Shows, an Airshow and now its almost holiday time!

I’ve been a very bad blogger. I’ll admit it. I’ve been going along at a 110% (which we all know is totally unsustainable) so things started to drop off. I miss being online. I feel like I’m falling behind by not keeping up to date in my fellow blogger’s worlds!

And just to compound my discomfort offline, I am off on our annual holiday in a couple of days time. YAY for the holiday – lots of reading, lazing around, beach walks, bike rides and family time. But BOO to no internet coverage!

Since I last wrote I’ve had two, two-day shows. Quirindi was the first. The show was great fun and many husbands said “oh no, not you!” but their wives smiled widely :D . The second show was at Merriwa with gorgeous weather, lots of familiar faces and ladies keen to look at and partake of the new collection. It’s so lovely to be welcomed by the ladies so warmly!

Country shows are great fun and as I’m situated in the ladies pavilion, I get to see all the local talent – the green fingered ladies with their flowers, the cooks with their cakes and preserves, the patient ladies with their needlework, embroidery, sewing and knitting, the artists with their paintings and sculpture, the budding younger artists with their drawings and the avid photographers with their creative photos. It’s always great to see the men having a go too – Merriwa always has a brave gent or two competing in the cooking arena and lots of them in the fresh produce department.

Naturally there are the horse events, cattle judging, pet parades and more. Merriwa had a ute muster and with all their big lights and myriad of aerials, I assume these young fellows are very lonely and scared of the dark! They also had a roving magician as part of the entertainment and I had my own private little show at one stage with some incredibly good card ‘tricks’ – a polished performance, I still have no idea how he did it.

We finished the weekend off with a visit to the RAAF Williamtown Airshow. The last one we attended there was in 1985 and when I told this to one young airman he made me feel incredibly old when he told me he hadn’t even been born then!

The show was quite spectacular, starting off with Matt Hall, of Red Bull Air Race fame; two incredible formation flights of aeroplanes from different eras (the poor old Neptune at the front must have been going flat out compared to the F111 in the same flight!); the last public performance from a F111 that was awe inspiring and made everyone jump when he sneaked up on us all; and a fantastic solo by an F-18 that showed so much skill and control in such a powerful machine. Of course there were many more air displays that we all enjoyed but the ones above were amazing! All in all a fantastic day, although it was soooo long with a three hour drive each way added on to a full day at the show. Truly memorable though and worth it.

So, please forgive my absence, including one for the next couple of weeks. But I promise I will think of you while I’m walking along the beach, playing games with the kids, reading a huge pile of novels and snoozing regularly … well, maybe a passing thought now and again ;)

Till next
Annette

PS. Today’s pic – this one found a new home last weekend - from my Beach Party Collection, it’s fun and bright mother of pearl shell, sterling silver and freshwater cultured pearls.

Spring jewellery, shopping and entertaining!

Can you believe it’s spring! We’ve had a couple of beautiful warm days when the when the jumper came off, leaving me in a short sleeved shirt and all the doors in the house were open with a lovely warm breeze flowing through. Bliss. Then the next day it turned Cold (with a capital ‘C’!) and then the rain started. Again. Now as I’m married to a farmer, I can’t complain about the rain at all – but it’s staggering how much we’ve had this year in comparison to the last decade! I’ve even slid sideways down my dirt road to the front gate. Please imagine a look of intense concentration as this was happening LOL. Luckily it dries out fast so we're back to cool but sunny weather and driving down the track is just fine!

I’ve been incredibly busy on the jewellery front thus my absence from the blogging world. I’ve finished the spring-summer collection and have been loading it onto the website, so if anyone was checking in on the site, there’s been lots of new things to look at every day. I’m close to finishing now, just in time for my first spring outing at Quirindi Show this weekend on 11 and 12 September. The following week is Merriwa Show on 17-18 September – so a very busy fortnight in store.

Apart from jewellery I’ve also been a ‘gardening fairy’! I was the recipient of this gardening goodness recently having three wonderful girls come and help me prune roses, weed and plant white agapanthus at the front of the house (which has been kept very bare due to the lack of my gardening talent).

Last week it was time to return the favour – three of us attacked one of the other girl’s gardens, digging up and planting a huge circle of agapanthus (purple this time!), pruning lavender and chopping down and removing the debris from four large (15 foot high) shrubs. We did have her husband’s help with the chopping down part though! It’s amazing how much work you can get done in a few hours with a few of you. Another stint as a garden fairy in a couple of week’s time – the rush is on now spring is here.

We had the pleasure of a wonderful lunch with friends on the weekend. It's been so long since we entertained, I had forgotten what a great time we have getting together. I'm almost considering hosting a Christmas or New Years party, but well, we'll see about that when it all gets a bit closer.

