15 days later....

so, here it is 15 days later and so much has changed. my friend caroline came to visit during sxsw and we had a great time. i don't know what i would have done without her. she sold my jewelry like it was her own, she watched my booth when i needed a break, and kept me laughing the whole time she was here. good friends like that are hard to find.

the setup was from last thursday the 19th - saturday the 21st and was successful. we saw so many people! janeane garofolo was down on south congress shopping around and we saw about a million rock stars. (we're not sure who they all were, but you know a rock star when you see them.)

caroline left yesterday afternoon and i've been trying to catch up with work ever since.
i had about 300 e-mails to read & over 700 blog posts to weed through...whew! i guess a designer's work is never done. here is a picture of our chaperon "artie vandelay" who just couldn't get enough chips & queso while he was here. he's great guy with a ton of energy & good looks to spare. don't you think?




back to the grind tomorrow for sure...i've been running around today and just need a few more moments to catch my breath before plunging into production for my next venue. the lonestar ladies present: shop austin. here's the link with MUCH more to follow!!! oh, i've actually already been featured on their blog. check it out here. what a beautiful write up...thanks annemarie for being such a great friend.

well, gotta go and figure out the next few days...

cheers!
xo diane

sxsw

so here it is! the official flyer for the sxsw market setup for 2009....

there will be wonderful vendors each day offering a wide variety of handmade goods. i can't wait to see what everyone's got. so if you will be in austin for sxsw this year please stop by. you can't miss our location in the heart of south congress avenue!



i hope to see you there.

cheers!
xo diane

tastyjewelry.com is now updated!

a lot of people like to spend their weekends relaxing, being outdoors or catching up on a good book. well,apparently i am not one of those people. :) i took the time this weekend to update my website with all new graphics and even added a few new earring designs. its quite a process since i design and manage my website all on my own.

creating new pages entails getting the graphics to fit to size, rollovers, new photos, descriptions, etc. now take that and multiply it by 19! everything gets a face lift. once new graphics are introduced, the old ones need to be archived. i figured that i spend so much time creating the images that i'd like them to be available to order. here's the updated version of the front page graphic:





well, all work an no play can make me a dull girl so last night i got together with some friends and we went to the lonestar rollergirls roller derby! what fun! those girls are fierce, to say the least. (photo courtesy of their website)

the bout was between the rhinestone cowgirls and the hellcats. some of the crew i was with were related to one of the hellcats named "curly suicide" so we rooted for them. the fans wear big curly blonde wigs to show their support. it was incredible. i am definitely paying for it today. i can't wait to go again next month. click on the picture to get to the website.

cheers!
xo diane

what i've been working on....

its march which means that the annual SXSW conference is coming up soon. each year thousands of interactive, film & music junkies travel to austin to meet up & exchange ideas of what is going on in their field. this year in conjunction with Guero's Taco Bar i have organized an all local handmade austin market. there will be vendors selling all sorts of local & handmade goods.

well, since this is an awesome opportunity for me to showcase my designs, i have been keeping myself busy preparing for the event.

these are discs for bob pins:



and these are 800 baubles that have now become magnets. whew! what a job!



in these photos you are able to take a peek at some of my *new* graphics for the spring/summer 09 line! i will be updating the website sometime in the next week. (if i can catch my breath.) never a dull moment around here lately...

cheers!
xo diane

trunk show at Adelante

i will be having a trunk show at Adelante boutique here in austin this friday & saturday from 10 am - 5:30 pm. Adelente is located at 1206 w. 38th street in the 26 doors shopping center.

i will be featuring many new designs all of which are not even on my website yet. i've been experimenting with some old techniques that i did years ago, but have modified them. here is an example...





tricia, the owner and a friend, just loves my lemonade cookies so she's requested that i bring them as well. a not too sweet concoction of a delicate & tart cookie on the bottom with a sweet & light sugary glaze on top. very refreshing and lemony! i'll be making them in the "pink" variety just perfect for that upcoming holiday... packaged by the half dozen for around $4.

all items are wonderful little indulgences for anyone. so if you are in the area please stop by and say hello!

cheers!
xo diane

a little sunshine on a somewhat cloudy day....

i saw this video posted on someone's blog and had to share it. it made me laugh....



cheers!
xo diane

Le Garage Sale this weekend

I will be participating in one of Austin's most coveted sale events this weekend. All the information is on the flyer below. I will have sale merchandise as well as my regular goodies there...



