People have been complaining about the porn bots on tumblr forever. We’ve written to @staff over and over again and nothing’s been done. It took Apple to remove them from the App Store to light a fire under their ass. In other words you don’t care about your users, you just care about your bottom line.
I’m planning on making some of these awesome resin microcosm pendants myself, but – this jeweler has some really nice combinations of species in her stuff. Lovely.
I’m wondering if the perception of the general public is that semi precious gemstones are mad expensive?
Because I had someone pick up a ring, set with a faceted amethyst in it today and ask me if it was lab created. Now just looking at the colour should have told her it wasn’t because it was extremely light, almost clear. Lab created gemstones always have intense color. Because why would you make a pale pink amethyst when it’s supposed to be deep purple?
I get this ‘is it real’ question so often (at least twice per market) that I wonder if people think stones just cost a shit ton of money.
They can. It depends on the stone. The clarity. The colour. The cut. But I think to even to the layman it should be obvious that I’m not using super expensive stones just by their appearance. Not to mention the cost of the piece. And my stones usually have small but visible flaws or lack the colour saturation that would make them costly.
I do use lab created stones. But I tell people. I have nothing to hide. They’re cheap(ish) and pretty much flawless.
So anyway just FYI lots of natural semi precious gemstones can look good and still be relatively inexpensive. What you might really be paying for is labor and materials, which usually costs a lot more.
A woman just asked me if I wouldn’t give her a discount on a bracelet she wanted. She asked very nicely but I still told her no and pointed out that it’s the beginning of the season. It will sell.
The truth is that I’m worried that I may not have enough stock to see me through. I sold so much stuff at the market two weeks ago and have had so many orders in between that I’m running low on some of my staples. This is not a problem really, but I have to decide soon if going to order more supplies because time. I already did actually but I may need more. Decisions decisions.
The prime ministers wife is here with one of their daughters and I’m trying to figure out where their security detail is and I’m not seeing them.
That’s probably on purpose.
Actually I think I just saw them all standing outside. Three dudes just standing at the entrance and they seem to be paying a lot of attention to what’s going on in here. Yeah that’s gotta be them.
I’m still tired and I feel like my head isn’t on straight today. Oh well got to the market and set up at our brand new venue. It’s cooler temperature wise but feels a little crowded. I have a table at the very front. I haven’t decided if this is a good thing or not. Sometimes when people see your stuff first they leave to go roam around and never come back
You know what I did this afternoon? I slept. For hours. I really needed that.
I didn’t get up feeling all revived. I had a headache and a craving for double stuff oreos. So I went and got some, went down to the studio to pack up my stuff, and after I finish my dinner of pork pot stickers I will have some with cold milk and go to bed.
She asked me if I was here so she could drop by for me to fix a necklace and I said I wasn’t.
I feel bad about lying but I’m really tired. I got five hours sleep last night. I’ve already had a slew of people pass through today. I have a market tomorrow and I’m always stressed the day before a market. And it’s Saturday. I need a day off.
Right now what I need is some food, something to drink and a nap. I have the first two covered. The nap will kick in after.
A couple of months ago I went to this store in the mall to check out the work of a local jeweler. I saw they were selling pieces by other artists and I thought it might be a good place to sell some of my stuff. So I enquired and they gave me the card of the manager and I left my card.
I never called her. I made up excuses that I was too busy but it was really just my anxiety about the whole situation (and talking on the phone) that kept me back.
Last week a former co-worker came to buy a bracelet as a gift and she brought it back today to have it sized. She told me her friend loves my pieces so much and then asked if I wouldn’t be interested in selling them in her store. When I asked what the name of the store was, yes you guessed it, it’s the same store. She told me she’d be happy to go with me during the week and talk to her. I’m so grateful that this lined up. The owner’s a fan imagine that! Next week I’m gonna get on it.
I restarted my Audible account just to get this. And hey they have a three month $6.95 membership offer so yay me. I’m listening to it now, sitting here just being lulled into relaxation as I wind down from a long, stressful day of work.
Man I miss the Obamas. I miss the world when they were the First Couple.
It’s more to do with the chemicals. I walk into the studio and my skin starts reacting lately. Luckily I won’t have to work with them for a while again after tomorrow as I’m all stocked up.