I've also enjoyed the pleasure of quite a bit of online shopping in the past week. With both a beach holiday and wedding to attend in the near future and a lack of suitable clothes available in town (I looked!), I took the plunge and must say I'm happy with my purchases. I can see why people love to buy from me too - the buzz when the mailman delivers and then finally trying the goodies on that you were trying to picture and measure if they'd be right is immensely satisfying!!! And all without going to town. It's times like that when it hits home how the WWW has changed our lifestyle.

Today's pic is from the new Under the Sea range, with soothing colours reminiscent of the seashore or with corals and pearls from a mermaid's treasure box! This necklace is made with faceted aqua amazonite and lots of sterling silver - perfect to make a summer statement!

Amazing dust storm and sharing creativity

Wow, we're in the throes of an amazing dust storm - woke up this morning and the light was orange, it faded to yellow and now its a creamy colour but there is a thick layer of dust everywhere and the gale force winds are blowing more of it here by the second!

The dust has been blown in from central Australia and it caused quite a bit of consternation this morning in Eastern Australia with the eerie colour and low visibility. You can taste the dust every time you breathe and we'll all be in for a thorough house clean when it stops. I heard a woman on the radio this morning say its reminiscent of the dust storms of the 1960s. Is mother nature trying to tell us something?

The end of last week passed in a blur - I had so much to do and it just didn’t get done – but that’s what happens when show season comes around!

I went to the Merriwa Show last weekend and had a blast but I think I’m still recovering :) They certainly kept me on my toes and it was lovely to catch up with clients from previous years. I love how they keep on coming back for more.

Lots of new pieces found new homes and that means they didn’t even get seen by a wider audience as they didn’t actually make it to the website. But I know they’ll be loved by their new owners, so that’s okay. If you make something do you like to know its going to be loved by its new owners too?

I saw this fantastic quote on Jill’s blog Liv’nGood Jewelery, the writer certainly loved her jewels:

The jeweler allows me to wear the sapphire blue lake on my finger, the emerald green leaves around my neck, and take the citrine sunset with me wherever I go. Jewelry has become my daytime link to nature in an office with no windows. And if I have to work late, there’s nothing like diamond stars and a pearl full moon against an onyx night sky.
~Astrid Alauda, “Office With No Windows”

Artisans, artists and crafters all get a real kick out of selling their work – its kind of like sharing a little piece of their creative self with the world. Check out the wonderful repurposed work of Elena, these funky fob tabs by Melanie and these cute 'my little monster's' by Monique – isn’t such diverse talent a great thing to be able to share!

Today’s picture is of a wonderful necklace of ametrine sticks. Ametrine being a combination of citrine and amethyst and these stones have a beautiful high polish finish. Featuring a big silver toggle clasp to wear on the side or the back it is both classic and just a touch flamboyant.

On a completely different note, have you all noticed how fast your children are growing up? My son, at 11 ½ is just past my nose! My girls aren’t far behind him, either! Yet I know they’ll still worry me even when they’re taller than me and looking completely grown up.

Jamie of Destination Handmade got a terrible fright recently when her 19 year old who is away at University was briefly held at gunpoint for his bag and wallet! Hearing this sort of thing just makes me want to freeze the children as they are – at an age when I can still be around to protect them!

So, note to self for today - don't take Mother Nature or your family for granted!

Till next
Annette :)

Handmade and an Award

I’ve had a busy week! The end of last week was flat out as I prepared for my first spring show at the NEGS Spring Fair, Armidale. The co-ordinator of the fair was very helpful and after a looooong drive, we got set up quickly and for once I was actually ready BEFORE the show started! I even got to do a quick tour around and see the other booths quickly.

I was surprised to find that I was in the vast minority with a handmade product. There were only two other noticeable stallholders with quality handmade items there – a milliner with fun hats for children and women and a fibre artist with the most incredible felt objects d’art. The rest of the stall holders were resellers which was disappointing.

Although I have clear signage that my jewellery is handcrafted one woman got a huge surprise when I told her I was a gemmologist and she realized my jewellery was ‘real’ and handmade. Another vendor later informed my husband that I need to get some lower priced items to sell – he told her that that is difficult since I make everything at the lowest price I can already. She was shocked into silence for a moment before stuttering….’she makes ALL of that????’ LOL.

When you visit a show or fair (not necessarily a market), what do you expect to see – resellers, imports, handmade/artisan goods?

On to other things, I was pleased as punch to receive The Uplifting Blogger Award from Shraddha and April at the The Self Love Project. Thankyou!



