority of the floors to be covered in rugs. I had to shop lightning fast as this came up only a few days before I was moving in and the result was that I bought an 11' x 13' rug that fit the space and I kind of liked. I paid a lot for and therefore made myself deal with it for the 18 months I lived there, but each day I began to detest it more and more and ended up giving it to my mom when I moved. As I had a massive purge only a year ago, I'd prefer to only buy furniture which I love at this point.
I'd love recommendations of local furniture stores here in Austin! I'm pretty set on online places, and have been obsessively following One Kings Lane, but would like to check out local shops as well.
I paused for a minute to look up and this is what I saw
It makes me sad when I pop in here to say hello and "I'm so busy" and than rush off like the wind. Truthfully much of the time I am in my studio making oodles of necklaces or editing photos, but lately it's been a bit more fun! I figured, hey...I should share this fun stuff, as the blog is about the life of this designer and duh, I should talk about it! Well, if you didn't already see it, this week I had the pleasure of going to the Austin Lifestyle Magazine Preview Party on Tuesday night...and that is just the tip of the iceberg!
Monday the Manic Trout store on went live and even though it opened with only a small amount of the jewelry I create, meaning there is a long way to go, it's awesome to see it all happening after two months of phone calls back and forth with them after they initially contacted me. Also on Monday was the launch of a new project I am involved in with my friend Renee. She began the a few years ago, which is an online business class for makers. This spring she asked that I join forces with her and teach the advanced part of the class, I was of course honored and we got right to work. We are already planning the next level (and some other incredibly exciting projects) and I cannot wait to watch it grow and evolve!
Throughout the week I have been finishing up the now Fall Line as the Summer Line took sooooo long, I had to give up and redirect it to Fall. I had a very exciting deadline though as tonight I am involved in a photo shoot showcasing the new designs! Even more exciting is that I was involved in this shoot 100% by helping to come up with the concept, and being involved in selecting the photographer, models and stylist. I'm so excited and can't wait to share how it goes!
There was also a bit of planning for future events, I had to choose what to drop off as samples for Austin Fashion Week which is making me nervous as they changed the format and this year the panel is selecting only 3 local Jewelry Designers to be in the showcase. I was a featured designer in the showcase last year, and I'm not sure if that will affect my chances...so cross your fingers for me. I also booked the Austin Social Affair June Event...so if you're in Austin, mark your calendars to come on over to the Speakeasy the night of June 21st!
This weekend is chock full as well...on Saturday you will find me at the weekly Market at Snack Bar on South Congress and then Sunday I am having a meeting for the Austin chapter of the , a service organization committed to ending the abuse of women and of which I am chair. Speaking of which, we are a new chapter and if you live in Austin and want to be involved, just get in touch with me!
Throughout all of this, I have been working on a crazy new project that is killing me because I can't talk about it yet...it involves licensing and will be launching by the end of July...that's all I can say about that.
Wow...when you write it down it's amazing how much stuff there is going on! What have you been up to this week?
With Theresa Kopecky and Edith Henry. photo (c) Peter Tung
Tuesday evening I forced myself out of the studio to attend the Preview Party for . I brought my sister Thea with me as she recently moved to Austin and therefore I like to drag her along with me when I actually go anywhere. Unfortunately, Thea is not yet 21...and when you are waaaaaay older than 21, you forget to consider that this may be a problem. Long story short, she could not get in so I ran inside and in the fastest time possible made the rounds, said hellos and then had to run out the door before Thea melted in the 100 degree heat. We decided that as we were all dressed up that we should go get shaved ice and while getting a massive sugar high, I declared that really 15 minutes was the perfect amount of time to spend at an event. I even was photographed while there (see above where I am with the lovely and one of my fav ladies ) which proves that I had in fact been there and that in the 10 minutes I spent outside my hair from cute to whatever that is on my head. Hair woes aside, it was great...although fast evening!
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!!
Oh my goodness, that's me...on TV!!! Very excited to share the interview I did with Sugar TV host and founder, Timmery Turner during Style X a few weeks ago. I'm up first, so you have no excuse not to check it out!
From the Sugar : "Sugar TV host and Sugar founder, Timmery Turner, got the opportunity to interview some of the country's very talented emerging artists and designers at Austin's STYLE X at SXSW during the Sugar Does America Tour.
We were quite impressed with the awesome talent we came across! Check out our featured talent and support emerging and underground artists by visiting their websites and coping some unique an one of a kind gear and artwork!!!"
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!
SXSW is upon us here in Austin and so is the rain...and cold. I feel for my fellow artisans who are trying to set up outside this weekend...or next weekend for that matter. I am crossing my fingers for sunny skies as we all hustle to accommodate for such nasty weather. Of course the gross weather has made it easier for me to get to the massive amount of work I had to do this week. Luckily, I was able to get much done for next week as well.
A pretty cool discovery last night was that you can upload a poster you designed to Staples.com and they will print it out at your local store within 4 hours. You just have to pick it up..how cool is that??? An 18x24 poster is only $22! I just had a text based image printed today, but as I want 6-8 photos blown up by next thurs...hoping the quality is solid. Any suggestions for local (Austin) printers just in case?
