When Art & Business Mix...

So, hello everyone. I must say--I am really not having a good week!! I haven't posted for a couple of days now because I just couldn't decide whether I should talk about the infuriating business issue that I have been dealing with all week. I haven't had a chance to resolve it as of yet--that will be happening tomorrow, but based on how that goes, you may or may not be hearing more specifics very soon....

Today, I want to talk about the frustrating ways that the worlds of art and business do not always mix well (AKA how artists are taken advantage of and don't know how to protect themselves). I have realized that if you are a working artist of any kind, then you HAVE to be a business person as well. It doesn't matter what kind of artist you are--whether you are a designer, a musician, a photographer, an actor, a visual artist, etc. If you are an artist, then you are your own business. And you are the only person in the world who will look out for, and can stand up for yourself.

All week, I have been having flashbacks to June 2011, when I was laid off from my job at Performance Space 122. Being laid off was a complicated thing that made me feel a couple of things very intensely. First and foremost, I felt taken advantage of. It hurt that after years of working grueling weekly schedules at that theater, often above and beyond my job description, I was easily and unceremoniously let go when they didn't "need" me anymore.

I know that they would argue: "But you were paid for your time!" This is true, and this is not true. What was I paid? I was paid $20 an hour over the entire four years that I worked there, with no raise of any kind, ever. If they had to hire an extra person for a day, then they always got paid the exact same rate that I did--$20/hr. As you could probably guess, I never received any kind of health benefits or vacation time. Although I spent well more than 40 hours in that building every week, I was treated as inferior to the "regular staff"--it was constantly reinforced to me that I was just an "hourly employee." I was a line on the budget, I was someone not worth investing too much in. I was replaceable, and therefore, disposable to a degree. If I didn't like the working conditions, then I could just leave.

And so, for four years, I put up with all of this for one main reason, which was that I really, really loved that theater. For all its faults, I believed in that place. I believed in its mission statement and in what it was trying to do for theater in NYC. I spent so much time at PS122 that the place really did feel like home to me--I thought of my fellow staff members like family. And so I justified all the crappy conditions to myself, time and time again.

Looking back on it all, I was so, painfully naive. To think that the people I worked with were my family, or even my friends! How many of them even called me after I lost my job? Just to say hello, to see how I was doing, just to check in? I can tell you how many--no one did. Not a single one!

It has been almost a year and a half since I lost that job, and I'm really not bitter anymore. Losing that job taught me a lot of good lessons about how to stand up for myself in the world. It also taught me not to be so invested and distracted by how much I love the art, that I allow myself to get taken advantage of in the process.

Today, I really have moved on. I'm in a happier, more self sufficient place now in my life. I have a good life now--I see friends regularly, I am doing something that makes me happy. Things are generally good. But sometimes something happens that pushes on the bruise that was left by PS122. And that is what has happened to me this week. And all over again, I am struggling to figure out how to best stand up for myself as a working artist, in a business-minded world. It is so hard to walk the line between those two worlds, with one foot in each, without getting lost in either. I am well aware that all of these situations do not happen only to me--they happen to almost every artist that I know. I wish that I could fix all of this for everyone--but honestly, I can barely figure this stuff out for myself!

Thanks for listening to me rant...I feel about 10 pounds lighter now :) Are you a working artist?? How do you navigate the business world???

Sunday Spotlight: Juli Raja!

Today I am excited to feature my friend and fellow designer, Juli Raja, and her beautiful work! Her line, juli raja hand built, was founded in 2008 and is based on the handwoven, block printed textiles that are created by her family's company in Kolkata, India. I am particularly obsessed with her colorful, double-sided silk scarves--because the weavers her family works with in India only produce small batches of fabric, each print is a limited edition that she will only order once. All of her scarves are one of a kind, which means that she never duplicates a color combination It's something that I both love and hate--I love it because it means each scarf is special and unique, but I hate that once a scarf is sold, I will never get to see the same combination again!

