My Story

I'm a girl from a small town in Ohio living in a beautiful coastal town in Florida. I'm married to my very supportive high school sweetheart and we have a beautiful fur baby, Hula. I studied interior design in college and after several career reincarnations I am now here, living the unexpected life of jewelry designer and absolutely LOVING it!!! This blog chronicals my journey through this wild and exhilarating and sometimes exasperating world of jewelry making from idea to fruition!

My art is available at Old Florida Gallery and Outdoor Center in Englewood Florida

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Ever Have One of THOSE Days

I seem to be experiencing one of those today!  It's Saturday, and I really want to be somewhere else enjoying myself, anywhere really! Catching some rays at the beach, exploring on watercraft, hiking, but instead I am attempting to check off a few items on my LONG to do list and everything seems against me : (  Updating listings, no I get a few pictures in and the battery on my camera dies, so I have to plug it in to charge, guess I'll come back to that one later.  Transferring all of my email accounts over to one integrated location, sure seems simple enough, but of course there are kinks to work out and it takes way longer than I thought.  I am constantly reminded that there is a "plan" and though we may think that we have mastered a skill we will be further tested to make certain we actually have!  I guess I need to heed my own advise here and move on the next item, 'cause what I'm doing now is not what I'm supposed to be doing at this moment. 

Friday, June 24, 2011

Fascinating How The Stars Align

I find it truly fascinating how the events of life align without us even knowing it's happening, until there you are down the avenue of time and it clicks!  You realize all of these experiences, some good and some bad, happened for a reason to lead you where you needed to be right when you needed to be there!  The people we meet in a random conversation, the places we discover when we think we are lost, are all leading us somewhere.  I believe in free will, but I also think that destiny, or the universe, or God, or whatever you call it plays a big roll in our journey through life!  Last night as I lay in bed I was thinking back to exactly where this chapter of my life began and realized that I don't think there is one particular point in time,  everything flows together.  From the jewelry store I worked in during the holiday season to be able to afford incidentals while in unpaid training for the airlines.  The brief job at the estate and coin shop with a friend of the family after I had to quit what I thought at the time was my dream job in interior design.  To the girl next to me in the security line at the airport, as I was so frequently was during my job of the past 6 years working auto shows.  A quick glance was all it took and I was fixated on the stunning necklace she wore.  Dragonflies are my totem and this piece carried so many of the elements I adore!  I had to know where I could get one of my own and thus began a months long and very frustrating search that eventually lead me to Etsy.  I didn't have much to go on, as she couldn't remember exactly where she'd purchased it, only that the designer was from California and it was made of copper, but I did find that necklace and where it to this day : ).  So you just never know how what may seem like an inconsequential moment in life is pivotal.  Etsy allows people all over the world to discover my work!  So to that girl in the security line I say thank you for being brave enough to talk to a complete stranger and for sharing your knowledge!  And to that designer in California, who has sadly closed her shop at least for now, thank you for creating such beautiful designs!  And to Etsy, an enormous thank you for helping me get my work out there for the world to find!!!  From daily experience we glean little bits of knowledge that we apply to our lives and livelihood!  So tread lightly and be kind, you never know who you'll need or where you'll be when your moment arrives!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

My AH HA moment...

This was my ah ha moment;  I received an email containing this video http://youtu.be/-GCm-u_vlaQ from etsy, the server where I've set up shop to sell my jewelry.  It was like Derek Sivers got into my head,  somehow pulled this out, and made me see my obstacle in a way that would render it an obstacle no more!!!  I'm not being full of myself here, believe me, but before I saw this and my family or friends would tell me that my "stuff" whether decorating, jewelry, ideas, or whatever is amazing I just wrote it off! Of course they're going to say that, they are my family/friends they are supposed to say that, it's really nothing special!  I surrender to it now, I mean really what do I have to lose!  If you like my "whatever" and it makes you smile, fantastic, I'm elated we can connect in that way!  And if not, that's okay too.  I may not be for everyone, but I am liked by some, and for that I am thankful!!!   We have all been given the gift of a talent and it is our responsibility in life to discover it and nurture it and be the absolute best at it we can be!  Maybe this can help you realize your "stuff" IS special too : )

Check out my wares ~ www.SSMDesign.etsy.com

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

My very first blog post : )

Wow what a process all of this is, creating a business from scratch, there is so much to it and I feel I've just scratched the surface!  As with everything else in life I am learning as I go and I don't think I could have chosen a more expensive "craft"!  Just when I think I have everything I need, I learn a new technique or discover a new tool or stumble upon a new gemstone I just have to have and it begins anew!  I am certainly not complaining!  I truly enjoy the creation and discovery, but the paperwork and inventory, and having more money going out than coming in!  I fear I will need to get a part-time job soon if things don't turn around and I've only just quit the rat race!  But I digress, I'm 2 years in, surrounded by findings, brain flooded with ideas, and too little time in the days to get it all accomplished!!!  But as my mom reminded me this morning, "you can eat an elephant one bite at a time". So goals, I must set goals and stick to them, and another item is added to the ever-growing checklist as I'm certain you too are all to familiar ; p

latest and greatest creations

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