My skin started breaking out like crazy this week. I know it’s all those chemicals I’m using in the studio, the patinas and anti tarnish coating. Plus I have tiny bits of metal flying at me when I’m sanding too and it really irritates my skin. I use a mask, gloves, and protect my eyes but there’s only so much I can do.
Yesterday I busted out my arsenal. I washed my face with goat’s milk soap, exfoliated with a sea salt, olive oil and rose essential oil scrub, I used my healing balm made with cocoa butter, essentials oils, vitamin E and lanolin made by one of my aesthetician friends here, and topped it off with a willow bark purifying mask.
Today when I woke up my skin was noticeably clearer. It got irritated again today so I’m going to follow the same regimen tonight. At least I have solutions. I can’t go to that market on Sunday looking like I’ve been.
I did my Myers-Briggs test and it came out INTJ-T (what is that extra T for?) but I haven’t had time to read it. But we’re apparently a rare breed and even rarer in women. Yeah of course. Amma read it when I get some time.
Me: *messaging via Instagram* Ok here’s directions to my studio. This is my phone number. Please have your assistant contact me via Whatsapp when she is ready to collect your order.
Client: Ok sure.
—————-
Client: Something is wrong with your number my assistant was trying to call you.
Me: Oh here’s the correct number. Please have her contact me via Whatsapp and not call.
Client: Ok.
—————-
Assistant: *calls* Hi I was calling to get directions to collect the order?
Me: I’ll text to you what I had already sent to Client
Assistant: Oh I have that already.
Me: …
Me: Ok…. Well please just Whatsapp me when you’re on your way.
Assistant: Ok.
—————-
Assistant: *calls* I’m on my way I’ll be there in three minutes.
They have no idea, they’ve only ever seen Pretty Woman Richard Gere and onward. I am going to have a movie night where I screen Breathless, American Gigolo and An Officer And A Gentleman. They need to be educated.
The last of my clients who were supposed to pass by today is on his way now. It’s 6pm but I’m making an exception for him because he’s a friend. He was supposed to be here two hours ago but he got caught up at work. Advertising. I know how it goes.
I’m feeling really overwhelmed with the amount of work I have on my plate as orders keep coming in while I’m trying to make stock for my market this weekend. I also have design work coming in too. I can handle it but it’s stressful. But hey I ain’t complaining.
“At 19, I read a sentence that re-terraformed my head: “The level of matter in the universe has been constant since the Big Bang.”
In all the aeons we have lost nothing, we have gained nothing – not a speck, not a grain, not a breath. The universe is simply a sealed, twisting kaleidoscope that has reordered itself a trillion trillion trillion times over.
Each baby, then, is a unique collision – a cocktail, a remix – of all that has come before: made from molecules of Napoleon and stardust and comets and whale tooth; colloidal mercury and Cleopatra’s breath: and with the same darkness that is between the stars between, and inside, our own atoms.
When you know this, you suddenly see the crowded top deck of the bus, in the rain, as a miracle: this collection of people is by way of a starburst constellation. Families are bright, irregular-shaped nebulae. Finding a person you love is like galaxies colliding. We are all peculiar, unrepeatable, perambulating micro-universes – we have never been before and we will never be again. Oh God, the sheer exuberant, unlikely fact of our existences. The honour of being alive. They will never be able to make you again. Don’t you dare waste a second of it thinking something better will happen when it ends. Don’t you dare.”
I’ve never been through an entire winter. I spent a month once in fall into winter and I was miserable after a while. Fall was fine but when the leaves fell off the trees it depressed me. The white snow and no green, no colour, depressed me. The cold made my skin dry and I didn’t know how to handle it, my regular moisturizer was doing nothing. My hair went straight and lost its bounce and I didn’t know what to do with that either. The novelty of wearing coats and scarves and boots and gloves wore off after about two weeks. I wanted to slip on a t-shirt, a pair of jeans and some sandals and walk outside with my toes in the open. I missed the humidity in the air. I felt constantly chilly.
I’d always made it a habit to travel in fall or winter because it was different from our perpetual summer. But a short vacation was fun. Living in it was difficult. The lack of green more than anything was the hardest part. I don’t know if I could deal with that on a yearly basis. I don’t know how others do.
