A Jumbled Rambling

Sometimes I wonder if there is a distinct line drawn between the two ways you can dress yourself. I question whether there are 'Clothes-People' and 'Accessories-People'. Here's what I mean... When I think about what I'm going to wear in the morning after I shower, I think about what jewelry I want to wear. Then I coordinate my clothing to accommodate the accessories I've chosen. I'm sure that there's a group of people (probably more than half of the population) who pick out their clothing first, and then add jewelry to match. I almost never think in that order.

Some people come into my booth at the market and pick up one of my glass pieces and I hear them say how hard the necklace or earrings would be to 'match with'. [Note: most of my jewelry isn't very hard to match with, in my opinion, but some of it is quite challenging.] I want to tell these people something along the lines of this: I don't expect you to try to match that jewel with one of your printed tops; I expect you to change your shirt.

This is probably the strongest reason I should have pursued silver jewelry...

Only kidding! I love glass like crazy and would never trade it for another medium! Actually, when I first became interested in glass jewelry, I considered most of it either tacky, or incapable of looking sophisticated. I'm incredibly particular about wearing glass accessories and feel very confident that I have created a product that can be worn well by a very large range of ages.

Though I suppose this topic is stuck in the land of subjectivity - this is all just my own little opinion.

It's going to be a ridiculously warm 4th of July. It was exactly (almost to the minute!) 5 years ago today that I rode on my first motorcycle and wound up in the emergency room, just hours before leaving for 6 months in New Zealand. Ahhh, memories...

I'll end this passage with a line from the book I recently started; it struck me and maybe it will strike your liking as well: "I felt like I could hear our stories inside us like noise." -from 'Among Other Things, I've Taken Up Smoking' by Aoibheann Sweeney.

Wear a Tree and Create Some Fireworks

After repairing my crashed car, visiting my family in Vermont for a week, eating lots of coconut cake, flipping out in response to a power failure that made me believe my kiln was broken, and attempting to fill some new wholesale orders, here I am! Above is my new obsession - tree necklaces! I've been creating them in all sorts of colors and combinations, I can hardly pick which one to keep for myself!

I moved into my new apartment/studio one month ago, and I still don't feel settled. I'm just 2 bookshelves and a trip to a clothing donation center short of being at home. It's the bookshelves that have me stumped. How tempting it is to give in and buy a new beautiful bookcase in the style and color that suits my liking. And yet, how equally tempting it is to buy the cheapest thing on Craigslist and make do until I'm in a house that's permanent. This dilemma has left me with piles of books and papers on the floor. And it's just a bookcase!

Here's hoping for more beautiful weather, a busy 4th of July at the market, and some fireworks in your life - whatever that may mean to you.

You Only Live Once

It has been an incredibly eventful week, in both magical and horrible ways. I'm mostly settled into my new apartment and have been catching up on making new glass jewels. I acquired my first drum set (yay!...And do you like my new pumpkin-y stripes in the background??) less than 24 hours before getting into my first car accident (ouch!). Both events were quite exciting and draining... Hopefully I can make it to the Saturday Market and back before taking my poor little car into the shop on Monday morning.

Some Clouds Aren't Grey

This weekend was amazing for so many reasons. I lucked out with my first corner spot at the market, met some really sweet and awesome people, went out for drinks with some hilarious friends, and sold a lot of my favorite pieces of glass. Plus I was set up across from the Lavender Lady at the market and that gal is over-the-top entertaining. Sometimes the silver lining bleeds into the center of every cloud in sight.

I just got back from a little trip to Kaleidoscope Paint on Salmon Street. They have a section of interior paints for $10 per gallon! I picked up 3 new colors to paint my new basement apartment and can't wait to get started on it tomorrow! I've never painted my own place before and am eager to have an apartment whose atmosphere I can contribute to. I'm totally going to wake up at a reasonable hour tomorrow and start painting. Until then, I'll be restocking my wares, keeping the kiln on at all times, and finding the motivation to hit up the gym.

Happy Week!

A sink! A shrink! A pink! A LINK!

Check it out, kiddos:

http://www.pinkofperfection.com/2009/04/ashley-young-of-sunup-jewelry/

Massive Pieces of Portland

New pieces fresh out of the kiln:

A span of 20 minutes

One of my favorite things to do is to take my little self out on a walk near my apartment and admire all of the adorable houses. If today's weather wasn't perfect then I've never seen a perfect day. Everyone's lot is so cute and most of the houses are just incredible; I love to imagine myself living in each one.
I passed one house that had a little sign posted on the lawn stating how their place was protected by such-and-such security system and whatnot. In front of the sign they'd placed a vicious looking plastic dinosaur, which, obviously is the appropriate thing to do.
Next, I passed a school playground where one kid was wearing a bright yellow jacket, and skin-tight shiny gold leggings/pants. Damn.
This was followed by a snippit of conversation I overheard between a guy and girl in their early 20's -ish. The girl was telling the guy about someone she was living with and how she knew that if she kicked him out he'd end up in jail. "And, like, I know it's not my fault and all; it's no one's fault..."
Um, actually I bet is was someone's fault.

