Gearing up

Time passes so quickly and so slowly at the same time. Back in November, April seemed a world away, but here it is.  Spring is sprung, and I am getting ready to go back to work.  I've finally found a nanny who will work part time.  I only intend on working 20 hours a week, which seems like plenty.  My little squids will be 4 months old at the middle of the month and it seems like I was pregnant last week.  They are getting nice and rolly polly, so I know that the time is passing quickly, but each day seems like a small forever.  I'm not sure how long this strange time distortion will last (until they have kids of their own?  And then I will sound like every parent everywhere when I say it feels like they were babies just yesterday?).

I will be opening to orders the first week of April, but I probably won't have all of my listings up in the shop for another week or two.  I need to go through and makes some changes and also add new things that I made last year and would like to have in the shop.  Sorting through my iphoto seems like a monumental task right now, so that will probably have to come last.

I'm right in the middle of carving a new eternity style ring,  maybe seven diamonds across the top half of the band.  I have a smaller diamond solitaire carved already, I'm going to call it the Itty Bitty.  The diamond will be around 3.5mm.  I think it will be sparkly and sweet and suited for people who don't want a giant rock.  I have a new matching set in mind, but I haven't started it yet.  It will be smoother and more rounded than my other things.  Maybe with a few flush set stones in the wedding band.  I am also planning on a pair of diamond/moissanite studs, and I want to bring back the Raw Circle studs as well, in palladium with moissanite.

Pricing earring is always hard though, since they take a lot more work than a ring, but people can't/don't want to pay as much for earrings.  Does that make sense?  You have to make two of something, for the price of one.  So I haven't offered many earring styles since I find it a bit boring to make two of the same thing, but I'm going to try to streamline their production and see if I can make it work.  I might have the people who do my casting also do the rough finishing, so I'm not stuck at the bench for hours at a time getting all grubby doing the grunt work of heaving polishing (which I despise!).  I have carved designs for at least four pairs of earrings, with molds made and everything, but for some reason I have avoided finishing them.  I would also like to make a couple of necklaces again, maybe this and a raw circle pendant?:

Anyhow, a lot of things on my mind.  Still not sure how this work thing will work out with two tiny sweet babies.  Having a nanny come 20 hours a week is great, but even now I can see how much I will miss them.  They're so sweet and just starting to become little tiny baby people rather than larval humans.  :-)

Before and after

Last week I was out in the studio (for some precious alone time) to set a stone, and as I was getting ready to get to work I realized that this:

was exactly the same as how I had left it last year when I went on maternity leave (a month early!).  It was a bit surreal, to think of how much my life has changed, two new little people popped into existence (!!!), but the smallest bit of metal dust hadn't moved position out in the studio.

Of course, what does that say about my studio tidying habits?  Nothing good.  But I'm getting better.  This studio is much much cleaner than my last studio.  I think it's because I paid for it to be built!  I really believe that people value more something they personally invested in.  (Sorry squids, you're on your own for college.  Haha!  Just kidding.  Or am I?)

So this is the project I took on while on maternity leave (why can't I really take time off?  I think it is because I get bored and boredom leads to a gray blue funk.  I need to be a precise amount of busy and not a dollop more.  Still trying to figure out what that perfect amount is).

Just the solitaire, not the band.  The band is new from last year.  Doesn't seem to be very popular and I don't know why.  I haven't sold a single one.  I thought it would go well with my other designs, but thus far people seem to prefer hammered texture over the heavy carved shapes.

I have to say I broke out into a cold sweat while I was setting this diamond.  It had just been so long and I felt a little out of practice.  Plus I have baby-brain (x2) and I'm not getting a lot of sleep.  I was trying to focus, but I felt that there was a clock running.  How long can I be away from the babies?  Is the Shop Monkey okay inside alone, etc etc.

(Giant rosemary bush in the garden.)

But everything went well, and it reminded me why I love my job.  There is just something about focused attention that my brain craves.  I think that is why some of my hobbies are/have been running (no music), lap swimming, and quilting.  Anything that requires a lot of attention, but at the same time lets you zone out a bit.  I know that seems a bit contradictory, but it's what works for me.  It  just lets my mind decompress.

And for the Squid watchers out there:

It's pretty crazy, they don't even look related.  And right now I feel that Addy doesn't even look like he belongs to us.  Blue eyes and blond hair??  But I think his coloring is from my mom's side of the family.  They're are doing good.  Starting to settle into a routine a bit.  But I see on the monitor that Addy is starting to wake up from his nap (second of the morning, hallelujah!).

More later.

Chug chug chugging along

Dearest readers, I am snatching a moment from the drudgery that is caring for two tiny tyrants to write a quick blog post.  Life is pretty okay.  Caring for two babies at one time is difficult, as I'm sure you can probably imagine.  Sometimes it looks like this:

Only to look like this a moment later:

I think the hardest part is not being able to really hold and comfort both at once (or at least not very well...I only have two arms.  It drives me to tears once in a while, it's that or laughing hysterically).  Sometimes the bouncy chair just doesn't cut it.  Poor little screamers.