I made this hair stick the other day and from the start it decided to be difficult. The stick broke while I was making it… the vine got squashed somehow in the front and dried that way so I couldn’t fix it. I repaired the break (I thought) and put a CZ over the vine to conceal the damage, and fired it in the kiln. Came out ok. Then while I was cleaning it, the repair became a crack and the crack became a break. So I filed it down and realized couldn’t sell it at that length so it’s mine now. This is what I get for staring longingly at my own pieces hoping I will find the time to make one for myself (the cobbler has no shoes right?). Anyway I’ll have a few of these (at the proper length!) available for sale at UpMarket this Sunday at our new location at Fernandes Compound, Unit 20. Hope to see you there! .
.
.
.
.
#handmadejewelry #uniquejewelry #beautiful #fashionjewelry #TT #buylocal #trinidad #caribbean #caribbeanlife #artisan #forher #sundara #customjewelry #artjewelry #artisanjewelry #sundarajewelry #bronze #lotusleaf #hairstick #handmade #metalclay https://www.instagram.com/p/BqLpCWDAWaY/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1h9zgoms2y0h6
I had a client who ordered a pair of earrings from me over the weekend. She later contacted me to find out when to pick them up. The day before she messaged me reminding me not to forget to have them ready and I assured her they would be (which would be today). And then today comes around and I didn’t hear a peep. I’m sure she still wants them but it’s a really good thing that I didn’t structure my day around her coming to the studio and just went about my business which included running some errands. Sometimes I think people think I’m chained to the studio 24/7 and I’ll just be here whenever they want to come get stuff. I hope she passes for them tomorrow as I have a few people coming by to get stuff. If not oh well. Market on Sunday she can collect them there.
So… several days ago found out that someone I know committed suicide. We were not close, but at one point I would say we had a budding friendship. We hung out in the same social circles and I spent time with him at his house a few times.
It’s brought up a lot of emotions for me because I lost my cousin to suicide when I was 22. We were very close, although when it happened we had drifted apart somewhat because I had gone away to college. But it shattered me and everyone in my small family. It’s something you never get over. That’s just how it is. So my heart really goes out Marc’s family and close friends because I understand the devastation.
My feelings on suicide remain the same. It is not an act of cowardice. It is not selfish. Anyone who reaches the point where they feel the only recourse is to take their own life has suffered tremendously before arriving at that place. They deserve love, compassion and understanding.
I’m not sure why my cousin took his life. I have my beliefs. And I think these issues would have resolved themselves over time. But he could not see past them and it hurts my heart that he arrived at such final solution. I will never stop missing him but whatever pain he was in was greater than any solution he could see. Marc was ill and in tremendous physical pain that he described as torture. I don’t know if there was a cure for him. I know that as someone who suffered from an already existing disability, the added weight of his illness was too much for him to bear. His quality of life had become non-existant and after three years of suffering he ended it.
It’s not about their families and friends and who will miss them. It’s about them. I’m still mad at my cousin for taking himself away from us. I still feel guilty that I didn’t reach out when something in my gut told me to. No I don’t think I could have saved him. But I still didn’t do anything. I’ll never, ever stop missing him. It’s been 23 years and I still can’t talk about it without crying. But I’ll never blame him for doing what he did. I love him and I’m sorry he couldn’t make it through. That’s all.
I finally got a good night’s sleep and feel rested today. This is glorious.
I’m thinking I wanna have that last brownie and a cup of coffee for breakfast.
I’m gonna go dye my roots and get my day started.
That lady who is sending her assistant to pick up her pair of earrings better not do that thing where she calls and says she’s coming in ten minutes, because I have errands to run today. If she doesn’t ask when she can come and just decides on her own she may end up waiting a while.
We should be more pro-active or we’ll see more of such sad fates of honest people.
And the utterly ironic thing is I’ve seen repeated tumblr posts of that iconic photo absolutely slagging the shit out of Peter Norman as “lol white guy so uncomfortable” “Why the fuck isn’t he supporting them”, etc etc.
As an Australian this post surprised me. I knew none of the above.
