THANK YOU cards

These days, I feel like I am working on such a variety of things - just like I've always dreamed my work-life could be. I am thankful for the myriad of inspiration that comes from working at different scales and materials ... and products. A very dear friend of mine gave birth to her second son the day before Mother's Day. I had designed her some flat thankyou cards years ago when her first son was born and reused that same graphic on these folded thank yous that I brought her on my last visit before the birth. Probably not best to say that I like this folded version better than the original ... so I'll say that they are perfectly of their time. Which reminds me of a quote that was posted in the office of my son's montessori school director: "Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life." -Omar Khayyam

OK .... ok ....

I think it is about time to admit that I am not able to keep up with my normal-self's workload with this baby growing inside of me. When it was other outside sources of distraction, I could more easily ignore them in order to get the work done or take a quick break to reflect (blog) on the progress I was making. But, when I try to do too much, my body literally will not give me that quick break to reflect (blog) ... instead I find myself out cold in an afternoon nap, or worse yet, just sitting ... unable to move from exhaustion. I exaggerate a little - but really only a little.



With this blog, I've tried to keep it as much about my work, creative process and business-related events as possible. But again, my hormones have pulled much of my mental focus to more motherly concerns. My first born is a kindergartner - his first time in a structured social environment since he was born (no daycare, no preschool) which means it is also the first time that I've really had to start letting go. I experienced the initial twang of emotion on those first days of school and I've worried my fair share about how he would do socially, would he find friends, what if someone was mean to him etc. Generally my concern has been for not. He is adjusting so beautifully that I couldn't be more proud.



I mention these things here, now - because I believe that design and creativity stems from one's own experiences and perspective. Even in the most accessible design, there is something of the designer's person contained within it. I am trying to keep this perspective right now and hope to be fabulously surprised by the content and direction that will come from this period of time.

One of the things that fascinates me most about design is the amazing power that even the smallest variables can have on a finished piece. Architecture is BIG and there are so many decisions to make. While the number of design decisions diminishes when you consider the scale of a piece of jewelry or personal accessory, the impact of each move does not. I have been revisiting some old ideas -- back-tracking up the path, if you will -- in order to bring new life to certain pieces in my collection for Fall & Winter. The differences are subtle but they present a completely different perspective ... of maturity and growth and warmth.

WINTER 2010/11: wood, sandblasted acrylic, oxidized silver, rich colors of wool and leather.

believe it or not...

.....We're taking a break. After a very FULL year and an extra-busy holiday season, I will be spending one week with my little family in a cabin on a frozen lake in the middle of beautiful Minnesota -- celebrating 10 years of being married to my dear husband, celebrating the arrival of a new year ... enjoying family time and simply relaxing and rejuvenating our selves.

Happy New Year to all of you -- thank you for your continued support and ... for reading. ;)

a day of snow

last night my husband and son and i spent an hour outside, shoveling the new snow from our patio and driveway. i took this photo (by the light of our garage light) because i knew i'd forget in the morning to capture the perfect puffy-ness of the snow on top of our garden pots and the lovely wave that is created between the pots. i love fresh snow because of these things. i can't speak for other minnesotans - but i think that it speaks of my "minnesotaness" when i say that i love to shovel! there is something entirely gratifying about clearing a sidewalk and making a clean and orderly line along both edges - something instantly gratifying about the line that slowly moves down the driveway marking my progress. it is a bit like mowing the grass in the summer. {have i mentioned this before??} i've always said that if i needed to stop doing what i was doing, i could be one of the people who drives the big lawn mowers on golf courses, or on the parkway ... or along the interstate. i could do that........ at least for a while

"down" time

where does one start after the long stretch of "holiday" ... it is sunday night and tomorrow should be my first real day back in our routine, but the winter storm of sickness has hit and means my son will home again tomorrow {this time his grandmother is the one who is sick.} it makes me think about the concept of "down time" and what that really means in my world. i'm not sure if i should blame it on my own personality, or if it is a result of being a homeowner or even more so because i am a wife/mother, but i find it hard to do nothing. it might be that i fear one moment of doing nothing could result in a long period of doing nothing, or simply that in my mind there is always something to be done. if i sit down, my mind floods with a mental list of all the things i could be doing or should be doing ... or i begin to rationalize with myself, "if i am going to sit and watch this movie with everyone i should at least knit while doing so." this rational helped me produce a few handmade christmas gifts that i couldn't more proud of: SOCKS for my husband, my brother and my son. i learned to knit {basic knit and pearl} when i was an exchange student in finland back in 1995 and have knit many flat things: a blanket and scarves {some of which have never been completed} as well as some simple hats knit in the round. my live-in knitting coach {finnish house-mate} found a simple sock pattern for me and ... I FOLLOWED IT!!! and then made my own adjustments to the pattern and tried a shorter pair and then a scaled-down pair. i even made a tiny pair for a friend's 8 month old. pretty fun and very exhilarating ..................... and relaxing during my down time.

