The Art of Reselling: Finding Value in Forgotten Items

Over the years, my husband and I have gathered more things than we truly need. Recently, like TODAY, it became clear: it's time to let some of it go.

Instead of donating, we called a friend who has just started reselling at a few flea market booths around town. She came by this afternoon, excited to see what speaks to her.

She doesn’t craft, she curates. And I love watching her booths come alive with her ability to decorate a small space with forgotten things, that somehow hold all those stories of what once was.

She's really a rescuer.

Where I see clutter, she sees possibility.

I don't have that knack.

I have to have a lot of space to think and be, and I can't seem to get past the clutter part of the curation process to be any good at it.

It just makes me want to run away and throw away!

To her, discarded objects hum with a faint memory of what they once meant, and what they still might mean to someone new.

When someone picks up an item in her booth and says, “This belongs with me now,” the story of the thing continues.

I find that very comforting.

I asked her why she loves it so much, even though it’s just a side gig. She recognizes that she is good at it, and has an eye for what people want.

And she is meeting some really great people, too.

What she is doing is a nice service for people like me, whose inclination is to just take it to the dump.

I'm definitely not in favor of doing that, because I want to see it reused and loved too.

I just don't want to take the time to curate and sell it.

And I have some furniture that needs a new home, but listing stuff on Facebook Marketplace is too sketchy for me.

It's nice that she's doing this, and I'm happy to support her new business.

She asked me to be on the lookout for vintage slips and old rolling pins, since those are evidently hot items in the resell market.

Who knew?

That’s who she is, though, a rescuer. And her creativity shows up in curation, which is truly an art form.

She knows value is never truly gone.

It’s simply waiting for the right eyes to see it and the right hands to take it away.

Random fact about me: I probably spend more per month feeding birds than on my own personal care.

Fanning the Flame: Keeping Your Inner Light Alive

One of my favorite things to do is walk on a trail near my house while listening to a podcast. Today’s was a doozy.

Today, I went for a 3-mile walk and was listening to Tetragrammaton, a podcast hosted by Rick Rubin. He was interviewing Bernard MacMahon, a filmmaker who made the documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin that's on Netflix right now.

I'm going to admit something here, that I find bizarre and somewhat embarrassing --but I discovered the genius of Led Zeppelin about 10 years ago.

How is it possible that even though I'd heard Led Zeppelin on the radio many times as a kid, that I'd never really HEARD them until I was in my 40's?!?

When I discovered Robert Plant, again, in my 40's, I watched every YouTube video about Led Zeppelin that was available, over and over again.

I discovered Robert Plant for myself when he made the album Rising Sand with Allison Krauss.

I loved the song Gone, Gone, Gone.

And that started me down the rabbit hole that is Robert Plant which led me to Led Zeppelin and the amazing music they produced when they found each other so young.

While I was listening to Rick and Bernard talk about the documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin, I had to watch it, and it's really, really good.

The thing that stuck with me from today's interview though, was the discussion they had regarding the light that we all have when we are children, and how important it is to not have the world extinguish it as we get older.

And that got me to thinking about my own light.

It's funny. As I was thinking about all the things I've been interested in over the course of my life, they have all come together in my work as an artist in some form or fashion.

I was a drummer as a kid. I use drumming in a way when I hammer metal now. I hold my hammer the same way I held my drumsticks.

I loved to write as a kid. I write here, and on my website, and in my marketing materials and the various magazine articles I've written over the years teaching others how to make jewelry.

I loved to draw as a kid. I rediscovered my love of drawing and painting when my parents died, which led to the greeting card line I have now.

I loved spending time by myself as a kid, exploring my world creatively, daydreaming and playing. I do that everyday in my studio and on my walks through the woods.

After my foul mood yesterday, today I realized just how incredibly blessed I am that I didn't let the world extinguish my light.

I've won in so many areas of my life, but being able to still see my inner light is the biggest win of all.

And I will continue to fan that flame, daily, hourly and by the minute for as long as I am able.

I hope that you still see your own inner light, and that you fan that flame even if it's just an ember right now.

That's what we are here to do...spread our light that God gifted us with and don't let the bastards blow it out.

