Simply Mad about story-telling and spreading love

"Every love story is beautiful, but 

ours is my favorite"

Love is in the air...or it will be soon! The beginning of February is around the corner and you know what that means...Valentine's Day is just a little over 2 week away!  Love fills the air, gifts are bought, flowers are given, chocolates are eaten and hugs are exchanged.  What a lovely holiday!  But one must not forget to celebrate love and friendship all year round.

We all enjoy a love story that warms the heart and makes us go, "awwwwww".  What better time to share such stories than now?  Let's have a love-sharing festival here on Simply Mad's blog!

Send me your story of love and I will feature it here during Simply Mad's "14 Days of Love Stories" from February 1 - February 14th.  If I am lucky enough to get more than 14 stories (fingers crossed) then I will publish more than one per day.  And if I get many, many stories, who knows maybe we will end up with "A Full Month of Love Stories".  Feel free to include pictures with your story!

Wouldn't it be nice to sit down with a cup of tea or coffee (or something a little stronger) and reminisce about your journey together?  Remember all the reasons your relationship is as great as it is and where did this great love you share blossom from?  Go ahead!  Write down!

Love comes in infinite shapes, sizes and colors; a mother's/father's love for a child, love for our pets, sisterly/brotherly love, love we share with our parents, there is the love we feel for our better halves, or why not tell your love story with yourself!

{ No strings attached } This project is about pure love and the joy of sharing it.  This is not a contest that requires you to "like me", "follow me, "tweet me" or "pin me" to participate...Nope!  No conditions here.  This it about love - sharing it, spreading it, feeling it, giving it and celebrating the month of love and friendship!

Share this post with your friends!  The more stories we get the more love we can sprinkle around us.

All you need to do is email me your story at simplymad@ymail.com.  I will let you know I got it and when it will be shared :)

Let's fill the air around us with enough love, happiness and warmth to last us well beyond the end of February.

Hope to see your story in my inbox!
Mad

Simply Mad about de-cluttering and de-signing

I like publishing my postings on Mondays...the beginning of a brand new and shiny week, a fresh start, 5 days full of endless hours (ok, ok, not endless, but Mondays certainly hold the most hours to be had in a work week...) to make jewelry!  Mondays inspire me!  I am happy to leave the weekend behind and start up a new week with all its possibilities.  YAY for Mondays!!!!

Last week, I meant to start working on the "Japanese collection" - by the way I need a MUCH cooler name for it so send your suggestions, I feel a contest brewing.  Remember I told you and showed you the inspiration piece on the second to last posting?  Remember, that colorful and soft piece of Japanese silk I found tucked away at the flea market?  Here it is again...

Japanese silk; inspiration piece

Well, last Monday right after I told you about my find, I was ready to sit down and start making bright-colored jewelry, but something happened.  I sat at my work table and something didn't feel right.  Hmmmm...I didn't know where to start, all the beads were looking at me begging to be picked but I was stuck.  I sat back and looked around me and there it was!  THE MESS!  My studio was a complete mess...not dirty, just disorganized.  I couldn't stand it!   I put my tools and beads aside and spent the better part of the week de-cluttering, re-organizing, re-storing and re-labeling.  My beads are now neatly stored and categorized by color, folders have been filled with previously loose papers, and I rearranged the furniture for ease of movement and hopefully better flow of energy.  I felt like I was clearing my creative mind and making room for all those ideas, colors and beads that were waiting to be picked and explored!  Cleaning=Cleansing=Good for the soul :)

By the end of the week I was ready!  I sat down and approached my designing process in a whole new way.  New Year!  New Week!  New Approach!  You see,  ever since I started making jewelry, there has never been a rhyme or reason as to why I make the kind of jewelry I make or how I arrived at a particular design.  I would just buy materials I liked and in my head I would picture a piece and voila!  It was made!  That kinda of work, but there was always something missing - a why or what or how?  That has been my biggest challenge; to find my style, my theme, my story.  But with the new year and my renewed motivation, I thought I would do something different.  I have already decided my collections will have a travel-inspired twist, they will be born from places I have been to; from a picture, or a souvenir or a little treasure found in a local flea market. That will give the piece an instant story.  But I needed more.  I need to connect with my jewelry. 

This time I took my time to sit down and do some sketches of the mental pictures I had - I will not win a prize for drawing bu that's not the point.  Much like journal-ing, when you put all your thoughts on paper to clear your head (I am a BIG, HUGE journal-er, I do it first thing in the morning so I call them my "morning pages" and it does help), sketching helps me see my ideas more clearly.  By doing so, I don't stay up at night trying to dream up the next necklace or pair of earrings.  I am developing a new creative process and my little heart is very happy...jumping-up-and-down-happy.  Knowing the why? and what? of my designs makes me more proud to call them my own.  And in turn more confident in sharing them with you!  They are my babies...I am seeing them from inspiration to sketch to construction to the finish line - ready to be sent off to make someone happy whenever she wears it.

some sketches...Mad-style sketching

This inspiration piece has also made me push my boundaries a bit.  Normally, a monochromatic-muted-colors-kinda a girl, I find myself really leaning toward the pinks, the oranges and blues on the pattern.  I will dive in and roll around in these colors and I will honor Japan with a spring collection! After all, spring is the best season in Japan...endless festivals are held all across the country bringing the cities and it's people to life with colors, dances and age old traditions.  And who can forget the awe-inspiring cherry blossoms!  Here are some picts from Japanese spring festivals.  See all the color?

