earring heaven.

i have to show these off.  finally i think i have perfected my "horseshoe" earrings - i had posted the first attempts in march but they just didn't seem to work.  today i had a lot of time to fool around with the design and some scrap wire and voila!  my new favorite earrings!  lightweight but quite substantial, shiny and perfectly balanced, i think these would be suitable for almost any occasion.  except for maybe sleeping.  they're a little too pretty to be hidden!  i'll be making a set in copper, brass and gold filled, so watch this space!  it surprises me that you can do this with just a simple design, pliers and sterling silver.

Read more...

happy holidays

some people i know are on holiday the next couple of weeks.  i am envious and already missing them like crazy - funny how your work family can be as important as your real family.  the devilish part of me hopes that it rains on them (the few days i had off last week were almost all rainy) but wonderfully, it looks like the long range forecast is beautifully sunshiny.  a very weak positive - at least i'm probably going to get a lot of work done without my biggest distractions hanging out in my office.  sigh.

in honour of holidays, here is the very underrated albert hammond jr.  (yes, i couldn't resist downloading more of his stuff.  i think i'm addicted.)

enjoy the time off!  it's well deserved!  and don't forget to text/email.

Read more...

these broken hands of mine.

from joe brooks' blog.  click on the picture to hear "these broken hands of mine"

i'm sitting here awake after the mini threw up in the bed and we cleaned up the huge mess. she is sleeping peacefully now, but i'm obviously not. i'm doing laundry and listening to songs quietly on my laptop.  been thinking about things... like how i got to this place, right here right now.  how sometimes things are surreal, how sometimes i want to be somewhere else and exactly where i am at the same time.  about how my hands hurt from twisting wire and soldering.  how some days i love/hate my job so much.  ah, duality! (but it doesn't make my hands hurt any less.  boo.)

Read more...

i will follow you into the dark.

that ben gibbard is a genius.  having started death cab for cutie by himself and then realizing that he needed some more musicians to fill out the roster, the man is definitely an underrated talent.  and with a band name with roots with the Beatles and pulp fiction novels, how can it not be cooler than cool?  no wonder the actress zooey deschanel agreed to marry the dude.

'i will follow you into the dark' - an ode to existentialism (which, incidentally, was the basis of my masters' thesis), a pledge to undying love, or a simple song musing about what comes after death, i dug this out of my eternal playlist and have been listening to it now for days.  well, that and their cover of the penguins' forever classic "earth angel".  (seriously?  earth angel?  i think i love you even more, ben.)

Read more...

postal strike.

i'd be lying if i didn't admit that i'm a little worried about the possibility of a postal strike by canada post.  my little jewelry business depends on the mail systems as much as it does the copper and silver industries.  a not-so-wise boss once gave me this sage piece of advice - "you don't mess with people's livelihoods because they come out swinging" - and on both sides of this coin, it's the truth.  the postal workers are in a legal strike action position, so that they can fight for what they want/need, but yet there are millions of canadians who depend on the system in order to live.  even at social services, they did not mail people's cheques this month, and instead informed clients that they had to come and pick them up at the local offices. 

i agree that unions have created a more fair system within which businesses and corporations work.  however, it's hard when the little guy on the totem pole seems to lose out everytime.  i am reluctant to list anything new in my shop just in case i won't be able to ship it.  and seriously, no one wants to pay UPS or Purolator costs just for a pair of earrings.

(i do admit though - today we got home and there was a box of silver waiting for me.  no customs charge, or duty owing... hmmmm.  i wonder if this is also part of the strike action?  sweet - for ME!)

Read more...

sustainable.

just thinking about minimizing my carbon footprint.  and these choices make it easy.

Read more...

rest in peace.

i don't usually talk too much about work stuff (because my ultimate dream is to no longer have to work at my full time, real life job) but i feel like i need to process a little.  last week, one of our residents was found without vital signs in his apartment.  the causes of his death are unknown at this point, but this young man (and yes, he was young) had a long history of struggle and addiction.  it is even sadder because, in the last two months, he had made huge strides in his life and was moving towards reaching some of his goals.  it makes it more difficult to get my head around his passing because he was doing so well and seemed so happy.

his baby face, soft voice, shy smile and mad computer wizardry skills will be missed.  i really do hope he rests peacefully wherever he is right now.

Read more...