Today is the first cold day of the season here in NYC, and I am currently wearing a scarf that was lent to me by Juli. I don't have a picture of it, but it's as beautiful as it is warm! Every time I put on one of her scarves, I'm amazed all over again by how warm they are. I somehow never realized how cozy and insulating silk can be--especially now that my hair is short, my neck really does need something to keep out the cold. If only she made gloves and hats too....then I would be perfectly cozy and content here at the store all winter! If you want to read more about Juli and her company, you can click HERE. That's a picture of her on the right, wearing one of her newest scarves! And of course, you can come see her and her boutique here at the store--12 Lions Studio at 684 Broadway & Great Jones. I will be here too, probably also wearing one of her scarves! So check out Juli, and have a great Sunday night everyone!! :)

It's Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

If you got my October newsletter yesterday, then you have already heard everything that I am about to write! But it's important, so I think it's worth repeating...

This month, October, is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It's a cause that is important to me--I know women who have had the disease, and it's an unfortunate likelihood that I will probably know more in my lifetime. During October, I'd like to do my part to help raise some money for breast cancer research, so I'm going to be donating 10% of all the proceeds from my online sales this month to charity.

We're also going to be hosting a special event at my store in NYC on October 14th, from 4-8pm. Different promotions will be run by the different designers at the store (including free manicures and cupcakes!). A lot of us will be running 10% discounts--and that 10% will be donated afterwards to the breast cancer charities of our choice. If you're in the NYC area, please feel free to stop by. You can have a cupcake with me and help support breast cancer research at the same time!

My store is 12 Lions Studio, located at 684 Broadway & Great Jones.
Thanks everyone and have a great night :)

Sneak Peek: My New Lookbook!

Yesterday, my new lookbook photo shoot finally happened! We must have taken close to a thousand pictures during the course of the six hour shoot, so this is really just the tip of the photographic iceberg...

I worked with the same photography team that I did back in February--Tara Greico and Nick Bixby. They are great to work with--they always find a way to improve on my ideas, and they work together creatively very well. The three shots that I'm posting here today really are just a quick teaser. They are also completely raw--none of the photos have been retouched at all, and they actually might not ever be, since they probably won't make it into the new lookbook. I just have too many more really amazing photos to choose from--I am absolutely spoiled for choice!

Even after my lookbook is finished, I know that I will still have dozens of beautiful photographs to choose from that can be used later in photo books and for all my promotional needs. Which is perfect!

Of course, to really finish the new lookbook as well as we possibly can, Tara, Nick and I will actually be shooting again in two weeks, for at least a few more hours, to finish up my final two looks. But if I had to make my lookbook with only the shots that we took yesterday, it would still turn out beautifully, which is a wonderful position to be in. I hope you all like the photos! I will be posting a few more shots from one of the other looks we shot tomorrow.... But for now, you can enjoy these beautiful three! Thanks everyone and have a great night :)

Sunday Spotlight: My Slow Store!!!

Haha, so it appears this week that I am veering off course from my usual Sunday Spotlight designer feature. (For those of you interested, I will be resuming that again next week!) In the meantime, I just have to write today about how SLOOOOOW it has been lately at my store. It is unfortunately the thing that I have been thinking about all week and trying to figure out!! I can't even believe how few people have been coming into the store lately--you'd think every day was the 4th of July of something. It's frustrating too because it's something that feels totally out of my control--I can't just make people come in and buy my jewelry (unfortunately!!). Although some days I really do feel like dragging people in off the street :)

It would be helpful if I felt like the store had a definite marketing plan or was really being proactive about attracting new business, but it just feels like things have been stagnating a little bit lately. I mean, marketing is not an easy thing--it's something that requires both time and money--either lots of time (making phone calls, writing emails, keeping up with social media, doing press releases yourself and so on...) and little money, or little time and lots of money (hiring someone to do all the things you don't have time for!), or some sort of combination of the two. And I'm not sure the guys running this place have much of either to spare at the moment, which means that we are for the most part depending on whoever happens to be walking down Broadway on any given day. We do of course get repeat customers, but we definitely do not have so many that we can depend on only them and street traffic to support the store.