I’m passing this award onto

Keri at Life of Logan for sharing her wonderful family days.
Jennifer at It’s a Beauty Filled Life for posts that always making me smile.
Veronica Lee of OF MICE AND raMEN for posting great pics of amazing things all the time.
Julie at Momspective for making me laugh out loud, even when I shouldn’t !

I must point out a fantastic pic – if you like pink and dogs (yes, I know, you don’t normally consider both together) check out the photo on this post at The Tall Poppy! :D

On another note, I’m still working on my new wordpress blog behind the scenes and will tell you where it is soon (or you can go looking !) but I’m having dramas with technorati and can’t seem to log a help call with them. I noticed that Robin at Sweet Little Memories has been having issues too - anyone else feel like they’re banging they’re head agains a brick wall over there at Technorati?

Pic for today is a pair of lemon quartz 12ct goldfill earrings. These wondrous gemmies have been hiding in my special stash box which is getting a bit full since I've been hoarding them! A cut of gem that is not commercially available they are half carved and half faceted they are stunning quality! Feminine and delicate.

Gosh, look at the time! I must dash – I’m going to be at Merriwa Show tomorrow and Saturday and have to finish piling things up at the door to pack the car at dawn! Wish me luck :)

Till next
Annette

My back, ouch, my back!

My back is 'out'. OUCH. There I was, basking in the afterglow of a great show in Merriwa... I leant over to get something out of my handbag and it got me. A great big pain in the lower back. This isn't something that happens very often although it has been known to be a bit sore for a day or so. But this is ridiculous. Makes me really want to do situps to help protect it. But of course I can't. I can hardly sit down, bend down, lie down .... sheeeeesh. Anyway, it IS improving so fingers crossed by next week I'll be fine and dandy (and able to do some of those situps....)


Merriwa was fantastic. The weather was beautiful (if even a little hot) and there were lots of people who had travelled for the centenary celebrations. As I left on Saturday evening there were people piling into the showground and utes, trucks and akubras everywhere you looked. It seemed the whole community had turned out. The ladies pavillion had a few more exhibitors like myself too - Chris Mathews, a colour and image consultant from Dubbo was next to me and was on a mission to get the ladies into red lipstick (of the right tone of course) and day 2 even I, rather shyly, tried it too!

I saw lots of clients and familiar faces from last year and the committee always go out of their way to ensure we had everything we needed and were as successful as they could manage.

A question I often get asked, and of course, was asked at Merriwa, is how long does it take to make a piece of jewellery. I saw this article on Heart Harmony entitled 'it takes time to create quality' and this is so true. Even though the article is on photography, which is often seen as even more instant than jewellery, the idea is still the same.

For me, there is the time to find the stone/pearl that will feature in the piece plus the time it takes to get to me (often weeks). Firstly I weed out anything that isn't the best it can be (eg. too many inclusions, surface marks etc.) Then the creation process can vary from minutes (if lightning strikes / the stars are all in alignment lol) to days. The construction can be straightforward (under an hour) or it can be very labour intensive (hour upon hour). The piece then has to be checked to make sure it sits correctly, has the right 'look' I was after etc. before it is completely finished off. Sometimes it's not right and has to be redone. My pieces aren't churned out - each is one of a kind and I take alot of time to make sure the item is of the best quality.

Today's piece is one that inspiration was relatively quick to take but execution took a while to get the look just 'right'.

This necklace is extra long and can be worn wrapped twice or three times around your neck. Wear it at different levels or the same for extra looks. It looks particularly stunning as a choker and longer length. The smoky quartz gems in the piece are smooth clear orbs of smoky brown colour, the mother of pearl discs have a wonderful sheen and the peacock freshwater pearls have a gorgeous lustre. Lashings of 12ct goldfill balls were added in various sizes to add a richness whilst not taking away from the gems and pearls. Do you like it?

Well, the children are now on holidays for a fortnight and spring has most definitely sprung. Trees are in blossom, flowers are budding and lots of green, green grass in evidence everywhere you look. Once my back is feeling better there is lots of work to do and I'm steadily working on my website too (heee heee - so excited to unveil it shortly!).

Till next :D

Quirindi last week, Merriwa this week...

I feel a bit like that old saying about tours "if it's Tuesday it must be Rome" LOL. Although I'm not quite going to such exotic locales, doing two, two-day shows a week apart is surprisingly tiring - I keep feeling like I've forgotten something and my to-do list never seems to finish!

Last weekend was Quirindi and I had such a wonderfully warm welcome from the organisers and lots of ladies I met on my recent appearance there in July. I was tickled pink when one woman told me that she saw the advert for the Quirindi Show - it mentioned 'jewellery' and she had hoped it would be me! :) There were only a few other exhibitors selling items that were non-sideshow alley and they were lovely, friendly people.

