Hazelnut Cottage

Another Year on Etsy

 
Can you believe I am coming up on my 2nd Anniversary on Etsy? Wow. The baby was just a baby when this all began, with me desperately searching the web, night after night, for some kind of work I could do from home so that I’d be able to stay home with the kiddos just a little longer. The little one would spend nights under my computer table, snoozing. He was just 3 months old when I stumbled upon Etsy and decided to set up shop.



Oh, how I miss holding that baby (a rare peek)! He’s much too wiggly now to carry for long...



It took me a couple of months to get things rolling, and then finally, in May 2007 right before Mother’s Day, I began listing and selling my first handstamped mommy jewelry at my Hazelnut Cottage shop on Etsy. Here was the first piece that sold.

 

{“Bien Dans Sa Peau” is French for to be “Comfortable in One's Skin”. Enough striving to be better, thinner, more. Being comfortable in your own skin is making peace with yourself, your flaws, your strengths, you. “Bien Dans Sa Peau” is the way you carry yourself and most importantly the way you love yourself. A proclamation for a woman who claims her true self.}

It’s interesting that what began with a french inspired piece has me now coming full circle. I am taking Hazelnut Cottage in just that direction it seems (you heard it here first!) Much of my new pieces are french inspired, or at least, indirectly so, with vintage french beads and buttons and such...well, hold on a few more weeks...you’ll see! And my packaging is changing too (again).

Gee. Maybe I should celebrate my Etsy anniversary by bringing back these old pieces, huh? Specially priced, of course! Hmm...


Well, at least someone is getting some sleep around here!

Another Way to Help: Let the Church Rise

Hello!

I was so excited to receive an email today from Laurie the founder of the ministry (Village2Village)  that seeks to find sponsors for needy Ugandan children and their families. I'm not sure yet what form my involvement will be in this ministry, but I will keep you updated as I continue to learn more about this organization and think about how to help.

Meanwhile, Laurie brought my attention to a particular need they are having right now: a van. A man by the name of Milan Ford and his wife have launched a site to raise monies towards a van which is desperately needed to help in their day to day efforts to minister in Uganda.

If you have a blog, spread the word, will ya? Better yet, visit the website and see if you can dig around a bit and contribute even just a little. I will. Join me. They are hoping to raise enough money for a van by March 1st, 2009.

And thanks, from me, and from those who have so, so much less than we all do...

Village 2 Village and the San Damiano Foundation

Warning. This video clip is heavy, heart-wrenching, eye opening and hopefully, life-changing. I wept and wept as I watched it (thank you Junko on Etsy for sharing this!). It will also be very offensive to some, because the film makers have been harshly criticized for filming these children suffering, so do watch of your own free will (--angry or mean comments left here will be deleted.) It highlights the plight of 3 children living in a remote village in Uganda and calls upon anyone who has a heart to help these, and children just like these. I hope you do take a deep breath and a few moments of your time to watch.

Obviously this, and many other types of suffering go on everyday, all over the world. It’s just that, I think, somehow, I had forgotten. And now I’ve been reminded.

And regardless of how you feel towards the film makers, the political powers that allow this type of suffering to persist, or even towards me for posting this video, I hope your heart will focus on what you can do to help ease someone's pain. I have been too self-absorbed, too complacent. Period. So I am figuring out a way to help. Maybe you want to, too.

There are many ways to help this particular plight. You can either make a donation to the non-profit group Village 2 Village. You could help:

• Sponsor a Child
• Sponsor a Ugandan Staff Worker
• Sponsor a Student
• Invest in Village 2 Village
• Give a Special Gift
• Share the Vision
• Pray for Village 2 Village

You can also donate to the San Damiano Foundation, which is the group whose vision it is to:
“...raise funds for Christian chartities aiding the world’s poor, and to awaken the hearts and minds to the plight of the poor, hopefully inspiring viewers to serve those in need through acts of compassion and mercy.”

Chigae and Business Plans

This is what I made for Steve last night for dinner. He has ANOTHER cold. Sheesh. I don’t even want to talk about it.

...lots of chili paste and powder, a splattering of kim chee...

...some ground pork and lots of bubbling...

...and a few (unlucky) shrimp...

Now, to change the subject completely. I am in transition at Hazelnut Cottage, my little Etsy shop. Ha. I feel like I am ALWAYS in transition at the shop! Out of me is developing a new line of non-handstamped jewelry...and I’m not too sure what to do with it.

Should I add it to the shop? That way, I’d just need to concentrate on one brand, one business, really. Anything more than one is really difficult for this one person to do and more costly for sure: advertising, business cards, photography set up, etc. etc. But are the items alike enough to go together in the shop? Will adding in this new line hurt business at all? Or will it help?