But we all really want this place to work!! I don't want to have to leave the store next year because it can't support my business. I know that the location is great, that the concept is great, that the store itself is really, really great. But the bottom line is that we just HAVE to have more customers. Not just during the holidays, but year round. Otherwise none of us will be able to afford to stay here! None of us are big businesses--all of us are small, independent designers who really depend on our sales at this store to pay our bills.

Which means that for now, all the designers here have been trying to put our heads together to come up with ideas to try to increase business, since the lack of traffic has been really affecting us all. It can be hard to make decisions and find solutions when you have 15 different people with 15 different ideas of what should be done, but I think we are all starting to agree that it's better to try more things instead of less! And so yesterday we all more or less agreed on a free wine happy hour from 4-7pm! It was a really fun and easy idea, and it's something we're going to start doing every week. It will probably be on Friday evenings in the future (and maybe Saturdays too!), so I will definitely let you know. It's a fun reason to stop in the store and hang out for a little while! We also even had someone get into a yip yip costume and run around the store yesterday :) That wasn't an official idea per se, but it was hilarious. And sometimes you just really need some silly, fun energy to lift your spirits, which it most definitely did.

I'm also feeling hopeful about all the other things I'm working on in my business right now--the lookbook shoot is, after all, happening tomorrow--I can't wait!!! I will be posting at least one or two shots from the shoot here tomorrow. And hopefully we will get some more traffic in the store today....keep your fingers crossed for me! And hey, come visit if you're in the area :)
Have a good Sunday night everyone!!!

A Silver Circle For Carol Ann...

Today was a super slow day at my store, so I spent most of it creating some new pieces! Since my look book shoot is happening on Monday, I have to have everything ready to go by Sunday night. So I'm planning the looks now--and even making a few more statement necklaces that I think will photograph really well and make a nice addition to my current collection. I am so excited for the shoot!!

I also spent a lot of the day talking to the lovely Carol Ann! She has been working recently for another designer at my store, and because it was so slow today, we had plenty of time to chat. She's moving to another continent next Tuesday, which is really too bad for our store!! She has been awesome and will definitely be missed. She bought one of my necklaces today to take with her on her travels--a beautiful and simple brushed silver hoop on a delicate silver chain. She also ended up getting this cute bicycle tank, which was also really cute. (I now want one too--they are from SM Wardrobe, one of the other designers at my store, and only cost $20!) So today was fun, even though it was slow :) Hopefully tomorrow will be busier!! Have a good night everyone, and sending lots of good luck and wishes out to Carol Ann :)

More New Photos...

As promised, here are some more photos that I took using different filters on my new Camera+ app! I am such a ridiculous amateur when it comes to photography, but it's a fun thing to play around with.

And speaking of photography! I think my new lookbook shoot is officially happening next Monday, which is very exciting. And thankfully I will not be the photographer :) I have scaled back a little bit from what I originally wanted--I'm going to be the model again--but there will be many more opportunities to make more involved lookbooks with more models and setups, etc. down the road. For now, I just need to get the jewelry photographed so I can start putting together the book, and hopefully get it out by the end of the month! That's my goal, anyway--we'll see how I do. I think I'm going to have help with the layout, which will make that part of the process go a little bit faster. I'm in a race against the calendar--I really want to be doing my physical mailing before the holidays hit, which means I only really have a couple of weeks. But because we're keeping it simple, there's no reason it can't be done! Can't wait to post pics from the new shoot :)

New Photos & A Holiday Market!

My iPhone does so many things for my business right now that it's kind of ridiculous--it's how I accept credit card payments (the amazing app Square--I talk it up so often that I should probably be earning a commission at this point!), and I also use my phone to do all my jewelry photography. There are definitely limitations to using an iPhone as a digital camera--lately, I have been wishing for better picture quality and I was considering buying an actual camera for my business. But I decided that for now, I'll just try to maximize what I can do on my phone. So today, I got myself a new photography app--it only cost me about $3, and it is pretty awesome. Here, you can see some of the photos I took today using my new app. It's called Camera+, and it is pretty great for making pictures look a little bit nicer. It has some nice filters and a stabilizing option that really came in handy today. I will be playing around with it more this week, so I will be posting more pictures soon using some of the cool looking filters... Eventually I will get myself a proper digital camera, but for now I think this is a pretty good solution!