Lots of beautiful pieces (a lot of them new, including the piece featured in my last blog post)have found new homes where I am sure they will be loved!

This weekend I have Merriwa Show and get to see all my lovely clients from that district and maybe some new faces too. This is the 100th anniversary of the Merriwa Show so it promises to be a big weekend. I hope the weather holds out! Once again I will be located in the Fairfax Pavillion so come and say hello if you're at the show.

I am very behind on my blog reading however I was doing a scan of the Small Business Diva's blog and found a wonderful quote I would like to share: “Really big people are, above everything else, courteous, considerate and generous - not just to some people in some circumstances - but to everyone all the time.” Thomas J. Watson, 1874-1956, Founder of IBM. Something we can all aspire to.

I must also say thank you to Elaine from Commotion from the Ocean of Life blog for her award (received while I was on holidays thus my tardy response!). This blog is a great read and one that I love to catch up on. Thank you!!!



The rules of this award are:

1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you’ve nominated.

So, in the interest of sharing the love downunder, I've picked some Aussie blog favourites:

1. Tickiboo
2. Ickle Kids
3. La Toriana
4. My Day Off
5. Marnie B
6. Small Business Diva
7. Australian Women Online

Ooops, almost forgot today's jewellery picture! This is a beautiful banded agate and freshwater pearl bracelet that tinkles as it moves. I've used Argentinium sterling silver to help prevent tarnishing and keep the silver wonderfully shiny. A timeless combination of black and white means this one will be worn for many years to come!

Till next :)

Back from vacation

Well, I am relaxed, recharged and raring to go!!! What a wonderful holiday we had ... the weather was gorgeous, lovely warm sunshine and a couple of days light rain (but not cold) in the middle of our holiday to relieve that monotonous sunshine ;) The children had a wonderful time and spent their time darting between the house, the beach, the house, the playground, the house, the beach.... you get the idea, I'm sure!

I was also very productive and managed to make lots of beautiful jewellery inspired by the beach, the rather tropical feel and the warm, lazy days. Even though I spent some days 'working', being able to do so in comfort and still hearing the waves crash on the beach was very special.



It was marvellous to see our house again (once a year really isn't enough) and even though we have been there a few years running now, the number of kangaroos that hop around your yard, the street and even the beach is a bit amazing. We had a rather large male almost come into our garage and you can routinely get within a foot or so of them before they shy away. Of course, getting that close isn't really recommended as they are wild creatures, so its better to sit back and just watch! Although I had heard of them being on the beach, this was the first time I had seen it as this picture shows a couple of them that had been nibbling the grass on the dune in front of the beach! I can't understand why they don't promote Woodgate Beach a little more to our overseas guests who would love to see the 'roos hopping around the little town.

I am just about to start my spring show season - nothing like jumping right back into the thick of it! This weekend (13-14 September) I am off to Quirindi Show on both Saturday and Sunday and will be located in Pavillion 2, so if you are planning on attending the show, please drop by and say hello! The following weekend (20-21 Sept) is Merriwa Show and I get to catch up with all my lovely clients from that district. Luckily there are school holidays in between those two and my next 2 day event at the Coolah Spring Garden Festival on 18-19 October.

I was working on my website just before going on holidays and fingers crossed I may even get to work on it a little next week as well. I can't wait to unveil it all to you and am still so thrilled to have found the wonderful Emma of Morris Bear who created it for me. As I mentioned before I have looked and looked and looked for web designers and really had trouble finding anyone that could do what I was after at an affordable price! Well, I was pretty chuffed to see that there is another Aussie woman doing web design templates (not specifically e-commerce) at very reasonable prices - Jenni Markham Designs. She also creates the cutest stationery! Well worth a look if you are in the market for something like this.



The piece I've picked for today's pic is beautiful teal coloured, highly faceted jade (treated of course) which is incredibly sparkly. Would you believe the lovely sterling balls in between actually calm the sparkle down to a managable level? It's summery, shiny and sparkly - everything you need to wear against your skin or summer fashions.

It's great to be back although I'm still a bit behind on responding to comments... but I'll get there!!!

Cheers!

A great show and a summery jade necklace

Well, the Merriwa Show has been and gone and what a great time was had by all! You may or may not have heard but there has been an outbreak of Equine Influenza in Australia and all horse movements have been banned to limit its spread. This of course has had a huge impact on regional and local agricultural shows where horses still play a big part in the program. The number of attendees were reportedly down, but the organisers had a great idea of doing the events withOUT the horses. For Merriwa, this meant, for example, replacing the horses with quad bikes in the calf-roping competition and the barrel race! Apparently it was great entertainment and perhaps it will become a fixed part of the show scene - after all a lot of farmers (around here at least) use bikes instead of horses (us included!).