I could have chosen a wintery picture of Mt. Fuji and give my monochromatic-muted-colors side some joy with a black, white and gray collection....but nope!  Oh no!  This is the year to push the envelope, take risks and take a leap!  So Japan in the Spring it is! 

gathering materials

Will unveil the collection 2 weeks from today, but first I need a "SIMPLY" awesome name - submit yours for the chance to win a pair of Simply Mad earrings from the new collection - your choice!  I will have a contest on Facebook, so head on over to Facebook and click LIKE so you don't miss any of the details!

Cheers to a colorful week for everyone!!!
Mad

Flourish & Thrive Academy Laying the Foundation Volume 1

Hi there!  As part of my efforts to take my handmade jewelry business - Simply Mad - flying and flying high, I have been searching to learn about the business side of owning your own...well...business.  You see, the making of the jewelry is the fun part...the colors, the beads, the creating-something-from-scratch part is what makes my heart glow with joy.  Is the business-ey side of things that makes my heart go: "wa,waaa,waaaaa".  All the marketing, sales, accounting...ay, ay, ay!  And then on top of that add all the social media overwhelm-ness which you must  master if you want your business to succeed.

In my search and as a suggestion from Jessika Hepburn from Oh My! Handmade Goodness, I stumbled upon Flourish & Thrive Academy; a virtual academy dedicated to helping jewelry designers specifically take their business to greatness - how perfect is that?!?!  And now they are offering as free scholarship where one can learn all the business-ey things (wa, waaa, waaaa!) one needs to grow a small business.

To win this scholarship, I must answer three questions; here they are..

Where are you in your jewelry business now?
I would say my business as I want it to be has just been born with the new year.  I have had an Etsy shop for two years and I have seen some success, but I am nowhere near I want to be for myself and my customers.  It is time to bring it up a notch or two and put all I got into it!

What’s holding you back in your business and your life?
My biggest obstacle is myself!  I don't seem to be able to get myself organized enough to manage my time wisely and make room for all the tracking, data entry, sales, marketing and not so fun, but essential things I should be doing on an ongoing basis.   In addition to that I am awful at selling myself! It makes me feel like I am bragging or saying: "oh look at me, I am so great" - not my comfort zone.  But I do want to learn because it will not only help me advance my business but by reaching out and letting people know you is how great connections and friendships are built.

What is your vision for your business? Where do you want to go? What are your biggest dreams and desires?
I picture myself in my home studio making jewelry with a smile on my face and happy music playing in the background.  I am smiling and jamming because I know they jewelry I am making will end up making someone happy and feel better about herself.  Since my new collections will be travel-inspired I want my jewelry to take my customers in a imaginary journey to places they have visited or would like to visit. I want my jewelry to be more than just an accessory; I want it to be an entire experience!  And of course make money along the way.

There you have it! Those are the 3 answers that will win me this scholarship!!!!

If you share this blog post you will be helping me increase my chances...what do you say?

Wish me luck!  I will let you keep you posted...
Thanks!!!
Mad

Simply Mad's Plan 2013

I hope you are settling in nicely into the new year.  Trey was on vacation last week so for me the new year kinda starts today.  Last week was spent relaxing, recharging and reflecting.

I love the sense of endless possibilities a new year brings and the cleansing power of leaving an old year behind.  This year I didn't make any official resolutions; I think any day is good to start over or make self -improvements, don't you think?  Plus my track record with new year's resolutions is less than stellar - hahaha!  How about you?  Did you make any resolutions for 2013?

borrowed this pict from Treat A Day 

There is something I am focusing my attention on this year though - my business.  Over the holidays I had my Simply Mad Jewelry shop critiqued by a pro - Jessika Hepburn from Oh My! Handmade Goodness.  The critique was kind (thank God and thank YOU Jessika) and full of great ideas and helpful suggestions.  Aside from the concrete support Jessika provided, the renew came with a much needed dose of encouragement and a new perspective about all that it takes to build and grow a small creative business.   So I start this week and this new year armed with tools and inspiration to take my jewelry business flying and flying high in 2013 and beyond!  You will see more of my travels reflected in my designs.  I have been "mind busy" picturing what the new pieces will look like, which of the places I have visited will I look to for inspiration and it is all really exciting. I have been revisiting some of my favorites spots through my pictures, reminiscing and reliving memorable moments Trey and I have shared while traveling.  While browsing around a flea market in Tokyo yesterday I found - what feels like a perfect inspiration piece for a Japan/Spring collection.  The colors are so cheery and the silk so soft and delicate - I am in love with it!!!  I can't wait to share the first pieces with you.

 Japanese silk found in a local free market in Tokyo

After two years of making and selling jewelry with moderate success, it is time to make and sell jewelry with a LOT of success.  This is the year when jewelry making will go from hobby to healthy obsession and then to absolute success.  And I will take you along with me in my journey...I need someone to cheerlead me along the way.

Aside from a new designing process and sources of inspiration, Simply Mad Jewelry has a new logo from Moxie Pear.  Up until now I had designed my own logos but it was time to go pro with the logo as well.  Thanks Lisa!  I love handmade but somethings need to be left to the pro's.  It still has what I call "my happy color" - that tone of blue - the old logo had combined with a salmon pink and soft blush color for the "wear it and be happy" tag line.  I think it is A W E S O M E...what do you think?

new and awesome logo!

I will continue to share my Japanese (and any other travel) experiences with you and somewhere in between there will give you updates about Simply Mad's new pieces, collections, inspiration and progress.

May 2013 be a year full of magic, love, health happiness and success for all of us!  May this new year be the year when all our dreams come true!

Cheers to a SIMPLY great 2013!
Mad