I am also feeling excited and nervous today about the holiday market that I recently applied for. I haven't been officially accepted yet, but I got an email back from them today that they would be sending me an invoice and more information later this week. Which is a very good sign! The market will take place over five weekends this November and December, and I applied for all ten days. I'm a little bit terrified because it will be the first time ever that I have ever committed to running two separate locations at the same time. I feel nervous about leaving my store on Broadway, and I feel nervous about the new market and how well my jewelry will do there. I think that I really have to try it though--I really want to maximize this holiday season as much as I possibly can! I don't want to be kicking myself next January, wishing I had tried to do more. I think it will be a great opportunity to connect with new customers, so I have to give it a try. I have a feeling that I will probably be very, very tired throughout November and December, but I know it will be worth it! More details will be coming soon :) And if anyone knows of any awesome salespeople who might want to help me out starting in late October, let me know! I am on the hunt for someone great...

Sunday Spotlight: Yoga Twins!

I have decided to start a new weekly feature here on my blog--every Sunday, I will feature a new designer and his or her work! So today, for my first ever Sunday Spotlight edition, I am thrilled to be writing about the talented Rose Berger and her wonderful jewelry company, Yoga Twins. Rose does a lot of beautiful work with sterling silver--she creates chunky charm bracelets, pendant necklaces, and makes amazing sterling rings. She also has pieces for men--she makes men's rings as well as bracelets, both of which I would love to put on Nick :)

She also has a brand new line of chainmaille jewelry and accessories that is absolutely spectacular. The shoe piece above is one of her most recent designs, and I absolutely love it. I finally got to see the piece on someone's boot and in action today--and I think it looks pretty darn sexy! Here you can see one of her women's bracelets, modeled by me--she has a great selection of different colors and sizes to choose from. Below, you can see a picture of Rose in her boutique here at 12 Lions, hard at work on a brand new chainmaille piece. Each chainmaille piece takes Rose hours of work to create, since she creates it one jump ring at a time, slowly woven together to create the piece. If you want to visit Rose's website, click HERE! Or, you can see her and her work in person when you come visit me at the store :)
Have a good Sunday night everyone!!

New Mixed Metal Designs...

All week at my store, I've been feeling inspired to work on new jewelry designs. On Thursday and Friday, I was focused on bracelets--I created a pretty extensive assortment, which means there will be many new things going up on my website this coming week!

So today, I decided to focus on making some new styles of earrings. I had a few ideas going in my head already, so I went to work creating... The two pairs you see here are my favorites of what I made--I really love the way they both came out. They are made in mixed metals, which I also love--sterling silver and 14k gold filled. I want to keep them both for myself and wear them immediately!! Which of course I won't--they are both currently up for sale right now at my store. But whenever I have that feeling of wanting to keep something, it means that I succeeded with my design! So that makes me happy. And I will be making more earrings soon in similar styles soon--so maybe I will make a pair for myself after all :)
Let me know what you think!!

Sore Hands & An Australian Adventure!

Today, as I was cutting through some memory wire to finish off yet another bracelet at my store, I realized something: My hands are really sore!!

I guess that shouldn't really surprise me, considering that I work with my hands for many hours almost every single day. And it's not just general "work" that I do with my hands--it's super detailed, exacting work, that requires a whole lot of bending, twisting, sculpting, and stringing. And I have the blisters and callouses to prove it! I forget too that my jewelry making also takes a toll on not only my hands, but other parts of me as well--after a particularly long day, my left wrist aches (fun fact about me: I'm left-handed!), and even my shoulders hurt from hunching over my work station. I almost feel ridiculous when I come home sore from a long day of jewelry-making--you'd think I was breaking rocks!!