I didn't actually get to see any of this - only had it reported to me. Why? Well, I was exhibiting in the 'ladies' pavillion along with the cooking, craft, horticultural, art and flower displays, and all the lovely people coming through kept me exceedingly busy! I usually try to take an assistant to an event as it just gets a tad busy trying to talk, to process transactions, to wrap and give general assistance to people trying on necklaces, etc.. I DID take my husband, but he decided he was no help at all and disappeared for most of the day!!! I told him that I could use some help wrapping and he said to my (luckily very friendly customer), "Madam, would you like to wear that?" lol. Ah well. At least he was invaluable during packing up!

All in all its been a particularly popular time for my jewellery - the warmer weather perhaps, or have I just been recognised? I even note that in my very favourite shopping blog My New Shiny Shoes that one of my bracelets was listed a couple of weeks ago :) See it here. I have found so many wonderful bits and bobs to buy from this blog that I am sure I would never have found by myself!

I also sold the bracelet featured in my last post! Inevitable really, it was soooo pretty. And it has gone to a lovely young lady who I know will look after it and cherish it.

I have included a pic for today's post - its just such a summery, pretty piece! It is a necklace of Soo-Chow jade (treated) and lovely big fat white freshwater pearls. Its so simple, but the colours of the jade are vibrant and the flattering glow of the pearls onto your face is an added bonus ;)

Jade is a tough stone with a hardness of 6.5-7. Although encompassing two distinct minerals - jadeite and nephrite- they are better known and treasured as simply 'jade'. Translucent to opaque it is cut en cabachon to highlight its beauty. These days a lot of jade is treated to some amazing colours, which obviously don't occur naturally, but make for beautiful jewellery! Jade has been used throughout history - in early times for weapons, and in China for over 2000 years for carved figures and symbols used in religious and mystic rites. Valued more than gold in pre-Columbian Central America and its name derives from piedra de ijada which was a reference to its metaphysical properties of healing and protecting the kidneys. The particular stones seen above, are from the Soo-Chow area in China.

Spring Show Schedule

News on the show front for your diary:

5 August - Nyngan View Club, Workers Club, Nyngan, NSW.

I met some lovely ladies from Nyngan when I was exhibiting at the International Women's Day Luncheon in Dubbo back in February. They kindly invited me out and I am pleased to say I will be showing the ladies of the View Club my jewels! I will be going there with fellow Coolah dweller, Eleanor Cook, who is the current NSW Rural Woman of the Year. So Eleanor will be there to give them lots to think about and I will soothe those thoughts with pretty things ;).

9 August - Private showing, Coolah, NSW.

One of my best clients, Julie Williams, is hosting a private showing for her friends and it should be a great afternoon. I am really looking forward to it!

15 August - Merriwa Show, Showgrounds, Merriwa, NSW.

I will be exhibiting at the Merriwa Show this year. Unfortunately it clashes with the local fair at Coolah where I normally hold a childrens jewellery making stall, but my husband is stepping up to the fray and will be doing this for me (after a few lessons of course!) This will enable me to attend the Show in Merriwa and catch up with all my clients from that area who I haven't seen in almost a year.

28 August - Binnia Street, Coolah.

This is the official opening of the refurbished shire hall in Coolah which now houses a modern library, a community internet portal and a gym. Festivities are being planned and part of those include a street festival and fair. So I will be there with a small display.

19 October to 21 October - Craftfest, Ogishi Craft Centre, Lovedale, (Hunter Valley) NSW.

12 artisans will be presenting their work in a gallery atmosphere for 2 days - the same weekend as the Opera in the Vineyards. Exhibitors will be Alison Green - silkscreened fabrics, Kay Faulkener - handwoven textiles, Lance Hennessy -ceramic sculptures, Robin Phillips - silver, gold and enamel jewellery, Mark Jones - leather bags, Lynne Taylor - collaged fabric garments, Setsuko Ogishi - blown glass (I believe all of the above were exhibitors at the Lovedale Limited Edition Expo I did last year), Laraine Clements - scented items and clothing, Barbara Stephenson - slumped glass, Nicky Coady - studio pottery, Robyn McGain - quilts.

Pics: Middle: At Jazz at the Tops, Coolah, 2007; Bottom: At International Women's Day Luncheon, Dubbo, 2007; Top: At Lovedale Limited Edition Expo, Hunter Valley 2006