Or, do I open up another Etsy shop? Would keep things visually more cohesive. Would be more work and I really won't have the time or capital to promote this new baby and maybe that's okay...guess i could try it out and add it into my Hazlenut Cottage Line later...

Anyhoo, lots to think about...that's what’s been on my mind a lot lately. A lot. In fact, I just won an over-bid-on milk glass bottle on Ebay because of ideas swirling around about this new venture. Wha? I'll explain later! Ha ha.

Tagged :: 25 Random Things About Me

1. Dave Sugawa (find him on Facebook) tagged me, but since I don’t have 25 contacts on Facebook (so sad), I’ve decided to post here (not that I have 25 contacts here either, but I digress...)
2. Not knowing anyone on my team, I traveled to alone to Narita to meet up with my missions team for a short term missions trip to Thailand when I was 19.
3. I like my bacon half cooked.
4. I’d wear JJill, larimelooms on Etsy, GarnetHill and Eileen Fisher if I could. Oh, what the heck, I love to shop, so I’d wear anything cotton, linen, silk or batiste...
5. I love to buy sheets and towels. White.
6. I am unemployable in the real world; I love working for myself.
7. I have a BFA in graphic design and worked in a studio for about 5 years in downtown Honolulu.
8. I have a Master’s of Education in Teaching (MET) and taught elementary ed for 3 1/2 years.
9. April, Cat and I hiked down to the tidepools at Makapu’u even tho' our hubbies would strangle us if they knew!
10. I went SKATEBOARDING this week, where April and I were told by a young 'en as we were gearing up,  “You’re kidding, right?” (Not kidding.)
11. I met my husband when we were both 11 years old.
12. I thought about majoring in English in college, but didn’t want to be a starving artist. Ha! So I went for a fine arts degree instead...go figure.
13. I want to write a book one day...an art-girl book! Woohoo!
14. I enjoy listening to Five for Fighting. And Creed. Vintage Creed...oh man, get back together!
15. Some of my favorites are really long, deep conversations with those I love, great barely grilled otoro (fatty tuna), Japan, onsens, reading, traveling, my pastors, cabonara, pudding parfait at Zippy’s.
16. I thought I would not be a mama. I had no real desire to have children...until I got old and decided now or never! Man. So glad I had them!
17. I would love to, if I could, backpack alone around the world. Stops would be: Switzerland, Italy, Barcelona, Greece, Israel, Japan, Tahiti, Carribean, Road trip across the US (someone else would drive!), Canada, France, England, Austria.
18. I was saved when I was 14 at an Easter service on the beach, with Steve my would be husband, praying right next to me.
19. I hate driving.
20. I hate tax season, taxes, tax papers, tax preparation, tax payments and ...
21. I love Johnny Mercer’s lyrics for “When October Goes”, sung by Barry Manilow. Yes, I am a Manilow fan.
22. One day, I shall learn to play the cello. And piano.
23. I was a bonus baby; my mom had me when she was turning 41!
24. I am a water woman. Blessed with lots of insulation, find me in the water on the coldest of days, as happy as a clam.
25. I presented a wreath to the unknown soldier in Arlington, VA when I was 16. It was part of a high school trip to the East Coast; New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Virginia.

This and That...

...what the baby had for lunch...

...such small things make the kiddos so happy...

 

...“Bubbles Necklace” {new at the shop} $54...

...“Raindrop Necklace” {new at the shop} $72...

...i curated a recent treasury for Etsy and it landed on the front page...

...and “Flight of the Dandelion” made it to the front page,
a few days, (a week?) ago...it’s a collage from my new Etsy shop called, ATwilightSky...

...sigh...taking a short break from life, just for tonight...

Revelations

So, I am not going crazy after all.

It seems all of the hoo-ha lately has been because I was in labor, and didn’t even know I was preggers. No one get excited; we are not talking about PHYSICAL pregnancy, mind you, but rather the artistic kind. There, there.

Yes, what began as ideas brewing about new seasonal offers for Hazelnut Cottage, has somehow morphed into what I think will be a completely new venture. More later. Baby ideas need time to grow in darkness.

I am excited about the new possibilities! I feel relieved that there has been this breakthrough, because much of my angst has (for now anyway) begun to quiet down...and no more hives...uh, not right now. I wish I could share more, but knowing me, I'll fall out of love with this new revelation too quickly and begin telling you I’m about to melt wax for my encaustic paintings. Oh, did I never say?! Well, encaustic is when you melt beeswax and apply it to...oh, sorry, I digress. Now, where was I?

Anyhoo, just resting in the now for a bit, anticipating and wondering what is to come this new year.