I think it's kind of hilarious that I used to work jobs that were much more physically demanding--back in my technical theater days, I spent my time running up and down ladders, often carrying, installing, and removing pieces of very heavy equipment! What I do now seems like it should be "easier" on my body, so I forget that making jewelry actually is still physically demanding, in a very different way. So I guess I need to start doing more hand and wrist stretches or something!! Let me know if you have any suggestions of what I should do :)

And speaking of the days of my technical theater past, I have something exciting to report--I am coming out of my retirement (???) to go on tour with Banana Bag & Bodice next March! I will be spending two weeks on tour with them in Australia, and I can't wait. Banana Bag & Bodice is actually the first company that I ever worked with in New York City, back in the summer of 2006. I have worked with them many times since, and I am so happy that I have the opportunity to work with them again. If you're not familiar with Banana Bag & Bodice and their work, well, you should be! Yes, they are my friends, but they are also pretty freaking awesome, and I feel like I am being objective when I say this :) You can learn more about them HERE.

And hey, if you're going to be in Australia next March, then you should come check out the show! Of course I don't even know which city I will be in yet or what the dates are :) But I will keep you posted! I think the tour will be a fun reprisal of my lighting past, and I will enjoy the opportunity to take a little break from NYC! And maybe I can find a way to spread some of my jewelry around Australia....many more details to come :)

My New Booth!

Well, I spent five hours today at my store remodeling everything, and these are the results!! I really love the way that it came out. I raised the height of all of my displays by at least 6 inches, and I think it really makes a difference. Before, a lot of the jewelry was below eye level, but now everything is much easier to see and touch. I also got a beautiful wooden window piece that you can see in the photos--I absolutely love it. I ordered it from a Pennsylvania artist named Christel Briggs. She made it with wood from her father's barn--and I think it makes a perfect addition to my store! For now, it is holding earring and bracelet sets, but once I launch my Holiday Line, it will go in the window display. I can't wait--November 1st seems so far away! It will go fast, though--I will keep you updated! Have a good night everyone :)

So Many Beads!

Today I battled the hurricane-like weather here in NYC to go on a big shopping trip for my store. First, I went up to Michael's on Columbus Avenue. I don't go up there very often, but they have a good selection of well priced display pieces, so I went up there and found a few new pieces for my store. I'm going to be redoing all of my displays at the store tomorrow--I will definitely be posting pictures here when I am finished! But anyway. So after Michael's, I headed down to one of my favorite stores on 6th Ave, Fun 2 Bead. I've written about them before HERE, and they are having a really big sale right now that I just couldn't miss.

All of the strand beads in the store are 50% off right now, which is a really, really good deal. I got so many beautiful gemstone strands today--I figured that I had to stock up, especially with Christmas on the way. I know that I will go through all this stuff pretty fast, and it helps a lot that I got it at a good price. I'm probably going to use most of what I got today for my memory wire wrap bracelets, like the turquoise one you see on the right. If you're in NYC and want some awesome beads for an awesome price, you should stop by Fun 2 Bead this week--the sale goes (I think!) until September 23rd. You don't have to have a tax ID or anything either--everyone gets 50% off all strands. They only do the sale twice a year, for about two weeks at a time. So it is very much worth checking out. Have a good night everyone!!

My Inventory Expands...

I am so happy that it is finally Fall up here in NYC!! I love Fall for two main reasons:
1. The weather is absolutely beautiful.
2. Business is really starting to pick up!

