sweet rewards and encouragment

To pick up the thread hinted at the close of my last post, my hard work last year has really paid off. I'm not sure why I'm so surprised about meeting my goals and reaping the benefits of them - maybe because sometimes life doesn't always give back and play fair. I know that's happened to me before (lots of hard work and no return, or worse, negative return).

Focusing on a few design lines, getting professional photos, and creating a stylish booth were lofty but reachable goals in 2008. Because I stuck to it and did a good job of it, I'm now a happy recipient of too many show acceptances! I have the odd task of turning down shows that I wouldn't dream of missing last year. It's hard to do, too, considering all the application fees that my bank statement reminds of.

So far I've gotten 4 Chicago shows, one in Massachusettes, one in Virginia, two in the Columbus area, and two on the East side of Cleveland. Nearly every show I applied for was accepted! I've even had a piece accepted into "The Best of 2009" exhibition put on by the Ohio Designer Craftsmen. It'll travel for about a year around the state going to different locations until it comes back to me (unless the piece sells). There's a photo of it on my web site. That's a huge step from last year, and I want to encourage anyone else out there. If you're struggling to get somewhere, set your goal and then fill in the baby steps in between. The baby steps really make it do-able. I even put deadlines on each step so I didn't get behind.

Share your goals with people, too! Be crazy and let the whole world know what you're planning to do. Share it here on my blog or on your own - or if you're really nuts, post it on both! It'll hold your feet to the fire to have a little accountability, and when you final get that sweet prize at the end, we can all celebrate!

kisses,

~Jeni

Substance in absence

The last couple of months have been a time for me to take a thoughtful look at who I am and where I'm going. While I'm sorry for the absence on my blog (despite all those helpful New Year's resolutions to post more often), it's been a necessary time to really explore.

A lot of fun and exciting pieces have come out of this rumination vacation, as well as some unexpected changes on a bigger scale (for my life). And not everything culminated in answers; I have new questions and some areas seem even grayer than before. I don't mind that kind of tension though. It's better to ask the questions and not have answers than to make them up, or worse, not even ask the questions at all!

So for now I'll leave you with knowing that I have had a wonderful several weeks discovering what I really want to do and who I am as an artist and person.

Content and very happy,

~Jeni

P.S. My hard work over the last year has paid off; I've already been invited to 4 shows in Chicago this summer!

Goals, work, and rest

There's been a lot going on in the studio and at home in the last couple of weeks.

First, I've been working towards the goals I wrote out in the beginning of the month. I've joined Ganoksin, a wonderful resource for jewelers, metalsmiths, and enthusiasts, which has blown my ideas about how wide the jewelry community is clear out of the water! Visit them; they're an amazing resource I've used for a long time before joining.

I've also spent as much time as I could afford to building my line of recycled beach glass jewelry. A custom job came in - two loose peridot stones to be set as matching stud earrings. Unfortunately, one had a flaw in the cut that needed to be worked around, and the other stone was 25% smaller than the first. Wow, what a job! Thankfully it came out well in the end and my client was happy!

Then there's the huge project on the homefront right now... remodeling a full bath. Omigosh, I want it to be done now! I've completely gutted the ceiling, walls, and even part of the floor for the plumber to work in. It's finally at the stage where we can start rebuilding and feel like we're making headway. I say finally, but it's actually gone very quickly - about a week, maybe week and a half. By the end of this week we'll have our new toilet, vanity, floor, tile, paint... all the creature comforts I found I really like!

I took some of the weekend off to breathe a little and gather supplies to finish the bath, but more on that next time.

Ciao!

~Jeni

time to think

I've been battling a cold lately that almost won, and in the process took over two weeks of time away from me. I normally don't fall victim to germs this easily, but too many hours of work took its toll. I'm doing pretty well now; it's just a nagging cough that's left.

The nice part about being sick (there's a silver lining in everything!) is that I gained valuable time to read up on fashion trends, professional insights, industry news - all the good stuff I usually only skim over. I even had time to reflect on my professional goals and the direction I want to go in. That's very satisfying... a luxury I don't get enough of. I've listed all my goals and am working on a time line to plan out how to meet each one - exciting! I'm already starting to see some returns on these efforts!

I feel much more organized, re-focused, and chompin' at the bit to forge ahead (excuse the pun!).

Several new shows have come my way (actually, I've worked really hard to be able to participate in them), filling up the holiday schedule and keeping me busy in the studio. I'll keep you posted on the dates. This will definitely challenge my time management skills and newly laid goals to balance production, creativity, and business.

Bring on the holidays!

~Jeni