the other side

the past month+ has been one of the most hectic times of my adult life. i am anticipating the utter relief that i am going to feel on monday morning when i bring the last* two submittals {for my dad} to FedEx - my last major deadline before i can focus on getting ready to relax for the holidays.

i took monday off last week to spend the entire day with my son. we made christmas cookies and peered out through the frosty windows at the frigid snowy weather we've been having. it was a good day after having been away from him for 7 days straight. it gave me a glimpse at the light on the other side of this busy spell and the hope of being able to grab the reigns a bit.


perhaps the hardest part of being so busy is that so much of what is happening right now is good and exciting and promising for more good things to come.* it is hard to be a working mother who has to work but who also enjoys what i am doing so much. it is hard to find the right balance, to judge which sacrifices are worth making.... and while lessons are learned with every experience -{ and that ultimately is a worthwhile outcome }- experiences just for lessons' sake can seem frivilous when it takes me away from the 3 year old boy who is growing-up faster and further from my womb by the minute. he took this picture of me this weekend. i love it ... but it also makes me sad .....

big chill

the BIG CHILL article in the december 08 issue of Midwest Home is out and i could not be more excited. i sat my son down and opened to the contents page and he said, "hey, that is me and yoooouuu!" so proud! we started planning the party about this time last year, and have been waiting a long time to see it in print - but it lends itself well to announcing that we're planning a second-annual winter party and a silvercocoon sale {reminiscent of the original sales in the airstream!} on December 18th from 4-8pm. i'm excited to be hosting uniform studio, karin jacobson, feyerwerks, banbury cross, berry holz and more! just in time for great handmade gifts for the holidays! {inquiries: info@silvercocoon.com}

election night....

this is the crowd of fellow {bob dylan} concert-goers outside of northrup auditorium on election night. my dear friend jody was my diligent news source updating me with text messages with each state that was called for obama throughout the concert ... by the time dylan sang his last song, the election had been called for obama. at least half of the 4,000+ concert-goers stuck around outside on the mall of the university. in the middle of this sea, someone was beating a drum and the masses of people were jumping up and down to the beat, chanting "obama. obama. obama." i've not experienced anything like it! i felt like a little kid with a sugar-high. unbelievable!!

juggling...

the time for a head-down-production-phase has begun. it is already mid-october and i have a busy 2 months ahead of me with a handful of local shows {first up: jewelry artists mart at the WALKER on november 1} and a big 'non-local' show {ONE OF A KIND SHOW in Chicago on december 4-7} to prepare for. i have been working to build some stock on the pieces i debuted at the fall flair fashion show. these earrings will be available in the new fall acrylic colors (and red, of course) as well as a variety of woods. i've been wearing a black pair every day this week. they are so light-weight. love it.

last friday i was a guest-juror for the final review of a design workshop at the school of architecture at the university. i am warming-up and reacquainting myself with the school, as i am intended to teach one of these workshops myself soon. it felt good to be back in that environment, despite feeling self-conscious at first. my work process has become very internal and i realized i have vocalized my thoughts/process/reasoning less and less since leaving IKEA. it was all really quite fun! i warmed-up by the end, and ultimately the whole experience confirmed how important it is to really understand your own approach/process ... to acknowledge the variables in any situation and to have a means for making sense of them in order to come to a designed result. it also confirmed the enormity that can be architecture....and while i am so strongly based in it, i am also overwhelmed by it. perhaps it is simply that i haven't embraced the variables at such a scale? i still have much to learn.....
one thing that i do know is that i am a juggler - one who juggles many things - and my productivity level actually thrives when i have more than one compelling project to manage. in the past i have put a lot of pressure on myself to limit my interests - to focus - because i felt that i should, because that is what mature people do, they focus. but in the past few weeks small things have been added to my list, like going to the post office every day. don't get me wrong, i love having a reason to go to the post office every day, but that along with other small tasks like it make me realize that one can only juggle so much before things start falling. today alone i dropped the ball twice...forgetting to return simple messages to people. {well i didn't entirely forget, they just hadn't come to the top of my remember-list yet} now, it is not the end of the world, granted, but it makes me feel like i'm losing some of my "edge" - like i'm getting old ... or should i say mature?

weekend

last weekend we took the long route to duluth to see family - stopping in wisconsin for a meeting with new {architecture} clients along the way. we drove through some of the most brilliant fall colors i've seen in a long time: golden yellows and bright/burning reds - stunning. but i was most impressed by this little apple that i picked from one of the apple trees on their property. my son and i picked a couple to eat - YUM - they were crisp and sweet with a bit of sour ... certainly best tasting apple i've picked from a non-orchard tree! but this one {in the picture} i couldn't eat right away, because i was obsessed with its nearly perfect proportion, and look at that leaf sticking out from the little apple's stem! i grew-up making drawings of apples with leaves - but none of them looked this perfect .. even in my mind.