We've had a lot more customers in the store lately, although that's also because NYU is back in school this month. As many of you know, the summer has been very slow, so it's nice to see things starting to get back to normal. Fall also means that I'm already really starting to gear up for the holiday season, and that means building up my jewelry inventory, big time! I'm planning for a huge season this year--and I know that the more jewelry I'm able to make now, the less I'll have to make in December. I know that I will be working like a crazy woman from Black Friday through Christmas--definitely seven days a week--and I want to be as prepared as possible. You can see my drawer of overflow jewelry inventory starting to expand.... I really want to have enough stock so that I can participate in a holiday event or two outside of my store--I really want to maximize the season as much as I can. But to do an event, I have to have enough jewelry to do a full second display. Plus extra stock, for when pieces sell. Which means 100 pieces, minimum, which is A LOT for me. Especially since I make every piece entirely by hand! Which means that I have a lot of work to do, and probably some very sore fingers in my future!!

Six Months at 12 Lions!!

I cannot believe that my store on Broadway has officially been open now for six months!! It has gone by so fast--which is ironic, because I have definitely spent some days at that place that felt like they would never end... :)

At the same time, the months really have flown by, and I can't believe we are already almost in October. What an adventure running this store has been--an exciting, challenging, exhausting, exhilarating adventure. I remember back to March, and how scary it was for me to sign the lease for my boutique. The rent I pay for my store is more than three times the rent I pay for my apartment in the East Village. Those are some very scary numbers--I remember thinking that I might only be able to stay open on Broadway for a single month. I remember worrying that I would lose thousands and thousands of dollars. And six months later, I am happy to report that my store is not only still open, but is going strong!!

Above, you can see a recent shot of my boutique in all its glory--I'm really proud of the way the jewelry and displays have evolved and grown throughout these past six months. My work as a whole just keeps getting better--as it should!

And down here, you can see a shot of me from before the store opened--I'm standing in the empty space that has now become my boutique. I think I have done a pretty good job of running my own store. I have certainly made mistake along the way, but what business owner hasn't? My business has grown in many ways over these past six months, and for that I am very grateful. If you're ever in NYC and want to come say hi, you should! I give a 10% blog discount, and I am (almost) always there! Find me at:

12 Lions Studio
684 Broadway & Great Jones
Thurs-Sun 11-8

Have a good rest of the weekend everyone!!!

Ikea Field Trip!

Today I went to Ikea--there's one in Brooklyn that's surprisingly easy to get to via NYC public transportation. I live in the East Village, and it only took me a train and a bus (and 45 minutes) to get there. Which is not bad at all! The B61 bus pulls up right to the store entrance, too. To me, going to Ikea is a fun way to spend an afternoon--I tried to convince Nick to come with me, but he does not think going to Ikea is fun at all (even though I offered to buy him Swedish meatballs!!), which I also do understand. It's a massive store with tons to look at and choose from, 99% of which you don't want or need. But I love it! We needed some random things for the house--a new comforter cover for the bed, for example, because ours currently looks like a large shredded rag. I have also been on the lookout for a piece of furniture for my store, and I was able to find the perfect thing today for $40. Which is exactly why I love Ikea so much sometimes! It's not great for everything, but for some things, it's amazing.

One of my biggest Ikea guilty pleasures is their fake plants--and trust me, I realize that fake plants are totally a ridiculous thing to buy. They sell them for about $3 each, and I think they are awesome and really cute. Plus, I can't accidentally kill them, which is the best part. I love plants, but I really do suck at keeping them alive. We already have about three at the house that I bought a few years ago. And so as tempted as I was to get more, I knew Nick would think I was crazy, so I restrained myself. But I did take a picture of them! From a distance, they totally look real... Well, kind of :)

Coming home was definitely the worst part of the entire trip. The awesome furniture piece that I bought came in an awkwardly long box that weighed 50 lbs (I know, unfortunately, because the weight is written on the box--I probably shouldn't have looked until after I got home!). My motto when transporting heavy and/or unwieldy things is always that I will make it work somehow, and today was no exception. I realize that most people would maybe not attempt to drag a huge 50 lb. box home on a bus and then also on a train, along with two other giant bags of merchandise. But I'm just crazy enough to go for it, and it worked, although it was definitely not very much fun! I actually dropped the box at one point while going up two flights of some steep subway stairs in Brooklyn, but I finally wrestled it up and onto the platform. Thank god that there is an escalator at the Delancey St. F stop--I usually get off one stop later, but I remembered the escalator and managed to get off the train right in front of it. Otherwise, I might still be stuck in the subway holding that damn box! But I managed to take a cab home from Delancey, and Nick helped me carry all my crap into our house. When I bring it all to the store next week to set up, I will definitely be usiung our trusty grocery cart. Or I will just take a cab. No more hauling it across town!!! I was proud of myself today though--and glad that I managed to save the $100 Ikea delivery charge! Totally worth it. I will post pictures when it's all set up--it's going to look great!