Hope to see you there!

cheers!
xo diane

this is what i'm dealing with today...

okay, anyone who has a cat knows that they have this incredible sense of where they shouldn't be and my cat, gunner, is no exception to this rule. as a matter of fact he actually epitomizes this rule perfectly!

here's the back story. i'm trying to take some photographs of these new earrings to send to someone for a silent auction and for my website too. my workspace isn't all that big and when i set up my light box and lights there is absolutely NO space whatsoever. so i'm getting up close and trying different shots when i hear this sound from my right side. here he comes, under my chin (as i'm actually taking a photograph!) and in he goes.





oh, he sure is cute, but right on top of my work! and then he starts clawing at the walls:


he got the squirt bottle for sure...now here he is just a few minutes later:



trouble sleeps....


oh, and if you are interested in the actual photo i was trying to take here it is:




hope you have a great day!

cheers!
xo diane

reworking a class

i'm not sure if i mentioned it yet, but i am teaching a jewelry making class at the griffin school this quarter. i was asked to participate again in their art workshop and gladly accepted. so i decided to teach the students how to make these awesome beaded rings. last year i did the basic jewelry making class which was alright, but i think they really wanted something more.

so i obliged. i have been busy working on making the patterns so they are simple to follow with color coding and the whole nine yards. well, after the first class last week, i realized that i had bitten off a bit more than i could chew.

before i had "kits" prepared for each student with the correct amount of beads counted out with a color assigned to each one. what was i thinking? i was trying to organize the class so much i feel like i squeezed the creativity right out of it. so this week i'm reworking the patterns to simplify them a bit so that the students can make more than one ring per class and so that they can choose their own colors too.

i suppose i got caught up in the whole project that i lost sight of the bigger picture. so i took a breather for a few days and now am super excited about the new ideas and patterns that we are going to be doing. simplifying the class will take a load off of the students' mind allowing them to open up and really become creative.

so today & tomorrow i will be taking apart the "kits" i had so carefully prepared and i will take this as a huge lesson learned.

inspiration

i subscribe to about 30 different blogs and am inspired by what i see almost daily. one of my absolute favorites is called the dieline and its dedicated to package design.

now if you know anything about me you know that i absolutely LOVE packaging. i strive to be as creative as i can when it comes to packaging my own goodies too. there's just something about presenting your product in a super cool and unique fashion that speaks to me.

so they featured some packaging from green genes which made me think of my line of tasty jewelry. see if you agree:


the dots and colors are so similar to my logo and website design that it made me want to blab about it.

so, if you are wondering what green genes is here's a quote from the blog; "Green Genes an eco-friendly boutique specializing in green goodies for whippersnapper’s and their grown-ups too in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood". now i used to live in chicago in the lincoln square neighborhood and that's not too far away from andersonville. its a really cool swedish neighborhood which is the home of the original ann sather's restaurant, sommarfest and some other really great bars & restaurants.

so if you are in chicago, check out the shop. i wish i was still there to stop by and grab myself some "green" goodies!

cheers!
xo diane

start of the new year

i've had several ideas of what i could do to make myself be more consistent with the posts, i.e. daily thoughts, creative influences, "themed days", i just can't seem to get it off the ground. so i start the new year with an attempt at more frequent posting...

so here's one for today. i'm currently working on taking tons of old jewelry that i have and getting it organized for a sale going on here in austin in a few weeks called "le garage" sale. its just that, but with a twist. tons of fantastic local boutiques have booths and they put all of their clearance merchandise out for ridiculous prices. meaning they are practically giving their stuff away.

my friend annemarie beard did the show last fall and invited me to share a booth space with her so i said yes. now i'm getting all of this stuff together that i just want to get out of my way...a perfect chance to make room for all new goodies for 2009!

here is a shot of my workspace:



i will post more about this sale later. i need to have something to post later this week...

cheers!
xo diane

christmas deadline

holiday shopping market @ guero's

Tired of shopping the big box retailers? Support your local businesses by shopping indie!