Cheers.

Random fact about me: My favorite dessert is Carrot cake, because of that icing.

Back to the Studio: Reviving My Jewelry and Art Creations

I”m excited to go back to work tomorrow morning. Who says that after a vacation?

I do. I love my work!

I've already got an order after opening up my shop yesterday, and I'm so grateful I'm still making jewelry that people enjoy wearing after 20 years.

I'm ready to get back to experimenting with porcelain jewelry, and I have some new glazes that arrived while I was in Colorado to try and see how they fire.

I took a few pictures while in Colorado that I want to try and paint into Christmas cards, and I'm hoping to sit down at my painting desk and see what happens. If I can get a couple of new designs for the holidays and get them printed, I'll be satisfied!

I was so enamored of the Aspen trees of Colorado with evergreen's scattered in the Aspen forests we came across. This photo will be the inspiration for the cards I want to add to my collection.

I want to start offering my cards to purchase online. Right now, they are only available at Black Dog Salvage in Roanoke, VA and Words Matter Gift shop in Staunton, VA.

I still have to work out how to package them up so that they arrive safely.

Something else on the agenda is loading up my jewelry designs and offering them for sale on my new website this week, too.

I want to offer some one-of-a-kind designs on my website, separate from Etsy, and beginning the transition off of Etsy to my own site.

In October, it will be a year since I moved my studio out of the basement of my home and I'm loving it more and more every day.

Having a dedicated space to create and dream is wonderful, and so fulfilling.

Ok, not much to report on today as I was getting ready for this week, grocery shopping and clothes washing, along with some house cleaning.

Vacation is over, but my work is so fulfilling that I must admit I'm ready to get back to it.

Random fact about me: I make sure and pet every dog I meet on the walking trail so that I can get some free probiotics when they lick me in the face since I no longer have a dog.

Finding Peace: Crafting Away Anxiety

There was a time when anxiety felt like hell on earth. My mind spun stories so fast I could barely breathe and my body reacted to my imaginings.

The only thing that quieted the noise in my head was using my hands by shaping metal, stringing beads, and making something real.

Even if it was a horrible design or ugly, it was beautiful to me because I wasn't in a fear state for a blessed amount of time.

The result of my action was tangible and allowed me to see my progress in staying present.

Slowly, the fear loosened its grip and curiosity slipped in to take its place.

And that small shift, turning fear into curiosity, and doing something instead of thinking about the future, or ruminating about the past, changed my life.

The present moment paired with an action is my medicine of choice when it comes to anxiety and fear-based thinking.

Works every time.

---

Random fact about me: I went to an all girls high school.

The Unbroken Circle

As a jewelry designer, I guess it's time to start blogging a little about my work. I made these circle posts before I left on my trip to add to my collection at Black Dog Salvage in Roanoke, VA.

I've taken the last three weeks off of work to travel, and reflect upon my life.

As much as I want some things to stay the same forever, time keeps on marching on, doesn't it? That was evident on my trip to Colorado.

I made these earrings before I left for my trip. They are rough little circle posts with a lot of texture. They look a little worn with some patina, just like life.

The circle is a universal symbol of change.

It reminds us that what feels difficult now will become easier with time. It's also a symbol that reflects back to us that when things are going great, they will change to not so great.

That's just how life works.

What's so neat about a circle is that every point on the circle always leads back to being in balance, no matter where you are on the circle.

The promise of the future carries us forward even if the present feels like it will never get better.

But it will.

Our lives are filled with circles.

We live in different phases of life daily, watching as the sun fades in the evening turning into dark, then the future brings us the dawn of a new day.

Relationships change. They are strong, then become weak, then strong again.

And on and on it goes, right?

We breathe in...we breathe out. Always in balance until the breath eventually stops, and we become part of another phase in a much bigger circle.

I've learned to grab onto life and hold on and let go as needed.

Whatever the present moment asks of me, I try to listen, even if the phase I'm presently in sucks big time.

The promise of the circle is that it will change, and I'm here for it.

Random fact about me: I cook all of my food from scratch, one ingredient at time. I feel so much better eating this way.