Colorful New Jewelry!!

So I did actually manage to add some more new jewelry to my website today--the two pairs of earrings and also the necklace that you see here! You can go to my website at imprintbyeileen.com if you want to check out the complete listings....

What I love about these new earrings is that there are so many different color combinations that can be created in this style, to achieve totally different looks. I've only made these two so far, but these would be so easy to customize and make special. I can stack crystals and stones to represent one or more birthstones.... Or I can do a rainbow or ombre effect, like I have in the first picture.

I also really love this necklace--the crystals are something I made another necklace with about a month ago, and I sold that one pretty quickly at my store. I had enough left over stones for a second necklace, so I decided to do this one in gold. I think it's beautiful--and it will be a challenge for me to not try to steal it for myself! Sigh. As always. But the beauty of being a jewelry designer is that I can always make myself whatever jewelry I want! So maybe I will end up making a version of this one for myself...

New Jewelry & A New Lookbook On The Way!

Today I put three new wrap bracelets up on my website, two of which you can see here! I did a big jewelry photo shoot today in my backyard, and this is part of the result. I will be posting more new jewelry tomorrow, so check out imprintbyeileen.com if you'd like to check it all out--there will be lots of good stuff, if I do say so myself! :)

I'm in a very photography-centered state of mind today--Nick and I are planning another big lookbook shoot for later this month, and I am starting to get excited about it. He is going to be the artistic director, and I will only be on hand during the shoot as a consultant, and to style jewelry. It feels really strange for me to give up so much creative control on something like this, but I know it's something that I have to do. Nick is a great director, and I need to (and do!) trust that he will create something great for my company. He brings a very different and interesting perspective to the table, and I think it will be beneficial for me to have him in charge of this project. I'm also excited to work with him again--we haven't worked together now in more than a year, which is a little bit crazy. We worked together almost every day for the first 2+ years of our relationship, back at the theater. Which also was a little crazy! But as stressful as it was sometimes, it was also a lot of fun. We can be very good creative, collaborative partners, so I'm hoping that will happen with this shoot. I can't wait to see what we create!! I will keep you posted :)

Tiny Knives & A Baby Shower!

Last night, Nick and I went to a baby shower for our friends, and we wanted to bring some fun gifts for both of the parents-to-be. I made a special bracelet and earrings set for the lady half of the couple, and Nick decided to pick out some special cufflinks for the dad (and he also picked up pairs for a few other friends while he was at it!). One of the many reasons that I love being surrounded by other designers at my store is that whenever I need a gift (besides my own jewelry of course!), I never have to search farther than about twenty feet away. One of the newest designers at the store is Ken Rizzo, whose boutique is set up almost directly across from mine. His company is Creme de la Cuff, and he has a pretty amazing assortment of stuff. He has lots of cufflinks, of course--some rare, some vintage, some handmade, and many are a combination of all three! Nick picked out two of my favorite pairs, which you can see above. The cufflinks on the left are tiny knives--and the best part is that they open and close just like regular pocket knives! So cool. The cufflinks on the right are pretty awesome too--they're tiny harmonicas, and they also work just like regular harmonicas. I think they are probably the tiniest musical instruments I have ever seen :)

The other things Ken has that I really love are his awesome vintage lighters! You can see a few of them here--two silver table lighters, along with a tiny gun. He has a few other lighters that are pretty awesome too--looking at them every day makes me wish that I still smoked! I mean, I'm actually glad that I don't smoke anymore, but if I did, I would want to light my cigarettes with these. So if you come visit me at my store sometime, you can come visit Ken too and see all of his cool stuff!