I also have to admit that the only thing that makes parenting possible for me right now is this:

Unfortunately, my french press doesn't come with a smiling male nanny with a great tie.  Oh! To be independently wealthy!  

So I've had very little sleep the last two months.  I wish I were one of those people who can function on just a few broken up hours, but I have to be honest and say that the lack of sleep is the absolute hardest part for me.  I need sleep like I need water.  The Shop Monkey came up with an anagram for twins:  Two Wailing Infants, No Sleep.  And it's totally accurate.  Sometimes they sleep at night, sometimes they wail.  If only they would coordinate and do either at the same time.  It would make our life a lot easier.

I took on a single project for the month of February.  But I'm actually really eager to get back to work for real.  I love my little squirming squids, but escaping out to the studio is so fabulous, I'll be honest.  It really does feel like an escape.  It's quiet and all my own.  There are no bouncy chairs or burp cloths anywhere to be seen.  Does that make me a bad mama?  I'm torn though, about hiring a nanny.  As much as I need some help (and obviously, I will need someone here while I'm working), I don't want to  give my babies over to someone else!  I need to get over that, because I have to work.  Not only for the income, but for my own sanity.  I only plan on working 20-25 hours a week, but I know I need something beyond caring for my children to maintain my mental health.  My hat is off to all of those SAHMs out there.

Well, my sleep deprived delirium is probably causing me to overshare, so I will wrap things up.  I have a few new things spinning around in my mind, I'm super excited to get a chance to carve them.  I want to do a chunky semi-eternity ring, maybe with some texture on the settings and something with squared or arrow shapes.  So much time, so little to do! Strike that, reverse it.

Gratuitous baby post! (check back later for jewelry related content)

So we had a bit of trouble coming up with names. Who doesn't?  But I'm pretty pleased with what we eventually settled on.  They are pronounced Add-lye and Aven as in raven.  Those awesome letters are actually little stuffed fabric letters that my BFF made for me/them.  Aren't they awesome?  I especially like the colors.

Tiny Addy with his infant acne.  It's clearing up now.

Do we look tired?

Aven's quilt (just the top, I haven't made the back or quilted it yet...I'm just glad I got both done before they arrived.  It was a bit of stretch.  Being gimungous and sitting at a sewing machine sucks.).

Smiles!

Addy's quilt top.

Miso Cute!

Love these tiny ones!

December 17th...

my babies made their reluctant entrance into the world.  We ended up having to evict them, after waiting until 39 weeks (their actual due date was the 22nd...I was so worried about them coming early.  HA!).  Which, with twins, is a ridiculously long time to be pregnant.  I'm glad we ended up inducing though, since another week in utero probably wouldn't have been the best for my little girl. Her placenta was a lot smaller than his and her cord was narrower.  I don't think I've ever been so upset by anything as I was by her birth, which (to me) was traumatic.  She ended up needing almost a week in the NICU, which was incredibly upsetting.  But she came home just 3 days after the rest of us, and everything is better now.  It's been a bit crazy with the two of them, but mostly good.  They are adorable!  And so tiny (7lb 1oz, 6lb 5oz)!  I'm really excited for them to get nice and fat!

Babies!

Still no babies

Just a small sample of what I have been up to in the last few months.  It was ridiculous, seriously.  Literally twice as much work as I'm accustomed to in the the months of September and October.

Hello, dearest readers.  I apologize for my long absence.  First I was slammed and working frantically to get everything finished before my twins arrived.  (Which is slightly irritating, since as I write these words I am still (extremely reluctantly) pregnant.  I probably could have worked straight through November without any issues at all!  Argh.  But who could know?  I was really in dread of having work unfinished and going into labor.)  And then for the last few weeks I've been trying to get the house (and my mind) prepared for two new people.  The babies' room is starting to look really cute!

I've been meaning to do a post about my fabulous little studio, but I think it will have to wait until I have it in me to do another video tour.  I'm really happy working from home, but it is super important that the space isn't inside my house.  I worked out of my house once before and it was really easy to get consumed by the job.  Being able to lock the door and walk away has been fantastic.

One thing I haven't figured out yet is a new space for photographing.  It's been a bit of a struggle since I don't have a really great sunny window to work in.  I only like to photograph in natural light, but it has to be diffused as well.  The photo below is one of the few examples that actually work in the direct light.  But in general it's really hard to get a good photo in direct light (for me, anyway).

Well, I think this will be my last post for a month or two.  Depending on how things are after the babies arrive, I would like to work a bit on some new designs before I reopen.  But I will just have to see what life is like in the next couple of months.

All right!  Wish me luck!  I think I will probably need it. :-)

Man, I miss

wearing this ring:

But when your hands decide to try to keep pace with this:

it makes wearing such a wide band a distant memory. 