1. Let go of anger. When we erupt in anger we often feel much worse. Hence, it’s better to cool off and to work on staying calm.
2. When people treat you badly it’s rarely “about you”. More often it tells you how that person is feeling, or some other issues that are bothering them.
3. You’re not the only one who has struggled with this issue – so don’t feel so awful, or put yourself down.
4. Enjoy the good times, and savour every moment as life is a precious gift to be enjoyed.
5. Work and be persistent as it’s worth the slog and pain. In the end it makes a difference as the pay off is success.
6. You need to find a passion and set yourself some goals if you want to go somewhere, and makes something of life.
7. Relationships can teach us so much about ourselves. Both the good and the bad show us who we really are. They reveal what we think, and how we feel, about ourselves – as well as what our values and our expectations are.
8. Don’t put off to tomorrow what you could do today. You’ll achieve so much more if you push full steam ahead. And easing off too much sows the seeds of laziness. You’ll have much more self respect if you achieve more than you’d planned.
My grandmother was born in 1910. She was one of the most progressive women I knew. My lesbian cousin came out to her years before anyone else. She was her confidante and would tell her about all her love life drama while granny chuckled. Her parents practically disowned her when they found out she was gay.
So when people dismiss bigotry and prejudice because of people’s age I get angry, because there’s no excuse. I know teenagers who are hella homophobic/racist/misogynistic and I know old people who are the most open minded, accepting people on the planet. It’s a choice we make and it’s not going to just die out. I think we’ve learnt that much from present times. We need to stop making excuses for people’s bullshit and call it what it is.
I was just reading an article where they referred to someone using a word that was considered inappropriate in the trans community and they really got on the guy for it. I was surprised this word was no longer in use so I went online and looked up the proper terms. The article said it was outdated and some considered it offensive, others did not. So I thought ok cool well I won’t use it if the occasion arises.
But I felt a little upset because there’s a possibility I’ve used this word. And I try to be very sensitive to the terms. But it’s not always easy to keep track and I don’t feel we have to hit people over the head when they fuck up. It’s ok to say, “The proper term to use is _________,” without vilifying someone for not knowing. You can fuck them up if after they’re corrected they insist on using it. But we all get to the knowledge at different times and it’s ok to exercise a little tolerance for that. And that just goes for all of life in general. Assume positive intent.
Around 1am when I was trying to fall asleep a got a series of frantic messages on Instagram from a girl with an Indian name asking me for help and advice for firing bronze metal clay. I ignored it and figured I’d answer it when I woke up.
Then this morning as I was having breakfast I got a comment on a photo on my business FB page asking me similar questions about firing schedules. Another woman with an Indian name. I answered her, assuming it was the same person.
Turned out it wasn’t. What are the odds? So weird. So I gave them both whatever information I could to help.
The girl on Instagram was using a regular oven to fire her clay. I told her she would need a kiln as an oven doesn’t reach the right temperatures. She then asked if it was mandatory. Well no nothing is mandatory but you’re not gonna get results firing in an oven as you’ve already seen.
The thing is, everything they wanted to know was information that could be found online. That’s how I found it. And they both wanted me to spoon feed them. So far as to request links. How did they think I found this information? I used google. Some of the information is located on the product website for god’s sake. It never fails to astonish me how people just don’t use the resources available to them.
I was waiting for the night bus at 1am the other night, eating fries, when a dude, high as fuck, tried to harass me. It took several “I don’t want to talk to you, please go away” for him to finally move, but I think it helped that another man was giving him the death stare and clicking his tongue at him. He then checked I was okay and whether I knew the guy or not. Good dude.
Shout out also the man who silently switched places with me on another night bus to be a buffer between me and a guy who had threatened me. Thank you
Men: this here? This here is what you need to be doing as allies. The men who harass and insult women are not likely to take our complaints about it seriously. But you, another man, they will listen to.
I was pumping gas at like 10 PM one night, and these bunch of drunk guys came walking up to the gas station, and one of them yelled over to me if I wanted to see his dick. His friend says to him, “You don’t have anything she wants to see.” and apologized. It was pretty awesome.
this is all we want from men. to recognize the wrongs done by other men, and acknowledge it. not give us shitass defense like, “not all men do that”
When I was five I was badly mauled by a doberman belonging to my neighbours. I came very close to losing my life.
