a picture says a thousand words. or at least enough to describe my rings.

i was having a chat with julie yesterday, lamenting the fact that i realized that some of my product photos date back to 2008.  yeah.  that long ago.  and while most of them are exactly what i want in regards to clarity and composition (in addition to great focus, awesome natural light and attention to detail), it has been nagging at me for quite a long time that my knot ring photos are not, in my opinion, up to par.  gotta keep it fresh, right?  so this week, i've been working on the knot ring photos - yesterday, i even brought my camera to the office so i could take advantage of the great light that comes through my window. 

admittedly, i am much happier with these - they show how delicate yet bright and shiny these rings are.  and yes, the knot ring is one of my best selling designs, but i wonder if the new photos will impact that statistic.  i hope so - god forbid that i get boring!

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the traveling red dress.

the lovely anne-marie from donotfaint twittered me yesterday and asked about my feedback on a project that she is starting.  and of course, i love what she wants to do.  in the spirit of "the sisterhood of the traveling pants", she is embarking on a journey to make a traveling red dress.  the art therapist in me is thrilled, because i know how therapeutic the creative process is and i think that the idea of sharing such a dress is fantastic.  because she describes what she wants to do so eloquently, i am going to quote her here:

"There is a magic dress. A magic dress that is usually red and travels to women who are struggling with illness (including mental illness), weight, low self-image in general. When a woman receives a traveling red dress, she puts it on and the magic helps her remember who she really is, the woman who has not and will not truly be defeated, the woman capable of love, the woman who deserves to feel beautiful and to do something that helps her feel beautiful. The Red Dress need not be red, but it must be stunning, impractical, eye-catching–a ball gown, literally or metaphorically. Then, someone take beautiful photographs of her in her stunning gown, so that she can always remember the magic of self-care."

anne-marie is hoping to raise $300.00 so that she can make this dress and then be able to send it's magic to other people who need it.  you can check out her blog post (and her link to WePay) here. 

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somebody i used to know.

so i've listened to this song about a hundred times in the last couple of days.  goyte - aka wouter "wally" de backer - is a belgian/australian singer and songwriter who broke silverchair's reign as simultaneously holding the number 1 album and single spot with this song.  while i do like the first release from his independently released album "making mirrors" (see it here) this song beckons to me in a different way.  it's kind of like a blend of the police, sufjan stevens, with a little YES in there (i don't know why, but there's something in the song that reminds me of "owner of a lonely heart".)

it's also one of the best dissections of a relationship that i've heard in a long time - girl and boy fall in love, girl and boy don't work out, girl and boy decide they can be friends, then one of them decide to totally cut the other one out, much to the bewilderment of the other party.  i am not one to stay friends with my exes (seriously, i barely have time for people i like, much less an old boyfriend) and i have been known to let communication die a slow, natural death, but i've never had to send a friend over to collect my records from an ex. 

now that i think about it though, i'd never take records over to a non-permanent boyfriend's house - primarily because of this.  lol.  it would be sort of heartbreaking if my classic vinyl copy of the cure's "boys don't cry" was languishing in the basement of someone that i used to know.

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