There are so many beautiful things happening in my studio right now!
+Of The West+
February 28, 2019 by
Fresh Up
February 23, 2019 by
One more run of ornate Spirit Earrings featuring chrysoprase, pink Botswana agate and dendritic opal — I enjoy making these earrings so much! They take a few days of preparation, all the tiny pieces that build them take me a while to cut out, texture, file, stamp, etc… and then suddenly, all at once, they kind of transmogrify from the chaos of a thousand tiny pieces into finished works of art. Amazing! To boot, they’re gorgeous to wear. I hope I make these earrings forever!
Find them in THE SHOP today.
New Shop Location
February 21, 2019 by
Besides finishing up our kitchen renovation FINALLY, I have also been renovating my online shop situation. After telling Robbie I’d like to leave Etsy for the better part of six years, I finally did it. You can find my new shop space by hitting the button that says “THE SHOP” on my website and journal menu bar (top right corner under the galloping pronghorn). Or, you can enter thenoisyplume.shop into your browser and it should pull up my new space for you.
It’s simple. It’s clean. It’s all mine.
As I learn this new listing system over the next few weeks I will be putting new pieces on the shop shelves as I have them made. Watch for previews on my blog, as usual, and on Instagram, and when the spirit leads you to simply drop in and see what’s going on, do it!!! I’m sure I’ll be listing some sweet surprises here and there. I love the magic of serendipity.
I’ve been thinking a lot over the past few months about how I want my work to go out into the world. I kind of pioneered the scheduled shop update in the Etsy jewelry realm years and years ago because it was a nice way to plan out my week and take care of all my shipping all at once. To some degree, it increased my freedom and helped me tame a hectic life schedule. However, as my career at the bench continues, I’m not sure I want to keep sending my work out into the world in such a way. It feels raucous, chaotic, crazy…kinda trashy…like a sweater table in a Gap store on Boxing Day. I want you, my patrons, to be able to calmly peruse my work. I want you to be able to take your time as you make your selections.
I know so many of you get frustrated when you’re trying to make purchases. I feel terribly every time I schedule a shop update (though it seems to be what most people want). But most of all, I don’t want to cause anyone stress or elevated blood pressure! I don’t want to do that to you. I’m not sure how else to go about offering my work to the world but I do know that I want it to find its way to you more peacefully and calmly. I don’t know what the answer is to this issue but for the next while I’m going to take a step back from scheduled shop updates and I’m going to freewheel a bit when it comes to listing new work. I hope that’s ok with you. My intentions are pure and my concerns are for you and your experience, not so much for me.
Thanks, as always, for your amazing support.
XX
The 13th
February 18, 2019 by
I had a quiet, private birthday this year. We woke up to fresh inches of snow on the ground at the farm and after a simple breakfast we drove across the river to the wintering grounds and skied through the weather and sagebrush for a few hours. The elk were down from the hills in huge groups and we kept our distance as best as we could, not wanting to bump them around too much in the fog and snow — they work so hard to conserve calories when the weather is bad. The ski was magical.
In the evening, there was talk of going to our local hotspring for a soak but the roads were bad enough and the fire in the wood stove burning so brightly that we opted to hunker down for the evening with our books. Some years I feel like celebrating my birthday loudly and other years I feel like sliding into my new age like it’s a pair of well-worn jeans — easy going and soft.
A pal asked me what new dreams I have for myself in this next year of my life and beyond. I have so many. I’d like to photograph my local mustangs and turn their images into a big beautiful book for you. I’d like to offer private weekend workshops at the farm wherein individuals can come and make a piece of jewelry with me in my studio, cook some homegrown meals and wander the river canyon with me by horseback. I’d like to refurbish a sheep wagon as a guest house and park it in the orchard. I’d like to grow and sell cut flowers. I’d like to work hard this year and get enough of a nest egg in the business bank account that I can afford to take all of next year out of the studio to write and publish a book of short stories for you. I’d like two more beehives and a small greenhouse. I’d like to see parts of Africa. I’d like to do an artist residency in the Maritimes. I’d like to go to Oaxaca with Becca. I’d like to build a coyote fence along the edge of the rose garden, a raised strawberry patch with the rusted truck bumper I found on the river bank and a stalwart gooseberry row. I’d like to do three high country backpacking trips this summer which I have not been able to do for two summers because of the workload at the farm. Next fall I dream of working behind a new pointer puppy on the canyon rims, packing my bull elk (harvested by bow) off the mountain and our next trip to South Dakota where the moon seems so bright. I have so many other dreams, beyond these, I’d better get cracking.
Thanks for being a part of my life last year. My world is more beautiful with you in it.
February 18, 2019 by