Today I ran into the daughter of the people who owned the dog, and we were talking about the incident.
She had a friend with her and the friend asked me an interesting question. She asked that since I didn’t die, that perhaps my life had some profound purpose, and did it seem like after that life magically fell into place and things just fell in my lap.
Nope. I definitely don’t think that’s been the case. I think that I’ve struggled a lot in life to find my way and accomplish my goals.
Also, I don’t think my purpose on earth is any more profound than anyone else’s. I don’t think my life was saved. The dog just didn’t kill me.
What I can say is that my life has been filled with adventure. I’ve lived. A lot. I’ve experienced many different things. And I wouldn’t give anything for my journey. It’s been wild. And maybe that was all part of it, who knows? But I’ve never thought that I cheated death for some great purpose. It just never occurred to me that dying was ever on the table to begin with.
I took a short break after my last big market and then started restocking for my next. I have ten more to go til the end of the year.
I had promised myself I wasn’t going to create and new pieces and just stick with my current offerings and just restock those. And then of course I get this vision (literally that’s how it happened) of these lotus leaf earrings and I just had to make them. And now I’ve given myself so much more work to do because it’s lotus hair sticks and leaf imprint earrings and I haven’t even started restocking any of my regular stuff yet! I’m starting to think I’m crazy… in a purely creative kind of way. One of my friends just describes it as being in the flow. And yeah I definitely am but it’s trying to kill me because I’m so busy creating that I’m not eating properly, I’m not sleeping enough… I think I’m gonna force myself to take Sunday off. Cook something nice. Bake something sweet. And maybe do some laundry.
You know it’s bad when doing laundry is how you relax.
I really should post something in my fb page about ppl not messaging me this early in the morning. Cranky in the morning. A potential client is messaging me and I’m getting irritated by everything she says. Thankfully I still have it in me to be polite.
Black and gold… always a classic color combination. I made these earrings using an imprint from a real leaf. I think it came out beautifully. .
.
.
.
.
#handmadejewelry #uniquejewelry #beautiful #fashionjewelry #TT #buylocal #trinidad #caribbean #caribbeanlife #artisan #forher #sundara #customjewelry #artjewelry #artisanjewelry #sundarajewelry #bronze #leaf #earrings #handmade #metalclay https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp745yAgRKk/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1kokxxqd66jf7
Lotus leaf earrings in bronze with gold filled 2” hooks. Handmade from start to finish. I’m really loving these. Gonna have to keep a pair for myself. So tell me ladies… would you like yours in plain gold or with a green patina? .
.
.
.
.
#handmadejewelry #uniquejewelry #beautiful #fashionjewelry #TT #buylocal #trinidad #caribbean #caribbeanlife #artisan #forher #sundara #customjewelry #artjewelry #artisanjewelry #sundarajewelry #bronze #leaf #earrings #handmade #metalclay https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp7S3DBgdpQ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=13v24eqx6axv
It happened to me at the market this weekend where people came up to my table and shyly told me that they follow me on instagram. They make me feel like a damn rockstar.
This woman came skulking around my table and my girlfriend who was helping me cleared her throat several times to get my attention but I didn’t know who the chick was. Apparently she’s a local jewelry designer who came to scope out the competition. My friend saw her and barked a hello to let her know she had spotted her. She told me that she’s going to start copying my leaf earrings, just wait. I shrugged. I can’t stop her. No use stressing out about it.
Sometimes my inspiration comes in the most interesting ways. The other day I was laying on the bed thinking about nothing and I just got a flash of some new designs. I love when that happens. I firmly believe, as a person who has spent most of her life working in creative fields for a living, that a lot of ideas come to us and through us from somewhere else. We are just the vehicle. There definitely is such a thing as the creative consciousness, too. I’m probably the fourth jewelry designer right now making monstera leaf earrings in Trinidad and I know we did not all copy each other because some of us put our stuff out there at the same time. We’re just tapping into the flow.
That said, a lot of my pieces I think long and hard about them. Not everything comes that easily. Most things don’t. And that’s ok too.
soulsistrin 