Man, I love Portland.

Reactive Glass

Portland resumes its gorgeous weather after a little chunk of daily raining - phew! And I'm pretty excited because I went to look at a basement apartment in a friend's house yesterday and I'm already decorating the place in my mind. It's going to be the new Sunup Lounge with plenty of space for creating!

But this is typical me: get an idea in your head and then jump on it prematurely. I only just saw the place yesterday and already I've got my heart set on it. Feeling desperate for more living/working space can make you become pretty .. impulsive.

This past weekend was the first trial of our new location on the waterfront park for the Saturday market. I ended up in the 'Dead Zone' for Saturday, which kind of ruined my weekend... and no, I did not do a good job of keeping my chin up and brushing off one bad day; I gave in to it and panicked. However, I just looked at the calendar and was reminded that May has 5 weekends, so maybe my end-of-the-month finances will turn out okay after all. Not having a guaranteed paycheck can be so stressful sometimes.



I FINALLY made some earrings yesterday that people have been requesting for months. I have some pendants and rings in this particular color combination and they always do pretty well, so I managed to persuade myself to create some earrings in this same style. I have to say that they came out really well and I'm excited to see the reaction they get at the market.

The Mini Botanical Collection

I have to admit that I'm completely obsessed with the Mini Botanical Collection. And not just like, Gee I really like these, but more like.. I talk about them all day long to anyone who will listen, can't get them out of my mind, and wish I could come up with another product half as adorable. I daydream about cute little flyers I could create and then plaster over Portland which would be completely dedicated to exposing these little plant earrings. I want them to sprout little root legs and follow me around in a clan, making tiny squeaks every time I stop walking.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

I made some new garden pendants this week like the one above. I have found myself focusing on botanical themes lately, and they have quickly become my favorite pieces. In the past I had always strayed from having clear glass as a background on the pendants. I'm not sure why... But I think it's just minimal enough on the piece above to serve its purpose and look adorable -- I really like how it turned out. I haven't been making this style of pendants very long, and since I'm still struggling with them, only about half of each batch end up being good enough to sell! Oy! No worries, I will get better at it soon enough, just need a little practice. Fortunately one of the cuter ones came out imperfectly so I can justify keeping it for myself! Happy gardening!

Mass-produced the slow way

I recently had a friend look at my little heart earrings and ask whether I cut each heart out of silver leaf by hand. He suggested I get a heart-shaped hole-puncher so that it'd go quicker.

Um.... how should I answer this.... EW! NO!

What an awful idea. Not only do I steer clear of the particular shape that those little "perfect heart" holepunchers make, but it wouldn't really scream 'handmade' to do it that way. I love each of my little hearts and there's simply no way that I would ever want to resort to a mini cookie cutter. And no, maybe my earrings sets don't have two identical heart clones, but that's part of their charm!

I'd like to shake the soul whose mind suggested a holepuncher while yelling, "You just don't get it, do you?!"

Yes, Fight Club IS my favorite movie, how did you know?
Although, the idea of becoming violent towards someone over some little red heart earrings seems a little... silly (but very, very justified, don't you think?).

NEW Fused Glass Buttons!

I recently tried out a batch of fused glass buttons! They certainly are tricky... it has been hard to drill the holes and have them line up perfectly. Also, I tried to put them in for a firepolish in the kiln but it isn't working out the way I'd like it to. I end up wanting to put the pieces in at a higher temperature so the edges get more rounded, but then I risk having the holes close up. The buttons in the picture above didn't go in for a firepolish, instead I sanded the edges by hand... which is what I may end up doing for all of them if I can't figure out a good firepolish temp.

Then there is the question of price. Technically, two big buttons are comprised of more glass and are more time-consuming to make than a necklace, but how much is someone really going to pay for two buttons?!

This is all very tricky to me. And, as usual, I'll just have to test it out and see how it goes. The good thing is that it opens up a huge area of business; plus a ridiculous amount of people crochet or knit or sew their own clothing, hats and bags. Who wouldn't want some beautiful handmade buttons - right? Doesn't it defeat the purpose to add a crummy factory-produced plastic button to your hand-stitched wares? Sometimes the details are the best part, whether it's in your new short-brimmed hat, or in life.