Come join us for the Holiday Shopping Market located outside Guero's Taco Bar on South Congress. (at Elizabeth St)
This Saturday December 13th & Sunday December 14th and again next weekend on Saturday December 20th & Sunday December 21st from 10am - 5pm.

Local artisans will be selling unique gift items you can't find anywhere else. From hand-crafted jewelry and accessories to wooden bowls, scarves & MORE! There will be live music on Sundays from 3 - 6pm in the Guero's beer garden. So come out to support your local businesses and have some fun! Do your part to "Keep Austin Weird".

Hope to see you there!

xo diane

today's the day!

the tasty jewelry sale starts today! so head over to www.tastyjewelry.com and get 20% off of your purchase of $20 or more. see the front page of the website for more details!

hurry, this sale ends on wednesday december 10th at midnight!

cheers!
xo diane

a tasty little surprise....

this holiday season seems to need a little jumpstart and i'm here as santa's little helper to make that happen!

place an order on tastyjewelry.com from december 8th through december 10th and receive 20% off of your order of $20 or more! just enter the code: HOLIDAYS in the "discount voucher" box then hit "recalculate" to receive the discount. its that easy.

WHHHAAAAAAAAT? you say. that's right. it's just my way of helping your gift-giving budget stretch just a little further this year.

i hope you all have a wonderful & safe holiday season! enjoy!

cheers,
xo diane

Acknowledge Me

This Saturday December 6th I will be participating in a show called "Acknowledge Me" which will bring together Austin's indie crafters, artists, makers, community organizations, social justice groups & up-and-coming local bands. This is a local homeless assistance drive to help those in need around the Austin area.

The event is going to be held from 8pm - 2am at The Mohawk which is a really cool venue. If you bring a donation of a beanie, gloves or toiletries then your cover is $5. It will be $6 without.

Acknowledge Me is one of a few wonderful events that Mike Litt has produced and I am really happy to be a participant this year. If you don't know who Mike Litt is, then you need to check him out. He's a driven individual who believes that one person can truly make a difference! I agree.

Hope to see you there!
xo diane

new vintage style necklaces

i just added these completely cool vintage-inspired necklaces to my website www.tastyjewelry.com. blackened sterling silver or bronze chain adds contrast to the colorful beaded pendants. click on the photos to be taken to the website for more information.









i'll be adding more pictures soon!

cheers!
xo diane

the diy factory

tomorrow is the diy factory show in san antonio. i am heading down tonight with my friend annemarie beard to stay at my dad's house. we will be setting up tomorrow around noon and will be there all day/night long! if you are in the san antonio area please try to stop by. it is for a great cause and there will be loads of cool hand made merchandise there. see the flyer for more details & click on it to be taken to their website!



hope to see some of you there!

cheers!
xo diane

tasty jewelry now found on austinhandmade.com!

recently i was contacted by two really fabulous & creative people from austin, texas named catherine & jason. they asked me if i would be interested in becoming a participant in their latest endeavor austinhandmade.com. austin handmade is an online retail space dedicated to austin artists and creators of beautiful things. when they told me all about it, i had no choice but to say yes...i loved the concept behind the website and after meeting them in person i was even more impressed.

they are having a website launch party on thursday october 16th at gallery lombardi starting at 7 p.m. here is a link to the evite for more information about that party. hope to see you there...if not, be sure to check out the website austinhandmade.com to see what the fuss is all about! ;)

cheers!
xo diane

just do it!

i watched this video and thought more people should do it too.

for the sake of our future, please vote this election!!!

cheers!
xo diane