So I would say that Nick and I did pretty well overall with our baby shower gifts! We didn't actually bring any baby clothes, but I figure we will have plenty more years to buy them lots and lots of those :)

A Custom Ring For Qian Liu!

Today was a busy Saturday at my shop, which was great! It was also a little bit surprising, because it was kind of a gross day--it rained off and on for hours, which is never fun. I mean, it was fine for me in my store, but it was definitely not fun for all the people who were walking around NYC, trying to shop! But I spent most of the day inside at my store, making jewelry and chatting with customers, which was fun. Which brings me to my favorite part of today, which was making a pretty custom ring for the lovely Qian Liu! A friend of hers brought her a beautiful gold stone back from Alaska, and she wanted it made into a ring. I usually work with pre-drilled stones, but this one didn't have a hole through it. It was gold, and it had a really beautiful, irregular shape to it that I really wanted to show off. So I used some very thin silver wire to wrap it--enough that the stone would sit securely, but not so much that the stone was hidden behind the wire. I absolutely LOVE the way this ring came out! Now I am feeling very inspired to go looking for some more interesting stones to wrap in wire... So a big thank you to Qian Liu!!! I hope you enjoy your ring :)

Fashion Hangover...

I discovered some beautiful freshwater pearls at the bead store this past week, and these are the earrings that resulted! I love the pale peach, pinkish color with the silver...so pretty!
I just put them up on Etsy tonight, so click the picture if you want to see the listing! :)

As many of you know, last night was Fashion's Night Out, and we had a special cocktail event at my store on Broadway til 10. Today, most of the designers (myself included!) were definitely feeling the after effects of all the Prosecco we drank last night... But it was so worth it!! I've never gone out for Fashion's Night Out before, so last night was a great first experience. My store is a few blocks North of the craziness of SoHo--it was amazing last night to look down the street and see hoards of people everywhere. I had no idea how big this event really was! So I'm glad that for my first one, I got to participate :) And a big thank you to all my fabulous friends who came to support!! Have a good night everyone! I will be sitting on my couch tonight, drinking lots of water...

Fashion's Night Out at 12 Lions!!

A very big thank you to everyone who came out tonight in NYC to Fashion's Night Out at my store at 12 Lions Studio!! The wine was delicious, the DJ was great, and I had a really great time chatting with friends and selling lots of jewelry! I would say that my first Fashion's Night Out was definitely a big success :) I'm so glad that we finally had our first event at the store--and I am hoping that very soon, we will be doing many more!

My First Newsletter & A Fried Chicken Dinner!

I finally sent out my first ever Imprint By Eileen monthly newsletter today! I really meant to send it out a day or two ago, but it took me a surprisingly long amount of time to create. I put it through at least three major revisions before I thought it was ready to send. Because I'd never really made a newsletter before, I also think it took a little bit longer than it probably should have. But now, I have a nicely made template that I can use for October!

And if you didn't get a newsletter from me today but would like to, I would be very happy to add you to my list! Just let me know on the contact form above :)

So the newsletter was my excitement for the morning, and fried chicken was my excitement for tonight! Nick and I got takeout from the delicious Bobwhite Counter on Avenue C. Instead of being lazy and just getting the food delivered, I decided to run over and pick it up. While I was waiting, I happened to notice a sign on the wall that I instantly recognized--a sign from the North Carolina mill that was only about twenty minutes from the house I grew up in. I haven't been to that mill in years (my parents don't live in the area anymore), but I instantly recognized both the name and the image. The world is so wonderfully small sometimes! If you ever happen to find yourself in Guilford County, North Carolina, then you should absolutely check it out. I highly recommend the Bean Soup Mix--that was a classic family dinner that I ate every winter when I was growing up. And if you can't make it down to North Carolina, then you should just come to NYC and see the sign in person at Bobwhite! And while you're there, you can enjoy their delicious fried chicken and cheddar grits :)