Getting there, getting there

Progress is slow here at the B studio.  Unfortunately, there is so much going on in our lives and in the house, that despite the unceasing efforts of the (world's best) Shop Monkey, I am still not completely settled into the new studio.  This last Saturday we moved (and when I say we, I mean he) the last of the stuff from the old studio and cleaned the place out.  It was a bit of a process.  I don't know how I accumulated SO MUCH CRAP.  Actually, I think I do know.   When I was first starting out with my business, I didn't really know what I would need.  So, I just tended to get anything that I might remotely have possibly ever used, even once.  That is how you end up with a whole lot of things that really don't serve any purpose (anymore).  But I don't see how I could have worked any other way.  I certainly couldn't have scaled up as quickly.  I'm a firm believer that you have to spend money to make money, and that you need to have the right tool for the job (even if you might not know what that job might be).  And if you are pressed for time, the shotgun approach is the best method (at least for me).  So, here I am, with a lot of stuff that I need to get rid of.  Which is also hard.  But not as hard as seeing a bright new studio space slowly getting overcrowded with junk (not junk really, just things I don't use).  DE-pressing.

To be perfectly honest, as much as I love what I do, I think I would prefer being an illustrator or something like that.  Something that doesn't require as many tools (it stresses me out to have to keep track of everything) or dust or dirt or grime.  Perhaps I love the end result of my work, just not the process.

 Yay!

 Ugh!

I don't always feel this way, I think I'm just a little down today.  The Shop Monkey is out of town for the week (super sad face) and I'm suffering a little bit from a light blueish funk.  My sleep hasn't been the best, and it is getting hard to eat without being uncomfortable (double squids!).  And work has been a bit overwhelming, which creates conflicting feelings for me since I am glad I have enough work, but at the same time feel a bit stressed.  But I would much rather be stressed that way, than be stressed about not making enough money.

Ah, Monday.

My new commute

hahahahahahahahahaha!  So happy!

Yes, those are my house shoes.  No, I don't intend on making a habit of arriving at work in my pj's. 

Photos of the new studio coming soon!  I'm not all the way moved yet, I was distracted by a visit from my delicious niecettes.  So adorable!  But now that I'm back on my own, with only the pugs for company during the day (and of course, the two tiny squids karate chopping away at my insides) I think the unpacking and arranging will go quickly.  I'm SUPER happy with how everything turned out with the remodel/construction, it's so clean and bright!  It makes me a bit sad to have to fill it with all of my dusty work stuff.  I feel like I should be making cupcakes, collages or quilts in here.  I'm dreading the creeping mess of an actual working studio.  I know I just need to institute a 20 minute clean up at the end of the day, which I am determined to do (no! really!).

The excitement is building!

For me, anyway!  I'm planning on moving into the new studio this Sunday.  (And by moving, I mean overseeing other people move things, since I am double preggo and not allowed to lift heavy things.  A nice perk that almost makes up for the sleepless nights.)

New things that I might add to the shop eventually.  I really like the lack of texture and the high polish.  Although, I will admit, that I don't really dig on the high polish whilst I'm in the middle of high polishing.  Tedious.

And now a few photos of the studio project!

The drywall was all finished Friday.  This is a view at the ceiling and the little storage area.  The Shop Monkey heroically attempted to prime it on Sunday in 100+ degree weather, but he had to throw in the towel after the first coat (mostly because we were also painting the kitchen at the same time....I still haven't recovered. But the kitchen looks great!).

And then today!

I know these photos aren't super exciting in themselves, but these are my new cabinets and butcher block counters, just waiting to be installed (after the painting and flooring is finished)!  I am so excited to finally have contiguous workspaces and real storage.  I've been working with a hodgepodge of mismatched craigslisted tables and some kluged together shelving for the last few years and it's getting really old.  I'm going to be so organized when this is all finished, I can't even wait.  And my bedroom door is only about 25 yards away, so I can lay down in between projects (which is becoming more and more necessary, unfortunately).

Updates! Updates!

First things first.  YAY!

Studio update:

Subfloor!  Just going to have laminate.  I really wanted colorful marmoleum, but I really needed to stay within my budget as well.

 This little semi-wall will keep the grossness of polishing in one spot.  That is the plan anyway.

That window on the left is new.  Different view of the half wall.

 Oooh! Oooh!  Oooh!  The drywall started going up this week.  The plan is to have it all dry walled this week and then the counters/cabinets/sink go in next week and then I move in!  Yay!

For the pug-deprived.  This is Dieter this morning, leaning against my leg as I ate breakfast.  Sweetness pug.

And this is my newest design.  I had been wanting to do something with more movement in it, and this is what I ended up with.  I have also been admiring the twig/branch rings that you see out there, but I didn't want mine to look so literal.  Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it has been done and I didn't feel like I need to make my own rendition.  The diamond is a natural cognac diamond, a bit hard to photograph properly.  It has this lovely deep brown sparkle, I love it.