Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday.  I posted this picture because I'm taking a break from cooking two different pies. One pumpkin and one apple if you were wondering.  In the middle of all the turmoil and economic crisis in the world, it feels more important than every to gather together with our family and friends.  I wish you all a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving.  Eat, drink and be grateful!

KIVA

Thanksgiving is the time to reflect and be grateful for all of the positive people and things in your life.  I'm grateful that I have a small business that allows me to do what I love.  I've been reading about micro-lending organizations that match entrepreneurs in the developing world with individual lenders. These loans provide the means to expand existing businesses, create economic independence and empower individuals, families and their communities.  I'm very happy to be a part of this important organization and to help people reach their business goals.

To find out more about Kiva, log on to http://www.kiva.org.  

New York Inspiration

I'm back from NYC, which always gives me a rush.  One of my favorite stops for inspiration is the Museum of Arts and Design.  This was my first chance to go to their beautiful new location at 2 Columbus Circle.  It's really a beautiful new building.  There were two exhibits that I absolutely loved.  The first was Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary.  This fascinating exhibit features work by 50 international artists.  Each collection of work evolves from ordinary and everyday objects originally created for another purpose.  My favorite installation was by Paul Villinski, My Back Pages, 2006-2008.  Green, repurposed, wonderful art!  This exhibition is running until February 15, 2009.

The second exhibition was very exciting to see, Elegant Armor: The Art of Jewelry.  I had to stop myself from getting too excited when I saw some of my favorite jewelry works in person. This is a collection of contemporary art jewelry from the 1940's to the present.  This wonderful jewelry collection will be on display until May 31, 2009.  Very inspiring.  If you're heading to NYC in the next few months, I recommend stopping by this great museum.

Big Apple

I will be in New York City until November 16th.  Off for business, inspiration and pleasure.  

1000 Markets

As I've been sharing with you, I'm continually looking for new marketing venues.  I joined up with 1000 Markets recently and was happy to see three of my pieces featured on the website at the same time.  The "Textured Ring", "Modern Flower Necklace" and "Teardrop Earrings" were shown in the Unique Gift market section.  This is a fairly new website featuring a lot of very talented creative people.  Definitely visit the site, you may find a few holiday gifts.  http://www.1000markets.com

A New Day

We all experienced a historic moment last night.  One that will be talked about for generations to come.  It brought everyone together and I could feel the collective spirit of change in the air. I have never witness this type of excitement and electricity during any election in my lifetime.  I hope this will move our country in a new direction.  A direction for everyone to work together for a better America and world.  It feels like the beginning of a transformation, that can bridge the gap between generations and cultures.  We have many problems and a long road ahead to fix our massive problems.  But forever being the "optimist", I feel a change for the better will happen.  To quote lyrics from a song I love "it's a new dawn, it's a new day".

Today's the Day!

Featured as a "Chic Boutique" on SmashingDarling.com

I just discovered that I was featured on the front page of SmashingDarling.com.  I 'm now included as a "Chic Boutique" on the website. Smashing Darling provides a great avenue for indie designers to connect with shoppers.  Thank you for adding me!  Take a look at the site:

http://www.smashingdarling.com.

Citrine - the "Success Stone"

Citrine is the birthstone for the month of November and the zodiac sign of Virgo.  Derived from the French word citron meaning "lemon", it is a member of the quartz family.  It's also know as gold topaz, Spanish topaz or Madeira.  It's been said that it's a good stone for clearing your aura. Here are a few other ways it's been said citrine can help you:

• Attract success, abundance and prosperity
• Activate your intuition and increase stamina
• Stimulate your solar plexas and third eye chakras
• Help with allergies, poor blood circulation and digestion
  

That all sounds good to me.  I've added this new necklace to my Etsy store to celebrate this wonderful stone.